The forest they were traveling through was gigantic, thick, and thriving. Its canopy was reigned by crab apple, ash, and rhododendron, enough light shimmered through their crowns for a medley of herbs to take advantage of the rich grounds below. Curling creepers suspended from many trees, and a potpourri of flowers, which blossomed brightly, adorned the otherwise amber terrain. A clamor of wild noises, most of which were fleeing animals, filled the air and drowned out the occasional sounds of birds of prey gliding in the air.
Inside the carriages, Michael was calmly sipping his coffee.
"Where are you snake?" He missed Gaya so much as he was checking the seat beside him for her. The scenery outside would have been even more beautiful if she was with him.
"So Master Ghost, since Miss Aelia is not competing, who do you think would win the championship for the Body Strengthening stage?" Ricky asked from the driver's seat.
"Well, I don't know many prodigies in the Body Strengthening stage except for Evan, Victoria and Sabrina"
"If you have to bet on one of them, who would be your choice Master Ghost?"
"Definitely not that bitch Victoria"
"Hahaha, bad blood huh Master Ghost" Ricky laughed. It felt like it was yesterday Michael spartan kicked Victoria off the stage. Within a year of time, he had gone from a lowly Foundation stage cultivator to Core Formation stage warrior. If it wasn't for the tournament's rule for not letting anyone above the Core Formation stage participate, he would have a breakthrough to the Core Strengthening stage. Compared to the badass points he could earn fighting the tournament, reaching the next stage wasn't just as important for the time being.
"Master Ghost, I heard the princess and the king of Bredia coming to watch the tournament" Michael could feel the excitement in his heart through his voice.
"Princess huh?"
To be honest, even Michael felt a little curious to see a princess in real life. It was hard to believe Gaya is a princess as she was the last person one would expect to be a princess. She was a rather unique girl compared to many in this world. She would do whatever she likes, speak whatever she wants and more than anything, she helped him instead of being a trouble magnet.
"Have you ever met a princess before Master Ghost?"
"Kind of" Michael couldn't help imagining Gaya in a pink Barbie princess dress with a star wand in her eyes. He chuckled inside.
"I haven't. Is it true that princesses eat gold shavings to enrich their hair and their hair is worth a ton of coins? Are there any princesses without golden hair?" Ricky barraged Michael with questions that sounded ridiculous yet Michael enjoyed their little chat until something showed up in his Environmental scanning map.
"I'm pretty sure there are princesses with a hair color other than golden, Ricky"
"Will their hair go for a ton of coins?"
"Do you have a hair fetish or something?" Ricky scratched the back of his hand with an embarrassed look on his face. They continued to ride through the dark forest.
He gazed at the starry sky through the windows. The bright friends of the moon and their pattern that seems so fixed yet ever-changing, distant lights to call his heart, to remind him of the conversation he had with Gaya.
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"Aaawn, why are you up?" Michael yawned, opening his eyes to see Gaya staring at the night sky. They were camping out on the mountain peak as they felt like sleeping under the sky.
"I was wondering how many stars are there" she was sitting on the ground while her hands wrapped around her knees.
"Are you really asking me that in the middle of the night? Just come here"? Michael pulled her down by her waist with one swoop.
"You know if we ever leave each other's side for some reason, we can look at the moon and know that the other is looking at the same moon"
"Well well well, look who's being romantic" Michael showered her with kisses all over her face. She enjoyed kissing every inch of her velvety soft face. He nibbled her ear while tickling her by running his hair gently through the side of her chest. It took extreme control not to do anything spicy. He respected her wish not to engage in anything other than kissing until marriage.
"Hey that…tickles…hehehe…stop…." she wiggled to escape his hold. She tried to retaliate by trying to tickle him back yet he simply overpowered her. Soon, their playful laughter reverberated the lonely mountain peak.
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"Master Ghost, what do you think?"
In his moment of walking through the memory lane, he completely ignored Ricky's questions.
