Once his mind was set, Feng Yongrui moved quickly. He attacked the robbers' leader with a palm strike, catching him off guard. The leader was pushed backwards and crashed into the ground, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
The sudden noise startled the other robbers, who brandished their weapons immediately when they saw an intruder. Feng Yongrui did not pay much attention to them. He did not pause and give the leader time to react before giving a merciless kick to his abdomen.
Feng Yongrui's body was moving partly based on instinct and partly based on Feng Yongrui's own movements. He performed a series of hits and kicks, and the leader could only parry as best as he could.
However, the outcome of this battle was pretty much set in stone. Feng Yongrui was a Nascent Soul Cultivator. A mere Golden Stage Cultivator was no match for him. The robbers' leader was beaten up thoroughly, and the other robbers were stunned.
Seeing their leader getting beaten up, the robbers became terrified. Instead of rushing over to help their leader, they ran in different directions trying to escape. Of course, to their dismay, the entrance was blocked by an array.
When the robbers were confused and panicked, two cultivators jumped into the cave and began to attack them. Those two were naturally Hou Renshu and Ma Bo. At first, the two of them attacked quite slowly, with a hint of hesitation in their attacks.
Seeing them being softhearted, the robbers pounced on them in a flurry of excitement, trying to knock them down. Hou Renshu was the first to harden his heart. His moves became quicker and more fluid, killing one robber after another. His palm strikes became fiercer and more accurate.
Ma Bo saw Hou Renshu's actions and copied him. Ma Bo twirled in an elegant circle and threw a strike that sent a robber flying and coughing up blood. Together, the two disciples were steadily killing the robbers.
Meanwhile, on Feng Yongrui's end, he realized that the leader's movements were getting more and more aggressive. Perhaps knowing that he would not survive the battle today, the leader suddenly gave his all and kept attacking Feng Yongrui with no regard for his own wounds.
Feng Yongrui did a flip, drawing a beautiful arc, and then threw a palm strike at the robbers' leader. However, this time, instead of dodging, the leader received the attack head-on and stood rooted in place.
While Feng Yongrui was stunned, the leader gave an evil smirk and took out a dagger. His intentions were obvious; he wanted to drag Feng Yongrui down to hell with him.
Before Feng Yongrui could react, his body moved on his own again. He twisted and then struck the leader on his head, instantly killing him. The heavy scent of blood permeated the air.
Feng Yongrui stared at the dead body on the ground and moved two steps backwards.
He... actually killed someone?!
Feng Yongrui's head was blank; he could not hear what was happening around him. The voices and shouts in the cave were like incessant buzzing noises that disturbed him.
Feng Yongrui felt nauseous and clamped his mouth tightly, forcing the bile that was rising in his throat down. This world was real... and people were dying... He actually killed someone...
"Host. Host! Please keep calm!" The System's voice sounded in his head in a timely manner.
Feng Yongrui sighed and broke free from his stupor. He looked around and saw that the other robbers were either dead or severely wounded. His clothes were splattered with blood, and Hou Renshu and Ma Bo looked exhausted.
Feng Yongrui had just killed someone and he wasn't in a good mood, but he knew he needed to comfort his disciples too. They must've been even more scared than him.
"You two... Since this is your first time killing someone, you might feel uncomfortable. Are you okay?" Feng Yongrui asked them.
The two boys nodded. Their cheeks were slightly flushed and their breathing was disorderly, but they did not sustain any major injuries. Feng Yongrui looked at them up and down before setting his heart at ease.
Actually... this was not the first time Hou Renshu and Ma Bo had killed someone. Of course, they did not want to tell their Master about it. They were grateful for their Master's concern, and they looked around.
It was at that moment that the two boys noticed the other people in the cave. Huddled behind a boulder, they saw several children sobbing and whimpering. The noisy fight had frightened them.
"Master... these people are..." Ma Bo could not finish his sentence.
"I think they must've been captured by the robbers," Feng Yongrui said. He observed the children and wondered why the robbers would capture such innocent angels. In fact, most of the children were 5 to 7 years old.
