As the two of them were resting together in a tent which they had bought in Fenglin Town, experiencing an otherwise ordinary night in the wild, he recalled the notifications that he had got earlier today.
None of the bandits' talents were of any note, all of them either at Inferior- or Average-grade. While he had the habit of picking up any which he hadn't obtained somewhere else yet, this time, he was out of luck in that regard. As a result, he chose to get Attribute Points.
The result was as pitiful as to be expected. The non-cultivator assailants either gave one or two of them, depending on whether their Talent was Inferior- or Average-grade. As for their leader, due to having advanced to a semi-cultivator, his were a little bit higher, giving him five. If he had had an Average-grade Talent, then there would likely have been twice as many, but this boss' innate Talent was merely of Inferior-grade.
But what was a semi-cultivator anyway? Hadn't this man already advanced to the Body Refinement Stage, and should therefore be referred to as a proper cultivator instead? Well, in this world, perhaps. But in the overall Heavenly Court, the Body Refinement Stage was not considered to be a part of the path of cultivation.
Instead, it was a preparatory step, and those in the process of taking it were called 'semi-cultivators'. This was not a derogatory term, but rather an accurate description. The Body Refinement Stage's entire purpose was to ready one's physical vessel for proper cultivation. Only when it had been sufficiently and methodically strengthened could it withstand the internal flow of Energy.
'It's a pity that the Attribute Points I obtained cannot be assigned to any Special Attributes. I would have loved to increase my Intelligence, as other than Luck, it'd be the most important Attribute during contests of wits like the Heavenly Succession.'
Sighing at this unfortunate but sole restriction to his Heavenly Dao-grade Talent, Theodore absent-mindedly stroked Xie Mei's back, causing a slight smile to spread across her adorable face as she slept.
With his point-adding experiment ending in a somewhat expected failure, he did something that he would have usually advised against and would later have to work on rectifying: He messed up the balance of his Attributes by adding all of his available points to Endurance, raising it from 113 all the way to 150. For his absurdly insane plan to have any chance of success, his body's toughness and resilience would have to be incredibly high. So high, in fact, that he could not yet even remotely make an educated guess about what kind of number he should reach before attempting it.
'Oh well, there's enough prey out there. I'll just prepare too much instead of too little.'
Now that all issues were mentally checked off, he fell asleep as well.
The next morning, he awoke to a pale and shaking Xie Mei, who was clinging to him even tighter than usual. But he was not bothered by it in the least. On the one hand, this was a much more comfortable position to wake up in than some which he had had to endure before, and on the other, he was the one who had pressured her into this mental anguish to begin with.
"Had a nightmare?"
Nodding in response to his question, she distractedly played with his fingers for a while.
"Yeah. That man... he grabbed my ankle... and dragged me into a terrifying, dark place. I was all alone there, and it was so, so cold!"
Patting her back gently, he showed a comforting smile.
"There is no need to be afraid. Think about it. What can that guy do to you? Even if he hasn't been wiped clean and reborn yet, he is still inconsequential. And in the worst case, you can reincarnate as well! Contrary to him, you'll keep everything that is important. If all else fails, I'll just bring you back from whatever hellhole you might end up in myself. If those who have died could easily hurt the living, I certainly wouldn't be here anymore, so you don't need to worry."
Although what he said made sense, it still couldn't erase the irrational fear and guilt within her heart. Yet, she appreciated his words nonetheless, his claim regarding being willing to go extremely far for her making her feel especially warm.
"... thanks! I'll be fine with you around, I just know it."
Psyching herself up, she gave him a gentle but fiery kiss, then sat up and freshened up with the water which they had put aside in the evening.
Over the coming days, the two of them passed through quite a number of towns and villages. Many 'fishing operations' took place, earning them both a lot of money and Theodore a considerable chunk of Attribute Points. They never did end up running into any Imperial Han Family members out on the road, as none of them usually left their cushy homes in the city. This only served to further reinforce how extremely unfortunate Xie Mei's parents had been.
As time flew by, their husband and wife make-believe turned increasingly natural and Theodore's feelings towards this sweetheart who he had picked up grew a smidgen more serious. Whereas he would have originally been able to toss her aside without any emotional impact, ever since he had accepted her as a Follower, the barrier which he had placed between them had been removed. This allowed her to worm herself into his heart little by little.
Although they had not yet taken another step forward in terms of physical intimacy, their make-out sessions grew increasingly passionate, with more and more petting involved.
It had been almost a week since Xie Mei's introductory kill, and a few more had followed. The day before, the two had played the role of saviours for the first time, rescuing a travelling merchant group from a brutal and unfortunate fate. To pay them back, their leader had offered to let them ride on one of their carriages for free, as everyone's final destination was Huizhong City, which they would arrive at early the next day. In other words, they would be there very shortly.
"Mr. Theo and Mrs. Xie Mei, in half an hour, we should see the city wall in the distance!"
Sitting in front of them, an elderly gentleman with greying hair informed them of the good news. They were currently in the carriage which had been lent to them, staring at each other from across a small table.
"Thank you for telling us! We'll be looking forward to a grandiose sight, then! Still, you said that there was something which you wanted to discuss?"
