Legacy of Hatred

’A wife,’ Adrian thought, his brain unable to process that information. ’The monkey-boy who walked around with leaves in his hair has a wife.’

Before Adrian could remember that he had yet to introduce himself, his brain short-circuited again, freezing at the scene that unfolded in his vision.

Liam, the monkey-boy who didn’t even know what a human facial expression was, threw a meaningful look at Grace, one that exuded care and a silent message.

In response, Grace straightened herself and wore a teasing smile, lowering her arms to welcome the big hand landing on her waist.

’Hey, hey, what’s-’ Adrian pondered, wide-eyed, suddenly understanding what was happening. ’Isn’t that a taboo?’

Truth was, Adrian wasn’t too savvy about the whole cultivation business. The Church of the Man operated differently from every other organization in the Kingdom, and he was just a lowly foundation expert, but he had learned the basics.

’Where do you think you are placing your head?!’ Adrian cried internally as the situation developed. ’That’s her- ... And now she is holding his face, looking all happy.’

As usual, Liam checked Grace’s cultivation and meridians, and the scene looked undoubtedly intimate. It wasn’t even sexual. What Adrian saw was the affection of a couple used to each other’s touch.

’Did he-?’ Adrian gasped internally. ’Did the monkey-boy get there before me?! And what’s with that look? I’m here, remember?’

The inspection wasn’t long. Liam soon pulled back and straightened, but fell prey to the green eyes following him. Grace was looking at him with a confident, tempting expression, and he seemed to forget about everything else because of it.

Realistically, Adrian couldn’t blame Liam. Grace was a true ethereal beauty and a branching expert. All her gestures even carried a magnetic, irresistible elegance. If he had been the target of those looks, he would already be on his knees, swearing eternal servitude.

And yet, Liam shocked Adrian once more, diverting his gaze, resisting that otherworldly temptation to wear a face he recognized. That was the expression Liam donned when he hunted, but his eyes had gained a peculiar depth.

If Adrian didn’t know any better, he would actually see that depth as wisdom.

"We must move," Liam declared, snapping Adrian back to reality, not that it did much to help him study what followed.

Grace nodded at Liam, and he summoned his flying weapon again, and the world in Adrian’s eyes started spinning. When he recovered, he found himself next to a river in the middle of yellowish tundra, dizzy, on the verge of throwing up, but the sudden developments didn’t end there.

In but a minute, Adrian was underground, in a large, furnished hall, sitting on comfortable pillows before a short table. Liam was on the other side, while Grace was pouring wine for everyone, her poise being so captivating he almost forgot about the situation again.

’What is such a refined lady doing with the monkey-boy? Adrian mentally wondered, still unable to accept that pairing. ’Did she decide to tame him after finding out what he hides between his legs?’

Adrian and Liam went way back. They had bathed often together, ever since they were children, so Adrian knew about his friend’s quite manly disposition. Since Grace was a branching expert, he guessed she had taken Liam as her plaything.

Nevertheless, what followed suggested otherwise. As soon as Grace finished pouring drinks, she sat at Liam’s side, leaning her back against him, rubbing her hand on his thigh, her face dreamy as she looked up at him.

Instead, Liam remained calm, happy but unfazed, shaking his head at his woman’s shenanigans, addressing them only after she pulled his head down to whisper in his ear.

’Did she just call him Master?’ Adrain gasped internally. ’Did he tame the temptress?! He is a hunter, alright. And now he is holding her waist. Are you bragging here? Are you rubbing in my face how used you are to women?!’

With the Church of the Man only having men, Adrian didn’t get a shot at his desires for romance, and now he was forced to see the friend who only knew how to handle bows, animals’ carcasses, and trees hold a woman with what looked like abundant experience.

Still, that partial hug clearly wasn’t for Adrian. Grace lit up when Liam held her. Some of her otherworldliness receded, granting her the vibe of a cheerful girl who had just received a present.

Honestly, Adrian would have never thought that a mighty branching expert could wear such faces, let alone that his clueless childhood friend could have grown so much in little over three years.

Liam could barely hold a proper conversation back then, but there he was, completely in his element, basically flirting with ease, his figure even carrying a certain gravitas.

But it was quite obvious that much had changed. The previous slaughter told Adrian as much. He couldn’t even begin to fathom how the honest-to-a-fault boy had transformed into a terrifying fiend that claimed lives as easily as breathing.

Chances were that nothing good could have caused that transformation.

As if feeling the shift in Adrian’s mood, Liam looked at him, his expression serious and sharp, awareness that he had never wielded back in the village reflected in his black eyes.

Grace’s mood also changed, Adrian becoming the target of her calculative, attentive eyes. He honestly felt naked and underwater before that heavy attention. On an instinctive level, he knew he wasn’t in danger, but that seriousness was more than he could handle.

It wasn’t even just a matter of powerful sources. Liam and Grace radiated an innate pressure due to their superior cultivation level, but there was something else to the equation, something that added grit to their innate auras.

Adrian was a child, a total newbie in that world. Instead, Liam and Grace were masters who had built their experience through countless trials, and Adrian felt that gap in his very bones, especially once his friend voiced his request.

"Adrian," Liam called. "Tell me everything."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!