Healing System

The journey was fairly boring—or at least that's what it seemed to Michael, anyway.

Except for the occasional boars, nothing had stood out yet, and they were already halfway there.

However, there was one little thing that was off; they were being followed by a group—not a strong one, just very persistent.

Along the way, Michael had set up a bunch of traps, some of which were simply there to scare them. Your next journey awaits at empire

But each time they got caught in one of his traps, they simply recoiled back before continuing to follow him.

From this distance, he was able to see that their clothing was pretty shabby, and only a single person was dressed relatively well. His appearance was a tad bit catchier than the rest.

'But what's their goal here? Should I just get rid of them?' Michael thought inwardly while steadily jogging with the rest of his group.

If he were to make a guess, they were following after them. Whether to rob them or do anything else, he was unsure.

"Mujin... I think we are being followed," Gu Wan said in a whisper, to which Michael merely nodded.

"I know. Go as planned. If anything, I'll deal with them," Michael assured before shooting another glance behind him.

There were more of them now, and some were even approaching them.

'Alright, I'll see what they are up to,' he thought with a sigh and stopped.

"Head on without me for a bit. Disciple Hu Rong, protect Old Gu."

"Yes, Master Mujin!" Hu Rong replied with cupped fists before moving forward, Gu Wan following suit.

Michael watched their figures disappear into the distance before he began walking toward the pursuers. 'System, are there more of them? Or are these people I feel all there is to it?'

That's everyone, it looks like. They are very underprepared. How are you going to do this?

'I mean, they are red dots, are they not? Is there any need for me to have a gentle conversation with them?' Michael scoffed and summoned his wings before flying into the sky.

After a few short moments, he was right above the pursuers—40 in total. Listening in, he overheard barely audible whispers.

However, aside from a few minor details, he found out that Gu Wan was actually their target, and apparently, there was a bounty on his head.

Getting a slightly ominous feeling, Michael dropped down to the ground, startling all 40 of the people present.

"Who are you!?" a man shouted out whilst drawing his shabby sword, but before he could even take one more step, Michael drew an arc in the air, and immediately, half of the people present fell down, their heads missing.

Without wasting any more time, he summoned exactly 19 Swords of Light and sent them toward those who were remaining, only leaving the single man who was the first to speak up.

Michael sent a cold glare toward the man before commanding, "Tell me about this bounty."

However, the man seemed to finally overcome his fear as he raised his sword in the air and dashed toward Michael, screaming, "Die!"

But as his sword was drawing nearer to Michael, Michael's eyes momentarily lit up, stopping the man in his tracks.

"Let's try this again. Tell me about the bounty on Gu Wan."

After a short moment of silence, the man spoke. "Master Feng wants his head. He promised to give all of us 10 gold each if we managed to kill Old Gu."

"And none of you questioned it?" Michael raised his brow before continuing, "Where is this Feng person, and why exactly is he trying to kill Gu Wan, anyway?"

"10 gold is 10 gold," the man replied before staring down at the ground. "There have been rumors that Old Gu stole Master Feng's Dao companion..."

'...Seriously.' Michael facepalmed. All this was happening because of these traditions. If they were so common, why would they try to kill each other in the first place?

You seem to be overlooking the fact that while some people move on, others stagnate. Feng probably held the woman dear to his heart, but as she soared while he fell, he got jealous.

'One-sided love?'

Pretty much.

He glanced back at the man who was still looking down before summoning a golden sword right above him. "Anything else you want to tell me?"

"Don't underestimate Master Feng..."

"Fair enough," Michael expressed before bringing the sword down and swiftly ending the man's life.

There were bodies lying all around, but if he wanted to send a message, it was better to leave them as is. Therefore, with a single flap of his wings, he headed back up into the sky.

The ominous feeling from before was still present; however, it had not gone away in the slightest.

Taking a quick glance at the man and making sure no one else was around, he made his way back toward his group, and in just a few seconds, he was already right above them.

They had managed to run a couple of kilometers in the few minutes he was preoccupied. It would likely be best if they sped up their pace.

Michael dropped down nearby and brought his wings back into his mana core before catching up with the group.

"All done?" Gu Wan asked, momentarily stopping.

"Yeah... You failed to mention the part where you stole someone's Dao companion, though," Michael remarked with a chuckle.

"Stole? She practically begged me to be hers. Wait, were those bandits sent by Old Feng?"

"They were."

Gu Wan narrowed his eyes for a moment, staring into the far-off distance with pure hate. "Bastard... I am not going to forget this..."

'What's he talking about?'

They hold generational grudges or something. Just go along with it for now.

He nodded and began listening as Gu Wan started listing out random names that seemed to be somehow related to Feng, before eventually taking a deep breath and straightening his back.

"I am ready. Let's continue."

"Sure..." Michael replied before beginning to run again. They were still a few hundred kilometers away from the city, but at their pace, they should get there within a couple of hours.

However, the forested area was growing a bit too dense now—to the point where, unless he flew above the trees, he couldn't even tell what time of day it was.

That, added to the fact that this world was unpredictable, made him quite on edge—to the point where he was looking at his map once every couple of minutes.

'System, what's going on?' Michael could feel his heartbeat quickening irrationally and his unease growing by the second.

That was until he heard a faint click in the distance, and it all disappeared—replaced by absolute silence.

You are in an array, the system's voice rang out amidst the silence.

'That doesn't tell me a lot.'

Remember that time you first entered the rift? This is basically that, but just on a much larger scale. I think it's covering at least a couple of kilometers in diameter. Whoever did this was quite thorough in hiding their tracks.

'Can't I just brute-force my way out of here then?' Michael glanced around, trying to spot any weaknesses.

But after a few short moments, he found out that the area looked the exact same, with barely any changes to it.

Hmm... This is the perfect time to train Eyes of The Healer. Use it, tell me what you see.

He raised his brow at the system's sudden remark but nonetheless concentrated more mana into his eyes. 'I see mana. A lot of it.'

Okay? Anything else?

'No?' His confusion was growing greater by the second.

That means you are not looking hard enough. Try again. I assure you there's something special you can find.

'Can't you just tell me so we can speed this up?'

No.

'...'