Chapter 221 Are you leaving?

Chapter 221 Are you leaving?

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Leia flushed in embarrassment seeing Duncan's hot eyes on her body.

It made her feel incredibly self-conscious. She couldn't help but think about the state she had been in last night. It was fine if she didn't think about the various perverted things Duncan did to her. But, the moment she thought about it, she felt her face burning in shame.

Evading her eyes, Leia coughed slightly.

The cough woke up Duncan from his reverie. He too realized how his actions came across and couldn't help but become sheepish. An awkward atmosphere once more engulfed the room.

In a bid to relieve the awkwardness, Duncan immediately spoke changing the topic.

"Ahem, I just came from the Blue Wind Society Hall. I think I have an idea on what caused the mark on your back to disappear suddenly," Duncan spoke fast trying to negate the awkwardness.

"What's the reason?" Leia asked curiously.

While she wasn't that worried about the significance of the mark vanishing, it was hard not to care about it entirely. When she didn't know the meaning of the mark, it was just a thing that had been on her body from birth. But, now that she knew the history behind it, she was also curious about any of the changes it encountered.

"Don't worry, it's good news for you," Duncan forestalled her running thoughts with a slight smile.

Duncan then explained what he knew about the Spirit Clan and its descendants. The importance of the mark and the study conducted by the Nascent Soul realm cultivator was also revealed.

To Leia, most words out of Duncan's mouth sounded like heavenly scripture. She didn't even understand half of it. All she could gather was that with the mark gone, she would now be able to cultivate smoothly.

She never imagined herself as a cultivator in the first place. She had long given up on the thought of becoming a cultivator. After years of disappointment, she had sobered up and moved on. But, Duncan's news was a bolt of lightning in a dark night to her.

A day ago, she was a debt slave that was going to be auctioned off. One day later, she now had the potential to become a cultivator. Even though Duncan had given her slave deed back, till now she hadn't torn it up or removed the slave collar. To her, this change in situation was really something she could only dream about.

However, she also realized an undercurrent in Duncan's speech.

"Wait, are you going to leave?" Leia asked the one question that bothered her much, not even thinking about the implications of what Duncan had told her.

Duncan arched his eyebrow and slowly nodded.

Seeing him nod, a strange sense of panic engulfed Leia's heart. It was not that she had suddenly become dependent on Duncan. However, Duncan's rescue of her was very important to her. Moreover, last night was something she had never even dreamt about.

Unknowingly, within a single night, Leia had equated Duncan's presence to security. If it was her a year ago, she wouldn't become this emotional. But, after undergoing a lot of stuff in the past year, she couldn't help but yearn for stability in her heart.

That's why she hadn't still torn up the slave deed. Even without her knowing, her heart had become shy and the independence she had developed in her life had been eroded.

She didn't want to miss the feeling of security that came with having Duncan around. Right now, all she wanted was stability. Her mind automatically equated having Duncan around with stability and security for various reasons.

"But... but... I thought..." Leia didn't know how to explain the panic in her heart.

"Leia," seeing her flustered face, Duncan understood what she meant. "Leia, look at me. It was an accident that I ran into you. I am not the right kind of guy for you to depend upon," Duncan sighed lightly.

"Right now, I am being hunted by almost all the juniors of righteous cultivation sects. I am a demonic cultivator who is wanted by a lot of people in the cultivation world. Having me near you will only bring you endless troubles," Duncan explained slowly.

Leia couldn't believe that Duncan was a demonic cultivator. It was not that she didn't know what being a demonic cultivator meant. It's just that she couldn't believe the person who brought her out of misery could be someone so evil.

Seeing Leia's disbelief, Duncan let out a chuckle.

"Leia, do you know that I annihilated the entire Wang Clan in the Starmist City just a couple of weeks ago? I have killed people. My hand is stained with blood. As for whether they are innocent or not, I don't care much. My life is different now. The Duncan you knew and the Duncan you see now are completely different people," Duncan said looking at her seriously.

