Child of Destiny

Chapter 2008: Return

…

Shin ran for quite a while before finding a small town to settle and rest for a while. He had already contacted the Springfield Household about his situation, so all he needed to do now was to wait for them to arrive.

Naturally, he made sure to cover all his tracks when looking for a safe place to rest. He had even bypassed a couple of towns and villages along the way to make sure that the people from the Black Serpent Mafia would not be able to find him that easily.

After finding a decent inn where he could rest, Shin took a quick shower before lying on the bed, exhausted.

However, he did not immediately go to sleep. Aside from still needing to be on guard, he also needed to hear some explanation from Uno.

“Alright, can you now explain what happened earlier? How come you have been affected by some sort of corruption? What is that dark influence that you are talking about?” asked Shin.

However, Uno did not respond to him.

Shin frowned slightly when he saw this. He also realised something about the silence of the latter. “Is it related to the so-called secret that Mom is talking about and the people they are fighting?”

He paused for a moment before frowning further. “But aren’t those people the so-called Remnants of the Past and the Voidwalkers?”

Uno still refused to respond for a while, but sighed after. [What your seniors mentioned at that time is just a part of the truth.]

[The so-called Remnants of the Past that they are talking about are just a few of the types of what they truly are.]

He then paused for a moment, seemingly recalling something, before continuing. [I can tell more about them if you want, but didn’t the Madam tell you that it is better to learn about them yourself?]

[All the clues are within that game that you are playing along with your friends. All you need to do is to play it normally and enjoy the entire process along the way.]

[You will learn more about them if you continue exploring that world.]

With yet another pause, Uno recalled his experiences within the game before continuing. [If I am not wrong, the secret on how to truly escape the ‘curse of Heaven’ that everyone is talking about is somewhat related to an even bigger secret.]

[I am not sure about the exact details myself, but I can tell there must be a reason why they are talking such a roundabout way to reveal to everyone this secret.]

[It is useless for you to learn about it now, so stop trying to peer into it through me. Just follow the clues that are given to you along with the arrangements of your parents.]

Shin did not accept Uno’s suggestion right away. But he still nodded his head after a couple of considerations.

However, he still could not shake off the thoughts of Uno being corrupted by something. He could not help but become curious about this so-called ‘dark influence’.

His instincts were telling him that they must be related to the so-called ‘curse of Heaven’ that he had been hearing about now.

***

In the meantime, back in the Springfield Household, the elders of the family had just gotten the signal that Shin had sent.

“Has he been found?” asked Samuel while reading a book in his study.

He might look relaxed on the surface, but the aura that his body was passively emitting was as heavy as a mountain, making those within the room feel suffocated just by looking at him.

The Head Butler, who was also the personal assistant of Samuel Springfield, bowed as he gave his report. “Young Master Shin has already given us his current coordinates. We have also sent two squads from the Golden Dragon Unit to fetch him, making sure to avoid any accidents.”

“They will be able to bring him back in at least a couple of hours at most.”

“As for those mice?” Samuel slightly nodded and continued to ask.

This time, the cold and heavy pressure that he was emitting earlier had already weakened by a large margin, making the Head Bulter sigh in relief.

The Head Butler immediately replied. “Unfortunately, we cannot find any signs of those young talents of the Black Serpent Mafia. But we are already sending the information that Young Master Shin has given us to the Intelligence Unit to handle them.”

“As for the Black Serpent Agents that they have sent into the surrounding areas, our forces have already dealt with them. We have even captured a few agents with pretty decent rankings within their organisation.”

“However, we highly doubt that it will do anything. After all, we are already familiar with how they operate.”

“Capturing more of their people will be useless unless those people are their core members.”

“At most, ‘hired’ people such as Coffin Maker, Buther, Spellbreaker, and others are more worthy of being captured compared to these people who have been trained within their organisation from a young age.”

“Their loyalty to the organisation is absolute. Keeping them on our side will only bring more trouble rather than gaining anything from them.”

Hearing this, Samuel paused for a moment and tapped his finger on the book that he was reading.

He then nodded for a moment before asking. “So, what did Nathan plan on doing with them?”

“Master Nathan has decided to leave them to the Green Family under their request,” replied the Head Butler.

“Hmm? It seems like that old guy has discovered something,” commented Samuel before shaking his head. “Leave them be. It is their choice after all.”

“Moreover, I have given them my word, so there is no need to trouble ourselves with trivial matters,” he added before signalling the Head Butler to continue.

This time, the Head Bulter started reporting about the state of the war and the problems that they had encountered along the way.

The entire session lasted for quite a while before the Head Butler was dismissed.

Clank!

Right after the Head Butler left, two old men entered the room and made themselves comfortable.

“Both of you are back earlier,” said Samuel after seeing the two old men.

Grandmaster Benn had come back after handling everything that needed to be dealt with from the operation in the Sun-Moon Continent. They had encountered quite a few problems along the way, but everything had been dealt with.

He had even encountered another accident during Shin’s transport, which he had sensed a bit too late.

Fortunately, Shin was still safe despite all of it.

He was supposed to personally fetch Shin right after sensing the latter’s aura during his escape from the isolation barrier. But he suddenly became lazy after learning that someone was already there to look after him.

Instead, he went to greet an old friend, who had just come back from another mission.

Professor Plum, who was sent to guard a ‘hole’, had just gotten back when he learned about the troubles that the Springfield Family were creating throughout the world.

“I heard that the little lass has come back after separating from her troublemaker of a husband. Where is she now?” asked Professor Plum right after sitting.

“It is inconvenient for Evangline to go out right now, given the current situation. You should know that the World Government have that person as well,” said Samuel while putting down the book in his hand.

“Since you are here, does that mean that the situation on the borders has been dealt with?” asked Grandmaster Benn.

Professor Plum took a random liquor from the nearby glass cabinet and chugged its contents in mouthfuls before replying. “The situation there should have stabilised already. But I still asked Old Hermit to send a couple of his clones and guard the place just to be safe.”

“Speaking of, I heard that you have encountered a strong elder from the Void Tribe. How is it?” he asked after recalling the news that he had gotten earlier.

Grandmaster Benn frowned a little before trying to recall his experience when fighting Elder Zhi. After a while, he could only sigh. “They are indeed getting stronger. Even though I am not using my full strength at that time, that Voidwalker can handle my Divine Beast Constructs just fine.”

“Given the current situation, they will most likely recover their peak strength sooner or later,” he added before sighing. “They have even stirred up trouble everywhere by conspiring with underworld organisations now, so the situation will most likely be much worse compared to those times.”

“The flowers on the cliff are already blooming beautifully, so it is natural for the troubled times to arrive a bit sooner,” said Professor Plum before chugging another mouthful of the liquor in his hands.

“Ah~! That hits the spot! A good liquor, as always,” he commented while looking at the bottle in his hand before turning to Samuel. “What about the other matter? Are those two truly found the ‘clues’?”

Samuel suddenly wore a serious expression after being asked that question before nodding. “The two founders have found it. And it seems like the situation is not that optimistic for us as well.”

…