Snowpeach Town: Chapter 3

/*unedited*/

An agile figure suddenly appears from where Shin Jiao stood on a rooftop. This figure is a girl on all fours like a cat. She is wearing tight clothing which insinuates her almost perfect thin figure. This girl is someone familiar to Shin Jiao, the young woman having a beast man's aura, Lily Chen.

"Where did that person go? I could have sworn that he was just here a while ago." Lily Chen muttered as she turns her gaze around the place.

No matter how hard she looks for the figure she just spotted, she just could not see him anywhere. Then she slowly closed her eyes and lifted her nose in the air and quickly sniffed.

When Shin Jiao saw this, his figure involuntarily quivered. He didn't know if the girl can detect him or not, but his camouflage cloak is not designed to hide his scent. And because of that, his eyes didn't leave the young woman's figure that is currently sniffing the air like a dog.

When Lily Chen opens her eyes, Shin Jiao could not help himself but suck in a breath of cold air. He didn't know if the girl detected his presence or not, however, Shin Jiao could not help himself but feel a little weary. For now, he didn't want others to know his secrets, this is due to the greedy nature of any sentient creature on this planet. Though not all still there are those who are hiding in the shadows and would strike when you least expect it. Thought Shin Jiao knows the girl, he still puts up his guard against her especially because she has a questionable identity.

The young girl then narrowed her eyes and turns her head towards a direction.

"There you are… I got you now!" She muttered as she suddenly vanished in a blink of an eye.

Lily Chen's figure is like a specter jumping from roof to roof while going in a single direction. Shin Jiao could not help himself but praised the girl for her agility and speed.

Shin Jiao heaves a sigh of relief as he slowly turns his head towards the wall. The battle is already over and the soldiers are disposing of the corpses. Shin Jiao can hear through his spiritual sense their conversation which made him listen with curiosity.

"This is the fastest retreat of those damned stupid undead beasts, right? I wonder who was that person who cleaned up that portion there." A man said while pointing towards the right side of the wall.

In that place, a large amount of beast has been killed and in the middle of the carnage is a circle that is formed like the area is enclosed in a small circular defensive field.

"I guess we were saved this time."

"Hey, do you know what started all of this?" suddenly someone grabs everyone's attention.

The man is wearing a bloodied green cultivator's robe and his feature is like someone who was crafted by the gods into life. His well-defined chiseled face and white skin would make a woman drool in passion. When the people around him hear his words, no one replied as they knew who the person is.

This person is a well-known cultivator in town. He is very strong and is not afraid of anyone due to his influence.

"All I can say is that the one doing these attacks has a grudge against the mayor… Well, not the mayor himself but against the mayor's son." The man said with a smile.

Everyone's attention is now on him, for the past few months that the undead beasts have been assaulting the town everybody is confused as to why this is happening. Some of them thought that it is a work of a dark cultivator wanting to take possession of the mines. But ever since the undead creatures occupied the mines, no movement can be seen in that place.

Now upon hearing this unprecedented news everyone was stunned, but deep in their hearts, they are picturing the pompous attitude of the mayor's son and his lackeys. And ever since the undead beast's attacked the town the mayor's son hasn't come out of their manor. And so the seed of doubt has been planted on everyone's mind making the situation turn silent and people suddenly began to whisper their own theories as the news spreads like wildfire.

When Shin Jiao heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"A grudge… that may be possible. But what could have caused this tragedy? For someone to kill far too many people just for revenge is far too illogical." Shin Jiao thought.

When Shin Jiao turns his head around, he saw a small hand reaching out towards his head like a phantom's claws. This made him almost jump back in fright. Then right in front of him, he saw Lily Chen who suddenly came back and is trying to grab something in the air.

"Hmmm… I could have sworn I smell some bloody traces in this place," she muttered.

"Or maybe not?" the added as she waves her hand in the air almost hitting Shin Jiao's face.

Shin Jiao didn't dare move or even breathe; right now he could have wished that he should have used an array formation to hide his presence and not the camouflage, but who could have known that Lily Chen has very sharp senses.

"I guess I'm wrong… Hmmm… anyway I need to find the soul essence, or else that guy Shin Jiao would beat me to it." she suddenly muttered as she once again turns around.

This time, Lily Chen jumped down from the roof and began walking towards the gate. Seeing her figure, Shin Jiao decided to leave the area. When his figure vanished, Lily Chen's head suddenly turns to his previous location and narrowed her eyes. But then after some time she just shook her head in resignation.

Shin Jiao uses the dark alleyway as he weaves through the shadows. Upon nearing his house, he carefully scanned his surroundings and when he saw that everything is fine he deactivated his cloak and hid it inside his spatial tool.Then he leisurely walks out of the dark alleyway as if he is just taking a stroll.

