Looking for me? Why?

"Search the house! Bring the woman and her daughter!" The voice said, only eclipsed by the scream of the maid who realized the gravity of the situation. She dropped the wooden plate and the cup of tea then gathered up her worn-out dress, and fled. Alas, with a dull 'peng! 'a knife settled at the back of her head, knocking her a dozen feet off from the silent Madam.

In her chair, with clenched fists and wavering eyes, she gazed at the man who did not even obscure his lascivious expression. Eyeing her mature figure, seemingly a woman in her thirties, he could not help but gulp and remark.

"Once the boss had his fill, we will enjoy you too… But, before that," He said, his steps calm and unhurried as he walked towards her, though his eyes surveyed the house in its entirety before he said, "Don't you have a daughter? Where is she?"

The woman was silent for a while, not answering. It was only once this thug captured her face within his callus right palm, squeezing her jaw, did she open her mouth and spit at his face. It was a thick, disgusting substance that almost blocked his vision.

Infuriated, he smacked her with a backhand across the face.

Slap!

She plummeted towards the ground with a swollen cheek, blood trickling down the handprint across her face, that strike was a dozen times more powerful than that she received of any man… She was almost instantly knocked out cold.

"Hey! You didn't kill her, did you?!" Asked his companions.

"Oops, I forgot, since we started cultivation, we are a tad stronger than normal humans…" The man feigned shock with an expression of amazement.

However, he soon shrugged it off and said, "A strike from a Bone Tempering stage won't kill anyone, don't overthink and get her to camp! I'll look for the little girl." The man himself was joyous for his strength, howbeit far he is from the boss' strength, he at least had the assets to go rampant.

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Making it to the boundaries of the village wasn't a tedious process, it would consume an incense stick of time on a good day. However, having to tread about carefully, Xuan'er would now consume at least half an hour on optimal cases, and perhaps an hour on some occasions. Still, one question clouded her heart whenever she left home this past month.

If she was to encounter Yang Lin and convince him to flee, should she tag along?

If he chose to face death head-on, should she tag along?

More like, can she even carry through with either choice? Was it worth it? How much value did she wage on him in her heart, she was too confused to make a call. As she was lost in thoughts, she heard a stern shout coming from up ahead.

"Here you are!" It was a rustic, hoarse voice grating to the ears. Still, the voice was one story, and the panic that had washed over Xuan'er the instant she saw the man was a whole different story.

She made sure she was cautious in her path, leaving no tracks behind, nor did she arouse any suspicions. So, why?

Why was there a thug in front of her right now? Why is he looking at her as though she was an item of his that was long forgotten?

Why was he walking her way? And why now of all times?

"W-why…?" She subconsciously asked, her legs trembling from the soles of her feet all the way to her hips. In the cold nights, under the watch of the moon and stars, she was helpless in front of a brute thrice her size.

"Hahaha, scared? Good, very good! I was looking for you. Well, for two reasons. First is that while your mother becomes our whore, you will be our maid till you are of age." Saying that... A covetous light flashed through the man's eyes, his primal instinct driving his rationality away.

"Second-... Huh? Did you piss yourself already? Hahaha!" Just as he was about to declare his second cause, he could sniff the odor leaking specifically from the girl's pants, not to mention the stains it left on her clothes.

Still, as he laughed and observed her teary eyes he said, "We know you and that brat are very close, if we had you, we don't even gotta look for him anymore, he will show up on his own! Hahaha!!!"

"Hm? Looking for me? Why?" A third party spoke. To both of their surprise, it was Yang Lin.

He approached calmly under the shade of Maple trees, his robes luminescent under the curtain of moonlight. Tranquil steps suffocated by a killing intent, albeit suppressed thin. Although Yang Lin asked, the question was rhetorical.

He needed not to hear answers from a dead man.