In the Great Luo, rogue cultivators were those who did not abide by the laws of the Great Luo. Although Xiongwei was considered a lawless city, rogue cultivators were still rare to find, as most were quickly eliminated by other cultivators for a variety of reasons.
"What?! That's… sickening!" Wu Zhe exclaimed, replying to the receptionist whilst showing an expression of being mortified.
"Mhm... some humans are worse than the monsters we hunt." she replied solemnly.
Wu Zhe went silent, his eyes darted off to the other missions on the board.
One caught his attention immediately.
[Elimination of the 'Man-Eating Bear']
[Danger: Cultivated Bear, Stage 1 of Qi Gathering]
[Recommended number of Hunters: 7]
[Required Hunter Tier: 7]
[Reward: 80 gold]
He took the paper from the board and handed it to her.
"I'll do this one."
Her eyes turned to the paper, her eyes instantly filling with concern. "Sir Huang Yan, I understand that you're strong, but this beast… it's not like the others. It's a cultivated beast. It's best to take at least seven hunters to bring it down safely. Are you certain you want to—" She paused, scanning Wu Zhe's expression carefully. Noticing his calm demeanor, her worry only deepened. "—to face it alone?"
"I'm sure. Don't worry, I'll be able handle alone." Wu Zhe said.
"Ha.. Understood.." she said with a sigh. She handed him two books—One old and worn—it was about man-eating bears—and another, the newer one, listed the bear's last known locations.
"Thank you. I'll be back soon." Wu Zhe said, leaving the guild. He returned to his horse, and headed straight towards the other side of the wall. He opened the book on man-eating bears reading it as he headed towards the gates.
"The 'Man-Eating Bear' is 15 feet in length, weighing around 1000 kg. Due to its cultivation its strength is immense, skin is tough, not recommended to face head-on. Once it tastes blood, its mind goes insane and it enters a frenzy—"
THUD
"Oi! Watch where the hell you're going, you idiot!" a man suddenly yelled out.
Wu Zhe lifted his head upward, closing the book, and spotted a man sprawled beneath his horse, barely avoiding being stomped.
The man got up and dusted himself off.
"Huh? How's that my fault? Can you not see a horse barreling toward you? Why the hell would you cross the street when one's coming through? Are you blind—or simply just an idiot? Do you not value your pitiful life that much?" Wu She said smocking him, and shaking his head.
"What! Who the hell do you think you are? Are you looking for a fight? Huh?!" the man shouted, putting his face closer to Wu Zhe.
"Do you know who I am?" he said, puffing his chest out.
"A blind man, clearly. Where I'm from, people like you have something called a service dogs to make sure the road is safe to cross. You should get one—clearly you need it, get one smart enough to stop you from stepping in front of a moving horse, you fucking idiot."
'Ha… Truly i'm remarkable,' Wu Zhe thought, thinking like he'd just solved the world's stupidity problem.
The man stuttered, "Y—Y—"
"Save it. If I wanted entertainment, I'd go watch idiots on the streets…" Wu Zhe muttered.
The man's anger boiled, but before he could reply, another voice erupted.
"Hey! What the move in? Fucking move!" A man riding a wagon behind Wu Zhe cursed, frustrated at the blocked street. Because Wu Zhe was blocking the path.
"Did you hear that? Don't tell me your blind and deaf?! He said get out of the fucking way! So move! I've got places to be," Wu Zhe shouted to the man, his tone filled with annoyance.
"Tch," the man grumbled, before finally moving to the side, muttering something under his breath.
Wu Zhe continued on his way on the horse, and continued reading the book on where he left off.
"Once it tastes blood, its mind goes insane and it enters a frenzy-like state, causing its strength to increase, and its attacks become more ferocious."
Wu Zhe closed the book, thinking: "Couldn't I just kill it?"
Although it sounded arrogant, Wu Zhe was at the 7th stage of Qi Refinement, and with his techniques killing this bear should be a breeze.
"Disgusting!" a group of children suddenly shouted in an alleyway, throwing rocks at something.
Curious, Wu Zhe looked to see what they were targeting, but to his surprise he saw a frail man, bloodied from the stones thrown at him.
"Stupid idiot!"
"Look at this idiot! He isn't even defending himself."
"Hahaha! What an idiot!"
The children continued hurling insults and stones at the man, but the frail man simply stood there, letting the stones hit him.
Wu Zhe was about to move on, but suddenly he stopped his horse. He stood there in silence for a moment… then turned back and stepped in.
"Oi!"
"You kids know that'll kill him, right?"
"Run!" the leader of the children shouted, and the rest scattered in an instant.
"You okay?" Wu Zhe asked, eyeing the man from head to toe.
"I don't have any money to reward you. Piss off," the man said rudely.
The sudden insult caught Wu Zhe off guard.
"Why would I want a reward from a homeless man?"
"Then why help me?"
"I don't know… maybe because I'm a kind-hearted person?"
"Hah." The man let out a dry scoff. "Kind-hearted… right. That explains why you're still walking around alive."
"So did you need something? Why are you still standing here?" the frail man asked sounding annoyed and puzzled by Wu Zhe's presence.
Wu Zhe's eyes narrowed, glowing faintly with Qi. His eyebrows raising slightly as he eyed the man.
"Interesting…" he muttered under his breath, too quiet for the frail man to hear.
"Nothing," Wu Zhe said after a pause. "I just noticed something."
"You know for someone to be in your state like this… what must've happened to you?" Wu Zhe said, clearly he noticed something wrong with the man.
The frail man immediately caught the Qi in Wu Zhe's eyes and he fell silent, no longer wishing to converse with him.
As the man said nothing, a weird tension hung between them.
"Well then. If you don't wish to talk about it, I'll leave it be," Wu Zhe said, turning his horse around.
"But… If you ever wish to change come to the Golden Lantern Tavern if you well want…
"Never mind." He suddenly stopped speaking and let his word unfinished, leaving the man suspended.
The man stared at the shadow of Wu Zhe as he rode off.
He clicked his tongue, he muttered to himself, lowering his head. "Hah. what could someone like you ever do for me…"
"Halt! Stat–" A guard suddenly shouted, stepping forward to stop Wu Zhe from leaving.
But before he could finish, Wu Zhe released a faint trace of his Qi around his body.
The guard froze.
"Ah! Apologies, cultivator! You're free to go," he said quickly, stepping aside.
"Here's for the trouble," Wu Zhe said, tossing a silver coin over.
"Thank you, cultivator!"
Wu Zhe rode forward without any disruptions, passing through the gates and leaving the city behind him.