"If I have these tools on earth, then my life would be a bliss. I don't have to worry about the prying eyes of the government." Shin Jiao thought.

"That's interesting…" suddenly a voice from behind him made Shin Jiao froze on his steps.

He didn't know how or what had happened, but suddenly three figures appear out of thin air.

It was Jin Fu and his family.

"Hehe… big brother Shin Jiao's ability is truly amazing! I can't believe that you can disappear like a ghost!" the excited voice of little Hao Fu made Shin Jiao turn around with a forced smile.

He didn't expect that the family would suddenly appear in this place. But when his eyes turn towards Ling Ya, he suddenly understands how he wasn't able to find them. Ling Ya is an array formation expert; of course, she knows how to make concealment arrays.

"If only I had used my absolute sense… damn…" Shin Jiao lamented at the misfortune.

"We mean you no harm young Shin." Ling Ya suddenly said with a beautiful smile on her face.

When Shin Jiao saw this, his feeling of being vigilant and guarded suddenly tone down. He knows how straightforward the woman is as she even shows him how she made the array. So with this, he slightly lowered his guard.

"So… why are you guys here?" Shin Jiao immediately asked upon weighing his options.

"We just want to talk to you about something." Jin Fu replied.

"Okay…"

"In… secret. Can we go to your house?" Jin Fu politely requested.

"Sigh… alright, follow me then." Shin Jiao said as he led them to his house.

…

Inside the house, Jie Ye is currently practicing in controlling her flame. Beads of sweats are currently on her forehead as she tries to increase the volume of the fire in her hand from fist into the size of a man's head. She has been doing this for a while now after the two kids fell asleep. But no matter how hard she tries, the fire would always go out of control. Luckily for her, she can control the temperature; if not then the house would have been already burned down.

"I must conceal the flame just like what I've seen in the glasses. This way I can be of help to master Jiao." She muttered.

She has seen how devastating a compressed flame can be through the video instruction that Shin Jiao made for her. If she can successfully make this happen then, she can go with Shin Jiao and avenge her husband from those cursed undead monsters.

Knock! Knock!

She was about to start congealing her flame when she was interrupted by the knocking on the door. She immediately became tensed and was on guard. She immediately put on the glasses as per Shin Jiao's instruction and immediately saw four figures standing outside.

"Master Jiao!" Jie Ye muttered with a hint of excitement in her eyes.

She could not wait to show him, what she has achieved so far. But then she noticed the three people behind Shin Jiao so she immediately calmed down. Then she walks towards the door and slowly opens it.

"Welcome back master." Jie Ye said with a bow.

"Umm… are they asleep already?" Shin Jiao suddenly asked with a nod.

"Yes…"

Then Shin Jiao waved his hand and gestured for Jin Fu and his family to enter. But Shin Jiao suddenly noticed the three being frozen near the door. He could not help but turn his gaze inside the house. There he noticed that a weak fiery aura of natural energy is currently all over the place. Though Jin Fu and Ling Ya are cultivators and should not be familiar with natural energy. But right now, even a mere mortal can feel the density of the heat in the place.

Sensing the people in front of her being dumbfounded, Jie Ye slowly turns her head behind her, and her eyes suddenly lit up in shock. She forgot to get rid of the residual flames all over the place. Though they do not burn because of her temperature control, yet those sensitive cultivators can still feel it.

"Brother Shin, your house feels warm… I like it." suddenly little Hao Fu exclaimed.

Jin Fu and Ling Ya look at each other and then turn their gaze towards Shin Jiao who is also looking at Jie Ye who showed a flustered face.

"So… Sorry master… I wasn't careful enough... Wait a minute… I'll fix this." Jie Ye suddenly panics as she stammered and suddenly waved her hand.

And with that action, all the small flames in the place which should have been invisible to the naked eye suddenly gathered in her palm and formed a fist size ball of flame. And with another wave of her hand, she immediately dispersed them.Seeing this, Jin Fu and Ling Ya were dumbfounded. Their eyes are looking incredulously at Jie Ye who seemed oblivious to what she just did. As cultivators, they knew how hard it is to form a small burst of flame. One should train their cultivation level up to the spirit refining realm before they can barely control flames.

But they know the woman in front of them and she is not a cultivator. She is just a mere mortal woman whom Shin Jiao has saved. What made them feel shocked is that she seems to be able to freely control those harmless-looking heatwaves and form a ball of fire on her hand.

Seeing this situation, Shin Jiao almost hit his forehead. He himself did not expect to have visitors at this hour, and also didn't expect for Jie Ye to continuously practice even at this hour.

