Darkness, endless darkness.
It reminded Luo Yi of that cave, the Manticore’s lair—also so dark, so cold.
Under the threat of dangerous beasts, a boy and a girl huddled together for warmth.
The red-haired, gray-eyed youth took a deep breath, raised his heavy sword again, and stood ready.
In the pitch-black darkness, naturally, he couldn’t see his opponent.
After all, Ke Lun was the leader of the Shadow Thieves’ Guild, one of the cruel underworld bosses.
Concealed in darkness, who could withstand him?
But Luo Yi believed Master Bali Saihe’s words—he could withstand it!
The world cannot be seen with eyes alone.
There are also ears to hear sounds, and skin to sense air currents.
These things are far more comprehensive than a pair of eyes, playing a crucial role in battle, even a life-or-death decisive step.
The youth turned sideways, spinning in the darkness like a waltz.
The blade just grazed past his cheek!
Ke Lun’s Shadow Sneak had actually failed.
“Coward!”
Luo Yi shouted.
In the instant the blade flashed, he had vaguely sensed the opponent’s presence, but the moment was too short.
If Xue La were here, she would certainly have some brilliant commentary.
Ke Lun had indeed mastered the technique [Shadow Sneak], but he hadn’t fully grasped the other abilities.
As a passive skill, Shadow Sneak depended not only on light levels but also on the latter part of its description: Sneak.
Once an attack skill was actively used—in that instant, he would still expose himself.
If it were an ordinary opponent, Ke Lun would naturally remain undefeated.
Trying to match moves with him, this cunning old goat, in the dark?
That would be asking for death!
But Luo Yi and Bali Saihe, of course, wanted to live a while longer.
The red-haired youth tightened his grip on the heavy sword, not daring to relax for a moment.
‘Having a weakness is good,’ Luo Yi thought.
‘Next strike, I must hit him!’
In the dim room, a gust of wind suddenly rose.
Luo Yi knew that was Ke Lun attacking again.
Twisting his wrist, he laid the heavy sword horizontally; the broad blade itself was the best shield.
Whoosh—
Ke Lun hadn’t mastered any advanced Assassin attack techniques.
Even with the boost of darkness, the skills he relied on were still simple [Backstab] and [Thrust], and Luo Yi blocked them all with [Block].
Damn, that really shredded Ke Lun’s pride!
“Go!”
Luo Yi put all his strength into it, ignoring the wrist ache from the weapons’ impact.
He swung his sword again with renewed force.
However, there was no expected cleave into two.
Air, only air!
Luo Yi had struck empty air again!
Ke Lun had another move.
[Gale Step]
As he had said, this was a skill for quick charges or escape—Ke Lun understood tacitly.
As it stood, Luo Yi was a cunning and troublesome opponent, which infuriated and disappointed Ke Lun greatly.
He had been an underworld boss in Grino for over a decade; how could he lose to a brat?
‘But I should still have a chance,’ Ke Lun thought.
‘That kid’s wrist will ache.’
‘After all, he’s just a kid. His body hasn’t fully gotten used to the cruel trial of life-or-death battle. The ache in his wrist shows he’s no expert. He’s probably only been taught by that old blind man Bali Saihe for at most… a month, right?’
This level of skill left Ke Lun both shocked and frightened—both at the standard of Bali Saihe and his disciple, and at the lingering fear.
Ke Lun still believed the advantage was his.
‘Luo Yi’s wrist will continue to ache until he can’t lift his sword!’
‘So, [Shadow Sneak] can still be used!’
Ke Lun’s idea was good, but he no longer had the chance.
Because Bali Saihe had already fought his way back.
In the face of a long staff wreathed in rising flames, there were always cowardly Shadow Thieves who chose to surrender and guide the way.
“How can an old blind man see the way?”
Some tried to be sly, thinking they could fool Bali Saihe, and deliberately led him down wrong paths.
But it was useless.
Bali Saihe could hear the subtle differences in heartbeat and breathing when people lied—as if guided by the gods!
Thus, in the end, Bali Saihe still made his way to the final link in the dark alleyways.
Ke Lun’s lair.
Just by hearing the clang of swords, Bali Saihe knew what was happening.
“Good kid, you actually made it out alive,” Bali Saihe said as he used his staff to drive away the stubborn Shadow Thieves.
“Scram.”
Note that the old man’s long staff had just extinguished its flames, but both ends still radiated heat…
Some Shadow Thieves wouldn’t give up and tried to sneak up on the old man from behind.
Bali Saihe knocked them out with a backhanded strike of his staff.
“Don’t disturb me while I watch my disciple’s skill!”
the old man scolded, as if for a moment he had forgotten that his own business was to retrieve his kidnapped granddaughter.
This wasn’t heartlessness; it was the value of this battle…
Over thirty exchanges had passed, and Luo Yi was still evenly matched with Ke Lun, even gaining a slight advantage.
Because Bali Saihe had opened (or rather kicked down) the door, letting in the scant but still existing light from outside.
Thus, Ke Lun’s movements became easier to track.
But Luo Yi was exhausted; he couldn’t withstand further attrition.
