"Look, the bandits are all gone. You can come down now. You've been hugging me since last night." Yun Che sweatdropped at the little girl's behaviour ever since he saved her from that burly man. She's been hugging his body close since last night, and now, she's piggybacking him. Currently, they are walking through the enchanted forest searching for the sanctuary after defeating dozens of mountain bandits last night. It's a good thing Retsu, and Mio left a few of them conscious so they could carry those who passed out back to their nest. Some of them did get traumatized as they experience the two ladies sinister side, but they won't bother anyone at this rate.
Since this a new area, the system needed some time to compile a mini-map for their HUDs and gathering enough data to map it out. So currently, they had to travel the old way to the city or settlement of this realm.
This little girl refused to let him go despite everything he did to get her off him. He put her down and ran away one time, but she instantly caught up and stuck her body to him. He wanted to push her out again, but she's been doing those puppy eyes all morning, and those eyes are bad for his heart.
"…." The little girl still keeps her mouth shut, but she's been smiling all morning as she hugged his back. But now that this happened, he had to pass Cang Yue to Retsu to piggyback this girl.
"*Ara-ara, She's keeping you to herself, Yuu-kun. Actually, it's kind of cute." Retsu made her remark as she watched the growing relationship between the two of them. Jasmine warned them that even a simple action could cause a ripple within a woman's heart, and a little girl won't be an exception.
"But, we can't sleep because of that." Mio sighs as she loses her opportunity to get to him now that the little girl has stayed by his side since last night.
"Korra, why didn't you let me join the fun?" Kon suddenly shouted to his ears as he didn't even realize that he, Mio and Retsu beat up dozens of bandits last night, leaving him out of it. Since they have no thick powers or intents, he didn't even realize such fights were going on. Even those bandits thought he was just a mere doll.
Due to the little girl's hug on Yun Che's back, he couldn't hitch a ride on his shoulder, so he had to fly on his own. Since he achieved Sky Profound Realm, he could pass by sprouting tiny wings behind his back after his lion form grew a little and unlock a new flying ability. At least he didn't have to transform into a streak of light just to fly. He might be plushy, but those wings of his show his first ability as a golden lion matching his godly species.
However, the little girl was kind of shocked seeing Kon's ability to fly and had a body akin to a doll. Well, she just saw Retsu pulled and store utensils into the air, a flying talking lion plushy, and their group's ability to overpower dozens of bandits in an instant makes her speechless and shocked. So, she just assumed these travellers were influential.
"Say someone who slept like a log." Yun Che replied with an annoying tone.
Retsu smiled, seeing the little girl finally smiled after yesterday's event, but she couldn't help but ask. "Anoooo…. If I don't mind asking. What is your name? You've been following us since yesterday. We could at least tell us that?"
"….." The little girl didn't say anything, but she lets him go before picking up a stick nearby. Then, she drew some letters on the ground and judging by the letters she has drawn. She slowly formed letters that spell her name. Moreover, he was pretty impressed seeing an ordinary girl like her can write correctly.
Huan….Xueli….
"That's your name?" Mio asked her, and she nodded her head.
"Then, I am Yun Che. This braided big sister here is Retsu and this butterfly big sister is Mio. The big sister in Retsu's arms is Cang Yue. She's kind of asleep at the moment so she couldn't say 'hi'." Yun Che finally introduced himself, Retsu, Cang Yue and Mio, to the little girl named Xueli.
Retsu and Mio smiled warmly at Xueli as they didn't want her to be scared again. Well, they did become demons last night, and Yun Che shielded them from her view. If not, she might be traumatized by them. She was kind of curious as to why the fuchsia haired big sister still hasn't woke up since yesterday. Now that she was not afraid of them like before, they could finally introduce themselves to her.
Her adorable eyes then turned towards the flying lion plushy next to him. Seeing her line of sight, Yun Che sends a silent signal to Kon to introduce himself. With a sigh, he flew towards her and landed on the ground in front of her.
"Yo… I am Kon-sama. A lion." The plushy introduced himself while raising his plushy hand. She looked at Kon with curious eyes as this is the thing that scared her from the bush back then. But, she was used to his presence yesterday, so she was not that scared anymore. Seeing him this close, she couldn't help but touch his body and gave it a little squeeze. What attracts her was the plushy sound from his body as she gave them a little squeeze. Since she was still a kid, the sound drew her attention as she squeezes his body for more of those plushy sounds. As for Kon had to endure this moment, or else he had to face Mio and Retsu's evil smiles for scaring the little girl.
Seeing her smiling like this, Yun Che was kind of relieved that she didn't fear them as before, but one thing crossed his mind. "Huan? Isn't that Xuyi's surname?" Seeing her carrying Xuyi's surname, he was kind of curious. Xuyi had no descendants, but it means she must have inherited it if she's taking that surname. It would make sense if she established a sector settlement under her name. Most clans and sects use the same surname despite being in different families. "Why didn't you tell us back then?"
"…." She kept quiet for a moment before she drew letters again with the stick. This time, she answered Yun Che's question.
"..don't know… never spoke since mama went sick…." As she wrote those words, her tears slowly falling from her cheeks to the ground. Her body shook as she sniffles between as she writes. In an instant, Mio hugged her to keep her comfortable.
"Okay…okay… That's enough. You don't have to tell us." Yun Che immediately raised his hands to urge the little girl to stop writing. It must be painful for her to write such a thing. She must be this tough for a six-year-old to be this mature. Even if she sniffles and Mio hugged her for comfort, she still wrote a few words they can understand. "Xueli likes big brother and sisters."
"For a six-year-old, you are surprisingly mature." But, when he spoke such a thing, Xueli looks at him while shaking her head. "Eh? You're not six?" She shook her head again and raised her hands, forming ten fingers indicating her answer.
"You're ten?!? No wonder you are surprisingly mature despite you're really small for a change." Then, he simply ruffled her head and praising her like a good little girl. As for Xueli, she smiled as it's been a while since someone patted her head and praised her. Seeing Mio hugging her and him ruffling her hair looked like their actual parents for a change.
