Chapter 372 Crossroads
The cold morning wind blew past a crossroad as the snow that fell overnight was still fresh and fluffy.
Three figures appeared in the middle of the crossroad as the snowflakes began dancing from the wind that their arrival created, their feet making the very first tracks on the untouched surface, though if one were to see them it would appear as if their owners appeared out of nowhere since there were no tracks leading up to them, only on the spots they stood.
"Well then, Madam Liang, Old Man Zhao, I suppose this is where we part ways"
Wu Long smiled at the two. It was already many hours since they talked about?Gu Zhen, but their conversation did not end there, as they stayed in that room all the way until a few minutes ago. They left the town under the veil of Madam Liang's illusion, appearing half-way to this place.
"Hahaha, I seem to remember that I would be visited very soon, but the handsome man who said it did not show up at all. This Big Sister is so sad"
Liang Yuhan showed a meaningful smile, her eyes narrowing down in a rather suggestive way.
"Heh, non need to worry, Madam Liang. I will definitely visit you in near future"
Wu Long smiled back and taking her hand planted a kiss, not fazed by her advances, and yet showing her his interest to which she revealed a slightly flattered expression. Though inwardly she was shocked to find herself slightly flustered by this small gesture.
"Hohoho, it is nice to be young after all. I think I might ask for Madam Liang to arrange some time from your girls huhuhu-... khe-khe khu~"
"Senior! Think of your health!"
"Seriously old man, know some moderation"
The old man who stood by the side began laughing with a knowing look, as both Liang Yuhan and Wu Long rebuked him for getting too excited when he started coughing.
"What?! I cough a little and you treat this lord as some old geezer on his last leg?! Let me tell ya, in my prime-...khu-khu khu-khu-khu!!"
The old man suddenly sprang into a grumpy tirade before having another bout of coughs as the two sighed helpessly.
'This old man's acting is quite good. If I didn't know any better I would've thought his condition really is as bad as it was before we met'
"I should really get going now, safe travels"
Wu Long thought as he shook his head, showing lament that the old man was not caring about his health before nodding farewell to the two.
The two looked at him for some time as he sped away in the Western Direction, to the Mountain Chain that separated Gutian and Fantian Kingdom and then continued together in the direction of the South.
Minutes after they left, a couple appeared not far in the Northern direction the trio appeared from before, looking like normal travelers.
But their expressions were sharp as they approached and then stopped at the crossroads the trio left not long ago.
"Hmm, we can't chase either one, they're too fast"
One of them spoke as he looked in both directions.
"We're lucky we got to at least confirm they were here at this time"
His partner nodded as she took out a communication talisman.
---
Wu Long smiled as he confirmed the pair of observers with his spiritual sense as he sped away heading to the Fantian Kingdom's capital.
The cold air blew into his face but he found it refreshing, only offsetting some of the impact by a loosely spread screen of Spiritual Qi.
The snow around him sparkled in the sun that shone brilliantly over his head, matching his good mood. Overall, his plans were brought into disarray by circumstance, and he was presented with new opportunities by circumstance as well. And even though the situation was still a serious one he was far more confident than he was when he left Old Yen's temporary hideout the night before.
He then turned his attention to the Lightning Rune that has been unusually still the whole time since that time it reacted to the Annihilation Lighting.
He knew there could be a reaction from it before that, and even thought of experimenting, but he could not risk it since he did not know whether the rune would go out of control. If not for the special circumstances he would not have risked exposing that lightning charge's existence to the rune.
The lightning rune was docile, and as he used his Spiritual Qi flow to move it around it swayed and followed the flow without any signs of struggling.
His lips curled up as he moved the rune toward the position he sealed the Annihilation Lightning within his body while closely monitoring it and felt the rune slightly buzz as it got closer.
'Hah! It may not have a clear consciousness, but it sure is cheeky!'
He snorted at the blatant attempt at lulling Wu Long's alertness in order to get the annihilation lightning.
On the other hand he finally found a bait that enticed the rune. He was now presented with a choice, whether to attempt feeding the Annihilation Lightning to the rune in hopes of gaining something he could use long-term but had no immediate effect on his strength, or to keep his trump card since he did not know for sure if it would work, and thus not risk losing a powerful one-time-use instant-kill move but continue to be unable to use the Lightning Rune that required growth from an early period.
He could tell by his growing proficiency with the Water Rune that it was bluntly put very weak for the supposed underlying law controlling water. He did not know much about Dao Runes, but he now theorized that they too had a hierarchy, and what he obtained must have been the lower or possibly even the lowest rank rune.
This was good news for him as he realized that there was a possibility for growth, but since he did not know the conditions or methods it also posed a challenge.
'Hmm, there is no telling whether this Lightning Rune can even handle Annihilation Lightning, though it seems a bit stronger than the Water Rune...'
Wu Long pondered, not rushing into the decision. It was important that he considered the situation at hand as well, as that trump card was currently vital for the safe handling of his current circumstances. And even if he knew that sacrificing it would definitely reap him the benefit of being able to use the rune, he would not be sure whether to proceed.
And since now he did not even have that certainty, the decision seemed reckless to him. Many decisions in his past life required reckless decisions that only were correct and obvious in hindsight., and sometimes those reckless decisions resulted in disasters. Not to mention that most times when he made those leaps of faith he did not have much to loose, which was not the case now.
'I guess it's true that the more you have the less daring you become. Though whether that becomes your weakness or your strength depends entirely upon the one in this position'
Wu Long chuckled as he would have probably taken the risk in another lifetime when he had nothing to lose. But he knew better than to generalize whether some trait was good or bad based on stereotypes.
"Hmm, but if it wants that Annihilation Lightning... wouldn't it want other types of lightning as well?"
He then thought of an idea. He could not experiment that much before since the moment he tried the Lightning Rune could escape into the lightning he tried to feed it and there was no way for him to contain it when it left his body. But now that he had the leverage that the Rune clearly reacted strongly to, which would ensure it stayed with him, he could try and feed the Rune normal lightning.
And unlike the previous bet, this risk he was willing to take since even if he failed, he just had to expend a lot of effort in catching another Lightning Rune.
His gaze turned to the mountain range between Gutian and Fantian Kingdoms that he was rapidly approaching, and the corners of his lips rose in a smile.
"Hah, let's see how much you want this thing"
He chuckled and increased his speed, disappearing into the distance and leaving only a dancing snow in his wake.
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