In just a short while, the town seemed to have gone down hill.
As someone who was apart of the Shou Clan, he knew the secret routes to enter the city and thus made it in without a problem arriving at the underground market.
Immediately he felt multiple gazes land on him but then pass over and away.
He quietly scanned the surroundings quickly noticing that the underground market was flooded with weapons and armour which looked foreign and clearly had crests scratched off which told him one thing.
War.
A great battle had taken place.
As he progressed through the underground marketplace he soon happened upon a secret exit he'd made as a child, crawling up and out he arrived in the devastated city.
The great shrine to the Heavenly Cloud God, Mikazu, had been torn down and the smaller ones badly damaged.
The scent of blood was still strong.
Walking through the town, many things could easily be discerned.
From the broken statues it was clear that whoever had done this was here with religious intentions, wanting to fight over it even.
From the dead soldiers, it was clear that whoever had come was at least as strong at Lord Sea Spring, or else the lord would have directly crushed them to mincemeat the moment they arrived.
Shou Xin calmly took to an alleyway, a wry smile lighting his face as he saw it reflected before him.
"Sea Spring Executioner Shou Xin, wanted for terroism, religious fanatisism, serial murder, Disturbing The Dao, Tresspassing, Robbery, Assault and the list goes on, damn. I'll be wanted for more crimes than my father was at this rate," He calmly grinned, "Well, at least I can say I've surpassed him in one aspect."
His gaze lingered on a number at the bottom.
"One hundred gold serpents… not bad." He frowned, "Is this what you risk your life for?"
Drawing the Sea Spring Sword, he quietly looked around as a few familiar gazes arrived on him, appearing out of the alleyways surrounding him.
Killing intent slowly began to rise around him diffusing out like a wave causing his figure to become horrifying in their eyes and his words demonic.
"Speak."
"Oh Great Patriarch! We have heard of your evil deeds and have come to test our hands, in the tradition of demons, if we lose, we will submit!" A woman stepped forward, haggard and struggling.
His eyes narrowed into slits.
"Demon? Do they really think... Ha..." His frown turned violent as he slowly began to move, "...this isn't funny at all."
Due to the overwhelming nature of his killing intent which had been extracted from countless lives, many of them simply could not move well at all, sluggish and slow.
His blade, like a scythe cut one after the other but carrying a great control he didn't kill a single one.
Nearly fifty people were all defeated in a few breaths, though, they were all extremely weak…
Looking over them, he felt that his kindness had just landed him fifty burdens and in an instant, he made a choice.
"Listen well!" His voice rushed out thunderously, "Your lives are no longer! You are now dead, and belong to I, and I alone! We carry no special names nor creeds! The only law is my word! The only justice is my actions! We are Shou."
The many people felt terrified, but Shou Xin didn't care.
He had to choose between carrying fifty burdens, or, gaining fifty pawns.
While his heart was kind due to his upbringing, it was also capable of immense cruelty due to the same.
"Follow me."
--
In the underground, a huge stir had brought chaos!
Shou Xin the wanted executioner had returned declaring that the Shou Clan was back thirsting for blood!
Everyone in the underground market felt their bones chill.
It was no secret the families had taken severe damages and now there were only the Bosses to protect what they had left which caused even more unease.
If Shou Xin took over… they shuddered.
The Shou Clan was a ruthless clan of killers whose regard for life was like the average persons regards for rocks.
----
Within a large pavilion in the slums, the old Tuli Pavilion which was renamed to the Shou Pavilion, Shou Xin sat with a dilemma.
"Where is the food? How did the city fall so fast?" He called out.
Many of the regular citizenry couldn't attest to the second question as they had no idea only remembering the panic.
"Head, after the attacks the markets shut down. Merchants began stock piling up everything at the docks and I've heard rumors that they'll be gone soon. They're selling at astronomical prices from their warehouses in the mean-time." The same haggard woman, Yui Luo, said.
Glancing around the room he thought.
