Yin Hu stared at the blue and silver fishing rod. Octopus tentacles wrapped around like vines on a tree or pole, swirling back and forth in more than a dozen. Each one had hooks and barbs on the end. Beady eyes made, eight of them with one damaged and closed, the knob.

It made his skin shiver just looking at it. Maybe too much. Goosebumps and a cold crawling down his back.

Do Koi Fish skin shiver? Do they feel anxiety and fear?

He hoped not. But he was running thin of it and patience. It had been hours since he roared to the world and let everyone know his intention of making the Koi into stir fry and or burgers. Grabbing his most dangerous sounding fishing pole and launching it into the depths of the lake. Hoping for success.

Yin Hu hadn't even seen a dark figure shift within the water. For all intents and purposes, there were no Koi Fish in there when it had been full just a moment ago. Where was the shameless fish? The same one that kept nabbing his baits and breaking his flimsy rods.

Where were the other five that had been nearly as ridiculous as his great nemesis, the one with red streaks on its side? Fish couldn't just get up and walk out of a lake. And they had been in there for some time now without making it out. Yin Hu had assumed they were trapped.

But he must have been wrong.

There had to be a way out deeper into the lake he could not see. Similar to the breeze. The cool wind came from deeper inside the cavern. Probably a wide opening or maybe even multiple ones connected to this room. Or there wouldn't have been any wind at all.

He sighed and looked back at his rice bag. Another day. Another chance to eat his corrupting and very nutritious rice. Blessing and a curse all packed into tiny little grains of carbs and starches. Probably fats and protein too. He would have died already if not for all macronutrients being available to him.

Yin Hu had more reason to believe they left the cave entirely. Not just an assumption.

White streaks of light shot out of the lake a while back. Almost as soon as he had taken out his 'Twenty Tentacled Kraken - The Fell Creature' and launched the grim looking hook into the water. He had mostly ignored it as cultivation world shenanigans. That is until six in total streaked out of the water almost faster than he could keep up, just at the edge of his abilities.

He had attempted to deny that possibility out right for some time. Rejecting what was obvious. In a cultivation world, how strange was Koi Fish turning into balls of light and flying out of the lake and into the sky? It wasn't that crazy. Didn't Spiritual Beasts transform into different things as they evolved?

Fuck.

Yin Hu got up from his lounging chair and took the bag with him. They were getting hungry. No time left to keep waiting for the orbs of light that were the Koi Fish to return back into the lake for him to catch and eat. As wonderful as it sounded.

"Ancestor, come look at the stone I found! It's shiny!" Shui shouted from outside of the cave.

The two girls had exited a while back to sit in the sun and play around a little bit. A break from the constant work and practicing the strange Tai Chi techniques he had them do. He had taken it too far. Shui had collapsed and turned pale twice already.

Shui must have poor constitution. That was the only viable explanation for her sickliness and inability to stand straight at a certain point. Constantly falling face first into the ground. Talking to herself. Imagining weird things happening around her. Paling at weird times and moments and collapsing to the ground.

Yin Hu walked out of the cavern. Taking his time to keep the persona and figure of myth that he was supposed to be. He paused as soon as he exited. Expecting to step out into the sunlight and be blinded for a second, but that did not happen.

He had a clear view of the three new figures that stayed right at the edge of the forest line.

Large, wide brimmed straw hats over their heads. Black cloaks over their bodies covering them entirely. Their sizes and heights differed. One with a hunched back. Another towering over everyone with prodigious height. The third was squat and rotund. All three stood there watching them without moving, whispering among themselves.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The girls did not see them. Arguing amongst each other and trying to figure out what they were going to do with their shiny new rock. Even Jun did not react to the new figures. Clearly unable to see them. Their backs turned and defenseless.

Yin Hu wasn't sure what to think. Why could he see them when Jun hadn't even noticed them there whispering and watching for some while. What would have happened had he not stepped out at this very moment to catch them? Would they have killed the girls while he was inside? Coming out of another disappointment only to see the two girls dead?

"—I want the older girl. For myself." Said the taller one, mentioning Jun.

The fat one swung his fist at the taller one. Missing. "I have no time for women! Neither should you. Kill them and get out of here, we have places to be. Other people to kill. Isn't that right, Master YugWan"

"I," the hunched figure reached out with both hands towards Yin Hu. "Sense a disturbance."