"Ne…ne… Danna-sama, we looked like real parents, right?" Mio spoke with a happy tone as she hugged Xueli. He simply nodded while smiling towards Mio as he stood back up before holding Xueli's hand. "Now, let's get you back home."
Xueli nodded her head before she grabbed Yun Che's hand. Mio, however, didn't forget to shoot a look of triumph towards Retsu, which she hit her back with a jealous smile. Even though they are sisters, but they are still rivals with one another. At least, they knew her name rather than carrying an unknown girl behind them. They arrived at the edge of the main waterfall right in the middle of the barrier realm as they planned. For him, it was the most beautiful view he had seen ever since he arrived in this novel world.
The waterfall was sky-blue, and it was magical. It was swishing over the rocks joyfully as It was thundering down into the pool like a gigantic water spout. When it toppled into the ecstasy pool, it foamed it at the bottom. The rest of the collection was as straightforward as cellophane, enabling them to see down into the rocky bottom. Fronds of forest-green plants waved gently in the depths. The waterfall looked like a sheet of blue velour as it swished down. Its edges hemmed with whipped-white lines.
They could see a gaggle of geese grazing by the bank coupled with a rainbow over the massive waterfall, and the scene was picture perfect. A group of Amazonian ferns edged with saw's teeth, and the statue still added a tropical flavour. Maybe it's called Amazonian ferns in Yun Che's world, but maybe here, the name was entirely different. Whatever it was, it was none of his interest. The sweet nectar smell of the spring flowers perked up their spirits as they watched the flowing water came from above.
"Beautiful…." Retsu spoke underneath her breath as she, too, was mesmerized by the beauty of the place.
"Reminds of Niagara Falls for some reason." He yelled out instantly. Compared to Niagara Falls, that place looked smaller compared to this one. Even if they are at the edge of the waterfall, they still couldn't see the whole area unless they fly in the air observe the scenery from above.
"Niagara Falls?" Retsu tilted her head as another foreign word came from him again.
He realized he suddenly blurted out a place from his homeworld. "Oh…it's a famous waterfall from where I came from." He sheepishly replied.
"Your home world must be a beautiful place. Makes me wanted to visit in the future." Mio spoke with a cutesy tone.
"Yeah, it's beautiful." He smiled sheepishly again but didn't forget to remark his head as his mind drifted back to his homeworld. "Or…. what's left of it." As they were mesmerized by the beauty, Xueli suddenly tugged him from below, earning his attention. She looked at him in the eye before pointing a particular direction quite far from the edge. He might be foreign in the land, but if she pointed out somewhere, she must have triggered something in her head.
"You remember something?" He asked, which earned a nod from her. Xueli suddenly pulled him towards the said direction as they trekked through the enchanted forest once more. It wasn't long until they are out of the woods, but they found an obvious route on the ground. Judging from her view from the waterfall, she might have remembered something and brought them out of the enchanted forest. If she remembered the route, it means she must be out in the woods a couple of times. She got them out stumbled upon a road leading directly to the edge of the barrier and another one leading somewhere towards the middle of the barrier realm.
"So which way is your home?" Yun Che asked the quiet Xueli before she pointed her finger towards the road that leads to the middle of the realm.
"Guess this road leads to the settlement. Let's just follow it and see where it leads." Yun Che suggested to the others, and they nodded their head. Then, he suddenly shoves Xueli into a princess carry earned a shocking look from her. He smiled as he spoke, "Hold tight, Xueli. You might be surprised later."
He activated his profound flying technique and instantly floated into the air. He didn't want to fly before because he didn't want to shock Xueli as she's just an average human, but now that she revealed her name, it means she trusted him. Seeing that she is high up in the air, she instantly hugged him tightly and closed her eyes. Even after all of that, she still refused to speak a single word.
Retsu and Mio arrived next to him in the air as well, and they turned their eyes towards the surrounding. As expected, the view of the massive waterfall and the forest were magnificent. The whole realm was a spectacular sight. They made a mental note to fly to the floating islands to take a look. They flew across the Blue Wind Empire before and never once saw such beautiful scenery in this world. They stood in the air for a while until Xueli decided to open her eyes.
"It's okay. We won't let you fall." She nodded her head before turning her eyes onto the surrounding. She, too, was mesmerized by it as this is her first time soaring the skies. She never knew that this big brother she met yesterday and the two big sisters could fly. It is her first time seeing humans could soar the skies like a bird. As expected, the system was right about the people's nature in this barrier's realm. They might be from Profound Sky Continent, but they never were cultivators. They're just ordinary human beings who enjoyed life commonly compared to cultivators. In his world, cultivators were rare, but in this world, it is them.
As they soar the skies above them, Xueli's eyes never stopped recording the unforgettable moment she just witnessed. The birds flew next to them. The view from above the massive waterfall came from the mountains as well as rainbows over it. It was magical.
"Looks like someone enjoying herself." Retsu smiled, seeing Xueli enjoying the view from above.
"For us, this scenery might be common as air. To her, this is a miracle. Even back from where I came from, humans build devices to let them soar the skies just to see this kind of scenery. For her to see this kind of thing can be considered a miracle."
"She reminded me when the I could fly for the first time as well." Mio made her remark as she remembered her first experience as well. Despite being a divine being that lived for hundreds of thousands of years, she never had experience in flying. She merely moves from place to place using her spatial arts, but now, she had the joy of experiencing a human's life—a life with a purpose.
"Yuu-kun, over there…." Retsu spotted something from the corner of her eyes, and all of them turned their heads as well.
"So it was here after all." What they saw was not a tiny village or a settlement. It was a sect-like city, build on a floating island in the middle of the waterfall basin. It wasn't like Gao Ling City, but it was more like Floating Cloud City, only more minor. This time, built on a floating island connected by four bridges leading from the basin's edge to the city.
Usually, a city built with walls surrounding it, but this city didn't have any barriers. This place was a perfect place to establish a defence from any attacking armies as the only way to enter the city was through the four connecting bridges. Ancient wooden structures perfectly organized to have the feeling of a town and tall structures. There's plenty of lands used for agriculture and crops on the outskirts of the city. While the inner city used for people to live.
