NOVEL NEXT Chapter 17 - Pyramid Schemes
Yin Hu chose to ignore Hu Shui's attempted shot at his size. He was not fat. The exact opposite actually considering all the hard work he put in for rewards. But that was neither here nor there for him. Figuring out this world was far more important. This included small bits of lore he needed.
Mainly why did the guards attack him so quickly? They hadn't even paused. Immediately confronting him and escalating without any moments to think.
"Jun," He said. Voice slow and deliberate. It was still the harsh raspy sound, even with drinking water and eating food. He was worried it would be stuck that way. "Tell me. The guards. My mere presence made them blind with rage."
He hinted at it. The hope was to practice not being a bull in a china shop.
Jun looked up from her latest plate. Chewed and gulped. She nodded. "Don't be harsh with them, Ancestor. They've suffered greatly."
"Their suffering led them to attack Hu Shui and I?"
Yin Hu made sure to keep his grammar in check. Someone's ancestor that lived for eons was supposed to be perfect. Right? He would do his best. Anything he failed at would be hidden behind a thousand vague and utterly nonsensical proclamations.
"Only to regain their honor and the honor of their family," Jun set her plate down. She had a disarming smile on her face. "You are dressed in all black robes, ancestor. Only their oppressors wear black."
She was advocating for them strongly. Jun did beat them down without a single one even breaking a bone. Disarming the guards within moments. Even let them go after they almost attacked Hu Shui who she was overly protective of.
"Explain." Yin Hu said.
He was still not getting the bits and pieces of information he needed. Going in blind into a very tense world was tantamount to death. At any moment, someone could lose their sanity and attack him just like the guards.
Though he was taking notes already.
No black robes.
Jun tapped her chin for a moment. Collecting her thoughts. "Well. It all started sixty years ago. All righteous sects and clans rushed to their mountain peaks and caves. Shutting their gates from the outside world. Rumor has it that a monster from another realm entered ours, but that's probably fake. Excuses to derelict and neglect their responsibilities and duties."
She paused to take a few bites. Jun savored every moment. Eyes arching and a moan of pleasure when she gulped. Letting out a breath after. She cleared her throat.
"The…" She said, pausing to remember where she had stopped. Her eyes glowed with remembrance. "All the sects and clans activated massive ultimate array formations. The ones that didn't have one practiced enforced martial seclusion. No one left or entered. Not even the Emperor could reach them. Father said they were stuffing their patriarchs and strongest elders to break through into the Heavenly Realms. All to fight the world ending calamity."
"World ending calamity? Seems pretty contrived. You said sixty years passed with nothing happening?"
"Yeah." Jun nodded. Thinking about the matter.
"I dont think a calamity of that level would wait around half a century for them. Would have already ended the world. They exit seclusion yet?"
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
Jun shook her head. "That's the problem. None of the evil sects went into hiding. All their most powerful cultivators remained to sow havoc and destroy everything. Demons, demonic cultivators, and spiritual beasts without remorse. Neutral clans took over the previously righteous lands, but they don't care much except for profit and their own gains. Only a few of the weaker righteous sects remained."
"A-And," Hu Shui interrupted Jun. "All the good sects were killed. Dad and mom and all the uncles and cousins. None of us could hide."
Jun's face darkened. She bit her lip, looking away to the side. Her pupils shot back and forth within her eyes. Remembering dark times and darker days. What had happened to the Hu Clan and its members. How only the two of them remained.
Shui was much less bothered by it all.
Probably too young to know what happened. What it really meant.
"All the smaller righteous clans formed a governing body. They were quickly corrupted and forced our Hu Clan out. To fend for ourselves. Rooted out from our homes. Killed to the last of us. Only hiding here in the Silver Mountain Gang protected us. But that has more to do with them not knowing who we were exactly. Just another Hu, rather than The Hu Clan." Jun spat the words out. She trembled, but did her best to hide it from Hu shui.
The little girl had already begun stuffing her face with the rice again. She took the moment to break out of her meditations to eat some more.
"I'm assuming the evil sects have been killing and looting everything. That was why the guards were so hateful?" Yin Hu said. Speaking for the first time in a while. Just listening to their tale. Letting them speak more and more to get more information.
But that didn't mean he didn't care. Or it didn't affect him. They were his wards now and he intended to make nukes out of them. Traumatized nukes that needed therapy were dangerous. Far too dangerous. He needed to focus on their mentals just as much as powering them up.
More work for him to do. Not that he minded.
Jun nodded. "The local hegemon sent a missive a few weeks back. Either the Gang Boss triples the amount of tax paid to fuel their wars and debauchery or die. I'm sure you know who really is going to pay for it. The Gang Boss started to demand more from the poor villagers in the village. They have no one to blame. No one to voice their anger to."
"They want to fight!" Hu Shui perked up from her food. "Kill all the demons—"
"Shush!" Jun snapped her hands to cover Shui's mouth. Eyes wide and fearful. "Don't say stuff like that. They'll... They'll—"
"They'll what? Jun?" Yin Hu was getting angrier with every passing moment.
Not that he could face off with a super sect currently. But that didn't mean they couldn't destroy them eventually. Nukes were that overpowered. He did not intend to only have one. No. Thousands. More if he could.
Jun wouldn't match his gaze. Even with her ancestor here, she looked defeated. Weak and small. Very much unlike how she acted at all times in front of Hu Shui. It was psychologically imprinted into her mind to be fearful. Her past weighed heavy on her.
"It's impossible to fight the Spider Valley Cult. Sucide." She leaned over the table to whisper. Looking around as though they were here. "They have two pinnacle Immortals as Elders. Both rising not a decade ago. Even their geniuses are extraordinary. I don't even want to mention cult's masters."
She shivered and trembled like she was cold.
"I see." Yin said. Studying how Jun reacted to the cult's name.
There was much he needed to think about. How dire everything seemed to be in this cultivation world gone awry. Where they were currently. What his plans should be for most optimal growth. How he should develop the two girls into nukes and set himself up for the future to start his own clan.
A new and improved Hu Clan with super weapons and resources.
Yin Hu looked down at his robes. Black with red ostentatious designs of dragons and swirling petals. He looked like a villain. A demonic cultivator. He would need to start wearing different colors instead of the black he enjoyed. They were always the most fashionable for some reason.
Guess it's part of the whole villainy shtick. Being awesome looking and all. Or utterly hideous. No inbetween unless you're a mob.
He didn't want to be a mob. Nor did he want to be a villain that murdered everything with impunity. Yin Hu wasn't a murder hobo, harem chasing, spiritual animal taming Mc like the Hu clan's real founding ancestor.
"Tell him, Jun! Tell him about the pyramids they keep building!" Hu Shui said.
Jun's face darkened even more. She shook her head.
Pyramids? I didn't see any pyramids on the way here. Or are they tiny ones? Why would that be noteworthy?
"What about pyramids?" Yin Hu asked. Very curious.