"If you are someone so evil, why did you help me? You didn't even want my slave deed," Leia still refused to believe.

"Heh," Duncan shook his head. "Good and evil are in the eyes of the beholder. Do you think every evil cultivator thinks of himself as evil? No, most of us consider us to be the heroes of our own story. Very few cultivators are evil for evil's sake. Once you start on your journey of cultivation, your morals, values, and thoughts will change irrevocably."

"I am not going to defend my actions. It is a waste of time. I did what I did because I felt like doing it. Did I have my reasons for annihilating the entire Wang Clan? I did. But, does it matter to the various sects in the cultivation world? No. There is no right and wrong in the world. Everything is relative," Duncan let out a huge sigh.

"Moreover, the cultivation technique I practice is based on slaughtering people. I need to kill people and collect the slaughter qi to progress in my cultivation. No amount of goodness will change the nature of what I do. Even if I only kill evil people, the technique I cultivate is still based on killing. How can those self-righteous sects accept someone like me? I am bound to be hunted down by them. My life is going to be a dangerous one."

Leia didn't know how to react to Duncan's words. She felt like nothing made sense anymore. Despite Duncan's words, she wasn't disgusted by him. All she cared about deep in her heart was having the stability and security Duncan exuded. But, before she could speak further, Duncan again forestalled her.

"Leia, think about it. I am being hunted. Every moment you spend with me will bring you closer to danger. As for why I rescued you, I have my own standards on grudges and friendships. We two can be friends. But, such a friendship will not be accepted by the world. It is best you let go of any thoughts you have with me. Like I said, I didn't do it for that. I just felt like doing it, so I did it," Duncan spoke firmly but softly.

"Right now, you have a great chance to reshape your life. I would be a poor friend if I dragged you into danger at this moment. I may not be a good guy, but I cherish the few relationships I have left. I don't want you to end up in trouble because of me," Duncan implored sincerely.

Leia didn't know what to say for a long moment. Her mind was still reeling with all the information Duncan had dropped on her. She knew the power of the Wang Clan in the Starmist city. As someone who hailed from there, how can she be ignorant of it?

When she became a debt slave and was transported out of the city in disgrace, the Wang Clan was still one of the most powerful clans in the city. And it hadn't been long since that time. Now, Duncan was telling her that he had annihilated the entire Wang Clan.

Both the incident and the kind of power required to accomplish that made her shocked. All these talks about being hunted down by the world also made her tremble. She couldn't even imagine how such a life would be.

As she was still reeling from the overload of information, Duncan spoke further.

"Look," Duncan put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed them to make her look up, "I am not telling you that I am leaving immediately. I will leave soon. But, before I go, I will set you up and make you embark on your cultivation journey. Once you start cultivating and become powerful yourself, you will not need me to be around to experience that feeling of security..."

Duncan paused slightly at the end of the sentence and a twitch appeared on his lips. The so-called feeling of security was absent from his life as well. Even after becoming a cultivator, he had never felt secure with his life.

In contrast, after becoming a cultivator, he got to know how pitiful his actual existence was to the powerful people in the world. Any random Golden Core cultivator can smash him like a bug. So, he was even more insecure about his life than when he was a mortal.

However, telling that to Leia currently might not be the right idea. So, he buried that line of thought deep within him and focused on calming her down first.

"So, you aren't leaving immediately," Leia only heard that bit and caught hold of it.

Duncan's lips twitched seeing her actions. He shook his head.

"Never mind, you first get rid of this slave collar. It looks unsightly," Duncan said a little teasingly.

"Hmmph, you didn't think it was unsightly last night, eh? You seem very keen on reminding me about my status as a slave," Leia jested back trying to lighten the mood.

"Ahem," Duncan coughed awkwardly.

He wanted to complain that it was her idea. But, considering how much he enjoyed using her for his pleasure, he still couldn't bring himself to say it. So, he looked away from her and pretended to be ignorant.

The two stood in front of each other with awkward postures and flushed faces. An ambiguous atmosphere engulfed both of them.

*****

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