Rivers of the Night

The pupils of the female assassin constricted into pinholes.

"I've heard that assassins from Daggers of the Night won't stop coming after you if you kill one of their own, and I'd rather not deal with that. So just take it and leave me alone."

Theron tossed it over.

The assassin caught it, still wary of some sort of trap. But nothing of the sort came. She opened it and was shocked to find that it was truly exactly what she was looking for.

And the fluctuations, the writing, everything screamed Beifong.

She looked up to Theron who was still standing there.

Hunt people down to the ends of the earth? As if Daggers of the Night would ever do that. Those were just baseless rumors that acted as a form of deterrence.

If there was a mission that was a great matter, then they might do something like that to prove a point. But certainly not for something like this.

However, a layman might truly be ignorant about these sorts of inner workings. Plus, she was inclined to believe him if for no other reason than the fact… there didn't seem to be a reason for him to lie.

She couldn't fathom how intertwined Theron was with these complicated matters, so how could she guess at his intentions?

After a while, she nodded and then turned to walk away.

Theron opened up a path for her through the waters and watched her vanish into the distance.

'I wonder if it'll be worth it.'

Theron was curious, though… what sort of button would this push?

Maybe nothing would come of it. But if he was correct, then this would do several things.

First, it would remove the Patriarch's suspicions on him. The Silver Assassin would never speak about what happened here in all likelihood. Not only was it a humiliation to lose to a Bronze Mancer, but there would never be a reason to.

Theron knew that this woman was a true assassin, and that was why he trusted in his judgment.

This aside, if a second person returned with items identical to what Theron had handed in, the first assumption wouldn't be that Theron was pulling tricks, it would be that Beifong had hidden his things in multiple locations and this second assassin happened to find them as well.

In that case, the odds that Theron had kept things to himself would be low.

No matter what, Theron would benefit from this. But there was also a second thing that might happen here.

If news of this second mission succeeding in another branch reached the old man's ears… how could he react?

Would he not care? Or would he feel like it was a betrayal?

And what would happen if these two had a falling out? Would Theron be caught in between? Or would there be something to take advantage of?

'It seems that we'll find out.'

Theron turned and left the region, having calmly set in motion something that just might cause huge waves in the future.

When history retold of this era, it would be hard to fathom just how much of an imprint an insignificant Bronze Mancer had had on it.

**

Theron came to another stop. This time, he didn't sense another assassin. Rather, he could sense a shift in the air.

'It should be close…'

This was no longer the time for the Sect to recruit disciples. There was a reason the Dean had given him so much money. He was supposed to bribe his way in.

But there were more ways to make it into a Sect than bribery. In truth, Dean Thistle had only given him so much money as yet another test. If he could manage to keep all of it, then that was a reflection on him, and the rebel Marquis would never say a word about it.

What the Dean likely couldn't fathom was how easy it would be.

The Patriarch of the Luminescent Moon Sect hadn't just liked the Black Limbo Tortoise Beast Core in the spatial ring, but also a recommendation letter.

SHUU! SHUU! SHUU!

Theron had only stood there for a few seconds before he was surrounded. A trio of Silver Mancers wearing heavy leather robes appeared. One of their shoulders held a silver pauldron, a singular strap going across their chests to hold it in place.

These should be the law enforcement officers of the Sect. Odd that they were patrolling right now, though. Usually, that would be left up to lesser disciples.

In Sects, law enforcement officers tended to be among the most powerful in combat. Though not all of the most powerful disciples would choose this route, those that did were almost certainly powerful.

Well, either that or they had an inferiority complex.

"State your purpose. This is the territory of the Luminescent Moon Sect, and we are not currently accepting visitors."

Theron pulled out his recommendation letter and tossed it over.

The eyes of the officer that spoke solidified—first because he saw the recommendation letter—a true rarity—but then because of the name.

Theron Galethunder?

Wasn't this…

The eyes of the officer narrowed, looking up at Theron.

"You want to join our Sect?"

"I do," Theron replied calmly.

Only now, the officer seemed to realize that Theron was standing on a branch high above them.

After a while, the officer seemed to relax. He casually folded the letter and then handed it to the side.

"Follow me."

Theron hopped down from the tree as the other officer began to curiously read as well. The both of the remaining two were curious about the surprise of the middle of them, but even though they thought they were prepared, they were still taken aback by the truth.

They watched Theron's back, their eyes narrowing.

"He's got Tenn leading him."

"He's finished."

"But this was a recommendation…"

"Who cares? The signing elder is a nobody, just a little Outer Sect Elder."

"Use your head for once. You think a little elder would dare to invite him of all peop—." He stopped speaking as the letter was handed back to him.

"Check the date."

The eyes of the second officer widened and then he began to laugh.

"This Theron really has some fucking balls to show up here with a letter from three months ago. And from Elder Harlo of all people, I can't breathe!"