Beasts were unable to feel for the condition of a human’s core and meridians as they did not cultivate using the same means. However they could at least feel for spiritual power and currently Zilan was still but a cripple thus Tort’s actions were like those of a master prospector panning for gold in the middle of the ocean. Foolish and futile!
“What kind of experiment has this effect?” asked the shocked Tort.
Zilan smiled wryly before speaking,
“The kind of experiment that takes years of perseverance to yield even the smallest of results.”
Tort felt that there was a hidden meaning and profoundness in Zilan’s words but with the vagueness of the response he was unable to comprehend anything.
“Mm…we’ve risked too much for this endeavour, if you are deceiving us then not even your death will be enough to compensate for the losses. We are in a position where we have no choice but to trust you to make good on your promise, at least the fact that you came all the way here to deliver Junior Flesc’s core shows that you are indeed a sincere child.” With that Tort let out a soft sigh and walked out of the room with his hands clasped behind his back.
Now only Zilan and the unruly Jeza remained in the room.
“Have I wronged you in some way?” asked Zilan as he eyed the furious fox girl.
“You humans call us beasts foolish, crude and trash but in truth you humans are the true scum of the earth. All that you people have done…tell me don’t I have a right to be angry at you? Just like my brother who did nothing…and..and yet you people just killed him because you didn’t like his appearance.”
Zilan deeply frowned, a bitter taste lingered in his mouth. He had just come from witnessing the cruelty of humans in the arena so there was no way for him to refute Jeza’s words and in truth he didn’t want to refute them.
“What you speak is the truth.” said Zilan as he made eye contact with Jeza. “But what have I done to wrong you? It was not I that did those things to your brother, it was not I that killed my friend Flesc and it was not I that created all humans and instilled in them such cruelty and hatred.”
Jeza was stupefied for a split second before coldly snorting,
“So what? You are human are you not, if you were wronged by one of my kind would you be kind to the others? You humans think yourselves so clever and above everything else, always praying to the heavens, despicable!”
“The Heavens are not almighty!” was all Zilan spoke before closing his eyes.
“What!” shouted Jeza.
“Do you know what you’re saying? If other humans heard…”
Still with his eyes shut Zilan spoke out,
“Take out what’s in my breast pocket and look through it. You are not the only ones who have suffered at the hands of humans!”
Jeza was slightly hesitant, “Why are my still listening to him?” she wondered.
However, the temptation to find out exactly what this youth was talking about still managed to sway her.
Jeza cautiously moved towards Zilan and pulled out a small book from his breast pocket. The book was titled “Path”.
She then undid the binds around it and opened the book. She started on the first page, then quickly turned to the second and then thirty minutes later she was quarter way through the book and tears endlessly rolled down her eyes.
“That book holds accounts that I recorded down so that I would never forget even the smallest detail of what happened to me. It also contains research on plants and most of all heavenly cultivation.”
Zilan had given her the book because it was the easiest way to get them to trust him as well as show that he did indeed have some knowledge of alchemy. Even if he risked exposing his power he didn’t care, he had more in common with these people than they could fathom.
Besides the true secrets of the universe written in the book of Path could only be seen by the scorched. If he didn’t use the power of his eyes then the book was just a collection of plain paper but when he did use his power, then and only then would he be able to read all of Zaum’s notes. That was why Zilan was always writing things down, he was translating and putting down all of those notes into the plain paper, after all imagine if he was surrounded by enemies or suspicious people and he needed the knowledge of Zaum, how could he just reveal his power in front of them? This was too inconvenient, that’s why some basic stuff that would come in handy in the future needed to be noted down while the important stuff was not to be touched.
Jeza’s face passed through a myriad of expressions, sadness, grief, relief, rage, enlightenment, longing, fear, it was like she was putting on an act to show how many expressions a living persons face could make. If it wasn’t Zilan sitting there but someone else they would surely cheer in respect to the show the young fox girl was putting on.
Jeza finally stopped reading halfway when there was no longer anything written, the look she gave Zilan was one of both pity and respect.
“Show me your eyes!” she said.
Zilan complied with a smile on his face, “How long has it been since I’ve shown my true self to anyone apart from Uncle?” he mused.
Five gold shining stars appeared in his pupils as he stared at Jeza, unblinkingly.
“I am human but I am also not human. I have felt the wrath of humans and thus I can sympathise with your situation, call your Senior Tort and show him the book. I vow to complete your task, at the very least as compensation for giving me a chance to attain my revenge.”
Jeza quickly nodded as she rushed out of the room, headed straight to Tort and the shadow wolf’s location.
She hurriedly banged on the door shouting, “Elder, Fourth Brother, you need to see this…Hurry!”
Both Tort and the scarred shadow wolf who were in the middle of debating whether or not to trust Zilan were taken aback by Jeza’s sudden disturbance.
The shadow wolf slowly opened the door only to be shoved aside by Jeza who ran with the book of Path and presented it to Tort.
“Read this, quickly read!” she said, shoving the book into the wise old hare’s hands.
…….
Tort finished reading the book’s contents in less than ten minutes, after all he was much more learned on human languages than the young Jeza.
“This….can there be such a coincidence on this earth?” laughed Tort.
He then passed the book to the shadow wolf before heading out and making his way to where Zilan was being held.
When he arrived and saw the five majestic stars in Zilan’s eyes he couldn’t help but smile however masked within his smile was a hidden glint of mischief.
“I can’t tell him everything but I can tell him enough!” thought Tort.
“Brother Zilan, fate has surely brought the two of us together. To think that we would both have the same blood enemy, the universe has finally started to bring us some good fortune.”
“Same blood enemy?..” wondered Zilan.
“They call themselves a sect but are actually a church, they are the hand of the God of this world. The enemy who destroys everything it deems useless.” proclaimed Tort a murderous aura leaking from his body.
“We as well as Junior Flesc are all part of the force that has been at war with that evil organisation of devils for thousands of years. I can say with absolute certainty that they were the ones who did this to your people.”
Zilan’s only information on the people who had hunted his people for generations was that their symbol was that of a green spear. Over time especially when he arrived in Morning Dew City, he found out that the green spear was the symbol of the heavens power and only the Saintly knights could adorn such a symbol. However, he had never come across such legendary figures ever since the time he had escaped from them.
Even inside the large spear tower in Morning Dew City, there were no clues to be found at all.
Now, right in front of him there was someone who knew not only the organisation but maybe might also have some information on the perpetrators themselves.