"Damn, I should have been attentive to her practice schedules. I was too preoccupied with my research and experiments." Shin Jiao lamented.

"Wow! Bao Fung's mom is really awesome." Hao Fu exclaimed as he saw the fireball appearing and disappearing from Jie Ye's hands.

Shin Jiao just showed a helpless smile and waved his hand. Jie Ye immediately understood the situation and bowed towards the other three and quickly enters her room.

"Please sit!" Shin Jiao said as he gestured the three to take a seat in the living room where Jie Ye was practicing.

They all sat in the living room and began their discussion.

Jin Fu and Ling Ya reigned on their curiosity to ask about Jie Ye as they have a more pressing matter to attend to.

"Brother Shin, I learned from my wife that you are a formation master yourself. So we are here to ask for your help… I have investigated this incident and found something which can solve this crisis. We need to solve this before we can leave this place. I just found out that the forest around this town is now full of undead beasts. With this situation, we cannot safely travel to the city of Wu as the other villages have also fallen… The estimated casualty in this incident is astronomical." Jin Fu explained.

"We need you, my wife and other formation experts, to create a huge trap array to trap the necromancer. This is the plan that we came out with." Jin Fu said.

"I was able to see the range and the number of undead beasts in the forest and they are like the sand of the sea. I don't think this town would last if this battle continues." Ling Ya said.

Shin Jiao looks at the two and thought of how selfless they could be to fight this battle. In truth, if they wished the two can escape this town and travel on their own towards the city of Wu. But it seems that with their temperament and nature it is good. So although Shin Jiao wanted to say no, yet he could not deny the fact that if they can stop this horde then his journey would resume. So with a nod, he agrees to join with their plan.

"Thank you, brother…" Jin Fu said.

"Well, Ummm… I know that you two are strong and all, but Hao'er is just a child. Don't tell me that you would always carry him wherever we go?" Shin Jiao suddenly interjected.

Seeing the small boy on Ling Ya's lap he felt a little uncomfortable. The boy would see things that a boy of his age should not see yet.

"Tell you what… You can leave Hao'er here with Jie Ye and her kids that way the two of you can concentrate on the mission. If you are worried about this town falling to the undead horde, then I can assure you that this house would not." Shin Jiao said while looking at little Hao Fu with a smile.

"But…" Ling Ya suddenly wanted to say something.

Shin Jiao raised his hand to stop her. Then he stood up, extend his arm and suddenly a black blade appears on his hand.

Looking at the imposing aura of the blade, Jin Fu and Ling Ya suddenly felt suffocated. They suddenly felt a strong killing intent coming from the blade on Shin Jiao's hand. The blade or sword on Shin Jiao's hand is a Japanese katana forge using the strongest metal combination he could find in the cave. Though it is not as strong as the black ore, however, it is the second-best that he could craft.

"Central… Activate shield…" Shin Jiao said.

Suddenly all the four corners of the house glinted with a silver light which almost disappears immediately.

"Master… the shield has been activated. The power core would last up to 12 hours." Central's voice suddenly enters his ears.

Shin Jiao nodded in confirmation. Then he walks to the door and sent a strong slash on it.

Thwang!!!

A loud sound echoed through the whole house making all the people jolted in shock. Jie Ye immediately rushed out of her room.

"Master!"

"I'm sorry to wake you… Miss Ye. It's okay you can go back to sleep." Shin Jiao said showing an apologetic smile.

Seeing the awkward expression of her master Jie Ye nods her head and went back into her room.

"As you can see even when I used 30% of my strength the barrier was not moved, the house didn't even receive any damage. Even if a powerful level 5 beast attacks this place it is still safe. But of course, that is only for 12 hours." Shin Jiao explained.

"Hao'er…" Ling Ya turns her gaze towards her son.

"Mom, I'm fine… I can play with Bao and Haoyin in here, plus we also have Auntie. Big brother Shin's house is very strong so I'll be fine." Little Hao Fu said as he showed a calm smile to his mother.

Jin Fu cracked a proud smiled at his son; he knows that his son is trying to appease the worry on his mother's heart that's why he didn't show any worried expression. But Jin Fu knows that his son is also concerned about them and the mission they are going to undertake.

But Hao Fu wanted to show his parents that he is strong enough and that they don't have to worry about him. He trusted the words of Shin Jiao and from the first time they met he knows something that he is not telling his parents. He can see two powerful essences inside Shin Jiao's body. And these essences are actually melding inside him. The stronger he grows the stronger the essence power is.

So Hao Fu is confident that with his big brother Shin Jiao with his parents, everything will be alright.

"Okay, that's settled then… So what about the plan… how should we go about this?" Shin Jiao asked as his gaze turned serious.