Unlucky thats Courting Death

"He was a good boy, a little foolish but a good boy..." Lu Tai spoke a little melancholically, looking at the freshly buried earth.

"...it's a pity that this foolishness put him in this place," Liu Rui, leaning on an old shovel, said while sighing.

"It's this new generation of youngsters who are reckless..." Xu Si, with a gruff voice, said uncompassionately, looking at the fresh grave of the young man. "...they practice mediocre martial arts, and the next thing they do is think they can face legitimate Gu masters. Ah, such foolishness."

"If it were that simple, Gu masters wouldn't rule the world with us as their worthless servants!" Xu Si's voice was full of sarcasm as he spoke indignantly.

"Come on, there's no need for this now that the poor boy is already six feet under..." Lu Tai said, trying to calm Xu Si down.

Of course, being his old friends, he knew that Xu Si wasn't really despising the dead young man; he was venting his frustrations in the only way a grumpy, drunken old man like him knew how.

"Ah, that's why I never liked those damn monks teaching nonsense they call martial arts to the youngsters!" Xu Si complained, taking a gulp of his cheap bamboo wine.

"Do you think they will care that their teachings have already led to a death? Now it will be up to the boy's parents to mourn his death..."

Liu Rui listened to his friend's words, which, despite being harsh, showed concern. "I understand and agree with your anger, but we can't do anything now, not with the Gu Mast-"

"Well, it wasn't my intention to interrupt your mourning, but we have to leave now because, as I said before, I intend to reach the Huo clan as quickly as possible!" The three of them felt their expressions freeze and a chill run down their spines when they heard the Gu master's voice calling out to them loudly from behind.

"Of course, young master. As you can see, we have already dismantled the entire camp..." Lu Tai quickly said as he turned to face Chen Wei. "...we can leave to start the journey now, under the orders of the young master, no prob-"

But his words got stuck in his throat when he turned to look at Chen Wei and saw three celestial beauties behind him, they were more beautiful than any woman he had ever seen in his village, actually even the most beautiful women in his village losing by a long distance when it comes to beauty.

In fact, the three girls beside Chen Wei should be more compared to pure and untouched celestial fairies with pale white jade-like skin than to mortal women who had been marked by their lives of hard work and hardship.

But Lu Tai didn't dare to look at them for more than a second, only catching a fleeting glance at their immaculate, arrogant, and calm expressions that matched their status as the women of a Gu master.

In truth, the arrogance he managed to glimpse in their expressions appeared much less than what the wife and daughters of the village leader showed on their faces or what the young women who managed to throw themselves into the beds of the visiting Gu masters had on theirs, which gave these three girls an air of modesty and gentleness.

Combined with their beautiful figures and distinct celestial beauties, Lu Tai now understood how Yu Fu was so foolish to get into trouble with a Gu master after offending their dignity.

Which is an action that any hormonal young man not yet introduced to the harshness of this world could have taken if they saw three beautiful beauties with relatively gentle expressions on their faces. It's not their fault, as even middle-aged men like him wouldn't be much better.

At this moment, Lu Tai even felt relieved that it was Yu Fu who ended up encountering the Gu master first and that when they met him, Chen Wei was alone. If he had been in Yu Fu's place, it might have been his body now six feet under the ground.

*Cough* Lu Tai faked a strong cough to justify the pause in his words and the time he spent thinking. "As I was saying... no problem to start the journey now, young-!"

*Swish* *cut* But before he realized it, a drop of putrid black blood flew through the air, making a sharp sound at a speed too fast for his eyes to follow, as he didn't even realize the target of this attack.

But if he could see, he would notice that the drop of putrid blood hit with surgical precision and immense force, directly and completely destroying Liu Rui's right eye, causing him to fall to his knees instantly from the pain.

"Argh!! Argh... forgive me, young master, for my insolence...!" Liu Rui screamed, his voice a mixture of fear, pain, and shock.

