Rumors

Later that evening, at a tavern close to the inn Ryker was staying at...

Ryker walked into the busy tavern while rubbing at his stomach, taking in the rich smell of fried meats and poured liquor. As he entered, a waitress greeted him over the incessant chatter of the tavern's patrons, and led him to a free seat, asking if he was fine to share the table with others.

"Sure, that's fine," he said, simply, taking the offered seat and sitting down with a contented sigh. He grabbed a menu that was placed at the middle of the table, reading over its contents with help from Mini C's translation routines.

{Didn't you just eat an hour ago? How are you hungry again?} Bestie asked curiously.

'If we're gonna be traveling, anyway, we gotta try as much food as we can, right? The thought of new foods to try keeps me hungry at all times!' he thought back, licking his lips while thinking about which dish to try, here.

{Is that really how hunger works...?}

[Just remember to refrain from too much alcohol.]

'Yeah, yeah...'

"Ah..."

As Ryker was perusing the menu, an audible gasp from beside him made him look up, to see a familiar young man sitting to his right, his mouth opened in surprise in the middle of his meal of stir-fried noodles.

"Oh, hey, you're that guy from earlier!" Ryker said with a smile, putting the menu aside, for the moment, and leaning on the table as he casually struck up a conversation.

"What's up? Those guys from back then were saying some pretty harsh stuff, huh?"

"Huh? Er, I mean, yes..."

Hu Long was slightly taken aback, quickly sucking up the noodle hanging from out the side of his mouth and clearing his throat awkwardly. Although he could tell that this man was a strange one when he was eavesdropping on his confrontation with Fu Ling and her cronies, earlier, most people wouldn't bring up something so embarrassing on their first meeting with each other, would they?

"Um, sorry, but your name was...?" he asked, knitting his brows together in a fluster.

"Oh, right, my bad. My name's Ryker, how about you?"

"Hu Long."

Ryker gave him a salute as he introduced himself, to which Hu Long returned the gesture. At this time, the waitress came back around to take Ryker's order, and he placed an order for spicy tofu with beef, along with an extra portion of rice.

As the waitress bowed and went to relay his order to the kitchen, Ryker turned back to Hu Long and leaned in a little closer, looking around conspiratorially while speaking in a low voice.

"So, hey, what's the deal between you and that other girl?" he said, putting a hand over his mouth as if they were talking about some big secret.

"... That's not something you usually ask of someone you just met. Did you really think I would tell you?"

Hu Long was somewhat annoyed, now, looking at this meddlesome young man in front of him with narrowed eyes.

"Haha, well you never know unless you ask, right?"

Ryker just shrugged his shoulders and laughed, leaning his chair back on two legs.

"If you don't wanna say, you don't have to, of course."

"... Right."

The two of them didn't say anything else until Ryker's food came out to the table, at which point he thanked the waitress and began to scarf it down like it was his last meal, scooping the fiery red broth filled with squishy tofu and tender beef onto his rice before putting spoonful after spoonful into his mouth.

Hu Long, who had finished his meal, by now, simply watched Ryker eat with a grimace; there's no way this guy was some kind of powerhouse comparable to a Soul Wandering expert, right?

... But, then again, he looked to be similar in age to him, and from what he could tell, he was at least in the mid-level Foundation Establishment realm. That was already enough to put him on par with many of the Eastern Region's geniuses, and it was certainly much more impressive than his own second-level of Qi Gathering cultivation.

"... Hey. Your body refinement technique is rather powerful, isn't it?" Hu Long asked Ryker tentatively, looking away and scratching his neck awkwardly. He knew he had just chided him for asking invasive questions, but...

"Hm?"

Ryker quickly swallowed the bite of food he was chewing on, chugging some of the watery rice wine that had come with the meal to wash it all down.

"Phew! You could tell?" he said, putting his cup down and grinning cheerfully. He still didn't have a lot of practice using his spiritual sense to gauge the power of others, since Mini C did that for him and much more accurately, at that, so he didn't think anything of Hu Long being able to determine that he had a strong level of body refinement.

"Ahem. You know, if you want to know more about the relationship between me and Fu Ling, I could tell you if you teach me that body refinement technique of yours."

Hu Long understood that it was really shameless of him to be making a deal, such as this, but, in Ryker's own words, you never knew unless you asked. Perhaps this young man really would teach him his technique in exchange for a little bit of gossip.

"Hm... That really is tempting, but..."

Ryker trailed off, causing Hu Long to gesture impatiently for him to continue.

"But?"

"Well, I actually got some place I gotta be, so I'll be leaving town tomorrow morning. I don't think the technique is something you can learn overnight, you know?"

At this, Hu Long rubbed his chin, thinking things over.

