There was no way that Daniel could have found such a job on his own. Amon questioned him about it but Daniel insisted that it was dumb luck.
"I was hanging out in the Commission Center when someone posted the listing right beside me. I reached for it before anyone else could read it and that was it," Daniel said, scratching his face.
Amon didn't buy it, but decided to let it go for now.
"Are you in or not?" Daniel asked with an innocent smile.
He heavily considered Daniel's proposal. The pay was good and once he split his earnings with his friend, he would have a minimum of five hundred contribution points; enough to cover expenses of almost a whole month.
"Before I make a decision, what's the plan?"
Daniel turned to the stretched map across the ground. He pointed to a mountain in the south, the largest on the map.
"Here is Hell Keeper's Mountain. To the east, we have the Red River."
He ran his finger across the map, going from the mountain to a wide river drawn next to it.
"The Red River flows to the north for kilometers on end. When it more or less surpasses the Sword Abyss, it makes a turn to the east before branching off into a series of smaller streams."
Amon studied the map carefully. The Abyss Sect was on the lower edge of the map. The Red River occupied most of the right edge. The center and a good chunk of the left edge were covered by the Broken Forest which spanned hundreds of kilometers.
There was a blank, distorted circle in the left corner of the map. Based on the map, it was at least two hundred square kilometers. This area was known as the Scorched Lands.
More impressive than the Scorched Lands was a horizontal stroke of black paint that almost divided the map in two. It was hundreds of kilometers long and at least three kilometers wide in its real scale. Everyone knew of the legendary Sword Abyss because it was the biggest mark that a war had ever left on the land. It was also the origin of the Abyss Sect's name.
East of the Scorched Lands was a mountain cut in half by another battle, but it paled in comparison to the chasm a sword strike had left in the forest. Amon had never seen it with his own eyes, but he shuddered thinking about the person that managed to create such a devastating blow. How powerful did one have to be to do that? How much pent up bloodlust did they have to unleash such a terrifying strike?
"We are interested in the northern bank of the Red River. To be more precise, the exact place it turns to the east. Can you guess why?"
Amon thought for a moment before pointing somewhere east of the Red River and somewhat close to Hell Keeper's Mountain. Long streaks of barren land were marked in that area. They looked like long, thin scars from a cat's scratch or multiple knife slashings—another mark the war had left in the forest.
"It should be the Scars, no?"
"Smart kid. Yes, it is because of the Scars. Chances are many things fell in the Red River during a past war. The river would've dragged any relics north. Chances are a few of them would've ended up in the northern bank when the river changed direction."
"So the client wants us to search there? It's not a bad plan, but he's certainly not the first one to think of this."
"True, but that's not our problem. Our client decided to make a bet after using his brains for a bit. He probably has the points to spare and doesn't want to go through the trouble of checking his own theory. That's why he made the commission."
"Are you sure about the details? Is it really such a simple job?" Amon asked for reassurance.
Daniel tried to put on a serious face as he nodded, but failed horribly in hiding his smile. He was one step away from victory.
"It is. There's no catch".
Amon's brow furrowed as he shook his head.
"I'll speak with my mother before I decide. Don't ask me about it again."
With a shrug, his friend replied, "Fine, do as you wish." It was fairly obvious that he was pretending not to care, as he knew his win was inevitable. This entire plan was never Daniel's idea to begin with.
As Daniel began to put the map away, a low whistling sound rapidly approached them. Without thinking, Daniel swung his right arm to block the flying object from hitting Amon in the head.
"Damn it, Daniel. Why are you always with that geezer?" A high-pitched voice called from the distance.
A group of people was walking down the street and at their lead was a thin, young boy. His luxurious, red clothes glistened in the sunlight, making him appear to be on fire. His long, brown hair was neatly tied up with a golden ribbon. Accompanying him were a few boys and girls. A husky, red-haired man walked behind them. His muscles bulged through his clothes, giving off an intimidating aura.
Daniel gave the man a cold stare as he slowly opened his hand and revealed a small, sharp stone. It had embedded itself in his palm, and blood started to flow from his injury.
Amon, on the other hand, was scared. If Daniel hadn't been by his side, he would have been hit on the head.
"I hope it wasn't you who threw this stone, Roger."
Daniel's voice was cold as he looked at the burly man. Roger shook his head.
"Young master, Erin just finished his first round of body tempering and wanted to test his strength."
Amon and Daniel stared at the young boy leading the pack.
"What of it? People say that he has some really good senses despite him being stuck at the qi gathering stage. I wanted to help him sharpen them a bit," Erin quipped.
