Chapter 125: Hot Spring Incident
Chapter 125: Hot Spring Incident
Solomon navigated the winding stone corridors of the Azure Dragon Sect until he found the communal bathhouse. Sure, his room had a shower, but he wanted to relax in the hot spring.
He stepped inside the humid room and stripped off his dirty clothes.
The floating owl followed him closely. He tapped his floating blue interface twice.
He activated the first Null Orb, immediately followed by the second. The dark swirling spheres materialized and instantly absorbed the light from the mechanical bird’s crystal eye. The projection cut to black.
He secured exactly ten minutes of unrecorded privacy.
He submerged himself in the hot spring. The soothing heat seeped into his bruised muscles. He rested Eden’s Penance against the tiled wall nearby, keeping the weapon within arm’s reach. He closed his eyes and sank deeper into the pool.
SPLASH~!
A splashing noise echoed from the entrance.
Solomon opened his eyes and slipped lower into the water. The steam rolling off the surface provided excellent visual cover.
At first, he assumed it was another student, but the sound of splashing seemed to have come to a halt.
Three figures dressed in dark cloaks slipped into the bathhouse. They moved with practiced footwork. Blue fabric poked out from underneath their disguises, hinting at their local sect affiliation.
Solomon simply assumed they were regular underworld thugs tracking a bounty.
The intruders gripped curved sabers and scanned the empty changing stalls.
"Are you sure Marco Alfoy came in here?" the lead assassin whispered, keeping his weapon raised. "The syndicate bosses want his head for ruining the underground arena tonight. They offered a ten thousand silver bounty to whoever brings him in."
The second thug nodded and checked a nearby row of lockers. "Our informants confirmed a student matching the arena description entered this bathhouse. The syndicate traced the escape route directly to the Sword Pavilion. We just need to find him, drown him quietly, and collect the payout. We will make it look like an accidental drowning."
Solomon suppressed a grin. He had forgotten about the fake name he used during the underground brawl. The syndicate had tracked the alias directly to the real Marco Alfoy’s designated pavilion.
These assassins were actively hunting the very senior student who had refused to spar with him earlier last afternoon.
Solomon checked his internal clock. He had roughly six minutes left before the Null Orbs expired and the drone rebooted.
He submerged himself under the opaque water. Utilizing Basic Stealth, he swam silently toward the edge of the pool where the three assassins stood.
The third thug stepped close to the water’s edge to peer through the thick steam.
Solomon launched upward from beneath the surface. He grabbed the man by the ankles and yanked downward. The assassin crashed into the hot spring. Before the man could yell, Solomon wrapped his hands around the intruder’s throat and dragged him to the bottom of the pool.
The thrashing lasted only a few seconds. Solomon snapped the man’s neck and let the lifeless body sink to the tiled floor.
The splash alerted the other two assassins.
"Did you fall in?" the leader asked, stepping toward the rippling water.
Solomon exploded from the hot spring behind them. He grabbed the second assassin’s dark cloak and slammed the man’s face directly into the stone edge of the pool. Bone cracked against the tiles.
The thug crumpled instantly.
The leader spun around and swung his curved saber. Solomon ducked beneath the blade. He stepped inside the attacker’s guard and drove an uppercut into the man’s jaw.
The assassin stumbled backward. Solomon swept his leg out, tripping the leader onto the wet floor. He followed up with a swift stomp to the man’s temple, rendering the final intruder unconscious.
Solomon checked his internal timer again. Two minutes remained.
He dragged the unconscious leader and the second thug into the water. He held them both submerged until they stopped moving.
’Leaving three dead bodies floating in the communal bathhouse would definitely cause an unwanted investigation. I should get out of here before anyone comes in or my timer ends.’
Solomon climbed out of the hot spring and dried his skin. He glanced back at the three bodies hidden in the corner of the pool. The familiar deep blue robes of the Azure Dragon Sect peeked out from beneath their dark cloaks.
He simply assumed the underworld thugs had stolen the local uniforms to blend in during their infiltration, unaware they were actual members of the Sword Pavilion.
Fortunately, the Null Orbs still had a minute left on their timer. He quickly dressed in a fresh set of first-year martial artist robes. The dark fabric fit loosely over his shoulders and provided excellent mobility.
He grabbed Eden’s Penance and strapped the blade securely to his back. He stepped out of the bathhouse just as the floating owl rebooted its crystal eye.
The translucent blue interface popped up next to the drone. The viewer count hovered at exactly fourteen. Most of his audience had logged off to work, catch up on sleep, or just left the stream as it went black, leaving the chat mostly empty.
[User12: back for a sec before my shift starts. did you enjoy the bath?]
[Skeptic: probably fell asleep in the water.]
Solomon tapped the screen and offered a quick nod to the camera. "The ’shower’ was perfect," he told the remaining viewers. "Now I just need some food."
He navigated the winding stone paths of the Sword Pavilion and headed directly toward the Iron Hearth Dining Hall.
He arrived much later than the rest of the disciples as the morning rush had already concluded.
’No waiting line blocked the serving counters today.’
He grabbed a wooden tray and loaded it with steamed buns, roasted meat, and hot broth. He turned around to scan the crowded wooden benches.
Arthur Vance sat near the center of the hall next to Maximus Thunderstrike. Solomon walked over to their table and dropped his tray opposite the telekinetic boy. He sat down and immediately took a bite of a steamed bun.
Arthur adjusted his thick glasses and looked up from his bowl of soup. "Where did you go last night?" Arthur asked, placing his chopsticks on the table. "The instructors did a headcount in the dormitory and you were missing."
Solomon chewed his food and picked up a piece of roasted meat. "Pavilion Leader Jin gave me a separate quarter," he explained casually. "I stayed there for the night. But it’s not fun, so I will probably come to the common quarters tonight."
Maximus stopped chewing. The Vanguard house student shifted his gaze away from Solomon, staring intently at his own wooden chopsticks.
Arthur simply nodded and took a sip of his broth.
"That makes sense," Arthur replied. "The instructors are keeping a close eye on your development now."