The morning sun had barely warmed the village when Pan Xiao strutted to the stable in silk robes that shimmered like water. His skin seemed to glow; his every movement screamed ease and comfort.
"Tch. How was your sleep?" Chen Xiao snapped, bitterness cutting his words.
Pan Xiao yawned, stretching one hand over his chest. "Quite nice. The girl was a little heavy when she slept on my chest," he said casually.
Chen almost choked on his porridge.
"The mayor said he'll give you a temporary hut near the fields while your house gets rebuilt," Pan Xiao continued without looking back. "You can move there today."
"And you?" Chen asked, heart sinking.
"Me? I'll be staying here till the tournament." Pan Xiao turned and walked away, leaving Chen sitting between anger, shock, and a hollow ache.
No time to brood. A shimmer materialized before Chen's eyes a system window.
[System Tab]
Mission[1]
Reward[2]
A vision blasted into Chen's mind: flames, smoke, ruin. His grandparents stood before him warm, smiling and then were gone, swallowed by ash.
As while his parents love was not substantially low but his grandparents dots on him teaching him things and baking him anything he wants
For the first time since his life, he felt the weight of having loved. It was a wound thirty years old and sharp as a blade. Chen's eyes hardened. He rose, resolve burning in his chest,
Grandpa, Grandma wait for me I'll swear I will find you as he grabs his hoe and meet with the guards
In the mayor's mansion, Pan Xiao was being dressed by maids. In a shadowed corner, a hulking man watched with red rimmed eyes.
"You are destined for the top, Pan Xiao," the mayor purred. "Join my forces and we'll take a giant step forward."
Pan Xiao sighed. "Mayor, if you expose yourself like that..."
Before he could finish, he moved. His hand flashed, slicing the silk robe and the maid clean through. The maid screamed as her human guise ripped away, revealing a demonic, twisted shape underneath. With a hidden slave talisman of the silk robe.
[System]
SUDDEN QUEST[3]
[Yes] Accept / [No] Decline
Chen blinked, baffled. Is this my clone's mission? he thought. On reflex he tapped [Yes].
A red tide crawled across the village. Villagers' heads lit up with crimson markers: ENEMY.
More than half the crowd wore the mark. Even the guards flanking Chen showed faint sigils over their brows.
"I uh need to go to the forest. Nature calls," Chen babbled, forcing a smile. He slipped into the trees, heart pounding.
No sooner had he entered the forest than the guards exchanged glances. A signal pulsed. They charged, blades flashing as they hunted him down.
Back in the mansion, Pan Xiao met the mayor's crimson gaze with cold calm.
Pan Xiao tried the same move he'd used against Pi Dao, but the mayor merely caught the blade's aura in his bare hand.
The technique cracked under pressure broken like cheap pottery.
"You think this imitation of a sword art can hurt me?" the mayor scoffed. He crushed the move with a crushing fist.
"If not for your face, I would have killed you last night."
He struck. The floor exploded beneath Pan Xiao; he crashed to the lower hall in a spray of dust and splinters.
The mayor leapt down to finish him but the room was empty.
A voice drifted from the shattered window: "If you want my brother to live, you'd do well to learn some manners."
The mayor sneered, but his eyes narrowed. Outside, Pan Xiao stood with the system screen reflected in his pupils. He read the mission's description, a calm smile forming on his lips.
"Thanks for the offer," Pan Xiao said softly. "But I'll pass."
He vanished into the streets like smoke.
[1] ascend or one of your clone to upper realm
[2] location of the grand parents
[3] a lowest demonic cult is found will you accept mission related to them?