Chapter 39 - [Team Headquarters]

Shao closed his eyes and took a deep breath to stop himself from crushing Gao Tan Jinyu's throat with his foot. He knew that Xiahou Ren stepped in to prevent anyone from dying unnecessarily, so it would be counterproductive for him to keep fighting.

Ren gestured toward the other man who was with Gao Jinyu like he was shooing a dog. "Go on. Get lost."

The unnamed cultivator took several fearful steps back. "This isn't over! I'll see you at the Rite of Initiation, then I'll have my revenge!"

"Whatever you say, three-star," Xiahou Ren said in a voice filled with condescension. He was clearly not concerned that the cultivator could be a problem later.

With a look of indignant rage mixed with terror, the cultivator dressed in purple robes fled, leaving Ren and Shao in the alleyway with the mortal woman.

"Miss? You should probably get out of here before he comes back with friends. Oh, and if you need anything in the future, you can find us at this address." Ren passed a small piece of parchment to the woman as he spoke. She bowed and thanked them before quickly leaving the alleyway.

Xiahou Ren began walking out of the alley, and Shao followed him. With his emotions finally once more under control, Shao was able to mutter a few words. "I'm sorry that you had to get involved there."

"It's fine," Ren said with a smile. "I always enjoy a bit of morally justified violence. Just, next time, be a bit more careful before you start a fight with a cultivator. That guy could've been a Zhouji as far as you knew."

Shao wanted to disagree, but he knew that Ren was right. One of the first things Shen Jian told him was to know the strength of his opponent before he got into a fight, and yet the first thing he did in Zhoushan was ignore this advice.

"I know, I know. It's just… I went through some shit recently. I'm sorry; I'll try to control myself next time." As Shao spoke, they stepped out of the alleyway and entered onto one of Zhoushan's main roads.

Now that his rage had subsided and his rational mind was once more in control, Shao realized that no rational cultivator would have stepped in to save the woman. If Gao Linyu had been stronger than him, he would have died. If he had killed Gao Linyu, the purple-clad cultivator would have told others, and Yang Shao would have entered a blood feud with the Gao Tan family.

Xiahou Ren stepping in was probably the best way that could have ended. No one died there, and yet there was still a chance that Shao would have to kill Gao Linyu or the cultivator in purple robes in the future. By stepping in, Shao created a situation where someone would almost certainly end up dead.

The idea that he would have to look the other way when cultivators abused mortals infuriated Yang Shao. As he was at that moment, he wasn't strong enough to take any more risks like that. His only consolation was the thought that, one day, he'd reach such a high realm that no one would ever be able to abuse mortals in his presence.

"That girl was pretty cute, don't you think?" Xiahou Ren said, lightly elbowing Yang Shao in the ribs. "I wouldn't mind getting to know her a bit better, if you catch my meaning."

"Huh? I don't know. I didn't really get a good look at her." Shao tried to recall what the woman looked like, but he couldn't. He was so busy sizing up the two cultivators that he didn't spend more than half a second looking at her.

"She had 'a beauty like jade,'" Xiahou Ren said, closing his eyes with mock reverence.

"You say that like it's supposed to mean something to me," Shao said, cocking his head to the side.

"Oh yeah, it comes up all the time in stories and poetry. It's the kind of beauty that would send a thousand ships full of men to a ten-year war."

"Too bad I missed it, then," Shao said with a shrug. Honestly, the woman's beauty was secondary to him.

"Don't be too sure." Xiahou Ren chuckled mischievously. "I gave her the address of the building we're staying at right now. I bet she'll go there sooner rather than later."

"So you had an ulterior motive, eh?" Suddenly, Shao was reminded of Chu Haoyu. This was precisely the kind of scheme he would come up with to "get to know" a woman better. A sad smile appeared on Shao's face as he put his hand in his pocket and lightly brushed his fingers against the shell located there.

"Partially. A girl like her in a place like Zhoushan?" Ren let out a low whistle. "She needs some protection."

"Uh huh…" Shao muttered, quickly tiring of the current topic. "To get back on track, I've been wondering something."

"What is it?"

"You said you've built up a 'team' in preparation for the Rite of Initiation, but I heard that any three-star could pass it with little difficulty. Why do you need a team? Couldn't you, a seven-star, handle it on your own?"

"I see why you wonder that." Now that the subject of conversation had moved on from that "jade beauty," Xiahou Ren once more spoke with a tone that belied a sharp wit and acute awareness. "The Rite of Initiation would be easy for you or me, but I'm shooting for something much higher. You see, when it comes to initiation tests like this one, there's always a second, much more difficult, test that can be attempted. Succeeding in this second test always garners an award that gives the initiate an early advantage in cultivation. We might need that advantage in our early days at Shigong Temple."

Shao considered Xiahou Ren's words as they turned a corner and approached a worn-down building on the edge of town. The structure was three stories high, and it was built in a style that Shao wasn't familiar with.

Ren didn't seem to know what this "second test" entailed or if it even existed, but Shao was willing to go along with the plan. Shao still owed the scholar for the healing pill, after all.

"We've arrived," Xiahou Ren said with a smile. Gesturing toward the old building, he said, "Welcome to our team's headquarters."