'The town's defenses are down. The lord must be injured from fighting whatever enemy had come. The underground is most certainly in chaos, but the nobles not doing a thing means they're in on it. We can't attack the docks or we'll be killed by First Chain Experts.' He quickly dismissed the theft.
"Ah…" Once his train of thought reached there, he had a realization, 'This town is fucked.'
Naturally, the second half was only in his head.
'With the nobles sponsoring the merchants, and the merchants who give fee's to the syndicates which go back to the nobles, in less than a month this place will be devoid of merchants, syndicates and nobles leaving only the people floundering and there's nothing to be done.'
'Burn it?' Though he shook his head instantly, 'Impossible. There will be First Chain Experts including the Bosses of the other families. Perhaps if the nobles get desperate, they'll send out their few Second Chain Experts.'
"Spread the word. I am taking in people. But tell them the truth, they will lose all rights once they enter this place and to leave means death." Shou Xin pushed off his knees as he stood up slowly, "I will find food."
"We can come with you!" Yui Liu shouted excitedly.
"No." Shou Xin stepped out from the pavilion, vanishing.
'If I allow them to gain the knowledge of getting food, it will spark a rebellion. If I alone know of the method and control the flow, they will bend and break at my will.' He thought lightly, recalling the classes he took so long ago, 'Control the basic needs, control the world.'
He sighed.
----
After his leave, the city was thrown into another uproar, the people heard of food after days without taking a single bite and turned ferocious not caring about the stipulations.
Those above looked down in disgust.
----
Within the forest, Shou Xin slowly made his way back to the cottage, his dark complexion and every hint of killing intent vanishing.
He'd been gone for a whole day and then some. Just getting his current number of followers a residence took a long time.
As he arrived he found Feng Wuqing pacing and a thought appeared in his head.
With a smile he snuck up behind her and, "Boo."
"Ahh!?!" She threw whatever she had in her hand, her elbow almostly cleanly striking his chest, though she pulled back last minute only knocking him a step back.
His smiled grew, "I've returned with prey. It took a while to catch, I apologize if I worried you."
'With Sea Spring's current condition, they couldn't retaliate no matter what they tried or else I will lead an assault onto their docks and destroy it all. Bounty hunters might try and sniff out this place but…' He glanced at Vienna who had been sleeping in place, '...it should be fine.'
"You! You're terrible at hunting!" Feng Wuqing shouted angrily as she stomped away, "I'm hungry!"
He smiled wryly, "Aye aye."
Cutting the meat of the Giant Rabbit he'd brought back on a board, he quietly began to preparation in the mean time as it softened in the pot he entered his Inner Sea.
The place was a bloody wreck.
Each time he had invoked his Killing Intent the beasts would run even more wild trying to slaughter one another and in the process he had been hit a few times, but the Mound was tightly packed with the Killing intent like the toughest adhesive, the waves of Primeval Qi smashing into him simply rolled off.
A rock does not fear the waves and a mountain does not fear the sky.
'What does a mound not fear?' He wondered idly as he drained the Primeval Qi from below, '...both?'
'A rock is born not to fear the waves, a mountain is born to reach for the sky, but a mound is built up painstakingly so that it might never fear the waves, nor the sky.' He nodded as he quite liked that.
The cycle of being struck by lightning and then absorbing, back and forth continued on for a while until his ears twitched.
"It's ready!" He called out to Feng Wuqing who was who knows where.
The sound of light pattering footsteps arrived and he felt a light weight land on his shoulders for an instant before becoming weightless.
"You're a real trashy bastard, leaving the girl all alone to fend for herself while you went off galavanting with the other trash, you know that?"
"I don't want to hear that from Master who threatened to kill that very girl more than once." He casually said as he cut the meat into bite-sized pieces, "Besides, I'm doing it for her."
'Why the hell would I want to go back to Sea Spring Town if not for that dream? She brought me back to life, the least I can do is die somewhere before they find her so that she might yet not be dragged in and lose her life as well,' He thought as he watched Feng Wuqing appear like a specter beside him, 'The situation in Sea Spring Town is my luck.'
He tapped her lap before placing the plate over it, making sure to let her know in advance unlike the last time.