Hua Yan's mind was restless right now.
The day was nearing its end, and he was roaming the manor without a purpose in mind. He wanted to go outside and see his sister, but Frenzy would not let him, threatening him to forget about such thoughts or have Hua Yin face the consequences.
Hua Yan didn't want that, so he temporarily tried to forget about her for now.
But, even if he wanted to follow Frenzy's commands to retrieve the ashes, it seemed as though there were just too many obstacles in his way.
He couldn't go straight for the ashes because he didn't know where they were. He couldn't inquire about their whereabouts either because he didn't have the power to do that. He couldn't get the power to do that because he didn't have any Ferocious Beast meat. He couldn't get the Ferocious Beast meat because he lacked the money to purchase it. He lacked the money to purchase it because he had only recently been accepted into a new job.
And, even after he got his first salary, it would still would not be enough to suit his needs. He could perhaps use that salary to live a life of relative luxury with Hua Yin, but Frenzy would not let him do such a thing.
Frenzy was hell-bent on having Hua Yan retrieve the ashes, so he could not live as he pleased until then. If he did not find the ashes before Frenzy became impatient, then Hua Yin would be in trouble.
This was precisely the threat that Frenzy had made to him.
This matter left him very puzzled, confused and even a little furious.
Just why did all of this have to happen to him?!
Hua Yan clenched his fists that were still wrapped up in white cloth. The wound from the glass was still there, stinging his palm every time he moved his hands. He could not forget that moment of fear that he felt when he was about to kill Hua Yin. It was something that was ingrained not only to his body, but into his very being.
If not for anything else but to never feel that fear again, he needed to do something. He didn't care if he became a hero or a villain. If he could live happy with whatever he had done, then nothing mattered.
This was the path that Hua Yan had chosen to take.
His mind was suddenly enlightened. He quickened his steps and sprinted towards the Eastern Gate. He was heading for the Eastern Barracks!
The time of the day was around the same from back when he had returned home that night after dealing with the bandit. Crossing Courtyard 24, his former place of residence, memories of his time there with Hua Yin began to flow through his mind
He didn't want them to just be memories! He wanted to experience such times again! So he was willing to do anything! His resolution was firm!
Spotting some guards that were doing their patrol, Hua Yan began to stalk them. He waited for the sky to completely darken before slowly approaching the guards.
Since it was night time, there weren't many people in this part of the manor. It was just perfect for what Hua Yan wanted to do.
Removing the white wrappings from around one of his hands, he tied it onto his face, blocking his features. Though it was covered in dirt, sweat and a bit of blood, he didn't care.
Hua Yan quickly snuck behind a guard and unsheathed the man's sword.
The guard, feeling the weight on his waist lighten, immediately grew alert. He grabbed for his sword, only to find that it was not there.
In the next second, as his partner looked over to him, he found that the guard's head was not there either! It had flown somewhere into the air. The partner couldn't even blink before he too suffered the same fate!
Two guards had lost their lives like that, for what Hua Yan dubbed a "necessary reason".
As the six other guards who accompanied them felt the commotion, they all turned around and spotted Hua Yan.
There was actually no blood on him, because he made sure to control the swing of his sword, angling it in such a way that he would not be dirtied by the stray blood.
The bloody sword in his hands was enough for the guards to label him as the killer though.
With shrill screams, they charged at him, causing people that were off in the distance to look over.
There weren't that many though and the lighting wasn't too clear either, so they couldn't see exactly what was going on. All they knew was that the guards were engaged in combat. They ran off to call more law enforcements the minute they saw the guards getting decimated.
Hua Yan was very careful in not getting any blood on him, so the angles of all of his sword strikes were limited. As a result, he left his defense open for one of the guards to slash at him.
Thankfully though, only the makeshift mask on his face was torn off.
It didn't matter anyway, because the minute the cloth fell to the floor, so did all the remaining guards' heads. All that saw his face were now dead!
Hua Yan quickly reached into the guards' clothes to fetch out all their belongings of value.
He had essentially become nothing more than a murdersome thief. But he really couldn't care less. He had killed people before, and with Frenzy growing inside of him, he felt that it was easier to kill now. It didn't hurt to sacrifice a few people for his own benefit.
This was how the world worked anyway…
Just as he finished fetching out all of their money and other accessories such as rings and whatnot, he heard a noise.
To be more specific, it was a whimper. It came from an alley not far from him. Walking over to the location, he noticed a wooden board. Behind the wooden bird though, he could hear the sounds of muffled breathing.
Someone had seen him!
Hua Yan quickly threw the wooden board away and was confronted with the sight of a little kid, maybe 7 or 8 years old.
The kid had definitely seen his face and was trying his best not to cry. It didn't help though, because Hua Yan's face was so distorted that even grown men would be afraid.
As the boy wailed, Frenzy awoke.
Hua Yan felt his hands move. To be honest, he didn't know if it was him moving it or if it was Frenzy. What he did know was that he felt a strong desire to murder the kid.
And that's exactly what he did.
With a shimmering of white light, Hua Yan split the boy's body in two. Then, hearing some commotion, he turned tail and ran from the spot, not looking back.