Yin Hu could see why the girls always took a while to grab the water and get back. The supposedly little bandit town was actually much larger than he previously thought. Sprawling into a mess of roads. Dilapidated houses left and right, tents, huts, makeshift mud homes, and a dozen other types that made a mess of the area.

There was no rhyme or reason behind any of it. It felt odd. Even as distant as his memories were, he was used to the grid-like structure of larger cities. Yes, there were winding roads, but they were in the much richer areas of suburbia.

He frowned as they passed the twenty odd number of skinny refugees sitting in a group. Surrounding a single old lady stirring a large pot of soup or broth. It looked light. More water than anything else. Groups of the refugees huddled together, clearly separated and unaffiliated.

Watching with suspicious glares at anyone that got too close.

Jun snapped her staff back and forth every once in a while when someone attempted to approach them. Raggedy men with few teeth in their wide smiles. The rest rotten. Evil eyes that made his spine shiver just from witnessing them. They were groups with daggers and some even with swords and spears.

But none with an ounce of armor. Just the same old Silver Mountain Gang robes Shui and Jun had been wearing before he gave them a new wardrobe.

Then there were the women. Scantily clad and basically throwing themselves towards everyone. Jun had been the fiercest with them. Nearly tearing off the heads of a group of five that had attempted to overwhelm her and get to him.

Issue was, they were Jade Beauties. Mostly older women that were far past their prime and youthful days. Not a single one that wasn't wrinkly. Bruised. Or worse in certain cases with missing limbs. Stumps for legs and arms. It told a horrible story of this place and how bad it had gotten with no order and only chaos.

Demonic Cultivators were not exactly the pinnacle of governmental oversight.

Yin Hu felt another spine tingling sensation run down his back as Jun glared at another lady they passed. Freezing her in her spot. He was thankful for her.

They eventually made it to the group of large watering wells. A massive contraption above each that was used to pull up big buckets filled with water when needed. It looked like it required five strong men just to get it working. The Gang Boss had supposedly based this area as his bandit town because of this very resource. If Jun was to be believed.

So late in the day, there were few people around it. Just the guards and a single cultivator that was playing with a floating dagger. Making it zip and whiz in the air directly through the number of people that were still there. Almost nicking them. Changing direction at the last moment.

The man choked as soon as he saw them. The dagger clattering.

"Hu Jun!" He shouted.

Jun huffed. Snapping her staff in his general direction. "Xiong Hui. You here to bother me again?"

"N-No!"

"Good. I'm sure the last beating the Gang Boss gave you was enough warning."

Xiong Hui bit his lip. Eye burning with anger, but he stayed quiet. Looking away from their group. The dagger on the floor rose up and zipped back to him. Slamming into a sheath. Xiong Hui got up to yell at a beggar that had set up shop in the area, kicking him away.

"You have history." Yin Hu said. It was a statement rather than a question.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Jun nodded, glaring at Xiong Hui.

She put her head down and hurried towards the large wells. Working the mechanism with Shui's help. The little girl had turned very docile as soon as they made it out of their little alleyway. Not willing to talk. Joke. Laugh. Or even step away even a few steps away from the older girl or Yin Hu.

Hu Shui had become a shell of herself.

Yin Hu watched as Jun placed her staff on the ground and began to work the large wheel without much difficulty. She turned to him with a smile. Making it look as simple as just moving it. Just pick up the car. Shouldn't be too difficult. Stop a train going two hundred miles per hour? Easy, Superman did it all the time.

"It wasn't always this easy," Jun whispered low enough for only him and Shui to hear. "Ever since the third day. Noticed strength that filled my limbs more than I had ever known. Didn't think it was possible and yet here I am moving this without any effort at all."

He smiled, but didn't say anything at all.

Yin Hu's eyes caught the sight of someone sneaking from building to building. Not doing a good job of hiding themselves. The figure froze as soon as Yin Hu caught sight of them. Instead of sneaking, they headed straight toward Yin Hu and his group.

Jun took notice of where he was looking and followed his gaze. She stepped away from the wheel and picked up her staff, snapping it once as a threat in case it was needed.

The figure did not stop until they were next to Yin Hu. Face covered completely. A dirty brown hoodie on top. Thick robes and a cloak to boot. It was impossible to even make out if it was a man or woman with how much they covered themselves.

"Black Widows are coming for you. Slaughter the girls too. Tonight, soon. Maybe even before you get home."

That was all they said. Leaving them with cryptic words and disappearing as quickly as they arrived. Yin Hu had no clue what small very poisonous but relatively harmless spiders had to do with anything. It was a strange thing to say. Especially to someone who was an ancestor that was not familiar with the current world.

He looked back at Jun. Her face pale.

"I'm assuming you know what that cryptic saying meant?" Yin Hu said. Studying her reaction. Whatever it was, it would not bode well for them.

"Assassins. The Spider Cult Valley sent assassins after you."

Fuck! Assassins already? Why? Who the hell did I mess with? Did one of the guards have a sugar mom or something? Twelfth cousin to some young master?! Why the hell are assassins coming after me already?!

Yin Hu kept his face stoic. Channeling every single bit of his persona and the confidence he could take any mortal or weak cultivator with his physical strengths alone. Even a group of them with how broken his weapons were. Each one required incredulous amounts of experience to have unlocked them as rewards from the system.

"I-I don't. I can't," Jun was growing dizzy. Leaning heavily on the confused Shui. "They're too—"

"Then don't," Yin Hu needed to think of a plan quick. "What can a backwater Demonic sect send that I haven't killed with my gaze alone? Dragons bow their heads before me. These Black Widows stand no chance."

Jun seemed to regain color at his words. He was oozing fake confidence that had her bought in. Hook, line, and sinker. Even Shui had glowing eyes that seemed pretty unnatural but he assumed it had more to do with how amazing he was and the darkening sky. It would only be a few minutes before it turned into total darkness.

"You said, Assassins. As in more than one?"

Jun nodded.

We need a narrow area to funnel them through. Get them one by one.

Yin Hu pulled out his strongest large dagger. A gnarly piece of work that had a black blade, its edges made to rend flesh and cause a world of hurt rather than an instant kill. The bite of the blade pointed in the wrong direction. It would hook into flesh and pull. Though it was still in its sheath currently, hiding its terrifying look.

He stared at the girls. Resolving himself to beat down some poor bastards. This was more like a cultivation world. Slowly ratchet up rather than send out the boss before the first encounter started. He would smack these mortal assassins and maybe a level or two above them before dipping from the town if necessary.

Making sure to dodge the stronger cultivators and breaking any weaker ones for practice.

The only question remaining was: Would he be willing to kill in the moment?

Yin Hu knew his mind was no longer sound and normal. Living alone for hundreds of millions of years tended to break down any normal expression of emotions. He was lucky to have escaped as intact as he did. Maybe had he not met Shui so early he would have been a totally different person.

But that didn't mean he suddenly learned how to kill or was unaffected by it.

He would learn exactly what it meant to him soon enough. Whether he liked it or not, his life was on the line and so were the lives of both his new wards. He did not intend to fail them. Yin Hu refused to be alone again. Even if he had to kill to prevent something like that from happening again.

Never again. I swear I won't allow it to happen again.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.