The Newblade guards were a welcome addition to the group. They were extremely polite to Ken, and took watch with the group. When Ken awoke in the morning, he had found out that the two guards had remained awake the entire night.
“I didn’t realise you were going to be awake all night. Excuse me for not realising.”
“Arrayist Ken, it is our duty to make sure you reach the next town safely.” A guard raised his hands to Ken respectfully.
“You both must be tired.” Ken reached out with a pill for each of them. “Take this and refine it.” It was a pill which would give them more energy for the day. Missing some sleep at their level wasn’t anything to worry about, but Ken needed to make sure he treated them well.
“Thank you, Arrayist Ken!” They accepted the pills, not wishing to cause him a bother.
“We should be able to reach the town soon,” Yue said. “By noon, if my calculations are correct.”
“Good. We’ll spend the rest of the day there to relax before we continue.” Ken kept his plan a secret from the Newblades, since he didn’t want any rumours to spread just yet.
They continued along towards the next town, which welcomed them with their beautiful, and safe, stone walls. Here, it would be more difficult for anyone to deal with them.
“Thank you for your assistance,” Ken said to the guards, who were finished with their task. Though it had been a small favour, Ken appreciated it regardless.
“It was only our duty,” the guard repeated, but he was happy that the Arrayist was so thankful.
“Take these,” Ken said, handing over a number of pills to each of them.
“We can’t possibly accept such pills,” the guard said. There were a handful of low grade and middle grade pills, but the high grade pills were problematic. They couldn’t possibly accept so much.
“If you can’t accept them, you can have Patriarch Newblade return them to me next we meet.” Ken smiled up at them with his eyes, which caused them to falter.
The guards looked between one another, understanding that they couldn’t refuse the Arrayist. The guards bowed respectfully and left once Ken had found an inn. They didn’t seem to be in a rush, but they did leave quickly, too quickly.
[Seems like something might be happening at the Newblade estate…]
Ken wished them the best of luck in their journey back, and hoped that nothing big would have happened.
[Did the Patriarch bring his daughter for another reason? No. If he did, he would have put in more effort in making me take Hana along.]
They ordered some food, though the twins were focused on keeping an eye out, just in case. Over lunch, they spoke about their next plan.
“We’ll head out towards the plains tomorrow morning,” Ken said quietly.
“Where are we headed to exactly?” Yue asked, bringing out a map which she had bought on the way to the inn. She unrolled it for everyone to see, pointing a finger to where they were staying at currently.
Ken scanned the map, his eyes moving along the plains until he found the name of a town he found interesting. “We’ll head here,” Ken said, pointing to the symbol of a town. “Dragon Hill Town.”
“It’s not quite as exciting as the name suggests,” Gin said, hiccuping. “Dragon Hill Town, where the Dragon Hill Sect once reined. After what happened five hundred years ago, the Sect was destroyed.”
“Still, if it’s called Dragon Hill Town, it has to have something interesting about it.” Ken tapped the town with a finger. “Once we’re there, we can part ways.”
“Even though you ordered us for a month?” Gin asked, frowning. He had been planning on asking for more drinks throughout the month.
Ken, knowing why Gin was frowning, just smiled. “Since you did so well and allowed us to complete our journey so quickly, doesn’t that mean we should celebrate once we reach the town?” Ken asked.
“Oh? That’s true.” Gin rubbed his chin and smirked. “Then we should leave after the meal!”
Ken shook his head, and he glanced back at the map.
It wasn’t Dragon Hill Town which he was interested in. Dragon Hill Town was a logical stop, far enough away from Little River Town, but not too far that he couldn’t return to regain the influence he had quickly.
Three towns away from Dragon Hill Town was a town called Beast Bane Town. That sounded quite similar to the Beast Mountain Town Ken had grown up in, and there he could make a name for himself properly.
There he could begin to take the second step towards his path for revenge. Of course, the third step was the most important, but the second step was important too.
Ken looked back to Gin, who was drinking down a cup of wine. “Escort Gin, you’re very strong,” he said.
Gin sighed, satisfied by the wine. He licked his lips and looked up at Ken. “Is that a compliment?”
Ken held out another bottle of wine to Gin, who had just finished his. Gin took it and uncorked it, cutting the top off with his blade expertly, and was about to drink it when he stopped. He looked back at Ken and the rest. His hand shook as he started pouring some wine for others, bleeding internally from the effort of his kindness.
“How did you become so strong?” Ken asked as Gin drank the wine to heal his internal bleeding. He tasted the wine too, which was extremely sweet.
[Oh, peachy.]
“Revenge,” Gin replied bluntly.
Ken straightened up, like he had been punched in the face. “Revenge?” Ken asked, looking to Gin with a curious look.
Gin stopped drinking his wine, placing the bottle back onto the table. He looked up towards the ceiling of the inn and then closed his eyes.
