The sunlight chased the night crawlers back into their lairs. As the mutated animals concealed themselves, a teenager appeared at the edge of the landscape. His body was entirely covered with a black oversized cloak.
His face, hair, and arms were tightly wrapped with white bandages.
Holding his hand was a small female figure equally covered with a brown cloak. Both of their features were totally concealed.
After about four years, Ju and Moonflower left their rock house.
It had been a month since the mine had closed, and Ju had finished all the preparations he felt were necessary to move to Ender Town.
Under the eyes of a large desert rat, the two figures, one large and one small, walked hand in hand, far away from the depths of the Wastelands.
The journey was relatively smooth for some time before suddenly, a fierce wind blew about; it was so fast that the two were caught off guard. The clothes covering Ju and his child flew back, revealing a head full of black silk-like long hair and another one with snow-white long hair.
Under the sunlight, white and black hair danced about with streaks of dazzling radiance.
Ju quickly paused and gathered the girl's hair before once again covering her head and face. He also adjusted his own appearance.
Ju then once again held Moonflower's hand to continue walking far away from the depths of the wastelands in search of a better life.
They continued for three days until they reached one of the places marked blue on the Old Kai map.
"Based on the map, Ender Town was still a few tens of kilometers away."
Ju thought as he made the decision to take a rest. In a nearby cave, which was similar to the one they came from, the young boy helped his sibling settle. He had already offered her their last morsel of food; thankfully, their stock of water was still sizeable.
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"I have to find more food," Ju realized as he took a simple sip from the water container.
Due to the fact that he could gather and use essence, he was a bit less reliant on food, unlike Moonflower. She needed to eat often.
Then, under the cover of the night, he walked alone into the lair of a group of spiritual beasts.
After much deliberation, Ju decided to test out the dark assault technique. Although Old Kai said he should only use it in an emergency, The teenager still felt that he needed to witness how much toll the technique took under controlled circumstances.
He had spent about a week studying the scroll, and although Ju could not really read that well, under the occasional guidance of Old Kai, Ju was able to familiarize himself with the hand gestures needed to activate Dark Assault.
Moonflower's brilliant black eyes watched the boy as he left. She didn't know when he would return, but she was certain Ju would come back to her eventually.
Ju eventually returned, albeit with difficulty during dusk on the second day. The small girl quietly sat at the cave entrance as she saw him approach.
Some minutes later, Moonflower's brows were furrowed as she used her small teeth to tear at the flesh of a mutated rat. The flesh was tough, smelly, and borderline rancid, but she earnestly chewed and swallowed; even the juices sticking to her fingers were licked clean.
Deep inside the cave, Ju dealt with his injuries. Several bite marks and slashes were all over his body; some of them were so deep that the bone could be seen. Inside his body, impurities also rage; the power of dark assault was overwhelming, and the cost was relatively high. He had already taken two white pills just to stabilize his condition.
"If I used this move again without purifying my essence. It would most certainly result in a severe backlash…However, its power is quite astonishing."
Although Ju had mentally prepared himself, he was still shocked when he used Dark Assault; he had never felt so powerful in his entire life; spiritual beasts that would be difficult for him to confront became soft like butter under his dagger.
MoonFlower would have been the one to treat his injuries, but Ju feared that the poison of the spiritual beasts might affect her. Next to him were a few dozen bodies ranging from rats to large scorpions to vultures.
"It should be enough."
The young boy calculated as he stitched himself that the meat from the carcasses should last them for two weeks, and by then, they should have reached Ender Town.
The next day, the two set out again, this time without any more pauses. The girl ate and drank on the road.
About two weeks later, Ju and Moonflower finally reached their destination.
Ender Town.