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Turmoil had struck the now quiet Tea Haven, and yet a man sat in one of the corners, quietly drinking...
The 'man' wore a wide bamboo hat, which had a black veil that covered his face. He was dressed in all black robes, including his belt, inner robes and boots.
He completely ignored the intruder and poured himself yet another cup of wine.
"You there!" The cultivator bellowed as angry heat crawled up his face. 'Am I being ignored?! This fellow isn't even giving me any face!'
The cultivator was Meng ZhuGuo, a late stage Blue Realm cultivator of the ShuǐLiu Sect, and he unsheathed his sword.
"You must be Xuè shèngrén!" Meng ZhuGuo bellowed again, waving the sword. "The fates have caught up with you today! You must now pay for your sins against the dragon clans!"
Xuè Shèngrén cleaned out her ears with a finger. "You're too loud!" She said. "A man can't even finish good wine in peace." She waved a hand, and the remaining two gourds of the exquisite wine disappeared into her *qiankun pouch.
*Qiankun pouch - A spatial storage item that can carry things far larger than its size. It resembles a regular small, palm-sized pouch, but the owner can even bring out a chair from it. Handy!
She slammed down her liquor cup, then gulped straight from the last gourd, tipping her head back.
The bamboo hat fell off, revealing the top of her hair, which was bound up entirely into a bun, leaving the two ends of an extremely long white ribbon swinging behind her.
she dropped the gourd when it was empty, crudely wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, then turned to face Meng ZhuGuo.
But Meng ZhuGuo nearly fell on his face, when he saw her face. "Th- this is -!" The person before him could not possibly be the famously dangerous bloody sage!
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The wind outside whistled in the silence, as Meng ZhuGuo stared at the person before him in shock.
'Is he a man or a woman?' He thought, but at that thought, he became oddly convinced that this was a man.
This man-... No. Not a man... Boy! This boy looked no more than seventeen!
He had an amazingly tiny figure, with a slightly built torso, which tapered down to an unusually narrow waist.
His face could only be described as beautiful! With bright wide eyes, which were fanned by long, dark lashes, and which twinkled at him mischievously.
Even his lips were a small, enticing heart shape, with a natural reddish hue.
The white ribbon, which flowed down his back, past his waist, was the only thing that wasn't black on him, and despite the deceptively simple design of his robes, they were made with fabrics of decent quality.
"Fat man." Xuè Shèngrén addressed rather rudely, her amusement dancing in her eyes. "If you stare at men like that, isn't it a problem for your reputation? Should I put on *rouge and powder so you can at least save face?"
*dress like a girl.
Meng ZhuGuo furrowed his brows in anger, but his stout futures relaxed almost immediately.
"Hahahahahahaha!" he laughed with a hand to his belly. "You're young, so I'll be gracious and let you off! No way you're the Bloody Sage!"
But Xuè Shèngrén just ignored him, causing his smile to falter.
"Little boy, I am Meng ZhuGuo! Tier Three cultivator from the Shuǐ Clan! I'm looking for an older man that must have cultivated for many years! Where is he hiding?! Is he your master? Boy, where is your master?!"
'Little boy'?' Xuè shèngrén looked him over, as her own brows furrowed in annoyance.
The man was a bit chubby, and had a pot belly. His aura was nothing to write home about. 'Peak of the Blue realm at most.' She concluded.
Besides, he had foolishly jumped in here and was now making assumptions, instead of reading the situation...
'Hmph. What a waste of my time!' She shook her head.
"Tsk tsk tsk, are you really a cultivator? Surely, you're still discipleship? How else can you explain your lack of sense? You say you're looking for this 'Xuè Shèngrén', hmmm?
"What if he had run out of here with the crowd, when you were senselessly chasing everyone out, mmm? Wouldn't he be out there with your companions already?"
"You-!" Meng ZhuGuo had opened his mouth to speak, but then an utterly foolish look crossed his face, as he realised his own stupidity.
Xuè Shèngrén smiled slowly. "Let me tell you, just give up on cultivation. But don't worry, there's hope!" She grinned mischievously, revealing a set of perfect teeth. "Perhaps, your chil-... No! Your great great great great great grand children might be outstanding, after your bloodline has been 'greatly' watered down!"
"You Bastard!" Meng ZhuGuo lunged forward at a surprising speed that bellied his weight, and his sword was already unsheathed...
But despite his speed, Xuè Shèngrén remained completely calm, as the reflected figure of an angry Meng ZhuGuo grew in her irises. "Ho? How dare you attack someone like me without thinking?"
Thunk!
Meng ZhuGuo's eyes widened.
He didn't even know what happened...
All he knew was that the hilt of a sword had connected with his chest, and he had suddenly been sent flying!
A shameful method of reprimanding a person, and it hadn't happened to him since he had been much younger!
.
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Meanwhile, the others outside had heard Meng ZhuGuo's earlier laughter.
"Lord Meng must be teaching Xuè shèngrén a lesson, right?" One of the disciples spoke.
"He must be! Imagine his 'wisdom', chasing everyone out so unexpectedly!" Another disciple said, his voice laced with heavy sarcasm. "What if Xuè Shèngrén had run out with the crowd? Wouldn't he be fighting the empty chairs and tables right now? He's truly 'great'!"
The annoyed disciple was Shuǐ JunHo, Shuǐ ChénLín's younger cousin, and the current Head disciple.
