Chapter 86: Kneel before the strong
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"Hey, you there! Stay right where you are! What are you doing in our camp? Where is Yu Fu?" Chen Wei, who is calmly sitting by the river, hears a voice shouting from afar. "...you better answer my questions if you don't want to get into trouble."
Chen Wei, hearing these words, turns his face towards a group of three middle-aged men with serious faces, having the typical appearance of fishermen, rapidly approaching the camp.
"Hmm, you finally arrived..." Chen Wei says in a bored tone while placing the fishing rod in his hand on the ground beside him among some fish he had caught during his time waiting.
The three fishermen, who watch him attentively and suspiciously, see Chen Wei simply rise from a small log he was using as a seat and turn towards them with a calm face, without the slightest trace of fear, as if he had not noticed the hint of threat in the fisherman's voice.
Lu Tai, the leader of the group, feels something is wrong seeing Chen Wei's calm demeanor, as well there is a strong and repulsive smell of something like rotten flesh in the air, which is disgusting even to fishermen who deal with smelly fish all day long for years.
"My name is Yi Zhan," Chen Wei says with great confidence and an authoritative aura while under the gaze of the three. "I am a traveling Gu master and chose to stop at this camp to rest with my wives, as well as to arrange guides for my journey to the Huo clan."
Chen Wei speaks while a large amount of putrid, foul-smelling black blood suddenly appears and begins to circulate magnificently with surgical precision and blinding speed around him, like an artistic demonstration performed by magicians.
Hearing these calm words coming from Chen Wei's mouth while he gives a clear, unquestionable demonstration of the veracity of his claims of being a Gu master, the faces of the three fishermen quickly change to shock, fear, and apprehension.
"Oh, so you are a Gu master?!" Lu Tai speaks with a tone now devoid of threat, replaced by fear and regret, as he kneels on one knee before Chen Wei. "My apologies for my insolence in not recognizing the extraordinary status of the young master!"
"...are you a lonely Gu master or a member of a clan?" Lu Tai asks while the two beside him kneel as well, their expressions full of fear, probably praying he is not the third option—a demonic Gu master.
This completely subservient attitude of Lu Tai could leave anyone who knows him speechless, as he is a "wealthy" fisherman in his hometown and a prestigious martial artist who constantly impresses everyone with his fighting skills.
But now, in front of this Gu master, he knows that mortal glories are completely irrelevant, as absolute and uncontested rulers of this world, Gu masters care little about mortal achievements and honors.
And if someone despises him for pathetically kneeling before a young man who is not even half his age? Let them despise him, for their opinions matter little now.
For in this world, only one thing determines someone's authority, and that is combat strength, which has nothing to do with age. For all he knows, this young man before him could have enough strength to easily kill everyone in his village. So what shame is there in kneeling subserviently before him now?
And if others believe this to be an act of dishonor and choose to remain standing, so be it for them, for they will not enjoy anything from this "pride" after meeting a cruel death.
"I am a lonely Gu master, you could say..." Chen Wei says, putting on a convincingly arrogant expression for his act. "You are Lu Tai, the leader of this group, correct?"
"Yes, young master! Forgive me for forgetting formal introductions!" Lu Tai says, still kneeling while placing his fist in his palm in the formal tradition of the Southern Border. "I am Lu Tai, the leader of this group, and these are Liu Rui and Xu Si..."
Chen Wei sees him lift his head and look around the camp as if searching for someone before speaking again, trying to hide the suspicion in his heart. "...our group also has a young man who should be taking care of our camp, but I don't see him right now-"
"His body is thrown behind the camp..." Chen Wei cuts Lu Tai off in the middle of his words, nonchalantly. "...I killed that little bastard a few hours ago."
Hearing this, everyone's eyes show shock and fear as they now correctly imagine where that horrendous, disgusting smell in the air comes from.
"What? Why?!... I mean, what did that little shit do to incur your wrath, young master Yi Zhan?" Lu Tai quickly corrects himself after shouting in shock, knowing of the death of his good friend's son who came with him to work as a fisherman.
But as if to cause panic for Lu Tai, silence falls at this moment while Chen Wei simply observes him, sweating profusely while kneeling and now dying of fear that he has offended the Gu Master and might meet the same fate as Yu Fu.
"Well, as I said before, I came to this camp to rest with my wives..." Chen Wei speaks slowly, putting a strong tone of displeasure in his voice.
"That little bastard thought himself very arrogant with his status as a martial artist. Even before me, a Gu master, he arrogantly spoke as an equal with me..."
"But I am a righteous man; I wouldn't kill him for that. I would just break a few bones to teach a lesson..." Chen Wei speaks fluently, the lies flowing from his mouth as if they were the most natural thing in the world.
"...but he chose to offend the dignity of my beloved wives, so I gave him the slow and cruel death he was so arrogantly asking for." Lu Tai listens to the entire story, his nervousness and fear increasing with every moment, along with his throat seeming to dry from the fear.
"That piece of shit!! He and his father are two bastards without honor and reputation! If I didn't owe that wretch a favor, that insolent brat would never have come to work with my group!!" Lu Tai speaks with indignation in his voice and an expression of anger on his face so great it seems like someone just cursed his family's seven generations.
