Soha felt like he had slept for a week straight. His head felt heavy and weighed up. When he opened his eyes, he felt as if he was back home.
Black hair billowing in the wind, always cheerful, his big sister Evelyn would be there, giving him a smack or two on the back of his head whenever she passed by him with a laugh. The little rat Eva would giggle on the side and throw pillows at him before running behind her big sister.
When he was happily reading something, they would enter the room and turn off the light before walking out like they had done nothing. When he was bathing, they would covertly lock the door from outside.
Tired of their antics, he would shout obscenities, and his Mother, Susan, would come to free him like an angel. Ruffling his hair and showing him where they had run off to.
In the mornings, he would wake up to the smell of coffee or his sister's angry face for him being too lazy. They were a close family... they rarely even slept in different beds. He couldn't lose any of them.
He thought of Evelyn once more. All of his family admired her, a woman so fiercely righteous even the devil would have felt warm at heart. If there was a story of a Hero saving the world, she must sure be a part of it.
He breathed out and looked at his surroundings. A shadow loomed over his eyes for a brief second before it turned determined. Currently, he was in a medicinal facility, and the heavy scent of crushed medicine hung like a blanket over thin air.
There was a numbing ache in his stomach, and his whole body was patched up in bandages and wrappings. Especially his hands, which were tied using many plastic-like things. He was also wearing a new set of clean white robes.
Briefly, he tried to sense and move his Innate Qi, and it flowed smoothly. He focused all his Innate Qi on his hand for a second and felt as if it was bursting with strength. A surge of confidence flickered through him.
"Emma, I am a second-class Martial Artist now, right?" He asked in his mind after musing for a while. He should be since he could already move Innate Qi all across his body.
"[You are. And one with a bit of fighting experience already,]" she replied, a happiness to her tone.
That and her words made him smile. "That's true. I still feel like my blood is hot. That was intense!"
"[Your blood is too hot…]" She said, "[I thought it would all be over yesterday.]"
He chuckled. "So what would I be like in Aetherian compared to Espers? Rank 1 Espers?"
"[Yeah, among the stronger Rank 1 Espers. Physically, you would be stronger than them when enhanced by Innate Qi, and like their Esper Abilities—which could be something that can't easily be ranked—you also have an Ability of sorts, which is your Black Poison Palm Art.]"
He nodded, feeling good, and then turned around to look out through a closed glass window. Outside was the clinic, and many people were around there. Lined up to meet the doctor for various cases. Their hubbub was barely visible through the glass, but he could hear it clearly.
"So what had happened in the end?" he asked. Emma never needed sleep, and she could always act as another pair of eyes for him when he was sleeping, so she should know.
"[You were half unconscious by the time you arrived here, but you pushed through the mob and met the doctor. He stitched and took care of your wound. He was a really skilled physician, to the point that he even took care not to harm your meridians. Many people spoke against helping you since you seemed like a demonic art practitioner and were covered in blood, but the doctor calmly said, 'I am a healer, not the carrier of justice,' before taking you in and proceeding to heal you. A young girl even bathed you.]"
"…I see. Where is the doctor?" It was the first time he felt so much gratitude for a person in this world. He sighed. He should stay absolutely away from this area from now on so that he wouldn't have to harm them for some reason.
"[He is caring for other patients outside. Look beside your bed, there is a letter on the table he left you. I couldn't read it without your eyes being open. I could only use your ears to know what was happening. You have been asleep for twelve hours for now. You should quickly move.]"
Hm? So she shared his own senses?
"Letter?" Soha looked to the side and found a yellowed letter alongside his cleaned red mask. Bereft of any bloodstains. He took the letter and checked its content.
"I could smell the Li Clan's poison in you, kid, so I would tell you some things. Many of the people around had already reported your entry here to the authorities but my connections delayed them. I can, at most, delay them till this sunset. You should immediately leave."
Soha's expression changed. That was true. People wouldn't be so forgiving. He quickly stood up, took his mask, tied it to his face, and walked out. On his way, he briefly glanced at the old man sitting behind a desk who was carefully examining a boy's mouth.
The man looked at him.
With a slight bow, Soha calmly left.
He had felt a bit less grateful to the man once he realized that he had helped him due to him being a part of the Li Clan circle, but there was no reason to be ungrateful. That was hypocritical. He felt grateful. The man had saved his life.
But at the same time, a question popped into his head that made him uncomfortable as he began running—
They were in a city now, and he already wanted to leave. Yet, the question wouldn't leave his mind like a hanging cloud. Yet, he shook it aside.
— If he had to kill that doctor to reach the next Martial Stage, would he?
The people around the clinic were dead silent.
The mask and the cold eyes behind it frightened them.
The image of a blood-soaked man was still etched in some of their minds.
The authorities were too late.