Fox In The Sea (1)

Piaoliu City, Dragoncloud Country, White Sky Continent.

Hei Su sat on the busy central-square and ate his lunch while observing the people around him.

Piaoliu City wasn't the royal city of Dragoncloud Country but nevertheless it was bursting with liveliness. That came from the various important organizations in this place. For example, the White Crane Merchant Group, the famous Lu family, the Feng family and above all the Azure Flower Ghost Sect. They all held influence that surpassed the borders of the country and positioned their headquarters in this large city. As to why? Piaoliu City was unique in one aspect:

It flew.

That's right. The entire city drifted peacefully several hundred meters above the ground. It was more than easy to defend and it's route was very convenient for merchants so it's trade flourished. Left without an explanation for this phenomenon, they called this city blessed by the gods and accepted the strange levitation as god given. But Hei Su knew the cause for it since he first set his eyes on this city. Gravity Stones. A precious material for divine weapons and normally very hard to come by but here it existed in huge quantities and was letting this city float.

'If that sword-nerd of an immortal knew about this, this city would be long since back on the ground.' Hei Su thought to himself and couldn't suppress a light chuckle.

But what a pity. Those poor, foolish humans are creating their own future misery. Gravity Stones had a strong levitating effect when on land but their weakness was water. Once this city accidentally drifts over a big lake or the sea, it would immediately loose that ability and everyone here would be doomed.

Hei Su heaved a heavy sigh. Originally he had come here because of all those formidable future foes. But where would he go to cry if they all just randomly died one day?

He listlessly stared at his stuffed bread and with wrinkled brows he took another bite. Still, this city was a nice start. He could basically freely choose his opponent, provoking those arrogant organization members would be easy. Now he had to choose wisely.

Let's take the Feng family for example. They were widely known to be assassins, and according to rumors, had an eighth stage spiritual half-saint as a family elder. The current family head was a sixth stage spiritual emperor. Their disciples were strictly trained and lived undercover. To pick them wouldn't be too difficult, only that they would probably be terribly annoying. If he offended them, he would have to be constantly on guard for sneak attacks. How annoying, too bothersome!

Next in line was the White Crane Merchant Group. While they themselves lacked the necessary strength to compete with the others, they got the right connections. As an alchemist, Hei Su obviously knew just how precious the right connections can be. With them as an enemy, you would never know what they'd send at you. Furthermore, they would be able to instantly locate him at all times as long as he stayed within White Sky Continent. Coupled with the fact that they were behind most auction houses and bigger business places made them real nasty to deal with. Next!

Hei Su was still deep in thought when he suddenly heard a commotion and looked up from his bread again. At the edge of the central-square was a huge crowd assembled and stared at the root of the commotion while discussing lively. Hei Su followed their line of sight and noticed four figures. A young man had grabbed another one, a young stall vendor, by the collar and viciously sneered at him.

Hei Su leaned to the side to look behind them at the now badly damaged stall.

An apothecary huh? Apothecaries where those poor creatures who failed to make the cut to be an alchemist. They would spend their life, brewing inferior powder and medicine for those who couldn't afford real treatment. Poor boy, it seems that he wasn't even good at this, why else would four men come to pick a fight with him?

"You said this powder would help me advance but look at me! I'm still a stage one!!" The vicious young man's voice resounded on the entire square. With one hand he held the stall vendor by the collar, with the other he pointed at his own chest.

"Noble Sir! I beseech you, please listen to me! The powder I gave you can only help you to form your spiritual energy so it would be easier to advance! This humble apothecary's powder could by no means replace the effort needed to break through! Especially in just one day!"

The young apothecary was scared to death. That man in front of him was a disciple of the Lu family! They were known to be erratic and brutal to no end and his situation didn't seem like he would have a bright future ahead. Or any future at all.

Reasoning with them was pointless. They were used to get everything they wanted through brute force and now this man just wanted to vent his anger on him for not being able to break through for a long time.

"Then what did I spend 5 gold coins for?! You and your stuff are nothing but a scam!"

The vicious young man smiled evilly and the apothecary closed his eyes. 'Here it comes'.

"As an upright citizen of Piaoliu it is my duty to get rid of scum like you! Follow us back so we can give you your punishment!"

What else was there to say? Everyone here knew, they could see it on the vicious young man's face. He would never reach anywhere. They would drag him into some quiet alleyway and then get rid of him just like that. His body would be lazily hid somewhere and even if he was discovered later, nobody would dare to investigate it.

The young apothecary had already accepted his fate. In front of a cultivator, even if it was just the first stage, he was absolutely helpless.

"NO!!"

Just when the vicious young man moved to grab the apothecary a heart-wrenching cry echoed through the air. Momentarily everyone was startled.

Quick like a mouse, a slender figure slipped out of the on-looking crowd. It came to a stop only right in front of them, trying to push the vicious man's hand away. But instead of getting his hand pushed away, he shoved the figure back so that it landed on the ground with a muffled thud.

Now that things slowed down, everyone recovered from their initial shock and stared at the intruder in disbelief and pity.

In front of everyone on the ground sat a girl of about fifteen years. Her long, black hair was messy and hung into her face. Her dress was old and dirty and she rapidly panted from anger. She looked no better than a beggar crawling out of the slums.

But her eyes! Even Hei Su was momentarily fascinated by them. Those eyes, full of rage, hatred and anxiety, had a light in them so bright, it could illuminate even the darkest parts of one's soul. Many in the crowd unconsciously took a step back. Those clear, fox-like eyes could truly scare even the bravest of men and rob them off their darkest secrets.

How scary!

'What an interesting girl~' Hei Su's lips hooked into an amused smile as if he was watching a play. He had absolutely no plan to interfere whatsoever. If the girl could see him right now, she would probably explode from anger.

"Release my brother!"

" Xue'er!"

Both siblings cried out at the same time. The vicious man came out of his confusion and put his evil grin on his face once again and burst into laughter.

"So that's your sister?! HA HA HA HA! Did she just crawl out of the sewers? What's with that look?! What kind of brother are you, that you sit here in clean cloth but let your sister run around like a beggar?! Hahahahaha"

"Don't worry girl, from now on this cultivator will take good care of you!"

His lecherous stare crawled over her skin like thousands of insects and made her shudder.

Even though she looked like a beggar, the thin dress couldn't hide her already developed and well proportioned body. Her skin behind the mud seemed fair and soft and those eyes! He really wanted to see them break! The vicious young man licked his lips and turned to grab her but agile like a cheetah she jumped back before he could reach her.