Under the Cover of Darkness

Hong Zhao shut the door behind him, not sparing a second's glance towards the carnage he left below. "I need to try not to get any more blood in old man Xinyue's inn." He said to himself with a sigh. "There's only so much damage five gold can cover." Though he had more gold than he could count, he didn't feel very comfortable showing such wealth within the establishment. Though he was more than a match for anyone who tried to take him on, if they made a target of the old man, they would have the upper hand.

"What I need to do is take out the camp that keeps sending these fools." The sun was risen out the window as he looked at the land below. There was a vast wall of forest off in the distance. When they travelled to Naje, they had left the forest and came into the clearing where they had met Lan Xinyue. From the village, they had to move directly south of the forest, leading into hillsides. As far as he knew of the location, the beasts only got stronger as he continued further on. Though for now, his eyes trained on the distant trees. "If they are camped in the forest, I should be able to see the glow of their fire when it turns night."

Instead of waiting, Hong Zhao went to the roof of the inn and put on his qi blocking uniform and took off the qi suppressor once again and sat in the lotus position. Opening himself up to the energy of the world, he could feel the slow cycle of Qi make it's way into his dantian. He used only the qi stone this time. If he used a qi grasping pill and had to cut off his cultivation early, he would spoil the benefits the pill would give him.

As the sun rose higher within the sky, the boy continued to sit perfectly still by his window. Neither shouts below or any other on goings distracted him. As the sun began to set, his eyes opened. When he looked at the forest, he very nearly saw a flickering glow from a distance. Activating eagle vision, Hong Zhao narrowed in on the flicker and saw that it was indeed a flame. "Got you." He gave a half smile as he left the rooftop. For this exchange, he wanted to be at full strength.

Activating vortex thrust, Hong Zhao raced swiftly through the long grass, avoiding the path all together. When he reached the tree line, he leapt into the first one without so much as rustling a leaf on a branch. Within moments, he closed in on the glow from the fire and smiled. The camp was much larger than he thought it would be. As far as he could count, at least forty people walked in various locations. Tents were erected everywhere, and only one camp fire lit the area.

With his qi blocking uniform, he was able to mask his presence as he moved through the trees and stopped just above them. Looking down, he contemplated what he was going to do. 'If I attack them head on, their numbers would be more than enough to kill me.' He looked to the outer edges of the camp. Two guards on either side of the perimeter stuck out as they watched near the tents. He counted six out of the forty were in charge of security. Hong Zhao silently approved of their precautions. If anyone were to stumble across the camp, they would be too focused on the fire to notice the guards and the latter would make quick work of them. It would have worked on anyone else, but Hong Zhao was well crafted in the art of security. All he had to think was what he would do if he were in the same situation.

Using the shadows to his advantage, he found a small area close enough to the guards, yet not within their line of sight. Before making a move, he scoped out the rest of the camp. Most of the men were cooking food at the fire, if not asleep in their tents or playing cards within the light. If he accounted for the tents, there could be more than just forty men within the small fort. He would have to play this out perfectly if he wanted it to work.

When he was convinced that no one was paying attention to the guards, he silently dropped from the treetop and put his fist to the first guard, activating devouring qi claws before the man could notice. He sliced cleanly through the man's vocal cords so he couldn't scream out. To stop the sound of gurgling blood from alerting the other guard, he held a hand over the man's mouth. Hong Zhao then put a claw into the man's back, severing his spinal cord. As he bled out, Hong Zhao stared the man in the eye, until he saw them dim, and no life remained. He gently lowered the man to the ground, and then silently raced to the other man. Luckily, the guards all seemed to be wearing black, in order to minimize visibility, which worked wonders for him.

Closing the distance between him and the other guard, he repeated the process, seeing the man fade into nothingness, he allowed his claws to dissipate once more. Allowing no more light to remain within the camp aside from the fire. He then took the first man and activated vortex thrust. He launched himself into the thick wood and found a place to hide the body, then went back for the other. If he had any luck, a fierce beast would happen upon a well placed meal.

With the two bodies disposed of, he jumped back within the trees and went back to the camp.

"Hey, either of you need food?" A man called out to where the guards were but moments ago, yet no one answered.

"Where did those two get off to?" Another man asked as he went to where the guards were before.

"They most likely went to relieve themselves," the first man said with a sigh. "It's hard to find good help these days."

The other man nodded and they brought two bowls of untouched stew back to the fire. "They can get their food after their shift is up."

Hong Zhao let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding in as the two men left the area. He knew that if the area were left unguarded for too long, they may send out a search party for the two.