In the morning, the convoy departed, leaving Wu Zhe behind.
As they left, Wu Zhe noticed soone suspicious among the group, a man lingering far behind, occasionally glancing back at the dead carcasses.
The Silver Claw, noticing Wu Zhe’s absence, asked Lady Jue about his whereabouts, only for her to lie and claim that he had dropped out of the mission.
Wu Zhe waited a few minutes making sure the convoy was fully gone, before studying the faint tracks left by the thieves. His gaze narrowed as a thought ford, and without another mont’s hesitation, he followed them.
As he traced the tracks, sothing felt off. They were becoming too clear... and too deliberate.
Wu Zhe suddenly stopped, suspicion in his mind as he reached a single conclusion.
"An arrogant one..." he muttered. The thief must have left these behind on purpose, a bait ant to mislead people.
Wu Zhe paused, then shook his head. He had been led astray. Turning back, he returned to camp and waited in silence for the convoy’s return.
Since he had already exhausted his lifeforce, he couldn’t even ditate to refine it into Qi. All he could do now was wait.
"If those arrogant thieves notice the unguarded camp... perhaps they’ll be bold enough to try it again..." Wu Zhe murmured.
A couple of hours later, the convoy returned, hauling an imnse number of creatures and loading them into the carriages. Wu Zhe remained hidden, careful not to reveal himself, as his presence in the camp was ant to be a secret. Once the carcasses were secured, the convoy quickly returned to hunting.
A couple of hours later, Wu Zhe sat, bored out of his mind, until he heard the faintest of footsteps.
Instinctively, he focused his Qi, trying to sense any presence around him.
He detected one, near the carriages rummaging the dead carcasses.
Found you! Wu Zhe thought, narrowing his eyes on a single black-robed man rummaging through the piles.
The thief suddenly grabbed two carcasses, putting one over each of his shoulder, and began moving.
Wu Zhe noted the direction he went: northwest.
He didn’t follow imdiately. Plenty of carcasses still remained, and the arrogant thief would surely return for them. If he managed to steal all he could, he would likely be more relaxed, making it easier for Wu Zhe to strike.
Just as Wu Zhe had anticipated, the thief returned, this ti carrying a large sack and thodically packing the carcasses inside.
Once the sack was filled, its weight slowed the thief down, and Wu Zhe finally made his move, following closely behind him.
The thief headed northwest through the Blighted Wilds. Entering the dense forest, he then veered east. After a few minutes, he stopped at a small cave and disappeared inside.
Wu Zhe waited patiently above, above a treetop, his eyes fixed on the cave entrance.
Monts later, the thief erged. Just as he was about to move, he suddenly paused, narrowing his eyes as his gaze swept over his surroundings.
"Who’s there?!" he suddenly shouted.
Wu Zhe raised an eyebrow, surprised he had been noticed. But he remained still, making no move.
"You think you can fool ?!" the thief shouted, certain soone was watching him.
"Sharp eyes you’ve got," Wu Zhe muttered.
The thief’s eyes imdiately locked onto Wu Zhe, who stood above.
"Who are you?!"
"No one of importance," Wu Zhe muttered, leaping down from the tree and slowly walking toward the thief.
The thief imdiately gritted his teeth, raising one of his hands as Wu Zhe approached.
"Please, sir! Calm down! I am a peaceful person!"
Wu Zhe abruptly stopped. "Are you now?"
"Indeed, sir!"
"Then what’s with the dagger you’re planning to throw for?" Wu Zhe asked, tilting his head.
Shock flashed across the thief’s face, his plan had been seen through.
"Tch." He imdiately spun around and tried to run.
Wu Zhe closed the distance, grabbing him by the hair, and violently threw him against a tree.
"Ah!" The thief groaned, blood spilling from his mouth from the sheer impact.
Wu Zhe’s eyes glowed with Qi as he stared down. "Hm?"
Impossible... he muttered. Your... just a mortal?
"Shut... your mouth. So what if I’m a mortal..." the man groaned weakly.
Wu Zhe reached out and removed the thief’s mask, revealing the thief young face.