Liu Rui, kneeling on the ground from the pain, his hand covering his bleeding right eye, had his mind in turmoil because, despite apologizing for his insolence, he had no idea what this "insolence" was.

From his perspective, he literally did nothing wrong. Even his concern about offending Chen Wei's wives like Yu Fu did made no sense since he only took a quick, glance at them before looking at the sky without hesitation, fearing to appear insolent.

"Lay your filthy eyes on one of my beloved wives again, and you will beg for a quick death..." Chen Wei's voice was full of authoritarian anger, leaving Liu Rui greatly shocked internally.

In fact, if he knew that he had done nothing wrong or more than the other two and that it was just an act by Chen Wei, who randomly chose him to be attacked, he might have coughed up blood at such injustice and bad luck.

"All of you, keep that in mind, for if you court death, I will not hesitate to introduce you to it!" Chen Wei pointed at the three of them as they all kneeled in fear, seeing Liu Rui's condition.

And for Chen Wei, maintaining this act of an arrogant young master, he cared little for Liu Rui's misfortune, who had just lost his eye purely by bad luck, or for the fear the others were feeling at that moment, for by the end of this journey, they would be dead men anyway. So their emotions mattered little.

But for the duration of this journey, while they would be alive, Chen Wei wanted to ensure he instilled an aura of fear and dread in them, preventing them from taking any stupid actions. Pretending to be an arrogant young master who could cruelly kill any of them for the slightest offense was the most efficient way to do this.

Even though it might seem unnecessary because, for now, these three mortals wouldn't dare lift their heads towards Chen Wei, he knew the human heart is fickle and ever-changing, so nothing guaranteed him that at some point their emotions of envy, lust, and anger wouldn't make them attack.

Which wouldn't be a problem for him in terms of combat, but it could hinder his refinement plan as he needed them alive at least until he obtained the blood orchids and a few other Blood Path Gu materials.

"No more need to kneel... now guide me to the Yu village!" Chen Wei said, while gesturing for the three girls to stay by his side.

"Yes, young master Yi Zhan!" The three declared in unison, their voices overflowing with fear.

They quickly stood up without hesitation, even with Liu Rui, who was bleeding non-stop from his eye, doing the same, lifting the heavy backpack on his back with great difficulty due to the pain in his eye, but there was nothing he could do.

"..." Chen Wei simply watched them silently as they moved forward, carrying the camp equipment in their backpacks and leading the way along the river, not daring to lift their heads an inch to look in his direction.

Chen Wei nodded in satisfaction and turned to see Yu Lian looking at them with eyes showing pity and a bit of sadness. "...do not pity them. Men like these are like stray dogs."

Hearing these words, the beautiful girl turned her gaze to Chen Wei with a questioning and slightly indignant look. Even though he had explained to them the reasons for his actions earlier so they would act accordingly, Yu Lian didn't believe such cruelty was necessary for these innocent-looking fishermen.

"...now that they have been beaten, they run with their tails between their legs while obeying their masters," Chen Wei continued, seeing that the girl didn't understand what he meant by his aristocratic proverb. "...but if you let them roam free and unrestricted, it is only a matter of time before they become wild beasts that attack everything in their path to satisfy their most sinful and cruel desires."

Wang Mei and Feng Hua nodded in agreement, hearing Chen Wei's words, as they, being legitimate or adopted daughters of aristocratic families, had heard this phrase countless times, unlike Yu Lian, who was hearing it for the first time, since she comes from a family of ordinary Gu masters.

In fact, this proverb was made by the big Gu Master families not only to refer to mortals but mainly to the ordinary low-born or foreign Gu masters, and it was always repeated to their descendants so they would understand the meaning of the nepotism practiced in the clan system.

*Sigh* "I... understand..." Yu Lian says as she tries to absorb the meaning of Chen Wei's words, knowing that she needs to lose her innocence before life punishes her for it.

In fact, she has had this thought in mind for a long time because she understands that, unlike them, she came from a low-class Gu Master family and received the worst education. In both her lives, she only focused on reading books, caring for plants, and learning herbology, with the least experience in combat.

