War or Peace?

Jihoon stopped. In front of him stood three guards in leather armor, each holding a spear. At first, he was a little confused, not used to the scrutiny and suspicion of executive forces. But then he looked at himself and sighed.

Makes sense...

Even though he cleaned himself, his clothes were dirty and stained with dried blood. Not only was he wearing a tiger's pelt around his shoulder, but he also had a sword attached to his hips.

Two of the guards looked like middle-aged men from Asia. While the last guard looked at least a couple of decades younger. They all had black hair, and their leather armor looked the same.

Just as Jihoon was analyzing them they were analyzing him.

Suddenly one of the guards whispered something to the younger one who then broke out in a full sprint towards the village.

This could get ugly…not that I am afraid but there is no need to shed blood because of a misunderstanding.

So just as Jihoon was about to explain himself with a story he created on the way here the guards continued.

"Please state your business!"

The guard said loudly. However, while his tone was firm, Jihoon could tell the politeness behind it.

The moment he said this he and the other guard slightly tensed and unconsciously grabbed their spears harder.

Seeing them acting this way, Jihoon could guess their intentions.

They don't want to fight but they are still wary of me…good this way my story will work.

Seconds later he answered them with a polite smile on his face.

"I am First Rate Warrior Jihoon!"

He said loudly. While his body portrayed a proud person, his smile and tone were still polite.

Hearing this the guard's eyes slightly widened but Jihoon could not discern whether this was fear, caution, or shook.

So he continued.

"I am here to sell my tiger pelt that I recently hunted in the woods! "

He showed it of proudly then he continued.

"I will stay here for a night or two before making my way towards the next town."

Jihoon was putting up an act and hoped that it worked. He was polite yet showed off his strength, this way everything should end peacefully.

Just as the guards were about to answer, a group of people came back running from the back.

Around ten people came running here, each adorned with leather armor. Two people had bows, 6 people spears, and the two people at the front had swords.

Seeing their speed and unsheathed swords Jihoons face darkened as his smile faded, replaced with an ice-cold look that could even freeze volcanos.

If blood is what they want, it will be what they get.

He slowly dropped his tiger's pelt and unsheathed his sword.

Even though there were more than a dozen people Jihoon was ready to fight. After all, even if they had first-rate warriors he would slaughter them like chicken.

The group stopped by the guards to talk. As the two people with the swords talked to the guards that were guarding the entrance, the others were eyeing him warily.

But seeing they had their bows down and not aimed at him Jihoon did not attack.

Suddenly he saw one of the two swordsmen widen his eyes slightly as he glanced at Jihoon.

Seeing him standing there with his sword unsheathed and ice-cold eyes he knew that things could get dirty very fast. 

He then looked back at his entourage and yelled.

"Everybody back down! It was a false alarm!"

Without hesitation, the group moved back, a couple of meters. Then, the two swordsmen started walking towards Jihoon. Slowly.

Seeing them back down, Jihoon realized that it may have been a misunderstanding and they did not want to rob him.

Huh...looks like this will end peacefully...

He was a little disappointed. His gaze was filled with longing as he looked towards the group but that look quickly disappeared as he focused on the two swordsmen.

They looked the same. Likely father and son. The older man looked like he was in his late forties while the younger one looked like in his late twenties, maybe early thirties.

They had both short brown hair and brown eyes.

Seeing them both approach him with their swords sheathed and friendly faces Jihoon quickly sheathed his sword too. But he did not lower his guard.

Seeing him lowering and sheathing his sword made their smiles brighten. They knew today they would not lose any of their men.

Standing a couple of meters before him both men clasped their fists and bowed a little before the older one started to speak in a rough and aged voice. Yet his tone was very polite.

"Welcome to Iron Hand Village!"

"I am a First Rate Warrior Wang Wei and the guard's Captain of this village. This is my son, Wang Jie, a Second Rate Warrior and the Vice-Captain of this village."

He looked at his son, who nodded politely before turning back to Jihoon.

"Honored Warrior! We are sorry for the misunderstanding that we caused. We would like to invite you to stay in our village for as long as you want. As for the tiger pelt, we are sure that we could give you a fair price."

Suddenly his eyes turned serious

"May we know from which Martial Family you are, Honored Warrior?"

Seeing them bow, Jihoon knew that the situation was resolved. His smile returned as glanced at the chest of Wang Wei seeing a small emblem with a sword and spear engraved onto it.

Looks like this is the guard's emblem and the golden color around it signifies his position in the guards.

