While Xuan Li and little Dumdum conversed, the villagers were preparing for the return of their respected chief.
Meals were being cooked, tables were being set, wine and other drinks were taken out from the cellar. Usually, the villagers wouldn't do this for just anyone, but this time was an exception, as it was for the village chief, their strongest member. It was commonly known in the everLands of Wylde; the strong were to be respected.
"Have you heard? The Chief didn't go sightseeing, he went to subjugate another village. This time, it was Toura village, the one who had a peak rank 2 mage," said an infatuated young woman to her husband. Unlike how usually village chiefs took as many wives as they could, the Auhnmire village chief only had one wife.
"I know, Alura! We all know! How could we not know how amazing the chief is?" Hank, the husband, answered back in a similar tone to his wife.
"Alura, Hank, get back to work!" A wizened voice said to the couple.
"Yes, Mistress Eduana!" The couple yelled while gazing respectfully at the second-most respected person in the village, the chief's wife.
Just as Eduana was about to say something else, she heard cheers coming from the village entrance. She turned to look and saw a middle-aged man entering the gate while hovering above the ground. She sighed while thinking, 'Always has to make a cool entrance, doesn't he?'
"Hahaha, I am back everyone!" A shout reverberated throughout the whole village, followed by a series of acclamations; people headed towards the entrance. At the gate, a middle-aged, black-bearded man was happily chatting with the villagers, his onyx-colored eyes warmly looking left and right searching for someone. His gaze finally landed on a brunette woman who was staring at him with a helpless but happy smile on her face.
Seeing that the chief was looking at his wife, the villagers knew their place and backed off, allowing the couple to unite.
"I am back, Eduana!" Roman grinned once he arrived in front of her.
"Welcome back, Roman!" Eduana said with a smile that made her already beautiful face glow.
But before they could talk more, the voice of two people interrupted their reunion, "Father" The village chief, Roman, flashed another happy smile, and went ahead to hug the two. These two people were one of the few rank 2 people in the village. They were also the ones who had approached Xuan Li the day before.
"Jeffrey, Sanbo, I am glad to see you!" Roman laughed happily.
"Father, we have found something interesting!" Sanbo, the cultivator with black hair similar to his father, said excitedly.
Both his sons had excited looks on their faces. Roman was intrigued, but before giving them his complete attention, he turned to the waiting villagers and said, "Toura village is now a subsidiary of our Auhnmire village!"
What followed Roman's statement was a round of applause.
Seeing how popular their father was, the two youngsters looked at him with shining eyes while thinking, 'How cool!'
"Now, what were you saying, Sanbo?" Roman asked, breaking Jeffrey and Sanbo out of their reverie.
"Oh, right. Father, we found a master that is at least in the Qi manifestation stage!" Jeffrey, the brown-haired fire mage said.
Roman's eyes went wide, but compared to his sons' cheerful faces, he looked worried, "Did he ask for anything?"
The two kids noticed his attitude, and reassured him, "Don't worry, father. He isn't after anything. Though, there is something that he wants!"
Roman was about to relax. On hearing the last sentence, he tensed up, "What did he ask for?"
"Father, Don't fret! He doesn't want any treasure or people from our village!" Sanbo said. "He just wants someone to kill him, and in exchange, he will give them all his treasures!"
"What did you say? Can you repeat?" Roman questioned in a disbelieving tone.
"As Sanbo said, Father, that master wants someone to kill him, and whoever does it will inherit his legacy. And, best of all, he doesn't care who does it!"
He caught on to what his sons' were hinting at. A bit skeptical,Roman was elated. If that master was indeed a cultivator at the Qi Manifestation stage, then the treasures that he had must be numerous.
'There might even be a third circle diagram!' Roman thought in excitement.
He had completed the second circle years ago. With his talent, he would have reached the third, fourth, and even the fifth circle! The only problem was the lack of resources!
If he had the basic diagrams of these circles, then he would have been able to breakthrough. But, it seemed that luck wasn't on his side as till now, he couldn't find anyone with these diagrams. Until...now that is!
With Xuan Li, someone who could be in the Qi manifestation realm, there was a possibility of finding a way to breakthrough. The hope that he had given up on all this time, was rekindled, and with eyes lit up with eagerness, he looked at his sons and asked, "Where is that master now?"
Seeing how enthusiastic her husband was, Eduana who was silent until now, spoke, "Honey, if it was that easy to get someone's treasures, then, everyone would have all the resources they need!"
Eduana's words woke Roman from his greedy state and he forced himself to clear his mind. He looked at her gratefully and said, "As expected of you, my lovely wife! You didn't get swayed by the opportunity in front of us and still thought calmly!" His words were tender and sweet, "If you didn't speak, I wouldn't have thought of this and maybe even endangered everyone!"
Eduana reached out, cupped Roman's face and spoke in a dulcet tone, "You work so hard for everyone. I know that you need these treasures more than anyone, but let's think calmly before acting!"
"Get a room, you two!" Jeffrey and Sanbo said in unison, while the villagers who were watching the heartwarming scene laughed.
"Jeffrey, was there anything weird about that master?" Roman, who was now thinking sensibly, asked.
"Well, there was a high leveled beast with him, and that master can't seem to die, even after we tried burning him for long. In fact, he never put up a fight and was completely defenceless, yet he still lived through our attacks. " Jeffrey spoke in an awkward manner, before looking at the woman who had tried drowning Xuan Li.
"Sally and us even tried drowning him for hours, but he always lived!"
Sally, the water mage, and her crew nodded in acknowledgment.
"He didn't die?" Roman started thinking, no matter how much he thought, he couldn't come up with an answer.
"How about we go and check this master ourselves? After seeing him, we will know if he's scamming us or not." Eduana suggested. She received a nod from Roman and everyone present. Just like that, the whole Auhnmire village headed to Xuan Li and Dumdum's direction.