Unfettered Chapter 4: Chapter 31: Clarity

Read chapter 4 of Unfettered by driftwoodblossom on NovelPedia.

The shop attendant took the rock in one of his hands before pulling a few sharp rods out of his spatial artifact. With firm pushes, he inserted each of the rods into the rock. Then, a jade hammer appeared in his hands before meticulous and evenly spaced whacks rang out. It didn't take long before a thin layer of light began to leak through the rock. An ancient aura crashed down on the shop attendant, but the handsome young man was able to place the rock gently on the table and remove the rods in one smooth motion. The array runes on the glass trembled under the pressure, but continued hanging on by a thread. Unperturbed, the little boy lifted the rock from the glass screen. With a little twist, the two halves opened and revealed the rock's contents. The air became thick in a one meter radius around the young boy. To the eyes of the bystanders, Ye Fan and his party was encased in a visually distortive field. It was akin to viewing them through flowing syrup. Some kind hearted bystanders hovered on the edge, while the majority stood in their places. Anomalies of treasures from past ages could be dangerous to even Immortals, so everyone treated it with extreme caution. The one thing that they all shared was an avid fascination at the once in the lifetime occurrence that lay before them. * * * Uncle Hu lightly tapped the inside of the dome with his black iron staff. The staff made a clacking sound and lightly bounced off, as if hitting a hollow rock. The middle-aged man listened quietly for a few moments before nodding to himself. He swirled the bottom of his staff in small circles and narrowed his eyes while raising and lifting his fingers. A solemn expression adorned his face as his eyes fixated on his fingers with intense focus. Bai Hongjun's eyes sparkled at the boatman's actions. He had seen formation masters take similar measures before and the middle-aged man's mannerisms only further cemented his credibility. Wen Meihui wasn't fully won over by the man's actions, so she looked over at her recently adopted younger brother. The little boy had a curious expression as he watched Uncle Hu’s actions. Although he had never heard of the old servant being a formation master, it also wasn’t until rather recently that he found out that the middle-aged man had a Golden Core stage cultivation base. As his master had taught him, not everything is what it seems. So he decided to question the boatman. “Uncle Hu, do you know how to get us out of here?” Stroking his chin, the middle-aged man embraced the silence. The three waited with baited breath. Not a single movement came from them as they were hesitant to disturb Uncle Hu’s calculations. Half the time it takes for a pot of tea passed before they started to grow impatient. As Wen Meihui was about to express her frustration, the boatman finally broke the silence. "I have no idea how to dispel this barrier." "???" The three all revealed varying levels of confusion on their faces. Wen Meihui even had to lean on the display case due to the immense emotional turbulence. Her mind swirled as she flickered between anger, shock, and resignation. Ye Fan was rigid and his mind was shattered like a porcelain vase. Finally, Hongjun outwardly seemed fine, just giving a slow nod. As for the storm that lay inside, it was a feeling that was too complex for words to describe. Bai Hu gave them all a once-over impassively. Giving them a few moments to reorient themselves, but not act upon their emotions, he added to his previous statement. “I didn’t say I don’t know how to get us out of here.” The emotions of the other three only grew more complex at these words. Wen Meihui couldn’t hold it back anymore and let out an outburst. “Then, why didn’t you start with that?!” “I felt it was needed to first clarify the extent of my abilities.” “You- I.” Wen Meihui’s face flushed a crimson red as she clutched her face with her free hand. Ye Fan took a step forward and reached his hand out only to hesitate and pull b