I took another bite from my second skewer as I looked Master Chin over. While the sleazy man stood a little bit shorter than me he was wide enough to make out for it, with a belly that would put the laziest, most unmotivated noble back at the Sect to shame. The rest of his getup, however, spoke to a much rougher sort of life; his sandals were rough-hewn pieces of wood with woven straps, and his belt was a raw strip of leather with handmade holes stabbed into its end to let the struggling buckle hold back his grey robes, not too dissimilar to what I wore as an Outer Disciple.

  It was the last part that did leave me wary. There was no shortage of bandits who would put on a show of being a cultivator to intimidate villagers, but it only took an ‘unlucky’ rock to the head for that sort of illusion to quickly fade. Considering that this fellow was still standing in front of me, and with the fear that he’d managed to inspire throughout Shepherd’s Cross, it was clear that he was able to back up the claim. That, and I’d seen his hands before he’d tucked them away inside his pockets, thick with calluses and scabs.

  “He’s definitely a cultivator,” Isabella confirmed with a glare at the robed man. “He’s weak, though; just about on the same level as you, from what I can tell.”

  That was about what I expected for a rogue cultivator, based on my experience, but it was still good to be sure.

  I swallowed the piece of lamb, using the tip of the skewer to poke at a remaining piece of fat lingering between my teeth. “Bandits, huh? Near Shepherd’s Cross?”

  “...Yes.” Master Chin’s grin was beginning to fade as he leaned in towards me, voice grim. “It’s a dangerous time, and there’s so many of them out there, hiding in the forests and waiting for lonely travellers.”

  “Wow,” I returned his grave warning with an absentminded exclamation. “Here I was, walking in peace without realising I was surrounded by thieves and brigands.” I took another slow bite from the skewer, rolling it around on my tongue, muffling my words. “How awful. Someone should do something about that.”

  Master Chin leaned back from my mouth, eye twitching. “Yes. They should. And that is what doing. It’s what the protection fee is for. Which you’ll need to .”

  “Of course, of course.” I swallowed the mouthful- and immediately went for another, finishing the skewer off. Even as the bandit reared up, I held a hand up, giving him an apologetic glance. I chewed as quickly as possible, gulping down the last few pieces of lamb and potato with a sigh. Regretfully, I eyed the last skewer, before placing it back on the grill, keeping the two empty spits in hand.

  “Sorry about that, I just wanted to be able to give you my full attention,” I apologised to Master Chin. “Anyway, the answer is no.”

  Master Chin blinked. Then, he laughed, hands clutching at his belly as a deep-throated guffaw echoed over the market. And then the fa?ade of a sleazy, greasy man fell away, and the bloody thug revealed himself as his hands slammed into my chest, meaty paws grabbing at my shirt to hold me. “It’s clear that you’re too slow to understand,” Master Chin growled in my face. “I’m a cultivator, My purpose in this world is to challenge the Heavens. That means all of you here on this earth are just stepping stones to my greatness. So if you don’t want to be stepped on, you had best ”

  Where before there had at least been the quietest mutterings and footsteps through the market, there was now dead silence. The vendors and customers had all stopped to watch, eyes filled with fear as they watched on. The few gazes that did meet mine turned away, shame and embarrassment taking over as they prioritised themselves. I couldn’t blame them; I’d been in that position myself, back when I still knelt and kowtowed at the feet of my seniors. They only watched for lack of choice, rather than some sort of sick enjoyment of my inevitable demise, like those inner disciples who’d watched my confrontation with Gareth.

  I hid a smile.

  “Allow me to elaborate,” I declared to Master Chin and the silent market beyond him. “I think a scum-sucker like you is destined to be a bottom-feeder for the rest of your miserable existence, and your challenge to the Heavens will be laughed at like the joke it is.”

  “You ” Master Chin gritted his teeth as he threw me to the ground, standing tall above me as he raised his arms above his head. “You’re going to I killed you.”

  I skittered back along the road as I tried to get on my feet, but not before he roared and brought his two hands together in a sweeping clap. Air howled around me as a rush of wind shot down the market, stall-shades fluttering and spectators shouting as some of them were nearly bowled over by the gust. I lifted my free hand across my face, bracing against the blast as I continued to watch the bandit through the gaps in my fingers.