In response to Theodore's question, a heavy sigh escaped the merchant caravan leader's mouth. Glancing at the two unfathomably beautiful youngsters, a deep worry clouded his gaze.
"Indeed. In all honesty, if you hadn't let me know that you absolutely have to go to Huizhong City, I would have told you to keep far away from it and never step into any place where an Imperial Han Family member might go. You have to be aware of how stunningly gorgeous you and your wife are. Excuse me for being blunt here, but those monsters and their lackeys will be lusting after you the moment that they set their eyes on you. You're practically walking into not just a dragon's den, but directly into its maw!"
Seeing that neither of the two youngsters were particularly worried even after he had said this much, the elderly man fell silent, a numb sadness settling in. He had encountered far too many aspiring youths being destroyed by this world's rulers on a whim. They had been filled with hope and confidence, only to be completely shattered–both mentally and physically–once reality hit them.
'Mr. Theo is incredibly powerful, so maybe they will be fine. As long as they don't deliberately walk into the Inner City...'
Thinking up to that point, he cleared his throat and grew serious once more.
"All I can do to help you is to let you know about the exact situation in the city, so that you can avoid as many dangers as possible. Listen closely. Every official or influential position is filled with those loyal to the Hans..."
From his words, it soon became evident that, although the indigenous people of this world were treated–at best–like second class citizens by the Imperial Han Family, those who served them well were offered considerable benefits. Despite being nothing more than lowly servants who could still be slain at any point in time, they had achieved a status akin to 'overseers' over the rest of the 'worthless' masses. The most fortunate in this world were actually those who lived in the more destitute areas, like the ones in Shanxi Village, as they could still escape the Hans' overbearing whims.
Everyone displaying any sort of talent would usually be approached by the Imperial Han Family's lackeys and recruited as one of their own. If one was exceptionally good-looking, then one would either be directly offered to their rulers or otherwise kept at the bedsides of the more distinguished servants. Of course, the latter only received the scraps that the Hans didn't even want to look at!
Neither guys nor girls were safe from their promiscuous nature, as both their men and women were deeply influenced by it. With every one of the rulers being a debauched fiend, it was no wonder that the lackeys learned from their masters and emulated them to a T.
The Huizhong City branch of the Imperial Han Family was considered utterly irrelevant by their brethren, only occasionally producing a person of renown. The most recent outstanding descendant from here had actually appeared a mere two decades ago: Han Junhao. Unfortunately for this genius, he had made some enemies in Jingshan Prefecture's capital, Jingshan City, and had been forcefully expelled back home two months ago. Here, as the Energy concentration was not high enough, he would find it difficult to improve much further throughout his lifetime.
Glancing at each other, both Theodore and Xie Mei took note of this man. While it was not yet confirmed, it felt likely that either he or someone close to him could be the one who had killed her parents out of frustration. A disillusioned 'youngster' just perfectly fit the bill. When they learned that Han Junhao had stayed in Huizhong City for merely a day before storming off to who knows where, they only grew more certain of this–the timing lined up too well.
For the remainder of the carriage ride, they listened patiently, occasionally asking some questions. This way, they learned about the most honest and reliable place to rent a home, which the caravan leader guaranteed would not give them any trouble. While that remained to be seen, his kind intentions certainly left a good impression on them.
So when the merchant convoy finally arrived at Huizhong City, Theodore slipped the elderly man a few hundred gold before hurrying off to the nearest gate, arm in arm with his lover. Seeing the two of them entirely unbothered and out in the open, the leader felt another pang of worry, before shaking his head and choosing not to stick his nose into this business any further. He had already done all that he could.
Huizhong City's walls were an exaggerated 50 meters tall, dwarfing everyone approaching them. Although it couldn't compare to more affluent parts of the world, its owners still didn't skimp on these defences. While they didn't really have any noteworthy enemies here, except for other branches of their extensive family, they had to present themselves as capable in front of the rabble. That way, they could more easily be controlled. Although force would also suffice to do so, if they could avoid wasting time on such nonsense, then they would.
"You two! Follow me! You're suspected of carrying illicit goods, so we'll need to inspect you thoroughly. Do not resist!."
The moment that Theodore and Xie Mei entered the eyes of a guard, he loudly parted the crowd, making his way straight towards them. Amidst the conflicted gazes of the regular folk surrounding them, the two didn't put up any fight at all, had their weapons confiscated and were led away into a building directly on the inside of the city wall, exclusively used by the garrison.
"Oh? What a great catch! I'll make note of your contributions this time. You might even get promoted!"
Patting the guard who had brought them here on the back was a morbidly obese official waited upon by shackled and abused young women of slightly above average looks. There was no life in their eyes, only profound misery.
While they were distracted, convinced that everything would be developing as usual, Theodore had long since grabbed his and Xie Mei's weapons from the satchel sloppily slung over the guard's shoulder.
"What a nice welcome gift. If you're offering yourselves up on a silver platter like this, then it would be impolite of me to refuse!"
Unsheathing his short sword, Theodore stepped forward with a relaxed smile playing across his lips.