Dark Hour (2) - Authority

During the time that Stigma was listening to Emily of what she had uncovered after the demise of her father and mother.

Three of the remaining Top merchants, also known as Emily's Seniors, had just returned to their residence far north of the market and are making preparations for tomorrow's event.

Just as what Emily had told Stigma, not long after his arrival, a notorious clan called the Naga Clan had entered the Slave Market with a dozen or so guards.

To Emily's knowledge their purpose remained unknown, but to her seniors who met them personally, such matters were considered irrelevant as their objectives all correlate to gaining the Naga clan's overall attention.

It was not long ago that these merchants have met the Naga clan's elder Jaculas Fel, who claimed to be acting as the clan's representative then tried to associate with him and to reap possible ties.

Unfortunately, even with their obvious invitation and numerous gifts, the elder remained stone faced throughout the two days he interacted with them and only accepted their gifts along with a list of their products not their offers.

Even if Jaculas' guards were to be bribed to support them, they could never persuade the clan behind him to agree so easily due to their social status and overall authority.

Under such circumstances, the Top merchants would have left disheartened, as Jaculas alone took no form of interest in forming a partnership with any of them.

Be that as it may, these men were buoyant by nature as they blindly believed that if they relied on using the amassed fortune they gained from the market along with their abilities of persuasion.

These merchants believed that success was inevitable if they persisted and left to their personal quarters to pick among the best of their merchandise for their next encounter.

Unaware that Jaculas's nephew - Richard Fel, was currently alone with the elder in his personal quarters, pleading before him for a change of heart as the elder browsed through the list of products given to him by the merchants.

Although it was true that Jaculas was the de facto leader of the group due to his status as an elder, Richard believed that he had the right to voice of his displeasure as he was the one who found out about the market and a member of their clan.

Regrettably, what Richard did not know was that such an act was considered questioning/insulting his uncle's decision along with his status, which meant Jaculas's patients towards him was already wearing thin and was about to reach it's breaking point.

"Uncle! Please reconsider each of their offers! It could be beneficial for us, never mind their offers of partnership, their connections to other merchant will expand our wealth greatly and it won't be long that we will live like gods among men. The clan's around us could *GUH!!!*..."

Before he could even finish his argument, Richard was suddenly struck to the throat by Jaculas with a vice like grip, and the elder continued to apply more pressure on his neck.

Because of the unexpected attack, Richard's breathing was greatly inhibited, it also caused him to topple over nearby furniture as he struggled for freedom.

When the guards heard a commotion break out from outside, they all entered Jaculas's tent in a hurry and saw that Richard was kneeling before his uncle as he choked him, causing the guards to feel uneasy upon seeing Richard's pained expression.

It was not that the guards were concerned for Richard's health, their main concern was whether or not the elder was approachable, as Jaculas was known for enacting cruel punishments within the clan.

Even if they were subjected to Jaculas's cruelty upon a whim, they could not fight back or kill him, as they greatly fear that the Naga clan would punish them and their families for such an act.

"Sileeeeeence!" Just as the guards watched with alarm, as Richard was subjected into suffocation, Jaculas gave an order out of anger and immediately silenced everyone in the room.

Though the guards said nothing, Jaculas glared at them to maintain their positions.

On the one hand, Jaculas appeared as though he was without no mercy towards his nephew by strangulating him enough to kill him.

The elder knew better than to kill Richard out of anger, as it would gain him nothing, Jaculas still needed to show authority by showing his fangs or he would look like a paper tiger[1].

Once Jaculas felt that Richard was about to pass out, the Naga elder decided to loosen his grip to allow his nephew to breath and regain conscious. Jaculas then explained his reason of silence with a relaxed tone to justify his actions.

"... Listen well boy, my status as an elder is not to be questioned so consider this act of suffocation your punishment for your impudence earlier. Don't think of me as cruel, in fact, I was already being lenient to you despite being a member of a branch family. If it were the other elders, you would have been punished far worse without a chance to beg... But that is another matter altogether, you see, based on the meetings we had with the merchants. I am somewhat aware that the goal of those merchant's was to gain access to our clans resources by trying to associate with us. Meaning their aim was not to form ties with me, and especially not you Richard."

"I have heard of their family names and their individual business some time ago, yet it's best not to be hasty on decisions as I don't know much about them. There is also a possibility that they are acting out on their own, so I was already being reasonable to give them face as to listen to their offers than ignoring them. On the subject, don't think I don't know what your intentions were in entering this slave market Richard, I wasn't born yesterday. If they met you first, who knows how much you would have wasted on small deals... Be that as it may, I won't look into this on account of your talent and future deeds to the clan. But if the head elder heard about this, I wonder what would happen to you....."

