As Indra continued speaking about his past, Aadi quickly interrupted, "Stop! Stop! We get it. Now tell me how Aurora ended up in this situation under your protection?"
Hearing that, Indra Verma smiled wryly and said, "Sometimes, I began to lose control of my body after that incident seventeen years ago. Since then, I would hide whenever I felt like I was losing control, and when I regained it, I would once again protect her."
"But this time, when I returned, all I saw were the ruins of the Ashborn Clan. The entire clan was annihilated, and the courtyard was filled with blood and corpses. But I discovered that Aurora wasn't among them, so I followed the trails and arrived here."
After listening to Indra Verma, Aadi frowned slightly and said, "If you knew about your condition, then why didn't you take precautions?"
"I did. I left a High-Grade Saint-Tier spear, which can kill even a Saint Profound Stage artist, in the hands of the Ashborn Clan's Patriarch, who's at the Late-Heaven Profound Stage, so..." Indra Verma's voice trailed off as he now understood the situation.
Aadi sighed at this typical situation. There was a golden rule in the cultivation world — not to bite off more than you can chew. Obviously, someone would have leaked the existence of the Saint-Tier weapon in the Ashborn Clan's hands.
In the kingdoms, the highest cultivation stage was typically the Ruler Profound Stage, so the appearance of a Saint-Tier weapon would have stoked the greed of many, maybe even the Royal family, resulting in the Ashborn Clan's massacre to erase any evidence.
After some time, Aadi said, "Okay, so now that everything is clear, you can go and do whatever you want. As for Aurora, I'm going to take her as my disciple, so her safety is pretty much guaranteed."
Asty even waved her little paw to shoo him away.
Indra Verma became alarmed and hurriedly kneeled, saying, "My lord, can you also take me under you? I'm fine with anything — servant, gardener, anything — just take me under your wing."
Indra knew this was his only chance to continue his cultivation journey. If he attempted to ascend to the Divine World, he'd face that man, and staying in this little realm meant he'd eventually die of old age.
Aadi became dumbfounded seeing this. 'For god's sake, you're standing at the peak of this realm; where's your dignity?'
"Nah, I don't have anything for you. Just go and enjoy your life; don't disturb me," Aadi said, while Asty glared at Indra.
Indra Verma wanted to continue persuading, but when he saw the icy gaze of Asty, he swallowed his words, stood up, and dejectedly left the house. He was about to open the door when...
*Splat*
...a cake appeared out of nowhere and smashed right into his face. He stood rooted, clueless about where the cake had come from. 'What the hell?! Where is this cake coming from?'
Indra hurriedly cleaned his face and then heard Aadi's voice, filled with laughter.
"Oi, old man, be careful; there are many types of traps I've laid out just in case a thief appears," Aadi said with a harmless smile.
'Thief, my ass!!' Indra didn't even want to stay there any longer, so he opened the door and flew away in case another "trap" activated.
In the room, Aadi was laughing, and even Asty had a smile etched on her face.
"It's been a while since I used my Dao Of Cake. Refreshing, isn't it, Asty?" Aadi asked.
Asty replied to the laughing Aadi, "You love doing this, huh?"
"Yeah, but did you see his face? Pfft, haha, damn, that was satisfying," Aadi said, still laughing.
"Now what?" Asty ignored his antics and asked.
"Tch, you're never going to understand the true Dao like this. Sigh, anyway, let's take a look at Aurora first. If she wants revenge, she can take it herself later," Aadi said, moving toward the bed where Aurora was lying.
At that moment, Aurora also woke up, and as she opened her eyes, she began to look around vigilantly.
"Yo, how are you doing, little girl?" Aadi said playfully.
Aurora immediately sat up and searched for the dagger in her clothes, but she didn't find it. With no other choice, she brought her hands up in a boxing stance and asked, "Who are you?"
Asty held back the urge to roll her eyes at this repetitive question.
Aadi could understand her vigilance, as her entire clan was wiped out in front of her, and he'd use it to motivate her a little.
"Who am I? Hehe, let me introduce myself. My name is Advait, but my nickname is Aadi. As for my profession, I'm just a humble owner of this small bookstore," Aadi said.
The room fell silent as Aurora looked at him with an expression that said, 'Do you seriously think I would believe you?' and Asty, well, she was used to Aadi's nonsensical behavior.
"So you expect me to believe that an owner of a small bookstore took me from the hands of a Heaven Profound Stage artist?" Aurora asked.
"Nobody really cares whether you believe it or not," Aadi shrugged.
"Besides, if we wanted you dead, do you seriously think you'd be able to resist?" Asty added.
"The cat can speak!!!" Aurora was completely dumbfounded after hearing Asty, as she knew that for Profound beasts to speak freely, they needed to be at least at the Ruler Profound Stage.
Profound beasts were known to be stronger than humans at the same stage, meaning this little white cat she'd ignored until now could easily trample over the kingdom she lived in.
But after hearing Asty's words and thinking about her situation, Aurora relaxed a bit, though she kept her guard up.
'Still cautious, huh? Well, that's good; it might save her life in critical situations,' Aadi thought with a smile.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to introduce her. This little cat is my friend, and her name is Asty. Be careful around her; her temper is as high as the sun's temperature," Aadi said playfully, which earned him a smack on the back of his head from Asty.
"That aside, I have a question for you." Aadi's tone shifted to serious.
"Do you want revenge?"