"Well, you really went for it," Asura said cheerfully on the way to the north wall. "Are you sure it wasn't an impulsive act after almost completely parting with Lin Yun Er? Are you sure you can handle whoever comes after you? Have you rested after today's battles? If not, why did you do it?"
"Everything is fine, I've thought it all through," I replied calmly. "They probably think someone is protecting me, so they might believe I'll sic someone strong on them. But at the same time, they're unlikely to find a high-level mage in an hour to deal with me. And this way, after the death of another group, they'll decide that someone is definitely behind me and will look at me with even greater caution. It's also a good way to get fresh information. And I can always escape if something goes wrong."
"I see, you decided to sow even more discord among them and scare them even more. And get information at the same time. Of course, if they talk to you," Asura observed calmly.
"That's why I mentioned my friends. They'll decide to talk to me first because they won't be sure I came alone. Even if they try to check, it will take them time," I said, my voice indifferent, walking as if by instinct. Asura was right, it was related to parting with Lin Yun Er, but not because I had gone mad and lost my memory, I just needed to let off steam.
"So, you'll keep them at a distance, scare them with mystical protectors, extract as much information from them as possible, and then vent your anger and disappointment on them?" Asura said calmly, without his usual taunts.
"How did you know that Lin Yun Er is one of the reasons for my behavior?" I asked, surprised. This was my first real display of emotion after meeting Lin Yun Er.
"We're practically one, what you feel, I feel too," Asura chuckled. "But I support you and won't stop you. I'm curious to see how you'll vent your anger on them. Use all your strength and tear them all to shreds! Perform the perfect dismemberment of your enemies!" After that, Asura burst into uncontrollable laughter, which echoed in my head for a long time. He clearly liked this idea. Perhaps the only thing he didn't like was that I wouldn't let him participate, they would all be mine.
"Jiaxing Yun, where did you get held up?" Mo Fan's voice came from the phone. "If you're still with Lin Yun Er, bring her with you."
"No, I'm just leaving her. I think I'll be alone for a while," I tried to answer in my usual voice, although I wasn't going to hide the fact that I had been dumped.
"Did something happen? Did you have a fight?" he asked, with obvious concern in his voice. Of course, Mo Fan is a bit smug, self-confident, tactless, and reckless, but he can show sensitivity and care for people close to him, although he doesn't always show it openly, preferring to joke.
"Yes, in a way. I'll come to you in a couple of hours, I just need to be alone and think about everything that happened," I replied calmly.
"Alright, and where are you going, just in case?" Mo Fan asked, his voice a little more serious than usual. Did he really think I was going to commit suicide? It's funny, because because of this, I won't take my own life. As long as a person is alive, everything can be changed, and besides, this incident really showed me that I still need to sort out my priorities.
"Yes, I'm just walking around the city. The ancient capital is very beautiful, especially in the evening. Don't worry, I'll call you later," I said, hanging up the phone.
I quickly reached the north wall. Choosing a spot far from the watchtowers, I sat down to cultivate. The north wall was less attacked by the undead, at normal times. But some dead might wander here too. So it's the perfect place to have a fight to the death. There aren't many guards, and there will be enough time to kill the opponent, and the corpses can be conveniently hidden by throwing them off the wall, along with the bait. I only have the last one left. I also changed into a black suit for martial arts.
I sat down to cultivate because I needed to recover after the duels. Although I held back and didn't use my full strength, three such fights still made me slightly tired. Although I had almost recovered while I was visiting, the guardians might send someone strong, so it's best to be in full combat readiness.
Soon, through cultivation, I heard footsteps approaching me. I immediately stopped and stood up, looking in the direction of the footsteps. There stood four men, dressed in ordinary clothes. They were all men, quite strongly built, looking about thirty years old. Judging by the magical energy I felt from them, they were all at the peak of the middle level or close to it. Well, they didn't manage to find a high-level mage as I thought. But the fact that there are only four people is not pleasing. Although the fight should be fun. I couldn't determine their second element, but I felt the first one clearly. One was a fire mage, another water, the third light, and the last lightning.
The lightning mage stood in front of everyone, as if saying he was in charge. Also, from his lightning element, I felt the energy of a spiritual seed, but not very strong, definitely weaker than mine. In general, I could only feel this thanks to my inner energy and developed sense of magical energy. The latter was developed due to the constant leakage of my own, so I was quite good at it.
"Is that you, Jiaxing Yun?" the lightning mage addressed me, taking another step forward after a minute of silence. "You're quite bold if you dared to use a cursed seal on our sister. Aren't you afraid we'll turn you in? Stop playing games with us, recall all your friends and give us the dragon's tooth!"
"Do you have enough strength, huh?" I asked, turning my emotionless gaze to him. "Or weren't you told that a whole group of mages of approximately your level died because of me? I'm surprised they sent so few."
