NOVPUB
Chapter 229: Old Acquaintance?
Aldrian opened his eyes from meditation as he sensed movement outside the mansion. A single figure, radiating the faint aura of low Emperor stage cultivation, had entered the mansion’s perimeter. The intruder demonstrated a refined movement technique, blending seamlessly with the sound of the wind.
Moving through the shadows of the night, he infiltrated the mansion without obstacle. From his movements, it was evident that he was an expert in wind laws, as his steps mimicked the seamless flow of the wind.
Upon entering the mansion, he paused briefly to survey his surroundings before walking in the opposite direction of Aldrian’s room. His behavior suggested that he was searching for something, as he checked each room methodically. After finishing his search of the mansion’s left wing, he moved toward the right wing, where Aldrian and the others were located.
The intruder, moving closer to their quarters, seemed to choose Xin Haotian’s room first, as it was the nearest. Observing this, Aldrian focused on Xin Haotian, who he knew was merely pretending to sleep. There was no way Xin Haotian could have failed to detect the intruder the moment they entered the mansion.
"Don’t kill him. Just capture him and extract information from him," Aldrian’s voice resonated in Xin Haotian’s mind, leaving him momentarily stunned.
"I know," Xin Haotian replied calmly.
He continued to maintain his relaxed posture, sleeping with both hands behind his back. The moment the intruder entered his room and observed his relaxed posture, a sense of unease washed over him. Realizing something was amiss, the intruder attempted to flee the bedroom. However, it was too late—Xin Haotian, utilizing his light laws, had already moved to block his escape.
The intruder was stunned by Xin Haotian’s swift movement and attempted to create distance by deploying a smokescreen and using his movement technique. However, his efforts were futile. With a burst of speed, Xin Haotian grabbed the man’s wrist and delivered a powerful punch to his gut, dropping him to the ground. Writhing in pain, the intruder found himself unable to move, his body immobilized by Xin Haotian’s light laws.
The intruder was completely immobilized by the light energy, unable to move even his mouth, ensuring he couldn’t attempt suicide. Xin Haotian glanced at the masked figure before reaching down to remove the mask. Beneath it was a black-haired man, his eyes filled with urgency as he appeared to be trying to say something. However, with his body restrained down to the smallest movement, he couldn’t utter a word.
Xin Haotian released the lock on the intruder’s mouth, and the man quickly spoke.
"This energy?! Wai—, don’t kill me! I’m not here to do anything bad!"
Xin Haotian tilted his head slightly.
"Not doing anything bad? Then why enter the mansion in secrecy? If you had no ill intentions, why move so covertly?"
"I only came here to check something, and that’s it. I have no ill intent," the man explained.
"Is that so? Then what exactly are you checking, and are you working for someone?"
"Don’t you remember me?" the man asked, but Xin Haotian only responded with a confused expression.
"What are you talking about?"
"The energy, the light energy, the light laws... It’s unmistakable. You are Sir Xin Haotian. It’s me, Lorenzo Faticanti."
Xin Haotian frowned, realizing that this person knew him. Though he was already famous for his light laws, the tone in the intruder’s voice suggested he knew him personally. Xin Haotian tried to recall someone by that name. He studied the man’s face again, raising an eyebrow as he felt he had seen this face before. After a few seconds of deep thought, he focused on the intruder once more.
"You... you are Hector Doria, the first prince’s guardian knight?" Xin Haotian asked. 𝑛𝘰𝑣𝘱𝑢𝑏.𝘤𝑜𝘮
A few hundred years ago, an incident occurred where Hector Doria, the first prince of the Doria Empire, nearly lost his life to the devils. At that time, the devils launched a hit-and-run tactic across the border, sending high-ranking devils in teams. The first prince and Lorenzo, his guardian knight, were trapped by the devils in a border area where an ambush had been set, and they were nearly killed.