Once Richard heard Jaculas' reminder, colour immediately drained from his face.

As Jaculas continued his sermon and provided a number of plausible theories to reason, Richard was unaware that his uncle did not actually care about finding out about his motives, as such a matter was technically irrelevant to him and others of similar status.

The reason why Jaculas wanted to threaten Richard was simply because his nephew was getting on his nerves. Not only that, he actually wanted his nephew to be ignorant throughout their stay, as Jaculas was carefully planning his next move on how to interact with the merchants before making any transactions for the clan.

Like Richard, Jaculas had taken interest in some of the merchants previous offers for his own benefit, but choose not to act out so soon as he wanted to gain better deals. Jaculas also did not want his nephew involve, as Richard might try to take a portion of his transactions as a form of bribery to keep his mouth shut.

Despite being an elder of the Naga clan, Jaculas was well aware that amassing personal fortune was important, as making any deals relating to the clan meant that he could not use the resources so freely in the future.

Especially when the head elder, also known as Jaculas's father, was focused on making sure the alliance between the Naga and the Panther clan to go smoothly.

Naturally, Jaculas would not tell Richard about his intentions, as he believed his nephew would only get in the way and did not have ability to act out the way he intended.

But to make sure the clan elders did not find out about the bribery, Jaculas needed Richard to only be present during his transactions, making it so that he appeared that he agreed to form a partnership out of interest to the clan.

"Do I make myself clear Richard, I won't report this to the clan as I am doing this for your sake, so you better shape up to make up for the time you wasted. I also plan to meet with the merchants later on to at least prepare some transaction and since the auction here caught my interest, I plan to participate in it. Until then, I will humor your farce and are free to do as you please. But if I find out you so much as throw the face of the Naga clan's name, don't expect me to be merc-Guh!! *COUGH! *"

Just as Jaculas was about to relieve Richard from his punishment, the elder suddenly felt sharp pain in his chest and coughed up blood. Even with the grip on his neck loosened, Richard was still not free from Jaculas's grasp as he was being pulled by the neck and was tightening by the second.

Out of reflex, the attendants who followed them drew closer to the elder to check his condition, but Jaculas berated them and ordered them to find his medicine than waste time.

While they rummaged through their luggage, Jaculas glared at his nephew for confirmation from his previous remark.

For any of his plans to go smoothly, Jaculas need Richard to oblivious of his actions and wanted him gone. If Richard did not answer correctly, the elder made up his mind to throw his nephew across the room and start beating him half to death.

Fortunately, despite having difficulty standing up, Richard regained his senses and immediately responded with a nod. Once Jaculas released his grip on his neck, Richard saw an opportunity and ran out the tent with haste, leaving the elder to click his tongue out of irritation.

"*Tch* You three!*cough!* Keep an eye on him, if he ge-*cough!* gets into trouble, deal with it and bring Richard to me. If he dares runaway, I will go after him personally!!!*cough!* *cough!* *cough!* "

When Jacuals saw three of his subordinates ran after Richard under his orders, the elder continued to cough violently as he clutched his chest from the unbearable chest pains.

With haste, one of his attendant presented a small bottle filled with pills in front of him, Jaculas then grabbed the small bottle without hesitation and immediately gulped down its contents in large quantities.

Once the bottle was emptied, Jaculas threw the bottle then chewed all the pills inside his mouth and swallowed everything in one gulp. When Jacula's breathing settled, he eventually turned towards the remaining subordinates and ordered them to leave the premise.

With the residual pain on his chest, Jaculas took deep breaths and believed that within the following days, he had to remain vigilant as he felt an uneasy feeling.

After his breathing settled, Jaculas realised that he was gripping his left arm out of reflex causing him to stare at it for a while. With the surface of the gauntlet being felt, the elder suddenly had the urge to continue his 'method' to calm down and licked his lips.

Yet unknown to Jaculas, by the time the auction would reach its due date, his premonition of danger would come true.

******

'What the hell' were the only word Stigma could come up with, when he heard Emily's story.

The reason being was with each given information and provided evidence, Stigma was able to connect both Lara and Emily's story then came into conclusion that the accident that killed her parents was by no means a coincidence but was a cover on an assassination attempt.

