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Chapter 169: His Longing
At this time, the moon had already risen, yet Dalahan City remained lively, with cultivators from various parts of the continent gathering here. Many still stayed in Valiard City, awaiting Duke Valiard, while even more gathered in the capital, anticipating his appearance at the royal palace. Speculation had already begun that Duke Valiard had left Valiard City in disguise due to the apparent lack of activity from the Valiard family, leading people to search for him—especially in Dalahan City, where he was most likely to appear.
After leaving the royal palace, Aldrian didn’t immediately return to the inn to meet with Eleine and the others. Instead, he first met with the First Finger, whom he had tasked with gathering information. After receiving updates from Arson Vuran, the leader of the Thunderous Shadow Pavilion, about his father’s family’s movements and their envoy, Aldrian asked the First Finger to track their location.
Even though Aldrian had already chosen his own path and lived independently from his parents, he still wanted to see them, at least to make sure of their condition and well-being. Perhaps he could also learn more about his mother’s family this time. He quickly teleported to a district of the city where many noble families resided.
He sensed the First Finger on top of one of the buildings, so he instantly teleported beside him. The First Finger, unprepared for Aldrian’s sudden appearance, nearly slipped and fell from the roof but quickly steadied himself.
"Master, could you appear in a more normal way? Even I can’t detect your sudden arrival," the First Finger said.
"Shh, just report on the Flamecrest family," Aldrian replied, while extending his senses to the surrounding area. Finally, he found what he was looking for. His eyes trembled, his heart raced, and there had never been a time when Aldrian wanted to meet his father as much as he did now. Nothing had changed about his father—five years wasn’t a long time for a cultivator—but for Aldrian, the time had felt endless, and now he could finally see his father.
Aldrey was in his room, cultivating, and Aldrian could see that his father was much stronger than he had been in the secret realm.
"Master, during my reconnaissance here, I stumbled upon something interesting," the First Finger said. 𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑝𝘶𝘣.𝑐𝘰𝘮
"What?"
"It looks like he has a connection to someone from the Rivas family, and he will meet that person tonight. As you know, the Rivas and Flamecrest families are not on amicable terms, but Aldrey Flamecrest seems to have a close relationship with this person. They exchange messages through a courier. However, after using my vision technique, I learned that they will meet an hour from now."
Aldrian listened carefully, deep in thought.
"The Rivas family? That’s quite unusual. I heard they have a rivalrous relationship. What reason does my father have to contact someone in the Rivas family? Whatever it is, I’ll find out tonight."
He looked at the First Finger. "Is there anything else?"
"Ah yes, the Second Finger found a few people hiding in the shadows, and they seemed to be following Young Miss Eleine, Young Miss Sylphia, and Young Miss Baek Ji-Min. After he caught them, they all chose to commit suicide by poisoning themselves. I don’t know where they came from or how long they had been following the young misses, the strange thing is, after they died, they exuded thick devil energy. I felt confused by this sudden change, so for now, I’ve stored their bodies in my storage ring."
"How many were there?"
"Five."
"Good. They have been following us since Duke Valiard’s mansion and all the way to the capital. It seems they are spies placed by the devils within Duke Valiard’s mansion. I can guess their main target is Duke Valiard. They must have put something on him so the devils can track his movements. However, when they saw him heading to Dragon Back Mountain, they decided to follow the three ladies instead. It seems they were trying to pry into our group’s activities and were prepared to kill the three ladies when necessary. They serve as bargaining chips for the devils," Aldrian said.
When he departed from Valiard City, Aldrian sensed subtle hidden presences following them from the exit of the secret passage. If someone knew about the existence of the hidden passage, it had to be the people of Duke Valiard. At that time, he let them be because he didn’t know their purpose. However, after hearing from the First Finger that they were exuding devil energy, Aldrian connected the dots and realized they were moles placed by the devils within Duke Valiard’s mansion.
That is also why he asked one of the Fingers to protect the three ladies. Thanks to that, he was able to prevent anything that could worsen the situation. When the Greed Devil and his right-hand man, Erik, suddenly appeared at Dragon Back Mountain as Aldrian and his group entered, it must have been due to the information from these spies.
The First Finger raised his eyebrows at his master’s sharp thinking. However, the idea that there were devils inside the duke’s mansion was quite troubling. If the devils could infiltrate their mansion undetected and even become the duke’s underlings, it posed a significant threat. Fortunately, those devils had not taken any action against Duke Valiard. If they had wanted him dead, he would have been buried underground long ago.
After waiting for an hour, Aldrian finally saw his father, cloaked in a garment that concealed his features, moving on his own without his group’s knowledge. His movements were careful and secretive, ensuring that the king-stage elder within his group didn’t detect him. It seemed he was using some kind of concealing artifact to remain undetected by the king-stage elder.
Aldrian saw his father move toward the south of the city just as he had ordered the First Finger.
"From here on, I will take care of it. You continue to be my eyes and ears in this city. Go."
"As you wish, master." The First Finger then disappeared into the shadows of the night. Aldrian now focused all his senses on his father, following closely behind him. His father, being at the middle duke stage, would find it impossible to detect Aldrian, even someone at the low emperor stage would have difficulty sensing him.
Aldrian kept following his father until they finally arrived at a deserted, dark alley, where Aldrey seemed to be waiting for someone. A few minutes later, another figure in a black cloak came to their location, and Aldrian finally caught sight of the person his father wanted to meet.
Aldrian’s eyes trembled, and time seemed to stop in that moment as he finally understood why his father wanted to meet someone from the Rivas family, He finally understood the challenges his father and mother faced due to their family’s strained relationship, He finally understood why his parents couldn’t bring him into the outside world, aside from the problems with the devils. For the first time in years, tears gathered in his eyes. Although he had faced many challenges throughout his journey, he was still a 15-year-old young man who missed his family.
The people he wanted to meet the most were now in front of him: his father and his mother. Aldrian saw his father recognize the figure in the approaching cloak, and he instantly dashed toward his mother, hugging her tightly with a sense of longing. Likewise, his mother reciprocated his embrace, and they finally kissed with full affection.
Aldrian could only smile as he watched his parents’ display of affection, finally understanding their struggles as a couple from two families renowned for their rivalry. At that moment, he truly wanted to dash to them and hug them with all his might—well, not literally—but he knew he couldn’t reveal himself right now, fearing it would only cause them worry.
Explaining to them what he had done in recent years was not a good idea, as it would only make them more worried. However, he really wanted to assure them not to worry about him anymore, as he was strong enough now. He knew, though, that it wouldn’t be easy; his abilities were so extraordinary that they wouldn’t believe him unless they saw it for themselves.
As he watched his parents finish their kiss, Aldrey spoke to his mother with a voice full of longing.
"How are you doing, dear?"
"I’m good. How about you?" Irene replied.
"Good, good. Although there are many things going on in the Flamecrest family, overall it’s not bad."
Sigh. "If only Aldrian were here, it would be great."
Aldrian, hearing his mother mention him, felt his heart tighten.
"I’m here, Mother."
"Yes, I know, but he is safer in the secret realm than outside," Aldrey said.
"Hmm, I know. By the way, I have something for Aldrian that will be a great help to him."
