As he stepped out of his house, Hong Wei intended to head toward the outskirts of the town. But he had barely walked a few steps when the heated voices of two people in conversation reached his ears.
"Did you hear? The Black Dog Gang... all dead! Their hideout's nothing but blood and bones now!"
"What? That's impossible! Who could even do that?"
"I swear on my mother's grave—Old Liu saw it with his own eyes! Said their heads were rolling like melons!"
Hong Wei raised an eyebrow at the conversation, but didn't feel much about it. He simply continued on his way.
However, the town's gossip seemed to be far more widespread than he had expected. And when he appeared in the streets, their murmurs only intensified.
"Could the Hong brat have something to do with that massacre yesterday?"
"You mean...?"
"Someone said they saw him walking toward the Black Dog Gang's stronghold just before it happened!"
At that, someone scoffed and said, "Ha! That weak brat, always bullied? You think he took down the entire gang by himself? Don't be stupid."
The town was buzzing with wild rumors about the annihilation of the Black Dog Gang. Some were even connecting the incident to him in their own fanciful ways. Luckily, due to the deterrent presence of Shan Mei, no one dared approach or question him directly.
Unbothered by the chatter, Hong Wei kept walking, and before long, he arrived at a remote enough place.
Once there, he confirmed with Shan Mei that no one had followed or was spying on them. Only after that did he finally summon the Uncommon Ranked Hunter.
A man with broad shoulders and a rugged look, clad in a weathered cloak, appeared. He looked to be in his early thirties, with sharp, weather-worn features that spoke of years in the wilderness.
He knelt on one knee and said, "Master."
"Stand up," Hong Wei replied, before briefly explaining the current situation to him.
Truthfully, there wasn't much he could say. He only knew he was in Willow Shade Town, under the governance of Fenghua County, and that above all, they were living in the Xia Dynasty.
As for the cultivation world? He knew next to nothing. Just vague talk about a sect not too far away.
But that was likely something for cultivators. For him, an ordinary person who had never once left this town, everything beyond it felt impossibly far.
Even so, Hong Wei shared what little he knew about the town and its surroundings before finally giving the man his mission.
"You just need to settle in the town properly, and do your job as a hunter."
"If you find herbs that could be beneficial for the body, leave them for me, I will buy them. Other than that, just try to gather information about anything, and live as you like."
Jin Wei, the hunter, stayed dazed for a few moments after receiving the order, before he finally asked, "Don't I need to do more?"
"No, that's enough," Hong Wei replied.
He had already checked his status window, but Jin Wei was clearly not a cultivator, and so, Hong Wei didn't intend to send him far away and risk his life in vain.
Just having him stay here, acting as his ears, was enough, after all.
While Hong Wei was trying to be considerate, what the hunter desired was something different. He wanted to be more useful to his lord. But it seemed that his loyalty and strength were simply lacking. So, he simply lowered his head, clenched his fists, and accepted the command before finally departing.
He couldn't disobey the order of his lord, and so, the least he could do was perform brilliantly… and surprise him!
Unaware of the complex emotions the hunter carried away with him, or even those held by Shan Mei, who also felt that she wasn't strong enough to be of real help too, Hong Wei finally returned to the town.
He walked with Shan Mei at his side toward the Mountain Tiger School.
Now that he had made his decision to start with martial arts, he wanted, if possible, to train with the strongest technique available. So, he planned to first take a look at the martial arts this Mountain Tiger School taught.
On the way to the school, Hong Wei inadvertently overheard the townspeople's gossip again… and he nearly stumbled at how exaggerated the rumors had become in such a short time.
But, even with the whispering and occasional pointing, Hong Wei still reached the Mountain Tiger School in the end.
"I want to join the Mountain Tiger School," he stated to the man sitting lazily at the reception desk.
"Ten teals of silver for the basic course. The lessons will start just a little later, so you can begin today," the man replied with a yawn.
Hong Wei, who knew that a single teal of silver was enough for a family to live decently for a month, couldn't help but lament how expensive martial arts were… let alone cultivation.
In the end, he still casually paid the lesson fee and was about to enter.
"Stop," someone suddenly said as they stepped into the reception room.
Hong Wei turned to see a middle-aged man, who continued, "The fee for the basic lesson is actually just five teals. My companion made a mistake."
The middle-aged man gave Hong Wei a warm, ample smile, though he kept stealing glances at Shan Mei now and then.
"Normally, outsiders aren't allowed to enter the training ground," he added, "but we can make an exception for your companion."
Though all smiles, Hong Wei didn't respond much. He simply accepted the five teals of silver that were returned to him, and entered the training ground.
Had they noticed something? he wondered, but he didn't dwell on it for long.
Once Hong Wei and Shan Mei were out of sight, the middle-aged man turned to the lazy receptionist, glared at him, and scolded, "Didn't you hear the rumors about Hong Wei already? Was there any need to try and cheat him out of five teals of silver?"
The man at the desk stammered, unable to form a proper response.
And not bothering to listen to his excuses, the middle-aged man continued his scolding.
He didn't believe the rumors that Hong Wei was involved in the Black Dog Gang's massacre… but even so, there was no reason to fall out with him over five teals of silver.