The enigmatic savior

"Who is there! Come out! We want to see our savior!" Exclaimed Ester in a hurry.

Ester wanted to figure out of it was a hostile being or an ally. A magical beast or a demonic beast would turn their short happiness into despair once again. She hoped a human was their savior.

*Rustle, rustle*

"Wow there, young maidens, there is no need for such hostilities." An old man appeared from behind a bush.

The old man wore a long unusual robe, and his barely wrinkled skin looked smooth and fresh. A long white beard hanged on his chin, and long white hair grazing his back held by a green engraved ornament tied to his hair.

Vincent and Kazumi would guess he was a cultivator from the many movies he saw on Earth. If they were both awake, this would be their thought based on his attire and elegant appearance.

"Did you do this?" Asked Lupa with her guard up. She was about to shapeshift her arms when the old man responded with a calm and pleasant tone.

"Yes, young maiden. I swatted the pesky bugs, hoho." The old man chuckled while brushing his long white beard.

"Ahem. Where are my manners. I'm Feng Mengli, the patriarch of the Heavenly God Mantis sect. I faintly felt a strange disturbance in the Qi fluctuations and rushed to its source."

"I managed to detect your presence before the strange Qi suddenly disappeared. As I sensed the life of people and monsters approaching, I quickened my pace. Luckily I arrived in time, hoho." Feng Mengli continued while brushing his long beard.

Feng Mengli started approaching Ester and Lupa when his eyes lowered on Vincent's body. His eyes opened by a few millimeters as if surprised by what they saw. However, it was hard to notice from his cool and composed face.

"I left my disciples in the dust as their legs aren't as quick as mine. They will arrive later, so you young maidens don't need to worry about your safety. " Feng Mengli kept moving his gray eyes to grasp and reenact the battle that took place.

Feng Mengli had a mysterious aura surrounding him as if he was from a different world. He walked and talked without any care while laughing here and there. His eyes had a gleam of power as if he was looking at a complex scene.

"Thank you for saving us." Ester noticed the mysterious Feng Mengli staring at Vincent with an assertive gaze. She could tell the old man seemed interested in Vincent.

Ester and Lupa saw one strange thing on Vincent's damaged body. The hero mark didn't disappear even when his skin was missing or was burnt. I was like a brand that was imprinted into all the layers of his flesh.

Ester took a few steps to hide Vincent by standing in front of Feng Mengli's gaze. Lupa noticed Ester's hurried action and stood beside her. The two of them hid Vincent from the old man's view.

"Might this old man ask a question, young maidens? Who is that dying person? Now that I have walked closer, I can feel a strong fighting soul. One that wants to devour its enemies." Feng Mengli asked while pointing his finger at Vincent.

The tension rose as the subject the two women didn't want to talk about arrived. Ester gulped, and Lupa glared. Both of them knew they had to hide their and Vincent's identity.

"W-we were traveling with the previous people to Lusterfall City. B-but only three..." Ester abruptly stopped and turned her gaze on Tula. She then continued, "Three of us are injured while our man is..."

"I understand, young maiden. The perilous encounter of which you have suffered is quite apparent. There is no need to continue further. " Feng Mengli nodded his head as if he understood the situation.

"Returning to the question to which I have asked. Who is that dying person who you called your man?" Feng Mengli casually asked while showing concern about their suffering of fighting the Royal Guard Ant. As he approached closer, Lupa stopped him.

"Stay there! Don't come near us!" Threatened Lupa. She shapeshifted to combat form and clenched her fists, showing her hostility. Her intention was clear; she didn't want Feng Mengli to get closer as Vincent's mark would get exposed.

"Lupa..." Ester uttered before realizing what her hostile actions meant.

Feng Mengli opened his hand, and suddenly, a small ball of the size of a cherry appeared on his hand. Then he offered, "This is a special healing pill my wife created. Only one per year can be made, so it's quite valuable. Outsiders like you young maidens don't know much about pills, but rest assured, the pill in my hand is genuine."

"You Outsiders helped me to find an ant's nest. Furthermore, now there are three less Royal Guard Ants on the loose. I might decide to part with this valuable pill, but I need to check on the condition of that man behind you. I want to see if he is worthy of this valuable healing pill." Feng Mengli then tried to take a step forward, but Lupa growled to back away.

"Hoho. You young maidens leave me no choice." As soon as Feng Mengli uttered this sentence with a cool giggle, he faded and appeared behind. A gust of wind followed his vanishing body.

