Chapter 1: Rumors

  "Hey, haven't you heard? Mo Lin Tian is dead."

  "What, the Poison Dragon is dead? Who killed him?"

  "Aya, who else could it be? It's his sworn brother Li Cang Xu, stabbing him in the back when retreating from the Righteous Sword Sect. I heard it was because Li Cang Xu found out that his wife slept with his sworn brother multiple times behind his back."

  "How could that be possible? Mo Lin Tian met her way before he met with Li Cang Xu. I thought they were a thing? What happened to Li Cang Xu after that then? Wasn't it a bad time to kill his sworn brother for a woman while both of them were injured and fleeing?"

  In a corner of an Inn sat two middle aged men sitting opposite each other at a table. One was slightly younger than the other as he had less wrinkles and beard on his face. The other man was sitting with one hand holding his face while the other holding a wine cup. Their clothes were quite shabby while their hands were big and rough. It was clear at first glance that these two are both ordinary farmers.

  "Righteous Sword Sect and Mo Lin Tian held grudges, who didn't know that? But what about Li Cang Xu? Wasn't he on the run because of Mo Lin Tian in the first place? Such a vicious demon deserved a more painful death!"

  The older man said after finishing his cup in one gulp, his face red with a big smile on it, clearly drunk.

  "Then what happened to Li Cang Xu and his wife then? Although he managed to kill Mo Lin Tian, he must've suffered some injuries?" The younger man asked.

  "He did. After killing Mo Lin Tian, he fled to the north with his wife. His whereabouts are unknown." The older man replied.

  Suddenly another middle aged man walked in and slammed his wine bottle on the table the two were sitting before drinking directly from the bottle. He moved his face closer to theirs and whispered lightly:

  "I'll let you in on a little secret. Hehe, after Li Cang Xu fled, someone found his corpse without a heart. The Righteous Sword Sect investigated this matter, they killed his wife, destroyed his Den and brought justice to the world. Later, they found out that Li Cang Xu's wife was the one who killed him. She killed him mid way for his treasure and took his heart to find Meng later."

  "Huh, demonic scoundrel, can kill anyone just for the benefits, can never trust them." The younger man snorted and said before raising his cup and toast to the two others.

  They continued to talk and drink for a long time from afternoon to evening. They talked about many things, until the topic came back to Poison Dragon Mo Lin Tian.

  "I heard Mo Lin Tian was a handsome young master of a righteous sect in his youth. If he wants something, he just has to say it and someone will get it for him. If he wants a woman, he just has to tell his servants and women will flock to his bed." The older middle aged man said dejectedly, drinking another cup.

  "Something like that, us mortals could only dream of it..." The younger man said, his head looking at the ceiling.

  The man with a wine bottle nodded at the two with understanding and said, "Not only that, even after he deflected to the demonic path, countless women still offered themselves to him. Even the noble and distinguished women such as Meng Yun and Yao Ming, chief and vice chief disciple of the nine great ancient sects, spread their legs for him willingly, what a slut."

  "Such strong and beautiful women and yet, they still fell for him. This guy must be really good..." The younger one of the three said while drooling, his face red from indecent thoughts.

  "A shame Mo Lin Tian sent them back to their sect after a month or so. If it were me, I would do this... and that... make sure they are pregnant real good..... Eh?" The older man of the three said with a slurred voice, his eyes half closed until he noticed a hand on his shoulder.

  When he looked up and saw a person wearing a cloak with a hood covering half his face. Probably a man judging from his broad shoulders and stature.

  The drunk man began to look at his surroundings and noticed that the inn they were drinking alone in the afternoon was now bursting with people. Behind his table in a corner sat two hooded figures similar to the man behind him, but shorter and smaller.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  The hooded man said behind him in a cold voice, "Ten mouth spoken was not like seeing with one's eye, rumors are just rumors. Have you considered that maybe things may not be what they seem?"

  The drunken man blinked twice before turning back to scan his surroundings. He pointed his index finger at his face, "Me?"

  The hooded man gave a nod to the drunk man, waiting for his answer.

  The drunken grinned widely before replying, "Aye what do we have here, a philosopher? One of those arrogant scholars perhaps?"

