The pair decided to go out early, thankfully, Aunt Dan and the other adults didn't recognize her, her skills are to thank for, besides, Elle wanted to go back to the residence before the adults come back. They were about to get out of the hall when someone bumped into them.
"Pardon me, I didn't see you." It was a big man that turned around the corner and bumped into them. I simply bowed and went out, it was nothing important. They were about to call the carriage that the staff placed her things in, when three men approached her, she didn't get that far from the entrance of the theatre so when she saw them approaching, she faced her body towards the entrance. As far as she knows, the three men might be sent by her uncle or aunt or maybe someone who wanted to r*pe or steal from her.
"Excuse me. Are you perhaps, missing your wallet young lady?" It was a guy that was the smallest of the three. 'Is this a foreigner?' He had a distinct western feature, he had blonde hair and blue eyes. He handed out a red purse that I was using earlier. I placed my hand naturally on my dress where the pocket was so it wouldn't look like I was searching for it. I glanced at the big guy on the right for a second. He was the one who bumped into me earlier, he had the same built and height.
'This is some kind of scheme huh Iris? Iris'
"I'm sorry, but I have all my things here." I politely said.
"I've never heard of someone going to the auction without money." As if to mock her, the blonde guy smiled lightly. For those untrained, his smile would appear genuine and beautiful, but for Elle, it was eerie and uncomfortable. He had a glint of mischievousness that makes it unsettling.
"I prefer to pay in a cheque instead of gold, this lady doesn't like carrying anything heavy." She politely smiled back with dead eyes.
"If you would please excuse me, this lady is tired and in need of her beauty sleep." The carriage came at the right time and I immediately climbed and shut the door. I couldn't get the eerie smile out of my mind. He can have that purse for all of I care. The little cat though was quiet, and it was weird. She never shut up especially when she or her partner is offended, she's a feisty little kitty that has no fear, except for her mother that is. It weirded Elle as to where Iris went, she wasn't in any of her physical forms nor was she in her spiritual form. When she got back from the auction did the little kittie appear?
"Where were you?"
"Uhm...something interesting caught my eye."
"Interesting enough to leave me to three weird men?"
"Oh please, we both know they can beat their *sses black and blue." This was a fact both of them knew, it just weirded Elle, Iris never really wander off, she would always be walking next to her, behind her, or standing on her shoulder or head. Being interested in something wasn't so far of so Elle accepted her reason. She didn't directly tell the driver to drop her off the Dan residence, that would just be utter stupidity. So, she told the driver to drop her off to another residence, it was an empty residence with no one inside. It was a kilometer away from their residence, it was in a completely new street. She had to walk towards the forest and travel using the wind and trees. Iris hid the Rosetta stone and red diamonds in her space, Iris didn't want to use a spatial ring even though they know where to buy one, it would just be asking for trouble if she wore and used one.
"What? You lost her?" The blonde man didn't know what to feel. He was astonished and confused.
Did she know she was being followed? No, that's impossible. And indeed, the girl didn't know that she was being followed, she's just a naturally skeptical person who likes to make sure things are where she wants it to be. The men who followed her earlier were put off as well and explained what happened to their master.
"She went to the back of her residence and disappeared." The blonde man now believes that her family didn't know of her trip to the auction. He was now hooked. The lady knows greek, has the eye for treasures, and knows sorcery. 'she remembered Ye Rong at a glance'. He had a strong aura that prevents others from looking up to him, he was large and bulky and had many scars. He remembered what Rong had told him earlier in the carriage.
"Oh, she was so adorable! She reminded me of the bunny I took care of when I was six years old! But, it's odd that I can't remember how she looked, I only remember her beady eyes." The big man started fussing over the lady. Duan Ye Rong came from the north, he was training the troops of the north when he heard the news that the three of us were in the Tang capital, he ended his training quickly and traveled for 4 days straight without rest, by the time he came, we were in the auction house already. He went straight for us and was happy that we were complete once again. He's such a pain in the *ss. The blonde man kept what the masculine man said. So no one remembered her face. He made a plan to confirm if she really was one, though it wasn't directly answered, the possibility of it is getting stronger.
