Legacy of Hatred-Chapter 87: Findings

Melissa couldn’t help but inspect Liam’s every move, finding him so confusing that feeling transformed into interest.

Women innately faced more dangers than their male counterparts. It simply was the way of the world. They had something every man desired, creating that additional threat.

The cultivation world only worsened that aspect. It could look more respectful on the surface, but power had a way of deepening and enabling people’s darkest desires.

On top of that, Melissa was stunning, and that awareness didn’t come from arrogance or high self-esteem. Her innate, incredible beauty had been a curse all her life, attracting so much unwanted and dangerous attention that she had been forced to acknowledge it.

That acknowledgement had led Melissa to develop defensive measures. Her silent, emotionless, and disinterested demeanor was her way to appear unapproachable. Unlike her fellow Sisters, she even disregarded her looks on purpose, only showing her shabbiest sides.

Melissa’s water core had even helped in that regard, leading to more intense sweating, which perfectly paired with her efforts in getting stronger, since that was the only reliable defense against the world’s dangers.

Nevertheless, despite all that, Melissa’s beauty had always stood out, even attracting the annoying interest of one of the Pale Moon Sect’s core disciples.

And yet, there Liam was, a man who had talked about killing as if it were a common occurrence unworthy of any additional thoughts, a man with a clearly screwed moral compass, finding more interest in corpses than in Melissa.

That went against Melissa’s entire life experience. She was relatively powerless in a hidden place with no witnesses. Death could also descend upon Liam any time, which should prompt him to use those potentially last moments to savor something otherwise unreachable.

Liam even had the right cards to force himself onto Melissa. Saving her life and his miraculous talent could justify that heinous act in his obviously screwed-up mind, but his behavior showed no trace of what she had learned were natural thoughts among men, even the allegedly good ones.

As impossibly conflicting as it sounded, Liam was a man who could kill at will and with no regret, but whose bloody hands could also bandage Melissa’s ankle with rough but undeniable care.

Liam was a man who would show no mercy against those who betrayed him, but would also jump at the literal jaws of death to protect a stranger out of simple belonging to the same team.

Moreover, to Melissa’s utter incredulity due to everything that life had taught her, Liam had touched her where she had never allowed other men to touch her out of mere care and necessity, even showing no interest in that intimate invasion of her personal space.

So, Melissa’s eyes remained glued to Liam, her considerations only deepening her interest, almost viewing him as a rare, miraculous creature she had never thought could exist in the world.

Still, those considerations also brought a troubling thought, which made Melissa check her back. Her eyes widened when she felt how sweaty the spot where Liam had touched her was, and, to her surprise, her heart sank for some reason.

Naturally, Liam was oblivious to Melissa’s considerations or what normal men would think in that situation. If anything, he was happy that his Senior Sister had been an exception among that general betrayal. Her knowledge about the place was also valuable, improving his overall situation.

As for the corpses, they didn’t have much out of the ordinary. Liam casually undressed Randall and the others, even emptying their pouches on the uneven floor, only to find supplies, a couple of basic tools, and bandages he would have liked to spot before tearing his robe apart.

Yet, three exceptions existed in that pile of ordinary items. Two flasks containing an azure liquid and a wooden knife with a strange symbol carved on its blunt blade stood out due to the Qi they contained.

’These are rank 1 items,’ Liam thought, relying on his perception to evaluate those three objects’ value. ’It’s a pity Neil didn’t have the Piercing Claws with him. It would have suited me.’

Of course, Liam hadn’t expected to find such a precious book there. Regulations around martial arts were strict in the Pale Moon Sect, so it made sense that the Crimson Warrior Sect would have similar safety measures.

Yet, Neil did have something. The wooden knife had come from him, and Liam couldn’t help but pick it up to inspect it.

’Is this a magical weapon?’ Liam wondered. ’This symbol should be an inscription, but what does it do? How does binding work even?’

Liam had only read that most magical items needed to be bound, but the book hadn’t explained how. The two flasks also had an unknown purpose, but Liam knew someone who could tell him more.

Melissa’s mind was still a mess of interest and unexpected embarrassment when Liam returned to her with his three findings in hand, joining her on the ground while placing them down.

"Senior Sister, do you know what they are?" Liam asked, not knowing why Melissa’s eyes had gone wide again.

Liam’s sudden return had startled Melissa, but the three items quickly claimed her attention, only for her blank look to return to him soon enough.

"What?" Liam asked in genuine confusion, unable to discern any meaning in Melissa’s silent, emotionless face. That look felt familiar. People often wore it when they talked to him, but he failed to connect it to anything specific.

"Q-Qi Recovery elix-xirs," Melissa eventually muttered, stammering, pointing at the two flasks, "F-from Alche-emy Elder."

"Oh," Liam exclaimed, finally understanding Melissa’s blank look.

The Alchemy Elder was Liam’s Master, so he should have known about his famous concoctions. Besides, Liam had found those flasks among Randall and Milo’s belongings, and their identical nature should have hinted at their common, obvious source.

"You take one," Liam eventually announced, pushing one of the flasks toward Melissa before picking up the wooden knife. "What about this?"

That sharing of resources was unexpected, but it played into Liam’s conflicting behavior, so Melissa didn’t let it surprise her now.

"M-magical weapon," Melissa explained.

"Cool," Liam commented, blinding excitement filling his black eyes. "Do you know what it does?"

Melissa shook her head at the question, prompting Liam to ask another one. "Do you know how to bind it?"

"D-don’t," Melissa gasped, warning, her decision to speak directly surprising even Liam.

"Why?" Liam wondered, quickly realizing something. "Do you want it? I figured I could keep it since I killed Neil."

Melissa’s difficult life had made her cynical. Unlike Randall, she easily looked past Liam’s murderous streak. In a way, she even believed his actions had been justified, but that only deepened her perplexity.

Finders keepers was an accepted rule of the world, especially among cultivators. Still, it seemed Liam was clinging to his idea of a team, even having thoughts of sharing everything equally.

The conflicting duality between Liam’s ruthlessness and innocence grew even more striking, but Melissa didn’t necessarily hate it. It was even somewhat reassuring, urging her to take a deep breath so that she could talk more than she was used to.

"B-bindings can have co-onditions," Melissa explained. "It m-might deplete your Q-Qi."

’I see,’ Liam realized. ’There’s that, too.’

Despite some reluctance, Liam stored the wooden knife in his robe, grabbing the flask instead, not hesitating to open it.

"Drink yours if you are tired," Liam ordered, suddenly switching to his hunter mindset. "Once we are more rested, we must move."