It was late in the evening by the time that the settlement which they had been aiming to reach came into sight. It was at least ten times the size of Shanxi Village, housing more than 4,000 residents and a significant chunk of travellers. Even though the two of them arrived so late, the guards didn't make things too difficult for them.
Paying the fine of ten bronze coins, the two blissfully ignored the lascivious, sneaky gazes of a couple of them, making their way to the nearest inn. Because public security was quite good here, although they stuck out, nothing 'dangerous' happened during their first night in this place.
The next morning, the two went to a famous tailor in town and had them adjust some of the most dashing-looking but functional sets of clothing which could be bought to fit them perfectly. From a pair of gorgeous average folk, the two of them changed their image to that of an evidently rich, distinguished couple.
"It's so beautiful! Thank you so much, husband~!"
Xie Mei was carefully caressing her silken blouse, twirling around in front of a private changing room's mirror and showing off one of her new outfits to him. Even when it was just the two of them, she would keep up her newly-wed spiel, with the justification that somebody could be spying on them at any time. But in truth, she simply wanted to fake it until she made it.
"You're welcome. If there's anything else you'd like, just let me know, and we'll buy it too."
Theodore had to admit that her new attire significantly accentuated her looks. Her long, black hair was done up into a tasselled bun at the back of her head, with a few strands of it framing her face, naturally falling to her shoulders, creating a sense of delicate beauty. Her azure blue eyes gleamed like the most lavish sapphires, the paleness of her skin contrasted with her luscious red lips, and her generous curves were still barely visible while hidden underneath her lovely blue-and-white Hanfu style dress.
"It's alright, this much is more than enough! We really do look like a couple of 'fat sheep', huh?"
Snuggling up to his arm in an increasingly bold manner, Xie Mei indulged in the equally as stunning eye candy that was her 'husband' while whispering a question into his ears.
"If we spend a bit more lavishly, acting as if we've just come into wealth and don't know how to handle our elevated status, then the next time we'll leave here, we should be catching a couple of fish, for sure."
Nodding reassuringly, he teasingly pecked her cheek, then dragged her back outside to pay for this batch of clothes as well. Afterwards, the two of them went to the most expensive restaurant in town and ordered a lavish meal, then visited various entertainment venues that weren't solely aimed at lonely, single men.
In one day, the entire town was made aware that two rich folk had stopped by, with quite a few of the unsavoury ones already planning to take action once a chance presented itself. As the various criminal gangs had their own territories, it would all depend on which exit the couple would take upon departing from Fenglin Town. If it fell into their area of influence, then they would be eating very well–whether that be in terms of earning riches or 'enjoying' the remarkable beauty of the wealthy man's wife.
Other than casting a wide net, Theodore and Xie Mei had also been paying attention to gathering information about the surroundings while strolling through the town, oftentimes asking anyone who they were conversing with seemingly innocuous questions whenever the chance presented itself.
As a result, they found out that Fenglin Town was just one of hundreds speckled throughout the territory of Huizhong County. Although there were rumours that the county was quite unremarkable in the great scheme of things, its main city only somewhat renowned as a trading hub, it was undeniable that even all towns under its jurisdiction combined could not hold a candle to Huizhong City.
Unsurprisingly, the nation which they were citizens of was called the 'Han Empire', but this place was merely an ordinary part of it–one that was not worth mentioning in front of the Imperial Han Family. Cities like Huizhong City, however, were not entirely beneath their notice, which is why some of their members would routinely be stationed there.
In other words, the primary target of Xie Mei's revenge was also likely residing there under normal circumstances. This realization made her eager to depart as soon as possible, and Theodore had no reason to refuse. They spent one more night in Fenglin Town, then they casually swaggered out of the north-eastern gate, following the directions that they had obtained yesterday.
Only minutes passed by before a group of more than 20 ne'er-do-well gangsters chased after them. Most observers silently prayed for the safety of the couple in their hearts, yet they were aware that the Shattered Bone Gang was the most powerful criminal faction in town, so their chances of escape were extremely slim.
As the gang 'ruling' over the gate leading to the foremost prosperous trade route, these scum had managed to obtain a cultivation technique manual by chance, and their boss had advanced to the first realm of the Body Refinement Stage, the Skin Refinement Realm! While it couldn't be said that he had transcended regular humans entirely, he could easily take on a couple tens of people with energy to spare. Because of this, nobody had much hope for the affluent lovers.
Half an hour later, along the main road.
"Halt! Pretty boy, lie down on the ground and surrender all of your valuables, then we of the Shattered Bone Gang might spare your life!"
Surrounding Theodore and Xie Mei from all sides, not allowing them any gaps to escape from, were the aforementioned troublemakers. None of them thought of this encounter as dangerous, but rather as extraordinarily lucky! They had long since researched the background of this couple, fully aware that they were merely brats who had come into a bit of wealth by chance, so there was nothing to worry about.