Based on Emily's story, although Stigma could not go into details on the accident, as Emily was describing it from a vague memory and was unaware of what caused it.

Emily clearly remembered that not long after the incident, she saw people investigating the scene and was searching for something.

At that time, Emily was hiding and had no idea who they are or what they were looking for. But by the time they started their search, Emily had long escaped and followed the instruction written on her father's letter then read his journal once her grandfather took her in.

Halfway through their conversation, Emily confessed that hidden inside her father's journal, she discovered a confession along with a list of names. Although Emily had found it by accident, it was lead to believe that the confession was the item the men were looking for but could not find as she left the scene with it.

To understand the rest of Emily's story and the importance of the confession, Stigma was provided a short copy of it as she told her story.

Through the confession, Stigma found out that Emily's father was not an honest man, as it listed all his past crimes along with those who he was involved. Emily found out that her father had amassed his wealth, status and authority through manufacturing to selling illegal drugs, along with a number of underhanded means.

The confession also revealed that after meeting Emily's mother then giving birth to her, he had cut ties with his previous clients and changed for the better. Yet he had to remain in hiding with his wife and new born child, as they may be after them.

And because her father had made enemies with a number of dangerous groups in the past, a long list of names was also hidden with the confession. Names of which Emily should be aware of in the future and must be avoid at all cost and must keep their relation a secret.

On the later part of the confession.

Emily was also warned about some of her aunts and uncles in the Aurum family, as they were the ones who influenced him into taking drug trading as a profession, and may influence her or send someone to tie up lose ends of their involvement if they found the written confession.

It was also written that, in the event her father could not reveal his past in person and something were to happen to him or Emily's mother, he left the confession hidden in his journal to inform his daughter about his past mistake and let her know the truth about him.

As well as reminding Emily to avoid attempting the same line of work in the future and make better choices than he did.

Sadly, because Emily had found out the truth, she made a decision to not hide her identity nor scorn her father over the mistakes he made and turned the list of names into a hit list. As any one of them, along with her 'family', could be responsible for her parents passing.

At the end of Emily's story, Stigma was told that even with her father revealing his past and receiving countless warnings about the danger she would face, as Emily wanted people to know that she was a daughter of a great man who raised her than hide her relation about her father because of what he did in the past.

That is why Emily had already spent most of her life time training to be recognised as both a cultivator and a talented merchant, all while feigning ignorance towards the scorn and provocation aimed at her to prove everyone wrong.

Which is also why Emily was not willing to let all her efforts go to waste and remain silent. And until Emily avenged her father and mother's death, she will not be at peace, as she did not care that her father was a criminal as he was still her father that loved and raised her.

As for Emily reason's for staying in the market, although she did not say anything, the only logical conclusion Stigma came up with was that someone within the market was on her hit list. Which lead Stigma to believe that it was either one of her Seniors or all of them.

Once Stigma pointed out his suspicion, Emily gave praise to his ability of deduction and confirmed that it was in fact all of her Seniors's families.

Before Stigma even had a chance to delve to too deeply on the matter, Emily reminded him that due to her situation, a great amount of trust was placed on him. So Emily was not going to easily forgive Stigma if he ever betrayed her in the future.

In fact, one of Emily's reason for trusting Stigma enough to tell her secret was because she was also after some members of the Naga clan like Jaculas Fel. So if Stigma were to go after the Naga clan out to revenge, she was more than willing to support him, as they may have a common enemy.

After all, if Emily were to provoke every name on the list, that would be tantamount to digging her own grave.

While on the subject of trust, between her close aids, Emily trusted Lara more than her uncle Richard as her half sister truly cared for her safety.

Because Emily persuaded her grandfather to adopt her, Lara was very protective towards her half-sister's safety and was spiteful to anyone who would harm her.

Naturally, Lara was well aware of Emily's plans and made sure to shoulder some of her responsibilities, such as making sure that Stigma was trustworthy through her own way.

Even if Stigma revealed his "heaven defying skill" that allows him to read people and the like.

Felix had spoken very highly not only of his intelligence but also his character when they first met, so their previous interaction shocked not only him but had Emily trust him and her stubborn sister Lara accept his ability.

Hence, the reason why Lara told Stigma as much of her half sister's situation without revealing too much details as a sign of trust.

When Emily finally ended her story, an hour had only passed. But due to having a fever, Emily had to sit down halfway and catch her breath.

While Emily pulled out some medicine from her space ring, Stigma sat across her in deep thought, as he did not know on how he should approach the subject when it was related to her father's past and the conviction Emily had about him.