What instantly caught their attention was a small floating island suspended high in the air connected by a single white stairway. The island protected by a sphere-like Isu shield surrounding the small floating island. Whatever is in or on that island must be important to Xuyi. He made a mental note to check that place out later. It might probably the place where Xuyi wanted to lay her body, or it may be just an important place to her. Maybe it is where she once live after she established this city. Judging from the view, she could overlook the city from above while maintaining peace within the land.
In Yun Che's mind, it is impossible for a person like Xuyi, who held the secrets from the Apple of Eden, to establish a settlement where people could live independently. She built this place on top of her destroyed home village and made it better on top of a floating island surrounded by a waterfall basin. Besides, two thousand years have passed, and humans couldn't evolve and adapt to the flow of time.
Then, he felt a tug on his robe, and it was none other than Xueli. Her extensive and beautiful eyes widen towards him as she tugs his robe before pointing her finger towards the city.
"That's your hometown?" He asked again and only earned a nod from her.
"Looks like we're here ladies. Let's set down somewhere. Wouldn't want to scare to those nice people." All of them chose a nearby forest near one of the bridges to land. Xueli might not be scared of flying cultivators like them, but who knows what kind of people living in that city. There's no such thing as a perfect city where people lived in harmony, even among ordinary people. There are bound to be bad people lying around to prey on the weak.
The ladies decided to switch their exquisite kimono with traditional looking kimono, more like less bright colours than usual. Their clothes grabbed enough attention wherever they went, and only this time, they decided to change their looks again. Retsu chose to do herself with a plain purple and pink flowery kimono with purple obi. At the same time, Mio decided to use a simple black flowered kimono while Cang Yue remained the same. This way, they look more like ordinary traditional villagers back in Japan, but who knows what they look like in this place. Besides, they didn't even pack standard Chinese robes, and those plain kimonos might be enough rather than exquisite kimono.
Kon dashed underneath Yun Che's robe while he used his standard modernized adventure's outfit, but he decided to cover himself with a plain cloak to hide it. As he was getting ready, the voices of Retsu and Mio sounded in his ears. "Danna-sama….Yuu-kun…. How do we look?"
As expected, these girls looked beautiful in an ordinary outfit. Since he watches countless anime, the plain kimono looked kind of normal to him. "You girls looked beautiful and normal for a change." He spoke, earning a cute giggle from them. He admits these girls would look beautiful even with any clothes on them. He kind of wishes Shirayuki and Kuroyuki made men type clothes for a change. Guess exquisite beauties like then still looked beautiful in everyday civilian clothing.
After that, Xueli leads them straight to the bridge leading straight into the city. As expected, carriages pulled by horses and people came in and out nonstop from the small town. Only this time, they went into the city like ordinary civilians compared to cultivators. The bridge seems to be made from marble stone as it connects from the floating city's gateway to the gateway at the edge of the waterfall basin. It was pretty far to travel by foot. But, these travelling people seemed used to it.
Moreover, if carriages and people travel in and out, it means there's more than one settlement in this region. Probably some tiny villages, towns, clans or sects somewhere in the mountains and forest.
"Xueli, we're going to show you another trick. Better hold on tight and close your eyes." Xueli nodded her head before hugged his neck tight and closed her eyes. He gave the nod to the other two girls and...
Bzzt….
All three of them disappeared from the area as he activated his flash step. Now that he had proficient control over his flash step, he can use it to travel further distances, unlike short distances from before. He instantly arrived across the bridge without alerting people nearby. He flashed step behind one of the big rocks, followed by Retsu and Mio. As for Mio can't use flash step, but she had the spatial movement art that allows her to cover tremendous distances. It doesn't work like ripping up a space gate and travelling through it, but she could manipulate the space to execute faster movement like flash steps. Ever since she achieved the advanced stage for armament Haki, she unlocked or created more unique arts when she infused them with her spatial skills.
"Xueli, you can open your eyes now." As expected, she was pretty shocked seeing that they arrived across the bridge and landed on the edge of the floating city. She was pretty amazed that they came in less than a few seconds, and she closed her eyes instead of witnessing it. But, it was a good thing she did so as the speed could cause her to feel nauseous as she never travelled that fast before. He set her down slowly on the grassy ground. "Xueli, thank you for leading us into the city. You said before your mama went sick. Am I right?"
"….." She still didn't say anything, but she slowly nods her head.
"Then, can you bring us to her? If we know her sickness, perhaps we can cure her. Big brother and big sisters here are all doctors."
"….." Xueli looks down on the ground refusing to say anything, but she instantly hugs his leg and shows him her puppy eyes. She might not say anything, but those eyes of her were genuine enough that she wanted their help to save her mother. She brought them into the city, and it was right for them to pay her back. She knew that these people she met yesterday were mighty, but she wasn't sure if they could save her mother. Even the city's best doctors can't keep her, but she wanted them to at least try.
Yun Che lowered his body to the ground, meeting her teary eyes. He knew her intent as it was apparent enough in his eyes. She probably went to the forest searching for herbs needed to save her mother as he found a lot of herbs inside her cloth-like backpack while she was sleeping. Based on his speculation, a doctor from this city can't save her mother, but she still refused to believe it. So, she went into the forest to search for a cure only ended up getting lost.
He patted her head softly before he spoke with a gentle tone. "Because of your help, we're here in this city. So, we will do everything to save your mother because….. big brother and big sisters here likes you as well. Take it as our payment for bringing us here." He smiled earnestly, earning a slight blush from Xueli. She nodded her head before she gave him a small hug. Her mother probably didn't have any currency to support her as she was sick, and she wanted to find ways to cure her. The nature of greed doesn't apply to cultivators but ordinary humans as well. Only in their terms, those who have wealth prosper while the poor suffers. It was no different than the people of his world.
