Mystical Journey

After he disembarked, he wandered around the harbor for half a day. Garen couldn’t find a stall that sold food. Under such circumstances, he could only head deeper in and take a turn to the streets leading into the city.

There were food bars all around the street. The crowd that was coming and going was beyond massive. Couples were holding hands while many young children were held by their family members walking in and out.

Garen picked one of them and headed in. He found a place to sit and ordered a few dishes. He waited for the dishes to be served.

The person in charge of greeting the customers in the shop was a seventeen to eighteen years old young girl. She was wearing a pair of pale blue skin-tight jeans, revealing her figure in all the right places. The little white bunnies under her yellow T-shirt that were doing the hoppity hop, in addition to her pretty face, attracted quite a fair amount of male customers into the shop.

Ring ring.

Garen’s mobile phone rang. He took it out to have a look. It was a message from Double-tailed Scorpion. The position of Mind Reader had most probably been determined, and the regional location could be narrowed down to the range of neighborhood. Any more accurate than that couldn’t be achieved.

“The neighborhood range is good enough,” Garen was quite satisfied as he deleted the message.

Just as he sat down, a few young girls dressed as university students entered the shop. One of the girls was puzzled as she swept a glance at Garen.

“What’s wrong, Cammy?” Another girl patted her shoulder.

“Nothing, I think I saw someone I know.” The girl, Cammy shook her head and smiled.

The three young girls sat at the table not far from Garen and ordered a few dishes.

Cammy turned her head and seemed to recall something. She turned her head to look at Garen once again.

“Kong Xiaofei?” She called in a soft voice.

“Mm?” Garen was momentarily stunned. He didn’t think there was anyone here who would recognize him.

He followed the voice and looked over. He instantly recognized the girl.

“Cammy Ning?”

It was his classmate back in high school at Lily of the Valley. Who would have thought they would meet at such a place.

When he left the school, he announced that he was recommended another location for university and ended communication with the classmates at high school. He was, after all, not the real Kong Xiaofei.

“Why are you here?” Cammy Ning was overjoyed. She did not expect to meet an old acquaintance here.

“What about you, how did you end up here?” Garen politely exchanged the topic.

“I go to the university here. Where else, if not here?” Cammy Ning replied with a smile.

Her two besties immediately giggled as they moved closer.

“Who is he? Your old boyfriend?”

“No way! Do you think of anything else other than that kinda stuff?” Cammy Ning rebutted with a laugh.

“Then he must be your current boyfriend, haha. It’s no wonder you’re giving the cold shoulder to the Filt brothers. It’s because your man is here!” Another bestie chuckled.

“Nonsense. We’re just normal classmates.” Cammy Ning had a good impression of Garen. He was an honest lean boy, but now he had grown tough in such a short time.

The two tables were naturally combined together.

Garen sat by the three girls.

“What are you doing here? Holiday?”

“Yes, I heard that Ocean Capital is a world-renowned tourist spot, so came to check it out,” Garen smiled as he responded. “You’re attending Ocean University of Lance Royal Family, right?”

“How do you know?” Cammy Ning was baffled.

“Isn’t she wearing the school emblem?” Garen pointed at one of the girl’s chest. There was a delicately-made, silvery white mermaid emblem pinned there.

“What about you? Where are you studying?”

“I’m no longer attending,” Garen casually replied.

“Not attending?” Cammy Ning was stupefied. It should be true, as it wasn’t a semester break yet Kong Xiaofei had the time to travel. There must have been some issue.

Hearing these words, the other two girls were struck. Although they did not immediately put on the display, their faces became slightly dull.

Initially, when they heard that Garen was here to travel for leisure, he must be well off to be able to travel alone with ease. However, now that he was a dropout, their enthusiasm had dampened.

“Did you drop out?” One of them asked in a low voice.

Garen nodded. How could an old fart that lived a few hundred years not see the change in the attitude of the two girls? He wasn’t the least bit bothered. He was way past the stage of flaunting.

The dishes that they ordered were quickly served. They ate together. Garen kept his head down as he swiftly pigged out, clearing the dishes in a few gulps. The dishes’ load was quite small, so he swept them clean without leaving any scrap.

This made the two girls look down on him even more.

Cammy Ning was speechless. However, judging by Garen’s large build, she could understand his huge appetite.

******

“I have a bad feeling,” In a coffee shop not far away, a man dressed in a black windbreaker whispered to a lady beside him.

The woman was also dressed in the same black windbreaker. Wearing windbreakers on a hot day was definitely something eye-catching. The woman had purple hair while her purple iris and pale white skin set her apart from the crowd.

“Your ability of premonition can’t be wrong. I suspect we are being watched,” The woman calmly mentioned, “it could be those dregs from Vulture. They didn’t dare go after Slayer, yet they came to play the bully and look for us instead.” She gave a scornful look.

“No… This time, the feeling is stronger than previous times,” Mind Reader spoke in a low voice. “I suspect it may be someone more troublesome on the go.”

“It could be from Lighthouse. Only they can avoid your mind reading to get close to us!” The woman knew of Lighthouse and told Minder Reader frankly.