Feng Mengli moved so quickly that he left an afterimage behind until it faded like a mirage. He seemed strong beyond their imagination. Ester and Lupa were also exhausted, and their gaze was harder to keep up with the old man's speed.

"What?" Asked Ester with a bewildered expression. She blinked her eyes a few times before she turned her head to face the direction of the sudden breeze.

"Where did he go?... I hear him behind us!" Lupa noticed the old Feng Mengli's breathing behind them. She was quicker to react than Ester since the afterimage of Feng Mengli had no breathing nor his heart beating. His presence also suddenly shifted behind them.

Feng Mengli leisurely lowered down, took out a long white cloth from his ring, and covered Vincent's private parts. Then he checked Vincent's vitals with his hand as if the world only revolved around him.

Feng Mengli leisurely acted like a doctor checking a patient and two people glaring at him for not having their consent. The enigmatic old man behaved as if nothing other than not satisfying his curiosity was a problem.

Neck, chest, and then stomach, his hand seemed to move along a specific path as if he searched for something.

"Stay away from Vincent!" Lupa couldn't take it anymore. She was about to attack Feng Mengli, but Ester quickly stopped her.

"Stop... it's too late." Ester regrettably said. She then turned her gaze on Feng Mengli and continued, "Patriarch Feng Mengli of the Heavenly God Mantis sect, could you please keep what you see a secret?"

"Hmm... are you perhaps speaking about these unusual marks? I heard Outsiders sometimes brand people for many reasons... or are called ahh, yes, retainers. But I personally don't care about your Outsider ways." Feng Mengli spoke as if he wasn't interested in the marks on Vincent's body. His gaze was searching for something else.

"Lupa doesn't understand. You talk to him, Ester." Lupa dumped the importance of this conversion on Ester. In a way, it was a blessing in disguise since she won't be able to turn this situation worse than it possibly was.

"Can I ask why you call us Outsiders and young maidens? Your tone and words are a bit unfamiliar to me. What is a sect? Why don't you look surprised that he has marks on his body?" Ester asked after mustering her courage to speak her mind.

Feng Mengli seemed mighty and didn't have a care in the world while he did what he wanted to do. The old man was a person to be wary of because it was hard to figure what he could do next.

Feng Mengli was unpredictable in a sense, and Ester suffered enough to know to be wary of people with suspicious and unreadable intentions. However, the situation was dire, and the words "healing pill" gave her the hope of saving Vincent.

"Many questions, young maiden, hoho." Feng Mengli laughed. His hand kept touching Vincent's scared and missing flesh as he continued, "I will answer, but first I must hear your answers first to let me decide if I should part with this pill or not. Only if I'm satisfied will this old man's mouth answer a reasonable amount of questions."

Suddenly Feng Mengli seemed to want a specific answer before he would decide to help. However, both Ester and Lupa didn't know what the old man wanted to hear. They had to take a gamble to say satisfying responses for Vincent to receive the valuable healing pill.

"This young man. Vincent correct? He has marks engraved on his body which not even by having his skin scarred and flesh carved could it disappear. This is rather intriguing."

"Furthermore, I can feel his strong presence even in this state. His will is a strong one, I say. It might be his presence that I felt and was compelled to follow. I can't put my finger on it, but it felt powerful, destructive, and glutinous. I thought it was a Demonic Beast before I sensed people and ants."

"So, might this old man ask the young maidens to enlighten me about these puzzling findings? Is this Vincent a retainer?" As soon as Feng Mengli asked this question, Ester and Lupa suddenly looked pale. The old man was like a detective wanting to know the actual truth instead of what the evidence before him showed.

Ester gulped. She couldn't quickly think of a lie in this current situation. Lupa, on the other hand, whispered in Ester's ear, "We live and die together. I will tell the secret. He is too strong, and he might help us. I can't feel any harmful intent."

Lupa decided to take the gamble on behalf of Ester and Vincent. However, she didn't know that Feng Mengli was so strong that he could kill without showing the slightest hint of malicious intent. He was S Ranker in terms of power and was also the patriarch of a strong cultivator sect.

"We are the retainers. " Lupa pulled out her tongue and showed her retainer mark. Then she continued, "Vincent said he arrived from another world. I think he said he was the seventh person to arrive..."

"It-its a-a joke!" Ester stuttered as she held Lupa's mouth with her hands. Cold sweat trickled all over her body from the thought of getting captured or killed. In the eyes of the people, they were the evil ones.