Stolen Herb
Just one street away from the restaurant, Wuying paused, eyeing a growing circle of people gathered around something. She sensed that something was amiss. As they approached, the sounds of a fight became audible.
Fighting in the city was strictly forbidden, with hefty fines for violators.
'Xuefeng, I can sense some Fate Qi in the air! There must be a Fate Spirit Herb nearby. What luck,' Ling exclaimed.
"Let's check it out," Xuefeng said, moving quickly at Ling's urging. He wasn't about to miss such an opportunity.
He tried to push through the crowd but found it too dense. Growing frustrated, his surroundings suddenly turned grey and blurred. Warmth enveloped his hand—Wuying's Spirit Art at work.
"Right, how could I forget about your skills?" He was so excited that he had momentarily forgotten Wuying's abilities.
"No problem," she replied, canceling her art. They reappeared in the middle of the circle, facing a shocking scene: a young boy, around 12 years old, covered in injuries and blood, clinging desperately to the leg of a man in a black robe.
"Give me my herb back!" the boy shouted, despite his severe injuries.
"Get lost! I didn't take anything from you," the man, who appeared to be in his twenties, snarled, kicking at the boy with his free leg.
"Aaargh, give me my herb back!" the boy cried, spitting blood but biting the man's leg in defiance.
"Damn brat!" The man, now enraged, drew a long knife and aimed a strike at the boy.
The sharp sound of blade meeting blade rang out, waking the crowd from their stupor. They averted their eyes, not wanting to get involved.
Before they could process what had happened, they heard another metallic clatter as a blade hit the ground. All eyes turned to see a handsome blond teen blocking the strike.
The black-robed man was equally stunned. He hadn't expected anyone to intervene, especially not someone who would risk offending whatever force he belonged to.
Seeing the whole situation, Xuefeng was furious. He couldn't comprehend why everyone treated this like a spectacle instead of stepping in to help. It was the first time he felt such a strong urge to hurt someone.
"What do you think you're doing?!" he bellowed, pressing his rank 5 sword to the man's neck. He turned to the crowd, shouting, "And what about all of you? Why are you just watching and doing nothing? He could have killed this boy!"
The crowd fell silent. His voice echoed clearly. Though they knew they should have helped, no one had. Such was the nature of this world, to avoid getting involved.
The man felt the cold steel at his neck and swallowed nervously. He stopped struggling, letting the sword hilt drop to the ground. "Who are you?!"
'Do you want me to save this boy? He's in bad shape and could die from internal bleeding,' Ling informed Xuefeng.
'Yes,' Xuefeng replied without hesitation. Ignoring the man's question, he placed his free hand on the boy's face, pretending to give him something, while Ling healed him through Xuefeng's body.
The boy, unconscious from blood loss, regained consciousness within seconds thanks to Ling's intervention.
"Are you alright?" Xuefeng asked as the boy opened his eyes.
"Why did you help me?" the boy asked, confused but feeling a surge of energy within him.
"Because it was the right thing to do," Xuefeng replied with a smile.
The boy repeated the sentence in his mind, determined to remember it.
"Big brother, can you help me? I tried to sell a herb at the bazaar, but this man stole it from me," the boy pleaded, glaring at the man.
Xuefeng turned to the man, pressing his sword harder against his neck, drawing a thin line of blood. "You have five seconds to put the herb in my hand, or your head will roll."
"This kid is lying! It was my herb, and he's trying to frame me!" the man shouted in desperation.
"Shameless! Big brother, he's lying!" the boy cried, fearing Xuefeng might believe the man.
"I am not going to repeat myself," Xuefeng said coldly as he started counting down.
The man trembled in anger, but before the count reached zero, he pulled out a flower with white petals and three golden stamens glowing faintly. "You are going to regret this!"
"We will see about that," Xuefeng retorted as he checked the herb. 'Is that the herb you sensed earlier?'
'That's right. Although it doesn't have much Fate Qi, it's still better than nothing,' Ling replied excitedly.
Xuefeng turned to the boy with a smile and suggested, "Boy, you said you were trying to sell this herb. How about selling it to me? It's a very rare herb so if I give it back to you, someone else might try to rob you."
Hearing the proposal, the thief who watched the interaction turned red, his eyes filled with hate. It was clear Xuefeng stopped him from taking the herb away so he could steal it from him.
"Thank you, big brother!" The boy agreed without hesitation, looking at Xuefeng's sword in admiration. "Actually, could I possibly exchange it for the Spirit Awakening Pill? I want to become a cultivator like a big brother."
"I see, so you haven't started cultivating yet," Xuefeng pondered out loud as he glanced at Wuying. "How about we contact the Trade Union and pay you the value of this herb in Spirit Awakening Liquid? It should be more than enough to awaken your talent."
The proposal was the breaking point for the thief, his eyes glowing with determination. Seeing that Xuefeng was still occupied with the boy, the thief attempted a desperate move. He stepped into Xuefeng's blind spot and summoned another knife, suddenly lunging at Xuefeng's neck.
"Big brother!" the boy cried out in alarm at the last moment, but Wuying was already on top of the matter. Blood splattered, and the crowd gasped at the unexpected turn of events.
"Remember this for the future: never take your eyes off your opponent," Wuying said, kicking the man's lifeless body to the ground. His head, severed, rolled away.
Xuefeng touched his face, feeling warm liquid drip down his cheek. His arm was red with blood and the smell of iron assaulted his nostrils. Seeing the headless corpse, he felt a wave of nausea but controlled himself.
"Clean up the body," Wuying commanded, and several Shadow Guard members appeared out of nowhere, surrounding them. "The show is over. The Liu Clan will handle the aftermath."
Hearing her mention the Liu Clan, the bystanders quickly dispersed, though they couldn't resist whispering among themselves.
"So they're from the Liu Clan Shadow Guard. They could have told us sooner."
"Do you know who that blond guy is? Could he be the famous Young Master with the black talent?"
"Probably. Only someone like him would step in to help."
Wuying approached Xuefeng, who was still in shock from what had just transpired.
"Let's clean you up," she said, taking his hand and leading him to the nearest fountain.