Entering Henon

As they were already at the border of Henon, the group decided to head to the nearest city to rest. Reinhart was still fatigued, but to save on time he had the rest of them climb onto a fan-shaped flight artifact. Along the way, Shui gave a brief explanation of Sef's circumstances.

"I see. That group really doesn't shy away from unscrupulous acts."

"Are they after you for a similar reason?"

"I certainly do have some out of the ordinary techniques and materials, but it looked like they were more focused on murder than robbery."

"So either you messed with them or someone put a hit on you."

"It could be both. I'll have to explain when we head back to the manor, but Kate and I have enemies who I could see doing something like this."

Shui had heard such rumours from the elders while in the manor, so he knew that those jealous or wary of Kate's talents were always eager to cause trouble for her. This was especially since she didn't have a formal master. Although Reinhart's master, Elder Ren, was like her guardian, Kate had refused to formally become his disciple though she seemed to be grateful to him. She wasn't as brash as at the Heaven clan, but Kate had insinuated that her master could only be someone with strength as astonishing as her talent. Even the manor lord might not have the honour.

Shui laughed when he first heard about it, but he approved of her attitude and was prepared to support her. He didn't think he would have to interfere for battles between disciples, but if others wanted to flaunt their status and money then he had no problem leveling the playing field.

"Will she be safe in the manor?"

"Yes, my master's there so no one will be able to bother her."

"I'm surprised he still takes care of her after she refused to become his disciple."

"When it happened my mind was in a complete mess, but Master simply laughed it off. I thought that even a virtuous person like my master would get upset, but instead he praised her for it."

"Really? It seems like I should greet your master when we get back."

"Certainly. He also had some interest in you after hearing Kate's stories. Speaking of which, how did you manage to survive the incident?"

"The short story is that I managed to escape before they attacked. I also had an opportunity that allowed me to recover. After that, I reunited with Kate's family and stayed with them for a while before heading to Silver City after the hunt."

"Oh, so the Malirin Forest hunt is already over. Were there any changes this year?"

"I didn't see it for myself, but apparently, there's another beast lord."

"What?!"

"You don't have to get too agitated, they were pushed back. I don't know much more than that."

Shui had seen the battle with his own eyes, but he wasn't aware of what was public knowledge so he stuck with stuff he had overheard.

"I'll have to look into this once we return to the manor."

A few moments of silence passed, and as Shui seemed to have finished talking with Reinhart, Fatty whispered to him. He seemed to be trying to hide the conversation from Reinhart, but considering Reinhart's cultivation, it was a futile effort. 

"Boss, how did you get to know Senior Brother Reinhart? You two look so close."

Serina also appeared interested in this topic. Among direct disciples, Reinhart had one of the best reputations, but he was also known for being hard to get close to. Both male and female disciples wanted to build connections with him, but he seemed to always treat them courteously and nothing more. However, with Shui, he appeared less guarded, as if they were longtime friends. 

"Do you know a core disciple named Kate?"

"The Wild Princess? Is that the Kate you two were talking about?"

Shui had heard of Kate's title before, but it was still funny when he heard Fatty say it. Like Cassandra, Kate was acknowledged as one of the most beautiful and talented female cultivators in Silver City, and so this title was created by her fans. Probably due to the fact that Lilia was no longer around to ensure that she maintained some level of femininity, Kate became completely uninhibited while at the manor.

When she first entered the manor, she was bestowed the status and privileges of a core disciple due to her talent, but her low cultivation meant she often mingled with those from the inner section. At that time Kate was usually by herself cultivating or wandering aimlessly, but one day an inner section disciple jealous of her status picked a fight. He was two cultivation levels above her, but Kate was the victor. It was said that the sight of her as she stood over him with bloodied fists and a smug smile inspired her first fans.

Shui wondered how Kate felt when she heard her title, and he could easily imagine a sour expression on her face.

"Yes, that one. We're from the same clan and whenever she came home to visit, he would come with her, and that's how I got to know him."

"The same clan? So you're related to the Wild Princess, Boss?"

"To an extent. Our parents were close and I lived with her family."

"Wow! Your clan must be amazing if it produced geniuses like you two. What clan is it?"

Although Kate was famous, there was little information about her background. There were no attempts to hide it, but as the clan hadn't been famous and it was destroyed, no one had a reason to talk about it anymore.

"The Heaven clan, but it wasn't that amazing. Kate and I are just special."

"Well, if it was a clan full of monsters like you two, the power balance of the five cities region would certainly be different."

"Who are you calling a monster? It looks like someone's eager for more training."

"Uh, sorry."

It would be some time before Fatty realized why Shui used past tense when describing the Heaven clan and regretted his words.

When the sky began to be painted in red, a city came into their sight.

"That's Marto, it's the city we'll be staying at."

Reinhart had been staying in Henon so he was the most familiar with the region. He hadn't been to this city before, but he had heard about it and knew that it was generally peaceful. 

"There should be no reason to worry, but just in case I'll explain the city's power structure."

Even in relatively safe cities, it was important to know the forces present so that one wouldn't accidentally end up offending a major power. Of course, this would be unnecessary for someone with enough strength and confidence to get themself out of any trouble like Shui, but he also paid attention to Reinhart's explanation. 

"There are three forces to look out for in Marto, one is based here while the other two are branches. The force with Marto as its base is the Greenfield Sect, while the other two are branches of the Rudolf Clan and Banmerry Castle respectively."

As Reinhart continued talking, they eventually reached the city. It would be too rude and illegal to fly straight in, so he let them off close to gate so that they could walk the rest of the way.