The Blade of Earth - 3 (Patreon)

I said nothing as the nameless policewoman dragged me away in handcuffs, wondering about my situation. Particularly, how did someone managed to see me stealing the wallet. I had always been a smooth pickpocket — a critical survival skill for a teen with an alcoholic father — and my cultivation only made it easier. 

Yet, somehow, someone managed to see me and called the police. 

I sighed even as the policewoman pushed me out of the pub, wishing that she waited just five more minutes. Leaving that burger actually hurt. 

There were several ways I could have escaped. I could have picked the lock of my handcuffs, broken them, and run. Technically, I could even act like a sect-born and kill everyone in the town for daring to make eye contact … but then, there was a reason that they don’t get any mission for mortal planets. 

Naturally, if I were on a real mission, I would have a contact assigned to me for the sole purpose of handling such events. 

I followed her obediently. I had already gotten rid of the wallet before we left the bar, and I did it the fun way. I was not exactly an expert on fire essence, but burning a small leather wallet wouldn’t have been particularly difficult. 

Instead, I slipped it into the small bag she had on her waist, confident that she wouldn’t check it soon. 

I had no doubt that she would get angry once she discovered it back home, but it would be too late. A decent punishment for ruining my lunch.  

Before that, without any evidence, she would have no choice but to let me go … and I wouldn’t trigger any kind of man-hunt. Or worse, triggering a red flag that would alert the sect agents to my presence. They would either be servant disciples or outer disciples and, therefore wouldn’t disrespect me. 

But, I didn’t want their attention, period. 

They might be under the impression that they were punishing me, but despite the unexpected hitch I had just hit, it was still my first real holiday. 

I wanted to enjoy it fully. 

Starting from the way her hips moved. 

I would be lying if I said the beauty of the police officer who arrested me played no role in my perfect obedience. She was a good-looking woman, probably in her mid-twenties. Her soft blonde hair contrasted with her sharp demeanor. The reason she had wrapped it in a tight bun was probably the same as her extremely understated makeup, in an effort to look more serious. 

Unfortunately for her, it wasn’t very effective in hiding her beauty. 

“Get in the car,” she said, her voice sharp and threatening, which enhanced her most beautiful feature even further. 

The aura of justice around her. 

For all my weakness to the fairer sex, I was rather selective. Physical beauty was one aspect, but it wasn’t as important as the beauty of the soul. Mortal-style sex was fun, but it was much better when I could open my soul and mingle with them. 

True dual cultivation. 

Of course, it was hard to truly see the soul of someone at a glance. Even for mortals, the soul was a guarded, hidden aspect, impossible to see through at a glance even for the old monsters at the Nascent Soul stage, no matter how much they claimed otherwise. 

Luckily for me, I had a rare ability. I could see auras. 

Aura, at least in its untouched form, was one of the best ways to assess someone’s soul. It was not exactly a pure mirror that reflected the soul, or even a complete representation. It was more of a representation of someone’s dedication and thoughts. Most people had a gray, meandering mess that showed neither effort nor passion, showing that the way they lived wasn’t too different than a leaf in the wind. 

Unfortunately, while seeing auras was a rare ability, it was mostly useless. 

Of course, cultivators, even when they were in the Essence Gathering realm, had the ability to easily disguise and shape their visible presence. A favorite trick for all cultivators, which, unfortunately, also distorted their auras.  

Cultivators often radiated a sense of purity and ethereal sense, while some preferred more aggressive concepts like bloodlust, sharpness, or harmony. I had a few painful experiences until I learned cultivator auras were not to be trusted. 

It was different for the mortals, particularly ones that weren’t even aware of the existence of auras, making their auras far more trustworthy … though, often far more boring and gray.  

The sexy police lady who was leading me toward her squad car was one of the rare exceptions. Her aura was rigid and sharp at the same time, tinged with a thick sense of protection and justice. A glance was enough to confirm that being a policewoman was not just a job for her, but a calling. 

I found herself fascinating … enough to forgive her for dragging me away from a burger I had been dreaming for years. 

“Come on, officer, no need to be so rough,” I said, unable to feel amused as she pushed me to the back of the car. She didn’t react to my flirty tone slightest. “Ouch, no reaction. It hurts, officer,” I added. 