Finding out one's father was a drug trafficker was one thing, but accepting it was another matter, so Stigma could not relate to Emily's faith in him.

Although her father was considered a criminal, if one focused on the crimes he committed on the confession, Stigma heard Emily's description on him and saw it someone who gave up a life of crime for his wife and daughter's and was looking out for their safety.

It was also reasonable enough to believe that the wife knew about his past, as Emily mentioned that her mother met her father in the past.

Yet between finding the right words to comfort her, to empathising Emily's past. Stigma did not know what to say but agreed to help her in the future, under the condition that she helps him with a few favors and that they remain in contact afterwards.

Unknown to Stigma, when he agreed to help her, Emily felt that a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders but was also grateful that she finally vent and spat out all her pent up emotions to someone without the danger of being discovered.

Just the fact that Stigma had agreed to help her placed Emily's mind at ease, and since the condition he gave was not difficult, she was more than willing to agree to any of his demands so long it was reasonable.

All in all, Stigma's reason on why he agreed to help Emily's plan was solely because he felt the honest love of a daughter to her father, rather than a young girl who was blinded by vengeance.

"....So it's your turn Stigma...what's your story, who are you, and why are you after a Naga elder. I already told you my secrets, which is my way of saying I trust you, so don't hide anything from me....so please trust me Stigma."

"....."

After being overwhelmed with a number of questions thrown at him, Stigma collected his thoughts for a moment then told everything that Emily wanted to know, starting by introducing Hilda and Dusk, revealing them to be his familiars along with Kirin.

Mixed with confusion on why Stigma would name a rusted broad sword, along with curiosity on where he found the shadowy familiars, Emily eventually lost interest and payed attention to Stigma as he narrated his story.

Save for the details of his past life and his whole encounter with the Imp, as it was difficult to explain, Stigma had basically told Emily everything that had happened to him. About him waking up only remembering his name and some memories, meeting the strange woman named Bell and his familiars along with his entire journey on the slave market to his encounter with Felix and recent events.

Similar to Felix and his group's reaction, Emily had misunderstood Stigma's origins and believed that he was a war child. Something Stigma could not deny nor confirm, as he himself did not know.

As for Stigma's reason for going after Jaculas Fel, he can only be honest about his feelings and told Emily on what he truly felt on the matter.

".....The way I see it, that man is the only link I have to my past...I don't know who I am in this world, but I do know this.....I had a mother and a father, I at least deserve to know who and where they are... and find out...if.....they abandoned me....."

"..."

What Stigma said was not a lie, in fact, his reason in looking for Jaculas was based on his realization. For Stigma, being reborn was opportunity but was also a way for him to make amends to his past mistakes and give him a peace of mind to look back.

With no actual friends, close relatives or a loved one waiting for him in his old life, Stigma or more accurately Cheng Xuan had to gradually accept the harsh reality of having to fend for himself from actual danger and the difficulty of having no one to rely on.

Even though there was a thousand to an infinite amount of possibilities for his future, Stigma knew that in the end, there will always be an emotional hole in his heart just to find his place.

Meeting his familiars and friends/comrades was a blessing, but Stigma new that he needed to make amends to his parents for taking their presence for granted then move on.

His decision to find the 'Original' Stigma's birth parent was his way for atoning his past mistake from being distant to his deceased parents, as at the time, he held great fear in hearing their disappointment on the decisions he made or how he grew up.

Whether or not Stigma could met them would depend on the circumstances, but he had to at least pay his respect by meeting them.

He also understood that starting a new life is by every means difficult, but as long as there was something good in their life like a supporting family; Expectations or not, one still strives for a future knowing full well there was little to no emotional burden on their heart and he was too late to realise their importance to him and wanted to make things right.

When Emily saw a hint of sorrow in Stigma's eyes, immediately, she realised the topic might be too sensitive and that the boy before her had a lot going on as well.

After all, the thought about being abandoned was bad enough, but it was scarier to know that it was done intentionally.

Even with Emily facing her own troubles, she knew better than to pry into personal matters, especially when the individual is not willing to speak about it so openly. Different people have their own way to face their problems, and they can't always be confident as they needed time to settle their issues.

"...S-Stigma, I'm sorry, I..." Before Emily could say anything else, Stigma slowly met her gaze and smiled at her when she showed concern.

"Thank you but don't worry Emily...I just need...closure on my end....Besides everything what I said is both my apology to you and my way of saying I trust you too, little girl."

