Chapter 11 - Trouble Already?

"Where is it you said you were taking me?" Wu Ling asked as Su Xiang guided him over multiple footbridges crossing the pristine canals of the Lapis Lake Ward of the outer city. Here, many of the city's lesser cultivation families could be found managing the central hubs of prosperous businesses that stretched across much of the northern continent. While mortals still outnumbered cultivators in this district by more than five hundred to one, it was rare to see a mortal hold a position of authority within the district. Most store managers and building owners were at least first-stage cultivators, mostly Scholars and Artists but with a few rare businesses being overseen directly by Mystics or Martial cultivators as well. It was a place that Wu Ling hadn't visited since the days when his father was still alive and extended both the protection and the wealth of the Shining Blade Hall to cover his wife and young child."The name of the shop is the Silver Thread," Su Xiang answered with an excited grin. "While they don't cater exclusively to cultivators, they do work with fabrics that hold a trace of spiritual energy and are durable enough to withstand some of the strain a cultivator puts on their clothing," she explained. "More importantly though, my aunt Su Qingjin is a late-stage Aesthete who manages the shop for the Su family. We won't have trouble shopping there and she'll let us buy things at cost." The discount they could obtain wasn't actually that important to Su Xiang, she'd Awakened long enough ago to have completed several missions for the Shining Blade Hall and she wasn't short on money for common luxuries like fine clothing. She said it mostly for Wu Ling's benefit. After so many years apart, she wanted to do something nice for her sworn younger brother, and treating him to a few outfits was hardly extravagant, but with how hard he'd worked just to scrape by, care for his mother, and purchase his own Awakening Incense, she didn't want to hurt his pride by making it seem like she could easily afford what he couldn't. "I think, with the family discount, I'll be able to get you at least two or three new outfits!""Oh? What a coincidence," a rough masculine voice boomed from behind them. "Brothers, weren't we just talking about getting new outfits? We should escort these lonely fairies so that no one bothers them while they shop, shouldn't we boys?""Brother San," another rough voice chimed in, "I think that's a great idea. We could even buy a few special outfits for these lovely fairies to model for us, don't you think?"As much as he didn't want to, Wu Ling turned around to look at the men gathered behind them. Once he did, however, every fiber of his being screamed that he should run away. Following behind Wu Ling and Su Xiang weren't just the two men who had spoken but a total of six heavily muscled Brawlers. Some of them felt like they might also be recently awakened like Wu Ling, with weak and unstable auras that betrayed how little time had passed since they became Martial cultivators, but two of the men felt so overwhelmingly strong that they must be on the verge of breaking through to the second-stage and becoming Soldiers!The shortest of the men stood over one hundred and seventy-five centimeters tall but the two late-stage brawlers approached two meters in height and easily massed over one hundred kilograms of solid muscle, as though something about their cultivation method made them become physically larger the further they progressed their cultivation. Worst of all, however, was the matching red and black striped robes that all six men wore."I'm sure that whatever outfits we might be looking for," Wu Ling said gently, hoping to stall for time while he thought of a way out of this situation. "They couldn't possibly compare to the uniforms of the Red Tiger's Den, could they? And watching women shop for clothing is very dull, I promise you," he added, drawing closer to Su Xiang."I can't fight them," Su Xiang whispered to Wu Ling, her sapphire eyes glowing faintly with a trace of her bloodline's power. "Even if they were unarmed and I had a sword, I'd lose."Hearing her assessment of the brutish men, Wu Ling's heart sank even lower. Su Xiang's gift had always helped her see the truth of things and if her eyes were showing her that the men possessed greater strength than she could defeat, he believed her.Around the two sworn siblings, onlookers had begun to make themselves scarce, creating a bubble in the crowd as people avoided doing anything that might draw the attention of the Red Tiger's Den sect members. While some young men looked like they wanted to step up to rescue the two fairies from the towering brutes, all of them seemed to recognize that they were out-muscled and out-matched by the two largest men in the group. The heavily muscled Brawlers made matters worse by spreading themselves out to all but surround Wu Ling and Su Xiang, giving them little space to get away. "Come on fairies," a third man said. "Big brothers San and Er don't invite just anyone to spend time with them you know! You should feel honored!"Closing his eyes, Wu Ling counted to five slowly, hating what he was about to do, but the alternatives he could see felt even worse. "Just follow my lead," he whispered to Su Xiang before walking toward the largest of the men with a gentle swaying gait. "Big Brother San, was it?" Wu Ling asked, resting his elegant hand gently on the larger man's chest and gazing upward into the larger man's dark eyes through fluttering lashes. "Wouldn't it be better if the big brothers invited us to a private room at a nice restaurant? This little sister brought her zither. Perhaps the big brothers would like to enjoy some wine and music while this little sister warms up her fingers," he purred, watching the larger man's face begin to heat at his suggestive tone. "My sister here would be happy to serve wine for such big, strong men while I play, wouldn't you Xiang," Wu Ling added, looking over his shoulder and giving Su Xiang a reassuring wink."If, if you'd like, I could," Su Xiang said awkwardly, possessing not the slightest hint of feminine wiles. She was a sword cultivator! Sword cultivators had no use for flirting and innuendo. If she wanted something or someone, she should say it, boldly and directly!What Su Xiang didn't realize was that her stumbling awkwardness acted like blood in the water to the circling men of the Red Tiger's Den. What was power? Turning a mighty sword cultivator of the Shining Blade Hall into a blushing, awkward young maiden, watching her feel helpless, and forcing her to serve them wine? That was power, and the feeling of power only fueled their desire to dominate the young fairy before them!"So your sister is Fairy Xiang," the burly man called Brother San said with a lecherous smile. "And what's your name Fairy…?""Big Brother San can call me Little Lingling if it pleases him," Wu Ling said, stepping away to stand next to Su Xiang and wrapping his arms around her right arm to stand close to her. "Do the big brothers have a place we can go? It's embarrassing to be with so many big brothers on the street like this," he added shyly, looking down at the ground before looking back up at the towering men.The second late-stage Brawler stepped forward and pointed at his broad chest with a meaty thumb. "This Big Brother Er knows the owner of the Purple Star House not far from here," he said, hoping to gain the favor of the beautiful zither player with his connections. "You beautiful Fairies should let these big brothers show you what a good time really is!""I'm sure you Big Brother Er knows the best place to go," Wu Ling said, working hard to keep a predatory gleam out of his eyes as he smiled up at the hulking brute. "As long as it's private and we won't be disturbed, this little sister promises to entertain all the big brothers."