Amon was surprised. Not at the ridiculous excuse he used for him throwing the stone, but at the fact that the boy had already reached body tempering.
"Is that true, Erin? You're already at the body tempering stage?" Amon inquired.
"Of course he did! Erin is someone that will reach the Inner Sect in a few years. You, however, will forever stay a farm b—" one of the girls chimed in.
"Let it go, Amber. Don't waste your breath on such pitiful people. It must be really hard being
abandoned by your own father and having a crippled mother," Erin interrupted, waving his hands dismissively.
He had a derisive smile and his heartless words cut through Amon like a sharp sword. Amon's breath quickened and he reddened in anger. He clenched his fists and his arms trembled. His jaws were clenched so hard it hurt. A fierce light shone in his golden eyes. He started walking towards the group, but Daniel extended a hand to block his path.
"I'm sure you won't mind if I help you with your body tempering too," Daniel growled.
Daniel's eyes burned with rage, but his face was emotionless. Amon himself had never seen Daniel like that and it gave him chills. He took a few steps back when he saw Daniel prepare to attack.
Roger reacted instinctively. He dragged Erin behind him as a loud whizzing noise shrieked around them. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and braced for impact. Roger took two steps back as a grey streak cut through the air and hit his arms at a blinding speed before he lost his balance and fell backwards.
He grunted in pain and tried to get up, but he realized he couldn't raise his arms. Upon looking down, he saw that both arms were bent at awkward angles. A thick piece of bone was sticking out of his right arm as blood gushed from the wound. Roger made an incredible effort to endure the pain without screaming.
Erin's face turned a ghostly-white as shock prevented him from moving. The other kids shuddered in fear.
"Are you insane? That could have killed me!" Erin yelled, incredulous.
The object that hit Roger's arm was the same stone that Erin had thrown at Amon. The speed and strength at which it was thrown were many times greater than Erin's. At most, Amon would have suffered a minor injury or been knocked unconscious. Erin, however, would have had a hole cut clean through his chest.
Luckily for Erin, Roger was in the middle stages of body tempering and somehow managed to soften the blow, breaking his arms in the process.
"Other than these boot-lickers, I doubt anyone besides your parents would miss your ugly face," Daniel replied, his demeanor hadn't changed.
"Let's see if you can keep spouting such nonsense after I take care of you."
Erin's face turned red and he pointed his finger at Daniel as he threatened him.
"Hire as many thugs as you would like with your father's money. And please, don't forget to tell them who I am," Daniel mocked, causing Erin to grow silent.
Roger, who managed to stand up somehow, put himself between the two boys and sent Erin a cold glare of disapproval.
"Young master, that's enough. Leave it alone. We already got what we wanted. Let's go home."
Erin was still enraged, but eventually gave up. He looked at Daniel begrudgingly before directing his gaze at Amon.
"You missed a spot, grandpa," he said, patting the top of his head.
Amon quickly covered his hair with his hands, turning away from them in shame.
Erin and the others laughed hysterically as they departed. Roger followed with his arms hanging awkwardly from his shoulders as he grunted from the pain.
Once they were out of sight, Daniel's aggressive behavior changed.
"Are all kids from the Inner Ring that dumb?" he questioned, shrugging off the situation.
It was mostly his fault that things developed like that. This had been going on for a while, but never to the point of a physical altercation. He never expected Erin to attack Amon like that; not without warning anyway. Daniel realized Amon was covering his hair in the same place Erin had patted his own head.
"Hey, there's nothing there. Erin was messing with you. Your hair is still black."
Amon quickly removed his hands and patted his clothes.
"Of course… I knew that."
"Where was this cockiness when that brat was here?" Daniel rolled his eyes.
Amon averted his gaze, his ears slightly red in shame.
"If you didn't stop me I would have kicked his ass," he said, almost whispering to himself.
"Well, I saw that you were finally angry enough to take action, but you can't face him head-on anymore. He's already started body tempering, you've lost your chance."
Amon was saddened, but he couldn't deny Daniel's words.
"Thank you for helping me out," Amon meekly responded.
Daniel smiled and wrapped an arm around Amon's shoulder. The wound on Daniel's hand had stopped bleeding—body tempering was really something else.
"Hey, let's go back to your house. I'm sure you still didn't meditate today and I need to speak with your mother anyway."
"Didn't you just talk to her?"
Taken by surprise at the question, Daniel scratched his face.
"I forgot to ask about something. It isn't that important, but we finished what we had to do here, so I might as well help you with your meditation and talk to her at the same time."
Amon nodded quietly. He had almost given up cultivation. He could sense the qi surrounding him, but he still couldn't manage to absorb any of it.