Once Emily heard that Stigma trusted her while showing a childish grin, she blushed for a moment then retaliated by punching him.

"*Giggle!* You damn right I trust you, you bastard!"

When both sides accepted each others faults and accepted the others misgivings, they decided to laugh at each other from being to overly cautious to one another.

Prior to the passing of his parents, Stigma or Cheng Xuan's temperament was always skeptical in forming ties with anyone in general. But with the person in front of him being a child at the age of fourteen, he felt ridiculous from being wary as Emily's approach was far too honest for him.

Emily also had the same thought.

On the one hand, Emily found out about Stigma's relation with Felix was related to his clan's situation, she later regretted prying into his affairs when she found out about his origins but was then glad that they could both trust one another.

With that in mind, Emily suddenly felt a mixed with relief and joy from hearing him trust her, something she hasn't felt outside her relation to Lara. But whether that strange sensation was from being grateful or was from a different emotion, Emily did not know.

Naturally, neither sides was aware of what the other felt and kept it to themselves to avoid a misunderstanding.

Once both sides settled their disputes, Stigma realised that neither he, Kirin nor Emily had a proper meal yet and decided to leave to buy some food along with future supplies.

Stigma had some food left in his space ring, but what remained were food that needed to be reheated to dried rations that was only meant for emergencies. Stigma also found it inadvisable for those with a fever to eat hard to digest food and had to eat light meals like soup or porridge with small pieces of meat and vegetables.

And since their chat lasted for a while, Stigma had no problem in leaving as his reserves had recovered in a descent amount. Naturally, Stigma would bring Hilda and Kirin along for obvious reasons, while Dusk would remain behind as Emily's guard.

However, when Stigma brought up the subject, Emily decided to follow him outside due to a simple reason - she was bored.

Because her fever had lessen to some degree, Emily decided that a stroll was better than lazing around during her free time and was very keen on having fun with someone around her age to relieve some stress.

Much to Stigma's confusion for her sudden interest to head out, he could not provide a reason for Emily to stay as she immediately replied that it was his responsibility to protect her not his familiars. Leaving him rather tongue tied on how to refute her argument when his plan was easily found out.

Granted that it was better to have Emily follow him around, as Stigma needed a guide and wanted to explore the rest of the market to find and purchase some hidden or strange treasures like the Bronze Horn.

Stigma did have a nagging feeling that there was a hidden danger and had to be wary. Nevertheless, with the experience he gained from the Demon Imp, wits and the support of his familiar, Stigma held great confidence in dealing with any situation.

While Stigma was thinking of the pros and cons in greater details, Emily did not wait for his response and had started to pick out among the clothes on the ground and changed into a fresh set of clothes with his back turned.

After taking her medicine, Emily's fever had gone down to a certain degree and was naturally excited to be free of her responsibilities for a while and act like her age.

Since they were inside a private residence, Emily was not worried about anyone wondering in, as no one was brave enough to cause trouble on the guise that her family will find out nor did she think it was a problem changing around someone younger than her.

By the time she had finished changing, Emily was pulling Stigma by the arm with authority and snapped him back into reality, ignoring that fact that she had yet to give him time to respond.

Unfortunately, Stigma was still dumbfounded from the unfamiliar development of being dragged around by a girl to even respond nor recall what just happened, until Emily's voice drew his attention and an unfamiliar one.

"Hey! Stop staring into space Stigma! Let's go! It's been long since I had some spare time and I am not about to waste it! Your my bodyguard now, so shape up!!!"

"...I think that would be unwise to leave at this time, maybe you should rethink of when the both of you should leave on your date."

Just as they were to head towards the exit, Stigma halted his steps and turned towards the voice. Naturally because Emily heard the same thing, she did the same action and stood beside Stigma then both gazes landed on someone standing right behind them.

Despite being cultivators with heightened senses, neither of them had sensed when the intruder had entered and became wary.

Because of the sudden trespassing, Emily pulled out a small knife from her space ring for self defense and readied herself for combat. Although Emily was a Cultivator, her combat experience was no different than a freshly trained disciple, yet she did not fell discouraged from the sudden invasion.

With her future plans in mind, Emily did not slack off in any of her training, as her plans required certain level of ability and experience, such as her personal protection.

Despite Emily being in the defensive, she was shocked to find that Stigma did not respond the same way and only stood in place as he stared at the man with a blank expression. Just as Emily was about to suspect their relation, Stigma's reply explained everything, but got her blushing from a misunderstanding.