“Why would Lighthouse seek me out! Why won’t you tell me in full?” Mind Reader frowned.

“You only need to know that there’s a really really bad organization and they’re after your Sacred Sigil,” The woman took a sip of coffee.

“Then what do you say we do?” Mind Reader asked in a low voice.

“Now, there are the three forces, Black Federation, Vulture and White Crab, which are after us. We will remain here for a few weeks to lure these three forces over. Now, as long as we play our cards right…”

“I know what you mean.” Mind Reader nodded.

“Don’t worry, everything will be alright. You can take your son to a place where nobody knows who you are and live. Relax.” The woman patted Mind Reader on the shoulder.

“I hope so…” Mind Reader forced himself to nod. He was about to take a sip off the coffee in his hands before his face stiffened, “They’re here!”

Pretending to act normal, he stood up and walked toward the washroom.

The woman took out her mobile phone to have a look. It was getting late. She placed some money on the table to settle the payment and got up to walk out with her handbag.

The two cooperated tacitly without attracting any attention and left through two exits respectively.

Those at the coffee shop did not find them out of the norm.

Not even a minute after they had departed, the door was swung open. A group of men and women wearing white hats walked in. Their sharp gaze swept around the scene. After an exchange of whispers, they found they were not around. The group scanned and checked from table to table.

Outside the streets by a lamp post, the two gathered and looked at the coffee shop from afar.

“It’s White Crab,” the woman whispered. She took out a lighter to light herself a cigarette.

“Can you sense their thoughts?”

“They’re here to capture me just as before. This time, they’re doing a blanket search. I wouldn’t know more details than that. They’re preventing their minds from being read by me.” The man was in a dilemma.

“Do you still have any premonition after avoiding them?” The woman casually asked.

“It’s stronger now!”

“Direction.”

“Behind us.”

The woman turned back and looked but did not find anything. She only saw crowds going and coming on the streets.

“Let’s go,” She led him to walk at the side, onward to a little alley.

The two halted once they entered the alley.

“Have you forgotten our dreams?” A young man stood in the alley with his back facing them. “Seasnake?”

The man shifted his head back; his dark brown eyes struck a dead stare at the woman.

A sharp white card appeared between his fingers.

“King of Hearts!” The woman’s body tensed up.

Mind Reader could see the man’s other distinct features.

“Black Federation…” His pupils shrunk and his body sunk backward. He couldn’t detect the person’s thoughts before. He was from the Lighthouse!

“Come with me, Seasnake and Mind Reader. Big brother has awaited you for a long time now,” King of Hearts smiled.

“If they were to follow, you then wouldn’t that make us come for nothing?” A cold voice was heard coming from behind Mind Reader and Seasnake.

******

“Soul Energy Force?” Garen was having his after-meal tea when he suddenly felt a tremble. He sensed that there was a slight chaotic Soul Energy Force oscillating over not far away.

Cammy Ning and her friends were whispering about the interesting news here when they saw him on his mobile phone.

“What’s wrong? Got something you need to do? Go take care of it if you do,” It was rare for Cammy Ning to bump into her classmate, so she was in quite a mood and opened up more.

“Just a small matter,” Garen smiled. “I have to go now. Continue with your meal,” He got up as he spoke and came to face a person standing by the shop’s entrance.

That person was two meters tall and was wearing a white western suit. He was wearing a pair of sophisticated, golden metal spectacles. His blond hair reflected a soft bright glow under the sunlight. He was standing by the shop’s entrance and smiled as he gazed at Garen.

“Sword Master Garen?” The man was brazen and calmly revealed Garen’s identity.

Garen’s smile slowly wiped off. he threw a glance at Cammy Ning and her friends behind him.

“You plan to make a move here?”

“I have long wanted to meet the number one Kendo genius of Slann, named the strongest saber art in three thousand years. Now that I’ve encountered you by chance, wouldn’t I be wasting off my good luck if I don’t seek your advice?” The smile of the man’s face deepened.

“They, are acting, right? Exchanging lines?” Someone couldn’t help but laugh out loud, “What a show.”

Cammy Ning and her two friends turned to look at the duo, feeling rather strange

Wham!

A troop of solider in black military wear kicked open the entrance of the shop. Over ten armed soldiers charged in, encircling Garen.

They unlocked the guns’ safety with a click. All firearms were aimed at Garen.

“It’s a show, right? There’s no need to be… Bang,” One of the customer was about to open his mouth when a shot was fired on his chest. Blood drenched his back as he collapsed to the ground.

All customers in the shop fell silent.

The serving waitress dropped and broke a plate. Someone was covering their mouth tightly.

Ah!

A woman screamed out of fear and wanted to make a dash out.

Boom.

Another shot was fired.

She immediately crashed onto the ground next to Garen. Blood from her back oozed out. Her body slowly collided on the ground, trembling it a bit. She rumbled over and settled over Garen’s foot.

Clang!

Garen’s palms clapped and made an ear-piercing thunderous sound. He lurched forward with his bent lower body and his palms arching straight ahead.