  “Do you see what you face?” He sneered, robes billowing around his arms. “This is the Sudden Storm technique, granted to me as spoils by the Stormy Peak Sect when I fought their training elders to a standstill. With it, the very winds obey my command.” He laughed at my confusion. “Can you even access your qi, boy?”

  I tried my best to smooth my expression out, hiding it behind my hand as I slowly stood up. I couldn’t be too obvious yet. I needed to know just how powerful he was before I finished this, once and for all. And yet, despite that, I couldn’t help but feel deeply confused.

  If Master Chin was meant to be on a similar level to me, then he certainly wasn’t looking it. The bandit was already breathing heavily, as if waving his arms and clapping them together had almost entirely drained him. Despite that, the massive smirk plastered across his face showed just how confident he was in his so-called Sudden Storm.

  Perhaps he really did believe it was a powerful technique. Every cultivator fell into that trap at first, allured by the thought of controlling the elements. Even I’d fallen for it at the Sect, thinking it would give me the edge I needed over the noble disciples when I’d exhausted my stipend. That entire thought had been strongly dissuaded by Brother Yun, when I asked him for his advice on which of several elemental-aspected techniques I should first focus on.

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  should

  should

  And with my stipend out, I’d have to suffer through a week of recovery between each attempt

  can

  At Brother Yun’s recommendation, I’d pushed the Seven Falls Sect as far as I could, suffering weeks of qi exhaustion. At some point I’d crossed that one second boundary, but it had never even felt like that significant an accomplishment compared to all the noble disciples throwing around fireballs and controlling swords with their mind. And when the butcher’s bill came due, and I was forced to give up before I went any further into debt with the Witch Doctor, I forgot about it entirely; I had more important things to think about than a useless technique I could only use for one second.

  But now, looking at a man using a technique that may well have been from one of those beautifully written scrolls, I was starting to re-evaluate just how useful that one second could be.

  The wind howled louder as Master Chin lifted up his fist. “Give up, boy, and maybe I’ll let you escape with your breath, before I snatch it from your lungs.”

  I scoffed. “I don’t fear death, and I don’t fear you.”

  Then I threw the two skewers through each of his feet.

  The keening noise that resulted from Master Chin was high-pitched enough that I could hear dogs barking somewhere else in the village. All around me, I watched as the vendors peered out from their stalls, the few customers gawping at the sight of their tormentor being pinned to the market street, looking back and forth between him and me. I just gave a smile to the few that met my eye, before focusing back on the cultivator in front of me, who was bent over, fingers slipping on the skewers as he attempted to rip them free.

  “You fucking -” Master Chin choked out as he looked up with bloodshot eyes-

  Qi flowed through me as I crossed the distance in the blink of an eye, my leading foot slamming to a halt just in front of Master Chin. I fell into a low stance, my form chambered in preparation as I cocked my arm back. I rotated, my entire body uncoiling as my fist swung out in a perfect arc, accelerating and pulling my body along with it.

  My fist met his chin and kept going, my legs straightening as I rose with the uppercut, Master Chin’s body following suit. The impact echoed out over the market as the brigand flew upwards into the sky, and for a brief moment, I even felt my own feet leave the ground as the follow-through pulled at my body. As I settled back onto my feet, I paused, my right fist still extended towards the sky above. I took a deep breath, and slowly lowered it back to my side as I inspected the two sandals in front of me, and the blood-stained skewers that pinned them to the ground.

  Five seconds later, Master Chin fell down on a vegetable stall with a crash, splintering wooden crates and sending cabbages flying. I slowly walked over to the stall, giving a respectful nod to the vendor just behind the broken bandit, before I inspected the groaning man lying on the pile of produce. “You’re in a pretty good state,” I announced. “Broken jaw, a few fractures and bruises, nothing too bad for a cultivator.”

  Master Chin moaned, opening an eye and glaring weakly at me. “B’stard.”

  “You’re right, you’re not fit to be the ‘Guardian’ of Shepherd’s Cross anymore,” I agreed. “Probably best to give all of these lovely folks a refund. Then we can both move on, eh?”

