Chapter 10
The sun's light was slowly fading, gradually hiding below the horizon as a blanket of darkness covered the land. Within the endless forest, a group of people walked toward a cave while talking. The three cultivators frowned, feeling insulted by the shameless mortal who talked to them like an equal. But since Cherry Lao followed him, they too walked toward the cave.
"Elder brother, I think this mortal is too shameless to talk to us this way, right?" Mei Wan said in a low voice to her older brother, not wanting Cherry Lao to hear. She felt that although Cherry Lao was the strongest among them, she had some feelings for this trashy mortal, which made Mei Wan feel contempt toward her.
"Keep it to yourself, junior sister. Their business is none of ours. It was already nice of them to invite us in so we could rest. Don't jump around like a rabid dog trying to bite the hands of those who extend their help," a soft voice, neither male nor female, interrupted Mei Wan.
"Shut up, you tranny! Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. I know you're eyeing that lowly mortal; I saw the way you look at him," Mei Wan scolded in a slightly loud voice.
When Shin Jiao heard this, he frowned a bit but continued walking as if he had heard nothing. Cherry Lao, on the other hand, held herself back from laughing.
While walking, the group had already been introduced. The girl named Mei Wan's older brother was called Lei Wan, and the man she called a "tranny" was named En Bo.
Not long after, they arrived and entered the cave. They each found a place to sit and recuperate from their wounds. Soon after, a delicious smell wafted through the air and filled the cave. The group, which had been focused on recuperating, was interrupted by the salivating aroma.
"Guys, eat first, then you can continue recuperating afterward," Shin Jiao said as he called for them.
He had already prepared the bowls and chopsticks on a small stone table. On the table was a large pot of wolf meat broth mixed with herbs and common vegetables found in the forest. The delicious smell made the group salivate even more upon walking closer. Seeing the food served, the three cultivators immediately felt hungry and helped themselves at the small stone table. Mei Wan sat beside Cherry Lao, and her brother sat on the other side with En Bo. Shin Jiao, on the other hand, just sat anywhere, enjoying his own meal.
"Senior sister, the food smells nice. Your servant truly can cook good dishes," Mei Wan said, trying to insinuate that Shin Jiao was just a servant.
Shin Jiao already knew how cultivators thought. He still didn't know why this young woman was picking on him, but then he noticed something about the way her older brother, Lei Wan, looked at Cherry Lao; there was a glint of lasciviousness in his gaze. Cherry Lao had already noticed this but was indifferent to these kinds of people, as she was used to it from her time in the Lotus Sect.
However, when Mei Wan noticed the way her brother looked at Cherry Lao, a crafty smirk appeared on her face.
"Senior sister, judging from your strength and spatial tool, I'm guessing you belong to a very powerful clan or a sect, right? If so, do you have a fiancé?" Mei Wan asked with a hint of naughtiness in her smile.
"No… I'm just… I'm just a vagrant cultivator," Cherry Lao said, feeling a bit flustered upon hearing the word "fiancé," but her gaze darted toward Shin Jiao, who was eating in the corner. Cherry Lao's action did not escape Lei Wan's eyes. He frowned, feeling a little annoyed that some random, trashy mortal was getting the attention of a beautiful cultivator like her. So he planned to get her attention with his impressive background and sent a signal to his sister, who also understood his meaning.
"Senior sister, you're truly amazing! If you could join our Thunder Sword Sect, with your cultivation level in the Golden Core Realm, you'll be a core disciple or even an elder in our sect. With our sect's resources, your cultivation would rapidly increase. Plus, with my elder brother's influence, we can help you… Come with us tomorrow… Don't waste your time here, being trapped in this place while helping a mere mortal," Mei Wan said as she tried to ingratiate herself with Cherry Lao while glancing at Shin Jiao with disdain.