Feng Yongrui took one child aside. The child had curly black hair and a sallow face. He looked around 6 years old. Unlike the other children who were either sobbing or had fainted, this child looked emptily at the scenery around him.
"You... what's your name?" Feng Yongrui squatted and asked the child.
"...What do you want from us?" The child answered. His black eyebrows were furrowed in displeasure and wariness.
"Well, we want to bring you kids back home. But first, I'd like to know what happened here," Feng Yongrui replied patiently.
"They kidnapped us from our homes and put us here. That's it." The little kid said.
Feng Yongrui: "..."
Alright, you sure did sum up this situation very nicely.
"How did they kidnap you? Did they do anything to you guys?" He asked, trying to dig deeper.
The child stayed quiet.
"The robbers came to our house and threatened my parents to give me to them. If my parents refused, they would be killed," another child spoke.
"I see... I'll send all of you back home. Come with me, everyone. We'll escort you," Feng Yongrui said.
Hou Renshu and Ma Bo comforted the children, and slowly led them outside. Feng Yongrui took care of the robbers' bodies. Those robbers that were still alive would be handed to the government.
As Feng Yongrui was checking the cave (in case there were other things or children left behind), he heard a faint sound and looked down. Immediately, he was confronted with a pair of bright black eyes.
It was a cute little puppy!
Feng Yongrui squatted down immediately and felt his heart melting. The puppy had dark black fur all over its body. It had soft ears and a cute tail.
"So cute!!!" Feng Yongrui's thoughts were disturbed by the System's screeching voice.
Feng Yongrui had the urge to cover his ears, but he knew it would be no use. The System was, after all, inside his head.
"That puppy is soo~ cute~" The System began gushing like a fan girl. "Pick it up! Pick it up, Host! I want to touch it! I want to rub it! Aaaah~~"
Feng Yongrui's lips twitched. System, I didn't know you had this side...
Feng Yongrui awkwardly extended his arms. "Little puppy, come here..." He said.
Surprisingly, the puppy stuck out its tongue in a friendly manner and hopped into Feng Yongrui's arms. Feng Yongrui was caught off guard but managed to react in time, stabilizing the puppy's position. Feng Yongrui stood up with the puppy in his arms.
The puppy was really light and its fur was soft to the touch. Feng Yongrui couldn't help smiling. However, before he could walk out of the cave, the puppy suddenly barked a few times and wriggled out of his arms.
"What's wrong?" Feng Yongrui asked. He squatted and let the puppy down on the ground. Immediately, the puppy dashed out of his arms, sniffing the ground. The puppy stopped near the robbers' leader's corpse. The puppy seemed restless, sniffing and whimpering.
Then, it reached inside the robbers' clothes and held a piece of jade in its mouth. The pale green jade gave off a lustrous glow, as if it was trying to enchant people and suck them into its deadly embrace.
The puppy brought the jade and put it into Feng Yongrui's outstretched hand, its black orbs saying, "Here, take this." Feng Yongrui did not refuse. He simply smiled, pet the puppy, and placed the jade inside his sleeves. He would look at it later.
Feng Yongrui picked up the puppy once again; this time the puppy stayed still and did not move around. Feng Yongrui walked outside and led the group of children down the mountain, along with his two disciples.
Almost all of the children were from Luofeng Village, so Feng Yongrui simply brought them to the village, where they were greeted warmly. Feng Yongrui and his two disciples were thanked repeatedly by the villagers who were happy to have their children back.
After exchanging pleasantries with the villagers, only one child was left. He was the little boy who had been wary of Feng Yongrui in the beginning and answered so lackadaisically when Feng Yongrui asked him what had happened.
Feng Yongrui asked him where he came from, and he sullenly mentioned the name of a village near the Immortal Pathway Sect. Coincidentally, Feng Yongrui and his two disciples would pass that village on their way home, so they had no problem escorting him.
"Let's go," Feng Yongrui said. The Master, his two disciples, the young boy and the puppy began their journey home.
***
System: The puppy is so~ cute~ Give it to me!!!
Feng Yongrui: No. Go play by yourself. The puppy is mine now~
System: Host is mean, QAQ
***
What is your favorite dog breed?
Comment below~