There were two people, a man and a woman, walking hand in hand through Golden Moon Town, wandering between the various stalls and looking at what people were selling in the market square. The man had a well built body, had a head full of short brown hair, a warm and comforting smile, and was clad in a deep green robe. The woman had smooth and delicate features, long black hair, gentle black eyes, a kind smile, and was clad in an exquisite blue dress.
"Do you think anything has happened to him? It has already been several months since father said that Jun'er came back."
The woman looked at the man with anxious eyes as she spoke. The woman was Yao Xun, and the man was Yao He, Yao Jun's parents. A few months ago, they had gotten a message from Yao Luying that said that Yao Jun had returned to the Grand Quan continent. Ever since then, they had been eagerly awaiting his return.
"You worry too much. He has just returned after being away for so long, and he even brought his girlfriend with him, I am sure that he is just busy showing her all the nice places that he can think of."
Yao He simply let out a chuckle and squeezed Yao Xun's hand slightly. Yao Luying had also told them about Guo Luo, so they had early on prepared the house to receive an additional visitor alongside Yao Jun.
"Ah! But what if he can't think of any proper places to show her? He has always been training after all, so he probably doesn't know any romantic places to take her."
Yao Xun reacted with a slight start, as if she had just remembered something, and grew a little frantic. She worried slightly because Yao Jun had always been training, and they had never shown him any good places he could bring his girlfriends. So what if he failed to show her any romantic places and she ended up leaving him?
"You need to relax, he is an adult already, he will certainly figure something out."
Yao He could not help but let out another chuckle. He did not know how Yao Jun and Guo Luo met, but he felt that it was unlikely that she would mind Yao Jun not knowing any romantic places. If she was looking for someone like that, she would never have ended up together with his son, who only knew training.
"Now then, I believe it is about time for you to tell us why you keep following us. I would prefer to not be interrupted while enjoying some peaceful time with my wife."
Yao He looked away from his wife, his eyes landing on a few people who were walking nonchalantly through the market. His voice was warm and comforting, but it carried an almost unnoticeable chill. Yao Xun's eyebrows also furrowed when she looked at the men, as if she was annoyed at them.
"Yao He, Yao Xun. If possible, I would like to not have to do this, but I must follow orders. Your son killed the youngest son of Elder Yao Meng, so we have been ordered to bring your heads to him."
Seven people separated themselves from the crowd, standing around Yao Xun and Yao He, cutting off all paths of escape. The one who spoke was a lanky man with a bald head and a large scar that almost split his scalp in half. When he spoke to Yao He, his eyes contained clear traces of sorrow and determination.
"Jun'er managed to kill Yao Shui? Yao Shui should have recently reached the 2nd Mortal Earth, has the strength of Jun'er grown so quickly?"
Yao Xun let out a slightly surprised exclamation after she heard the words of the lanky man. They did not contact the clan a lot, but they still got the latest news about some of the more important people in the clan. Since he was the son of a rather important elder, information about Yao Shui had also reached them.
"Father said that Jun'er had been at the 1st Mortal Earth when he had seen him, so it seems that Jun'er is taking care to cultivate diligently. As for you, I apologize. I refuse to hand over the life of my wife, or my own. After all, what father dies before he can even see the future wife of his son?"
Yao He had a smile on his face as he spoke. His son was rapidly getting powerful, so how could he not be proud. His gaze landed on the lanky man as he finished his sentence, shaking his head. There was no way he would allow his wife to die, nor was he himself willing to die before seeing his son again.
"Don't make this harder for us than it has to be, I am begging you."
The lanky man had a begging expression in his eyes as he spoke. Just the fact that he had to kill people who had fought so hard for the clan was already hard for him. It would only be harder if they were to struggle and fight back.
"I don't care about your begging. If you don't leave, we will fight back."
Yao Xun let out a cold snort as she spoke, the temperature in the surroundings suddenly dropping rapidly. Asking them to hand over their lives and not struggle, were these people idiots?
"You would become enemies with the Yao clan?"
One of the other people that had them surrounded, a short and chubby woman, spoke out with a threatening tone as she looked at Yao Xun. The Yao clan was one of the four great clans, most people would prefer death over becoming an enemy of the Yao clan.