"Little sister, don't say it like that. Senior sister Lao has a benevolent heart. She's trying to help this little brother here. Hopefully, someone will be thankful enough and not shamelessly rely on a woman's protection. A man should be able to stand on his own and not be protected behind a woman's back," Lei Wan said with a righteous air.
"You're right! Big brother, senior sister is truly a righteous woman. But alas, that sympathy would drag her down. Senior sister, you need to find someone you can depend on. A man with a strong, rich, and powerful background," Mei Wan added to hype up her brother.
"And who might that be? Your brother? Haha," Cherry Lao said with a hint of sarcasm.
"Yes, why not? We belong to the Wan clan from the capital of Yi City. Our family is one of the top noble families in the city, and both of us are inner disciples of the Thunder Sword Sect. With my brother's background, you won't lose anything. And I can see that my brother has taken a liking to you, senior sister; it would be your honor to have caught his eyes."
Hearing the shameless words of his companions, En Bo was dumbfounded. He knew this brother and sister duo were arrogant, but he never expected them to be this shameless. Shin Jiao, on the other hand, was also a little taken aback, but he had his fair share of shameless and arrogant people in his old world, so he wasn't that affected.
Cherry Lao, however, was seething with anger. Deep within her heart, she wanted to kick both of these clowns out of the cave. But she held herself back, stood up from the table, and walked to the bed to cultivate, as if she didn't care about anything else. Her cold reaction stunned the duo, who realized their effort had been for nothing.
"Hey! Eat first before cultivating. I don't want to waste this food," Shin Jiao called to her, not minding the three people at the table. Seeing that she didn't react, he just let it be. He knew she was angry. The three people felt a little awkward from her cold reaction, especially the two siblings, as they discovered their effort was for naught. But they continued eating as if nothing had happened. Shin Jiao left a portion of the food for Cherry Lao and cleaned everything up after everyone was done eating. The three cultivators didn't bother him as they, too, began to recuperate and heal their wounds.
"Brother, I think this girl is not that simple. She didn't even bat an eye upon hearing the name of our school and your background. What should we do then?" Mei Wan whispered, still unable to accept the result of their machinations.
"Little sister, you don't have to worry about this. I have a plan, just be patient," Lei Wan replied in a low tone.
...
The next morning, the three left the cave peacefully, which made Shin Jiao a little suspicious. Especially when they said nothing and just cupped their hands and left.
"That was weird. I thought they would convince you to go with them," Shin Jiao said as he stood beside Cherry Lao while looking at the three cultivators who had disappeared into the thick forest.
"Humph… So you want me to go and leave you here alone?" she said with an annoyed face.
"Umm… No, of course not. Who would I bully if you left me?"
"Hah! So, you think you can still bully me? Again, huh? With my strength now, see if I won't make you suffer," Cherry Lao said as the temperature around her suddenly dropped, giving off a thin layer of frost.
Feeling the freezing aura, Shin Jiao immediately stepped away from her. With a sheepish smile on his face, he raised his hands in surrender.
"Okay, okay! Sorry, I promise I won't bully you anymore."
"Do you want to go out? You know… see the place…" Shin Jiao said to her with a smile.
"No! I will just stay here for now. I still need to solidify my cultivation and strength," Cherry Lao said as she turned and entered the cave, closing the door.
"Okay, I'll go out and look around the area."
"This… is this her true self? Why did her attitude suddenly turn from a sweet girl to a cold princess? Truly baffling," Shin Jiao thought, shaking his head while looking at the closed stone door.
From his ring, he took out and put on his goggles. Before he could take out the rest of his equipment, he saw that not too far away, behind a thick patch of bushes, there were three auras. They seemed to be watching him, and judging from their auras, they were the three cultivators who had just left.
"Hmm… What are they up to this time?…" Shin Jiao thought and then suddenly had an idea. He didn't actually consider these clowns a threat, as he could take them down if he wanted to, but he wasn't a bully. So he would just watch them and decide what to do later.
Not too far away, the three cultivators were watching Shin Jiao. They were confused about what he was thinking and why he was outside the cave.