"At least I have an eye on a woman's true value, Senior Han, although she is.....lacking certain areas, she is still a young lady. Also, what do you mean why we can't leave at this time?"

Although Emily wanted to retort on Stigma's late remark on 'lacking certain areas' than know how long had the intruder been standing there. Once Emily heard a familiar name, she started too lessen her vigilance as the identity of the intruder was revealed.

The one who entered Emily's residence was none other than Han, one of the Three assassins who approached Stigma and had tried to recruit him.

Because Stigma told Emily everything that happened to him, he naturally told her about his meeting and interaction with the Assassins; Han, Veil and the leader.

Though Emily had more questions in mind, she knew better than to butt in and quietly listened to their conversation. Especially when the intruder was skilled enough to enter the premises without alerting either of them.

"Hey, are you trying to provoke me! I, your father, also have game Stigma!... But we'll discuss that in a later date. Just as I said, you can't leave at this time because its dangerous, its the 'Dark Hour' right know and it's not safe for kids your age to move around."

"....'Dark Hour'? What's that? A curfew? Is it an event in the market or something" Though Stigma was surprised on Han's sudden appearance and wanted to tease him, his curiosity peaked when Han mentioned something called the Dark Hour.

Even as Stigma looked at Emily, she only responded by shaking her head, implying that she was not aware of such matters.

Despite having a conflicted expression, Han knew that it was his fault that he brought it up, but it was also his responsibility as a Senior to look after Stigma who was his Junior[2].

Back when he was around Stigma's age, he would steer clear from all forms danger when he knew his ability was not up for the task.

But given that he saw Stigma's ability and the situation at hand, rather than remain ignorant, Han believed that informing his junior about the danger was the better option.

"*Sigh*... Follow me outside Stigma and then I'll explain...." Without waiting for Stigma's reply, Han walked passed the two children and left the tent.

Leaving the two youths alone to look at each other with complicated expressions.

Although Stigma wanted to go alone, Emily reminded him about his responsibility to her and stubbornly followed him.

With his familiars following behind, Stigma and Emily exited the tent and immediately saw Han, but stopped on their tracks as they were utterly shocked from the scene behind him.

Just outside of Emily's tent, Han stood five feet away from both of them and was surrounded by countless bodies lying around on the courtyard.

From where he stood, Stigma believed the body count roughly was numbered over fifteen too seventeen.

Upon seeing the nearest body, Stigma saw obvious signs of having their head twisted in a bizarre manner while some had bruising around their necks, which meant they were either choked to death or had the bones on their necks snapped.

Though Han had not say anything, what he showed them spoke volumes, as each of these men had been killed bare - handed.

Because Stigma had been attack a number of times when he was relaxing, he started to heightened his senses whenever he left. Yet never in his wildest dreams would Stigma had expected that Han had actually killed a large number of these men without him noticing.

Emily was no different, upon counting the number of bodies on the ground, her wariness towards Han confirmed her suspicion that he was a top level expert in the art of silent killing.

Despite both the youth ignoring his line of sight, as they stared at the bodies on the ground, Han took no offence by it and began his explanation to his juniors.

"Listen Stigma.... the 'Dark Hour' is a term we, the residence of the Underworld, use to describe the night when illegal transactions or morally reprehensible activities are in progress. These activities range from assassination, blackmail, bribery, targeted hazing, espionage, human trafficking of men, women and children, weapons smuggling and a number of other deals that could be described as morally wrong. Other than those with high social status or authority, the general public are kept unaware which also includes Cultivators who are not part of any organisation, like you. To put it bluntly, this is a time when bad things happen and you can't expect anything good will happen. These men had arrived about an hour ago and are the prime example of the level of danger the 'Dark Hour' posses if you get yourself involved without being prepared. What I'm saying is, if I hadn't waited for four hours straight to look after you Stigma, these men would have kidnapped and sold you of as a battle slave to a high value client."

[1] paper tiger - a person or thing that appears threatening but is ineffectual. It means that he looks intimidating, but is no actual threat. [all bark and no bite.]

[2]

Senior – a term of address for members of an elder generation.

Junior – a term of address for members of a younger generation.

These two terms are relative. A person's "seniority" in comparison to someone else is often determined by age, but social status, expertise, and other factors also play a role. For example, an expert in a field of study would likely be addressed as "Senior" by a novice in the field, even if the novice is older than the expert. And in a company or organization, higher-ranking members/employees are typically Seniors while those beneath them are Juniors.