Murim Recurve

"Are you alright? How did you end up there? How can I save you?" The disciple launched a flurry of questions, behaving just like a soldier on duty that had vowed to protect the citizens.

"I…I don't know. I was here when I woke up." Her voice stammered, weak, like a candle flame about to die out any moment. It wasn't easy to fool the senses of scouts who were older and wiser than her, not to mention the numerous situations they had faced.

The prime notion a scout learned was reading a person, only then can they not be deceived by false information. For, anyone with a brain could scheme and act. As she was actually blind if not for her Elemental Qi perception, she could get that part perfectly alright.

She had also sustained injuries to boot and all the previous fights had exhausted her, so acting weak was easy too. Moreover, when she wanted to tremble in fear, she had the easiest of options available.

Re'Kha extended her Wind Qi perception in a certain direction, perceiving a Kalha as her body trembled instinctively, as if she had been electrocuted, losing consciousness for a moment. This made her seem like a person that was on the verge of death and had been injured severely to do anything, and was also suffering from something.

Her act was convincing, since she used reality to her advantage. The disciple scouted, "There's water on the floor. If you are a water-attributed Harmoniser, you would be able to sense my position."

There was a pause, the reply he had expected hadn't arrived. Re'Kha was still reeling from the effect of perceiving the Kalha. Just from that short encounter, she noticed that the Kalhas were slowly floating her way, lured by the sounds.

They moved eerily quiet, like a leaf falling to the ground, their movements similar, like a product of nature that symbolised peace. They had also retracted the smell they produced, as if conscious of the ways to launch a sneak attack.

They unanimously gazed at the Aeki near the entrance, having perceived the presence within when Re'Kha perceived one of them before. Some of them landed on the Aeki while the rest floated right behind the entrance.

"I…I cannot sense you." Her voice resounded as the disciple smiled, "I'm from the Bura Fort, a water-attributed Harmoniser. I noticed there was a lot of food strewn about inside. What happened?"

"Kyaah!" Re'Kha screamed, as if his words triggered a frightening memory in her, "Stop! Don't come near me! Don't place those Rhipa eggs within me. Stop! No!"

Hearing her frenzied shouts, the disciple paused, rooted to the spot in shock. The scout observing her actions from the start paled, muttering as his body shuddered, controlling his urge to puke, "So, that wasn't food but people? They are using people to breed Rhipas? So, all those presences I sensed are Rhipa eggs?"

"This is not a regular household," The leader frowned, swiftly bringing his expression back to control. He had experienced a lot of atrocious situations, so he was accustomed to them by now to a fair extent. "If those people placed the eggs of the Rhipa within Burkurel Re'Kha, then it won't be long before they hatch. We cannot delay any longer."

The leader had calculated the time when the settlement was attacked by the beasts. As the members of the household had fled at that time, then Re'Kha had been captured and implanted with the eggs of a Rhipa shortly before then.

He came to the conclusion based on her tracks they found, judging the time of her capture accordingly. "It's already been two days since then. The eggs might hatch any moment."

"No wonder there are traces of Metal Qi in the water flowing out," The leader commanded all the scouts to enter battle-ready positions, "If they hatch, her body won't be intact anymore. We would have failed our mission. Be ready to pull them out of her as soon as you enter. And, be ready to fight against the Rhipa that had already hatched."

The space within the kitchen area was too little. So, only four scouts stood in the area while the rest divided into two groups, with one heading to the living room while the other, including the leader and his disciple, exited through the breach and stood out in the open.

A Rhipa was a metal-attributed beast that lived in a nest and was infamous for its reproductive abilities. A Rhipa could lay 100 eggs every month that hatched after two days and matured within 3 months. And, they could only hatch within a living being that hadn't breathed its last.

They were beasts that created massive structures of metal, terraforming the area they lived into one dominated by Metal Qi. Due to their significant uses and the advantages their terraforming had towards a Harmoniser's comprehension of Metal Qi, almost on the same level as using a Metal Qi Essence, many Clans in the past had tried to rear them.

But, they were unable to control them and were eventually wiped out. After all, only one Rhipa had to escape alive; after a year, it would return with an army capable of capsizing an entire Clan. So, when anyone encountered a Rhipa, they annihilated it without hesitation. After all, a Rhipa egg was only the side of an eyeball, so a lot of them could be implanted in one person, animal, or beast.

"Just in case," The leader muttered, looking at his disciple, "Fetch the horses and retreat immediately. We'll take care of this mission. Notify Lady Re'Kya of this threat as soon as possible."

"But master," The disciple was just about to refute when the leader glared at him. All the other scouts too glared his way as the leader spoke with a chill-inducing tone, "You are the youngest of us, and lack the experience to survive this fight. Instead of laying your life for no reason, inform Lady Re'Kya and ask for reinforcements. We'll try to prevent them from breaking out of this place."

The leader then looked at two other scouts, "Head to Burkurel City and Burfuna City, and notify the Clans of this immediately using our usual channel. There is a chance this isn't the only place with the Rhipa."