God Slayer Chronicles 37 The Two-Headed Lion, the Maiden and The Hall Master

"Kid, are you listening to me? I can make you -"

Before the heavy voice inside the ring could finish Sha Ku interrupted him, "Quiet. Are you a spirit artifact or have you latched onto the ring?"

"Little Bastard, what are you saying?" The voice roared as Sha Ku touched upon its weak point.

"An expert afraid of death, latching onto the ring then…. tut tut tut." Sha Ku let out in succession.

"Let me guess, seeing as you're hiding in a ring that seems to be made out of a near-divine material I'd say you're at least a false immortal, perhaps you've even attained true immortality. Unfortunately for you, you seem to have cultivated Qi instead of your soul, meaning that you had to cling to an object to survive." Sha Ku mumbled, not letting the ring's voice interfere with his analysis.

"So, false immortal, a nine-flame lion. I'm going to say you're probably from a divine flame sect or at least a sect that worships some sort of flame deity. Am I correct?" Sha Ku stated nonchalantly while seeming slightly smug on the outside.

"Who… who are you?" The ring's voice stuttered as it entered Sha Ku's mind.

"My name is Sha Ku; you may address me however you wish. I don't particularly mind." Sha Ku started to undress his clothes, neatly folding them and placing them in his interspatial ring, while taking out another set which was clean and fresh.

"Sha Ku… Sha Ku. I do not know this name. I was known as Yan Huang of the Nine Flame Sect. You're a reincarnator, aren't you?" The voice from the ring became polite and respectful towards Sha Ku as it spoke.

"Yan Huang, yellow flame. Appropriate. The Nine Flame Sect, I'm afraid I never heard of such a place before my previous death. I have a few questions Yan Huang, would you be willing to answer them?"

"Of course, Sha Ku, it would be my pleasure to share my knowledge with someone as esteemed as you." Yan Huang almost grovelled, seeing this as a prime opportunity to escape the cursed ring that he was trapped within.

A smile grew on Sha Ku's calm face, "I have three questions. First, how did you end up in the hands of that… Zane?"

"Oh, the young boy? That's easy; his father left me to him before he went and got himself killed." Yan Huang quickly and eagerly answered.

"How are you related the 'Heaven's Enigma'" Sha Ku finished putting his new robes on, as he quickly ducked out of one of the study's large windows.

"The Heaven's Enigma? Cough. Yes, well... The Heaven's Enigma is a vault left behind by my Nine Flame Sect." The ring responded.

As Sha Ku heard these words, a greedy look appeared in his eyes. A vault left behind from a sect that possessed a False Immortal would be incredibly valuable, possibly containing treasures that could help him and the Yang Clan rise to absolute prominence.

"Finally, what's inside the Vault?" Sha Ku's words were sharp as he dashed in and out of the shrubbery, stealthily leaving the estate which was guarded to the teeth.

"Inside the vault?" Yan Huang almost gulped.

"Yes inside."

"Well, I'm not entirely sure." Yan Huang almost laughed nervously.

"You're not sure? I'm going to need a tad of exposition." Sha Ku said, scrambling over the wall of the Greenmont estate and landing on the other side which was a narrow street leading back to the centre of the town.

"Exposition? Of course. Yes. Inside you see, it slightly embarrassing. The Heaven's Enigma Vault wasn't originally owned by my Nine Flame Sect but was instead something captured by me in some ancient ruins. I, of course, being the noble cultivator I am didn't keep it for myself, but shared it with the sect. For such a meritorious deed I was voted to be the head of the sect by the elders." Yan Huang said like a brave and valiant knight that had done a noble deed.

"You couldn't open it yourself, could you?" Sha Ku scoffed.

Yan Huang gave a slight harrumph to Sha Ku's words but didn't deny them, "Even the Ancestor could only open the first layer of the vault, he fled with it as well. Down to this crappy sub-realm. He abandoned me though and the rest of the sect. How could I allow him to get away with such a dreadful act? The coward!"

Sha Ku's heart tightened, his previous opinion of Yan Huang had changed. Initially, he thought this man was a coward, but instead, he followed a traitor to a sub-realm, even going so far as to seal himself away in a ring!

"Would your ancestor go by the name Feng?"

The name struck Yan Huang like lightning bolts raining down from the sky!