Ken could see that he was falling deep in though, so decided to leave him to it. He looked towards the twins, who had finished their noodles, and were keeping an eye out. “You two have such great teamwork. To be able to handle three people at the same level of skill, it’s impressive.”
“We are two minds and one heart,” the twins said together. “Out abilities compliment one another.” Their voices were so in tune with one another that it was hard to pick up their individual voices.
“She sets the pace,” Ash said.
“He chooses the dance,” Lily said.
“And our twin spears soar,” they said, their voices joining together again.
“Poetic.” Ken smiled again. “Do you both always take work together?” It was a stupid question, but one he wanted to ask anyway.
“Always,” Lily said.
“Together,” Ash added.
Ken wondered how they decided who would speak up first, considering they stopped speaking at once and each understood who was talking separately.
[They’re so amazing…]
“Do you have a family name?” Ken asked them, wondering if they were keeping it a secret.
“We don’t have a family name,” Lily said.
“We grew up as orphans,” Ash continued.
There was no sadness in their voices, more like they accepted life as it was.
“Oh, right…” Ken sipped some of his drink, getting rid of the taste of awkwardness in his mouth. “Escorts usually have such circumstances. I apologise for being so rude.”
“It’s fine,” the twins said, returning their sights around themselves again.
Ken placed down a few silver coins so they could eat and drink in peace. “I will retire first,” he said.
Nana assisted him up, and the others followed up. Since he was heading up, the escorts looked between one another, and Lan stood up to follow Ken and the others in order to remain on guard.
Once they were finally in Ken and Emerald’s room, they all sat down around Ken, who was still pretending to be crippled.
“Cultivate in peace while we’re here,” Ken said, looking at each of his women. “No more playing on the road, not until we’re settled somewhere safe.”
“Yes, master!” They all replied in unison, like they were the Twin Spears.
Ken looked to Emerald, whose eyes were hopeful. He sighed and nodded to her. Of course she would be able to help herself as much as she wanted, though he expected her to be more tame.
The other women took pills and began to cultivate. Ken looked to Chandi, wondering when he’d be able to help her with her arm. Then he looked to Nana, wondering what her role should be. Then he looked to Yue, who had made a lot of coin working as his intermediary between the commerce guild and himself. Even though he would negotiate with them sometimes, there was always some input Yue gave.
He sighed, thinking about the next part of his plan.
[So much work to do…]
He would need to start from the beginning again in Beast Bane Town, though it would be much easier now that he had some experience in Little River Town. He smiled, wondering what new enemies he would make.
The Newblade guards were a welcome addition to the group. They were extremely polite to Ken, and took watch with the group. When Ken awoke in the morning, he had found out that the two guards had remained awake the entire night.
“I didn’t realise you were going to be awake all night. Excuse me for not realising.”
“Arrayist Ken, it is our duty to make sure you reach the next town safely.” A guard raised his hands to Ken respectfully.
“You both must be tired.” Ken reached out with a pill for each of them. “Take this and refine it.” It was a pill which would give them more energy for the day. Missing some sleep at their level wasn’t anything to worry about, but Ken needed to make sure he treated them well.
“Thank you, Arrayist Ken!” They accepted the pills, not wishing to cause him a bother.
“We should be able to reach the town soon,” Yue said. “By noon, if my calculations are correct.”
“Good. We’ll spend the rest of the day there to relax before we continue.” Ken kept his plan a secret from the Newblades, since he didn’t want any rumours to spread just yet.
They continued along towards the next town, which welcomed them with their beautiful, and safe, stone walls. Here, it would be more difficult for anyone to deal with them.
“Thank you for your assistance,” Ken said to the guards, who were finished with their task. Though it had been a small favour, Ken appreciated it regardless.
“It was only our duty,” the guard repeated, but he was happy that the Arrayist was so thankful.
“Take these,” Ken said, handing over a number of pills to each of them.
“We can’t possibly accept such pills,” the guard said. There were a handful of low grade and middle grade pills, but the high grade pills were problematic. They couldn’t possibly accept so much.
“If you can’t accept them, you can have Patriarch Newblade return them to me next we meet.” Ken smiled up at them with his eyes, which caused them to falter.
The guards looked between one another, understanding that they couldn’t refuse the Arrayist. The guards bowed respectfully and left once Ken had found an inn. They didn’t seem to be in a rush, but they did leave quickly, too quickly.
[Seems like something might be happening at the Newblade estate…]
Ken wished them the best of luck in their journey back, and hoped that nothing big would have happened.
[Did the Patriarch bring his daughter for another reason? No. If he did, he would have put in more effort in making me take Hana along.]
They ordered some food, though the twins were focused on keeping an eye out, just in case. Over lunch, they spoke about their next plan.
“We’ll head out towards the plains tomorrow morning,” Ken said quietly.
“Where are we headed to exactly?” Yue asked, bringing out a map which she had bought on the way to the inn. She unrolled it for everyone to see, pointing a finger to where they were staying at currently.