As expected, the people of this city lived on-farm stocks and agriculture on the outskirts of the floating island. Unlike the cultivators, most people here devoted themselves to the ancient way of survival, such as agriculture, mining, fishing and animal husbandry. Their products traded with people outside the city, and they seemed to be producing these stocks well and didn't even lack a single bit. Some might still live in poverty, but seeing these kinds of cultivation instead of martial arts makes this city an average human town for a change.
Xueli leads him by his cloak, and the ladies followed from behind. As expected, eyes were still on them, especially towards Retsu and Mio. One of the reasons was they wore clothing much different than these ordinary people, and he was carrying an unconscious girl with him. The city was no other than Floating Cloud City from up-close. Despite being inside this fantasy realm, people could still live generally with the magical wonders around them. They couldn't help but peeking up their ears and extend their hearings.
"Is that Xueli? She's been missing for two days and the city lord was worried about her."
"The city lord was a friend to her mother. That girl...she still looking for herbs to cure her mother? Poor girl."
"But, even the best doctor from the city said that she will never wake up anymore and this girl still come and go to the forest to search for a cure."
"That's what she gets for trying to follow her father's footstep."
"Who are those travelers with her? Look at that young man, he's quite a looker. He's even better than the young-lings of the city."
"Not only him, those two ladies behind him were beauties as well." As they walked through the city, the females were eyeing him instantly while the men around them fixed their eyes towards Retsu and Mio. Even with those plain clothing, the ladies still couldn't hide their beauties from the world—especially Retsu, who had a mature kind of beauty, while Mio was a cutie. Compared to the ladies of this city, they are like swans entering a small lake. Even had the eyes of those old and married men captured. They also didn't forget to look at the young man's unconscious girl carrying in his arms, who is also a beauty.
"Fuuuhhhh….. look at those beauties. My life would be complete if I could marry one of them."
"Maybe I could try my luck hitting one of them. I am quite confident with my look."
"Yeah, maybe you'll scare the ladies away with it."
The old gossiping ladies were disgusted seeing the men swayed by those ladies. "Hmph…. Young ones, I bet he committed an evil deed and that girl probably fainted because of it."
"Are they trying to find a doctor in this city? That girl must be carrying his child. As expected from good looking brats like them."
"Be that as it may, that girl he's carrying, she's one hell of a beauty. Reminds me of my younger days."
As they walked through the city, their Haki instantly picked up the conversation of those people around them, and they instantly sweatdropped. They can't expect good things to happen immediately, and trouble was bound going to follow them, but for now, he wanted to find a safe place to let Cang Yue sleep. As he heard those remarks from the gossiping townspeople, his eyes then turned towards Xueli. Poor girl, she's been struggling all this time to save her mother. How long has she been doing this thing? Even the gossiping old ladies knew her that well. She's one tough cookie to survive this long.
When they look closer, the city looked the same as the cities around Profound Sky Continent, only there are no cultivators like them, which is suitable for a change. He can expect no trouble from this city.
But he speaks too soon.
"Kyaaahhhh!!!!" Their walk suddenly stopped on its track as the sound of a woman's scream was suddenly heard nearby.
"Oi…Owner!! You won't mind if we borrowed her for a moment? Consider your protection fee this month is settled." Suddenly, three men stepped out of a nearby restaurant dragging a woman against her will. Two of them looked like middle-aged men, and another fat guy dressed similarly, just like the two men holding a big piece of meat in his hand. Judging from the way these guys dressed, they looked similar to those bandits last night.
These guys
...
"You…let me go!!! Please let me go!!" Her pitiful scream soon silenced as her mouth was forcefully closed by the man holding her. They were having right now is a woman probably in her twenties dressed like a common village waitress. She's quite pretty in the eyes of these people, and no wonder these men were interested in her. The man who silenced her mouth spoke at the same time, restraining her. "Oi…oi… you better keep your mouth shut. Our Boss here really likes quiet women."
"Don't scare her that much. She won't be much of woman if she's that scared." The other middle-aged man spoke. Seeing the poorly dressed bandits in their city, one of the surrounding people said, "Not these guys again….. Ever since they came here, the city became a lawless state because of them. Recently, more and more started coming here."
"Poor girl, she only started working there three days ago only to be captured by him and any girl taken by them was never seen anymore."
"Who's that fat guy?" One of the bystander whisper to another next to him.
The bystander instantly shushed him as he spoke, "You idiot! That's Wen Chai, the leader of the mountain bandits terrorizing the four bridges. It's because of them those people from the outside won't come here anymore. He came here every month demanding protection fee from the people."
"What about the law enforcers? Isn't their job keeping him at bay?"
"He had more people than the law enforcers could handle. Even if they went on war, there's no way they could defeat a lot of them at the same time. They have like hundreds of people in the mountains. So, they chose to let him be."
"Mountain bandit's leader? More people? Explains why dozens of them were there last night." He summarizes the people's whispers as he saw the men's attire and those bandits who attacked them last night were similar. It looks like this weird looking middle-aged man was their Boss, after all. Guess he would be surprised later to find all his men last night beaten up black and blue once he went back to his hideout. Those bandits last night probably hunted down travellers who stayed in the forest or people trying to cross the night through the road.
Then again, Xueli's mother is still sick, so he just shrugged his shoulder and decided to walk away. "Mehh… None of my problem. Xueli's mother comes first." It was none of his problems, and he wasn't meddling in others affairs unless it affects him. Sometimes, he wanted to keep quiet once in a while without caring about the matters around him. Despite all of the conflict, the people still refused to help that poor woman.
"Oi…brat…. Wait a moment…." Yun Che was instantly halted in his tracks as the three bandits before stepped in front of his party. As they stepped in front of him, all city folk decided to step aside from the conflict.
The bandit leader Wen Chai scanned them from head to toe before forming a creepy smile as his eyes laid on Retsu and Mio. "Hooo…. Those beauties around you seems more delicious than this woman." Wen Chai pulled the poor woman from before and pushed her to the ground. After seeing Mio, Retsu, and the unconscious Cang Yue, his lust instantly shifted to them. He could no longer care for the poor woman from before and lets her go.
With his harsh voice, he instantly spoke while barely contain his lust. "Oi…brat…if you value your life that much. Hand over those women behind you and the one you're holding as well."
