Evil Samurai In Cultivation World

"Anyways, the townsfolk thought that was it after the funeral and moved on to their daily lives." Senior Beldon continued with his story, and Claude listened closely. 

"That was, until a rumour began to circulate. Apparently, a few of the townsfolk heard the cry of a girl coming from the family's home a couple of times at night. At first, people simply brushed it off, but as the days went by, more and more people began hearing the cries, and a few even saw the apparition of the young dead girl, wandering around near the house at night. But a few days after the alleged sighting of the dead girl, the townsfolk heard that the family had abandoned their house and moved to another city and they were never heard from ever again."

"And that's the story that I heard. What do you think?" Senior Beldon finished his story and turned to look at Claude, who was rubbing his forehead with his hand, confused as to what was going on.

"I need answers." He said as he leaned back next to Senior Beldon, who nodded his head as he let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah, I can understand that. I mean, it was told to me by someone who wasn't a resident of the town itself, so I imagine a lot of details were left out of the story. But even then, I don't think there's enough information to come to a conclusion as to what really was happening in Salvador City."

Senior Beldon then tilted his head up and looked at the sky as he continued, "In the end, it turned into just another folklore..."

"You don't want to hear the version of the story that I heard?" Claude asked, and Senior Beldon looked at him. "Is it a better version than what I just told?"

"Not really, no.." Claude shrugged his shoulders. "But it does have more information."

"I'll pass," Senior Beldon shook his head and straightened himself as he spoke. "I'd rather have a good story to tell rather than an average one that leaves me wanting more. I feel like I'm bound to get disappointed."

"Who knows if you'll really be disappointed, though? I mean, for all we know, you might end up actually appreciating it for what it did." Claude asked, and Senior Beldon once again shook his head.

"I feel like the 'wanting more' feeling is kind of your forte, junior brother Claude," He said with a smile as he began walking away, leaving the entrance to Claude's residence. He pointed to himself as he said, "But me? No, I'd rather be 'content' than 'wanting more'. But you do you, my junior brother. After all, I am not you and you are not me."

-------- EVIL SAMURAI IN CULTIVATION WORLD --------

Senior Beldon then waved goodbye to Claude, who waved back, and then turned around and left from his view, leaving Claude alone as he stood in front of his residence.

"There might be differences between the two stories, but looking at them side by side, I can feel the connection, that something's off about the whole situation and that it has to do with the Azure Lion Clan," Claude narrowed his eyes and placed his hand on his chin as he thought to himself. 

'It looks like I need to make a trip to Salvador City soon,' Claude scratched his chin as he stepped inside his residence. Claude's servants came out to greet Claude, who simply waved his hand at them, and entered the residence.

'But before that…' Claude remembered what Senior Beldon had told him a few hours before, about the blacksmith families.

"The Richardson family, huh.." Claude muttered to himself as he walked inside, and was greeted by his servant Randall, who bowed his head to show his respect to his master.

"Welcome back, young master!" Randall said with an enthusiastic voice and Claude nodded his head in response. "What is it, Randall? Do you have something for me?"

"Yes, young master!" As soon as he heard his master's question, Randall's eyes widened with surprise before readjusting almost immediately, and he opened his mouth to speak after a few seconds. "Actually, you have a guest, young master!"

"Oh? Did you say I have a guest?" Claude asked as he raised his eyebrows in suspicion. According to what he knew, he wasn't expecting any guests. However, seeing as he was now under a new master, he thought that it must have something to do with the Headmaster.

"Do you know who this guest is, Randall?" Nevertheless, Claude still asked Randall what he knew about this so-called guest of his. He didn't want to make any baseless assumptions about the person yet, so it would be useful if he had at least some information about the person he was about to meet.

"Not anyone who I know personally or professionally sir," Randall shook his head as he replied to Claude's question. "However, the guest did say that he was someone who worked for the Headmaster, and he did show me the Headmaster's token as evidence. So he's definitely not a threat."

"And did he tell you his name, by any chance," Claude asked, and Randall shook his head and bowed once again. "No, he did not tell me his name, young master. And by the servant's law, if the person has the permission to enter the protected space and does not come with any ill intentions, then we are not allowed to ask for the person's name unless they provide it first. I apologise, young master. But this is how it works."

"Of course. Don't worry about it. It's alright," Claude shook his head, but he was frustrated. He knew that although the servants serve only him, they were nevertheless appointed by the academy itself. They weren't really his servants, and this frustrated Claude. He wanted a trustworthy and loyal group of people under his wing, and right now, what he had was not that.

"Where is he? I'll go ahead and meet him. You did ask him to wait in the guest room, didn't you?" Claude asked as he stepped forward and went past Randall, who turned around and replied, "Yes I did, young master. He's currently waiting in the guest room right now, so you can go and meet him."

"Alright then," Claude nodded his head and then walked towards the guest room. As he reached the door to the guest room, Claude grabbed the doorknob and opened it slowly as he entered. 

"Ah, I was waiting for you, Claude Rayforth. My employer has told me so much about you, and now I'm finally able to meet you." As soon as Claude opened the door, a tall and blonde young man stood in front of him with a smile on his face and his arm stretched out forward. "The name is David Lector. I'm one of the people working under the Third Elder- no, the new Headmaster. I apologise for the mistake, but I'm still adapting to the change in position."

Claude stretched his hand out as well and shook his hand. "I'm Claude. Claude Rayforth. I would tell you more about me, but I'm guessing you already know everything that you need to know about me. So I'll keep it short for you." 

He then pointed at the beautiful wooden chairs that were placed next to the fireplace and said, "Shall we?" To which, David nodded his head. "Of course."

They both walked towards the wooden chairs and sat down opposite to each other, and Claude asked, "So, 'People working under the Headmaster'?" Referring to the words spoken by David a few seconds ago.

"Well, we don't exactly have names for what we do," David shrugged his shoulders as he spoke, and Claude furrowed his eyebrows. "Let's just say that I 'take care' of things for the Headmaster."

"Oh?" Claude raised a single eyebrow in response to his words and asked, "And may I ask what brings you to my residence today?"

"To hand you this," David leaned forward all of a sudden and instantly moved his hand inside his sleeve, causing Claude to flinch for a second. 

"Here, catch!" David pulled out a scroll from under his sleeve and threw it over to Claude, who caught it with a confused expression.

"And what might this be?" Claude asked as he pulled the small string and opened the scroll and David replied to his question, "The Headmaster called it a gift; he said that it'll help you reach the goal that you were aiming towards."

Inside the scroll was the detailed information about the Grand Astral Faction's disciples; including everything from daily routines to secret techniques that they've mastered as of late.

Claude, surprised by the Headmaster's 'gift', turned to look at David, who simply grinned at him. "You do know that the Headmaster expects you to win the sparring contest, right? Now, I might not be so sure about your victory, but I do think this will help you get closer to that goal."