Chapter 201: Through the outer sect.

Chapter 201: Through the outer sect.Lee knew he had to settle the fight before it became chaotic and a random elemental master in the proximity noticed the ruckus.

Since he didn’t use any flashy elemental skills, his opponents also restrained themselves. Surely there were at least a couple who were elemental warriors with beast sparks, but they didn’t want to draw unnecessary attention to their own illegal scheme. And there were five of them and only one kid.

The problem was that the kid turned out to be too strong, fast, and more importantly – viscous. Every punch he landed resulted in pulverized bones and a dead body on the ground. The two people guarding the entrance of the allay arrived in a few breaths after the fight started, but it was already over.

They froze at the sight of their comrades lying on the ground, one still convulsing in agony, and that was the opportunity Lee needed. He charged at both of them, landing fists on their chests at the same time, slamming them into the wall behind.

One lifelessly slumped down, but the other tried to stand up, but he was too slow. Lee was back on him in an instant and a swift kick broke the man’s neck.

"Ugh ..." Lee fell to his knees, gripping his stomach.

His moves weren’t flashy at all, but every single one was infused with the earth particles making it heavy and deadly. The problem was – by intensely overusing a single element, the other two, fire and water, were immediately destabilized, and it caused excruciating pain.

The fight was quick enough for him to ignore it, but the moment it ended Lee realized he couldn’t even take a breath from how much it hurt. Fortunately, no one noticed the clash at the end of the dark alley, but Lee couldn’t leave the five bodies lie around there, especially considering their former status.

Fighting through the pain, he crawled over to the manhole cover leading to the sewers. He opened the top, intending to directly throw the bodies of the dead guards inside, but was caught unprepared by the thick stench assaulting his senses.



In Hantan city the part of sewers Shade led them through didn’t stink as much. These were good news – it was highly unlikely someone was guarding the sewers from the inside and he could hide the bodies without worrying them being discovered too early.

But these were bad news as well – it was impossible to infiltrate the inner sect through the sewers since the stench down there was basically unbearable. The moment he crawled out on the other side, assuming he got there unscathed, he would smell so bad it would be impossible to stay unnoticed.

That meant Lee needed a better plan, and he quickly thought of one.

He searched the bodies, emptied their pockets and threw four through the manhole. Afterwards he began to undress the last, the shortest one, and changed into his gear. The half naked body of the guard joined his dead companions a moment later, and Lee closed the cover, sealing their temporary grave.

It was clear that sooner or later someone would inspect the place. More importantly – someone would surely look for the missing guards – five were just too many to ignore. But there were thousands of them in the busy streets of the outer sect and Lee had to use it to his advantage.

Lee left the alley with quick steps, carrying the bag belonging to one of the guards over his shoulder. Inside was his own gold and three bottles of booze. In his pocket he had two different tokens that should serve as the proof of identity, but he didn’t know their meaning yet and decided that the first task would be to find out.

He hoped that at least one of them would allow him to openly pass through one of the gates to the inner sect, but he couldn’t mess it up. It was likely he would get only one chance.

For his plan to work the first thing Lee did was to rush through the outer sect – miles away form the crime scene. He intended to play the role of a drunk and lost colleague from another district, and mix with the sect’s guards first.

***

"My treat! ... hic! ..." Lee staggered towards a table stacked with empty bottles, surrounded by a small crowd of guards. From the looks of it they just finished their shift and came to one of the many alehouses to have a drink.

There were eight of them, and all stared at their youthful looking colleague the moment Lee interrupted their discussion. He was barely standing, and reeked of alcohol, but at the same time there was this stupid smile on his honest face.

"You lost, buddy?" One of the guards asked, "Where’s your squad?"

"Hic ... the bastardzz ditched me ... hic ... ditchhhheeddd ..." Lee faked being drunk.

Actually before approaching this group, he had a few gulps of alcohol to make sure his breath had the proper stench. There was an unexpected side effect of his pain subsiding, and Lee had to employ all his willpower to not empty a whole bottle in one go.

"It’zz fine ... hic ... I’ll find new friendzz ..." Lee added, stretching out his hands, holding a booze bottle in each.

As expected, there was always at least one pathological drinker in any group.

"Welcome, friend!" One of the guards, a middle aged bearded guy, instantly relieved Lee of the bottles.

After going through the pockets of the dead guards, Lee realized their pay wasn’t that high. Their status was above commoners, but the guys probably lived simple, soldier’s lives. That probably was the reason they turned to acquiring money through illegal means, but Lee didn’t judge.

After confiscating Lee’s alcohol, his new friends completely ignored him, but he stood there with a dumb smile on his face, slightly swaying from side to side, occasionally hiccuping.

He quickly learned that simple guards like them were not allowed inside the inner sect where all the enforcers were at least elemental masters. But it didn’t matter. The half night he spent with these guys was more than worthwhile.

He got lost when they returned to the barracks, changed his attire back to the regular clothing and rested till the morning on a bank next to one of inns. It was impossible to find a place to stay no matter if it was inner or outer sect, and there were many travelers like him without a roof over their heads thus Lee’s presence wasn’t out of place at all.



The next day, the first half of it, he spent hanging outside a tavern not far from one of the gates to the inner sect. He observed the people going in and out, listening to conversations and drafting a passable plan how to get inside.

After having a sumptuous lunch, he went to the market, bought paper and writing utensils, resin, and the most exquisite robe he could afford. It was dark gray and not too eye-catching at the same time, but probably cost ten times more than normal.

The next part was the most challenging. Lee needed to find a place where he could draw in peace. Streets were filled with people and no inn had a spare room. He had a thought of going to a more fancy restaurant and get a private room, but there always was a chance that someone would come in to ask whether he wanted more food or drinks.

Slightly perplexed, Lee wandered around the outer sect, looking for a solution until he stumbled across a place that basically was a brothel. Legally there was no such thing as prostitution in the Celestial Abyss sect, and the girls in this establishment only served drinks and food to lone male customers in exclusive atmosphere. But Lee didn’t need more than that.

He had to wait for a long while, though. The place was as busy as any other, and probably had the largest turnover of customers in years. The waiting men couldn’t even choose whom to pick – they had to take the girl who finished serving the previous customer or they were considered forfeiting their spot in the line.

Lee’s waitress turned out to be an overweight lady long past her prime, but he couldn’t care less. After they got to their room, he bashfully asked her to turn around which she did with a knowing smile. Unfortunately for her, she lost consciousness right after.

***

Lee woke the girl up when he was already dressed in the gray robe, with four letters in his bag. It didn’t take long for him to craft them since he didn’t need to forge any particular handwriting, but the seals were easily created using one of the badges he took from the guards he killed.

The job was rushed, but after observing the inner sect’s gate for the first part of the day, he was certain it was enough.

Lee left after thanking the confused lady, telling her she was the best, and promising to come back another time. He was certain of his chances of getting into the inner sect the next morning. The question was – what was he supposed to do afterwards.