  "...."

  The drunk man closed his eyes and continued, smiling not leaving his face.

  "What else do I need to see? Everyone knows that those two sluts were willing to leave their sect for a man, a demonic Meng cultivator.... at that.... I knew the moment it, those two must have had a taste of him and was hungry for more c*ck..... Those younglings born with golden plates and silver spoons..... Acting all high and mighty..... In the end.... They are all the same....." Spoke the drunk man with a pause here and there. Some were long, some were short. It was not clear whether he was sleeping or not.

  "But whether they did it because of that reason or not, that is still unclear. Who is to say they don't have their own situation and circumstances? We should not be quick on judging people, it would only spread false rumors." Said the hooded man with the same cold voice as before, his voice loud and clear ringing in everyone's ear.

  "What's happening?"

  "Is there a fight?"

  "I think there is."

  "Let's go check it out."

  "Where are you going? Sit back there and mind your own business."

  At once, a small table in a corner of the inn became the centre of commotion. People came gathering to watch a show, but found no fight had occurred and were rather disappointed.

  "What? No fighting?"

  "What? I thought there was a fight for sure judging from the noise."

  "Then what were they doing talking so loud. I could hear it all the way from my table."

  "I thought they were arguing judging from the loud noise, like a person shouting but there's a bit of calmness in it..."

  The two men sitting with the drunk man seemed to have noticed the commotion. They both looked at the hooded man and their drinking companion.

  "What do you think you are doing asshole?" The man with a wine bottle on him shouted.

  "Let's all calm down and talk this out guys." The young middle aged man of the three said timidly.

  "Talk this out? This guy is clearly provoking us. Don't worry brother, with me here he won't be able to lay a single finger on you, hehe." The man with a wine bottle spoke loudly while rubbing his nose with the back of his index finger, a huge smile on his face.

  "I did not provoke him. I merely ask him a question for him to think about and reflect on himself." Said the hooded man.

  "Reflect? What exactly did I do wrong to be reflecting on myself?" Replied the first drunk man. The loud sound of the hooded man jolted him awake, disturbed and provoked.

  The hooded man repeated his questions and was met with similar answers like his previous one. He asked them another question for them to rethink again about how they should not believe everything they heard and not spread false rumors.

  The three men answered in unison, their answers almost exactly the same. Each time they answered, the hooded man would ask them back with questions that made logical sense while their own answers were filled with biased belief.

  The argument lasted for quite some time while the crowd watched in silence. Until a while later it seemed like the three men were losing pathetically with their opponent lecturing them about their thoughts and behavior.

  To the three men, this was straight up berating and humiliation. The first drunk man seemed to have enough and was about to stand up when he noticed a wine bottle flew past his face straight to the hooded man's head.

  "Have you said enough? If so, then scream!"

  The man who used to have a wine bottle with him stood up and shouted. Even when he stood up, he still had to look up at the hooded man before him. It's not that he was short, it was because the man before him was simply too tall he had to look up while standing.

  "..."

  The hooded man didn't say anything. His clothes were wet due to the wine bottle smashing him in the face. Despite his head bleeding a little from the impact, he still stood there unmoving, his eyes looking at the man before him with a hint of disdain.

  Both men stared at each other for a long while before the smaller man broke the silence. "I'm in a good mood today so I will spare your life. Let's pretend this didn't happen and go our separate ways. I won't be so kind the next time we meet, now scram."

  The crowd sighed in disappointment and began to disperse.

  The smaller man walked away not long after. In truth, it was not because he was afraid of the big man before him earlier, but because he was being cautious. His probing methods told him that the hooded man was an ordinary mortal, but he noticed there were two people who dressed themselves similar to the hooded man sitting not far away from where he was standing.

  What if those people are assassins sent by his enemy, or the sects that he betrayed after stealing their treasures even? In this vast world of cultivation, how many people would have the guts to butted in on other people's business unafraid, going as far as to lecture the other party?

  'There's something amiss here, it's best that I left this place without any commotions. I have enough trouble as is.'

  While the smaller man was thinking to himself when walking away, he suddenly felt a hand on top of his shoulders.