However, the Sword Saint, the strongest of the continent’s great swordmasters, arrived and saved the day with a powerful sword strike. Lorenzo could never forget that day when Xin Haotian demonstrated his lethal sword technique, combined with a beautiful sword dance that obliterated enemies in a dazzling illumination of light.
Because of Xin Haotian’s appearance at that time, the Doria Empire was able to counter the devils’ strategy. The devils could no longer execute hit-and-run tactics when faced with Xin Haotian, as they knew they couldn’t escape once they saw him.
"I didn’t have the time to thank you back then, Sir Xin Haotian, for saving both me and His Highness the First Prince. Because of your intervention, we were able to make it back safely," Lorenzo said, despite his immobile state.
"The First Prince tried to find you, but you were too fast and elusive, really difficult to track down. In the end, we were unable to find you and could only hear about your traces from time to time, but we never managed to meet you again."
"You don’t need to thank me. At that time, I was merely passing through the border of the Doria Empire from the Vindas Empire. Along the way, I also dealt with some of the trash I encountered. You and that young man are simply a matter of fate, as it all happened to be in my path," Xin Haotian said, waving his hand dismissively.
Suddenly, another man appeared beside Xin Haotian. The unexpected appearance of the newcomer stunned Lorenzo, especially as the man looked at him with interest. Aldrian, having heard everything from his room, decided to come personally due to this sudden turn of events. Now, someone connected to the First Prince was here and seemed to know Xin Haotian.
He had no connection to the First Prince, so why was the so-called guardian knight here?
"So, Lorenzo, why are you sneaking around like a thief? You seem more like an assassin than a knight," Aldrian asked.
Lorenzo frowned at the sudden appearance of the man and the blunt question. He had never seen this person before, but seeing how unfazed the Sword Saint was by his presence, he assumed they must be connected. He then answered.
"His Highness, the First Prince, Prince Hector, is investigating the traces of the mysterious person known as Aldrian, and one of the places he asked me to check is this mansion."
Hearing Lorenzo’s answer, both Aldrian and Xin Haotian were stunned and exchanged a glance. Could the First Prince have already tracked Aldrian here—this quickly? Aldrian knew that the moment he entered the war, traces of his actions would be left here and there. It was only a matter of time before someone followed those traces to find him. But it hadn’t even been a month since Aldrian left the Rivas Grand Duchy, and yet someone had already picked up on his trail.
"It seems the First Prince is truly a bothersome person, being able to track Aldrian this quickly. He must be a genius," Xin Haotian thought.
As for Aldrian, he pondered for a moment before turning his gaze to Lorenzo.
"How did your master come to believe that someone named Aldrian is here? Who is this Aldrian, anyway?" he asked, his expression neutral.
Lorenzo paused for a moment before answering.
"Actually, this is still a secret known only to a few, but we believe he is the main reason the devils are retreating in this war. As for why the Prince tracked it here, he told me it has to do with a chain of events from the war up until now. His Highness is choosing the most likely path taken by the man named Aldrian. So, my presence here is simply to confirm whether His Highness’s speculation is correct or not. As for the details, only His Highness knows."
Lorenzo looked at Xin Haotian and Aldrian.
"Listen, I’m telling you this out of goodwill. We truly have no ill intentions towards you or anyone else here. Even more so now that I know Sir Xin Haotian, our lifesaver, is here. If His Highness knew that Sir Xin Haotian was present, he would have brought gifts instead and called off the investigation here."
Aldrian continued to look at Lorenzo. There was no lie in his words, so Aldrian was assured that Lorenzo truly meant it. However, that was from Lorenzo’s point of view, Aldrian couldn’t know what the First Prince was thinking.
"Well, I’ll just ask him directly. The opportunity has already presented itself anyway."
Aldrian would finally have a direct connection to the imperial family. He needed their strength to confront the future problems caused by the devils. For the prophecy, he needed to this power to prepare and unite their vision as soon as possible. After a moment of pondering, Aldrian finally spoke to Lorenzo.
"Alright, bring your prince here, and I will show you Aldrian."
