Legacy of Hatred-Chapter 94: Resolution

Joel and Cecilia had spent the remainder of the night in silence, sitting cross-legged by the canyon’s edge.

The morning’s arrival didn’t change the two rooting experts’ stances, but their minds had long since grown messier. Despite only sensing faint echoes, they had felt the underground earthquakes, and worry had inevitably settled in their brains.

That wasn’t only due to fear of the mission’s failure. Joel and Cecilia had recruited far better disciples for that second exploration, and their lives weren’t exactly inconsequential for the Sects.

Dead outer disciples weren’t a big issue, but inner disciples were far more valuable. To make things worse, Joel had brought a seven-spiritual-roots genius and a nine-spiritual-roots walking miracle to the mission, and losing them could spell doom for him.

Still, Joel’s hands had been tied. Disposable cultivators wouldn’t have accomplished anything, and he needed that to have any hope in continuing his journey, so he almost jumped to his feet when he sensed someone coming.

Cecilia shared that reaction, but both she and Joel froze a bit when only Liam climbed over the cliff, still carrying Melissa on his back. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

A short inspection was enough to tell that Liam and Melissa had gone through a lot. He was scraped all over, his partially undone robe torn in multiple spots, while Melissa was more dirt and sweat than flesh.

Yet, that limited number remained the most glaring issue of them all, especially when it came to Cecilia.

"Where are my Junior Brothers?" Cecilia asked.

Neil, Milo, and Jason’s absence was already an answer, but Cecilia needed to hear it to move to the next step. Despite the seemingly terrible outcome, she could still get something out of it, and both Joel and Melissa understood what her play was.

Naturally, Liam didn’t.

"I killed them," Liam directly revealed, pointing his cold eyes at Cecilia, unable to separate her from her Junior Brothers from the Crimson Warrior Sect.

"You what?" Cecilia questioned, anger and incredulity in her voice.

"They tried to kill us," Liam explained. "So, I killed them."

Cecilia’s anger wasn’t only due to that outcome. The fact that Liam was admitting his crime so openly showed no respect to her or her Sect.

In similar situations, Liam should have lied or come up with satisfactory excuses to give the Crimson Warrior Sect face. Still, those pleasantries were beyond what his poor social education could conceive.

"Do you think so little of the Crimson Warrior Sect that you believe you have the right to bestow capital punishment?" Cecilia wondered, her intense Qi flowing through her body, making her brown hair flutter as she stepped forward.

Liam got ready for battle and opened his mouth to reply, only for Melissa’s hands to cover it before he could speak any further.

Joel had a similar idea, jumping in front of Liam to stand between him and Cecilia, ready to play her same game.

"Aren’t you insulting the Pale Moon Sect instead?" Joel declared. "Do you think us pushovers who have to repay injury with mercy?"

Joel backed up those words by summoning his Qi, which forced Cecilia to halt her steps. She and Joel were evenly matched, but he wasn’t alone, and fostering enmity would only worsen that already terrible conclusion.

"And what do your Junior Brother and Sister have to say about the mission?" Cecilia asked, switching topics. "Have they even achieved anything besides inflicting losses to my Sect?"

Joel turned to nod at Liam and Melissa, which made her release his mouth. She even climbed down Liam’s back but kept clinging to his robe while he untied the three pouches from his belt.

The Qi the pouches radiated was unmistakable, and a flicker ran through Joel’s gaze when he checked their bright contents, not hesitating to bring them to Cecilia afterward.

Cecilia experienced a similar reaction. The yellowish mineral was the real deal, and there was a lot of it, too, more than she had ever hoped to retrieve, making her switch strategy again.

"I demand compensation for your Junior Brother’s actions," Cecilia declared. "Two-thirds instead of half."

"Cecilia, we agreed on half," Joel refused, quickly finding a way out, "But maybe my Junior Brother and Sister can share the path to the mine in addition."

That wasn’t ideal, but it was valuable nonetheless, and for multiple reasons. Cecilia wouldn’t only obtain that piece of information. It would also prevent Joel from monopolizing it and becoming necessary in the following missions.

"It will depend on the map’s quality," Cecilia scoffed, and Joel nodded at Liam and Melissa again while retrieving something from his pouch.

Liam took the matter into his own hands, reassuring Melissa with a look so that she would let him approach the two rooting experts. Joel handed him a black chalk and paper at his arrival, and he didn’t hesitate to get down to drawing.

The fact that Liam was handling that part urged Cecilia to complain about whatever he drew, only for that idea to vanish as he filled page after page with precise and detailed instructions.

The ruins expanded vertically, so Liam split what he had seen into multiple levels, using one page each, his incredible memory and drawing skills surpassing Joel and Cecilia’s wildest expectations.

"This is all I’ve seen," Liam said once he was done, handing the pile of pages to Joel. "But the area down there is quite unstable. I don’t know if something else has collapsed in the meantime."

Truth be told, Joel almost didn’t want to hand that map to Cecilia after confirming its quality, but something had to give so that the situation could end peacefully.

"I believe this is more than satisfactory," Joel announced, handing the pages to Cecilia, who immediately seized them before nodding begrudgingly.

The two rooting experts then moved to splitting the chunks of bright mineral before exchanging a polite bow. Cecilia was about to leave at that point, but she issued a warning first.

"Liam," Cecilia called, glaring. "The Crimson Warrior Sect won’t forget about today."

Before Liam or Joel could say anything, Cecilia darted away, running at full speed over the snowy and barren plain until her figure disappeared on the horizon.

Joel could only heave a sigh at that sight, but hearing Melissa limp forward forced him to put the issue aside. After all, he had his own problems to handle.

"Junior Brother Randall?" Joel asked, not having much hope, which Liam didn’t hesitate to shatter completely.

"I killed him," Liam calmly revealed. "He went back on our deal and attacked me."

Joel didn’t even know what to think, so he didn’t. That wasn’t good at all, but the worst-possible outcome hadn’t manifested itself. Actually, he had gotten what he needed without losing the most important member of his team.

"Thank you for this, Junior Brother, Junior Sister," Joel said, bowing at Liam and Melissa before securing the pouches with the mineral on his back. "We should return now. You must be tired, and the Elders won’t be happy to hear about Randall."

Joel’s quick dismissal of Randall’s death didn’t bother Liam. There was no real affection there. Death had simply happened, leading to no mourning.

"Junior Sister, allow me to help," Joel continued, offering his arm to Melissa since he had seen her limping.

Joel had no secret agenda there. He was truly grateful for the mineral and wanted to help where possible. Yet, Melissa ignored his arm, instead limping toward Liam’s back so that she could climb on it.

Liam didn’t mind that. He wasn’t physically tired and didn’t really see anything deeper in Melissa’s gesture.

Still, Joel did, especially when he saw that usually detached woman clinging so tightly to a man’s neck.

"Senior Brother Simon won’t like this," Joel warned, but Melissa simply looked away, leaving Liam confused about that strange interaction.

"Junior Brother is quite fearless," Joel promptly added, chuckling. "However, I’ll stand by my words. As of today, I’ll consider us friends and help you if you ever find yourself in need."