"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Harton. The current local time is 9 a.m." The voice of the Flight attendant was clear but sonorous as she welcomed them to the Tourist City.
Raizel passed the customs and the queue for baggage collection.
Mundane people liked to prolong matters.
The doors opened to a vast crowd with many carrying different placards with names written on them.
His phone beeped and he opened it, it was a message from Peter.
"Have you arrived? How much is the Sound Saver Talisman?"
Raizel dialled the number. He was no longer surprised by the convenient method of communication.
"Peter." He greeted.
Peter's voice was low when he answered, "Raizel, you have arrived? Your journey?"
"Yes. It was pleasant." If you could call it that. It was a mixture of incessant noises from his teammates and contemptuous looks thrown at him by the same seatmate.
"Tha..that's great. Someone came to buy the Sound saver talisman. How much is it?" Peter's voice was a little slurred.
Raizel's eyes narrowed. It was still morning and he had already started drinking.
Peter was a habitual drunk, Raizel knew that. He had met a lot of wine lovers and people who generally loved drinking. He had even met a woman who drank so much that she almost died because she wanted to be enlightened on the Dao of Wine.
Raizel still did not believe that there was a Dao of wine but he did not argue with her and just went his way.
But Peter was a little different. Raizel always had this feeling that Peter did not actually enjoy drinking. The thought was crazy, the man drank every day without ceasing.
"30 spirit stones for one. 50 spirit stones for two."
"Raizel, you bastard.."
"What?" Raizel was bewildered.
"That's so smart. Collaboration, yes, we need to collaborate and.."
"No, thank you."
"I have not even finished."
"I am not interested and Peter, don't drink when minding my store. You will give it a bad reputation."
There was a long pause before Peter finally said, "Sure."
Raizel ended the call before looking at the links that Peter sent him. One was particularly very interesting, it was an article by a popular travel blogger.
'10 Must-Eat places in Harton'
The article was a comprehensive document on her vacation in Harton.
Raizel headed for first place, Allard. He had not eaten breakfast yet.
Allard was a little diner. It was completely not what Raizel had been expecting. No, it was even smaller than a diner. Raizel raised a brow questionably at the long benches that faced each other.
Raizel sat on one of the benches and looked around. The restaurant was small but beautiful and well-kept. He picked up the menu. They were all seafood which was not surprising. With the long rivers surrounding the town, Seafood was much more available.
He looked at the dish of the person before him before he ordered the same thing.
"I will have the Braised Fried Silver Mirror Fish."
The man in front of him heard him and looked up from his meal. It was the same young man he had met in the Dead forest and again at the airport.
Raizel looked at him and then at the shadow at his feet.
He closed his eyes and rubbed his temple. His heart twisted and turned as its pace got even slower. There was a chill in his stomach that continued to spread. He did not want to get involved. He was tired.
"Are you alright? Should I call a doctor?" Austin asked kindly. He had dropped the fork and knife he ate with and stared at Raizel.
"Yes. No" Even though the young man's voice was very kind, Raizel could not see the smallest hint of concern in his eyes. It reminded him deeply of someone, someone that was long gone.
'He practices the Stellar River Cultivation methods. That is why he resonated with the barrier around the Seventh Alley. He is not directly related to Dao Master StellarRiver.'
His words entered the ears of the Tribulation Realm blood puppet and Blue shivered. Who was this Young Master's friend?
'You should leave. Harton is a little dangerous at the moment. Your feud is not with the boy.'
Raizel could feel the various power and essence in the air. Powerful people were gathering at the city and even though the puppet was powerful, in the end, it was just that..a puppet. The wiles and dangers of a human cultivator far exceeded that of a puppet.
Blue was confused. It had two things wired into its system. Protect and Revenge. Protect the Young Master and Kill the descendants of DaoMaster StellarRiver.
The young man with blond hair had activated the barrier of the Seventh Alley but he did not feel the urge to kill him. It was confusing so he had gone to investigate.
But how did the Young master's friend know? Blue continued to calculate as it synthesized events past and present. Its eyes flickered at the conclusive result.
Young Master's friend was not an enemy but he was dangerous. With that, the shadow separated from Austin vanishing immediately.
Austin could feel a lightness in his mind and body. That tingle that had been constant since he left Tempest Town disappeared.
He glanced at the man sitting before him. The man gloomy's eyes were fixed on the menu before him. Austin picked his fork and continued his meal, his eyes were narrowed with suspicion.
The waiter soon brought his meal. It was a plate of Braised Fried Silver Mirror Fish paired with stir fry vegetables. It was a really simple dish. Raizel picked up his chopsticks and poked the mirrored fish. He took a bite and closed his eyes in satisfaction.
The spices in the fish were just right. The fish was so smooth, almost melting in his mouth.
Raizel hastened the speed of his hand letting the delicious delight fill the void in his chest.
After eating, he paid and stood up to leave only for the young man to follow him.
"Good morning. My name is Austin. I came to Harton so I can participate in the Hartil Feast. What's your name?" His voice was soft with an innocent edge to it. In the eyes of Raizel, it clashed with the murderous aura he could feel from the young man.
"Raizel."
Austin smiled as he gestured for them to start walking.
"Raizel. We have met so many times, it must be fate. It is my fourth time in Harton. If you need anything, please contact me or you can just call me, let us hang out. I came alone this time so I am a little bored." He gave Raizel his phone indicating he should add his contact.
Raizel studied the phone that seems different from his. It was longer, thinner. He entered his contact before returning the phone.
"Do you have a place yet?" Austin asked.
"No."
Austin nodded his head as he contemplated. "Senor is not fully booked yet but you need to hurry if you want a room. I am also staying there so I can assure you that it is convenient."
Raizel eyes lit up at the name of the hotel. The third place in the article is the hotel. It would be killing two birds with a stone.
"How much is their rate?"
Austin was a little surprised but then he recovered.
"A thousand credits a day."
Raizel narrowed his eyes. Give and take, that's a plate of a meal at Old Lins'. What a waste of money?
Austin requested to help him settle in and he agreed. They walked to the hotel, Raizel keeping up with Austin's extremely fast pace.
Raizel picked his room card and saw Austin frowning from the corner of his eyes. He completely ignored him, already tired of the drama.
Austin who had prepared a complete speech….
Raizel was feeling weary and walked away with his room card.
As soon as he got to the elevator, the elevator door had just closed so he sighed and took another one. Standing alone in the small space, he stared at the rising numbers.
He arrived on the 22nd floor. There seems to be a few suites on the whole floor as it was very quiet. Raizel slowly stepped out of the elevator and saw a figure a few steps away.
The man was over one hundred and eighty centimetres tall. His neck was very slender, half of which was exposed from the collar of the shirt. He wore black shades but the pink hair was very flamboyant.
The man was about to open the door of his room. Hearing footsteps, he turned and his eyes widened, "It's you."
Raizel did not respond to him. To be honest, his time with Austin was fair compared to the horror that was this his seatmate. For the entire journey, the only time his mouth was shut was when he fell asleep.
He looked at his room card, it was the room next to this young man.
"You are staying here too. What a..."
Raizel did not stay to listen. With a weary sigh, he entered the room shutting the door behind him. The clouds above the vacation seem to be getting darker.