Hu Zong moved his hand towards her to hold, waiting for Xue Lan to respond.
The woman looked at him and the others again, there was a little less fear and a bit more trust in her eyes as she took his hand. Pulling her up, he turned and pointed at the fire.
"We were just about finished making our dinner. It's not incredible but it tastes quite good!"
"I- alright... thank you."
Xue Lan tried not to look at the others, following Hu Zong timidly. Together, everyone gathered around the fire and sat down, waiting for their dinner to finish cooking. During this, they began to ask Xue Lan questions.
"Do you know why you were here or how you got here?"
"What about your name? Do you remember that?"
"Where are you from? Do you remember anything about your family?"
Each and every question was met with the shaking of her head and an unclear answer. The only thing that they could find out from her was that she was a widow.
"I had a husband and a son but they were killed, they had offended the wrong person and died for it", she revealed.
The Azure Flags were quiet, not knowing how to respond to such a story. It wasn't until one of them sighed that the silence was broken.
"They are nobles, what is there to be done? They wield power and authority on a whim.'
"Right, right, certainly there are those with good hearts but more often than not, they are corrupt."
Hu Zong then chuckled.
"Right, that is why we are a mercenary group, moving from city to city, going wherever our next job takes us. Things like nobles and politics will only tie us down", he said.
Xue Lan then gazed at all of them, resembling something of a timid animal.
"You are all cultivators then?" she asked.
"O-oh, yes, we are!"
The leader of the Azure Flags scratched the back of his head, feeling slightly embarrassed as he remembered what he had told her earlier.
"I may have exaggerated when I said that we are strong experts but I can assure you that we will keep you safe throughout this journey," he said.
There was a look of interest on Xue Lan's face as she began to ask them a few questions.
"What is it like being a cultivator? I've never met one before, much less talked to them. I've seen them but they're such mysterious people."
Hu Zong answered happily.
"Being a cultivator is amazing, to be able to achieve great feats and do things that only children could dream of."
And then one of the other members added on.
"However, it is a cruel path. Not everyone can be a cultivator after all. You must be evaluated for your potential from a young age and then the resources needed to cultivate are either expensive to buy or dangerous to obtain on your own."
"The act of cultivating itself is difficult", said another member.
Xue Lan furrowed her brows at the comment.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"This... I suppose there's no harm in telling someone like you", said Hu Zong.
He checked the pot that had been cooking over the fire before handing bowls to everyone. Handing the last bowl to Xue Lan, he sat down beside her to explain.
"In cultivation, one's level is divided by stages and realms. There are five realms and ten stages in each realm. The stages themselves don't really have names, you could just say first stage or second stage."
"Then what about the realms? What are they called?" she asked, showing genuine curiosity.
"The realms? Well, there's the Mortal Realm first, then there's the Spirit Realm, the third is the Sage Realm, the fourth is the Divine Realm, and the fifth is the Immortal Realm. To put it into perspective, three of us are at the fifth stage while the other four are at the third stage. All of us are at the Mortal Realm", said Hu Zong.
One of the other members took out their sword and stepped toward one of the nearby trees.
"I know that we are at the very early stages of the cultivating but our strength is leagues beyond a normal person."
As they spoke. they stood right in front of a tree, looking at the tree before taking a stance. Wielding their sword with both hands, they took a breath and pulled the sword back. And as they breathed out, the blade flashed, cutting across the tree trunk in an instant.
What followed was silence before the tree creaked and moved, revealing a diagonal cut right through its body. Moments later, it cracked and toppled down, falling flat on the ground.
They turned and sheathed their sword before turning around to look at her.
Xue Lan showed an expression of awe and fear as she turned to Hu Zong, who looked quite proud.
"Although we are only in the Mortal Realm, it's quite a feat to reach our stage. We are already considered experts by some. Still, the true experts are at the Spirit Realm. The realms beyond that are simply too difficult for us to reach", he explained.
The woman immediately thought back to Shen Yuan. What realm was he at?
"Then what about evil cultivators? Is it the same for them?" she asked.
But when she mentioned evil cultivators in front of them, everyone's faces darkened.
Xue Lan looked at them, finding their reaction a little surprising. Hu Zong sighed before looking at the fire.
"Truthfully, cultivators and evil cultivators walk the same path. The five realms are universal but what separates righteous from evil is one thing. Righteous cultivators meditate and absorb the energy of the world around them, they will bear the trials and tribulations of the Heavens with their power. On the other hand, evil cultivators are different. Rather than absorb the energy of the world, they take it from the lives of others. They kill and consume the flesh of other people to gain power", he explained.
Another member of the Azure Flags then spoke.
"Doing so will allow them to avoid the Heavenly Tribulations because they have taken the strength of others and not from the world itself. In some ways, it is the quicker and perhaps easier path to power. However, it does come with its drawbacks. You risk losing your mind because of the conflicting energies of your victims. Worse than that, you'd be hunted for the rest of your life and you may even lose your life fighting your prey. It is not a peaceful path and one where many die. But the allure of a quicker path can be enough for many."
They then looked at her.
"Evil cultivators are called such for a reason, hope that you will not catch the attention of one. There have been stories of those hunting for women and children. Aside from the bodies of other cultivators, those two groups come second in potency. The fate of one who has been captured by these sorts of people can only end in tragedy."
The woman looked down at her bowl of stew, sitting there quietly.
"I see", she muttered.
Hu Zong then cleared his throat before smiling.
"In any case, you don't have to worry about such a thing. After all, with the Azure Flags by your side, you'll be safe!"
He spoke with a reassuring tone to which she smiled and began to eat the food given to her. She seemed quite graceful as she ate and Hu Zong could only sneak glances at her as he ate. After all, it was the dream of many men to protect a beautiful woman.
"Her husband has passed away, perhaps this is an opportunity! Imagine, a wife as beautiful as her."
He seemed quite lovestruck with her, it had gone to a point where his comrades noticed his leering.
"Doesn't he seem a bit strange? I know our leader has a weakness for women but... I've never seen him act like this before", one of them muttered.
"Mm, perhaps but seeing the way she's dressed, she doesn't seem like an ordinary person. Not quite a noble either", said another member.
"A prostitute maybe?"
"A prostitute? Out here? Why would they be here and not at a brothel?"
"It does seem strange but maybe she's a traveling prostitute."
"Possibly but when she spoke about her husband and child, it didn't seem like she was lying."
"What did she say her name was? Xue Lan? Even if she was a prostitute, what could she do to us? We've already shown her the extent of our power. I'm sure she'd think twice about wronging us."
"And there's no way she's a cultivator. From the looks of it, she knew nothing about cultivation."
"Mm, I suppose she can stay with us."
They continued to mutter among themselves until dinner was over and it was time to sleep.
As luck would have it Hu Zong offered his tent.