"Poor kid, that's what he gets for bringing these women with him. Guess he didn't know Wen Chai is also famous for his lust for women."
"Not this again….." He sighs internally as this Boss wasn't present during last night's massacre. He thought that burly man who grabbed Xueli from before was the Boss. Well, he was muscular and had a weird moustache with him, and it looks like not. Moreover, he doesn't even know how many times he threatened with this kind of threat. Guess the men from the novel fantasy world only thinks about women all the time.
One of the bystanders spoke, "Oi…kid… just hand over them and kneel. There's no way you can defeat the legendary Wen Chai. The infamous leader of the mountain bandits."
Hearing the bystander, he sighs again. This city could only submit to their reign and lets them go for everything. "These guys…. I was hoping that trouble won't follow me into a mortal's city but never expected this one as well. Cut me some slack, man….."
"Oi…teme….. looks like Nee-san was right about you being a trouble magnet." Kon sounded beneath his robe. He gave Kon a little elbow with his preoccupied hands and spoke, "Its not like I wanted to be one. Besides, always the same shit over and over again. It's either treasures or women. At least cultivators knew beautiful women have exquisite background so they won't cause you trouble. Guess I can't use that mentality in this realm."
Xueli instantly dashed behind him to avoid the bandits' leader, but he already detected her presence. "Three beautiful women and a kid. You're a lucky kid."
One of the middle age bandits saw Xueli and smiled sinisterly. "Boss, that kid could fetch a high price in brothels. Why don't we take those women and sell the kid?"
"Hehe, these women are my types especially that braided girl."
"I like that unconscious girl in his arm. Damn, Boss…. Let's take them. I really wanted to taste her." The men urged their Boss to take action as they couldn't hide their lust any longer. The fatty Boss tosses the meat aside before suddenly drew his hammer, intimidating the people around him.
"Like I say. Brat, give those women and the kid or you will face a lot of trouble later."
Hearing their remarks, Retsu and Mio was instantly annoyed. Humans are humans, after all. They won't realize their mistakes until they fuck things up entirely. Guess they didn't teach them enough lesson last night and still wanted their bodies. With a dark expression, Mio spoke, "Danna-sama, can I kill them?"
He shook his head. "No, remember? We wanted to help Xueli. Not causing trouble for her."
"But…." Mio instantly backed down as she heard his orders. She's already robust, and if she shows her ability here, people might misunderstand her.
"Oi..brat…. Didn't you here what I just say? You're humiliating me like this. Never once a commoner like you disobey an elite warrior like me. Why don't you kneel down and beg for your life?" Wen Chai pointed his fat fingers at him, expecting him to comply with his orders. So far, no people in this city dared to disobey him, and this kid started to piss him off.
At the same time, Mio and Retsu were entirely pissed. They wanted to tear this guy apart for asking their fiancee to kneel to a mere human. Their looks like they now were devoid of their cute aura. They only wait for the green light order to destroy these men in front of them. Before they could flare any of their killing intent, Yun Che's voice within their minds instantly calms them down. "It's okay, you two. A mere mortal threat can't harm a thing or two. Calm down…."
"Grrrrrr….Haii…" Mio and Retsu instantly calmed down by his voice, and they still hid some of their killing intents. Then, Mio suddenly heard his voice again in her head. "Mio. You can use it as well right? Why don't you give it a test run?"
In an instant, Mio nodded before smiling sinisterly once more. She had chances to practice it, and she needed more time before she could complete it. Even though it's still under development, she should be able to use a gist of its power.
Seeing all of them refused to move, one of the men started laughing all of a sudden. "Boss, I think he's scared that he was not able to talk at all."
Fatty Wen Chai pointed his hammer once more towards them and spoke, "Hmph, Brat, you really don't realize how audacious that action of yours huh? I will say it one more time. Kneel down and beg…."
The men from before slowly moved closer to them like an intimidating Yakuza. "You better do it boy…..otherwise, you will throw away your life with just one mistake. Our Boss has limited patience."
Yun Che kept a straight face before he sighs "I am really sorry, I can't do that and I don't even have time for this." He simply walks with Xueli tagging behind him as they pass and push the two men out of the way and even ignore the fat Wen Chai entirely.
"What the hell's wrong with him?!?!!?" The nearby onlookers instantly shocked as they finally saw someone disobey a bandit boss entirely.
"Brat….. You're really courting death this time. Looks like killing you might teach these people a lesson." Wen Chai suddenly pulled the hammer from his waist and swung it downwards towards him. If this kid doesn't give these women, they just have to take them after killing this brat. Yun Che moves his body a little, avoiding the swung hammer entirely. He wanted to stop the swing, but he was preoccupied with Cang Yue at the moment. Xueli didn't know the things around her, and she closed her eyes to wait for the conclusion. He merely closed his eyes as he ordered…..
"Mio…"
Mio didn't do anything but the pupils in her eyes instantly contract. In an instant, a thin invisible aura released from her body to the surroundings passing all nearby pedestrians and the three men faster than the eye could see. Then….
Thud…..
Thud…
THUD…..
The surrounding people instantly heard the sounds of collapsing men, but Yun Che and the others simply walked past them along with the scared Xueli tugging his cloak. Now what's left on the streets were the unconscious bodies of the mountain bandits. The three men who harass them just now instantly lost consciousness before they could react. The eyes devoid of the sign of consciousness as their pupils remain white with their mouths foaming.
"EHHH?!?!?!" The surrounding people sounded as they couldn't believe their eyes seeing the invincible Wen Chai instantly collapsed to the ground.
"Wen Chai passed out?"
"Hey, did they just do something to them?"
"Did you see anything?"
"No…. they didn't even do anything. They just walk passed them and they just fall straight to the ground."
"Who are those youngsters?" The surrounding eyes suddenly shifted back to the backs of the youngsters, who instantly knocked out the torn of the city without doing anything. In an instant, all of them immediately swallowed their dry saliva in their mouth.
"I don't know… they just came into the city with that Xueli girl. Are they from the outside of the city?"
