Chapter 8 Gold

With the opening of "Clairvoyant Vision", a world shrouded in countless misty hazes appeared before Ian, mysterious beyond measure.

But this time, he did not feel a headache or dizziness... The boy only felt slightly suffocated, and after taking a deep breath, he returned to normal.

"Indeed, Spirit Energy is not merely an ability that exists within the soul. It also requires physical strength, and only a sound body and mind can support powerful Spirit Energy."

Validating his conjecture, Ian couldn't help but chuckle lightly, "After Awakening Spiritual Power, the body craves nutrients even more."

"Perhaps this is complementary, with the soul and body influencing and promoting each other?"

He clenched his fist, swung his arm, and felt indeed his strength had increased.

After killing his uncle and having his fill, the next step was to dispose of the body.

Although Ian didn't know where the safe area might be to silently and safely dispose of an adult's corpse...

He had Spiritual Power, which could allow him to glimpse into the future from others!

Earlier, while cooking the meat soup, Ian had already started stewing barley porridge, and now that he had finished eating, the temperature of the porridge was just right.

He picked up the bowl of porridge, added a bit more, and went to his brother's room.

At that moment, Elan had also just woken up. The white-haired child was not crying or fussing but simply stared at the ceiling with a pair of deep purple eyes, as if in a daze.

"...I still feel I was too lenient in dealing with that scum from Ossenna."

Seeing this, Ian's expression immediately darkened.

Elan's current condition was obviously due to having been forcibly put to sleep by Sober Sleep Powder too many times, leading to a dulling of his neural responses.

Anyone subjected to complete anesthesia would experience some permanent impact on cognitive abilities and nerves, and Sober Sleep Powder's forceful calming effect on nerves surpassed all natural anesthetics, thus the impact was even more significant.

Although Terra People are much stronger than average Humans, such effects might gradually diminish and improve with growth, but it's impossible to have no damage whatsoever.

Whether Elan could grow up normally in the future, Ian could only wait and hope.

"It's alright, he's already dead."

Picking up the bowl of porridge, he fed his brother spoonful by spoonful, "Be good, open your mouth, drink the porridge."

Although Elan's gaze seemed a bit vacant, he ate the porridge without hesitation and each time, Ian had to make an effort to pull the wooden spoon from his mouth. When pulled away, Elan's little eyes seemed a bit aggrieved.

"Feeling aggrieved is good, at least he isn't numb."

Seeing this scene, Ian felt somewhat relieved—if he wanted to eat, that implied he was normal, at least he was someone who liked to eat. He feared the opposite, that if Elan had no desire to eat, that would mean he was truly lost.

After feeding him, he put down the bowl of porridge and soothed his brother back to sleep.

Once Elan had fallen deeply asleep again, Ian activated 'Clairvoyant Vision'.

"Focus earnestly."

At that moment, Ian thought to himself that he should go to the riverside forest west of the port to dispose of the body.

The riverside forest was the region outside Harrison Port he was most familiar with over the last eight years. Although it was close to Harrison Port, its proximity to the river meant it was a place where many wild beasts from the Bison Mountain Range often roamed. If he threw the body into the forest, one night would be enough to ensure no one would know how Ossenna died, not even the bones would remain.

Thinking this, the faint blood-colored haze that swirled around the white-haired child suddenly changed!

What was originally a somewhat pale and translucent red now deepened into a more profound and bright red.

Thick, as if it was about to drip out!

"Hiss——"

With a sharp intake of breath, Ian slightly lifted his head, his gaze unfocused as he looked at Elan, shrouded in red mist, "It seems disposing of the body in the west won't yield any good results."

"Compared to the previously certain death situation, it's just a bit of dark energy."

The dark energy seemed to represent some kind of inevitable outcome, one that would certainly come to pass without a fierce struggle to change it, whereas the blood energy simply indicated pure danger.

The crimson blood energy was intense; in terms of sheer risk, it was perhaps even more dangerous than dealing with Ossenna. However, Ian had a choice—he could choose not to go to the riverbank in the west, unlike with Ossenna, where his own survival left no room for maneuver.

Elan's fate was deeply intertwined with Ian's; if Ian faced danger, the likelihood of a child with no relatives to care for him dying young was all too great, especially since Elan was a bit out of it due to an overdose of Sleep Powder, making their fates even more entangled.

The worse Elan's fate in the Foresight View, the worse the outcome of Ian's actions.

Seeing that the west riverbank was not an option, Ian then changed his mind; he closed his eyes, picturing himself going to the official road north of the port to dispose of the body.

The official road was the only thoroughfare for trade and traffic between Harrison Port and the many land cities and settlements of the Southern Province. The downside was that the area was frequently trafficked by people, but the upside was that there were fewer wild beasts, making it safer.

Even with the heavy foot traffic, since everyone was in a hurry, if he could find a secluded corner to dig a hole and bury the body, there would be no giveaways for several months, unless there was a major downpour that washed it away.

With time, a single body wouldn't matter to anyone; nobody would care who it was.

With these thoughts, the dense crimson fog lingering around Elan began to fade... though not by much, indicating that there was still significant danger.

"Good, this is effective."

Once Ian confirmed that the fog transitions in Foresight View were happening in real-time, he was very satisfied.

This proved that his Spiritual Power was far more useful than he had imagined. As long as he had Elan as a reference by his side, he could predict the auspiciousness and peril of all his actions—almost directly!

In other words, as long as he had enough stamina, he would certainly be able to see the best course among all possible outcomes.

Although it was just a tendency, the ability to glimpse the threads of the future was an invaluable gift.

Finally, Ian switched his thoughts once more.

He considered going to the lakes and forests to the west of the port to dispose of the body this time.

The lakes and forests on the west side of the port were not ancient; they were formed in a new lake to the east of the port after a raging storm swept across the South Ridge eight years ago, causing the Ivoke River upstream to overflow and change its course, splitting off a tributary.

Thanks to this, the entire Harrison Port was essentially surrounded by rivers, dense forests, and mountains, which is why the port remained safe even if some of the city walls were blown down by the storm.

There were many wild beasts in the lakes and forests, but none particularly dangerous, especially as it was newly formed terrain—and it takes time for a dangerous ecosystem to develop. Moreover, the locals of Harrison Port would not tolerate dangerously wild beasts settling near the city, organizing hunting parties annually in the fall to cull them.

Ian had initially thought that the lakes and forests would be more dangerous than the official road, no matter what, and he had already made up his mind to go to a quiet corner near the official road to dig a hole and bury the body.

But contrary to his expectations, the Foresight View revealed an unimaginable outcome.

Under the gaze of the boy's aquamarine eyes, upon Elan, who was already asleep and smacking his lips in slumber, the pale-red mist began to move, illuminating and growing brighter.

That brilliance was blinding, like the dazzling light of a nascent sun.

Before Ian could even react, the bright brilliance, with a hint of color he hadn't anticipated, emerged before his eyes!

"Eh?!"

With widened eyes, Ian opened his mouth, staring at his younger brother as he stood up in disbelief: "Gold..."

"Golden red?!"