PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

261 Chapter 261 The Suspect and the Competition Between Sects

Who would have thought that after Xiauyue’s question, Desmond would only show her a blank expression that betrayed that he probably didn’t know anything about it; so exasperated Xiauyue had to explain: “I almost forgot that you are not from around here, we call it the harvest festival but more than a festival this is something like a pitched battle between sects that takes place in the mountainous region of the thousand beasts. Every year in the spring season all the sects that border this mountainous region send their disciples to collect all kinds of precious materials from these mountains, for the mountains are not only rich in precious herbs and magical minerals but even the beasts that inhabit the region are considered precious resources. ”

Having a slight idea of ??where the conversation was going Desmond commented: “Let me guess, the event becomes a battle of all against all where the disciples compete for resources not only with the disciples of other sects but also against their companions”

“What did you expect? Everything here is a fight, it is also a perfect opportunity for the various sects to show the strength of their disciples while trying to weaken other sects by killing their disciples “Mei interrupted as she carried several plates full of food to the table.

“And just like that, they start killing each other?” Desmond asked confused.

“It is the law of the fittest I suppose, if it is any consolation, normally the number of deaths is not usually excessively high, after all, although killing some disciples of other sects is tempting; the treasures in the mountains are much more attractive especially for the participants. ” Xiauyue replied with a bit of empathy, understanding a little why Desmond found it disturbing to talk about it.

Ironically, Xiauyue had greatly misunderstood Desmond’s intentions, as in reality he just wanted to make sure about the objectives of the event to decide whether or not he participated.

“You should participate, you are always complaining about the lack of resources so this is a perfect opportunity for you to go hunting for riches, as far as I know of the five sects that border the mountains of the thousand beasts, two are diabolical sects; I guess you won’t feel too bad hunting those bastards. Believe me, it’s a great way to earn money. Not only can you keep everything those vermin carry on top of them, but the sect will reward you for each one of them you kill; It’s the perfect job for someone like us. “Finding another chance to intervene Mei commented on another way to make a small fortune, but from the bloody smile on her lips, it was obvious that the girl was not just eager to fill her pockets so her Predatory instinct throbbed with excitement at the notion of the hunt.

But she wasn’t the only one, at the end of the day it was and like she said it was the perfect job for people like her and Desmond. Seeing Desmond and Mei burning fiercely, Xiauyue smiled wryly and thought that perhaps during the event she should wear an elegant black robe with red flowers to mourn the victims of these two.

As for the idea of ??stopping them? The very concept was ridiculous, in the first instance she knew the kind of monsters that were the members of the diabolical sects, even the most innocent among them was a ruthless murderer so no one would feel sorry for them.

.....

As if that wasn’t enough, Xiauyue was quite aware of Mei and Desmond’s circumstances, both of them were highly talented people with a great need for resources and no endorsement so events like the harvest festival were of absolute importance to them.

After all, Xiauyue couldn’t support Mei with her resources even if she wanted to, for even if she was the number one disciple of the sect and the Miao family’s favorite daughter, she still needed an absurd amount of resources for her training. Not to mention that simply because she was a woman she had been granted far fewer privileges and resources compared to what someone deserved with her accomplishments.

On the other hand, it was also unlikely that Mei would be happy to accept such an agreement, Mei could appear to be a kind and energetic girl quite accessible most of the time but underneath her superficial appearance was pride and independence that made her who she was and it wouldn`t let her depend on others to that extent to survive.

“In that case, I think I will participate, it is just as you said, I need the resources, also the hunt will help me clear my mind” Desmond said with a happy attitude but anyone who listened to the way he said the word hunting would know that someone was about to have bad luck.

Soon the trio ended their conversation and began another ill-mannered battle for food, after which everyone with different excuses or attitudes decided to take a short nap during which they all ended up huddled together like puppies looking for warmth in the winter.

This was another habit the trio had developed in recent weeks, each with their own needs to push away their respective feelings of loneliness. They found comfort the first time something like this happened and inadvertently began repeating this warm moment until An unspoken understanding was made between the trio.

In the afternoon, when they woke up, each one took care of their affairs or simply focused their attention on training, as an additional note during the last weeks Desmond had undergone a hellish training every afternoon to increase the vigor of his body taking advantage of the few resources that he had been assigned as an internal disciple.

Perhaps because his body had only undergone the natural reinforcement given by the increase in its general strength based on mana, the effects of this training in conjunction with resources rich in Ki; Desmond found the improvement quite noticeable which was why he was so eager for more and better resources.

Mei on the other hand would not achieve a breakthrough in her current strength level unless she obtained extremely precious resources so she focused her attention on learning and combining some elements that she observed of Desmond’s fighting style and abilities in her style.

Xiauyue of course would not be left behind and began special training to master one of the special abilities of her family that she had had problems with, it seems she got some kind of inspiration when she was chatting with Desmond where he explained to her about the logic behind the skill.

In this way almost another week passed during which the trio trained as if their lives depended on them, but taking into account the kind of event in which they planned to participate; the truth is that their lives were certainly at risk.

During that week nothing interesting happened in Desmond’s work in the medicinal pavilion and instead, he ended up deriving some other alchemical formulas with the help of Xiauyue, at this point Desmond already had certain plans to acquire the necessary ingredients and other precious treasures on the mountain of a thousand beasts and give them to Sasha to experiment on and create some useful medicines for her and Claire.

It wasn’t until the last day before the harvest festival began that something caught Desmond’s attention during his routine work in the medical ward.

While Desmond was organizing the medicinal components in Ai Zulin’s personal refining room, someone came looking for the alchemist, it turned out to be a middle-aged blacksmith who carried an air of importance and arrogance about himself.

The man was quite dismissive in dealing with Desmond and did not bother to hide his lustful interest in Ai Zulin who was not there to admonish the man for his rude behavior, but what caught Desmond’s attention were two details that the blacksmith failed in hiding.

The first was that the medicine he came to request was a type of antidote to treat a type of chronic disease caused by metal poisoning, a very common condition among blacksmiths who did not work in the right conditions for many years during their youth, this The disease caused, among other things, shortness of breath and severe chronic pain, and its treatment with this drug requires continuous doses.

Another detail that the blacksmith failed to hide was the sinister and poisonous glow that lurked in the back of his pupils when he spoke about courting Ai Zulin.

As soon as the man left, Desmond’s mind began to race, from his brief interaction with the man Desmond had gathered enough data to assemble a basic profile of the man.

Given the age of the subject, it was a bit inappropriate for him to court someone Ai Zulin’s age but that did not seem to matter to the man not to mention that he did not seem to have a very high opinion of women in general.

A person suffering from severe chronic pain would have reason to have sadistic tendencies to inflict pain on others, and given the man’s illness, it was obvious that the man frequently passed through the area to which the victims belong.

Plus, there was that dangerous glow that Desmond briefly caught when the man heard that Ai Zulin wasn’t there to attend to him, just remembering it was enough to give Desmond the chills.

“Some things fit, but I need more information; I should probably have a conversation with Ai Zulin... in any case, that man is dangerous “Desmond muttered to himself with a seriousness that was only seen in him when things got bad, such was the impression that the blacksmith named Feng Sho.