Murim Recurve

Chapter 78 - Uphold Virtue

"Wait a second…" Re'Kha muttered, extending her Wind Qi perception through the other building. It was a regular restaurant frequented by the masses. There were no Harmonisers within to resist the effects of the Sha's hallucination.

In her case, Re'Kha had been monitoring the inn. So, the moment she noticed the people she was keeping watch over disappear, she knew something was amiss. Adding onto the fact that she heard the guards mention the Sha, she realised the danger immediately and used a palm projection to shatter the hallucination wrapped around her.

As for the Harmonisers from the Royal Clan, even if she hadn't saved them, they would have broken out the moment they noticed something amiss too. But, it would have taken some time, considering they were relaxed and in an unguarded state. That was why she rushed to their rescue in a hurry.

Without any Harmonisers to put up a fight, the Sha within the restaurant was generating Fear Qi at a consistent pace from all the people, transferring the majority of it to the Sha within the inn that was currently battling. As a Sha that had taken a spiritual form became a ghost, regular attacks were unable to harm it.

A ghost could phase through all matter. Only the fundamental law governing their world, the conflict between elements affected it. So, only attacks using Elemental Qi wounded it. Among them, Lightning Qi was the most effective against ghosts, followed by Fire Qi, Water Qi, and finally, the Metal Qi.

Re'Kha extended her perception through the pipelines into other buildings, trailing the flow of the Fear Qi as she noticed the Sha present in at least 10 buildings. Her Wind Qi perception was unable to extend beyond that as the static from the Fear Qi prevented her from concentrating.

"This is bad, really bad." Re'Kha ran towards the entrance, exited the inn, and stood under the rain for a breath in time, extending her Wind Qi perception to notice the Blinded Ghost pass by her a couple of blocks away.

She deactivated her Wind Qi perception, took in a deep breath, and activated her Water Qi perception, expanding it to the limit, outlining the entire Burfuna City in her view. 'It seems the Ju Clan has been notified. They are on their way here. But it seems it would take some more time for the other Clans to appear.'

Burfuna City was large, so it would take a lot of time for reinforcements to arrive, even for the Ju Clan which was in control of the region the Sha were wreaking havoc within. For a moment, Re'Kha was conflicted in whether she should chase after the Blinded Ghost or save the people within the restaurant.

The Blinded Ghost had stolen her eyes. And, unless it had already used it, her eyes might still be present. She could reclaim her sight and no longer be blind. Moreover, the presence and the connection she felt made her believe that her eyes were still present with the Blinded Ghost.

'But, I cannot go against it in my current state.' The reality of the situation kept her in check. She was blind and her physical state was less than optimal. She also only had three units of Water Qi left in her, which wasn't enough.

The guards were pursuing the Blinded Ghost, so the moment she fought it and prevented it from running away, they would catch up. Unfortunately, the only way for her to last that long was by using a Magic Artifact, which would cause the situation to turn strained the moment any guard spotted it.

'I'll wait for an opportunity to attack it while preventing this Sha from killing everyone.' She was still unsure about what the Sha sought. Judging by its actions, it didn't seem like a being that wanted to steal the body parts of people. 'But, unless it steals something, I cannot say for sure.'

Re'Kha entered the building, making a beeline towards the Ki'Nha, "Lady Ki'Nha, I just investigated the other buildings. This Sha is only a split portion of its true self. There is one in the nearby buildings too. That's where it's getting a constant stream of Fear Qi to survive the rain. For some reason, it is using the water pipes."

"It's using the water pipelines?" Ki'Nha was shocked for a moment before scowling, 'Is this the scheme of a third party? The pipelines should be filled with water containing a fair quantity of Water Qi. How is this possible?'

She then looked around, trying to find any taps to verify the claim. But unfortunately, the place wasn't bright enough for her to see far away. In their fight, a good portion of the lanterns was tossed into the rain. It was the Sha that had done so, cleverly preventing the oil within the lanterns from catching fire by making the rain fall on the wick first. It was to reduce the advantage of its foe.

Ki'Nha noticed that the condition of Re'Kha had worsened as compared to before, shouting as she dodged an attack, "Ki'Tse has the keys. She's unlocking the rooms as we speak. Once she and Ki'Sha rescue everyone in the inn, the Sha here would become weaker. It won't take long, Lady Re'Luk."

"I'll hinder the Sha in the nearby restaurant then," Re'Kha said, not paying heed to the concerned shouts from Ki'Nha as she exited the inn.

"First, uphold virtue." Her master's voice resounded in her head as the word virtue echoed. Re'Kha stopped, feeling the rain hit her as she took in a deep breath; the difficulty in her breathing intensified, making it hard for her to run. 

"Yes, master." She sighed, entering the restaurant as she pulled out the whip Magic Artifact from her storage space. There were no prying eyes on her now, at least within the restaurant. So, she could use it without fear of being labelled a thief.

Re'Kha held the whip as its end fell on the floor, sliding over it as she dragged the whip handle. She partially deactivated her Wind Qi perception on her right arm—that held the whip. This way, she wouldn't be affected wielding the whip. But because of it, she also wasn't able to use any Pranic Arts, for the elemental Qi in her wasn't fully circulating. She didn't know any Pranic Arts in the wind element so it wasn't a concern.

A blob of blank space floated before her, bubbling as it increased in size. With a tap, Re'Kha caused the whip to burst with blue radiance, her weak voice resounded in the silence, "Come!"