The Whistling Thorn Sect was built around a large riverstream. This stream was responsible for the growth of agricultural crops as well as the daily hydration of the sect members. Furthermore, the stream was sourced from a waterfall cascading down from the steep valley blocks shielding the sect's location.
The valley protected their sect from being found easily, and was one of the rare natural landscapes that were easy to protect and hard to attack. This meant that any intruders or invaders had to enter through a choke point as the valley had only one entrance.
Lush verdant flora populated the area, some of which were exotic plants that could only be found in the valley. One such plant was known as the Happy Fun Lotus, named as such by the sect's top poison master.
He claimed that anyone who ingests the petals of such a flower whether it be mixed in a bowl of porridge or bottle of alcohol will surely have a very good time enjoying life.
So far his claim has yet to be proven wrong since anyone who tried the flower somehow ended up dead within 24 hours. Due to the extreme efficacy of the Happy Fun Lotus, the poison master had uprooted every single one of the flowers and grew it in his personal backyard.
After the sect learned of his selfish ways, he mysteriously disappeared the next day and the Happy Fun Flower was replanted in its original spot on the river.
Gu Luofan kicked off his wooden sandals and stepped into the river. His feet shifted slightly as the currents tried to pull him away, but he mustered qi into his legs and soon waded through the waist-high river as easily as on land.
He was tasked by his teacher to retrieve the Happy Fun Lotus and several other poisonous plants. The reason being that his master intended to teach him how to create a poison that could probably even kill the sect patriarch.
Obviously, Gu Luofan had voiced out his doubts about that statement's validity to which his master had told him that she would be giving the poison to the patriarch. If it failed, she'd try creating a new poison tomorrow. If it succeeded, she would take the position and shower Gu Luofan with countless rewards for being her only disciple.
Sighing aloud, Gu Luofan could not help but pity the sect master. His favourite junior sister had been trying to kill him for the past ten years now.
Soon Gu Luofan found a sweet-smelling lotus with bright orange petals growing on top of a moss-covered spot of the river. Waddling closer, he reached out to collect the Happy Fun Lotus only for the lotus to suddenly rise several metres high as a scaly green figure stood up.
Long, curved nails jutted out of its webbed fingers. With a mighty roar, its toothy maw filled with scraps of flesh expanded wider and wider. This creature was known as a Moshui, and it was a race of river demons that lied on the bed of the river waiting for prey.
They were created by the sect master to kill people so that the carnivorous fishes in the river were provided with fresh corpses to dine on ensuring they do not starve to death. It held the strength of 4 Star Pugilist, but none of the martial prowess present in one.
This unfortunately meant that the beast was an entire realm higher than him since he was only a 3 Star Pugilist. Gu Luofan skipped backwards as the Moshui slammed arms the size of his head down onto his previous position. He was now reconsidering pitying the sect patriarch.
Pulling out a fine black powder from the pouch slinged across his shoulders, Gu Luofan slapped water onto the precipitate and threw the mixture into the creature's singular eye. A shriek of pain echoed from the monster's throat alerting several sect members fishing in the river.
"Is that Senior Brother Gu?" One of them asked the person standing next to them.
"I think so. Should we help him?"
"Go ahead if you wish to die. Feng Tian will unleash his wrath on whoever dares help his rival."
Upon seeing this scene and after a short conversation, the two calmly smiled, ignored Gu Luofan, and continued fishing. After all, the Whistling Thorn Sect did not have a single kind hearted samaritan in its ranks. The strong thrive, the weak perish.
Gu Luofan marked their faces down before taking another step backwards. The Moshui charged forward screaming in fury. The mud beneath his feet trembled with the weight of the creature's vibration. This displaced Gu Luofan's stance, forcing him to throw himself into the water as he dodged the creature's charge.
He only had time to lift his head out before a slimy fist sledgehammered his face back down. Panic scattered his train of thought as the Moshui sat down on him, pressing its entire weight onto his body, and trapping him underwater.
A minute passed, and Gu Luofan had started to drown. Two minutes passed, and Gu Luofan only heard the ringing in his ears as the corners of his vision turned white. He had lost the strength to struggle and as he watched helplessly as the Moshui roared once more in triumph, a blurry figure jumped onto its head.
'Master?' That was the only person Gu Luofan could think of who would willingly try and save him. Unfortunately, the spark of hope in his heart was extinguished as the Moshui grabbed the person and bit their head off with a single bite.
Someone who couldn't even react to the Moshui's grab had to be below a 2 Star Pugilist, and thus was useless in this situation. Realising that there was no way out, Gu Luofan stopped struggling and relinquished his will to live. This genius was now dead.
That was until time started moving thirty seconds back.
....
Ling Yun gingerly massaged his throat. This was the first time he had experienced having his head eaten. He was on his way down the hill his teacher's house was built on, and thus found himself near the riverstream just in time to see Gu Luofan being drowned by a tall, green scaled creature.
For some reason, it reminded Ling Yun of a certain talking sewer turtle. Although Ling Yun had joined the sect and lived thirteen years of hardship; his soul was still relatively clean compared to the other sect members.
He still had the moral ethics of a modern day human, and when he found a man being harmed by a strange monster, his first reaction was to be amazed at the existence of said monster. His next reaction was to help the man.
Thus, he had jumped onto the creature expecting it to be like those tales of a martial hero single handedly taking down a monster with a single blow, only to have his head eaten. Ling Yun knew he could just leave and pretend he didn't see anything, but that would mean letting a man die.
No one was innocent in this sect, but everyone was human. If he watched someone die without helping, then nothing would separate him from his cruel siblings. The siblings who sold him off, and the siblings who were responsible for the worst years in his life.
Ling Yun was not a hero, but Ling Yun was not Ling Xiaojun. So he grabbed the dagger his teacher gifted him, and proceeded to get himself killed.