Chapter 169 – Ways of the Wild (I)

Chapter 169

Ways of the Wild (I)

Ignoring Light’s odd (but expected, I suppose) reaction, my attention was drawn to the figure that just landed–not only because of the spectacular entrance, but also because of the clothes.

They were red.

And not, like, stained with blood red, no–but like those aggressively red dresses that actresses would wear occasionally. And that wasn’t all–across the surface of the robes, strange patterns pulsated like heartbeats, almost. Circles with a web of interwoven stitches within them, and with all those circles being connected, too, in a similar fashion.

The person… himself? Herself? Impossible to say, honestly, as their entire face skidded against the ground a bit and was now a mess of blood and gore that nigh made me vomit.

I suddenly felt an arm press into my chest as I found myself flickered backward; just as I was about to try and defend myself in any way I could, I noticed that it was Long Tao who abruptly pulled me back. Just in time, too, as no more than three seconds later, the body exploded in a shower of gore, blood, chunks, and black flames.

The ground shook further as I panicked and looked around for the other kids–luckily, Xi Zhao seems to have dragged Light away just in time, while Wan Lan and Dai Xiu worked together to block most of the blast.

As the dust began to settle and the visibility came back, we walked up to where we were only to see a crater the size of a small house and no body.

The strangest thing?

… I couldn’t sense any Qi.

“There really are Shamans here,” Long Tao mumbled, probably on purpose.

Shamans? The heck are shamans?

“I heard about them from Madame,” Wan Lan spoke up. “I don’t think she ever mentioned them being around here, though.”

“They shouldn’t be,” Long Tao shrugged indifferently, looking over my shoulder and toward where the original explosion occurred. “There’s a treaty barring them entry from most layers. If caught, the penalty is death.”

Okay, please, would one of you explain what the hell shamans are?!

“What’s a shaman, Senior Brother?” Thank you, Dai Xiu! See? That’s why you’re my favorite!

“Hmm,” Long Tao stroked his chin meaningfully for a moment before replying. “They draw upon a different kind of energy,” he said. “However, the quantity of their energy is… lacking. That’s why they draw those circles on their robes–they’re like arrays, of sorts, that draw in the minute traces and store them within.”

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“Ooh! So, they’re not really scary?”

“Oh, no, that’s precisely why they are scary,” Long Tao said, surprising even me. “Qi, comparatively, is quick and extremely versatile, but when it comes to raw output of energy–theirs is quite better. That explosion, for instance, was merely two specks of energy igniting the core and fusing in a particular way. What can you do with two specks of Qi? Maybe move a sparrow’s feather, if you’re close enough?”

Hmm.

Okay.

“But he’s dead now,” Wan Lan said. “Unless he wasn’t alone?” Okay, I guess he’s a he.