Yin Hu frowned. "Introduce yourselves."

The figures' cloaks fluttered and snapped behind them. Like a strong wind blew them open. Exposing the swords and myriad of bottles and weapons strapped onto their bodies. It also exposed the hunched person's face. An old man. White, long beard and sharp piercing eyes. His straw hat was askew.

Jun and Shui startled at his words. Their eyes finally snapping onto the foreign figures that had been invisible to them just a moment ago.

"I-I… We…" YugWan's arms were still extended out.

"No." Yin Hu said, silencing the man.

This was good. A perfect opportunity for his girls to practice. He surveyed all the individuals thoroughly with his senses. Yin Hu couldn't feel even a bit of Qi from them except a little from the old man. Otherwise, they were basically skilled mortal assassins. Much like the spider girls he obliterated not too long ago.

Perfect sources of training for Jun and Shui's new weapons. Easy to beat.

He just needed them to not introduce themselves. Save Jun from her constant mental weakness of big named peoples even if they were as weak as children compared to her. He would slowly break her out of this shell. And eventually overcome her fear of big names and branding.

It would take time though. But this was as good a start as any.

"No," he repeated. "Don't introduce yourselves. It won't matter much in the grand scheme of things anyway."

YugWan and his two disciples attempted to take steps back, heads looking up above them. Turning left and right. Pale from terror. But they couldn't move and stuck in their positions. Yin Hu could see them shake and tremble from a distance.

Proof that his fake persona was powerful. Cultivators had overactive imaginations and were easy to dupe it seemed. That was exactly what he needed from them. Hallucinating his power level and matching it with a galaxy destroying ancient monster. He would enjoy it while he could.

"Come on in." He waved them into the clearing. Then turned to Jun and Shui. "Grab your weapons. You will be fighting the fat one and the tall skinny one. And Jun—"

Jun's hands were already shaking.

Shui had already ran by him to grab her massive hammer from the blankets she tucked it in. It was a good decision not to give her a more terrifying named weapon. Especially if she was this enthusiastic about fighting.

"—don't ask for their names and titles. Take advantage of your blade's superiority and confidence to beat them. Don't hesitate and remember my lessons."

Jun nodded and ran by him to grab her 'WorldBane - Thin Eviscerating Grass Blade'.

YugWan and his disciples gingerly stepped into the clearing. The two disciples waited in the center while the YugWan himself approached Yin Hu. The old man pulled out a cane from nowhere. A spacial pocket, maybe one of the five rings on each hand. He leaned heavily on it as he approached.

One of the rings shattered and fell off his hand. Then a second. The closer he got the more broke and shattered into pieces. Finally, he arrived before Yin Hu. Missing six total rings.

"Ancient predecessor. Forgive this YugWan and his ugly disciples. We must have made a mistake and targeted the wrong people. Bounty hunting is our way of life. But we aren't so smart, you see. Making ridiculous mistakes and stumbling like fools in the forest. Please have mercy."

Yin Hu watched the old man spin a hundred lies. But there were truths. One in particular he had caught and it made his head spin.

They still have bounties on the Hu clan girls? How did they find them? If a bounty hunter could locate us so quickly, what about trackers and people with entire cultivations based on finding people? Would they catch up to us too?

He frowned, had much to think on.

The old man winced. His disciples shook like trembling trees behind him.

Do all cultivators have mental problems?

Yin Hu had to believe that was the case. He had seen too many of them that were downright delusional and actually believed they were super cultivators but were mortals instead. And then he had disciples, both of YugWan's and his own with constant paling and weak mental and physical constitutions.

Luckily he had a solution for that. For Jun and Shui. Not for YugWan's disciples who were talking about Jun not too long ago. They would suffer the consequences. Maybe only their master might escape this whole debacle simply because he had been quiet.

"L-Let me make you some tea! It is courtesy between the older generations to drink tea while the younger generation competes! There is no need for you to get involved! Rest. Rest!" YugWan immediately pulled out a table and two rickety chairs.

Yin Hu waved his hand. His own cushioned and very comfortable chair appeared out of this air. He moved YugWan's offered seat. Moving his own into position and sitting down. He kept his face stoic. Enjoying every moment of the old man's assumptions.

"Good," he said. "A competition is a good way to put it."

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