But Bali Saihe was willing to wait—to wait for a critical moment of Luo Yi’s growth.
“You little brat!”
Bali Saihe finally spoke.
The master commanded his sole disciple:
“Stop defending and blocking. Learn to counterattack!”
Luo Yi recognized the voice as his master’s and called back,
“I still can’t see the opponent. Can you get some light…”
“Don’t rely on your eyes. You’ve done well enough already!”
the old man said, as if he didn’t intend to ignite the staff’s ends again to light the place.
“The light here is already enough for me.”
“I don’t believe you—ouch!”
Luo Yi complained as he blocked Ke Lun’s attack.
He didn’t know how many more exchanges he could endure…
“Keep your heart’s eye, heart’s eye!”
Bali Saihe said.
“See with your heart, use the absolute perception of a warrior!”
Perception?
Luo Yi was skeptical; his master had seemed to mention this during darkness training.
The so-called using ears and skin is essentially using the heart to perceive.
Because a human warrior cannot rely solely on naked eyes to judge.
The heart’s eye is more important.
Even though this ability was something only elite warriors could master.
But under Bali Saihe, could there be a weak soldier or a weak student?
Of course not!
Luo Yi gritted his teeth and tried to hold on one last time.
The red-haired youth closed his eyes, sensing the enemy’s movements.
Before the wind passed through the hall, the rustling footsteps…
Had already betrayed Ke Lun!
This time, it was Luo Yi’s turn to strike!
[Spinning Slash]
It cut through the darkness, like a crescent moon and like a flash of lightning.
Luo Yi heard the sound—the splatter of blood, the crack of bones shattering.
He had hit him—a diagonal slash…
The old man’s applause rang out.
“Very good, very good!”
Bali Saihe said.
Luo Yi sighed and plopped onto the ground.
“I’m dead tired, Master!”
“We still need to rescue Asuna. Don’t linger here…”
“So dark, how do we find Sister Asuna?”
Bali Saihe shrugged, then put down his staff and rapidly formed hand seals with both hands, his dexterity and precision matching any spellcaster.
Finally, a loud clap.
The old man clapped, and all the lights in the place ignited.
“I never thought that a mere thief gang leader would use magical lighting devices in his lair,” Bali Saihe said, crouching down and taking a ring from Ke Lun’s still-warm fingers, then crushing it with his bare hands.
“And this joke of a ring toy—slight ether flow…”
Luo Yi tilted his head.
“Master? You don’t have eyes, how did you do that?”
“What, you want to learn to sense ether changes and master the arcane mysteries?”
Bali Saihe shrugged.
“I might be able to teach you, but it depends on my mood.”
Luo Yi did a kip-up and stood, re-shouldering his heavy sword.
“I’ll go find Sister Asuna right away!”
Luo Yi said.
Bali Saihe nodded.
“You’re not so dumb after all.”
***
Ke Lun’s private stash was right here, and it even had a little connection to Luo Yi.
The vault was between the execution room and the battle room.
Luo Yi might have passed by it earlier…
There was not only money here, but also many stolen goods worth trading.
These stolen goods naturally included paintings, fine jewelry, luxury items, and so on.
But the heartless Shadow Thieves would do one more thing.
To curry favor with some traitorous scumbag noble in the Royal Capital, they would also kidnap innocent girls.
Asuna was securely locked up here, bound hand and foot.
Luo Yi reached out, but the ropes were tied in a terrible style, impossible to undo quickly.
Bali Saihe smiled wryly, considering finding scissors or a dagger.
Luo Yi simply started gnawing with his mouth—kids from farming families were never particular; what was a hemp rope?
It could always be bitten through.
But some things were more troublesome than rope.
Asuna was unconscious—the effect of the anesthetic hadn’t worn off.
Worse still, the child had a fever on her forehead—probably from running in the rain and from useless struggling and crying after being kidnapped, causing a fever.
Bali Saihe felt helpless—treating a child also required money!
In the past, when the Imperial General was at his peak, countless doctors were willing to befriend Bali Saihe.
But beggar Bali Saihe?
Forget it.
Thus, holding his feverish granddaughter, Bali Saihe made a difficult decision.
“We have to leave Grino City.”
“Are we going to leave all these gold coins behind?”
Luo Yi asked.
He had never seen so much money in his life—gold coins piled up like a small mountain, filling the storehouse and even bulging the treasure chests so they couldn’t close…
“Gold will kill you,” Bali Saihe reiterated.
“If you take money, take at most what one hand can hold.”
“Master, you jerk! You know my wrist is killing me with soreness!”
Bali Saihe had no time for jokes and continued about Asuna.
“I know someone willing to help me, but… oh well, it’s a last resort!”
the old man said.
“We’re going to Privet Town.”
“What’s that?”
Luo Yi clearly hadn’t been to foreign places, never having measured the world’s dimensions with his own feet.
“The river near Privet Town is a tributary of the Seine River. On an island in the river lies an old convent, anciently called Maisonlogi, dedicated to the Moon Goddess…”
Bali Saihe explained.
It seemed the head of that convent had a past connection with Bali Saihe, so…
That was one of the few places still willing to provide medical help for Asuna.