Ken scanned the map, his eyes moving along the plains until he found the name of a town he found interesting. “We’ll head here,” Ken said, pointing to the symbol of a town. “Dragon Hill Town.”
“It’s not quite as exciting as the name suggests,” Gin said, hiccuping. “Dragon Hill Town, where the Dragon Hill Sect once reined. After what happened five hundred years ago, the Sect was destroyed.”
“Still, if it’s called Dragon Hill Town, it has to have something interesting about it.” Ken tapped the town with a finger. “Once we’re there, we can part ways.”
“Even though you ordered us for a month?” Gin asked, frowning. He had been planning on asking for more drinks throughout the month.
Ken, knowing why Gin was frowning, just smiled. “Since you did so well and allowed us to complete our journey so quickly, doesn’t that mean we should celebrate once we reach the town?” Ken asked.
“Oh? That’s true.” Gin rubbed his chin and smirked. “Then we should leave after the meal!”
Ken shook his head, and he glanced back at the map.
It wasn’t Dragon Hill Town which he was interested in. Dragon Hill Town was a logical stop, far enough away from Little River Town, but not too far that he couldn’t return to regain the influence he had quickly.
Three towns away from Dragon Hill Town was a town called Beast Bane Town. That sounded quite similar to the Beast Mountain Town Ken had grown up in, and there he could make a name for himself properly.
There he could begin to take the second step towards his path for revenge. Of course, the third step was the most important, but the second step was important too.
Ken looked back to Gin, who was drinking down a cup of wine. “Escort Gin, you’re very strong,” he said.
Gin sighed, satisfied by the wine. He licked his lips and looked up at Ken. “Is that a compliment?”
Ken held out another bottle of wine to Gin, who had just finished his. Gin took it and uncorked it, cutting the top off with his blade expertly, and was about to drink it when he stopped. He looked back at Ken and the rest. His hand shook as he started pouring some wine for others, bleeding internally from the effort of his kindness.
“How did you become so strong?” Ken asked as Gin drank the wine to heal his internal bleeding. He tasted the wine too, which was extremely sweet.
[Oh, peachy.]
“Revenge,” Gin replied bluntly.
Ken straightened up, like he had been punched in the face. “Revenge?” Ken asked, looking to Gin with a curious look.
Gin stopped drinking his wine, placing the bottle back onto the table. He looked up towards the ceiling of the inn and then closed his eyes.
Ken could see that he was falling deep in though, so decided to leave him to it. He looked towards the twins, who had finished their noodles, and were keeping an eye out. “You two have such great teamwork. To be able to handle three people at the same level of skill, it’s impressive.”
“We are two minds and one heart,” the twins said together. “Out abilities compliment one another.” Their voices were so in tune with one another that it was hard to pick up their individual voices.
“She sets the pace,” Ash said.
“He chooses the dance,” Lily said.
“And our twin spears soar,” they said, their voices joining together again.
“Poetic.” Ken smiled again. “Do you both always take work together?” It was a stupid question, but one he wanted to ask anyway.
“Always,” Lily said.
“Together,” Ash added.
Ken wondered how they decided who would speak up first, considering they stopped speaking at once and each understood who was talking separately.
[They’re so amazing…]
“Do you have a family name?” Ken asked them, wondering if they were keeping it a secret.
“We don’t have a family name,” Lily said.
“We grew up as orphans,” Ash continued.
There was no sadness in their voices, more like they accepted life as it was.
“Oh, right…” Ken sipped some of his drink, getting rid of the taste of awkwardness in his mouth. “Escorts usually have such circumstances. I apologise for being so rude.”
“It’s fine,” the twins said, returning their sights around themselves again.
Ken placed down a few silver coins so they could eat and drink in peace. “I will retire first,” he said.
Nana assisted him up, and the others followed up. Since he was heading up, the escorts looked between one another, and Lan stood up to follow Ken and the others in order to remain on guard.
Once they were finally in Ken and Emerald’s room, they all sat down around Ken, who was still pretending to be crippled.
“Cultivate in peace while we’re here,” Ken said, looking at each of his women. “No more playing on the road, not until we’re settled somewhere safe.”
“Yes, master!” They all replied in unison, like they were the Twin Spears.
Ken looked to Emerald, whose eyes were hopeful. He sighed and nodded to her. Of course she would be able to help herself as much as she wanted, though he expected her to be more tame.
The other women took pills and began to cultivate. Ken looked to Chandi, wondering when he’d be able to help her with her arm. Then he looked to Nana, wondering what her role should be. Then he looked to Yue, who had made a lot of coin working as his intermediary between the commerce guild and himself. Even though he would negotiate with them sometimes, there was always some input Yue gave.
He sighed, thinking about the next part of his plan.
[So much work to do…]
He would need to start from the beginning again in Beast Bane Town, though it would be much easier now that he had some experience in Little River Town. He smiled, wondering what new enemies he would make.