Wu Zhe raised an eyebrow. The boy was likely in his teens. "Quite a young thief, aren’t you?" he murmured.
"Just kill already, son of a—" the thief muttered, feeling powerless and helpless. Though he didn’t show fear, he had accepted his fate.
"Why would I want to do that?" Wu Zhe asked, studying the boy as a thought ford in his mind. "Why did you steal these carcasses?"
"Tch. Isn’t it obvious, idiot? To cultivate," the thief replied weakly.
"How would stealing these carcasses help you cultivate?" Wu Zhe asked, tilting his head.
"Money of course! Use your god damn brain."
Wu Zhe stared at the teen, intrigued by his boldness despite his situation. "You want to cultivate? For what reason and end?"
The thief looked at Wu Zhe suspiciously, wondering why he asked so many questions. But he no longer cared—he had already accepted his fate. So he brazenly spoke his thoughts.
"Reason? Is there a reason needed to cultivate? I want to be sobody! Soone who can be sobody! For what end? For the end of being sobody!" he shouted, pouring out his true feelings.
Wu Zhe scoffed, finding the boy’s reason surprisingly reasonable. Indeed, was there ever a true reason to cultivate? What purpose had driven him before he had his goal? He couldn’t even rember.
"Apologies, child. You are indeed correct. There indeed is no reason needed to cultivate," Wu Zhe murmured.
As he stared down at the hopeless boy, an unexpected urge stirred within him to take the child under his wing. The re fact that the boy had caught his presence, despite being just a mortal, was already quite remarkable. Clearly, he could be useful if guided properly.
Wu Zhe had long determined that subordinates would be necessary to achieve his goals, and this boy could serve that purpose.
The thief looked up at Wu Zhe, waiting patiently for his death. Any thoughts he once had now felt aningless, fading in the fate that awaited him.
"Child. You wish to cultivate you said?" Wu Zhe muttered kneeling down on one kneel infront of the child.
The child stared up at Wu Zhe, confused with the questions but answered.
"Yes..."
"What are you willing to sacrifice?"
The boy eyes narrowed, the weight of the question settling over him. His hands clenched into fists, and a faint tremble ran through his body. "Anything... everything... if it ans I can be sobody," he whispered.
Wu Zhe studied him carefully, noting the mix of fear and resolve in the boy’s eyes.
Interesting, he thought.
"Mhm, I see," Wu Zhe said slowly, his gaze steady. "The path of cultivation is not an easy one. It will demand more than you can imagine, and it may take everything from you."
The boy gritted his teeth, his voice steady despite the pain in his chest. "I don’t fucking care."
Wu Zhe’s lips curled into a faint, approving smirk.
"Very well. Then perhaps you are to not yet... embrace death today."
He extended a hand toward the boy. Pointing his finger towards the boy, his lifeforce he kept in ergency for injuries began pouring into the child healing his injuries.
"Rise child. If you wish to cultivate, grab my hand and you will follow . If you don’t wish to then simply leave and you’re free to go."
Wu Zhe muttered extending his arm outward.
The boy eyes widened feeling the imnse pain go away he stood seating, his arms on his ankle he hesitated for a re second, glancing at the ground, at the trees, then turned his head upward towards to Wu Zhe. Slowly, he grabbed his hand in Wu Zhe’s, sealing a silent, unspoken pact that would change the course of both their fates.
"Your na?"
"It’s..." he paused, thinking. "Huo..." He hesitated again, as if weighing the words. "...Jiang."
"Why’d it take you so long to say your na?"
"Because I never really had a na... I would just give out random nas to strangers I t..."
"So is this na you just gave a fake one aswell?"
"No!"
"It’s the na I’ve decided for myself."
"Very well."
Huo Jian followed Wu Zhe to the small cave, his eyes widening at the sheer number of dead carcasses before him. It was clear that Huo Jian had stolen from others as well, not just from his camp.
"You... stole all this?"
"Yes... I planned to sell them on the black market for coin, then use that to buy a cultivation manual."
"Black market?" Wu Zhe narrowed his eyes.
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