"Feng! Yes! His name is Feng Qiang!" Yan Huang shouted quickly.

"It's as I thought, the ruler of the Heaven's Might Kingdom is, in fact, a fallen immortal." Sha Ku cunningly stroked his chin, thinking up a few extremely convoluted ideas that could help him in the future.

Sha Ku spent another two hours talking while taking a gentle stroll around the town, slowly making his way back to Hall Master Mo.

In the middle of the bustling afternoon markets, while the sun hung high in the sky, a girl's voice could be heard calling, "Little Ku-Ku!"

The voice was familiar to Sha Ku of course; it was Lin May!

Turning on his heel to greet the girl he mumbled to himself, thinking how lucky it was he'd changed before leaving the Greenmont mansion.

"Little Ku-Ku, you were gone once I woke up! Why did you leave me such a weird note as well? 'I'll see you again when the sun hangs above the world; then we'll be free to seek the world in any way we see fit?'" Lin May frowned, not knowing that the sun meant the Yang Clan.

Cough!

Sha Ku cleared his throat while looking Lin May straight in the eyes, "You must forgive me Lin May, I have a flair for the dramatic and have recently received some news that I've been accepted into a Sect from the Central Plains."

Lin May's lips made an 'O' shape, nodding her head.

"Which Sect?" she asked curiously.

"That would be the Spirit Sword Sect."

Lin May gasped a little at his reply, how could she not know of the Spirit Sword Sect?!

"You're joining the Spirit Sword Sect? That's incredible! You do know they're one of the most powerful players in the Central Plains! The old leaders of the Spirit Sword Sect once reigned supreme, only bowing to the ancestor of the Imperial Clan!" Lin May continued in her dramatic tone, awestruck by Sha Ku's good fortune.

"In recent times though, the Spirit Sword Sect seems to have fallen into ill repute. After several lengthy wars with many different factions all their old leaders have either died, or gone into seclusion, never emerging again." A hint of sadness could be heard in Lin May's voice.

Sha Ku stood there for little over half an hour, listening to Lin May's stories, she was practically an encyclopaedia full of knowledge.

After so long Sha Ku had to stop her, even he was starting to get anxious about making the hall master wait.

Gently taking Lin May's hands, he spoke, "Big Sis Lin, I have to get back. I want to make a good impression on my new master. I'll try to contact you when I get the first available opportunity."

Lin May looked at her hands and smiled, telling Sha Ku that if he didn't, she'd go to the Spirit Sword Sect and embarrass him the first chance she got.

Sha Ku gave a smile laugh in response, saying his goodbyes and walking off to the Night's End Inn.

***

Inside An Mo's room, Sha Ku sat cross-legged, opposite the sinister looking An Mo.

They'd been talking about the situation inside Zane's stronghold for a while now and about how all the guards had started to loot the manor house.

Sha Ku explained how he had found a signet ring on Zane's body and how it had spoken to him.

This could be viewed as both idiotic and ingenious at the same time from an observer. On one had it would gain the Hall Master's trust, yet if that Yun Huang spilt the beans about him being a reincatinator he'd be in a hole so deep they could bury him and the Yang Clan with him.

An Mo was extremely intrigued by the signet ring but smiled when he investigated it, "The spirit in this ring doesn't want to communicate with me. I feel it has chosen you. Congratulations." The hall master handed over the purple signet ring, placing it in Sha Ku's palm.

"I have to congratulate you, Sha Ku, you're very talented, especially for a youngster. But, never think you can deceive me. Understand? Otherwise, that girl will be beheaded quicker say her name. Not to mention your supposed adoptive family." A devious smile emerged on An Mo's face; his voice held killing intent that pressed down on Sha Ku's body, making him feel like he was a child, alone and afraid.

"Yes! Yes, Hall Master!" Sha Ku blurted out, as he felt like his bones were being crushed to oblivion.

"Good. I will forgive you, this one time. You are no longer Yang Chi, but instead Sha Ku, a disciple of the Spirit Sword Sect!" An Mo's voice eased up, as Sha Ku's face looked distraught.

Like the fool he was, he stood up, bowing three times to his new master.

"Good. Now, there are a few things you must know." An Mo's sinister voice emerged, unable to hold back the morbid tone.

Chapter end