"If that's so, then let's go..." Chen Wei says as he begins to follow the three fishermen, who wait for them in a subservient manner.

The three girls follow Chen Wei without hesitation, staying close behind him and paying attention to all his movements, prepared to follow his orders in case of danger. This had become an almost unconscious action for them due to their time in the forest.

"So, tell me, what is the esteemed leader of Yu village like?" Chen Wei asks, obviously not just trying to start small talk but rather to obtain valuable information.

"He is a well-respected man in the village and was a great hunter in his youth..." Lu Tai, understanding the meaning of the words, speaks while continuing to lead the way without looking back. "...So when the Huo clan needed a Gu Master to permanently guard our village, he was chosen."

"There's also a rumor that he is the illegitimate son of a Gu Master from the Huo clan and that's why he got the position..." Xu Si says with a subservient tone, lacking any of his earlier sarcasm.

"..." Liu Rui, hearing the conversation, simply remains silent, trying to stop the bleeding from his eye sorrowfully, not wanting to further incite the Gu Master's anger.

"These are just unfounded rumors, of course," Lu Tai says indignantly at Xu Si's imprudence in saying this because if the village leader knew they spoke about this rumor to Young Master Yi Zhan, they would be harshly punished.

"No need to worry, I won't reveal anything you tell me here..." Chen Wei says with the calm and tranquility of someone who knows he won't have to keep his word. "...In fact, I might even reward you if it's really valuable information... but if you keep me in the dark, I won't act as kindly as I have until now!"

After hearing these words, the three fishermen seemed to become pigs given the treatment of a stick and carrot, starting to speak nonstop about everything they knew, as if hungry for these benefits or afraid of sounding less enthusiastic than the others, which could lead to punishment.

And for Chen Wei, this was a great gain since he was able to obtain concrete and important information about the village leader's cultivation, which was at Rank 1 middle stage, as well as his Gu, being two that, according to the fishermen's descriptions of their effects and Chen Wei's knowledge of different types of Gu, were the Light Membrane Gu and Light Blade Gu.

Of course, there was also information he didn't need to know, such as the rumor of the village leader supposedly having a thing for being dominated by hairy women, which, just by existing, made Chen Wei question how twisted someone must be to think of such a thing.

"Well... how far along the journey are we from the place where you obtained the blood orchids?" Chen Wei says, wanting to change the topic of conversation while looking at the clear, crystal water of the flowing river, a true untouched natural beauty.

"Oh, that's about a day's journey from here and it's in an area inhabited by bearded purple serpents..." Lu Tai speaks quickly before the other two can say anything.

"I caught some of them on the way because my wife wanted them..." Chen Wei listens attentively to his words while comparing them with what Yu Gu said.

"But I only risked doing that a day ago because the bearded purple serpents don't come out on full moon days..." Lu Tai feels an ominous premonition with his words.

"Now that it's the waning moon phase, it would be very dangerous to go there! Both for you, Gu Master, and for your women..." Lu Tai continues speaking quickly as his heart begins to weigh with fear due to the possible interest of the Young Master in obtaining these orchids at this moment.

Of course, even though he knows these serpents aren't poisonous and thus don't present such a great risk to his life, only a foolish man would willingly go to a place filled every inch with serpents, and only a fool who has lost all sanity would do so with a smile on his face.

But from what he imagines, this shouldn't be a major concern for a Gu Master who can kill hundreds and destroy mountains and rivers with a wave of his hand. But for him, an ordinary mortal, it's a nightmare.

"Don't worry, my wives and I will be safe since you will kindly lead the way, right?" Chen Wei speaks, questioning with a calm and gentle tone.

"...." The three fishermen are left speechless.

Soon, they find themselves looking at each other, all having the same thoughts while cursing the heavens and wondering what sin they committed to deserve such punishment and torment, and how they could deserve such bad luck to cross paths with this cruel young master.