Taking Responsibility (Part II)

Deep in the Red Viper Mountains, cavern complex on a cliffside...

"So, you imbeciles had to flee, then?"

Deep within the cave complex, a young man sat arrogantly on a throne carved from stone, surrounded by naked women in chains. The cavern was widened and scraped smooth to serve as an audience hall of sorts, and both Haoran and Lanfen were knelt before him, bowing their heads low as they accepted his reprimand.

"Sorry, Boss, but Lanfen was seriously injured by one of the outsider's attacks, and I didn't see any point in continuing the assault with him, there," Haoran said, eyes glued to the floor.

"Hmph, useless."

The young man scoffed, casually yanking on the chain of one of the women surrounding him, causing her to fall to the floor with a pitiful yelp.

This man was Gao Shun, current leader of the Red Viper bandits. An exiled disciple from the Central Continent, he had made his way to the Nanwu Continent over his years of wandering and settled into the Red Viper Mountains, where jurisdiction from the Zhou Empire and the sects of the Eastern Region was almost non-existent.

He had suppressed all of the major bandit groups in the area that refused to submit to him, and had done the same to most of the surrounding villages, all to support his current layabout lifestyle where he indulged in wine, food, and women. There were of course many villages that had escaped his notice, but they were usually destitute, and of little consequence.

The village he had sent Haoran, Lanfen, and some of the newcomers to was one of these inconsequential villages, as he thought to have the troops gain some experience in combat by ransacking the place.

That was the given reason, at least; in reality, he was just bored, and wanted to cause some bloodshed. He figured they might bring some good women for him to play with, as well...

"Whatever, you're dismissed. I'll think about how to take care of that outsider, later," he said with a bored look, not even glancing at the bound woman he had pulled to the ground, "But fail me again, and you'll see what punishment awaits you."

"Yes, sir."

Haoran and Lanfen acknowledged the dismissal at the same time, one stoically, the other through gritted teeth. However, as they stood to leave, Gao Shun stopped them with a hand, a slight smile on his face.

"Though, you know... I'd be willing to overlook your blunder if you send Lanfen to my bed, tonight," he said, licking his lips lasciviously.

"You--!"

Lanfen started to step forward with a shout, but Haoran held her back with an outstretched arm, meeting Gao Shun's eyes with a serious stare.

"With all due respect, Boss, we won't fail you again."

"Hm."

Gao Shun just stared back with his same bored expression, resting his head on his fist.

"And what if I ordered you to do so?"

Haoran's gaze hardened, lowering his stance slightly into a battle-ready position.

"Then I would have to refuse you."

"Even if you would die, doing so?"

"Whatever the case may be."

The two held each other's gazes for a tense moment, before Gao Shun scoffed once more and looked away, waving them off. Haoran bowed stiffly, moving to leave with Lanfen following not far behind.

"Damn it! That fucking asshole!"

As soon as they were far enough away, Lanfen started cursing Gao Shun out, her teeth grinding together in fury. Although she had bragged about their leader's strength to Ryker, she actually hated his guts.

"Careful, if he hears you, he could kill us, easily," Haoran warned her, shaking his head.

"I know! That's what pisses me off!!"

Lanfen clicked her tongue and crossed her arms, causing Haoran to sigh. Things were much simpler before Gao Shun came to this place and started wreaking havoc.

'I wonder how much longer this can last...' he thought. If they expanded any further and kept causing a ruckus, like this, they might start attracting attention from the greater powers surrounding the mountains, and he was unsure if they would survive an attempt from either the empire or the sects to root them out. Gao Shun was only one Nascent Soul cultivator, after all.

He sighed again, shaking his head in resignation. There wasn't much he could do about it, besides fleeing with Lanfen to greener pastures.

Though it really might just come down to that, sooner or later...

--

"... I guess we should bury him, huh?"

Ryker stood over the bandit he had killed, earlier this morning. For some reason, he had found himself wandering over to this place while he was out on his walk, and once he was here, he couldn't help but take a look at his handiwork, since the bandits didn't seem to have come back for the body.

{Ryker...} Bestie murmured worriedly, as he stared at the shocked expression frozen on the bandit's face. The blood had long congealed, by now, caking in nasty, black lumps trailing down from the hole in his throat, and his skin was sickly pale, having lost most of its color.

[I'll prepare a grave,] Mini C said, and a blue glow emanated from the nearby soil, a rectangular hole slowly forming as bits and chunks of dirt were continuously pulled up and pushed to the side.

Ryker bent down to pick up the corpse, which had become cold and slightly stiff with rigor mortis, and carried it over to the newly formed grave, jumping down and laying the body inside as carefully as he could.

Another jump brought him back above ground, and he looked down at the grave as Mini C steadily filled it back up, watching as the dirt swallowed the dead bandit, until he could see nothing more of him.

"Phew..."

He let out a long, controlled breath, trying to sort out what he was feeling, right now. Thinking about it, it wasn't as if he was feeling sorry, for the man; he *had* tried to use a small child as a hostage, after all, and the whole lot of them seemed like they were just fine with killing the kid, as well.

Even when Elder Chen died, back when he and Luo Shuchang were ambushing the Great Void Sect, he didn't feel much, since *he* technically wasn't the one who killed him. But it felt rather... jarring, knowing that he was the one that ended this man's life.

[Feeling alright?] Mini C finally asked, after he had spent a few minutes simply standing over the grave.

"Yeah... Well, maybe. I might need some more time to process this," Ryker answered, but a rustling in the bushes nearby caused him to jump back, readying the Snow-Rimed Sword from his dimensional pocket.

"Uh... Ryker?"

Zhao Gui timidly walked out into the open, looking at Ryker and his sword with a nervous gaze.

"Oh, it's just you, kiddo," Ryker sighed in relief, putting the sword away, "How'd you know I was here?"

"Um, I asked the other villagers, and they said you went into the forest in this direction, and then I followed your tracks," Zhao Gui answered, fidgeting slightly.

"Um... What were you doing?"

Ryker scratched his head, wondering how to respond until he remembered that Zhao Gui was there with him, when he had killed that bandit. He'd even been splattered by the bandit's blood, so there wasn't really a point in hiding things.

"Well, I was just burying the body of that bandit I killed," he said, kicking awkwardly at the freshly dug dirt, below him.

"Oh. Why?"

The child's innocent question made him grimace. He was still trying to figure that out, himself...

"Eh, you know, it's complicated... Forget that, though, you tracked me all the way out here?" Ryker said, masterfully(?) changing the subject, "Uh, not like I was trying to hide my tracks, or anything, but that's pretty impressive!"

Zhao Gui's chest puffed out at Ryker's praise, and he smiled as he put his hands on his hips proudly.

"Yes! My dad says I'm almost as good as him, when it comes to tracking wild animals!" he boasted, to which Ryker clapped in admiration, smiling wryly at being compared to a 'wild animal'.

"Haha, that's great. I'm guessing you came to get me 'cause the food's ready?"

"Oh! Yes, Mother said to come and get you."

Ryker nodded, walking over to pick up Zhao Gui with a grin. There was plenty of time to think about his feelings after filling his stomach.

"Let's get back, then!"