'What type of cultivator just jumps in without trying to read the situation first?' Shuǐ JunHo was wondering, but Lu FengHo lightly slapped the back of his head.
"Head disciple Shuǐ, be respectful! You might be in the same Tier three, but Lord Meng is far older than you! His son is your mate and friend!"
The ShuǐLiu Sect, and most sects, ranked their cultivators and disciples according to strength.
There was Tier One for red and orange realm users. Disciples in this level were usually five year olds to ten year olds.
Tier Two for Yellow and Green realms. Also for disciples.
Tier Three for blue realmers. This could include disciples who had stepped into the blue realm, like Shuǐ JunHo and most of the present disciples, or Cultivators who were still in the Blue Realm, like Meng ZhuGuo.
Tier Four for those in the purple realm.
Tier Five, which was the third highest Tier, comprised mostly of a Clan's Leader and Elders. This was usually those in the White or Black Realms.
Tier Six for those in the Light Realm.
And then after that, the Invincible Tier, for those in the Heaven Realm.
This was the highest Tier, and most clans didn't even have any members in Tier six, talk more of the Invincible tier!
Shuǐ JunHo was still complaining about Meng ZhuGuo.
"But Master Lu, Meng ZhuLi already knows I can't see eye to eye with his father, whenever he causes trouble!
"Master Lu, what if Xuè Shèngrén had been holding the other customers as hostages, and Lord Meng just jumped in like that?! Wouldn't innocent people die?"
"Are you still talking? Hmm?" Lu FengHo asked softly, and a gentle blue aura was rising around him.
Shuǐ JunHo clapped a hand to his mouth and scuttled a short distance away.
When Master Lu was like this, that 'gentle' blue aura could turn deadly in an instant.
But Lu FengHo simply turned his gaze back towards the doors. He himself acknowledged that JunHo was right, but as Head disciple, he had to lead by example.
Disrespecting a senior would not be tolerated.
"Still, Lord Meng does cause a lot of trouble, and often acts without thinking..." He muttered to himself
On their way to the Eastern Region, he once attempted an advanced spell that had gone wrong and had nearly sunk their boat!
To begin with, he wasn't even supposed to be on this mission... None of the disciples belonged here.
They had been on another mission near the Xu province, which was a mere two-day journey from camelia city. But then, one of the cultivators the disciples had been chasing, led them straight to Camellia city and specifically to the Zhao Manor.
Coincidentally, the order to capture Xuè Shèngrén had reached them, and they were the only cultivators from the Shuǐ Clan, who were free and close enough.
Shuǐ ChénLín had wanted to ignore it, since the disciples were unprepared, but Lu FengHo had thought it would be a good experience for them.
So he had convinced him by saying, "Shuǐ Chén, I have no doubt that you can catch this Xuè Shèngrén, especially if you use your 'Heaven's Water Pheonix' technique... I will assist you with my shields, and the disciples can observe and learn."
But now, he realized he hadn't considered Lord Meng!
Since their arrival, Meng ZhuGuo had picked fights with the disciples, and even cultivators from other sects, who were also hunting Xuè Shèngrén...
Unfortunately, thanks to Shuǐ ChénLín's exceptional abilities, Clan Leader Shuǐ, his father, had 'entrusted' (offloaded!) Lord Meng to their team.
"A-Chén, if anyone can handle him, you can! Hahahahaha!" Clan Leader Shuǐ had said, then laughed.
Lu FengHo sighed and turned to Shuǐ ChénLín. "Lord Meng does seem to be having too much fun inside. He remembers we were ordered not to kill Xuè Shèngrén, right?" He kneaded his brows.
But at that point, they heard Meng ZhuGuo shout, 'You Bastard!'
In the next instant, a mild shockwave emanated from the restaurant, followed by a loud crash, and Meng ZhuGuo was flung through the doors out onto the street, landing painfully on his ample backside.
"Lord Meng!" A few disciples ran to assist Meng ZhuGuo, and he sat up and vomited quite a bit of blood.
"That scoundrel..." He forced out, gently gripping his chest.
Through his fingers, they could see a tattered hole in his robes, which revealed a bruised, foul looking dent, that was slowly turning purple.
Shuǐ ChénLín and Lu FengHo looked at each other, then back down at Meng Zhogue.
It was clear that the hit was milder than it looked, but there was no denying it's severity, and Lord Meng would need a few days of rest to fully recover.
Their eyes swept up in unison, to the swinging wooden doors.
They hadn't expected Xuè Shèngrén to be an easy opponent, and Lord Meng was still in the Blue Realm, so they weren't exactly surprised.
However, this was a reminder that they should be a little more serious...
What if he had decided to kill Meng ZhuGuo, instead of wounding him?
The assaulted doors of the restaurant, swung open again and someone else glided out, using *qinggong. She spun gracefully in the air, then floated down to land lightly on the front steps, her back to them.
*Qinggong - lightness skill, for agility. This is often exaggerated to endow users with superhuman leaps, temporary flight, walking in the air, on water, etc.
"Wah! So graceful!" One of the disciples commented.
But Xuè Shèngrén ruined the whole graceful effect when she staggered slightly, then rubbed her upper arms in a shiver.
'So cold!' She had forgotten her thicker outer cloak inside, so she circulated her qi to battle the cold.
Then she paused and then sniffed. She had just felt something fearsome, which made her blood run cold...
'What is that strange Aura?!'
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