Chapter 23: It could've been worse

- What about the village? - Yee Rhys cautiously clarified. Judging by his intonation, the interlocutor had a good reason to get drunk.

- My village has been slaughtered. - Re Coot grimly acknowledged, twirling his cup in his hands. - I don't know who. Went into the woods, came back, nothing but dead bodies.

And he put his hand on the neck of the bottle.

Yee Rhys imagined for a moment that he was coming home and there was no one alive there. And he drank, too.

They were quiet.

- And I got married that year. - Re Coot admitted, twirling the bottle in his hands. - Parents, wife, five-month-old son... all, all dead. I dug the graves myself. And I personally buried them all.

And again he drank from the bottle.

- Did you notice anything special? - After a couple of minutes Yee Rhys asked quietly.

- Special? - He frowned.

- There are some diabolical rituals that require cutting out large numbers of people. - Twirled the empty cup in his hands fellow drinker. - Usually an altar is constructed, but sometimes people are simply cut out in towns and villages. Such rituals usually require certain conditions to be met. For example, killing in a certain way, making figures out of corpses or something similar. If people are killed in a certain way, there's a chance of finding the killer.

Re Coot's eyes flashed. He seemed to be feverishly recalling what had happened. Only the faces of the dead kept popping up in his mind; he had little recollection of the rest.

- They had all been killed by a blow to the heart. - At last the unhappy man summed up his memories.

- That's not enough. - Yee Rhys shook his head. - Many rituals involve a blow to the heart. It could even be a common assassin who specializes in such stabs.

Re Coot froze. Then he shook his head.

- I didn't examine the bodies specifically. - He admitted. And suddenly he flinched. - I remembered, our blacksmith was bare-chested. He had two holes in his chest, a finger's length apart.

Yee Rhys frowned.

- It's probably a special ritual weapon. But I don't know who uses one. However, if no one managed to escape from the village, it was a professional of his craft, and he didn't need to strike a second blow. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that's the only thing I can say.

- It's alright. - Re Coot's eyes flashed with grim determination. - That's enough. As long as there's a chance of finding the killer, it's all right.

- Glad for you. - Yee Rhys set the cup on the ground. - It was a pleasure to meet you. Now I have to go.

- Cultivate? - The companion clarified with a frown, averting his eyes.

- Yes. - Nodded the advisor. - I want to get stronger. Do you? Who can you avenge with two threads?

Re Coot flinched as if he'd been slapped. His burning gaze seemed capable of setting the air on fire. Until he collided with Yee Rhys' calm eyes. The coldness. Brutality. Ruthlessness.

The young vigilante froze, unable to breathe. This recently friendly guy had suddenly turned into an indifferent cultivator. Able to rise from the ashes, to start again. No pity for himself or those around him.

Could he do it himself? Could he do it?

- And thank you. - Suddenly Yee Rhys smiled, shattering the cold image in an instant. And then left without looking back.

***

Yee Rhys went into his cabin and closed the door. Only then did he let his legs buckle. Yeah, not everyone here is a darling of fortune. Some are worse off than he was. At least his family is alive. Was alive five years ago.

But it's just another reason for him to get stronger.

The young man stood up. The only thing he can do now is get stronger.

***

Yee Rhys spent the rest of the day diligently cultivating, changing meditation with practicing techniques. Even allotted two hours for the promised body cultivation. Not that it was really necessary, but if his body were to improve without training, it might create an unnecessary interest that he didn't need.

In the evening his training was interrupted by a timid knock on the door. Puzzled as who might have been brought to him, Yee Rhys opened the door. And froze. Behind the door was her. The same girl who was hiding in the Untouchable's house not so long ago, with all that implied, was now crumpling on his doorstep. In the uniform of an Outer Sect disciple.

- Um... I... came to say hello. - Awkwardly averting her eyes, she mumbled. - I'm Usa Lada, I'll be living across the street from you now.

The young man turned his gaze to the third house on the left. Looks like it was all planned out from the beginning.

- Yee Rhys. Nice to meet you. - He answered dryly.

- Nice to meet you too. - The girl nodded, not raising her eyes.

- Since we're done with introductions, goodbye. - The young man closed the door. He walked calmly to the bed. He sat down.

His face remained impassive, but he was pounding inside. The opposite house. Does that mean they're going to see each other every day now? Well, Lady... it's so typical of her.

Usa Lada clearly didn't come of her own accord. He could tell she wanted to get away. Only it was too late. Even without the restraining spells, there was no escaping the Lady that easily. Yee Rhys shook his head. Pity about the girl, indeed. Usually, after something like this, girls scared to see their partners. And here they were put next to each other. It seems like everything got figured out for them. If they fight back, they'll get another round under the aphrodisiac. Lady's got no problem with that.

***

The night was spent training mental energy with half the time asleep. In the morning the young man was in for a surprise: Usa Lada was standing at the gate, nervously looking around. She looked around nervously, and when she saw Yee Rhys her face brightened sharply.

- May I come with you? - Timidly she asked.

- Why? - He asked.

- I... I was told to go to the lectures. And I'm... afraid to go alone. And you're the only one I know.

The lady is a genius. She didn't forced, but they met again.

- If you do not interfere and make trouble. - Indefinitely shook his head Yee Rhys. In this case, it is easier to play along than to wait for unknown revenge.

- Sure. - Lada's lips brightened and she followed him, keeping a distance of a couple of steps.

The young man could only sigh helplessly. A naive girl, totally unfit for the path of cultivator. What on earth was she doing in a sect? She ought to have an all right talent if she could make it to the first wisp in twenty days, but her character... she was just a victim. At most, she's a little pawn or someone else's bitch.

The two of them made it to the canteen and sat down to eat. In all this time Lada did not utter a word, just following her companion wherever he went. After collecting another batch of gossip, Yee Rhys left the canteen and stood in the shade at the edge of the square, waiting for the lecture to begin.

- There's that girl. - Suddenly a loud voice caught everyone's attention. From one of the streets, a crowd of teenagers led by a fat man piled into the square. One of his pimply friends was pointing a finger in the direction of the couple.

- Here's the new girl! - He shrieked.

The eyes of those present first fell upon the loudmouth, then upon the two in the shadows of the wall. Particular attention was fixed on the girl, shrunken by so many stares. Usa Lada even stepped back a few steps.

The fat man stared at his potential victim. The figure is not bad. But her face let down. She was mediocre. Except that she reminded him of someone. His gaze traveled over the likely protector. Only one wisp of Qi, but a gaze as calm as a snake before dinner.

Suddenly the fat man remembered. He remembered the nightmare of the past few nights. How the dirt-cleansed Untouchable had grudgingly asked the Grand Elder "couldn't you do that before." And the very girl that the Elder had paired with the Untouchable.

That's it...! That's them. The Untouchable and his girl. Screw this, we don't need this kind of adventure.

- This girl is not my type. - Suddenly, the fat guy announced, breaking the spectacle lovers' hearts. - Let's go.

And he turned around and staggered back.