There were no stars in the sky tonight, and no moon either.
Lin Lei, the undead grand magician "Seisler," the black-striped cloud leopard "Black Lu," and Bei Bei wound their way through the dark alleyways. At the same time, Lin Lei reverted to his human form.
"Hiss—"
Lin Lei's tattered trousers were burned straight to ash by the flame, and with a flip of his hand, a new pair of trousers and a black close-fitting shirt appeared. In a flash he had them on.
"Hmm, this kid Lin Lei is even more remarkable than I expected." Seisler's greenish eyes were fixed on Lin Lei. The whole scene just now — how could Seisler have missed it? Lin Lei possessed a spatial ring.
A spatial ring — Seisler had one of those too.
He had obtained it over four hundred years ago, back when he'd been performing "undead enslavement" in the Magic Beast Mountain Range. He had unknowingly caused a white-boned corpse — dead for God knows how long — to tear through the earth and crawl out. On that corpse's finger was a spatial ring.
Seisler had been ecstatic.
After examining the surrounding terrain, he had deduced that the corpse's owner was probably someone who had fought magical beasts several thousand years ago, suffered grievous wounds, and fallen into a deep valley to die. But over the millennia the landscape had shifted, and the gorge had completely sealed itself shut.
For him — an undead grand magician over eight hundred years old — owning a spatial ring was one thing. But the young man before him was clearly very young. Where had he gotten his?
"Hurry." Once Lin Lei was dressed, he said in a low voice.
"Lin Lei, I'm growing more and more curious about you." Seisler's smile was downright sinister.
Lin Lei glanced sideways at him. "Seisler, listen — from now on, you don't call me by my real name without my permission. Just call me 'Lei.'"
Seisler raised an eyebrow. "I understand. You're worried about your identity getting exposed."
In truth, Lin Lei's name carried some fame in other empires as well, though it was known in the world of stone sculpture. Those who loved sculpture all knew Lin Lei well. A sixteen-year-old who could carve works on par with a master sculptor — how could any enthusiast not admire him?
Unfortunately, Seisler was an old codger with no interest in stone sculpture whatsoever.
They hurried on.
"Where are we headed?" Seisler kept pace at high speed while quietly asking Lin Lei.
"Outside the city," Lin Lei said calmly.
"But you're not heading for the gate, are you?" Seisler asked, puzzled.
"Does getting out of a city mean you have to walk through the gate?" Lin Lei gave him a flat look, and Seisler instantly grasped his intentions.
"But it isn't even ten o'clock yet — the gate hasn't closed. We could walk right out," Seisler said quickly.
"I don't know how strong the Church of Light's forces are in Chier City. There could very well be their people stationed at the gate. If you walk out that way… you'll likely be recognized. Keep in mind — when you were staying at that estate, besides the six experts from the Church of Light headquarters, other people also saw your face," Lin Lei said coolly.
Seisler nodded.
When he had been brought there under guard, there had indeed been a group of people at the estate — clearly the Church of Light's garrison in Chier City. There had even been servants ready to attend to Lampson and the others.
But Lampson had been very cautious, worried that enemy agents might infiltrate, and had ordered all the servants to leave.
Lin Lei and Seisler soon reached the towering city wall, a good twenty meters high. It left Seisler completely at a loss.
"I can't make it over," Seisler said flatly.
As an undead grand magician, his body was roughly equivalent to a third-level warrior's. But leaping over a wall more than twenty meters tall was simply out of the question.
"Black Lu." Lin Lei looked at the black-striped cloud leopard.
"Rrraah~" The sleek black leopard — two meters tall and four meters long — fixed its cold, dark eyes on the undead grand magician.
"Get on Black Lu's back," Lin Lei ordered.
Seisler didn't hesitate. He swung himself up onto Black Lu's back. Bei Bei, standing atop the leopard, shot Seisler a provocative look. Seisler, for his part, didn't dare tangle with these two magical beasts.
He had witnessed the earlier battle, and with his keen eye, he could tell that the black leopard and the black shadow mouse were both ninth-level magical beasts. As an undead grand magician without his undead to summon, he wouldn't dare provoke ninth-level beasts.
"Go."
Lin Lei pushed off with his foot, his body shooting skyward like an arrow released from a bow. He soared a full thirty meters into the air, clearing the city wall with ease before dropping down on the far side.
"Whoosh." Black Lu's four paws drove hard, and the leopard became a black phantom that swiftly vaulted the twenty-meter wall.
The overgrown grass outside the city.
"Whew, that leopard is fast." Seisler clutched his chest and gasped, then made to dismount.
"Don't get down," Lin Lei said immediately. "Black Lu, let's head back — quickly."
Lin Lei cast the "Rapid" auxiliary magic on himself, and his figure became a gust of wind racing toward the valley, with Black Lu keeping pace beside him.
In just a few minutes, Seisler found himself in the valley with Lin Lei.
"From today, you live here. If you need to go out, you'd better change your appearance a little," Lin Lei said evenly. Seisler looked around at the surroundings and nodded with satisfaction. "I love quiet places. This is perfect for my cultivation."
That night, Lin Lei built a wooden cabin for Seisler.
Late that night, as Lin Lei sat cross-legged on the grass in deep meditation, he sensed a heavy aura of necromantic energy pouring out of Seisler's cabin. No wonder the old man liked quiet places — in a crowded area he wouldn't dare cultivate so brazenly.