"Damn, Wen Chai won't take this thing lightly when he woke up."
....
Yun Che and the others walked past the gawking pedestrians, unaware that they triggered some kind of sensation among the city folk. Xueli led them outside the central part of the city into the plains area or the outskirts area of the floating island. It's faster for them to cut through the significant portion of the town to arrive at this area. Before this, they found out that they arrive at the southern gateway into the city, and Xueli led them towards the northern region. This island may look small from above, but down here, it is relatively large.
Compared to the inner part of the city, the outer part seems more peaceful. They can hear sounds of children's laughter as well as people doing everyday things for once. This is a normal realm, after all. Without cultivators, humans go on with their lives without the obsession of seeking strength for prosperity.
Now that they're away from the central part of the city, Retsu used her Tenteikura kido art to talk to Mio. "Mio-chan, I never knew you had it as well."
"Eheee, I awakened it when Danna-sama awakened my haki. He said that I should focus training Kenbunshoku and Busohouku instead of it because you and Danna-sama had already mastered it. So, I can start training it later. But, I got bored so I decided to train it secretly when everyone was asleep." Mio spoke internally.
"Well, even if you had the system helping you. You need experience to successfully mastered it. Retsu needed at least three days to master it even with the system's help but you know that she's much more diligent when it comes to training." Yun Che suddenly interjects their conversation.
Hearing Yun Che praising her, she had a slight blush on her cheeks, but there's one thing that bothers her. "But, Yuu-kun. I thought you need powerful killing intent as basis to awakened it. To think that Mio-chan awakened it as well."
"When I think about it, it sure makes Haoshoku No Haki look like a bargain sale for anyone but Nahhh, it doesn't have to be killing intent. It can be awakened by experiencing a very harsh life changing conditions. Back in my world, people can awaken it while experiencing a love one killed before their very eyes and developing massive amount of hatred. Not only that, it can be a harsh training condition and near death situation. If those conditions are met, it can awaken on its own." He started to remember how Doflamingo, Don Chinjao and Katakuri or even Ace awakened theirs. They have triggered a certain amount of conditions to awakened such a powerful haki. It realized its powers as conquerors and chose them to be the ones wielding such power.
Mio tried to remember all those conditions, but none of them rings any bell. "But, Danna-sama. I never experience something like that after you tamed me and my killing intent isn't as thick as Retsu."
He gave it a little thought, but he could give her a satisfying answer. "In your case, It doesn't have to be like that either. Retsu awakened hers just like you except her bankai was the one what unleashed it. In my opinion, both of you awakened that haki a long time ago. Probably in your previous lives." He once explained to them that haki doesn't originate from the body. It came from the depths of their soul. Even if someone possesses their bodies, they will not access their haki cultivation even if they wanted to. However, if their souls were to enter another body, they can use their haki successfully even if the body they used never cultivated haki.
"But, we have no memory of our previous life. Mio might be older but she didn't have any memories from her previous life as well." Retsu only heard the narration of her previous life from Yachiru, but it is like only hearing a tale from her. Reading and hearing the stories doesn't mean she had the experience and the feelings from those moments, even if she died in her previous life. It's useless if she doesn't remember anything about it.
Mio also started to remember her previous life as the Spider of Calamity. "That's right, all that I remember was I merely lived in the fabric of space and come out only when its meal time. No experience whatsoever." When she thought about it, Mio probably was an instinct-based godly beast. A beast that only attacks anything out of everything. When Yun Che made a contract with her, she was given a personality by the system. Her sanity restored, but she must have awakened her haki at some point. Probably during the multiple fights with the Azure Dragon. Even she doesn't remember much from that time.
Yun Che gave it a thought before he spoke, "Like I say, in your previous life, you two probably encountered something that may or almost killed you and you have no memory of it but the aftereffect of the awakening still lies within you. You did awaken them but it lies dormant within your soul as your godly powers back then overshadow your own willpower. Without focusing and realizing on it, it lies asleep within your soul until the system awakens them by balancing your powers and your will altogether. Besides, both of you are Death God and Godly Beast respectively. Literally and by right, of course you bypass those conditions to awaken Haoshoku No Haki." He remembered the day that Retsu died. She was killed when trying to awaken Zaraki Kenpachi's true power and unleashed her powers to their pure state, but Yachiru told them that her muscles were not as strong as her current. In that case, she awakened her haki when she died back then, and her Bankai a year ago reawakened it.
"Ahh, that explains it." Both of them nodded at the same time. There's no use dwelling back in the past. All they could do now is look forward to the future.
A thought came to Retsu's head. "But, Kon should be able to awaken it as well right? He is a Winged Golden Lion God, a powerful Godly Beast as well." However, her question answered by Yun Che with a flat tone. "The system said that he didn't possess enough power and killing intent to awaken it. Besides, if he is still a one hell of a pervert, he might still not ready to become a conqueror just yet. Let's just keep it that way."
...…....
"Ugghhhh…." The fat Wen Chai from before suddenly awaken from his slumber near the streets. Since he was the infamous leader of the mountain bandits, no one from the city was willing to help him, and the onlookers entirely ignored him. As he wakes up, he didn't remember what happened. All he remembered was threatening that brat from before, and the next thing, he was here all of a sudden.
"Boss, you're finally awake…." Fatty Wen Chai regained his consciousness only to be greeted by his two subordinates. However, they are not the same men from before as they started to regain their bearings, but they couldn't help by feeling shaken. The two men entered the city to look for their Boss. Only to be greeted by their bodies lying in the middle of the road.
Fatty Wen Chai shook his head before he spoke, "You… what happened?"
"That's our question boss. We found you and two of our brothers passed out right here all of a sudden." One of the two men who came later replied.
"Boss, what happened to you three?"
"I don't know. I felt chills all over my body at that time. That brat..."
"Brat?" The two men suddenly confused. To think that a brat managed to beat their Boss. "The brat from before.... He and those beautiful ladies. What kind of trick did they use?" Their Boss replied while rubbing his sore head from the fall.
