Awakening the Divine Spark
Chapter 200: Blackbird. Take two.

Chapter 200: Blackbird. Take two.

Lee was engrossed in thoughts and didn’t hear what the merchant next to him blabbed about. His thoughts ranged from why the hell did I ever think to start the revenge? to what am I supposed to do with my life?

Fortunately, in the long struggle of self pity and remorse, it was the common sense that won in the end.

’What the fuck am I doing?’ Lee thought, ’The whole revenge thing was supposed to be something fun! Something to spice up this life! Why I’m pussying out all of sudden? So what if she’s super powerful now? That only makes it more interesting!’

Yes, during the years he was going back and forth with the idea of revenge, and yes, he had suffered because of it. But the drawbacks were caused by his own foolishness and, objectively speaking, his life surely was much more fun than it could’ve ever been in Sunwell. His life wasn’t boring at all!

And why couldn’t he become the male version of Blackbird for a change? Obviously he would never ever in his lives dress up as a women again, but the prospect of becoming an assassin for one job actually sounded amusing.

The country merchant kept rambling on, but Lee was already busy drawing plans. He couldn’t devise anything specific, though, and mostly outlined the next course of action.

***

"No way!" The man named Qian straight up refused after hearing Lee’s offer.

They sat in a corner of a packed alehouse in the outer part of the Celestial Abyss sect. Lee found the man after many suggested the guy was the one he needed to consult if he wanted to attempt anything shady in the neighborhood.

"The price ..." Lee wanted to argue, but was interrupted.

"No means no!" Qian said, then leaned closer, and added, "After the wedding, sure! But now, boy, don’t even think about it. Do you have any idea how many elemental lords are currently visiting the inner sect? There’s no inn with a free room for an elemental master no matter their background! How do you expect me to smuggle you, a regular bum, in?"

"Alright!" Lee nodded. It was not his first day in the world and he could tell the man was serious. He said, "In that case, could you give me the layout ..."

"What’s wrong with you, boy?!" Qian said, shaking his head as got up, "At least ten people are overhearing our conversation! Be happy you’re not arrested!"

It wasn’t Lee’s first choice to meet the leader of one of the gangs in a crowded place. The problem was – the whole outer sect looked like this! There was no way to say anything to anyone without a dozen ears pricking up.

Qian was right – there were people listening, but Lee hoped it wasn’t too much of a deal considering whom he was talking to. There was even a guard nearby, wearing the sect enforcer’s gear, who only threw a glance at them, but continued to drink with his buddy.

Lee left the alehouse and began to wonder the dark streets of the outer sect. They were filled with people, mostly drunk or at least tipsy, but the general mood was festive. The Celestial Abyss has successfully transformed the wedding into all out celebration, and Lee’s guess was that the so called tax-free period will allow the sect to earn even more.

The Celestial Abyss itself was huge. Lee spent over a day on the road until he got to the outer sect. Afterwards he had to fight through crowds for another day until he arrived at the wall separating the outer and inner sects. From what he heard, the inner sect was constructed to partially resemble a city, but as if he was now, Lee couldn’t verify it.

At the gate he found out that only guests with invitations or special permits were allowed to enter. The only exceptions were elemental lords, but they had to register and wait until their entrance was approved. It was strange to see that the usually haughty elemental masters were nobodies around here, at least during the current event.

After seeing the situation, Lee immediately turned to plan b. From what Shade said in Hantan city, the inner and outer sect was supposed to be connected with the sewer system. Unfortunately, if Lee could think of it, the enforcers knew the weakness even better.

Every spot where one could enter the sewers had a couple of people guarding it, and that was on the surface. Seeing the arrangements Lee was positive there were guards inside the sewers, to not speak about the inner sect where he would have to crawl out.

The walls were too tall, the gates well guarded and so were the sewers. On the first glance it was impossible to get inside the inner sect. But Lee gladly accepted the challenge.

He continued to stroll through the nightly streets, observing his surroundings, when he noticed a person tailing him. It was the same guard he saw in the alehouse, and as it turns out, the guy wasn’t tailing – he openly tried to catch up to him.

Lee stopped, preparing several excuses, but the guard managed to surprise him.

"I can get you in." He directly said.

There was a thick stench of alcohol coming from him, but that was not the reason Lee didn’t like the guy. He hadn’t met an official in his lives who would openly offer illegal services, and it meant that this particular one was after all of his money. And maybe life at the same time.

The problem was – Lee couldn’t refuse. There was no much effort required to get him arrested or killed on the spot.

During the past couple of days he had witnessed multiple occasions where petty thieves were brought away, but unlikely to be put in jail. And with how much gold he had in the bag there was no way anyone would believe it was honestly earned. He probably wouldn’t even have the chance to explain himself.

"I’m listening." Lee said, but his smile froze hearing the reply.

"Not here!" The guard said, throwing looks around, but the more he tried, the more the fake play became obvious.

But there was one upside. Lee couldn’t imagine why an elemental master would fool around this way. Besides it being a waste of time, the gold one could rob from commoners was basically peanuts in the eyes of the cultivators. That meant the guy was either elemental warrior or even a regular person.

"Lead the way!" Lee said, and followed the guard.

They didn’t walk for long. After passing several guarded alleys, the guard approached one and said to the two men in uniforms guarding the entrance, "He’s with me!"

They nodded and let the two pass, but from the faint grins Lee could tell that this was more than a shakedown.

Turns out there was an actual entrance to the sewers at the end of the alley, but there were also a couple of shadows leaning against the building wall next to it. No one said anything, but as Lee and the guard approached, the two shadows came to meet them.

The moment Lee heard the faint sound of a sword leaving its sheath, he didn’t hesitate. He rolled away from the guard towards one of the two men from the receiving party. Fueling the punch with the earth element, he destroyed the man’s knee.

Before the guy could cry out in pain, Lee rose to his feet, landing fist on the man’s jaw, shattering it. The guy fell to the ground with a loud thud, but Lee was already next to the other one.

"Bastard!" The guard who led Lee here loudly cursed, and his two colleagues at the entrance of the alley rushed over to help.