"As for the lass, don't resist–or rather, resist as much as you'd like, we brothers will only enjoy it more! Am I right?"
Blatantly ignoring the young man's presence, who they had already written off as a dead man, the bandits cackled at their leader's words, fully immersed in this song and dance which they had performed hundreds of times. Now, the panic should be setting in. Maybe, the brat would try to protect his lover, or would he plead for his life? Excited at what was about to happen, the encirclement tightened step by step.
'Not too shabby, they actually have someone at the first realm of the Body Refinement Stage. That'll allow me to compare the Attribute Point gain between a regular person and a semi-cultivator.'
Utterly unbothered by the rabble around him, Theodore gave them a quick glance, a smirk playing across his lips. Their words went in one ear and out the other. After all, to him, they were just walking corpses delivering him benefits. What did their chatter matter? And whilst Xie Mei was clearly a bit afraid of and unused to the situation which she found herself in, she didn't panic much either.
"Don't worry, this will be quick."
As soon as these words left his lips, she saw him charge at the gang boss, his speed so unbelievably fast that she struggled to keep up with his movements with her eyes. A metallic flash passed by, then a head flew into the air, accompanied by a fountain of blood.
Before the scum's cackling could turn into astonished and terrified screams, a few more of their number had bid their mortal coils a permanent farewell. Even as they turned to escape, another dozen of them fell within a few seconds.
As she was still overwhelmed by the brutally efficient killing happening right in front of her, her pale skin turning a ghastly white, Theodore had already returned, his attire completely devoid of any blood or dirt, and even his weapon pristinely clean. His right hand was clutching the neck of the sole surviving bandit.
"Most likely, it'll feel extremely horrible and repulsive to you. But you'll have to start somewhere. Kill him."
His voice both filled with encouragement but also unquestionable authority, he handed the Regressor's short sword to Xie Mei, securely holding her victim-to-be in place. The man's eyes were widened to an extreme degree and bloodshot. With every fibre of his being, he wanted to escape this situation and survive! But his neck was held so tightly that he couldn't speak and his arms and legs had instantly been broken at the moment of his capture.
Trembling like mad, the girl's hand closed around the grip of the weapon which had just now taken about two dozen lives, almost growing light-headed to the point of fainting. Yet, she persevered and took a deep breath.
'I've got this! I knew what I was getting myself into! Also, this guy... wasn't he the one laughing the loudest when they were talking about what they would do to me...?'
Realizing that Theodore had likely done this on purpose to make it easier for her, her tormented heart felt ever so slightly more at ease. Forcing herself to keep her eyes open, she slowly lifted the sword, then stabbed it into the gangster's chest, at around the area where she suspected his heart to be.
Immediately after, she let go of the hilt, staggering backwards a few steps and staring directly at the result of her own actions, about to break into tears and simultaneously throw up.
The good thing was: She had indeed managed to pierce the man's heart. But unfortunately, he didn't die immediately. For close to a minute, he was losing blood and growing increasingly pale, unable to speak due to still having his neck clasped in a vice grip. There was resentment, fear, regret and pleading in the man's gaze, yet his eyes eventually turned dull and empty, leaving behind nothing but a lifeless husk.
"You'll be okay. It'll be alright, believe me! You did very well!"
Letting go of the corpse and hurrying to Xie Mei's side, Theodore cradled her in his arms, confidently speaking reassuring words to her to help her snap out of the revulsion and guilt. While he himself had only felt a tiny bit weirded out by the experience of his first kill during his illusory lives, that was because his family had mentally prepared him for this ever since very early on. A sheltered girl like Xie Mei, however, would have it countless times harder than him.
"I'm... fine...!"
Forcing a smile on her face, the girl looked away from the body, instead focusing on the heavenly visage of the man she loved. It was clear to her that far into the future, she would be having nightmares of this day. But did she regret what she had done?
... in all honesty, a part of her did. Yet another of hers did not. She was split on the issue. Perhaps, only many years later down the line would she be able to properly evaluate everything that had happened, and come to terms with not just today's killing, but also the ones which were sure to occur relatively soon.
After picking up the acceptably decent amount of coins that the bandits had had on them–around 700 gold, give or take–Theodore chose a dagger and axe of satisfactory quality from amongst the spoils. He then left the scene of the slaughter with his lover held close, slowly soothing her mental anguish with his presence.
Was it cruel of him to confront her with such a traumatic experience mere days after she had come to know about her parents' demise? Absolutely. But sometimes, the heart could endure more pain than what one could imagine–if there was still a thread of hope to hold on to. And for her, he was that thread.