Life Drain System

    "I see, well, I am sure there is something you can do. We just have yet to find out what it is." Yin tries to comfort him due to a question that was asked without thinking more in depth about it. This especially being the case now that they are in the emperors castle in a different place than he grew up in.

    Once they make it to the door, Yin stops as Yue jumps up and walks through the door. Once he is out of sight Yin goes to check on the others, as many still feel the pain of losing their friends and loved ones. But that does not stop them from going about their daily lives, instead it increases their motivation to do better. Not for revenge or anything like that, but instead that they will never have to lose another they care about to unnatural causes again.

    Meanwhile making his way through the halls, Yue sees soldiers rushing through the halls in an orderly manner, clearly well trained.

    Seeing this, he quickly tries to follow them, although he gradually falls behind quite quickly. Not letting this stop him, he still pursues the chase while thinking. 'The route they are taking leads to both the dinning hall and the throne room.. Could something be wrong with grandpa?'

    With such a thought in mind, his determination rises a lot, but while he did get a little faster, determination alone will not achieve the speed he desires. However as he realizes this, he knows now more than ever before that he has been too lax in his training. Thus thinking to himself he concludes whilst still following the group. 'After the cubs are born, I must put Yin in charge of everyone for now. If I do not start putting more effort into my own growth rather than just theirs, another situation where I loose many will likely happen sooner rather than later!'

    About an hour later, standing outside the throne room, Yue looks inside and sees the soldiers in three rings, the outer with bows drawn, the second with spears hoisted, the inner with swords in position. All the soldiers around the room dead, and in the center of the ring, his grandpa who looks disappointed, but not at all uneasy.

    Not feeling that he has been noticed by his grandpa nor the soldiers surrounding him, Yue moves to the side of the doorway still looking in. Then pulls out one quiver, as likely by the time he gets the second shot off they would be too close, so he pulls out two swords as well. Fitting these to his body, he then pulls out the same bow he used in the mission prior.Â

    Nocking three arrows on the bow, as more is difficult to maintain much accuracy with, he aims for those closest to him with their back turned. But rather than firing at the outer line, as that means they would just release their arrows, he fires at the spearmen, and releases. Then hides behind the wall.

    Hiding behind the wall, he nocks more arrows, and listening, he does not hear anyone moving towards him, let alone actually moving at hall. He turns to look in curiously before shooting. However just as he turns his head into the archway a fist punches him in the nose, making it difficult to focus or see, but there was one last thing he sees before he falls to the ground about to pass out. That being a powerful wave flying out from his grandfather, knocking arrows from the enemy right out of the air, the soldiers around him sent flying into the walls behind them, and all this before turning to ash.

    A little while later, after about a minute, Yueliang wakes up. With a broken nose, and a headache, he pushes himself back to his feet, and looking around does not see any of the previous soldiers. Thus picking up his bow, he walks into the throne room. Still not seeing anybody, he sees a figure sitting on the throne. However with his vision slightly blurred at the moment it is difficult to see who it is.

    Walking closer, he sees his grandpa sitting on his throne without a scratch and acting as if nothing happened. Thus he asks. "Grandpa, what happened to the intruders? Did you really get rid of them that quickly?"

    Looking up, the emperor replies. "You tried, and that is good. It is a good thing I was not in a weak state at the time or it would have been more risky. *Sigh. Anyways, to answer your question, yes. You see those piles of ash around the room, that is them. So, you came here for something. Right, I am guessing you have an answer for me from your friends. Am I right?"

    Nodding, Yue answers. "Yes, they said they would move, as well as gladly accept the prey. Yin also accepted the conditions for his trip. But wait, you where just attacked! Are you not worried that there are others coming soon?"

    Hearing this the emperor deeply sighs, putting down his bamboo scroll, and says. "*Deep Sigh. This is a common occurrence, and likely there will be no one else, as the people who send assassins tend to be smart enough to know that if the first strike does not work neither will the second unless they have some trump card. Even then it only ups their chances. Now on the off chance they were aiming to steal something, or otherwise, and used these people as a distraction, anything of value is kept in my inventory so as to avoid such a situation. The only thing at risk are those living here."

    "It seems you have everything planned out well, and they are just dancing on the palm of your hand so to speak. However I am curious, why did they not attack me, nor the guards in the halls attack them?" Yue comments before asking.

    Grandpa then goes on to explain. "I have already instructed the guards in the halls to leave certain set groups of enemies alone unless they consider it a threat, so as to avoid needless loss of life. The guards in this hall however are instructed to fight any enemy unless I say otherwise. This creates a minimal lose of life, as well as a safe guard. ..."

    "... However on the off chance they actually nearly or even do manage to kill me, there are special measures put in place, so there is no need to worry. Anyways, your friend Yin may begin his trip at lunch, as for the tigers, the room is ready and supplied, so take them to this place, as I have matters to take care of." Then sending his chi at Yueliang, he gives the location to him.

    "I will take care of it now, and let you get back to work." Yueliang says with a bow before leaving, and not feeling the pain anymore says in his heart. 'Thank you again grandpa.' Then while walking down the hall, he thinks. 'I wonder when grandpa is going to replace his throne hall guards? Either way, if he is worried about loss of life, why exactly does he use humans if he can create such sophisticated ai.... Unless it is not really ai, but then what exactly is it? Oh well, there are things to do.'

    Continuing his trip back to his friends, he ponders to himself. 'Why is it I never see maids, servants, or other such personnel in the halls? They even have their own pathways to the kitchen, which speaking of which where is the kitchen? There are so many questions I have but next time I see a maid, I will just have to ask.'

    A while later, arriving back in the tigers den, Yue greets them again. "Hello, so I am here this time to guide you to your room, and tell yin he can take his trip at lunch time. Are you both ready?"

    Shen Hu answers. "Yes." Then using his chi lifts up Huoli who is still laying down. With her now floating in the air, Yue swiftly moves to the door, followed by Shen Hu who is feeling happy to be moving around again.

    Making it to the door first, Yue goes up and holds the door open for Shen Hu who jumps up and Huolis' body floating quickly behind. Moving swiftly through the corridors Yue arrives at a room just beside his, and says. "Here we are, and my room is right next to your here." Then without further ado Yue opens the door for the two, and jumps in behind them.

    Looking around they could see a forest area, a plains, and a few others with many different creatures roaming around. None of the creatures however seemed like a threat to the tigers but that is not to say they could not be should they be put in such a situation. Either way, Yueliang says to them. "If you look behind you right here is the cave for you both. If there is anything wrong let me know and I will see what I can do alright?"

    Walking in the cave, and setting down Huoli, Shen Hu says. "Thank you Yueliang. This cave is nice, and cozy, the environment should be perfect for raising our cubs."

    Yueliang just smiles and nods.Â

------------------------------------------------------

    Hello everyone, I hope you all are having a wonderful day. Please stay safe and have fun. It is getting a little bit more difficult to wright as I am sick at the moment. But either way, I will still be putting out the chapters like normal, and even trying to increase the rate they come out. Enjoy, my wonderful readers.