Once Upon An Assassination Attempt || Kamisato Ayato

Chapter 24 | Lu Wei

UNEDITED

"Why aren't you c-cold at all?" Lu Wei shivered, pulling his jacket around him. We were walking around the area where the path was full of ice that didn't melt. I don't think he would have survived without the warm seelies and fire torches the hilichurls had.

"I lived in snezhnaya for a long time. How are you still cold even after you put on four layers?"

Ayato nodded, and it didn't seem he was cold after he put on a jacket.

"This isn't just a cold region. It's dragonspine. No one voluntarily lives here in this harsh climate." He rubbed his hands together. "Even adventures avoid this area. Several people go missing here, you know. I won't be surprised if we discovered a body."

Ayato stopped walking, and as he was the one infront, we stopped as well.

"I've heard rumours." His lips tugged upwards.

"Rumours?"

"That someone lives here, on this cold land. For a long time, harvesting monsters."

Lu Wei flinched.

"And rumour has it," Ayato continued, his amusement growing, "that he would harvest souls of the living. Ah, I wonder who that is up there."

We looked in the direction he was facing, and sure enough, there was a mop of light hair visible above a bundle of snow near a pine tree. I was gonna approach the person slowly, since we didn't know whether they were a foe but Lu Wei let out a cry, making the person emerge from where they were.

Clad in a short sleeved coat over a blue shirt and shorts with what I assumed was leggings, was a young guy. Was he not cold in those clothes?

For a moment neither of us spoke, but of course, Lu Wei couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Are you- the monster?"

"Hm..perhaps."

"Who are you?"

"Chief Alchemist of the Knights of favonius. Albedo."

"We're travellers looking for a person we believe might have come here." Ayato introduced us, and tried to get any information from him, while I elbowed Lu Wei.

"You're really running around making enemies of people in high positions. I'm surprised you're still alive."

"I'm not trying to." He sighed. "What has my life come to?"

"If someone commissions to kill you one day, just know that I will."

"But we're buddies. How could you?" He cried.

"I don't remember being buddies with a crybaby."

He was about to retort, when the commissioner gestured for us to come.

"It seems that the chief Alchemist has seen the man we're looking for."

Albedo nodded. "I've seen someone that matches the description. I've marked out the area where I saw him and where he was headed. It should be of some help."

"Thank you."

He nodded, and walked off, as we huddled around the commissioner to see where it was.

It had been over and hour later, when we had finally found the place. It was near a fatui camp, so we had to be discreet. I thought about throwing Lu Wei in, but then again he wouldn't last one second.

"Elemental traces," I whispered, and Ayato nodded. Lu Wei looked confused but didn't ask questions for once and followed us.

We followed the trail to an open area under a clifftop surrounded with pine trees. I shoved Lu Wei inside a shrub and gestured for him to be quiet.