Red Talon Piercing The Darkness

"So. Ren Cai just happened to find me deep in the middle of the forest without any guidance from a superior being. That's what you are trying to tell me?" Hong Zhao raised an eyebrow.

"That is exactly what I'm telling you." Lan said with a note of finality before disappearing in a wisp of wind.

"That is believable alright." Hong Zhao sighed at thin air. "First you say that, then disappear before I can contest it." He almost felt the urge to laugh at his master. In some ways, she was the most powerful being he had ever laid eyes upon. In other ways, she reminded him of no more than a child. Though he would never admit such a thing aloud. He knew just how keen her hearing was.

"So if Ren Cai really did watch over me, where is she now?" Hong Zhao scanned the area with his eagle vision, yet he didn't sense anyone near him. As he scanned closer to the area that the bandits had been earlier, all he saw were the tents still up in the distance, yet no movement within. "She really must have cleared them out." Hong Zhao wasted no more time and activated vortex thrust. If he was going to find anything out, he would have to find her. The only place he could think of looking was back in the village of Naje.

Racing the tree tops, Hong Zhao made it to the exit of the forest in moments. Before exiting, he stored his qi blocking uniform in his storage ring and dawned his black and gold robe once more. After making sure his appearance was at least straight from what he could see, he set back out to get to the village. Hong Zhao strode as fast as his legs would take him, testing the limit of his new found strength, yet before he entered Naje, he took the qi suppresser out and wore it. His cultivation level had once again mirrored a ninth star student ranked cultivator.

As he walked to the gate, he nodded respectfully to the guard that had let him in the first day he had stepped foot in the village. The guard gave him a nod in return. "I haven't seen you in quite some time, young master Gao Long."

"It has been some time." Hong Zhao scratched his head sheepishly. "I decided to increase my battle experience in the forest for a week." He guessed he wasn't truly lying.

"It is always a good thing to see young ones taking their training seriously." The guard smiled as he opened the gate to the village. "Though I would have hoped you had told your cousin where you were going, or at least old man Xinyue." The guard raised an eyebrow as he looked at the young boy. 'Honestly, sometimes the younger generation truly has no common sense.' He thought within his heart.

Hong Zhao bowed to the guard. "This lowly one apologizes for his absentmindedness." He said with big eyes. "When it comes to training, everything else seems to go from my mind." He scratched his head embarrassedly.

The guard gave a smile as he laughed light heartedly. "Well, I'm sure we all can fall into the trap of working too hard." He waved his hand in a shooing motion. "Get along to the inn then, I'm sure your cousin is waiting for you."

Hong Zhao waved his hand as he broke into a jog to the inn. He gave an inward groan as he made his way to the door. "I can't wait until I can stop acting like this harmless kid." He said self mockingly as he reached the inn. As he opened the door, his sharp eyes became kind as they fell on Lang Xinyue. The old inn keeper was at the small bar washing a mug as the door shut behind him.

"Young master!" The old man exclaimed. "Where have you been?"

Hong Zhao's mouth twitched up into a half smile as he walked to the bar and took the sapphire hammer from around his neck and placed it back within the innkeeper's upturned palm. "The deed is done, old man."

"The deed?" He looked at the memory stone and his eyes went wide. "Then, the bandits?"

"They won't be bothering you or me in the future." Hong Zhao turned to head towards the stairs. "I believe that means our transaction has been finished." He halted right next to the stairs and looked back at the innkeeper. "I humbly thank you for all of your hospitality, old man Xinyue." He cupped his hands and bowed. "But we need to continue our journey to the capital city. We have a relative waiting for us, and I'm sure he can't be kept waiting for too much longer."

As he ascended the stairs, a wide eyed old man watched the small feet disappear. "Just what kind of monster is this child?" He thought out loud. "For him to take out an entire bandit camp, and its leader just within a week." He knew that more often than not, such bandit groups would have a disciple ranked expert that was dispatched from the capital, or was on leave from the city and struck out on his own to make more fortune. If there were such a cultivator within the group, and this little boy took care of him as well, what rank would that make him?