"As long as it's for Jun'er, who cares if the Yao clan becomes our enemy?"
The one who responded to the words of the woman was Yao He, letting out a loud laughter as he spoke. Enemies of the Yao clan? Why should they care if they ended up as that? The only other option was death, an option they would never accept. Yao He also guessed that they wanted to kill him and his wife so that they could show their heads to Yao Jun, to torment him. He would never allow them to do that to his son. They had several friends in the Yao clan, but Yao Jun was still the most important thing in their life to them. They also believed that their friends would understand, and even help them.
"Then so be it."
The lanky man let out a deep sigh, and then immediately moved to attack. The earth beneath Yao He and Yao Xun started to crack and tremble, before it suddenly exploded, sending large chunks of rocks and dust flying through the air. There were civilians and houses around them, but the people from the Yao clan did not seem to care, continuing their attacks.
Rocks flew, flames raged, metal turned into sharp blades and sliced through the air, plants grew rapidly and formed various humanoid shapes that attacked the position of Yao Xun and Yao He. But before any of the attacks could reach them, a terrifying chill overtook the area, turning the entire market square into ice, even the flames that flew through the air froze.
The rocks and metal blades fell to the ground and shattered, and Yao Xun and Yao He stepped out from the dust. Yao Xun was holding a long spear made out of ice, while Yao He was holding a transparent blade that vibrated rapidly, sending out a low grating sound. Just as they were about to send out more attacks, Yao He and Yao Xun moved into action.
Yao He vanished from his previous position, appearing in front of two men who had launched flames at them. He swung out with his transparent sword, leaving behind a thin black line in the air as it passed through the two men as if it had sliced water. The upper bodies of the two men slid to the side and separated from their lower bodies, blood spraying out from the two parts.
Yao Xun's attack was just as simple. She waved the ice spear she held in her hand, causing a multitude of spears to form in the air above her. Another wave of her hand sent the spears flying, a loud booming sound ringing out as the spears broke the speed of sound. Two more people died before they got the chance to react, their bodies turning into ice and then shattering into tiny fragments when they were pierced by the spears.
"Your cultivation should only have been around the middle stage of the 4th Houtian Sky, when did you increase it to the late stage of the 5th Houtian Sky?!"
The lanky man was one of the three that had survived, and he currently wore a despairing expression. From the reports he had gotten, the highest cultivation that Yao Xun and Yao He could possibly have would be the late stage of the 4th Houtian Sky, so he had prepared accordingly. Yet the Qi that was currently radiating from the two of them was clearly from someone at the late stage of the 5th Houtian Sky, and approaching the 6th.
"Did you think we would do nothing after moving so far out here? Without strength, how would we be able to protect Jun'er?"
Yao He had a warm smile as he spoke. He and his wife had left the battlefield, but they had never stopped their cultivation, merely slowed it down. After all, even if they no longer took parts in battles, it was still necessary to have great power to protect their family if something should happen.
"Shit! Retreat and bring the information back!"
The lanky man immediately called for retreat, turning around to flee. The highest cultivation their group had were two people at the late stage of the 4th Houtian Sky, there was no way for them to win this battle. But how would Yao Xun and Yao He let them flee?
Space around the three fleeing men started to twist and distort, growing thick and heavy, impairing their movements and preventing them from moving at any pace faster than a slow crawl. With Yao He stopping them from running, Yao Xun moved in for the kill. Her spear sliced a wound into the back of the three men, her icy Qi infiltrating their bodies and freezing their blood and organs, even their Qi became completely frozen. Before long, the three men had turned into statues of ice that fell over and shattered.
"It seems we must leave this town and find someplace else to wait for Jun'er."
Yao He looked at the ruined market square as he spoke. Several civilians had been caught up in the short battle, dying as a result, and all the houses around the market square had been destroyed. Even if they hadn't ended up as the enemies of the Yao clan, they would no longer be able to stay in this town.
"I will leave him a message that only he will understand, something he can use to find us.
Yao Xun nodded her head and dashed towards the house where they had lived after arriving in Golden Moon Town, leaving a quick message that only Yao Jun would understand. After she left the message, she picked out some clothing that they could wear, and then met up with Yao He again. Yao He activated his Qi, a silver light surrounding him and Yao Xun, and the two vanished from the town.