"I was initially thinking of going out to hunt and develop a few fighting techniques since we don''t have one, but at this moment, I think it that would be a total waste of time…"
Dara spoke whist looking in the direction of the vige of sang;
"I will continue cultivating, and when the time is ripe, you guys would stay in here and activate all defenses whilst I go to somewhere to get some answers…"
Uncle Min and Aunt Lin obviously knew what Dara was thinking but couldn''t object to it… There was no way for them to even do so…
Dara alone can take on both of them and kill them three times over with his current strength, and whilst he hasn''tprehended any fighting techniques yet, the littlebat experience he gained from the little information he got from Sam''s memory still had some basic Taekwondo, Karate, Kung Fu and Tai Chi skills within...
Then if one coupled that with his current physical body power and the hand of death, then it is at least safe to say that even if Dara was left alone, out here in the jungle, he still had the ability to survive ande out unscathed…
Thus, with no possible leverage with which they could change his mind, the couple watched Dara return to the pit and his cultivation…
Dara was determined not to step a foot into the light until he hadpletely unlocked every single meridian possible…
Meanwhile…
Back at the Vige of Sang…
This morning, a tanned looking boy could be seen walking his way towards the vige chief''s office, and wherever he passed, everyone around him looked towards him with the gaze full of fawn and respect;
"Young Chief!"
"Young Chief!"
"Young Chief!"
Many of these people would greet the youth and make way for him to pass, whilst most kid were simply too scared, because of the long scar that ran across his face, which seemed to have blinded one of his eyes
The youth had a smug grin stered on his face, as he walked towards the vige chief''s structure with a kind of swagger that was radiating intense pride…
"Young Chief!"
One of the two guards stationed at the entrance of the apartment saw the little kid and bowed, whilst the youth simply replied with a simple nod;
"I have something to discuss with father, announce my arrival…"
The youth said as the second guard went in to do as he was told…
About ten minutester, the guard stepped outside and spoke softly;
"The vige chief will see you now…"
He said with a respectful bow as the youth raised the curtain in front of the entrance with one hand and poked his head into the room…
Ji Hai saw three old men who seemed to be in his fifties from their physical appearances alone seated in a triangr manner facing one another as if he had interrupted a secret meeting;
"Congrattions Hai, I just heard a while ago that you have managed to unlock your fifth peripheral meridian…"
The vige chief who sat in front of the other two spoke with a proud smile as he looked towards his son who everyone within the vige now believed to have fought, killed and survived an Obun Leader…
"It is all thanks to father''s meridian opening techniques, I barely did nothing much with my mediocre talent…" Ji Hai replied, as the Elder on the left of the vige chief responded;
"Not only do you have a sessor who is valiant, but he is also brave, respectful and humble…" The man said before adding;
"Young one, it is not only your father that is proud of your recent aplishments, the entire vige is also proud of you and even my niece won''t stop recounting the stories of your heroic deeds to me…"
"You tter me too much, Left Elder… I was merely lucky" Ji Hai replied;
"If that killing an Obun Leader and living to tell the tale is being merely lucky, then what might we ssify as true heroic deed?" The other elder asked with a smile;
"Perhaps, when I have taken the entire Dark Lands in the name of my father; the vige chief, then I can count that as a heroic deed…"
Ji Hai responded with a tone dripping with humility which was a stark opposite of the way he behaved before he came in here, showcasing the extents of Ji Hai''s pretentious and scheming nature;
"Speaking about conquering territories, what news do you have for me?"
The vige chief brought everyone''s attention back to the matter at hand which is very vital to their grand n…
"Yes father, we have already purged everything lurking within a 2 mile radius towards our East, South and North, but the west is the reason why I am here…" Ji Hai spoke after he had given these trio a respectful bow…
"What is wrong with the west?"
