Kill The Old Ones!

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Lily didn’t sleep that night.

She stayed up all night, recalling everything that Marek told her. She has a copy of the instructions he told her, and to be honest, they’re a lot. But she has more than enough time to follow them step by step.

Lily suppressed the uncertainty and doubts she had for this. If she was being completely honest, some things in this list made her deeply uncomfortable.

It’s not because they’re illegal, per se; they’re just things that she never expected someone like herself would ever resort to.

But Marek did say something that deeply and completely resonated with her, enough to cause a shift into her perspective.

’How can you call that place a home if you don’t feel safe in it? ’

’From what I heard from you, what you need isn’t the situation getting better. It’s for you to feel safe.’

Lily couldn’t forget that because it was so true. Her home never felt safe to her. Ever since she grew old enough to be aware of her surroundings, the only thing she felt in this place was loneliness. Something that not even her own father could protect her from.

She always had to pay attention to what she says, how she stands and sits, and even the way she breathes. At first, she thinks that this was just normal – she was the family’s heiress, after all. But as she grew older, she slowly realised that it’s not.

It’s not normal to be consistently on guard, even in your own home or your own room. That’s not just abnormal; it’s wrong.

Lily forgot how many times she had been tempted to simply just disappear. To run away, hide, and never return. Forget about practising martial arts, her status, and riches she’s yet to inherit; she doesn’t care about those! She just wanted to be in some place where she doesn’t feel threatened all the damn time.

But she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t abandon her own father and leave him alone with the wolves to die. So, she stayed, even if she truly never wanted to.

Now, though, with this list of instructions in her hand and a few additional things that Marek practically shoved to her arms, she harboured hope. She’s very on guard against this foreign feeling, but she can’t look away from it.

She doesn’t have many options left, anyway.

First things first, Lily practised the disguising technique that Marek gave to her.

He told her that unless she completely mastered this, she couldn’t go to step 1 just yet.

Fortunately for Lily, learning martial arts has never been an issue for her. She practically learnt this thing after the first read and succeeded on her first try.

She spent a couple of hours tuning it, and soon, she had it completely mastered. She could now use it as naturally as breathing.

With this taken care of, Lily turned to the first step on the list.

**

[Step 1]: Security

: Go to the Adventurer’s Guild and book a VIP room (preferrably under a disguise). Some people in there will see through your disguise but not your actual identity. Even if I do, so what? It’s none of their business. You mind yours; they’ll mind theirs. It’s that simple.

**

The timing was just right. The sun was already up, and the people had started waking up by the time she finished mastering the disguise technique.

She left her room and practised the green lotus core chakra technique until some of her chakra had been converted to the green lotus core chakra.

Lily then visited her father’s, walked past the guards without acknowledging them, and knelt next to her father’s bedridden and weak body.

She placed her palm on top of his chest and transferred the green lotus core chakra she just converted to him. She watched as the green flow of energy soaked and effortlessly penetrated her father’s body.

Lily saw no changes just yet, but she wasn’t disheartened. Instead, she stepped back and converted more green lotus core chakra again. That one-time infusion wasn’t enough to fill up his father’s body. He needs two infusions, which was fine with Lily since performing the technique wasn’t even that hard.

After the second infusion, that’s when she saw a shift in his father’s complexion. He looked as if he were feeling discomfort, but his face regained some colour and vibrancy.

It wasn’t much, but it’s progress.

Normally, she would stop here, but she had just learnt a lesson – a harsh one – from Marek. Her father can’t look as if he’s recovering steadily. He must continue to look weak so that his enemies won’t be alarmed.

Therefore, instead of leaving him just like this, Lily covered her father with a thin veil of disguising chakra. It only made him look pale and weak. The veil was so thin that it was practically imperceptible. Even she, the caster, couldn’t sense that it was there.

Satisfied with her work, she left the room and used the family’s gatekey to go to the Archstone Plaza. On her way there, she received stares again.

She felt those dirty and calculating gazes landing on her body; some of them were bordering on predatory. It made her feel sick to her stomach. Even the ones manning the gate with a key had the same look on their face.

However, Lily had grown under these stares. She learnt how to ignore them and maintain her usual functions. She walked past them and didn’t even grace them with a single glance.

It was only when she arrived at the Archstone Plaza that she felt relieved. The goosebumps on her skin faded, and her rosy complexion returned.

She made her way to the comfort room, entered a cubicle, and immediately changed her appearance into a face that could easily blend into the crowd.

Instead of clearing dungeons, she went out of the plaza and made a trip to the nearby Adventurer’s Guild branch for her mission.

She did as Marek told her; she requested a VIP room. Once she’s there, she doesn’t touch anything. She just sat on the couch and waited until the server came.

When an innocent-looking girl appeared, Lily pretended to not see her. When asked if she needed something. Lily replied with:

”Get me an Ironblood whisky, iced.”

She didn’t miss the way the server’s face went pale after saying that.

”I’m sorry, Miss. I’m afraid I didn’t catch that just now. Can you please repeat it?”

Lily heard the question, but she refused to utter another word. She just sat there, closed her eyes, and pretended the server didn’t exist.

She heard the server call out to her a couple of times. She was trying to get a response from her, but she failed. When Lily made it clear that she was ignoring her, the server sighed, bowed, and left without saying another word.

**

[Step 1]: Security (cont.)

Once in there, wait for the server to come. If they ask if there’s something you need, you reply with the line:

”Get me an Ironblood whisky, iced.”

Note: Do not improvise when saying this line. Not a word missing, not a word more. Say it word per word, and DO NOT say another word.

: The server will ask you a question. They will try to make you talk. Ignore them. I mean it. Not another word from you. After saying your line, pretend that they ceased to exist.

: After a few questions or attempts to make you talk, they will give up and leave. Do not leave the room. Wait. Someone will come soon; that’s the person you’d want to talk to.

**

Lily let out a very quiet sigh of relief when the server left. She felt bad for ignoring her, but she had no choice. She wanted something specific, and that server doesn’t have what it takes.

She was feeling nervous now, but she didn’t dare show it. Lily sat still like a rock. She had grown so used to being stiff and being observed under a microscope that this much was effortless for her.

It’s an uncomfortable way to exist, but that’s what her life was like living under the roof of the Heartveil family.

She waited for a couple of minutes before she heard footsteps outside the door.

Lily kept still, even after the doors were opened by another person.

”My apologies for making you wait, Miss. It’s a pleasure to meet you. My codename is Night Raven. What can I do for you today?”

The unmistakable timbre of this voice could only belong to a man. A man that was wearing a raven’s head and a neatly plaided tuxedo, standing with the regal stance of a loyal butler, now stood before Lily.

Lily gracefully stood up, performed a noble curtsy and replied:

”Nice to meet you, Night Raven. I’d like to hire some of your men to protect me and my father.”

She showed a picture-perfect grace and elegance of a noble lady when greeting him, but not even once did she look in his eyes. She only stared at his bowtie before sitting back down.