"Don't need to worry about me, boy. I've lived in this world longer than you have, and I've always been well. Go home or Ai would be worried.", the old lady refused, using her hands to shoo Leo away.
"But, grandma-"
"Go now, boy. Thank you for keeping me company.", the old lady said as she shut her house door.
"..."
Leo was rendered speechless. The old lady's mood swings were really unpredictable. A moment ago she was bawling her eyes out and the next, she was kicking him out of her humble abode.
"Don't forget to wear more outer clothes, grandma! Tonight is really cold!", Leo yelled from the outside.
Receiving no reply, Leo huffed and decided to walk back to the orphanage. He couldn't help but replay the old lady's words from just now.
'I lost a friend and you lost your father. Don't you feel even the slightest bit of anger? Don't you want to punish those who pushed Leko to death doors?'
Leo scratched his head. Perhaps it was because of the drowsiness kicking in, but he really wanted to punish those who caused Leko to die.
Leko was a wise man, and a friendly one too. If today's event had not happened, Leko would have lived for a few more decades. But now, Leo wouldn't be able to witness his Father growing old.
Leo decided to stop by Leko's graveyard one more time. It was definitely really late already, but his feet didn't stop until they reached Leko's gravestone.
'Just one last time…', these words kept repeating in his mind and heart.
"Father, I hope you're happy up there. Don't worry about here, I'll make sure all the orphans live happily and those who killed you will definitely get what they deserved.", Leo prayed in front of Leko's gravestone as he got angry a bit at the thought of those analyzers.
By now, it was about to be morning. Leo, who was quite tired, felt sleepy. He sat down and laid his head near the gravestone.
For a moment, it felt as if Leko was present there and Leo was placing his head on his lap.
Regardless, Leo prayed a bit more as the dawn arrived.
"It's morning already…?", he asked himself in a faint voice.
The morning sun shone brightly on Leo's head. That's when Leo realized, Ai must be very worried about him. Knowing her personality, she might also be thinking of dashing back to the graveyard to fetch him. She wouldn't have been able to fall asleep for sure.
"I better get going now.", Leo stood up impatiently and ran out of the graveyard. His weary shoes tapped onto the lifeless ground. As he was just about to exit the graveyard, out of the blue, Leo saw a large shadow covering his own. Leo looked up at the sky only to gasp in surprise.
*Squawk*
A gigantic red bird flew right above the village. The bird's feathers glimmered in the sunlight, making it seem rather majestic.
'This bird…'
'The color…'
Daryun, who had been standing near the place, was shocked to see the beast fly over the village.
Leo saw Darion standing there in awe.
In a shock, he murmured, 'Phoenix…?'
'A phoenix?', Leo thought as he heard Darion say, instantly using his Dragon Eyes to see the level of this majestic creature.
"A level 80?" Leo said aloud in awe. He could feel his Rooster beast soul reacting quite aggressively. He had never seen any creature of a high level before, so his eyes shone brightly at the sight of the phoenix.
When using dragon eyes, Leo could see the levels of cultivators and beasts. It was rather mysterious. But what exactly could he see through those eyes of his that made him sure of the levels?
Well, it was rather a simple thing, Leo could see the energy contained in the heart and soul of a beast and figure out almost exactly at which level the beast was. He wasn't a fool. To be precise, he was quite smart, hence, conducting a small calculation was nothing but a piece of cake for him.
He measured the amount of energy that a level 10 beast, the night cat had, and then raised it exponentially to reach a precise equation with the help of which he could determine at what level someone was. Of course, even a slight fluctuation could be detected by the Dragon Eyes.
He had yet to use those eyes on Darion.
Regardless, the majestic phoenix flew in one loop, showcasing its brilliant ability to the entire place.
The villagers were now gathering in a small crowd, pointing their index fingers at the phoenix while admiring the gorgeous beast from afar.
They all ran out of the houses the moment they heard the phoenix squeak.
While the phoenix just circled, for a moment it felt as if it stared at Leo.
Yes, the phoenix stared at Leo proudly. Then, it flew away.
'Sorry, Rooster. I am no match with that phoenix. I might die before I even get close to it right now…' Leo clenched his fist and grabbed the left side of his chest as he thought this.
His body trembled, not with fear, but with excitement.
From the corner of his eye, Leo spotted a red feather on the ground. It must have been from the phoenix! He picked it up gingerly, afraid of destroying this fragile treasure that was probably left by the phoenix. Yes, it fell exactly where Leo had been standing, just a foot away from him.
The feather looked really beautiful. Its top vane was a merlot red shade which gradually became lighter as it neared the bottom vane. The afterfeather had streaks of gold which sparkled really brightly when a ray of sunlight struck it.
'I'll keep this as a souvenir. Hopefully, the next time we meet, I am much stronger than I am now.'
'Will we be friends…'
'Or foes…?'
'Will you help me by staying by my side or by becoming my dinner…?', Leo smirked as he thought about all this.