Ryu tried to hide his presence while running next to Zhu, but it was actually really difficult to do that, because he didn't have any plan how to do it.
It was like trying to compress a huge see into a bucket. Again and again he imagined it, but nothing happened.
Was this the wrong way to supress his presence? How should he do it then?
He was totally new in this world and nobody told him anything about it.
Further away he sensed another three people flying through the air. Ryu looked at Zhu, but she just ran further as if she did not sense them.
When the three came closer Ryu expected that they would notice them and hunt them down.
Surprisingly they just continued flying and did not pursue him and Zhu.
Over time the forest became more dense and green. The trees were up to 50 meters high and full packed with leaves.
The branches and bushes hindered Ryu more and more on his path. Although his sturdy scales destroyed everything, it slowed him down a bit and it was more difficult to run further over time.
Black clothed humanes flew more often through the air over them. Althrough they did not find them it was just a matter of time. Ryu did not know if he was imagining it, but he felt that Zhu was actually nervous.
Suddenly he felt that something was coming from above. It was just a milli second and before he could react something fell from the sky and created a crater just a few hundred meters infront of them.
Shattered trees, branches and dirt flew through the air, like a big explosion.
The swirled up dirt created a huge dirt cloud on the ground.
A masculine shadow appeared in the dirt cloud, which walked out of the crater.
The human was walking in slow steps towards them. The dirt smoke around was also settling, which made the man more recognizable.
He had gray short hair and a gray beard. Although his age he seemed quite handsome and strong.
Ryu didn't dare to attack him recklessly, because there was something in his charisma what made him hesitate.
Also Zhu was like frozen in time, she wasn't moving at all and her expression was emotionless.
It was probably too late for running away. Without a doubt this old man was strong even for Zhu or maybe even stronger.
The old man stopped around twenty meters away from them and took a closer look.
"What are you two doing here in this area?"
It was a common question, but in his undertone a dangerous note resonated.
"We are heading towards my home town which lies further this way.", Zhu honestly answered.
"So for what do you need that golden lizard and why do you hide yourself and him?", the old man asked.
This was a stuck situation. Should he try to talk to that person and negotiate, but since the other encounters with humans he knew that he can't negotiate with them.
Ryu's only hope was Zhu
"As I said we are just traveling through this land and this lizzard is just a present for my I found long ago on my journey."
"You still haven't answered my question why you hide your presence." The man replied in a more aggressive tone.
"This forest is full of Beasts and there are also many thieves out here, you can never be cautious enough.", Zhu answered him.
Without any time to react the old man jumped towards Zhu.he swung his hand down towards her neck. It was so fast that Ryu couldn't even warn her anymore.
Just in the last millisecond she narrowly dogged his hit with a fast jump to the left.
The man seemed a bit surprised that she was able to avoid his attack.
This time Zhu wasn't waiting again to make a move. Several water blades formed in the air and flew very fast at the man.
Although being targeted by Zhu's water blades the old man just grabbed something in the air and pulled out of nowhere a shining sword.
It the swords handle was a big shiny blue gem integrated, the sword edge was silver with golden lines in it. The sword itself was rather thin but had a ominous aura like it was a legendary sword.
With just a single swung of his sword he cut through all the water blades. They didn't even reach him.
Zhu also pulled a sword out of nowhere.
It wasn't as mythical as the old man's sword, it rather had a dark appearance. The handle of it was silver and the edge was light purple.