"Brother, why did she close the cave door? Did she just kick him out? This might be our chance," Mei Wan said excitedly.
"Hey, you two. What are you planning now? I'll tell you this just once: if you're going to do something crazy, I'm out," said En Bo with a hint of a threat in his tone.
"Hah! Who needs your help? My brother and I can do this… By the way, what's your plan, big brother?" Mei Wan asked, remembering that she still didn't know what they were going to do.
"Hehe… Well, it's actually simple… You see, I think that woman has feelings for that lowly mortal. So we just have to kidnap that mortal and then make her eat this meridian-clogging pill. Once her cultivation level regresses to the Core-Forming Realm, we can then subdue her. What do you think?" Lei Wan said with a sinister smile.
"Brother, you're a genius! That's right, we can do that… Hahaha," Mei Wan laughed excitedly.
"Both of you are crazy. If I didn't promise my master to help you two, I would have gone back to the sect already. This is such a waste of time," En Bo said with a tone of helplessness.
"Look, brother! He… he went into the forest by himself! Is he crazy?… He's just a lowly mortal… I think he's trying to impress that woman. What a fool… Well, this is also good for us. Let's go and follow him," Mei Wan said excitedly.
...
Shin Jiao casually walked through the forest, clearing some bushes every now and then, acting as if he didn't know what he was doing. After some time, he came across a two-meter-tall 2nd-level red mantis. The beast was busy digging something from the ground and was startled when a small young human appeared behind it.
As if by reflex, the mantis immediately swung its blade-like front leg toward Shin Jiao, who quickly ducked. Then Shin Jiao quickly ran away, but his direction was toward the three people hiding in the shadows. When he was close to their hiding place, a smile appeared on his face, and he slowed his pace a little. When the mantis was near him, he immediately jumped to his left, dodging a cross-slash from the beast. That strike, which didn't hit Shin Jiao, cleared the bushes where the three cultivators were hiding, thus exposing them to the giant mantis.
"You! How come you guys are here?" Shin Jiao said with disbelief.
The three were also surprised by the turn of events. The red mantis was also surprised to see that the number of its enemies had increased. Then, as if by instinct, it became enraged and pounced toward the one who was the easiest to hit. According to its physique, it deduced that the tall young male would be an easy target.
"Brother, watch out!" Mei Wan shouted as she drew her sword.
Seeing that the mantis was already slashing toward him, Lei Wan smirked and condensed a large amount of Qi in his hands. He then extended his hands in an attempt to catch the incoming blade-like front leg of the red mantis. When he got hold of the legs, Lei Wan was suddenly pushed back by the force, but he didn't let go of his grip.
"Ha!" With a shout, he broke the front leg of the mantis. Then he quickly dashed forward, swinging it toward the beast's head. When Lei Wan landed on the ground, the mantis's head rolled down, and green, gooey blood spurted from its neck.
"This beast is too weak. Hehe…" Lei Wan said proudly.
"Hey, little mortal! What are you doing in the middle of this dangerous forest?" Lei Wan then turned his attention toward Shin Jiao, who was standing on the other side.
"Me? Nothing much, just looking at some bugs," Shin Jiao replied with a ridiculing tone.
"You've got guts! Let me teach some lessons to trash like you," Mei Wan shouted as she suddenly swung her sword at Shin Jiao's head. The strike was without a doubt aiming to take Shin Jiao's life. She had been gritting her teeth this whole time, feeling that it was an insult to see a cultivator treating this lowly human as an equal. She was unsatisfied with Cherry Lao's behavior. As a young mistress of her clan, she would always throw her weight around and get her own way. She would kill whomever she wanted to without worrying about the consequences.
"Humph, this is what you get for acting like an ugly frog trying to eat the swan," Lei Wan said in a cold tone.
"No! Don't!" En Bo shouted with a frantic face upon seeing the dangerous situation the young mortal was about to face.