Amelia glanced at Elliott's retreating figure but said nothing, turning instead to converse with Henry and Sophia. From them, she learned that in the chaos, Lucas had taken Grace away. The group sighed in exasperation—this Beggar Sect gathering had been nothing but trouble from the start.
Yet Elliott remained unresponsive. Even Henry and Sophia, oblivious to what had transpired earlier, could sense the tension between Amelia and Elliott.
Had something unpleasant happened between them? Amelia didn't seem particularly upset, but Elliott's silent meditation was unusual—was he injured?
She was the one who ought to be angry, Amelia thought. Yet here was Elliott, fuming as if he had been wronged, pretending to focus on his cultivation. It was infuriating. She wouldn't let this slide.
Just as Amelia was about to confront him, Elliott suddenly stood, drawing his sword and positioning himself at the center of the millhouse, his senses sharp as he listened for any disturbance.
"So this is where you've been hiding!" A voice cut through the tense silence. "Ah, and what a lovely woman you have here! Fortune smiles upon me today."
A figure descended gracefully from the rafters. His slimy demeanor was repulsive—short in stature, with a thin goatee and lecherous eyes that fixed on Amelia, making her skin crawl.
Elliott's ears caught the near-silent landing—this man's lightness skill was extraordinary.
"Who are you?" Elliott demanded.
The man smirked. "Hah! Never heard of the Four Evils?"
Gabriel—the name flashed in Elliott's mind. "Gabriel?"
The man laughed. "Seems my reputation precedes me!"
"Shattered Sword Form." Elliott's blade rippled like water, a surge of qi-infused force lashing out.
"Hah! So you're the blind swordsman!" Gabriel had already vanished, reappearing on the roof beams. He watched Elliott scan the area blindly—just as the Western Xia Hall had described. The general had ordered him recruited—or eliminated.
"Blind man," Gabriel called down, "how about joining the Western Xia Hall? Wealth, women—all yours. What do you say?"
Elliott ignored the offer. "Henry, protect the women. I only need one—one who truly loves me."
The veiled jab wasn't lost on Amelia, though Henry and Sophia mistook it for romantic devotion.
Gabriel grinned. "You fancy that girl? Join us, and I'll let you have her." The words ignited fury in everyone present.
"Meddlesome fool!" Elliott roared. "Taste my steel!" He launched himself upward, his sword slicing toward Gabriel's wrist.
Gabriel's agility was uncanny—with barely a shift, he drifted backward, then dropped like a shadow beneath Elliott, thrusting upward at his legs.
"Elliott, below you!" Amelia cried, seeing him standing motionless, seemingly unaware of the attack.