Unsealing Emptiness

The place was dark and cool. If not for the fire torches hung on the walls, there would be no light there.

Before placing Ozul inside the room, Lin abruptly stopped him.

“I know you are hiding something,” he spoke flatly, staring down at Ozul as if trying to intimidate him.

But since he received no answer, Lin stepped forward and took the small bag hung on Ozul’s waist.

He opened it but strangely found nothing in it. He squinted his eyes and suspiciously eyed Ozul’s whole body. Still not having found anything, his eyes glowed with a strange light as he examined him again.

‘Did I make a mistake before?... No. It can’t be. This kid is too calm. He is definitely hiding something, but there aren’t any Spirit Tools on him,’ Lin was having an internal monologue as he failed to understand why he had seen Spiritual Essence being sucked into his body at that time.

.....

Not only could he not find any Spirit Tools, but he also couldn’t even feel the Spiritual Essence in him!

Lin thought Ozul was an ordinary kid no matter how he looked at him. Even if he couldn’t see through him because he was of a higher cultivation level than him, he would still be able to detect traces of Spiritual Essence on his body unless some form of treasure was used to conceal them.

But no treasure was found either. The only thing that the kid had on his body was his plain clothes.

...

Ozul let the man search him; he wouldn’t find anything anyway.

He kept quiet as he saw Lin’s facial expressions morph from suspicion to puzzlement and finally settled on self-doubt.

Not being able to find anything, Lin just locked Ozul in the room and went away, leaving him alone in the cell with a single wooden bed and a fire torch on the wall. He left with the following words,

“Knock on the door loudly when your memory comes back.”

As Ozul was left alone in a quiet place with no prying eyes, and most importantly away from the starlight, he found the perfect opportunity to achieve his goal... of sleeping for hours straight.

‘Hm... let’s see how long it takes for them to show up...’

He hadn’t learned from his last blunder that curiosity kills the cat, and again sunk his feet where they didn’t belong. He was purposely luring them out, curious as to who was behind that teenager.

Time quietly passed by and before Ozul knew it, a black cat had already appeared in the locked room and curled beside him on the bed.

He barely felt it, but the whole morning passed and the sun had again set.

Those concerned about the ‘information he knew’ grew impatient, but the Clan Head decided to keep this ordinary man locked up without food or water until he begged to come out and tell them everything.

Unknown to them, Ozul was having the time of his life.

There was no one to disturb him. No one!

Embracing the fluffy cat against her will as he switched sides was a heavenly experience he could savor without any distractions.

Some more time passed and it was midnight again.

Throughout this time, the dungeon remained eerie and quiet.

But suddenly there was a noise outside Ozul’s room.

*thud!*

It was as if something had hit the ground.

Only then did Ozul pen his eyes and sat up on the bed. Confirming that his suspicions were spot on, he picked Jinx to put on his lap and began patting her as she purred in delight. Then, he looked at the bleak door and voiced out his thoughts, “I was waiting for you.”

As he spoke, the door slowly creaked open.

The figure that came into sight was clad in black clothes. The face was covered with a clothe till the nose, so only the bright ruby-like eyes were the distinct feature visible.

For what appeared to be a woman, there was another person standing right behind her with their back against hers.

Another notable thing was the long saber in the woman’s hand. Its tip touched the ground, and Ozul could visibly see some energy flowing along the sword’s edge.

‘She’s ready to kill me anytime...’

There was only one concern that Ozul hadn’t anticipated.

He hadn’t expected the person he’d invited to be as powerful as the most powerful person he’d seen in this Han residence!

This woman’s Spiritual Essence was as dense as the man standing behind the Han family’s family head. In this case, if he were to fight her, the fight would not be quick and would last long enough to attract the attention of other experts. All because the woman was on high alert against him.

The vigilance in her eyes proved just how cautious she was in front of him.

