The hurricane raged over the Great Gu Family's estate and some of the adjacent territory. It could be seen from anywhere on the province's western shore. A massive figure stepped foot into the ruined outer reaches of the estate. Walking, unaffected by wind, rain, or the floods around their ankles, was the huge silhouette of a lion.
They wore an exotic crown, never seen before in the XiGuang province. A shirt of golden scales spanned over their impressive muscles. Despite the raging storm, none of the grime and mud overflowing the ruins could touch the divine armor.
With two brutal knives in hand, they walked past the death and destruction they had brought upon this land. He ground his teeth and gripped the weapons tightly, witnessing the destruction he had wrought. At least they had the chance to flee from the storm, a freedom the people of Y-City didn't have.
Taking a deep breath, he made it clear to himself that this was necessary. Nobody here was innocent. Looking around, some of the greatest collateral damage was not actually dealt by the storm. It was their own, magical bugs that had turned against stopping many from escaping.
His gaze stuck to the bright barrier of the inner manor. Although the courtyards and halls inside had been damaged by the wind and rain, they had currently stabilized. He felt the presence of powerful enemies inside, holding up the shield to resist the weather.
For a moment, the Chosen of Maahes readied his weapons, but he lowered the knives again when he changed his mind. Putting away one of his knives, he brought out a green burl from his inventory and threw it into the storm. With a green trail, it landed close to the inner barrier of the inner manor.
There was no need for him to take any further action in this place; the guardian Tree Sapling would finish it. Mike just wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible, since the task was completed with this. However, he had just turned around when he heard an almost imperceptible noise behind him.
"What was it you just threw there?" Someone had approached from behind and asked a question. Mike turned around slowly, deliberately, checking the person who had just arrived. They had an attractive, yet androgynous face. They wore robes that indicated a slender body. Their voice sounded neither male nor female.
Appraisal also didn't help him to ascertain anything but their name and the fact that their level was in the triple digits and far enough above him to not let him see it. Mike stopped himself from frowning. Not even the intel Marco and Master Mountain had gathered mentioned a Gu TangLang.
The only thing he could go by now was his
"What are you?" the lion man countered their question with one of his own. He quietly reequipped his second knife, in case they suddenly decided to attack. Gu Tanglang cocked their head in a not-quite-human way. Then Mike felt his skin crawl, the feeling of someone using an appraisal skill on him.
They suddenly made a playful turn, causing the mint green robes to swish in the wind. The rain pearled off the silken material, but now, Mike could see that the robes in the back were actually ripped and bloody. What couldn't be stained by water and mud was drenched in blood.
"Do not worry, Lord Mike. I mean no harm to you, after all, you are my benefactor," they said with a gleeful but unnatural-looking smile.
"This storm was created by you, wasn't it? Thanks to you, I was able to..." Their smile vanished, and their body shook for a moment, as if a horrible memory surfaced for a moment. "I was able to finally escape," they said. The smile was back, but it was now a tragic one, hiding true sadness. It was a lot more believable than the previous one.
Mike slightly lowered his readied weapons. It was not just because of what they said. It was the fact that they used a system skill to find out his name. Cultivators were unable to become part of the system in a way that would allow them to gain support, power, or the ability to use skills. This could only mean one thing.
"Are you a survivor from Urth?" Mike asked as it was the only explanation he could come up with. According to the intel they had, there shouldn't be any survivors in the Gu Family. However, they also had no intel on Gu TangLang, so it was clear the intel was incomplete.
They fell silent at his question. It was not the silence of being unwilling to answer, but hesitation for a lack of an answer. They seemed to ponder what to say or how to say it. After several moments of hesitating, evading his gaze, and looking at their own, pale fingers, Gu TangLang finally spoke up.
"I...I guess you could call me a remnant of a person from Urth," they finally said, and the Chosen of Maahes could see honest tears welling up in their black eyes. The lion's nose could even smell the tears in the rain and the ocean winds with his
Whatever happened in this place, it was something fundamental and terrible. Mike knew of only one other occasion when the name of a person in their status was completely changed. Looking at Gu TangLang, Mike felt reminded of Adam, the artificial druid.
The Governor of Thres had confided in them about his past during the time Mike had spent with him. It took something as deep-reaching as a rebirth to change or reset the name of a player in their status. Of course, there were skills to hide or change it to an observer, but they were extremely rare.
"Would you like to leave this place and come back to Urth with me? The organization responsible for the atrocities of Y-City is gone, and Minas Mar managed to stabilize the casual life for the biggest part," Mike offered them.
"I can go back?!" they asked, suddenly excited. They almost sounded like a child who was allowed to go out and play, despite being grounded. This reminded Mike that many of the people abducted were children and teens. Maybe Gu TangLang had only come of age after coming to the Cloud Continent.
Everything he saw led him to believe that the person before him was not only the victim of a terrible crime, but also one of the people he had to save as a Lord of Minas Mar: a survivor from Urth. However, Mike had learned his lesson.
He had once helped people in good faith and thereby unleashed a terrible evil on Urth. Afterward, he had decided that although he still wanted to believe in people, he would take certain precautions against this happening again.
"I don't mind taking you along when I return, but you have to sign this paper first," he said and brought out a magic contract he had Mary prepare for him. He had three full stacks of copies of this in his inventory, simply to never repeat the same mistake.
"What is that?" Gu TangLang asked, cluelessly looking at the paper he was handing them. They also took the pen Mike was offering. The paper fluttered in the wind and rain, as they stared at it in concentration. Neither could harm the enchanted document.
"It's a magic contract that you won't harm members and allies of Minas Mar, or people of Urth, unless they attack you first. You can read it yourself before-"
Mike had not even finished his explanation when they placed an X on the line below. The ink lit up with a bright light for a moment, showing that the contract was now in effect.
"Is this how you sign a contract? I saw it in a movie once. Can you bring me home now? I can't wait to sleep in my bed again! I can't wait to- Oh! Do you think we can find my... Ugh? My...my..." They suddenly grabbed their head in pain.
"My, my, my... Who? I know there is someone, but... but.. I can't. Why can't I...?" they kept mumbling incoherently. Adam had also mentioned that he couldn't remember his personal memories. Had Gu TangLang really gone through something similar? Mike grabbed their shoulders.
"It's okay. We will help you."