"What did you ask again?"
"Three guardians said that Mark was their brother. Mark said he had no brothers. Who was lying?"
"Who asked?" Michael asked while still keeping an eye on the figures in the Environmental scanning map. They were following the carriages for some time. The question in his mind was whether they were particularly following him or not.
"Cindy. I don't know where she is getting these questions from. She keeps coming up with questions none of us can answer. I really wonder if there is an answer to each question"
"There is" Michael retrieved a drone from the system storage while Ricky was busy trying to figure out an answer to Cindy's question. The drone flew through the window disappearing into the dark forest.
"Really? Come on tell me Master Ghost, it's time for payback" Ricky devilishly laughed. However, Michael did not tell him the answer as Ricky was expecting.
"Master Ghost, what are you doing?" Ricky turned back to see Michael opening the carriage door through the small hole before him and Michael.
"Just some sightseeing. Don't stop, I'll be back soon" Michael flew out of the carriage in the direction of the figures following him.
**************************************
"I'm getting bored, let's start killing them all" a feminine voice could be heard from the dark forest. The voice was filled with murderous intent.
"Control your blood lust reaper. We must not alert the target, not until we cut his throat" another murderous voice sounded. This time, it was a male voice.
"Dibs on the ladies" Another voice filled with lust spoke.
The three figures blended perfectly with the forest. The black clothes they were wearing helped them merge with the darkness. They flew neither too fast nor slow but just enough pace to follow the carriages without alerting any of the sect members. If one looked closer into their eyes, a din glow could be seen in their eyes. The figures took the cat potion to enable their eyes to see in darkness.
"If you're calling dibs on the ladies, I call dibs on the target. I heard he's quite the eye-catcher"
"Oh not that again. You take too long and scream loud enough to wake the entire city" one of the male voices complained.
"It's a moan you idiot"
"No, it's not"
"Silence you two" Everyone stopped talking. Soon, they started to hear rustling sounds coming from ahead of them. They stopped flying immediately.
"I bet it's a wild cat or something," the female figure said,
"Magical beast perhaps"
"There are no magical beasts in this part of the forest"
The rustling sound became louder and louder. They frantically looked around them to locate the source of the sound. It sounded like it's coming from all directions at the same time. But suddenly the rustling sound stopped.
"Diddle…Diddle" the figures heard a voice as they all looked in the direction of the voice coming to see their target walking towards them. To their shock, their target had a smile on his face.
"Ghost" the female figure unsheathed her daggers from her waist. She then slowly licked the dagger like it was a candy bar.
"We are so little"
A couple of pop sounds came out from Michael's neck when he cracked his neck.
"Isn't this face to face better than following me from a distance?" Because of the wolf masks they were wearing, Michael couldn't see the surprised look on their faces.
"You guys aren't bad. It's just im better, in fact, I'm the best at what you do"
His words immediately kindled the killing intent hidden within the figures. They gradually formed a triangle around Michael. The two male figures stood before Micahel while the female stood behind him.
"Now I see why someone put a half a million contract on your head. You have the knack to piss of wrong people"? one of the male figures spoke,
"Half a million you say, not bad. Is there by any chance you three know the name of the person who put a contract on my head?"
"I'm gonna enjoy every second of killing you" Michael heard the woman's voice coming from behind. She was moaning.
"No idea who put the contract huh?" Michael sighed. It was disappointing but not unexpected. They were just tools sent by the Grim Reapers guild to kill him, the assassins wouldn't know the one who gave the task to the guild. Only the higher-ups of the guild would know that information. Unfortunately, Michael had no chance of getting that information as the Grim Reapers were a powerful guild operating in shadows, just like the dark underworld he worked back on earth.
"First you reapers destroyed a shipment of mind, now coming to kill me. I'm really starting to get pissed"
"Humph, what are you gonna do? Kill us? You don't even stand a chance"
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