"What are you doing?"
"Getting his bounty."
"Aren't you a criminal, will they even give it to you?"
"Executioner's can do whatever they want within the law, as long as they maintain the status quo we are treated like humans."
Vienna nodded as though it were some sort of a great job.
Arriving at the city carrying the head which had gone icy blue, the guard didn't hesitate to stop him, yet, that was not all.
"What is this?" A familiar pair of twins were at the gate.
Little Spring and Young Sea, the guardians Lord Sea Spring had brought with him from the Exiled Court's Academy.
Shou Xin bowed slightly and raised the head, "The Tuli Pavilions Boss, or so I was told. I've come to collect his bounty."
"Taken up bounty hunting as a side job, scum?" The head of the guard, whom he was intimately familiar with, chipped in like a cold wind on a summer day.
Hu Ji, a simple name for a simple man.
During the Shou Clan's reign within the underground, he alone had tried to fight them, or, better said his father had, and when his father died he took over towards the last year the Shou Clan stood before the current lord exterminated them.
To say he bore a terrible hatred, would be an understatement.
"They came to me. Disgruntled with the lord for having their brother executed, they thought to get even with me, terrified of the lord's strength." Shou Xin didn't care at all about Hu Ji's words only explaining the situation.
Hu Ji was about to speak when another voice cut in.
"I remember his face, it is their boss. We meant to capture him as well back then, but there was no evidence." Little Spring said glancing at Young Sea.
"Come with us."
The two neither asked questions nor cared for answers only expecting compliance at once and Shou Xin did not care to be disobedient.
His face, emotionless from start to finish, revealed nothing as he passed through following them, Hu Ji's eyes burning holes into his back.
---
A small wooden house, in a small corner of the city. Rundown to hell, but it stood like a sinner trying to lie their way into heaven.
"This will be your reward."
"On one condition."
Shou Xin looked at neither of them and opted to look down waiting for them to continue.
"You will be our little officer."
"Handle the dirty work."
Shou Xin didn't miss a beat.
"Yes…" He paused seeking for a title to call them as, "...fairies."
"Huhu, you know your words well." Young Sea put a single finger on his bowed head and he felt as though he might be crushed by it, "Words are a scary thing, keep them to yourself, lest asked."
Little Spring glanced over at the two and spoke, "We are the Dao companions of Lord Sea Spring. Remember that."
Though Shou Xin didn't know what that meant exactly, he knew what companions were, and so he could connect the dots.
Just as he was about to reply, he held it not knowing if to speak.
"Well done. Your title is the Sea Spring Executioner, but while you're on task for us, you are nameless."
Not original at all. Shou Xin thought.
He nodded and the weight was lifted from his head.
"Stay here from now on, remodel it as you see fit, do whatever you like, but you will stay here and wait for orders." Young Sea took a half step back and paused, "Ah, well, take good care of the remaining Tuli Pavilion as well, since it's already begun, at least finish it."
With that, Young Sea followed by Little Spring left.
"Huuu… see, that's a good disciple right there. She has potential to at least attempt to master her art." Vienna appeared and said casually, "Yet you, my dear Trash, can hardly absorb a single drop of a mortal's Primeval Qi without dying. Work hard."
Shou Xin wanted to retort, but found that he was right in every aspect but one.
"My name is Shou Xin!"
"Is it?" Vienna suddenly radiated a horrifying pressure.
Shou Xin who had been exposed to this pressure daily for two months felt no less terrified, only a bit braver, "Y-yes!"
"Good." Vienna said, "You have grown a little. Trash is too harsh."
Shou Xin felt a little grateful his play had worked out.
"Little Trash it is." Yet his hopes were shattered.
He dared not ask for more, not right away.
Instead he made himself familiar with the rundown old building which may well serve better use as firewood.
Looking it over he decided he was most certainly not sleeping inside lest it all collapse on him and kill him, instead opting to sleep up in a tree nearby, though not yet.
Having let go the other's upon the hill, Shou Xin felt a pinch of regret since now he had no other choice than to find and kill them.
"I'll tell you where they are, if you make a deal that you'll devour all of they're Primeval Qi."
He felt concerned by the sudden offer which seemingly had no drawbacks.
"Deal?" He was not one to spurn good fortune however, due to a suspecting mind.
Immediately, he could see a scent trail along the ground and slowly they all began to fade until only a single one was visible.
Following, it slowly lead into another, and another, and another until many of them had gathered all at a building not far from his new residence at all.
A pavilion of sorts, a bar.
Counting the strands, he knew at the lowest, ten men were inside the bar.
"Regrets always come late." Vienna's gloating tone appeared in his ears.
Absorbing a single droplet of Primeval Qi had almost killed him, to try and not only fight these ten at once, but to absorb it all at once as well was… suicide by greed.
Shou Xin took various steps back into an alleyway.
As the last vestiges of day time became night, various people came stumbling out of the bar wasted, it seemed that after the terror they experienced during the day that they had sought to drown it away with alcohol.
News of the Tuli Bosses death had already spread all around the city by this point.
To all but these men.
Why? Because they had holed themselves up, drinking and celebrating in advance waiting for their boss who would never arrive.
As they split apart, Shou Xin began to move.
Appearing behind one of the men like a specter his blade screamed as it left the sheath, killing intent flashed stunning them for a brief moment enough to tear out the backs of their throats.
In a flash of terror, three men had died and like the wind on a chilly night, he went as fast as he came.
There was not a scream, not even a sound.
Hiding away in the alleyway, Shou Xin felt the drops of Primeval Qi falling into his void of Inner Sea.
The drops were caught by the mound and the tiny speck of light which is Shou Xin's soul now surrounded by Primeval Qi droplets began to viciously purify them.
With the help of the mound separating them and only allowing a single drop in at a time, he was able to forcefully integrate them with higher efficiency than before.
He allowed his instincts to lead him in this process.
Watching this, Vienna felt a bit disappointed.
"If only a shred of his instincts were to become his talent instead." Vienna lamented, "Unlucky little trash."
Shou Xin who couldn't hear any of this focused whole-heartedly on the Primeval Qi.
Soon enough, he had absorbed them all.
With his new technique, he had managed to properly isolate and split them apart into even smaller pieces making the entire process far simpler.
Yet, it was not complete yet.
For each drop of Primeval Qi, two small bolts would strike his mound.
Gathering all of the pure Primeval Qi which had turned into his own at the very center around his little speck of a soul, he managed to resist it, but lost a great portion of strength he had just gained.
It was as though the Great Path was telling him that there is no easy way to the top.
After the pain had subsided, he began his hunt once more but not before dragging the corpses of those he killed back to the Tuli Pavilion which had become empty now.
It was a long, arduous night.
At random, huge bursts of killing intent would appear like a lethal blow in the minds of the unsuspecting.
However, as the saying goes.
If you hear the shot, it wasn't for you.
By morning, Shou Xin dragged his battered body to the rundown place.
His strength had risen ever so slightly, the Great Path not pulling punches on account of his shoddy talent, not at all.
But the job was done.
Word quickly spread throughout the city that the Tuli Pavilion had been brutally massacred within their shop at night.