The woman's face was nearly identical to Suri, only appearing her twenties instead of teens, with traces of Furi's characteristics, especially the eyes. They were the same color as Furi's, and even seemed to shimmer the same way in certain lights. She was incredibly beautiful, John admitted internally.
And she was without a doubt Furi's daughter.
John regained his composure despite the shocking turn of events.
'This woman seems certain I know of Furi's demise. I need to find out why before I answer.'
A reply formulated in his head, but the woman spoke up again before he could say anything.
"There's no use in trying to hide it," the woman said, her gaze narrowed, as if skeptical of John and his involvement with Furi's disappearance. "I know you were with him before contact was lost. Nothing you say will convince me otherwise."
John frowned at her strongarmed approach.
"Why are you so certain that I know your father? Or was there when you lost contact with him?" John asked, trying to dig for answers.
The woman leaned back in her seat, her guard still raised but eyes distant, as if she were recalling some troubling memories.
"Several weeks ago, my father sent me a message through a transmission disk. It was brief, but indicated he might have found the solution to his cultivation problem," the woman said, focus returning to her eyes.
"He didn't give much information, but indicated he had found a youthful talent that could obtain him what he needed, and in return, he needed to provide the youth information. Information regarding a woman that fell from beyond this world to this land. Quite an…oddity, wouldn't you say?"
The woman emphasized the word oddity, and that was one of the ways John described what kind of information he needed when shopping around the city for it.
John remained silent, as he could tell there was more.
'I guess this is related to the information network Furi mentioned.'
The woman continued after noticing he was not going to interrupt her.
"Then a short whole later, I received just a single word transmission from him. 'Danger'. That was all he sent, and then the connection between our transmission disks was lost."
The woman stood up and walked to a nearby table which contained wines and another alcoholic drinks. She posed herself a glass of fragrant red wine and downed it, then poured another glass and sat down once more.
"I have heard nothing from him since, and no one else has heard, seen, or found any trace of him since," she continued, taking another sip of wine. "And then several weeks later, I receive news of a Dao Transformation youth stumbling out of the Immortal Forest, a place where no Dao Transformation cultivator can survive for long. And then that same youth happens to find our hideout by instincts alone, and even has the combat prowess to avoid my attacks and overwhelm one of my Late Dao Transformation assassins. So tell me, are you still going to deny the youth my father mentioned is you after everything I just said?"
John studied the woman for quite some time, weighting the pros and cons of admitting the truth. The pros eventually won out in the end.
"I won't deny it," he said calmly.
The woman sighed softly, relieved, but also conflicted. Her gaze hardened further, as if she would kill him unless he gave her a reasonable answer, one that did not implicate him in her fathers demise.
"What happened?" She asked, voice tense. "Is my father…. Are my siblings?"
"They're dead," John said softly.
A look of grief and despair appeared on her face for a short moment. Her face returned to normal a short while later, her composure impressing John.
"What happened?" She asked. "Leave no detail out."
John nodded and decided to tell her everything that had happened, as the truth best served him in this situation. He kept out the secrets involving himself and Lilian, but detailed everything else, from the slave caravan to the assassination of Furi.
He fell silent after telling the story, allowing the woman to digest it all. She remained silent for a long while, gaze distant.
After a long silence, the woman growled out one word, her voice filled with hatred and disgust.
"Phantoms."
John had recalled her mentioning that word before, alluding to them being an enemy power. He was curious about who the 'Phantoms' were, but remained silent as the woman collected herself.
The woman downed her glass of wine and returned to the bar. She grabbed an entire bottle and returned to her chair, drinking directly from it. It was quite brutish, but John completely understood. Everyone had their own ways of dealing with grief and loss.
"The Phantoms are our enemy," the woman said, as of reading John's thoughts. "Their full name is the Phantoms of Death, and they are an assassination guild that targets only humans. They kill important figures of humanity, their sole mission being to weaken the strength of the human race."
John found that slightly surprising, as the woman who had killed Furi was also human. John's thoughts shifted to the Astral Emperor, who was doing something similar, so the possibility of the woman being part of the Phantoms of Death wasn't impossible.
"The guild I am part of, the Shadows of Death, is the exact opposite," she continued, taking another sip. "We operate in the shadows, assassinating targets whose death strengthens humanity. Those targets include the Phantoms," she said, studying John's expression.
She paused to take another sip from the bottle, and then leaned forward towards John.
"The information network my father mentioned is related to my guild, as I'm sure you've figured out by now," the woman said, taking another sip from the bottle. "I had already started inquiring about the matter my father requested, but have learned nothing yet."
John felt his hope rise and fall in a single sentence.
"However, if anyone can find this woman you're looking for, it's us. So now that you know everything, what is your decision? Will you join us?"
John had already made his decision earlier, and replied with a firm nod.
ƥαṇdαηθνε| "Good," the woman said, smiling. She handed over the wine bottle to John, who accepted it and took a swig. His eyes lit up with delight. It was delicious.
"I'm Zuri by the way," she said.
John nearly choked on his wine, but kept his remark regarding her name to himself.
"John," he returned the greeting.
"Well, John, you are now officially a Shadow of the Shadows of Death. What do you say to celebrating by going out to hunt some Phantoms?" She asked, a wide smile forming on her face.
Her cheeks were rosy red from the alcohol, making her even more beautiful than normal. But John could tell that beneath that beauty was a hidden beast, waiting to explode with power. In fact, the woman reminded him of Lilian, beautiful yet incredibly dangerous.
He smiled and nodded his head.
"Let's go hunting."
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