"Hm... in fact, I'm also leaving town, tomorrow. Perhaps we could travel together? Which way are you heading?"

"I'm goin' to the Dabang Sect. You?"

"What a coincidence! So am I!"

The two of them continued to chat as Ryker finished his food, planning to meet up tomorrow and travel together to the Dabang Sect. After settling the bill and saying their goodbyes for the evening, they returned to their respective domiciles, Ryker to his inn and Hu Long to his family's residence.

[Must we really take on such a troublesome companion?] Mini C asked Ryker with a sigh as they returned.

"Come on, it's not like we gotta train him like we did with Meiling. Just teach him how to do it and that should hold up our end of the bargain!"

[Easy for you to say...]

"Please! I'll ask C to upgrade the compad's processor if you do?"

[... I suppose it should be fine.]

Although Ryker said he would be teaching Hu Long the body refining technique, it was of course up to Mini C to actually do so. Still, since they technically weren't diverting from their original goal of meeting up with Caelus, Mini C didn't mind... too much.

--

It was early the next morning when Hu Long woke up, staring up at the ceiling in a daze from inside the covers of his warm, comfy bed. The sound of songbirds announced the start of the day as he forced himself to get up and out from his cozy confines.

'... Today's the day.'

He quickly made his bed, giving it one last, nostalgic look. If he was able to join the Dabang Sect, this was probably the last time he would ever see this bed, again. This bed, this room, this house; this place that contained all sorts of precious memories would be left behind him, today.

But the people that made those memories precious: his father, his mother, his sister... they were all gone now. He didn't need a place like this, any longer.

"Well, farewell, then."

After he had grabbed the traveling bag that he prepared the day before, he walked out to the front gates, giving his family's estate one last look before he left. However, a shout from further within made him pause, and he looked to see the Hu family's elderly head butler running out to meet him, along with another dignified looking man, his uncle, who was walking not far behind.

"Young Master!! Are you really going to leave without saying your goodbyes?!"

Hu Long sighed with an exasperated smile. He had wanted to take his leave quietly, but he supposed he wouldn't be able to leave undetected by his caretaker since childhood.

"Sorry, Dai Zhu. I wanted to leave without a fuss, but I guess you found me out..."

"Of course I would! What kind of servant would I be if I didn't know how you liked to act!" Dai Zhu shouted as if he was being wronged. Hu Long's uncle, on the other hand, walked up to them quietly, looking at Hu Long with a concerned gaze.

"Xiao Long, are you really so determined to get revenge? You still have a long life ahead of you, there's no need to act rashly..." he said, a worried frown on his face. He knew Hu Long's departure to join the Dabang Sect was born of his desire for revenge, but even if he had the Heavenly Jade Pavilion Master's recommendation, he would only be taken in as a servant disciple, at best. Was that worth leaving what little he had left behind?

"I'm sorry, Uncle Yanlin, but I must do something to quell the anger in my heart; otherwise, I fear it will consume me. Please, take care of the family while I am gone."

Hu Long solemnly bowed in salute, before turning and walking out the main gates, his back straight and head held high as he went. Hu Yanlin just sighed, turning back to head inside the estate as Dai Zhu shouted his goodbyes at Hu Long's disappearing figure.

'Xiao Long... I'm afraid things won't go well for you, even if you do eventually find out who was behind this...'

Truthfully, Hu Yanlin had some small knowledge on who had orchestrated the Hu family's downfall, but what little he knew terrified him to the core. If what he had heard was true, then this was not an opponent that could be taken on by the likes of the Hu family, or any family in this city, even. But he still couldn't bring himself to tell Hu Long, fearing that he might just drive himself towards an early death.

'Take care of yourself, and good fortune be with you...'

--

Ryker yawned as he sat on the curbside near the city's east gate, the busy street crowded even this early in the morning. He had just finished breakfast, so he was feeling a little sleepy, again, and the droning bustle of the crowd just pulled him further into his drowsiness.

Before he could doze off, however, he saw the young man he'd been waiting for, and he got up to his feet to wave and get his attention.

"Yo, Hu Long! Over here!"

Not that he really needed to shout for Hu Long to notice him, seeing as he towered over everyone by at least two heads. Hu Long waved back and began to make his way over,

"Good morning, Ryker. You don't have any traveling supplies?" Hu Long asked, noticing Ryker's lack of any carts or bags.

"Ah, well, I got a storage ring," Ryker lied, averting his gaze. He actually had several storage rings, and he actually kept all of his things in Mini C's dimensional pocket.

"Must be convenient. Well, shall we head off?"

"Sure thing, buddy. Time to hit the road!"

With the rising sun warming their faces in the cool morning air, the two of them set off on the road east, ready to start their journey anew.