(Southern Region- Xercopolis Empire)
(Huren Province- Tianjin City)
"Hey brother…" Zhang Jie brushed off her robes and turned to her brother as if they had not been fighting on the ground in the middle of a crowded city just moments ago.
"Can you see where the saintess is? I swear that she was standing over there but now…. has she left us?"
"Um…" Zhang Ning paused for a moment, and he quickly looked around to see if he could find the masked woman wearing white robes.
"Hmm… sister… I believe that she has left…"
"I can see that you idiot!" Zhang Jie yelled angrily as her fingers curled up into a tight fist and she had to resist the urge to drive her knuckle into her brother's forehead.
The entire time that the siblings were arguing, the city guard captain remained kneeling on the ground and did not dare to raise her head.
"Damn it! We lost her! Now how are we going to find her now?" Zhang Jie asked with gritted teeth as she pushed down her feelings of frustration.
Her brother simply shrugged his shoulders with an expression on his face that said 'Don't ask me… I can only see disasters in the past'.
Zhang Jie placed her face in her palms and took in a few deep breaths. Her powers were useless as well.
She could only see disasters in the future.
Events and the people involved with those calamities... she was unable to see specific individuals or their actions that were unrelated to the disasters.
Honestly, they both possessed impressive abilities but sometimes in moments like this, Zhang Jie could not help but feel a bit useless.
"Look sister… why don't you just relax. Didn't you say that you saw her in the event a few years from now?" Zhang Ning spoke calmly after giving the matter some thought.
"Yeah?" Zhang Jie replied with a raised eyebrow.
"Well then it doesn't matter… we will meet her again in about five years or maybe even sooner if we visit the Holy Sword Sect," Zhang Ning responded lazily.
He stretched out his arms and let out a small yawn with his mouth wide open.
He may seem relaxed and carefree, but he was hiding a secret that he did not plan on telling his sister.
He had seen. He had seen the past of the saintess.
He hadn't meant to peek but sometimes his ability activated without a conscious effort.
He had seen the disaster that had befallen the saintess of the Holy Sword Sect. A terrible event that would change the course of her life forever.
And what he saw… was truly awful.
Torture… mutilation… permanent disfigurement.
Now he understood why she hid her appearance behind a mask.
Zhang Ning tilted his head downwards and hid the shadows that appeared beneath his eyes. Sometimes his gift… was a curse.
"You saw something didn't you?" Zhang Jie's serious voice broke the brief moment of silence.
Of course, she could tell… she knew him better than anyone else.
The young man raised up his head and a brief conversation happened between the siblings using only their eyes and subtle twitches of their faces.
"I don't want to talk about it… not yet…" Zhang Ning replied softly. His sister nodded her head and did not press the matter further.
She stretched out her hand and her brother grabbed on to her palm as a way of support. They may argue and fight a lot but… they were family.
And family would always be there for each other.
The Fated Ones of the Heavenly Divination Sect slowly walked hand in hand towards an unknown direction.
.
.
.
.
(Meanwhile In Another Part Of The City)
(Old Man Ling's Tavern)
A heavily overweight man in his early seventies leaned against the back of his chair and raised up a roll of papers to his lips.
The end of the rolled paper was smoking slightly and a sweet but acrid scent filled the air. The innkeeper raised up the paper to his mouth and inhaled slowly.
He exhaled and a large puff of darkish-grey smoke escaped his lips. The customers who entered this seedy hotel were used to the stench.
Anyone with real money would never step through the poorly maintained wooden doors that were about to fall off their hinges.
Ding! Ding!
The bells hanging loosely above the door rang out loudly as a new customer stepped into the building with quiet steps.
"We're full," the innkeeper growled angrily as he took in another deep mouthful of smoke and coughed violently.
He turned in the direction of the noise and his movements froze.
He saw a woman dressed in pure white robes standing patiently with a sword attached to her hip.
The innkeeper was not an idiot and had seen all sorts of types and people come into his tavern but…
Never a cultivator.
The woman wore a silvery grey mask covering her entire facial features except for her eyes. The rest of her body was covered by the white robe, but he was sure that she must be a beauty.
The female cultivator approached the innkeeper, and you could hear a pin drop in the room.
Thin beads of sweat ran down the innkeeper's forehead as he immediately began to think about how to beg for his life.
"I want to stay the night," Xu Lu softly spoke as she handed over two silver coins to the innkeeper who looked at her with a frightened expression on his face.
Clearly, he thought that she would take offense at his rude attitude from before, but Xu Lu was not so petty.
Being rude was not a reason to kill someone.
"No problem… for two silvers you can get a room on the upper floor and three meals every day for the duration of your stay," the innkeeper finally replied with a slight tremor in his voice.
"In fact… no… no… I… I… will make it free! You will have to pay no…"
Xu Lu raised up her finger and the man fell silent immediately. She reached into her pocket and pulled out another coin.
"I will pay extra for the silence," Xu Lu softly spoke with the barest hint of a warning in her words.
The innkeeper nodded his head vigorously and then handed over a pair of rusty keys that were stained with a mysterious brown substance.
And those were the keys for the best rooms in this place? God this place was a shithole…
Xu Lu wrinkled her brows with disgust but grabbed the keys and then headed up the stairs towards the upper floors.
She wanted to spend the next few days in an out of the way location in the city and then depart for the Holy Sword Sect.
This wasn't her plan at first but the encounter with those mysterious twins made her change her mind.
She was not in the mood to get involved with another major sect of the righteous side. And there was another reason as well…
The cultivators of the Heavenly Divination Sect were rumored to have sight that allowed them to see beyond enchantments and essences.
What if they were able to see what lay beneath her mask?
The very thought made Xu Lu's body erupt in goosebumps and the familiar negative whispers about her ugly appearance filled her mind.
She couldn't let anyone know…
She couldn't let anyone know…
(You hideous monster)
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