"...." Liu Rui and Xu Si remain silent, seeing this clear false act in their eyes.
In fact, anyone from the village would know that he and Yu Fu's father were great friends, which is why the young man is in their group now, even though he was not a competent fisherman.
And it's not as if he didn't like the young man either, as a few days ago, he was jokingly provoking him in friendly ways, even asking him in marriage as a joke for his cooking skills after getting drunk on wine.
But now, little of that matters since the young man was stupid enough to offend not only a Gu master but also his wives. In fact, if he were looking at Yu Fu's body, he might even kick it to demonstrate his anger and discontent with the young man.
"Well, the death of this Yu Fu doesn't matter much since he was just a mortal and I have bigger priorities..." Chen Wei says, putting on a false look of satisfaction and disdain while observing Lu Tai's actions. "...those being reaching the Huo clan and stopping in your Yu village to meet the village leader and find a decent midwife."
"And you three will be my guides for this, understood?" Chen Wei asks, but the arrogant and commanding tone in his voice makes it clear that saying no is not an option. Not that they would dare, even if it were.
"Yes, young master Yi Zhan!!" The three say in unison, with exaggerated enthusiasm in their voices.
"Young master, I will use my connections to inform the village leader of the arrival of an honored Gu master like yourself..." Lu Tai quickly steps forward to respond to Chen Wei's orders. "...and I will also contact the wife of the old clan leader, who is the best midwife in the village, so we can solve two problems at once, young master."
Of course, despite not having asked why he needed a midwife, there is only one reason for someone to need one, and considering Chen Wei mentioned "wives" in the plural, there might be even more than one reason.
This only increases his fear and concern towards Chen Wei, as a man who needs to take care of his pregnant women can be even more dangerous than a lonely one, potentially killing them at the slightest demonstration of ill intent, whether it is real or just the paranoia of the Gu master, it matters little.
"Great....oh, and before I forget, where did you get those blood orchids? I will need you to take me to that place." Chen Wei speaks as if almost forgetting about it, which is just an act of his.
"Yes, young master, I found them on the edges of a nest of giant purple-scaled pythons..." Lu Tai speaks quickly.
"I picked all the plants that were at a safe distance from the nest, but the nest itself is still full of orchids." After finishing his honest words, he waits to see Chen Wei's reaction to them.
"Hmm, it's likely that those beasts are in some sort of mutual symbiotic relationship with the blood orchids..." Chen Wei says while picking up the fish beside him and begins to walk calmly through the camp towards the forest.
"Well... I will talk to my wives. When I return, I expect you to be ready to leave immediately as I intend to reach your village as soon as possible," Chen Wei says without even looking at the three fishermen who follow him from behind.
"Yes, young master, I will ensure we are ready..." Lu Tai says with forced enthusiasm.
"The journey to the village should not take more than three days if we walk quickly north following the river." Chen Wei listens attentively, ensuring that it matches what Yu Fu had said.
In fact, this was the main reason why he made sure to obtain basic information from Yu Fu, as he could use it at this moment to ensure the actions of his companions were honest or not.
Of course, he could kill them and simply try to find the way alone, but not only is that unnecessary and more inconvenient than it brings benefits, and according to his plan, the presence of these fishermen for part of the journey will be quite useful.
"Well, I hope this enthusiasm continues..." Chen Wei says, already reaching the outskirts of the camp towards the forest.
"By the way, including the one I am wearing, I took four pairs of your clothes, so don't worry about looking for them..." Chen Wei waves his hand without even turning around as he walks slowly towards the forest.
"Of course, young master, it is an honor to serve you with our clothing! In fact, if I had known of our meeting before leaving home, I would have brought my best clothes to give to you!" Lu Tai says completely naturally, without the slightest shame.
In fact, if Chen Wei ordered him now to give him the clothes off his body and to wander around naked with his private parts exposed for everyone to see like some degenerate, he would do so without hesitation. The same goes for the two beside him, who might do so while praising Chen Wei for his choice.
"Good to know... and don't try anything stupid so you don't end up dead like that little bastard Yu Fu," Chen Wei says loudly enough for them to hear as he is already quite far from them.
"...." The three fishermen look at each other without saying a word, watching Chen Wei enter the forest after making a casual threat to them.
Nevertheless, those words were enough to completely destroy any hope of escaping while Chen Wei was in the forest that they might have begun to nurture.
The reason is simple: none of them would have the courage to provoke a Gu master who has shown he can kill easily and has made it clear that they will pay for stupid actions.
"Well... we should start quickly, right..." Lu Tai murmurs to his two companions.
"Yes... better not keep a Gu master waiting," Liu Riu says while looking at Yu Fu's body with pity.
"...I will bury the boy. He at least deserves a burial..." Xu Si says, also showing an expression of pity for the boy who, despite not being the best fisherman and quite spoiled in his eyes, still did not deserve this fate. "...and I don't think the Gu master will mind."
"Alright... I will deliver the news to his parents when we reach the village," Lu Tai says while looking towards the forest where Chen Wei entered, his heart now filled with despair at the great misfortune they have encountered.
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