BXBX NOVEL Chapter 143 143 Old News
Chapter 143 Chapter 143 Old News
Her face flushed;
"Come on, are you going to keep teasing me about being an aristocrat?"
Nexus\' rolled his eyes;
"Oh I\'m just getting started!"
The both laughed.
". . .but on a real note," he began; "I was actually being serious. I don\'t own a manor or anything like that. . .in fact, I\'m not sure I\'ve actually owned a home before. . ."
Monica\'s eyes dimmed even further. The crowded streets and the bustling noise wove into her ears. Oh no, she thought. . .
". . .I\'m a wandering alchemist, I\'m always on the move looking for raw materials, rare artifacts, and basically anything worth studying or acquiring. So, I have no fixed address–"
He shrugged;
"–I\'ve never had one per say to be honest. . ."
He was being honest.
And Monica was touched.
\'Of course,\' she pondered; it was pretty presumptuous of her to assume everyone else had it soft like her. No wonder he kept teasing her about living in a castle. The poor guy probably always stayed at inns.
Her eyes softened;
"It\'s a hell of a life you\'re living Ni Yang. You really are living it up aren\'t you?"
On the sidewalk, A bustling pregnant housewife cursed loudly as her grocery basket broke underneath- spilling fresh produce all over the ground. Every single person ignored her.
"Don\'t worry Mon," he assured her; "I\'ll always be there for you whenever you may need me. That\'s a promise."
Her face brightened a bit as her hood nudged her from her sides;
"I\'ll hold you to that Ni Yang," she kicked her horse and pulled away; "I\'ll hold you to that!"
And with that, she turned around, trotting away, and leading the other horse behind her with Tayshaun\'s body wrapped in a white sheet.
With the corners of his mouth upturned at the sides, and with his eyes glistening in admirations, Nexus watched Monica gradually disappear down the road. Clouds of dusts and the thronging of the bustling city swallowed her up completely till Nexus could no longer make out her form again.
The mid day sun flooded the streets with its lush golden shine, reflecting off the shiny stone paved road.
Nexus stood there, at junction, just off the main street, perched upon his black majestic stallion- observing her receding form closely. As soon as the sight of her red horse blotted out in the distance, the smile on his face vanished in a flash. In an instant, a worrying look crept across his face- forming creases of flesh molding up on his forehead.
His eyes twitched calculatedly, as his mind began to compute an alternate route to the castle- preferably before Monica could arrive.
With a rippling sense of urgency, his eyebrows furrowed, and his shoulders tensed as he grabbed the reins tightly. He steered the horse towards the left flank of the intersection. The horse neighed, throwing up clouds of dust as it broke into a soft gallop,
With his hat on, and his coat flapping behind him, Nexus kicked the sides of the horse, and leaned forward to blend with its aerodynamics as its speed increased. Quickly, the beast tore through the minor streets on the eastern part of the city.
Nexus\' shoulders heaved back and forth, and his eyes hardened in focus under his hat, as he sped towards the hills.
"System!" his voice roared in the rushing wind; "Deactivate disguise immediately!"
[CONFIRM ORDER AGAIN.]
"Deactivate disguise NOW!"
[ORDER CONFIRMED. DISGUISE DEACTIVATED.]
Nexus winced a little- expecting some kind of dramatic flush or, at least flashes of lightning or something.
But there was nothing. Except that the cap on his head actually began to slip over- like it was suddenly too big. With the wind rushing in his face, he briefly glanced down towards his arms, and saw that the sleeves suddenly appeared to be longer. He smiled inwardly.
Ni Yang was done.
Nexus was in.
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The guard barked as Nexus cruised towards them in a light gallop.
"OPEN THE GATES!"
The large looming double gates screeched loudly as his horse trotted in. One hand on his hip, and right hand on the reins, Nexus waltzed into the castle with a bland expression on his face. The coat was gone. So was the hat.
As he pulled into the courtyard, he kept glancing around nervously, searching for any signs of Monica\'s horse- eager to see if she had beaten him to the chase.
But instead, a stable boy rushed out to meet him to grab the reins.
Leaning to his left, Nexus pulled out his right foot out of the stirrup, and dismounted from the horse in a smooth motion. He landed with a soft thud on the stony ground. Just as he was about to ask the stable boy for any updates on Monica, the shrill voice of the half sister came up from behind him;
"Nexus! Where\'ve you been?"
He spun around immediately to see the worried- slightly anxious Nora coming towards him from the barn.
"Hello Nora," he chorused; "Good to see you too."
Her face flushed with a tinge of guilt;
"Forgive me," she kept coming closer with her arms swinging at her sides; "We\'ve all been a little on edge for the past couple of days now. Things have been- well, a little tense. . ."
Nexus straightened his back into an upright position;
"Tense? What\'s wrong?" his eyes flickered; "Is Lady Russell alright?"
A shadow of jealousy crossed her eyes for a minute. But very quickly, she disappeared it before it could stay.
"She\'s fine," she answered coolly; "In fact, she\'s doing so fine, she\'s apparently strong enough to go picking fights. . ."
Nexus had a faint idea of what she was talking about, but;
"What does that even mean?"
Over her shoulder, he watched as the stable boy led his horse into the stables.
"I mean Lady Russell is causing ripples already despite being back for only a few days." she replied;
"But I\'ll fill you in on the details later on–" her eyes looked up at him expectantly;
"–right now, I\'m a little bit concerned about my sister\'s whereabouts. Monica\'s been gone for days, and this time, no one seems to have any idea as to where she\'s at. You don\'t happen to have heard anything about that have you?"
Nexus threw his head back slightly and softened his voice as best as he could;
"Now that you mention it, people are still talking about her battle with the Leading B-rank Wind Wolf. Do you think–"
She shook her head; "Sorry Nexus, but that\'s kind of old news right now."
"I\'m sorry Nora, but I don\'t know where she is at this moment. . ."
His statement was technically the truth.
". . .but I recall you saying it\'s quite normal for her to disappear for days on end, only to to turn up after some time. So what\'s got you all worked up?"
No kidding, Nora looked like she could use three straight days of beauty sleep. Her eyes were bloodshot, and there were bags under them.