Mystical Journey

White fog surrounded Huaishan City without anyone taking notice of it .

From the main street to the back alley, everything was covered in fog .

Bluetree Street .

Rows of light yellow covered buildings stood side by side . A man could be seen strolling along the sidewalk in his white suit, playing with the keys circling his finger .

"This mission isn’t half bad… I can have a rest, even take a break from those three idiots . Also have a taste of a little girl as an extra . "

The man seemed to be mumbling something to himself as he walked with a wide smile across his face . His eyes fixated on the little girl not far in front .

The little girl was Ying Er, who was leaving her house to buy some stuff . She was wearing a white t-shirt and low-waist jeans with her waist line showing . She had the slim legs and waist that many girls envied her for . Though her chest was not fully developed and her looks were average, but this young body that was rich with youth was the type that White Stallion liked the most .

White Stallion followed closely behind and couldn’t help but gulp, noticing the movement of her hips while she walked .

"I should take action once there are fewer civilians around…" He counted the distance and resisted his urge to act immediately .

After some distance, he spotted Ying Er humming while turning right into a narrow back alley .

White Stallion was delighted by the situation and increased his pace . It could be seen from his face that he could not hold back anymore . A white handkerchief appeared on his hand out of nowhere, coated with something needed for this occasion .

Clack . Clack . Clack .

Suddenly, footsteps could be heard coming from the corner ahead of him . Three tall men slowly walked out from the alley, each of them with golden earings of various sizes hanging from their left ears .

The three men prevented White Stallion from entering the alley .

"Piss off!" The good-looking one among the three told him . He seemed to be the leader of the group . His expression was dim, obviously in a bad mood .

This guy in front of White Stallion wore a brown coat with a furry collar and had his hands tucked into his pockets . His hair was bright red, like a fire burning in a fog . The golden earing hanging from his ear was carved with a clear number 6 .

"Puny mortal…" The smile on White Stallions face faded . "How dare you to address me in this tone…"

The red-haired man was taken aback . He didn’t expect someone to speak to him in that kind of manner . He let out an awkward smile before speaking,

"It’s been so long since someone dared to speak to me like this… . " He took out his right hand from his pocket . "It seems as though you are one of those experts that are tracking me… Would be disrespectful of me if I don’t give them a gift… . "

"Cocky… Still, mortals are mortals . " White Stallion smirked, reaching out with his right hand to take off his black gloves, revealing the Black Pentagon Tattoo . "I will gouge your eyes out and keep them for my new collection . " A mysterious energy began forming around him .

"You must be looking for a death bed…" The two men beside the red-haired man retreated after he raised his hand . Oddly enough, a blood red scar began emerging from below his right eye . It looked like an eye shadow done by a lady, sharp yet enchanting .

Huff…

A wind blew past, racking up some leaves along the way .

*************

Garen was running hastily through the streets, surging past the pedestrians . He had already taken off his shirt and was gripping it under his arm . The upper part of the shirt was stained with blood .

"Damn it… Please don’t be in trouble!" His face was pale, heart growing more impatient by the second .

It was a 20 to 30 minutes’ walk to get from Pennington Street to Blue Tree Street, but Garen managed to reach his home in ten . Unfortunately his parents must’ve gone out, as well as his little sister, Ying Er . Garen wasted no time leaving the house and continuing his search along the street .

He was trying to figure out where his sister might have gone to while running wildly around the neighborhood .

"She might’ve gone to the market at this hour! Or maybe she’s at a fruit stall!"

Garen hesitated for a while before deciding to head off to the market .

The scenery beside Garen started to blur in reverse yet the road ahead of Garen was still clear in his eyes .

"Pass this crossroad and make a right turn, then I should make a left turn after a few hundred meters . "

Thump!

A muffled sound came from the empty street in front .

A blurry figure could be seen flying in the fog . It tumbled to the ground and rolled a few times before stopping in front of Garen’s boots .

He came to a halt, lowering his head to look at the man lying in front of him .

A suit dirtied to a point where it was barely recognizable to have been white once . Right now it was only grey and brown due to numerous stains . Even the man’s neat hair was thrown into disarray . However, what was most worth noting was that both of his arms were twisted in an unnatural way, obviously broken .

Then Garen noticed the Black Pentagon Tattoo at the back of his right hand .

"It’s similar to those guys’ tattoos…"

He bent over and grabbed the man’s collar, bringing him upward .

"You’re White Stallion?" he asked . After all that running, his breathing took a bit of minor adjustments to return to normal .

"It’s you… Hehe… I can’t believe I will die in the hands of a mortal…" White Stallion chuckled before letting out his last breath . His eyes slowly faded as his soul began to seep away from his body .

Garen was stunned by what he had just witnessed . He shook the body for a while before noticing a black shape emerging from White Stallion’s neck’s right side . It was connected with the Black Pentagon behind his right hand .

Garen tossed away the corpse and let out a breath . He took a few steps forward as he began to see clearer what was ahead of him .

Three tall men wearing golden earrings sat in front of a narrow back alley with exhausted looks on their faces . Dark blood stains could be seen under the nose of the one with red hair .

