Chapter 519 - 365: The Past

After explaining things clearly to Rhonda Rhodes, The Shaman stopped being so secretive.

He explained how he knew Finn Sherman’s whereabouts by producing a stone the size of a fingernail. "This contains a drop of his heart’s blood," he said. "I fashioned it into a Magic Artifact. All I have to do is channel some Spiritual Power into it, and I can sense his general direction. The only downside is that the range is quite large, so we’ll still need to search carefully for his exact location." As he spoke, he seemed to remember something and grinned smugly. "But his younger brother is an idiot. Back then, when I had Finn Sherman drip his heart’s blood into this, his brother thought I could really use it to track him. That’s why when I bluffed him earlier, he fell for it, thinking I could find his big brother with no trouble at all! In reality, it’s not that simple..."

Paige Summers’s lips twitched. ’We came through the Vortex just like that and narrowed the location down to a single island. How is that not simple?’ she thought.

The Shaman glanced at her, seemingly understanding her thoughts. He pursed his lips and added, "How ignorant! Did you think it would have been this easy for us? It’s only because I used a Magic Artifact to change our arrival point. Otherwise, if we had come straight through the Vortex, we would have emerged from the caster’s location on this side! *That* would have been a real problem!"

Hearing this, Marcus Monroe and Paige Summers realized that he was right.

According to the younger Sherman, there should be an identical Vortex here, and the items that went missing from Southreach were sent out through it.

They figured that besides the caster, there must have been plenty of other people around.

If they had really emerged there, no matter how powerful they were, they probably would have been captured alive—or at the very least, faced a fierce battle.

But now, things were different.

This was far, far easier by comparison.

Marcus Monroe nodded in frank agreement, but in the next moment, he said, "Since we’re at this point, you should tell us the details about the Sherman Family. And for later, when we find him, do we kill him on sight or capture him alive to get rid of this Vortex? We need a concrete plan."

The Shaman glanced at Rhonda Rhodes and saw him looking back, an unreadable emotion in his eyes. He felt a headache coming on.

He really hadn’t wanted to talk about this.

It was something of a dark Chapter in his past.

But it seemed Rhonda Rhodes wasn’t satisfied with his earlier explanation.

If he didn’t clear things up, it wouldn’t be good for their future together.

He gritted his teeth, led the others to a secluded spot, and decided to come clean about everything.

Marcus Monroe and Paige Summers made it clear they were all ears. Though Rhonda Rhodes’s expression remained neutral, he was obviously just as focused.

The Shaman sighed.

According to him, years ago, before the apocalypse, Finn Sherman and his brother had come to Astoria, which was how they met. Finn Sherman was a Cultivator from Rovaria. Seeing that The Shaman was a fellow practitioner with impressive Power and great knowledge, he had humbly asked for guidance.

The two hit it off and became friends.

When The Shaman learned that Finn Sherman was in Astoria searching for a secret manual lost by a former Clan Leader, he decided to give him a hand.

The Shaman eventually managed to obtain the secret manual. He originally intended to give it directly to Finn Sherman, but after casually flipping through it, he discovered some of the Spells inside were incredibly powerful and devious, which made him hesitate.

"To be honest, even I was tempted by some of the Spells recorded in it. If our Cultivation paths weren’t different, I would have kept it for myself. But since I couldn’t practice them and he was searching so urgently, I gave it to him in the end. However, I didn’t want him to learn those Spells and then use them to harm my own people, so I forced him to make a solemn oath: after taking the secret manual, he would never set foot in Astoria again, nor would he ever cast these Spells on Astorians. He agreed at first, but then he came back to plead with me. He said that if the Sherman Family ever faced a crisis of survival, he couldn’t be bound by that promise, but that aside, he would absolutely obey..."

"At the time, relations between Astoria and Rovaria weren’t great, but it wasn’t to the point of war. I figured that even if The Government really made a move against Rovaria, it would have nothing to do with the Sherman Family. And if some ill-intentioned Astorians in Rovaria tried to cause trouble for his family, it would be understandable for him to act in their defense. So, I granted him that one exception. Who could have predicted what’s happening today? So, technically, he isn’t breaking his oath, and I can’t use this Magic Artifact to restrain him."

"As for killing him, that’s not necessary. He and I were friends, after all... We’ll just have him figure out a way to undo the Spell."

Paige Summers asked, "What if he refuses?"

"Why would he refuse?" The Shaman said with certainty. "As long as I help him get out of whatever predicament he’s in, he’ll agree. Besides, we have his brother. He doesn’t have a choice."

Paige Summers said no more, but she was still puzzled. The story sounded ordinary enough. ’Why was The Shaman so secretive and reluctant to talk about it? Is there more to the story?’

Marcus Monroe was thinking the same thing, so he couldn’t help but glance at Rhonda Rhodes.

Rhonda Rhodes narrowed his eyes and suddenly asked, "And Lynn Wise... what’s that about?"

The Shaman’s body stiffened. He scrunched up his face, his expression comical.

After a long moment, he said wearily, "I’m a Demon Cultivator. Don’t you get it yet?"

Rhonda Rhodes paused, then asked, "What does that have to do with anything?"

The Shaman stared at him for a good while before deciding to just spit it all out.

"Don’t you have this sort of thing where you come from? My original form is genderless. Naturally, if I want to transform into a man, I’m a man. If I want to transform into a woman, that’s fine too! When I met Finn Sherman, I was in my female form, so I used the alias Lynn Wise! That’s why that kid looked like he’d seen a ghost when he saw that I’m a man now!"

When the truth came out, the other three were stunned.

Paige Summers was the most accepting of them all. After all, she seemed to recall similar situations from novels she had read.

As for Marcus Monroe, it had nothing to do with him, so he didn’t care whether The Shaman was male or female.

Only Rhonda Rhodes was utterly shocked, and that shock was mixed with absolute fury. He leaped to his feet.

"This... So back then, you... you actually lied to me! Why didn’t you tell me you could turn into a woman!"

As he spoke, he looked ready to attack.

Startled, The Shaman grabbed him and pinned his arms tightly behind his back. "Listen to me! I didn’t lie to you! I haven’t transformed into a woman in ages; I decided to be a man for good! Besides, after that day, my gender became fixed. I really am a man, through and through!"

As he spoke, he leaned in and whispered something in Rhonda Rhodes’s ear.

Paige Summers and Marcus Monroe, now completely ignored, felt rather awkward.

Finally, Paige Summers blinked, then pulled Marcus Monroe aside. "I’ve never seen Rhonda Rhodes lose his temper like that," she whispered.

Marcus Monroe frowned. "What a pain."

He just wanted to get this business over with and go back, so he was very annoyed by their complicated drama.

Paige thought to herself, ’Those two have obviously done the deed, and from the looks of it, Rhonda Rhodes was the bottom. Now that it’s been revealed The Shaman can turn into a woman, of course he’s pissed...’

’Still, I never thought Cultivators would be so clingy when they fall in love,’ she mused. ’Can you even reach immortality acting like that?’

Then the term "dual cultivation" came to mind, and she couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret.

’According to the novels, dual cultivation is supposed to increase your Power. Too bad she and Marcus Monroe are Superpower Users; they probably don’t have that ability. Otherwise, it would save a lot of trouble!’

As this thought crossed her mind, she glanced at Marcus Monroe and couldn’t help but smile.