The vige chief asked whilst the other two elders also paid close attention;
"Well one of our scouts which I sent into the area seemed to have discovered a well fortified structure about 5 miles deep into the jungle…"
"Isn''t that ce on the Grey Lands territory?" The vige chief turned to his partners;
"Yes I believe so…"
"It is just a little past the Dark Lands, but it can still be considered part of the borders…" The Left Elder confirmed;
"But if that is the greynds, then we should not venture out there yet…"
"The Obuns are more concentrated within the greynds, and from what I can suspect, their base would most likely be in there…" The Right Elder chipped in with fear a little apparent in his tone;
"Perhaps, we could use that opportunity to sweep out the Obun''spletely, or capture some of them and torture them into servitude…" Ji Hai suggested;
"Hai, there things are humans who havepletely lost all sense of morality, ethics and civilization…"
"They have be monsters, and whilst wemend you for killing one of their leaders, there are many more leaders out there, and even the poption of the ordinary Obuns are very close to half of what we have now…"
"If we go to war with them, the vige would suffer too many casualties, and that might not be healthy for the progress of the vige…" The vige chief exined;
"I know that might not be enough reason for you, that''s why he also told me that crops are easier to grow there since the death aura in the soil is much weaker, and there are more edible games on can hunt also, and from what he said, the wetness in the area signified the presence of water…"
The three reasons Ji Hai just dropped was so lucrative, that the three men had to stop what they were doing and turn over to him;
"Are you sure he is telling the truth?"
"My scout would never dare lie to me, especially when it is an information of this magnitude…"
Hu!
The vige chief let out a huge sigh of frustration as he began to ponder two different scenarios within his head…
"He also told me, he must have heard Dara''s voice…"
Bang!
The vige chief smacked the table in front of him out of reflexive shock;
"Did you just say, he found Dara!?"
The vige chief stood up and approached his son like a crazed human being;
"Though he didn''t get to see him specifically, but he said the only way that voice would belong to someone else is if Dara had a twin…" Ji Hai added;
"Left!-"
"Vige Chief!"
"Right!-"
"Yes Chief!"
"-It is time we stepped out…"
The vige chief spoke with a sharp tone as the aura of old age surrounding him began to transform into that of a hardened warrior who have survived so many bloodbaths and bloodsheds;
"Hai, go and prepare 500 men, we set out at dusk… Even if it''s just a 3 percent chance that it might be Dara, I am taking it!"
The vige chief spoke with a deep tone as he gazed towards the west before waving Ji Hai away…
"Left, right… I will be back, there is something I must take care of before we set out…"
"Don''t worry chief, we would make sure our men are all well prepared…"
The left Elder said as the Vige Chief stepped out of the room and headed in opposite direction of Ji Hai who headed towards the vige gates…
The Vige Chief went to the back of the entire vige, as houses and many other structures became sparser and sparser, the deeper he went, until he came to a massive wooden structure, and from within, one could hear loud growls and nging of chains within, and the moment he reached the gates, two elderly men came out to meet him;
"Vige Chief!"
They greeted with their most respectful bow as the vige head responded;
"Is there progress?"
"They have still refused to reveal the technique, and they also im not to know where their son is, no matter how much or hard we interrogate them…" One of the two elders responded;
"Have you used the ive?"
"Not yet chief…"
"Alright, let''s go in…"
"V-vige chief, you mean-"
"Yeah… Perhaps this would push him to reveal everything… Lead the way!"
The vige chief harried the two elders who opened the gates and went in…
The first thing they encountered were several massive cages containing about five different chained beasts, but they didn''t stop there, instead the moved deeper into the dark corners of this structure, and before long, they were standing in front of another door, and the two elders paused…
Hu!
The vige chief seemed to readjust his mental state and put on a determined expression before he then looked towards the two elders and nodded affirmatively at them…
The first elder opened the door whilst the second elder grabbed a very familiar ive from the side and handed it over to the vige chief;
Jia!
The massive door opened, and the other elder grabbed two ming torches and handed one to his partner as they led the vige chief through a winding downward tunnel…
This ce was extremely humid, chilly and eerie, especially when one considered the asional plumes of ck smoke pouring out from every angle…