Lin Feng was still sitting against the cold stone wall of the east wing, using a strip torn from his own sleeve to wrap the worst of the claw wounds on his shoulder. The bandage was already soaking through, but at least the bleeding had slowed to a lazy seep.
Yue knelt a short distance away, knees tucked beneath her, eyes half-closed as she quietly breathed in the lingering traces of yang qi he'd given her during the contract. Her long hair no longer drifted like smoke; it hung heavy and dark, almost normal. Almost human.
Through the broken windows, the faint golden pulse of the attraction array throbbed like a slow heartbeat against the late afternoon sky.
Then came the footsteps.
Fast.
Heavy.
Chaotic.
Something, someone, hit the half-rotted front gate at full sprint.
CRASH!
Wooden splinters flew like startled birds. The ancient gate didn't just open; it folded inward with a tortured groan and collapsed in a cloud of dust and broken beams.
Lin Feng's hand was already on his sword hilt.
Yue's eyes snapped wide. She instinctively slid behind him, small fingers brushing the back of his robe.
He stared at the wreckage.
"I said 'disciple attraction'," he muttered under his breath, "not 'demolish my house attraction'."
...
A teenage boy exploded into the courtyard like he'd been shot out of a cannon.
Sixteen, maybe seventeen.
Dirty robes hanging off a lean frame.
Wild black hair matted with sweat and leaves.
One eye swollen almost shut, lip split and bleeding.
In his hands he clutched a cracked ironwood staff, more club than proper weapon.
He skidded to a stop, chest heaving, looked wildly around, spotted Lin Feng and Yue framed in the east wing doorway, and immediately leveled the staff like it was a spear.
"Old man! Ghost girl! You the ones who put up the sign?! Free food and cultivation?! I'm here! Don't kill me yet!"
Lin Feng stared.
"Kid. You just kicked my gate into next week."
The boy flashed a bloody, reckless grin.
"Sorry! Was being chased! Thought if I made it inside your formation thingy I'd be safe!"
Right on cue, angry shouts erupted from beyond the manor walls.
"That little bastard went in there!"
"Drag him out! He stole the young master's spirit fruit!"
Lin Feng pinched the bridge of his nose so hard it hurt.
...
Four figures vaulted over the remains of the gate, swords already drawn.
Rogue cultivators. Low-level Qi Condensation.
Leather armor patched together, faces scarred and mean.
The leader, late Qi Condensation, long scar splitting his left eyebrow, pointed a curved blade at the boy.
"Hand over the thief, old man. This ain't your business."
Lin Feng stood up slowly. Sword still sheathed.
Voice flat.
"He's standing on my property. That makes it my business."
The boy immediately ducked behind Lin Feng (and Yue), whispering urgently:
"They're really mad… I only took one peach…"
Lin Feng let out the deepest, most bone-weary sigh of his entire life.
"Yue. Stay back."
Instead of retreating, she grabbed the sleeve of his robe with small, cold fingers.
"Don't… die again."
He froze for half a second.
Then awkwardly patted the back of her hand once.
"Not planning on it."
...
The four thugs charged.
Lin Feng didn't even fully draw his sword.
He moved.
First thug got an elbow to the throat mid-swing, dropped choking, sword clattering.
Second tried a wild overhead chop, Lin Feng stepped inside the arc, drove the butt of his scabbard into the man's temple. Out cold before he hit the ground.
Third slashed low, Lin Feng sidestepped, caught the wrist, twisted. Bone cracked. The blade snapped in half with a dry snap as Lin Feng applied raw strength.
The leader roared, channeling a weak fire-fist technique, flames licking around his knuckles.
Lin Feng met it palm-to-palm.
Pure yang qi flared briefly in his hand.
The fire fizzled like a candle in a storm.
The leader flew backward, slammed into one of the remaining stone lions, and cracked its head clean off.
Silence fell.
Twenty breaths. Maybe less.
All four were groaning on the dirt.
The boy's jaw was somewhere near his toes.
"Holy shit… you're actually strong."
Lin Feng turned slowly.
Expression dead.
"Language."
...
He found some spare rope in a collapsed shed, tied the four thugs up with the same practiced knots he'd used on demonic cultivators twenty times more dangerous than these clowns.
Then he turned to the boy.
"Name. Age. Why are they chasing you. And why did the array pick you up?"
The boy scratched the back of his head, sheepish.
"Name's Xiao Ran. Sixteen. Uh… I punched the young master of the Flowing Cloud Sect after he tried to force himself on my little sister. Stole his peach on the way out as compensation. Been running since yesterday."
Lin Feng raised an eyebrow.
"You have a sister?"
"She's hiding in town. I was looking for a place to lay low… then I felt this weird pull. Like someone was calling me here."
A quiet ping sounded in Lin Feng's vision.
[Latent candidate detected]
[Name: Xiao Ran]
[Potential: High (Body Cultivation leaning – Earth Vein Physique suspected)]
[Current loyalty: 0% (opportunistic)]
[Recommendation: Feed or beat into submission. Choice is yours.]
Lin Feng muttered under his breath:
"Great. A delinquent."
...
Xiao Ran looked between Lin Feng, the tied-up thugs, and Yue, who was staring at him like he was some strange new species of animal that had just wandered into her territory.
"So… am I in? Free food? Master?"
Lin Feng surveyed the wreckage.
Broken gate.
Unconscious bodies.
Cracked stone lion staring sadly at the sky.
Looked at Yue.
Looked at the mission log floating in his peripheral vision:
[Disciples: 1 / ∞]
He sighed, for probably the hundredth time today.
And finally decided to speak.
"One rule. You call me Master, you listen. You cause trouble inside these walls, I'll throw you out myself. Deal?"
Xiao Ran's grin split his bloody lip wider.
"Deal!"
Right then another system window appeared, colder, more urgent.
[New candidate within range. Multiple signatures detected.]
[Warning: Some signatures carry strong killing intent.]
Lin Feng's face darkened.
He stared toward the broken gate, toward the darkening sky beyond the manor walls.
Quiet and tired.
But resigned.
"Why do I feel like this is only going to get worse?"