  This prompted a real response, as Master Chin waved a weak paw my way. I just stepped out of the way, and his hand dropped back down to a cabbage. “I ain’t…runnin’.”

  “Oh? I certainly am,” I told him. “After all, I don’t know about this Stormy Peak Sect, but I’m running from the Seven Falls Sect. They’re after me for some small indignity I dealt to them.” I smiled. “But didn’t you say you’d fought Elders before? Maybe you might stand a chance.”

  In seconds, Master Chin had pulled himself from the wreckage, prostrated himself before me with a plea to forget his name, emptied his pockets out to form a small mound of treasure on the ground, and sprinted for it, skewered sandals still in hand as he stumbled barefoot into the fields to the west.

  “There we go, then.” I dusted my hands together, before smiling at the vendor. “Good riddance, eh?”

  The grocer didn’t respond, frozen still.

  I frowned, then had a moment of realisation as I stared at the broken bunch of boxes and spilled vegetables. “Oh, of course. I’m so sorry, please forgive me for this, I should’ve been more aware. Let me just get these picked up.” I knelt down and began gathering a few of the cabbages in hand-

  “Honourable cultivator!” I glanced up to the skewer seller, Cho, now standing to the side of the mess. The middle-aged man smiled widely, hands pressed together. “Thank you, very much for your spectacular help! But I am sure a righteous cultivator such as you should not be knelt on the ground, dealing with mortal work. Please, let me prepare you some of my finest lamb, and I’m sure Hong there would be happy to spare some more supplies to go with your rightful reward for defeating that foul brigand. You said you were travelling, yes? We can get you everything you need to continue on your journey.”

  “That’s…” I paused, looking at Cho, his smile fixed on his face as he waited for my answer. I looked back to Hong the grocer, still frozen, but a similar smile edging onto his expression. I looked around the entire market, at the vendors and sellers who stood, watching me. One or two clapped, and more bowed, but all of them still held a nervousness in their posture as they waited for my answer.

  Their eyes didn’t look any different from when they had looked at Master Chin.

  “Honoured cultivator?” Cho said again, smile still fixed.

  I glanced towards Isabella, who’d taken up a position by one of the scattered cabbages. She gave me a tired smile. “People like this have seen so-called ‘righteous’ cultivators before. There’s no real difference between a brigand who steals their life’s work, or some hero who’ll take the same coin as a ‘reward’.”

  I grimaced. I looked up at Cho, whose smile was beginning to fade at the sight of my own expression.

  None of the faces themselves were familiar, but this place and its people certainly were, from those yearly trips when we’d brought our stock up the road to sell. To a younger Ryan, the market had been so exciting, filled with goods and people from miles around. Those fond memories floated up now, of playing with kids in the market, or spending a few precious coins my father would give me to buy a treat of my own.

  I sighed, standing with the armful of cabbages. I slowly carried the load over to Hong’s stand. The grocer took a step back at my advance, but paused again as I simply deposited the vegetables back onto the pile of still-surviving greens. I gave him an apologetic smile. “I’m really sorry. I was raised better than to destroy another man’s hard work and leave him to deal with it. How much?”

  The grocer coughed, waving his hands back and forth. “T-that’s quite unnecessary, good cultivator-”

  “I got kicked out of the Seven Falls Sect,” I assured him, crouching again to pick up more of the spilled produce. “I’m a failure in every regard, in the eyes of those disciples. I don’t even have any robes anymore. I assure you, I’m a cultivator. Please, let me repay you.”

  “I, well-” confusion had begun to overtake the grocer. . As Hong continued to dither, caught between excuses and protests, I pulled off two large, hundred yuan pieces, and set them on the small counter. I tied my necklace around my neck, and turned towards Cho.

  The skewer seller swallowed. “Honou-, ah, young sir?” His eyes darted towards the pile of coins on the ground, left behind by Master Chin.

  I ignored the pile as I looked at the rest of the market, and bowed to them all. Then, I turned, and left Shepherd’s Cross.

  …I sheepishly returned five minutes later to grab my third skewer.