To my surprise, it earned an angry glare. Not the kind that indicated I had annoyed her … but the kind that indicated it was only her morals that were holding her back from killing me — a difference I had a lot of practice distinguishing considering my habits. 

I was starting to think that I wasn’t arrested for stealing the wallet of that annoying windbag. 

Curious, I didn’t say anything else as we drove toward the police station. 

When we arrived at the police station, I was surprised by the reaction. Every single police looked toward us with an interesting mixture of disdain and hostility, one that they didn’t even bother concealing. If it wasn’t for my sharp senses, I might have assumed that it was the usual attitude cops showed to a criminal, but I could easily see that I wasn’t the target. 

My escort was. 

“Another arrest, Sophie. Good work. You’re about to break a record. What’s it this time? A traffic violation, or loitering,” another officer said, his disdain thick. “It’s good that you’re keeping busy without your precious case.” 

She didn’t even deign to answer properly, just sent him an angry glare as we passed near. The man flinched, the sharpness of his movement suggesting that there had been a time when his disdain had been punished physically. 

I was starting to like her even more. 

“Why so angry?” he continued, though only when he was out of reach. “It’s not my fault you weren’t good enough to solve your precious case all this time and the captain transferred it to your betters.” She didn’t answer, but from the way she subtly stiffened, it was clear that the insult had been effective.  

We continued moving, while the man continued to mumble, too soft for her to hear, but not enough for me to miss his mumbling. “Stupid bitch. It’s this attitude that got you kicked out of the FBI. Let’s see how long you will be able to stay around.” 

Interesting, I thought. While the intricacies of American Law Enforcement were not exactly something I was aware of considering I was barely a teenager when I was taken away by the sect, I remembered enough to know that the FBI was far superior to the local police of a small town. 

If it wasn’t for her sharp aura, I might have assumed it was just incompetence, but there was clearly more to the story, one that was tempting to dig deeper. Especially since I had nothing to do.

Well, one thing. As fascinating as she was, I was still annoyed about not being able to taste that delicious burger. 

Though, there were perks to it as well. Maybe I could convince her to share one with me. 

Before we could take a turn, he suddenly shouted. “Hey, he’s not a part of your stupid case, is it. EIM already took it over, with warnings not to work.” 

I wondered exactly what EIM was that even the mention of them made her shudder in disgust. Unlike the FBI, I didn’t recognize the acronym. But I didn’t ask. 

“No, it’s just a possession case,” she answered, keeping her answer short. Which was good, as she was clearly a terrible liar. The other officer didn’t suspect anything, but only because he was busy muttering about uppity bitches with no respect for their betters. 

Which was an exaggeration at best, but I didn’t care much about it. I was interested in the way her aura flickered when she lied. Her aura, infused thickly with her unique sense of justice, flickered at first, showing just how abhorrent she found the act of lying, followed by solidifying even further. 

Even changing its nature. The change was slight, only noticeable due to my talent, but it was still interesting. I wouldn’t have found it interesting if her sense of justice had weakened … but it just changed slightly. 

Unaware of her coworker’s latest insults … or my intense observation, she continued to drag me toward an interrogation room. “Sit down,” she said. 

“As you wish, officer,” I said, not bothering to hide my smirk as I sat on the chair that she pointed. Interestingly, the one chair she pointed at made it so that she was the one who was looking at the one-way mirror — an interesting little construct, but not enough to prevent me from seeing the other side. The barest of flicker of essence into my eye, and that little mortal illusion was easily bypassed.  

Not that I actually needed to see through the glass to know that room was empty. Even without focusing, I could feel the presence of every single person in the station. 

Perks of my Foundation Establishment cultivation. My power might have been sealed, but my senses were still sharp. 

I wouldn’t have cared about the seating plan, if it wasn’t for an interesting choice she made. She had left the door of the interrogation room slightly cracked and shifted her own chair slightly. 

Which meant, she could see anyone that could actually enter through the corridor. An interesting choice … though I couldn’t help but wonder why she bothered to drag me to the station rather than interrogating me in her car. 

Though, I couldn’t wait to find out.