“You... you purposely lured me out. Who are you?” the woman tried her best to remain calm. They were sent to kill this man and leave quietly. But the situation wasn’t as simple as it seemed before.

She was so shaken because she knew very well that their plan was just in its infancy. It would be a disaster if some unknown group of people knew about it.

“I’m no one particularly,” Ozul spoke, “I was merely curious about whoever could be supporting that kid. It looks like you aren’t his cast-out mother for sure...”

“What?!”

The most likely scenario in his mind was that the kid, despite being older than that Han kid, was unable to secure the position of Family Heir, and the mother of the first kid decided to ‘assist’ her son.

These kinds of situations weren’t rare in families where the Family Head marries more than one woman.

“What mother of that kid?” the woman strangely looked at Ozul.

“Nevermind. I was mistaken. Anyway, I won’t lie to you-”

Ozul gently put Jinx aside on the bed and stood up, causing the woman to tighten her grip on the saber’s hilt.

She threatened in a chilly voice, “Take one step and...” The energy enveloping her saber’s edge increased in intensity, almost completely illuminating the room as if to finish her sentence.

She was already going against their orders by not killing him instantly. But from the moment they had arrived, this man was simply too calm. Her instincts told her not to attack him.

He stared down at her, the action unnerved the woman. She couldn’t look straight into that emotionless gaze. The energy seeping through her saber dimmed again.

Only then did Ozul speak, “As I was saying, I won’t lie, but I’m stronger than you. Stronger than both of you combined...”

Just as the woman was about to sneer and voice out how ridiculous he sounded, a noise came from behind her,

*Ackh!*

Without losing her composure, she kept her face towards Ozul and quickly snuck a glance behind only to be shocked out of her wits.

Several small black blades were resting on her companion’s neck, pressing just enough for small trails of blood to leak out!

One had to know that her companion was only slightly weaker than her! Both of them were in the Soul Nurturing stage of the Nascent Soul realm, only she was closer to a breakthrough than her companion.

They both alone were enough to wreak havoc in this small and insignificant Howling Province.

Yet this man was able to evade both of their senses so easily!

“Do not worry, I don’t plan to fight you guys. That was merely to show that I indeed can kill you both right now,” Ozul spoke calmly and lowered those blades.

He retreated them into the shadows, making them believe he had called back the blades, but they were just perfectly blending in with the dark environment now.

The woman who was just about to make fun of him couldn’t help but sweat bullets. If those black blades could evade her senses, it could have very well been her neck right now! ‘We shouldn’t have come unprepared... who would have thought there will be such a person here...’ she cursed her luck in her mind.

“What... do you want?” The woman thought carefully before asking. Since he hadn’t killed them, there must be something he wants.

“Take me to your boss... to whoever makes decisions for you.”

The man behind began shouting with resentment, “What? No! We will never comply with you ever! Even if you kill us-”

“Okay...”

The woman interrupted his scene. The man looked disbelievingly at her, “Sister... we can’t betray them!”

In response to his weak voice, the woman turned around and eyed him, “I will take the responsibility.”

Hearing her, the man’s eyes watered as he thought that his sister was sacrificing herself since otherwise they would both be killed by this man in front of them.

On the other hand, the woman was thinking something else, ‘No matter how strong he is, he possibly cannot resist when facing the Elder. He he he... Just you wait...’

Of course, unlike that man, Ozul could tell what she was thinking. He would indeed be powerless if he faced anyone stronger than her, much less surrounded by a whole lot of them.

The only reason he was willing to take this risk was occasionally purring and sleeping beside him on the bed. Although he couldn’t be sure if she would save him every time, he must take this risk since he could see an opportunity.

“Follow me... I will take you to the Elder,” the woman turned around and dragged the teary-eyed man before quietly leaving the dungeon.

Having successfully convinced them without having to beat them to a near-death state, Ozul was satisfied. He followed after them with his own plans in mind.

‘...Am I forgetting something?’

‘...Oh well...’