“Why?” Marcus held Bulu Wang’s body as he gradually collapsed.

  “Being a watcher has its downsides. Many of them.” Bulu Wang coughed, his trembling right hand pointing at the broken metal staff on the ground: “This - this is the thing - the seal you’re supposed to break here. And - you already did, fair and square. Though I must ask you this - are you willing to take over for me, Detective Marcus Cai, to become the next watcher of this site?”

  “I - ”

  “Too bad.” Bulu Wang cut Marcus off before he could answer, then he pointed at the water tower: “There’s another thing you seek, and it should be right there. But you need to be careful, I may be the watcher, but I am not the only one watching this place.”

  “Is there any way to save you?” Marcus wiped the corners of his eyes.

  Bulu Wang shook his head: “To be a watcher is to be on a path of no return. I don’t know if the master, or any of your allies ever told you this: but one does not become a watcher without tethering a piece of their soul to the site. And the newer the site, the bigger the piece you’d give up. Maybe it’s doable if it was from a few decades ago, but it’s not possible right now. When you defeat me, when this site becomes unoccupied, I will fade and be no more.”

  “I’m sorry.” Marcus took a deep breath: “... is there anything I can do for you? ”

  “You’ve done plenty.” Bulu Wang shook his head, smiling: “Just - be safe. And do what you came here to do.”

  “Okay, be careful and watch me.” Marcus laid the old mentor down in a sitting position, facing the water tower. He then signaled Liaowu to stay put before rushing to the foot of the water tower, circled the base and looked up. There was no clear way for a civilian, but he found a way up, on the side facing north.

  He took a few deep breaths, let his Qi flow through his meridians to soothe his extremities and muscles. Before long, he hopped onto the side of the tower and began climbing with his hands and feet. The entire structure of the tower was much more stable than the looks of the tower itself would appear. He made it to the top in less than two minutes.

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  The water tank felt sturdy when Marcus placed his hand on the exterior. The metal was tough and thick, and wouldn’t cave in even just a little bit while he pushed. He hopped around the circumference, still unable to find any spots of entry. So he held onto the exterior and pulled himself up the top. A round cap with a latch sat on the top, the diameter of which was just enough for a slim man to squeeze through, but unfortunately not for him.

  Without hesitation, Marcus twisted the cap open. In the water tank there was no water, but dirt, black ash, crystal shards and lime filled halfway. The black ash and lime formed a Taiji circle, while the crystal shards were sprinkled evenly across the surface. Only on the edge of the circle, did the dirt under the surface reveal itself.

  And standing on the center of the Taiji circle, was a small stone-carved sword plate, whose blade was half buried in the dirt, with its handle poking straight up. Marcus thought for a while before reaching into the water tank, he took off his jacket, twisted it into a rope and dropped it down to the handle of the sword plate.

  No mechanism was triggered to damage the makeshift rope. But he still decided not to risk it, as he twirled the rope and let it wrap around the handle. He tried a few times before he finally got enough grip, and began slowly pulling the plate up.

  The air grew colder, and the already brightening sky darkened from the clouds as he pulled the sword plat up. Without hesitation, Marcus grabbed the handle as soon as it was out of the water tank.

  This sword plate had a much more defined and refined shape of a sword, and the size was around twenty to thirty percent bigger than a common longsword or broadsword, while the blade itself was much broader than any of those in proportion. Its body was dark gray, with dark spots and marks scattered all over. A gray aura manifested around it the moment it was pulled out of the water tank, with gray mist rising upwards. Marcus had no idea what it was, but it was definitely nothing good.

  Even with Qi protecting his hand, the freezing energy from the plate almost rendered his right hand numb and paralyzed. He wasted no time holding it, with a swift swing, he threw the sword plate at the ground. He jumped off the water tower while swinging his jacket above him - the chilling energy was still lingering on it, and he needed to use his Qi to clear as much of it as possible.

  The blade of the sword plate sunk into the ground. Marcus grabbed two large handfuls of grass from the surrounding area and rushed to the location of the sword plate. Lightning arced through the sky above, the clouds were spinning and growling, and winds were howling with more malice and hatred each second.

  The grass caught on fire from Marcus’ Qi. One handful at a time, he threw the grass onto the sword plate.

  “Go to the unnamed graveyard near the South-most point of the city, near the customs of the city. Break the seal there. Find the sword plate and use fire on it. Act fast.” This was what the scroll from Master Liaoran told Marcus to do. Because of the urgency, he barely had time to actually bring fire starters.

  As the fire licked the body of the sword plate, and the gray aura appeared to be easily destroyed and consumed by it. A previously invisible bubble burst, and the coloration began lightening up.

  He grabbed a few more handfuls of grass and let them pile up around the sword plate. The fire grew bigger, and the sword plate was brightening at a faster rate.

  The sound of vehicles driving at fast speed approached. Bulu Wang coughed and warned: “They’re coming. You better hurry.”