Fang Hu could be seen in the endless plains, he had been pondering his situation. He couldn't have been out for more than a day or two, yet our hero had been moving for three whole days and hadn't been able to find Jiahao yet. He hopes that had taken the smart approach and went off the beaten path, but the possibility of Jiahao being attacked wasn't zero. Random bandits shouldn't be able to hold a candle against Jiahao, but there is always someone stronger out there. Two out of the three assailants had no way of knowing Jiahao existed, and Xiang must have other priorities. He had to make a choice, go out to Jiahao's farmhouse and wait there, or search around where he thinks Jiahao might be. Eventually he decided to go to Jiahao's farm, for one, he had no clue what the old man's pace was, and if he were to stray too far from the path, he would get hopelessly lost.

"Wait, no I wouldn't, I have the map."

Even so, he would be able to cultivate while waiting for the old man, and the quicker he gets stronger, the fewer problems would arise from his sass. All this 'people wanting to kill him' nonsense would also blow over if he became stronger. His mind set, he set off to Jiahao's farm, or more accurately, the village that Jiahao's farm was close to. The villagers had been happy when he had saved the old man, and Jiahao had to cart his produce there in a reasonable amount of time. He hopes that he would be able to get them to answer nicely. He didn't like using his aura and intent to force people to do things, but could do so easily and didn't have much time. It should take a couple of days to reach the village. Jumping to five days from two months seemed like a large gap, but Fang Hu could have gotten there in less time if he wasn't keeping an eye out for Jiahao. That was just the difference between a cultivator his level and an old man pushing a cart, it was also the reason Fang Hu had no fucking clue about Jiahao's pace.

With nothing else to do, Fang Hu focused on getting to the unnamed village. He arrived in the middle of the night.

///

Fang Hu was standing in the village proper, and very suddenly didn't feel like asking the villagers for shit. He took all of his willpower to not go out for blood. They probably had a reason for this, it probably a fucking stupid reason, but it wasn't too late to save her. All at once, the healing techniques became about a lot more than gaining some spare change. Maybe they were always, but he was just unwilling to admit it. It took a lot to hold back against committing a misdeed, he knew if he killed for this, he would kill for a lot less. No matter how horrid the thing they did is, he wouldn't be killing them to make the world a better place, he would be killing for the sake of anger and vengeance, and that only led to more violence.

"Sweet Christ..."

~~~

Dai Yi

10 yrs old

Roots: Fire 2.34%

Cultivation: Qi Gathering 1/13 5.06% Trash

Body Cultivation: N/A

Techniques: N/A

Powers: N/A

Background: A young girl from an unnamed village in the outskirts of the Wei Dynasty. Shunned and put in stocks, she will eventually starve to death.

Potential: Mid-Low

~~~

Fang Hu knew something was off with his status, it should say something about why this happened, and something about the embers falling limply from her ears and mouth. With an amount of concentration usually reserved for intense cultivation and altering methods, Fang Hu pushed his status, searching for something that should be there. After a short, but tense, moment Fang Hu found what he was looking for.

~~~

Dai Yi

10 yrs old

Roots: Fire 2.34%

Cultivation: Qi Gathering 1/13 5.06% Trash

Body Cultivation: N/A

Techniques: N/A

Powers: N/A

Bloodline: Fire-chimp 20.34% (Awakened)

Background: A young girl from an unnamed village in the outskirts of the Wei Dynasty. Shunned and put in stocks because of her 'cursed' appearance, will eventually starve to death.

Potential: Mid-Low

~~~

"Bloodlines, why didn't I think to check for those before? I wonder if... No, I can experiment later. For now..."

With a swipe of his hand, he broke the wooden stocks binding the young girl. He might not have any healing techniques, but most things can be brute forced with basic qi manipulation. With a slight effort, he pushed his qi into the little girl. He circulated his qi throughout her entire body, strengthening her muscles and kickstarting her body's healing process around the bruises all around the front of her body. The animals had apparently stoned her. When he had finished with the bare necessities, he forced food down her throat, guided it with qi, and made sure her stomach and body accepted it.

At this point Fang Hu didn't care, he was taking this little girl. He didn't care if she wanted to go back to her parents immediately, or if her parents burst out here right now, demanding the right to take care of her. He wouldn't even consider it until she was strong enough to fend them off and mature enough to not be duped by them. Call him a kidnapper or a savior, it was what was fucking happening.

With the fragile young girl in his arms, he marched to the house the young girl was doing her chores in front of before. With a casual kick he broke down the front door. As surprising as that was for the inhabitants of the little ramshackle house, they didn't even have the chance to properly wake up. Fang Hu had released his intent before they had the chance. He overloaded their senses with his intent, and they had no choice but to answer his questions.

"Yes, this was her house."

"His farm is half a days walk in that direction."

"Most of her things are in that chest."

"No, there isn't any organization enforcing it, cursed children are just taboo."

"We had to. / It had to happen."

It was a surreal sight, Fang Hu could express his intent in his intent, and the parents would answer in unison. While they were answering his questions, he was gathering Little Yi's clothes and a single cloth doll. When he was about to leave he sent them one last question.

*Don't you feel any guilt at all?*

"It's how things always happened. / I feel shame and pain."

If it wasn't for the situation happening, this would have been the thing that aggravated him most that night. With a heavy heart he set off to Jiahao's farm. The girl's malnutrition and injuries were already fading, with luck her heart will heal over time. They wouldn't remember this encounter, but he would.

///

Fang Hu stopped his cultivation, Dai Yi had woken up, and had started crying. He wasn't so good with these things, but he knew he needed to be there and try to show that he was there. Little Yi ignored him while wailing in bed. Our hero hesitated, what do you say in this situation? Fang Hu knew nothing he had thought of would be sufficient. With nothing else to rely on, he sent his aura over the girl. Auras are manifestations of intent and yourself. Even a cold-blooded killer would be able to send comforting feelings. Our hero, whatever you want to call him, wasn't a killer. His aura was enough to stop her crying and send her into a more comforting sleep. In her dreams, she ignored her reality and played with a pet snake she never had.

Our hero slid down the wall, it was one thing to save someone's life with force, saving a person's life with care was a whole different beast. He was afraid he didn't have it in him.

"Jiahao, where are you? The sooner we get out of here the better."

~~~

Fang Hu

15 yrs old

Roots: Non-elemental 22.34%

Cultivation: Qi Gathering 6/13 42.53% Average

Body Cultivation: Qi Gathering 6/13 41.23% Poor

Techniques: Serpent's Breath Cultivation Technique

Spiral Snake Striking Fist

Solar Body Reinforcement

Powers: Understanding

Theoretical Test

Bloodline: N/A

Constitution: N/A

Background: A talented loose cultivator, operates as a scholar.

Potential: Low-High

~~~