Chapter 141: A Surprise Encounter (2)

The girl’s breath hitched as Liam’s grip tightened against her throat. Her hands rose instinctively, fingers clawing at his wrist, but she couldn’t pry him off. His strength was immovable — like steel clamped against her flesh.

Her violet eyes glowed faintly in the gloom, wide with disbelief. No one had ever caught her like this before. Not even cultivators years ahead of her realm. And yet this man — this mortal — had pinned her as though she were a child.

"Answer me," Liam said coldly, his voice even but sharp. "Why are you following me?"

She trembled but forced her lips to move. "I... I wasn’t—"

Liam squeezed just slightly, cutting her words into a choked gasp. He leaned close, his eyes like blades. "Don’t lie. Not to me."

Her pulse thundered in her neck, against his fingers. For a moment, silence stretched between them, broken only by her struggling breath and the distant cries of merchants down the street.

Then she gave in, her voice cracking with urgency. "I... I was curious," she said, still struggling to draw breath due to Liam’s hold on her neck.

"Curious?" Liam asked, with a slight frown on his face. He wonder what she was curious about, but he can already guess that she’s not hostile to him, from how she’s acting.

He slowly released his grip on her neck and stepped back a bit, still making sure to put his guard up.

"So, what were you so curious about that made you trail me like a criminal, instead of straight up walking up to me and ask?" Liam asked, with all of his attention on her, watching for any sudden suspicious movement.

"Since you know how my race, then you must know why I can’t be seen in public," the girl replied, massaging her neck to ease the pain she was feeling.

Liam’s brow raised slightly when he heard this. His knowledge on demon races like the Fox race, or the Moonlight Fox, was from web novels. And those things were people pure imagination, laced with some existing lores back on Earth.

And this person in front of him isn’t fiction, neither is she of the monster race in Eternal Realms, she’s a living, breathing being.

But Liam do remember some lores about them being hunted by humans for things that makes up their very existence. He felt this might be what she was talking about.

"You mean they will hunt you down?" He asked.

"Yes. It’s worst with the fact that I’m a half-blood. Someone neither race wants," she said with a wry smile.

Liam nodded slowly, as he had gotten something from her.

So, she’s a half-blood. I guess that would explain why she’s in the lower world. But if she’s under so much danger from humans, what is she doing here? And why was she following me?

"You still haven’t answered my question. Why were you following me? What do you want? What were you curious about?"

"Like I said before, you broke my concealment illusion which I’ve always prided myself with; though I’m not full-blooded," she replied.

Liam didn’t say anything, but gave her a stare that said, "continue."

"I saw how you easily took down a late stage Qi Refining realm cultivator, even though you have no shred of cultivation and I didn’t sense you use any technique. You didn’t even make use of the aura surrounding you. I got curious and followed you secretly. Then you broke my illusion, which is impossible for someone that has no cultivation. And again, you look unique. Besides the faint, sharp aura surrounding you, there’s something else."

"Something else like what? Please be straightforward. I’m not much of a fan of mysteries," Liam said.

"There’s something strange about you. It’s like you’re not of this world," she said.

Liam frowned slightly when he heard this. The fact that she can sense the faint aura from his talent wasn’t surprising. Even though she’s half-blooded, the Moonlight Fox race is very perceptive. But what he didn’t expect was her sensing that he wasn’t from her.

He would had just easily dismissed the last part if it was said by someone else. But not from someone with that bloodline. Though, of course, that didn’t mean that he was going to admit it.

"Is that so? Ok then, you can be now be on your way since you have satisfied your curiosity. You don’t want someone finding out your identity, do you? As for me, I’m quite busy and can’t entertain distraction," Liam said, turned and started walking in the direction of one of the stores selling herbs, and pills.

The girl saw Liam walking away and immediately chased after him. She caught up to him and walked beside him, smiling.

"You aren’t leaving without even introducing yourself or allowing me to do so? That’s rude and not a way to treat a lady," she said with a sulking face.

"Says the person who was stalking me," Liam said, not slowing his steps.

The girl paused and looked at Liam’s back for a while, with a bit of surprise on her face, before chasing after him again.

"Interesting. Illusions don’t work on you. Charms too. You’re quite unique."

Liam paused his steps, as he frowned deeply at the girl.

"You tried to charm me?" He asked with a cold voice.

"I didn’t mean anything bad by it. I was just—"

"Don’t even dare say that you were curious. Don’t even dare. I let you off easy the other time, doesn’t mean I will do the same again. Stay away from me," Liam said, with a strong tone of finality, before walking away.

He doesn’t wants to get entangled with things like the feud between the human race and the demon race so early. He hasn’t even done or achieved anything. Throwing himself into a troubling situation isn’t his thing. And so, he wants nothing to do with the Moonlight Fox girl.

"I’m sorry for trailing you like that. I was wrong. The truth is that I thought that since you’re different like me, I would be able to get closer to you, even though you’re a human. I guess we aren’t different. I won’t disturb you any longer," she said, and started walking in the opposite direction, cloaking herself in her illusion.

Liam paused his step and turned. He saw that she was no longer there, though he could still "see" her with his telekinetic sense. He sighed internally and walked into the store.

He has no idea if he will meet her in the future but if they do, he hoped it’s under better condition.

***

Inside the store, Liam was greeted by a man at the desk.

"Welcome, esteemed customer. What would you like? Herbs? Pills?"