"Brat and beautiful ladies? …. Wait, don't tell me…" The two men suddenly remembered yesterday's event and their Boss's description match them perfectly. Whoever that brat is, they wanted nothing to do with it.
Seeing their expression, Fatty Wen Chai pulled one of them by their sleeves and shouted on their faces. "Haa? You boys know something?"
The man nodded his head furiously before he started describing their appearance. "Boss…. Did he have a kid with him? A kid with ribbons on her side and a long ponytail?"
"Yeah…. That's the kid from before. She was with them." The fat Wen Chai replied to his bandit's question, but the next thing was the bandit suddenly plastered with a fearful expression on his face as if he had just seen a ghost. "Boss…. it's better if we don't pick a fight with those people."
"HUH?!?! What are you saying you coward? That brat insulted me and deny me from those women. Are you telling this Wen Chai to back off?" Fatty Wen Chai shook his bandit's body, knowing that he had to give up on his pursuit. The bandit raised his hands in defence and spoke with a threatening tone. "No…no… Boss. It's not what I meant. That kid..."
"I don't want to hear it…. Assemble a hundred of our boys right here in the city. That brat with the raven hair, the woman with the butterfly hairpin as well as that braided hair woman. Find those three…. If you found another unconscious red haired woman, bring her and those ladies to me. I'll show them what happens to someone who messed with this Boss."
One of the men who were with him at all times remembered something, and he immediately spoke, "Boss, I don't know what that kid use to knocked us out but I thought recognize that little brat with the ponytail from somewhere. She came sometimes to the forest to find some herbs but she managed to escape from us all the time. We tracked her house somewhere on the edge of the island. She didn't worth much at that time."
Fatty Wen Chai gritted his teeth as he formed a sinister smile. "That kid has gone too far. If those ladies won't come with this Boss and I'll just broke their arms and legs so they won't run anymore. Gather our boys from the forest and march to the end of floating island. We'll kill that brat and take those ladies by force."
"Boss, we mustn't kill them yet but bring that brat to grovel before us."
"Yeah, let show them how formidable we are in this region."
The other two men who found them instant grew fear from his eyes as he remembered the recent event from last night. "But boss…that brat…." One of them tried to warn his Boss but...
SLAP!!!! Before he could speak, a slap suddenly came to his face and sent him flying.
"You dare disobey me? Are you courting death?"
"No boss…. I won't dare…." The two men instantly prostrate before him as the fatty could now kill them if he wanted.
"Gather my forces or this hammer will smash through your thick head." Fatty Wen Chai left the two men before walking away with his other two men. They were oblivious that they just offended someone who just destroyed some of his men last night.
"Oi…. are you okay?"
"That idiot. He doesn't know who he just messed with. I am more afraid of those kids compared to our Boss."
"Look on the bright side. He might beat a few dozens of us last night but what about a hundred? There's no way that kid can beat all of us."
"I hope you're right."
......
Unaware of the things happening within the inner city, Xueli leads all four of them to the outer section. He expects Xueli's home to be here among the houses but what they didn't expect was her home was quite far away. She leads them to a small house in the distance at the edge of the floating island. To Yun Che, the plot of land near this house was quite big and surrounded by long and thick grasses all over. The place looks like it's abandoned for a long time. All three of them wondered at the same time how Xueli and her mother survived all these years.
They saw a lone house in a large land with dirt streets. One room with two wooden windows opened in the heat, by the winds and fogs of the waterfall area and raised on wooden posts. Their porch was a wooden box. A shed behind the house served them as a privy.
Xueli arrived at the broken door before slowly slide it open. Inside were a fireplace, two beds shoved against opposite walls, a table, one chair, and a cupboard. There were a few baskets, one with dirty clothes and a tin pail. They did find some candles for them to use as a source of light. The only signs of food were crumbs and mouse scat. The fireplace was equipped with an iron truss, a kettle, and a pot. The creaking sound indicates this door was long due to maintenance. The smell of old air that came from within was enough to show how Xueli lived her life. The house looked like it barely standing right now, and a small force is enough to tear the whole thing apart. There's hardly anything inside the house.
When the three of them entered the house, there was barely enough room for all of them. Yun Che immediately placed Cang Yue on one of the beds and tucked her comfortably before observing the house once more. The house looked small from the outside, and it is even smaller on the inside. It reminded Yun Che of a small ancient Japanese home in the old years of his world. Xueli opened the door leading to the only room in the house. When she opened the door, they were greeted with a presence of a woman in the room. She was lying on top of a bed made from straws and wood. She looked like someone who's been in a coma for a long time. Despite being asleep, the woman's beauty was still breathtaking, even for him.
"Wait…. this woman…. She seems familiar….." Yun Che was instantly stunned as he observed the feature of the sleeping beauty who was still asleep on the straw bed. Her features looked kind of familiar as he tried racking his memories once more. As he stretched his memories, his eyes instantly widen as he finally remembers the woman's features. Despite her currently unkempt self, she is that person. Not directly that person. But the person who shares the same features as her from his world.
"No wonder that Xueli looks familiar as well. She was still a kid and I didn't even recognize her. I only knew her adult form and not her child form. If her mother is that person, then this child should be...….. Wait…. her father should be...…." His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Retsu's voice as she slowly examines the sleeping beauty. "Yuu-kun, she's still alive."
"HOOO!! She's a real beauty." Kon suddenly sounded beneath his cloak. Yun Che couldn't help but agreed with him. Xueli's mother is a beauty. No wonder she could produce such a beautiful child, but her beauty is a much higher standard than the beauty standard of this city.
"Yeah…. She lied here for a long time and was able to survive even without water and food to sustain her. How could this be? She's not a cultivator. She's just a normal human." He spoke while observing the woman's features. Her feature was almost the same as Xueli, only older. Even with her messy self, she was gorgeous despite being asleep for a long time. Her long flowing hair looked unkempt for a long time, and her clothes didn't even smell. Long slender legs accompanied by delicate hands with creamy white skin made her look any different from female cultivators outside the barrier. She also had those two bountiful mounds under some ragged clothing. It seems like woman gained a lot of charm once they became a mother. No wonder married women tend to become targets for men back from his world. Despite being in a coma-like state, she remained as beautiful as a fairy despite being unkempt. If those bandits discovered her from before, she probably is sullied and taken by them.
