The atmosphere was tense. Fan looked like a shadowy monster with luminous white eyes. The ground was cracking, but with all that powerful aura, it did not harm the youths or the woman because it was directed precisely at Xiao and Zhang.
The woman stood behind the table, protecting her daughter. The youths approached the woman to check on her safety. Tao shouted,
"Who is this? How can he release such intense power...?"
Mei was puzzled and didn't know what to do. Jiao spoke,
"We must leave here, the situation is not safe."
Xiao, writhing in pain, muttered,
"Ah... huh, what's happening to me? Zhang, where are you...?"
Zhang, drenched in his own blood, thought,
"Who is this...? The aura he's releasing, who is this monster, for heaven's sake?"
Then Fan stood up, and his aura intensified, growing stronger and stronger until the surroundings turned completely black, like a miniature black hole. He advanced with steady steps towards Xiao and Zhang, harboring a single intention: to utterly annihilate them.
Suddenly, Fan's aura dissipated, and the gloomy black space transformed into a gentle pink, with plum blossom petals fluttering in the air. On top of one of the house roofs, a woman appeared, seemingly in her forties. She had black hair streaked with some white, sharp yet kind eyes, and wore a white robe adorned with pink plum blossoms. The wind stirred her hair as she stood proudly, a white aura swirling around her and her long white sword, which she gripped firmly.
Both Xiao and Zhang fell unconscious. Fan looked up and saw the powerful lady standing proudly. The woman spoke,
"I think you've gone a bit too far, young man, in your actions."
Fan ignored her and continued walking to kill Xiao and Zhang.
The woman struck with her sword, sending a blade of energy that cracked the ground in front of Fan.
"I told you, that's enough, young man!"
Fan spoke in a calm tone,
"I'm not interested in you, old woman. Leave here, or things will become more difficult for you."
The woman descended from the roof to try to speak, but she was interrupted by a voice from behind.
"Sect Master!"
A girl with pink hair and a pink robe filled with white flowers appeared, carrying an entirely white sword. With her was a young man in a black robe adorned with pink plum tree leaves, who had black hair and also carried a black sword.
The girl arrived and said to the woman,
"Sect Master, why did you suddenly run off? You scared me!"
The young man noticed Fan, Xiao, and Zhang lying on the ground.
The young man spoke to the girl in a reassuring tone,
"Ah, I understand the situation, San San. That fool has caused trouble again through his guard, Zhang. Look at that poor masked young man; it seems he was being bullied by Xiao, the Tang family's son."
San San spoke, putting her finger to her mouth in understanding,
"Ah, so that's the situation. Please, Sect Master, let Gong and I handle these matters again."
The Sect Master pushed both San San and Gong back.
"Leave here, the situation is dangerous."
San San replied,
"What do you mean, Sect Master?"
A powerful pink-white aura emanated, pushing winds away from the Sect Master's sword. Fan raised his hand slightly to send an attack towards the Sect Master.
Suddenly, the stall owner appeared and stood in front of the Sect Master, protecting Fan, and said,
"Please, honored lady... I don't know who you are, but this young man protected me when that youth and his guard tried to take my daughter and give her to someone."
The Sect Master lowered her sword and looked at Mei, who was holding the child in her arms.
The Sect Master thought to herself,
"Black Heart Disease? It seems that foolish Tang's son still considers the Lord of Poison, one of the Four Evils, as a master."
The Sect Master returned her sword to its sheath and apologized, saying,
"I am sorry, young man, but causing such chaos is still a problem. I hope you won't repeat something like this."
She then turned and left with San San... Gong cast one last curious glance and followed the Sect Master and San San.
The stall owner fell to the ground in fear.
Then Zhang woke from his coma, found Fan in front of him, and tried to get up. Fan spoke, exerting his pressure on him,
"Sit down!... Take your master from here and don't come back, you insect! If you do, neither you, nor your master, nor your family will be spared!"
Zhang became scared, carried his master in his arms, and left the place, trembling, thinking to himself,
"This person... Hah... I must inform the Family Head."
Mei, Tao, and Jiao approached Fan and the stall owner. Mei gave the child back to her mother and comforted her, while Tao and Jiao approached Fan.
Jiao said,
"Thank you for doing something we regrettably couldn't. You are truly a good person and an honor to the Murim Plains. My name is Jiao Lian, and this is Tao Feishang. We truly appreciate what you did."
Tao spoke in a cheerful tone, her eyes sparkling,
"You are truly strong! How could you bring down that guard without doing anything, and on top of that, you blocked the aura of Sect Master Hao, Eternal Flower! Kyaah, that was truly amazing!"
Fan ignored both of them and approached the stall owner, who was reassuring her daughter and also worried about how she would feed her after her stall was destroyed.
Fan appeared before her and spoke in a kind, gentle, almost childish tone,
"Ah, it's you. Thank you truly; without you, my daughter would have been in a terrible place."
Mei looked at Fan in confusion and remained silent.
Fan reached into his pocket and pulled out a small blade the size of a palm, bearing the Supreme Court insignia. Mei was surprised by the Supreme Court insignia, as its members rarely appeared in the Central Plains. The stall owner did not recognize what the insignia symbolized because her life had been entirely in the countryside.
Fan spoke in a kind, simple, somewhat childish tone,
"Please take this simple thing. Go to Green Sword City and show this blade to the main Namgoong family residence. They will send you and your daughter to a very, very safe place, and you will never have to worry about sustenance again."
The stall owner was astonished but said,
"Thank you for this offer, but unfortunately, I cannot accept it. Green Sword City is far, and I don't have travel provisions or the physical ability to go there. But thank you, you are truly a kind young man."
Mei spoke up,
"May I escort you, madam?"
The stall owner was surprised and said,
"I understand you truly want to help me, but thank you, I can manage myself. I've been managing myself for 18 years alone."
Mei continued, taking the stall owner's hand,
"No, actually, my Ming family's residence is close by; they can easily take you to Green Sword City. Please accept this simple matter as compensation for not fulfilling our duty as members of the righteous Murim Alliance."
The stall owner sighed and agreed to Mei's and Fan's words.
For the first time in a long while, Fan smiled, then stood up and decided to continue his journey until the stall owner stopped him and asked for his name. Fan replied,
"Just a very kind man who loves tea."
The woman was shocked, saying,
"What...?!"
Fan vanished from her sight, leaving everyone, the place, and the Supreme Court blade in the stall owner's hand.
The scene shifted to Fan flying in the air, the wind hitting his body hard. It was the first time Fan had flown since leaving the Court's walls.
Fan thought to himself,
"Strange... why did I do all this for a woman I don't even know...? It doesn't matter; it made me feel good... I think it's called self-satisfaction."
The scene shifted again to Sect Master Hao, Eternal Flower, with San San and Gong.
San San asked Eternal Flower what had happened there, saying,
"What happened there, Sect Master? And who was that person that servant protected?"
Eternal Flower was silent for a moment, then said,
"I don't know. Just forget about it..."
Eternal Flower thought to herself,
"Who was that young man? In the moment I wanted to strike him with my sword... if that stall owner hadn't appeared in front of me to protect him... I think I would be dead by now..."
Gong looked with a puzzled and surprised expression at the unusually silent Sect Master.
To be continued...
I hope that whoever likes my story puts it in his collection. This will really help me. Thank you.