After a few days, he ordered the men to investigate the household, but the answer he expected to hear from the men didn't come.
"Zhu Lei (master Lei), There was no one living in that residence." The blonde man furrowed his brows, so she didn't climb the wall, did she run through the forest? Does that mean she knew that she was being followed? While the young master Lei was having doubts and questions, the said lady was napping in her courtyard with her cat laying on her lap. The kitty looked at the peaceful face of her partner.
'sigh, I didn't expect we would encounter them this soon. Does that mean the "Han" guy is also here?' The kitty knew that she has to tell her partner eventually. The kitty was seldom fearful, she was feisty and fearless when it comes to missions, but this time, she knew that if she made a mistake in front of them especially the Han guy, she would be deader than dead. The men had something she never encountered, dark magic. She and Elle had encountered dark magic, but not a dark magic-user. The disturbances were usually ancient trees, pyramids, and demons trapped in artifacts. The two of them never encountered a "user" who can control dark magic.
According to the journal they have read, there were 4 children that escaped, in those four children, two died which was the writer Shen Ling and a boy nicknamed "Tianxiao". During the last pages of the notebook, Lingling, Max, Ai, and Tianxiao found something deep in the cave they were staying in. The location wasn't specified.
"XXX XXX
Today, Max and Tianxiao went deeper inside the cave, like what they have done for the past few days, but something weird happened today, a cold breeze came from the deeper parts of the cave, Ai also wanted to come with them because of curiosity but I was scared of being left alone, I told them not to go since both of them are coughing for these past few days as well, it might be because of the cold breeze, they didn't listen and still went. Thankfully, Ai saw that I was uncomfortable and didn't go with them."
The Ai kid was described as the prettiest girl in town, she was a foreigner from the west and Lingling didn't really know how she came in the desolate and peaceful village, all she knows that this girl moved in with her mother. It stated in the diary that at times, Lingling would hear shouts and loud bangs from their house and the next day, Ai would have bruises all over her body. Her beautiful blue eyes would be surrounded by bruises and her gold her would have patches and sometimes her scalp would bleed.
"XXX XXX
The four of us fell down a narrow space in the cave. I didn't want to go with them in the beginning, but Ai wanted to and I don't want to be left alone. I just stuck close to them holding the rabbit doll that my mother gave me, It was scary. We can't find a way to go up when we suddenly felt a cold breeze behind us. Tianxiao insisted on going further and an argument between Ai and Tianxiao began. I stopped them and told them to talk properly and not shout at each other, I was proud that they listened to me. Since there wasn't any way out yet, we decided to get closer to the light that was reflecting a narrow pathway. We found a large area filled with different crystals and gems which was shocking. What caught our eyes was this large black crystal on the center, it was humongous and shiny, it reflected our faces like a mirror.
Tianxiao wanted to get a piece of it but Max prevented him from doing so, we didn't know what it was so it's better to be safe."
The next pages were blurry as if it made contact with droplets of water.
"XXX XXX
Tianxiao was vomiting blood when we woke up and we somehow can't wake up Max. When we found a way up, Tianxiao had a nose bleed and Max became dizzy. I don't know what to do! I tried applying different kinds of herbs, mint, ginger, anything to relieve them of pain but nothing was working. I hope that they will become better, I don't know what I'd do if they become worse!"
When Elle tried to go to the next page, they didn't see any writing anymore. Iris remembered that there were ripped edges that they saw. The kitty's partner shrugged it off and passed it to her as if saying "do what you want with it". The cat scrunched its face at her behavior.
'You really!...' She didn't argue anymore, Elle has been like this for as long as she can remember. She disregarded artifacts, ancient items, and priceless stuff when she decides that it has no use anymore. The cat remembered the time she shuddered when she thought that she'll be one of those objects once she becomes useless. Even though it was a passing thought, she didn't want that to happen. But after hundreds of years, the cat is now sure that her partner established an unbreakable relationship, she wasn't some object anymore in her eyes.