Good thing their current house conditions take her out of their list.
"Danna-sama, who is she? A human is impossible to passed out this long. Are you sure she's not a cultivator? She's even as beautiful like those female cultivators."
"She looked like she was preserved to be in the state before she fainted."
Seeing Yun Che kept staring at the woman's features, Retsu suddenly nudged his side. "What's wrong, Yuu-kun? You stared at that woman's feature for a while now. Is something wrong?"
"No, she looked familiar as if I met her somewhere. Probably from where I came from." Yun Che couldn't tell them that he met the counterpart of Kozuki Toki of this world. She might not be the real her, but she is the Toki of this dimension. Then, Xueli should be the younger form of her daughter. He only remembered her adult form based on the manga, but to think that the little girl he rescued from the forest resembles her entirely. The only different thing is both mother and child doesn't have any green hair. Both of their hair was completely black. Only a beauty could produce such a beautiful daughter. The only thing was she didn't have a son in this world. He shook his head from her looks and focused his head in to heal her. He wondered if her father matches his descriptions as well. Wherever he is...
"Ahh... its been a while since I saw familiar anime characters in this world....Wait.wait... now that's not the time for it." He shook his head about the appearance of another anime world character and decided to focus on the task at hand. "Xueli, how long did she passed out?" He asked her for confirmation, but as expected, Xueli kept her voice to herself. He decided to bypass this trick of hers. He focused his mind before gently tapped her forehead, earning a curious gaze from her. She widens her eyes as she saw the finger that wiped her forehead was glowing with some energy, and instead of widening her eyes again, she was entirely shocked at what happens next.
"Xueli, can you hear me?" She heard voices from her mind, and it was similar to the man in front of her. Then, he continued, "It's okay…. If you can't use your voice. You can at least use your mind's voice right?" She nodded her head as the big brother in front of her was full of tricks, and she didn't even know who he was, but she had the feeling that she could trust him.
Then, she answered back a sweet voice in his mind that match the little girl's appearance. "Bi…ig brother…. Who…are you?"
"Xueli might be the only one who know this. Big brother and sisters here are actually cultivators." He decided to reveal they are true nature to her.
"Cultivators…." Xueli's expression looked puzzled as she never heard of this term before.
"You can say, we're stronger than normal people."
"That's why big brother and sisters can fly?"
"Yeah…. We can do a lot more than that. Anyway, Xueli…. Why do you refused to talk?"
"I don't know... Xueli never tried to talk the moment mama went to sleep a year ago."
"A year?!?! She's been in this state for a year? What about your father?" But his question seems to cause Xueli to go quiet, but tears suddenly covered her eyes again.
"Before mama went to sleep, she was really sick. Papa went into the mountains to find herbs to cure mama. But, he went missing and never came back. Mama was really sad. When she went to sleep, mama was crying because it's her fault papa went missing." She started sniffling once more as she remembered her mother went to sleep with a heavy heart. It is a good thing she didn't commit suicide because of grief, probably because her love for her daughter is powerful.
Yun Che patted her head, reassuring her. It was personal for her to tell this to someone she just met yesterday. "It's okay…. it's okay….. Big brother shouldn't ask such thing. Especially someone you just met."
She started to hug him as he wiped her tears with his robe. "Xueli doesn't know why…but..... She really likes big brother and everyone thought mama died because she missed papa so much."
"But, no one took pity on you." Retsu felt a heavy heart as she saw the house's condition. She's been living in this kind of condition for a year. Without her mother to support her, she's been living like this. Come and go to the forest for the sake of her mother.
She shook her head, denying that the people around did help her, like giving her something to eat as she was only a little kid. She couldn't survive on her own. "They send me food sometimes but all Xueli ever wanted was mama to wake up again." Yun Che proceeds on comforting the young girl. The sadness is too much for her to bear. It's enough that he deals with one Qingyue and not another one. He has to stop it before it's even begun.
Everyone nodded at her situation, but one thing still doesn't fit in this situation, and Mio was the first one who spoke. "But, is she really a human? She didn't even age." They all can agree on one thing. Humans can go into a deep coma, but they needed supplements to sustain their body function, but Xueli's mother didn't even need anything. She peacefully lay on top of the straw bed like a sleeping beauty awaiting the day she woke up from her slumber.
"There's a lot of question need answers right now." Yun Che had his thoughts about her mother, but it was interrupted by the sound of her lovely voice once more. "Big brother...you asked Xueli why she won't speak. Mama said Xueli's voice is gentle but also dangerous."
"Wait…dangerous? Okay…this is new…." All eyes turned towards the lovely sights of Xueli.
"Mama once said that Xueli's voice can attract the animals from the forest. Before she went to sleep, she forbids me from using my voice. I don't want to use my voice anymore, big brother. It really hurts." She spoke from within while pointing towards her throat. No wonder after she screamed a few times back then, she was holding her throat back. It must hurt a lot for her to use her voice a few times.
"But, she screamed back then from the forest. Shouldn't something have happened back then?" Mio made her remark. All of them remembered she screamed when Yun Che threw Kon towards her and when that burly man grabbed her head. His sounds of desperation should attract something, but nothing's happening. Yun Che put on his thinking cap, thinking of an answer. Her story might not be believable, but this is a fantasy world. Besides, she's not the type of girl who made up things for attention, especially since her mother is currently sick. "I am not sure."
Then, he struck with a realization. "Wait, the system could analyze her for sure. Even if we didn't get everything, at least it could tell us something."
"System, can you analyze the mother and child? We need to know what is going on with these two." He spoke internally to the system, and the latter immediately perform a scan on Xueli's delicate body.
[Ding…. Analyzing…..]
[Transmission... Receiving… Data Acquisition Complete.]
[Displaying Result...…..]
[Ding.....]
Yun Che turned his eyes towards the newly acquired scanned data on the notification from the system, and it was enough to put him in shock.
"What the heck?"