The red-haired man raised his head to look in Garen’s direction after hearing the footsteps .

"It’s you . " He let down off his guard for a moment . "Damn it, I thought there was another monster like him coming!" He scowled while trying to get up using a wall .

"Might I ask, expert, what kind of monstrous opponents are you facing exactly? I even had to let out my qi-gong because of him! You’re lucky I got here in time or your sister would be in deep trouble by now . "

Garen just nodded along, not knowing what had happened . He noticed that the golden earring on the man’s ear had a number 6 carved on it .

"I owe you one, Sixth Golden Hoop . " He turned his eyes toward the other two . "What about them?"

"Temporary henchmen, they practice Body Hardening Technique . They helped me block some of the attacks but from the looks of things they won’t live long . " The red-haired man shook his head . "I’ll have someone inform their families . " He suddenly turned and looked at Garen furiously .

"I’ve already taken care of this incident for you! Don’t tell me you’re still not joining the Golden Hoop? Don’t blame me if I turn against you!"

Garen was speechless . All he could do now was force a smile .

"Take this!" The red-haired man tossed a piece of a golden earring toward Garen .

Garen caught it properly and took a look at it . It was a golden earring with a number 9 carved on it . It was as big as a finger nail and it looked delicately made .

"Temporary replacement for Ninth Golden Hoop?"

"Not temporary . Didn’t you almost take care of Tenth Golden Hoop? It’s only natural that you have this ranking . " Number Six sneered .

"You even know this?" Garen was stunned .

"The trait of your combat arts is too obvious, even your whereabouts are too obvious . "

Garen shrugged, having nothing to say .

"Alright, go take a look at your sister . I have to ask someone to take care of things here . " The red-haired man wiped off the blood stains from around his nose and walked toward the dead corpse .

Garen picked up his pace and walked into the back alley . This was the shortcut his little sister always took . After getting out of the back alley, Ying Er’s back figure finally appeared within Garen’s eyesight .

He rushed out, hugging his little sister .

"Ying Er!"

Ying Er felt a familiar presence hugging her from behind . She almost dropped the tomatoes and potatoes that she was carrying from the market, startled by this sudden action .

"Brother! What are you doing! Are you not embarrassed? We are on the main street!" She struggled to get away from Garen but felt the difference in strength between them . Trying a few more times to no avail, she gave up and just let him do what he wanted .

"Ying Er… I’m so glad you’re fine… . " Garen held his half-a-head shorter sister tightly in his arms .

"Fine from what?" Ying Er was being hugged by Garen from behind with her hips awkwardly positioned against Garen’s crotch region . "Let me go or I’m going to be so pissed!"

"Okay, okay, I’ll let go . " Garen also felt the awkwardness and swiftly removed his arms from around his sister . He was relieved to know his sister’s current condition . Most of the passers-by stared at them ambiguously, assuming that they were a in a relationship .

"Where is mom and dad?" Garen asked, ignoring the attention of the passing people .

"They went to get some coal and firewood . The winter is coming, we need to have these stuff prepared to avoid getting cold . " Ying Er held up the groceries she bought from the market . "It’s your turn to carry this as a punishment for the jump scare just now!" She shoved the sack to Garen .

"Okay!" Garen was relieved . He felt good at this moment .

"I have to continue buying groceries . You follow me closely and try not to lose me okay?" Ying Er turned and walked forward, toward the sidewalk not far in front of her . Both sides of the street were full with various stalls selling vegetables along with some housewives who had woken up early to pick the fresh ones .

Garen carried the groceries with one hand, while tucking away the golden earring into his pocket with the other .

"I owe the Golden Hoop big this time… Still, at least the safety of my family is guaranteed . If the Golden Hoop’s background is what Number 8 said…"

If it was true, it should be a good thing for Garen to join the Golden Hoop . One thing for sure was that he had to be cautious when he was around Dale and the gang . One false move may lead to them discovering his secret identity .

Taking a deep breath, Garen realized that he was too lazy to concern himself with this issue . His heart sank when he recalled that the old man had gotten himself into trouble .

"Judging from the looks of these guys just now, the old man should’ve been a respectable figure in the past . Just his name was enough to frighten them back there . As to the master they were mentioning…"

Cold determination flashed through Garen’s eyes .

"Whoever brought harm to you, I swear, I will take revenge for you… I swear . "

A sweet and fishy smell suddenly burst from his chest and to his throat . Garen immediately covered his mouth and forced it back down . His entire throat was covered with a sticky smell of blood .

It was the internal injury he had gotten from forcing himself to fight the three black-suited henchmen earlier on . He didn’t take the time to adjust himself before rushing out from the scene . It was not until 10 minutes after that he took a proper rest .

If it wasn’t for Garen’s strong physique, and he was like other Martial Adepts, he’d be left unable to move .

"That power felt like psychokinesis . Its force was really strong . Luckily it was countered by pure strength, but other types of fighters would find it difficult to face . Maybe I can get some evidence from the corpse…"