"Those you killed have no right to be called peak middle-level mages. They are much weaker than us, so don't even think about comparing us! We are significantly stronger than them!" the lightning mage said confidently. "So don't be foolish and calmly give us the tooth, and maybe we won't kill you!"
"Ha! Yes, you're afraid of me and whoever might be protecting me right now," I laughed almost directly in his face. "If you weren't afraid, you would have attacked immediately instead of negotiating. Even last time you captured my friend to tie my hands!"
"Ha, and what prevents us from capturing someone else this time?" the lightning mage asked, smiling. If they captured anyone, it was only Lin Yun Er or her sister Lin Yun Jiaxing, if she was in the city, of course. All the others just called me recently and were in the city center. Given the situation between the clans, they wouldn't dare attack someone in the center of ancient China's capital.
"And who did you capture?" I decided, though I knew the answer, either no one, or the Lin sisters. "Are you sure I'll be compliant for them?"
"What?" the lightning mage asked, his voice trembling slightly and surprised. "Didn't they kill that team because they captured your friend?"
"You answered your own question. The team that did that was killed. The question remains, who did you capture?" I said, my voice indifferent, with a hint of growing anger at the end. I felt no fear standing before them, only a void devouring my chest, which simultaneously threatened to tear it to shreds. I wanted to unleash this void on them, to let it devour them, bringing myself relief. But I also had to seize the moment and get information about the guardians firsthand.
"We... we..." He faltered, clearly not expecting me to react like this to their words, they had clearly underestimated me. "We captured the daughter of the one to whom you presented the cursed seal!"
"Well, where's the proof?" I asked indifferently. "Do you think I'll believe your word?"
"This..." He faltered even more. "You're not a simple kid." The lightning mage chuckled. "Give me a minute, you'll have proof." He said seriously, took out his phone, and called someone. "Take a picture of that fool and send it to me, this kid doesn't believe us for nothing." He said one sentence and hung up. It seems they did capture her, the bastards.
"So, they'll send you proof now? Aren't you afraid of ending up like the group before you?" I asked him. If these scoundrels touched even a single hair on her head, I wouldn't grant them a quick death, I would torture them for a long time so they would feel all my anger.
"Ha, then they'll kill her, I don't think you'll find where we hid her," the lightning mage chuckled, at that moment he received a message on his phone. "Look, isn't that your beloved, right?" He chuckled again, showing me a photo. On it was Lin Yun Er, tied up, unconscious, in the clothes she wore to get bread. At first glance, she seemed unharmed. Seeing this, the void in my chest seemed to ignite, turning into hellfire.
"I see," I said, my voice calm, as if nothing had happened, but in some unknown way, it contained power, so even the lightning mage took a step back. "You think it's easy to get my tooth, right?" I asked, first I need to find out where they are.
How to do it? I frantically scanned all the men, looking for clues, but found nothing. Besides the phone and the photo, nothing could help me. But if there's nothing valuable there, Lin Yun Er will be killed after these guys don't return, which is bad. So, there's only one way left. Torture, which of these guys is the most compliant? It seemed to me it would be the light mage, he reacted the most to my changed voice. The others just got goosebumps, but he turned pale. He was also the weakest of them, and he felt the weakest magical energy.
"Are you trying to joke with us? One call and they'll kill the girl, record a video and send it to me! You'll see for yourself how they kill your dear love!" the lightning mage shouted, gathering courage, taking another step forward. I was barely listening to his words, continuing to analyze the situation. Two can be killed with a surprise attack using an artifact, that's for sure. Another one if I take precise control of one of the knives. Then we'll pierce the light mage's leg so he doesn't escape.
"I have a proposal for you," I said, they flinched again from my voice, am I really that scary? "What if I voluntarily give you the tooth and join your clan?"
"That's not for us to decide," the lightning mage replied, his voice trembling slightly. "You've already killed one of our groups, so you'll definitely be punished, and your parents have also sinned, so they'll have to answer for that too. But if you prove your usefulness to the clan, you might be spared, or even given secret ancient knowledge and techniques!" the lightning mage assured me, emboldened slightly, seemingly deciding that I was scared and my rage would soon subside. Their belief in this will be their downfall.
"I see. Then I have a question, what are the relations between your clan and the Khabarovsk clan? They guarantee me protection, until this moment, so I'm interested in what will happen if I join you, in exchange for Lin Yun Er's life?" I asked, raising an eyebrow slightly, and also discreetly taking out bait from my spatial bracelet.
"What? How is that possible! You're joking," the lightning mage stammered, feeling that my voice hadn't changed. "They stole your friend on New Year's, how can they protect you!"
"I see, so it was them. You see, I am protected by a clan that has great influence in the Southern Urals, as well as influence in the Far East. I'm just not sure which clan it is. Those who protected me before told me nothing," I replied, shrugging, and at the same time throwing the open bait off the wall.