"..." Zancrow wanted to refuse outright when he heard the girl's words, but the burly man beside him held him back. He snorted coldly, shot Xi Feng a vicious glare, and left.
"..." Xi Feng made no attempt to stop Zancrow from leaving. He simply turned to the woman and asked, "Who are you? Were you the ones who did this to the city?"
"That's none of your business. Since you took care of Meredy, I'll let you leave this time." The woman frowned at Xi Feng and spoke flatly before turning to leave.
"Ultear."
"!!!" Xi Feng's words made the woman stare in disbelief. "Who exactly are you?!" she demanded warily.
"Don't be nervous." Xi Feng shook his head as he looked at Ultear. "I know a thing or two about you. About Ur..."
"Shut up!" Hearing Xi Feng mention Ur enraged Ultear. She turned away, carrying Meredy in her arms.
"Meredy, we're leaving."
"Well..." Little Meredy looked from Xi Feng to Ultear, then said to him, "Bye-bye, big brother."
"Yeah." Xi Feng nodded to Meredy, then spoke to Ultear's retreating back. "Ultear, you may have misunderstood your mother. If you ever want to know what really happened, you can come find me."
"..." Ultear paused involuntarily, then continued walking without a word.
Chapter 19: Kagura
After his chance encounter with Ultear and the others, Xi Feng ran into no more major incidents. The rest of his journey was leisurely and uneventful.
"Help!!"
"Hehehe, stop screaming, little girl. Who's going to save you out here in the middle of nowhere? Hahaha!"
A sleazy, lecherous voice followed the girl's soft cry.
"Boss, once you're finished, could you let us have a turn?"
"It's not every day we find a virgin. Look how innocent she is-nothing like those sluts in the dark guilds. Once I've had my fill, I'll let you boys have a taste," the same sleazy voice replied.
"Thanks, boss! Look, she must only be twelve or thirteen. She's a bit dirty, but she'd be a real beauty once she's cleaned up! And that long black hair-isn't that just what you love most?" one of the bootlickers said.
"No! Stay away! Come any closer and you'll regret it!" Anger filled the girl's eyes as she listened to them, but inside, she was terrified. She had spent years struggling to find her brother, only to run into these men today.
"Hehehe, little bitch, what are you going to do about it? I love a girl with some fight in her!" The leader's breathing grew heavy, leaving the black-haired girl at a loss.
What do I do?! Brother! Will we really never see each other again? Watching the bandits inch closer, the black-haired girl grew more and more frightened.
"Someone, please save me!!"
"Hahaha, stop screaming. Who's going to come save you out in these deserted mountains?" The bandit leader slowly approached the black-haired girl, who had nowhere left to run.
"Someone did. I heard her." A calm voice rang out.
"Who?! Who's there?!" The bandits immediately grew wary and scanned their surroundings, but they saw no one.
"Up here, idiots."
Xi Feng jumped down from the tree and landed right in front of the black-haired girl, kicking the bandit leader as he did.
"Urgh!!" The sudden kick to his stomach left the bandit leader in agony, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Boss!!"
"Boss!!"
Seeing their leader sent flying with a single kick, the lackeys cried out in alarm.
"Damn it... kill him!!" The bandit leader clutched his chest, which burned with unbearable pain.
"Yes!"
"Kill him!!"
"Get him together!"
A dozen or so bandit lackeys charged at him with their weapons.
"Stay out of the way." Rather than immediately responding to the charging bandits, Xi Feng spoke to the girl behind him.
"..." As the black-haired girl looked at Xi Feng, she felt that he was strangely familiar, as though she had seen him somewhere before. Unable to remember where, she froze for a moment. His voice brought her back to her senses, and she quickly nodded.
"..." Seeing the black-haired girl nod, Xi Feng said nothing. The Blade of Gale appeared in his hand.
"Forward Slash!"
Xi Feng vanished in an instant, then appeared among the bandits, darting back and forth. Under their leader's terrified gaze, every last lackey fell.
"How is this possible..." The bandit leader stared in disbelief at his fallen men, while the black-haired girl looked at Xi Feng in shock.
"Don't... don't kill me... please! I have money! Lots of money! You can have it all!" As Xi Feng slowly approached, the terrified bandit leader kept retreating and begging for mercy.
"Hmm?" Hearing that, Xi Feng stopped and asked, "Where's your money?"
"In my hideout. It's not far from here, just up ahead." Seeing a chance to survive, the bandit leader told him everything.
"Oh? Is that so?" After hearing his answer, Xi Feng gave an eerie smile and swung the Blade of Gale.
"Urgh... you..." The bandit leader stared in disbelief at the Blade of Gale buried in his heart, then breathed his last, unwilling to accept his fate.