Jihoon smiled brightly and returned the greeting by clasping his hands and fist but he did not not bow.

Not that he saw himself as better, but he guessed that his standing was above theirs, so it would not make much sense if he bowed to someone 'less'.

"Honored Warrior!"

Jihoon said, as he guessed, that that was the common greeting between Martial artists.

"Since this is a misunderstanding there is no need to dwell on it!"

"Let me introduce myself again! I am First Rate Warrior Jihoon, a traveling Warrior wandering the globe in search of Martial Arts and enlightenment!"

"I wish to stay here for a night or two."

He said politely yet he stood firm by not revealing any information.

The father and son duo looked at each other in uncertainty before Wang Wei signaled his son with his eyes who then sprang into action.

"Yes! Yes! Honored Warrior! Of course, you can stay here for as long as you wish!

"Please come inside and follow me. I will show you around and a place to sell your tiger pelt!"

Wang Jie was visibly more excited than his father, as he looked in awe at the tiger's pelt. 

Normally it would take a group of Second Rate Warriors or a strong First Rate Warrior to take one down, yet here was a man who looked half his age carrying it around as if it was nothing.

Jihoon did not know whether the man was simply admiring and respecting him and saw him as a celebrity or he was hoping for an opportunity to befriend a young promising warrior.

Whatever it was Jihoon was sure he could make the best of both situations.

If I can get the help of a Vice Captain, traveling and getting information should be a lot easier.

He wondered as Wang Jie brought him inside the village.

The team of guards around the entrance had dispersed by now and only the three guards from the beginning remained.

As Jihoon walked by, all three bowed and apologized for the misunderstanding they caused. Even though they really respected Jihoon, they did not fear him.

After all, they were old enough to come across multiple First Rate Warriors and they even fought and killed one. 

Sure, it was with the help of multiple sacrifices and the support of another First Rate but they managed it.

So they were sure that even if all came crashing down their village would prevail.

But what they feared was his age and especially his background. After all, it was practically guaranteed that he would become an Innate Grandmaster!

Not only that, Martial Families that had that kind of prodigy normally had multiple Innate Grandmasters and often were connected to Cultivators either by lineage or through business.

And one Grandmaster was enough to cripple their fighting force or even annihilate their whole village.

So they were naturally relieved to see Jihoon waving them off and telling them that it was okay.

Wang Jie let out a long breath as he was also relieved since he was ready to punish his subordinates to appease Jihoon.

A couple of seconds later they entered the village as Jihoon was shown around. The village consisted of small roads made out of stone. Different from the dirt that he used to get here. The houses were mainly made out of wood, with some stone wobbled into it.

However, Jihoon was again surprised by the quality of the houses. Sure they were nothing compared to the skyscrapers on his planet. But none of the houses looked run down or looked broken.

There was another thing Jihoon noticed while walking around.

The smell! There was none! He expected the smell of feces around the village but by the looks of it, they had a pretty good plumbing system.

The next couple of hours Jihoon spent wandering across the village.

They first went to the buzzing village square where a lot of little stalls stood around selling food or some kind of merchandise.

Next, also in the center, Wang Jie showed him where the important buildings like village hall and barracks were.

Then they went around to different specialists.

In the North of the village, inside a smithy attached to a small shop a short middle-aged man sold weapons

In the West, a clinic was led by an old white-haired man, that additionally sold herbs and "herbs".

In the East, a middle-aged mother sold tailored clothes and armor inside her home.

And finally, in the South, they went inside a store called the Merchants Hub to sell his pelt.

From the information Jihoon got, this store spanned across multiple villages and even towns.

They sold all sorts of things but made sure to work with local experts to avoid putting them out of business.

Making their shop run as smoothly as possible.

Jihoon sold the pelt for a hundred gold. He did not know how much this was worth but from what he gathered 100 copper coins were worth 1 silver coin while 100 silver coins were worth 1 gold.

However, he looked at the gold coins and saw four big pillars erected onto each coin.

Jihoons breath slightly quickened as his eyes shone with excitement. At first he was worried that he was stranded somewhere. However, the unified symbols on the coins meant there were larger forces at play rather than scattered villages.

Nevertheless, he quickly hid his reaction, so as not to arouse suspicion and put the coins away.

After selling his pelt, Jihoon was brought in front of an inn which was the best in the village.

However, Wang Jie stopped him before Jihoon could enter.

"Honored Warrior!"

Wang Jie bowed deeply.

"Could I ask for your help?"

Jihoons grin widened as a predatory glint shone in his eyes.

I knew it!