Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1098 - 1097 - Sponsor

Lan and Bori were with the 2 young boys. Their serious faces belied the kindness in their hearts. Lind felt nostalgic as 2 brothers met 2 brothers rescued by him.

"Master is kind but nothing is free. Make sure you show your gratitude." Lan was always taking the role of the stick while Bori was the carrot.

"Master loves questions, so don't hold back!" Jur, Oz, and Ranger were off somewhere in the suite as Lind emerged from his cultivation session. It had been short as he just wanted to clear his mind but he felt far better than he should.

Stress accumulates even as an Immortal. He needed a longer session soon it seemed.

"Lan, Bori, no need to go too far. I acted on my own whim as always." He spoke gently so as to reassure the 2 young Soul Realm boys. Their eyes were a shade of blue that reminded him of the sky as lightning flashed on the horizon.

Their hands were heavily calloused which spoke of manual labor as mortals and even into Body Refining Realm. They were not scrawny nor any other sign of abuse one might expect for those forced to work so young.

"I am not sure you heard my name but I am the Emerald Immortal." The 2 boys bowed low. The dark robes were frayed a bit as they contrasted with the white stone tile they stood on. Still, no patches nor holes were apparent.

The previous incident had been missed as the 2 boys were practically carried away by Jur and Bori at his instruction. Thus, they did not know his current name nor did he reveal his real looks even inside the suite.

"Great Immortal! Thank you for saving Ben!" The one that had been getting beaten up before now looked so happy it was painful to see. He patted his head of dark hair as the named Ben looked troubled.

"Speak. Have no fear here." Ben slowly nodded and looked at his brother.

"I know he gave an Oath but they always find ways around it. So long as he does not ask, couldn't someone act in his stead?" Lind nodded at that question.

"Indeed but he knows I will come knocking if such a thing happens. Is there someone you are worried about?" Both brothers slowly nodded but then clammed up. Bori smiled and waved at them to talk.

His boyishness may be long gone but the sparkle of naive youth was still with him.

"Elder Sister Mills! She runs the orphanage in the trade quarter. We work with the masters in their shops and if we have skills they can take us on or at least teach us the basics. She is very nice but she has no one!" The system actually made a lot of sense to Lind.

The shops and practitioners got some helpful labor but could also farm gems with almost no effort! He wondered about the limits but assumed Immortals would not care about anything much until the Sky Realm at least.

"Surely if she runs such a helpful place, the masters protect her?" Ben shook his head but his brother began to cry. They both looked uncomfortable and a dark thought passed through Lind's mind.

"Lan, do you know the place they speak of?" The white tiger nodded and left without need for further instructions. "Chu, go with him to be safe."

She smiled from their bedroom but vanished into the shadows like liquid.

"Bori, could you get some tea ready?" Confusion crossed his pale eyes but he nodded and went to the kitchen. Once they were relatively alone, Lind activated a formation plate.

The world was now cut off around the 3.

"Whatever you say here, stays between the 3 of us." The boys slowly nodded but looked pale at his casual display of power.

"E–e–elder Sister was one of us long ago when the old protector died. It was peaceful, she told us. She smiles fondly when telling that story but no new protector was assigned. So she took over and the guilds made no issue. Not until–" The younger one was shaking when Ben hugged him.

"I will take over Carl." The boy nodded as tears were now falling down his face. Ben looked up and seemed to become much too old for his small body.

"I am learning formations. The Fiery Treasure Pavilion noticed I have the skill and began to have me learn the basics to help the masters there. It was like the dream was coming true but I came in one day to see strange men in the pavilion." He grew cold at that point.

Lind knew that look.

"They were speaking to the Pavilion Master when he looked at me and smiled. I knew that smile was the one he used when concluding a deal, a big one. One of the men in black cloaks was examining an item and putting it down, I saw the emblem of the kingdom on his chest." Pieces came together and Lind nodded.

"So, the baron was looking to raise a formation master? Based on his attitude, he is not a nice man but is that a normal thing?" Both boys shook their heads but then slowed.

"There has been a rumor at the orphanage. Celia was showing promise as a refiner but did not come back one day. Elder Sister Mills left and came back bruised but smiling. Celia was with her! She never told us what happened. She only cried that Elder Sister got her back." Lind sharply contained his temper.

He was jumping to a conclusion but the boys outlined how it happened more frequently. Each time, Elder Sister Mills came back with a smile and the missing child. It was odd if he was correct.

Why not simply take the girl? Why use such a roundabout method?

"Boys, think back. Did anything happen at the orphanage before Celia was taken?" Both shrugged. They did not know. They were gone during the day and Ben likely was gone more after being found out to be a formation master potential.

"Does being the protector of an orphanage have any special privileges?" He tried that but both boys shrugged yet again.

There was a piece missing but he did not know what it was. The original protector died peacefully and one of the orphans, likely after years of assisting them, took up the office. Pragmatic cultivators would not interfere so long as operations continued smoothly.

He so badly wanted to use his aura but did not want to cause yet another panic.

[Lind, something is wrong here. There are soldiers watching the orphanage but hidden from sight. They are all at the Heaven Realm.] Chu's voice startled him. She could reach him in the city?!

He tested his mental abilities and found far less resistance than before!

He pushed aside the desire to test things and asked her to let him see. They shared an extremely strong bond but only Ethry could share senses with him before. Lanbao had refused until meeting his other wives but that never happened.

Chu's vision was not as clear as he would have liked. Still, it was much nicer to be able to see without raising more issues with the city. The soldiers were concealing themselves all right.

They were using formation plates to vanish from senses but had taken up positions around a rather humble stone building.

He saw it was 2 stories tall and had simply vented windows to let the heat out during summer. The clean street and the pungent smell of refining told him they were not far from a production shop of some kind.

The fact he could smell it meant they skimped on isolation wards so they did not care about their neighbors.

Small children to teenagers were working around the structure but he saw a few young adults working on the ever present paperwork. Nothing stopped Chu's aura but he saw Lan skulking just out of sight of the soldiers.

[There was a leader that showed up briefly. He said something about the sponsor not being happy but that no retaliation could be allowed. I think we know who that was about." Lind nodded but frowned at the wording.

Sponsor? Not Lord?

"Ben, if I asked you why a soldier would call a noble a sponsor instead of a lord, would that mean anything?" Ben was confused but Carl turned white. He turned to the younger boy and knelt down to be at his level. "I mean no harm, Carl. Please, tell me."

"D-d-duan was gone the longest. He said he saw something. A noble he knew from his shop work. He had a talent for alchemy so he often cleaned the pots and nobles always ignored us." He nodded but then the boy continued. "He said that the same noble showed up where he was kept. It was when the men in cloaks bowed and they spoke."

He relayed a story of typical small talk but then it took a turn when Elder Sister Mills was known to be coming.

"The sponsor is a bit cruel. Using such a physique to make money from us while the poor child can only take it from us. Still, I hope I succeed!" Duan had felt ill from the laughter but the noble left and later, Elder Sister came for him.

She was bruised at her neck and limping but she smiled warmly as he cried in her arms.

"Physique–get lucky–what does it mean?" He was closer to the missing piece but he needed more information.

[Lind!] Chu's voice had him return to their connection but he frowned at what he saw. He could not tell their identity but their fine robes and the kingdom symbol told him enough.

"Boys, go to Bori and enjoy the tea. Thank you for telling me all this." He waited till they left and then vanished from the room. He could not tear through space but he could move very quickly!

He crossed the streets like the wind until he was floating above the orphanage.

"I am here for you! I will succeed! Take her!" The man leading the group was older and a high Sliver Tier Immortal. Just what was going on?