Xi Feng paid no mind to the bandit leader's bitter end. He had no idea whether the man had told the truth. If he had, Xi Feng would profit. If not, he would lose nothing.
"Are you all right?"
Xi Feng walked up to the black-haired girl and asked gently.
"Ah!" The black-haired girl finally recovered from her shock and thanked him. "Thank you. My name is Kagura. Kagura Mikazuchi."
"Kagura." Xi Feng was a little stunned to hear her name. He had never expected to meet her here.
"What's wrong?" Apparently noticing the surprise in his voice, Kagura asked in confusion.
"Nothing." Xi Feng shook his head and continued, "My name is Xi Feng. What brought you here?"
"I came to look for my brother, but those bandits targeted me along the way." Kagura looked downcast at the mention of her brother.
"Don't dwell on it. Let's get something to eat in the nearby town first. You must be hungry." Xi Feng patted her little head. He knew that Kagura was looking for her brother, Simon, but he did not plan to tell her anything. Her brother was currently in the Tower of Heaven, and if Kagura knew that, she would surely go straight there to find him. Never mind whether she could reach the Tower of Heaven-even getting out to sea would be a problem.
"Okay." Having her head patted so suddenly made Kagura a little shy, and she nodded.
Xi Feng and Kagura then went to the bandit leader's hideout first. A few lackeys initially tried to stop him, but after he demonstrated his overwhelming strength, no one dared stand in his way.
With a lackey leading them, Xi Feng and Kagura reached the hideout's storeroom.
The money inside was neither a fortune nor a paltry sum. It filled exactly one bag.
After taking the money, Xi Feng destroyed the hideout while he was at it, then took Kagura to the nearby town.
"Are you full?"
Xi Feng wiped his mouth and gently asked Kagura, who was sitting across from him.
"Mm-hmm. Thank you for the meal." Kagura nodded her adorable little head.
"What are you going to do next? Keep looking for your brother?"
"I..." Hearing Xi Feng's question, Kagura did not know how to answer. Although she desperately wanted to find her brother, Simon, she had no way to protect herself. If something like this happened again, would someone like Xi Feng be there to help her? After thinking it over, she seemed to make up her mind. "Big brother Xi Feng, can you teach me magic?"
"Hmm? Magic?" Xi Feng frowned when Kagura asked him to teach her magic. He did not know how to teach it, so he shook his head. "Sorry, Kagura. I don't know how to teach anyone magic."
"Oh... all right." His answer left Kagura disappointed, but his next words gave her hope again.
"Although I can't teach you magic, I can teach you swordsmanship. Do you want to learn?"
"Yes! Yes!" Kagura nodded repeatedly, afraid he might decide not to teach her.
"All right, then. Let's get ready and buy some things for training. I'll start teaching you swordsmanship tomorrow."
"Yes."
Chapter 20: Training Kagura
"Put some strength into it! Haven't you eaten, Kagura? You've got the courage to swing your sword at me, but is that really all you've got? Is that the extent of your resolve?!" Xi Feng casually swung a wooden stick. Though his movements looked careless, each one blocked Kagura's attacks. His swordsmanship was not at a master's level, but projecting weapons such as Monohoshizao and the Blade of Gale had given him a fair amount of understanding.
"Yes!!"
Kagura answered and slashed rapidly at Xi Feng with her wooden sword.
Watching Kagura, Xi Feng could not help admiring her talent. Although he had only trained and instructed her for a week, her swordsmanship was already growing increasingly refined. Probably only Erza could compare with her talent for the sword.
It was already noon, and the sun hung directly above them. Kagura had spent the entire morning slashing at Xi Feng with her wooden sword. She had tried every powerful sword move he had taught her, yet she still could not so much as touch the hem of his clothes, let alone force him back half a step.
"That's enough. Keeping this up won't do much good. Let's go eat first." Xi Feng glanced at the sun overhead, stopped, and spoke gently.
"No! I want to keep training!" Kagura grabbed Xi Feng's hand, her gaze resolute. She did not know what he expected of her, but she absolutely refused to let him look down on her or be disappointed in her.
"Be good. Let's eat first." Xi Feng stroked Kagura's head and spoke gently. Although he liked her persistence, she was far too stubborn and exacting. Unless she was satisfied with herself, she would never stop.
"No!!" Kagura stubbornly shook her head and stared straight at Xi Feng.
"..." Meeting Kagura's gaze, Xi Feng sighed helplessly. "I'll practice with you one more time, then. But..."
"But what?"
Seeing that Xi Feng had agreed, Kagura hurriedly asked.
"You'll use this sword to attack me!"
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