RISE OF THE MARTIAL GOD

Tong Tong wouldn't stop vomiting ever since Anthony forced them to slash the necks of those men. Hers was worse because her weapon was a pair of daggers, making her come in contact with blood. Not to mention that he also released some men because of their delay, causing chaos.

It was Xinglan who killed the runaway bandits, preventing them from escaping. As for Miao Miao, even though she used arrows, she kept misfiring due to shaky hands, and when she finally landed a hit, she began to cry the moment the assassin died, shaking like a leaf in the wind.

They even refused to eat on the basis of being nauseous. Anthony ignored them and treated himself to a super feast from the remnants of last night's dinner, Xinglan also ate, but not much. Her appetite wasn't all that great.

"Aigoo, pretty ladies, are you pregnant? Why won't you stop vomiting?" Anthony asked loudly, stopping his horse to face them.

Tong Tong was gasping by the side of the road, exhausted from all the puking.

Anthony clucked his tongue, shaking his head.

"At this rate people will think I'm a shameless man that goes around impregnating his sworn sisters."

Miao Miao turned to glare at him, her patience at the end of its rope.

"What?" He snapped back, earning him a hiss and eye roll from her.

He scoffed.

"Tch! That's all you know how to do. Is this how you will defend yourselves from enemies? Once I find a suitable place, I'm leaving you girls to continue my journey. You will be on your own. Xinglan alone can't protect everyone. Or do you think I will babysit you forever?"

He finally dropped all pretense, his voice cold and chastising.

"I spent the past few days teaching you quality cultivation techniques and battle skills. But what did you do? Apart from Xinglan, none of you earnestly cultivate or practice. You think you have a sharp blade that does the killing, so you relax. The weapons I gave you were all priceless treasures that people will kill for. But since then, how many times have you utilized them? When we get attacked, what do you do except run? Are the weapons for fancy? Is cultivation just fun to you? Something you casually do in your free time?"

The girls still bearing a grudge looked down, avoiding his eyes.

"If you don't want to get stronger despite all my efforts, that's your business. Where will you find a dedicated teacher like me? The techniques I gave you, people won't even be willing to give it to their brothers or disciples, no one will give you all that knowledge without expecting anything in return. But I did, so you can learn to protect yourself. Since you want to be lazy and weak, go on. One day when you encounter similar tragedies, you will be totally helpless, just like last time. A fat pig on the chopping block."

"Young master, they have never fought before. It's understandable…" Xinglan began, walking towards him.

"What exactly is understandable? Last night, if I was not there, those men would have raped and sold you all. Death might even be part of what they planned."

"Despite what happened to Chen village, you don't feel the fire of vengeance nor have you made efforts to be more powerful, enough to protect yourself. Since you're fine with being a chess piece easily controlled by everyone, I'm fine with it too. You can remain mediocre forever and die without a legacy. After all, that's what women from your side are taught to do. Utterly useless, submissive, unambitious and weak, always crying in the face of problems. Go out there, and you will see women who do not need a man for anything. Women who rule the world, commanding not just respect, but also fear."

The moment he finished speaking, he kicked his horse and left in a wild gallop, leaving them behind.

Tong Tong gasped while Miao Miao began to cry, feeling aggrieved.

"He's leaving us behind, he truly left us."

Xinglan took a deep breath and got on her horse, she also pulled the crying Miao Miao up.

"So what if he did? He has already done enough." She whispered and kicked her horse to make it move.

Tong Tong also got on her own horse.

"We will prove him wrong by surviving."

Xinglan smiled and drove her horse to a steady trot.

"We won't just survive, we will flourish. He left a huge amount of money with us, we can find something to establish, and use it to find our feet—a new home for us."

Miao Miao nodded.

"That's right, we don't need another person, we will always be together. A'Jiu and the others left, aren't we just fine now? We don't need anyone's help to live well."

******

The day had already turned dark, and the night birds were chirping. Tong Tong turned to Xinglan who had equally slowed down.

"Xinglan Jie, let's find somewhere to camp. It's already evening. I'm exhausted too. And terribly hungry."

Miao Miao nodded in agreement, making her sigh helplessly.

"We're already at the edge of this territory. A few more hours we will arrive in Hong Chuan, or at least a village closer. We're almost in the inhabited areas. Shouldn't we continue?"

Miao Miao shook her head, outrightly refusing while pouting like a spoiled child.

"Young master is no longer here. What are we going to do if we meet another set of bandits? If they're powerful like the other ones that are cultivators, we will be in big trouble. But if we keep riding at top speed, we will arrive in a village before it's completely dark. There is smoke in the distance from different areas, showing that it's a village and people are already cooking dinner. It's not that far off." Xinglan continued persuasively.

But Miao Miao maintained a stiff upper lip, exhibiting her signature mark of stubbornness. Tong Tong wasn't helping matters, she was equally pouting, ignoring her concerns for their safety. In her thoughts, it was now safe. They didn't meet another set of robbers all day. What could possibly go wrong now?