Stranger Danger

With these items, he was certain he could grow stronger and become a late-stage Spirit Master. A couple more years of hard work and training after that, and he could even become a Half-Step Grandmaster.

He did not dream any higher than that. For a wanderer with no patron, no background, no savings, and mediocre talent like him, Half-Step Grandmaster was his absolute limit. Short of stumbling upon the opportunity of a lifetime, his chances of entering the Grandmaster stage in his lifetime was almost nil.

That was why he did not dream bigger. Those who knew contentment were happy and at peace.

The “Seven Climax of the Waves” and the century-old vermillion jujube were enough to see him become a Half-Step Grandmaster. Once he returned to his home, he was going to seclude himself until he became a late-stage Spirit Master.

Of course, he was well aware that his plans would come to fruition only if he returned home alive. He hadn’t bought too many items, and they weren’t too valuable. Even so, what he had was enough to make a man seethe with greed. From what he heard, every time a Hill Carrier held a Treasure Appreciation Auction, countless bastards would lie in ambush just outside the Hill of Services. They would attack and rob anyone who left the place.

He was no exception. Not long after he left the Hill of Services, he immediately felt someone’s eyes on him. Luckily for him, his reputation and moniker weren’t undeserved. Without hesitation, he executed his movement art and ran at least dozens of kilometers in one breath. Forget a human, not even a dog could track him down across such a long distance.

Of course, the escape cost him quite a bit of stamina as well, but it was worth it. After all, he was safe now, wasn’t he?

“Huh? What’s that?”

A short rest later, Fan Yiming rose to his feet and got ready to leave. It was at this moment he saw something flying out of his head from the shadows on the ground.

Alarmed, Fan Yiming jumped ten meters away from his original position and stared. It was only then he realized that the thing that flew out of his head was a beautiful butterfly.

The butterfly was about as big as a baby’s palm and extremely colorful. A persistent halo shone where the sunlight had struck it, giving it an ephemeral, fantastical appearance.

“What a beautiful butterfly,” Fan Yiming couldn’t help but praise. It was around this time he saw another two butterflies flying out of his head out of the corner of his eyes.

Fan Yiming might be slow, but even he realized that something was wrong at this point. He immediately took a swipe at the butterflies fluttering above his head.

That was the wrong move. As soon as he took the swipe, he felt his consciousness scattering like dandelions.

It wasn’t dandelions that appeared in his vision, however. It was butterflies.

“Beautiful…”

That was Fan Yiming’s last thought before his consciousness disappeared completely, and his body collapsed on the ground.

After Fan Yiming was dead, a butterfly descended and grabbed his Nature's Shell. Then, it took off into the sky and disappeared somewhere.

……

“You… You’re the Eight-armed Rakshasa?”

A woman was standing at the center of a battlefield full of blood and broken limbs. She was covered from head to toe in blood. Not far away, five men wielding various weapons were staring at her with pallid complexions and frightful expressions.

“You attacked me without even knowing who I am? You’re a bold one, aren’t you?”

The cute woman’s lips curled into a devilish smile while she licked away the blood on her fingertips.

One man stuttered, “We… we were foolish, Rakshasa. Can you please forgive us?”

His weapon hand trembled as regret dyed his heart whole.

It was just a standard ambush, and they weren’t even looking to kidnap someone. They just wanted to rob someone of their wealth. Unfortunately, the very first person they targeted turned out to be someone they couldn’t afford to offend.

The Eight-armed Rakshasa, Lu Rumei was an infamous she-devil in Bei Mo. An expert in fast sabers, her saber art was as swift as the wind and as rapid as a thunderstorm almost as if she had eight arms. Hence the first half of her moniker.

As for why she was called a Rakshasa, that was because Lu Rumei loved killing people. Not only that, she enjoyed cutting them into many pieces. Brutal and bloodthirsty, it was why people called her the Eight-armed Rakshasa.

It was said that the Eight-armed Rakshasa never left behind an intact body, and now, they knew it to be true. The broken limbs, diced meat and crushed heads around her were the living example of her atrocities.

They were a group of thirty bandits, and they made a living by raiding villages or robbing wanderers on the road. The reason they appeared today was, of course, to rob the jianghu warriors participating in the Treasure Appreciation Auction.

This wasn’t their first rodeo, and they knew their limits quite well. They were also aware that anyone who dared to participate in the Treasure Appreciation Auction was probably quite strong in their own right. If they were careless, then the raid could very well be the last raid of their lives.

But what could they do? Business was difficult these days. They had no choice but to risk it.

Of course, just because they were taking a risk didn’t mean that they committing suicide. They made sure to evaluate a target’s strength carefully before deciding if it was safe to attack them.

At first, everything had gone perfectly. Their earnings were so great that they literally couldn’t stop themselves even if they wanted to.

Not long after that, they saw a petite, weak-looking woman who, as far as they could tell, was traveling alone. Thinking that they had hit another jackpot, they did not hesitate to attack her.

Of course, they weren’t planning to kidnap her or rape her. They were bandits, not rapists or kidnappers. They just wanted her possessions.

Then, disaster struck. The woman had killed over half their numbers in a single exchange. Another second later, and only five of them were still standing.

Ironically, they survived because their movement art was lousier than their brothers. The woman had specifically targeted the fastest warriors probably because she didn’t want to allow anyone to escape.

“You want my forgiveness? Sure. I’ll forgive you if you can survive one hit from me!” Lu Rumei said with a bloody smile.

“Er… how about a different condition, Rakshasa?”

The five men exchanged despairing glances with each other. Survive a hit from the infamous Rakshasa? Did she think that they were masters of the bare-handed blade block or something? Considering what happened earlier, one hit was all she needed to slice their bodies into cubes of all shapes and sizes.

“Do you think you have the right to negotiate?”

Lu Rumei’s smile widened. It was such a beautiful smile that it laid bare the depths of her cruelty.

Not a single men was able to move their feet as Lu Rumei began stepping toward them. They were so scared that they couldn’t even muster the courage to escape.

“You… You…”

Suddenly, one of the bandits pointed a finger at Lu Rumei. His eyes were wide open, and his voice was full of shock.

“Rather than wasting your breath, you should save that energy and find a way to survive my blade,” Lu Rumei said while licking her lips.

“A… A butterfly just f-flew out of your head!”

It took the man a while, but he ultimately managed to stutter out the whole sentence.

“Excuse me?”

Lu Rumei was confused at first. She thought that the man was just trying to pull the good ol’ “Look behind you!” on her. But when she noticed that the rest of the bandits wore the same expression, she finally realized that it wasn’t a trick.

So, she held her saber in front of her and checked herself out using the reflection. It was then she saw something that chilled her to the core.

It was like her head was some sort of egg nest. Butterflies were crawling out of her head and flapping its wings.

Every time a butterfly flew away, she felt like she lost something critical to her. It was too late though.

She should be responding to the unknown threat, but instead she simply stared at the reflection with blank eyes. As more and more butterflies flew away from her head, her consciousness grew blurrier and blurrier until she stopped breathing completely.

“What… what the hell was that?”

The five bandits exchanged a glance with each other before someone asked the question.

“They’re… butterflies?”

“I’m not blind, you doofus. I want to know why butterflies are flying out of her head!”

“And what makes you think we have an answer to give you?”

“Are you guys stupid? Unless you idiots are planning to die here, we need to run! NOW!”

That snapped them out of their inane discussion and spurred them into a run. If they survived this, they would never work as bandits ever again.

After the five men were gone, a butterfly descended and picked up Lu Rumei’s Nature’s Shell. Then, it flew toward the horizon.

……

Similar incidents were occurring everywhere at the same time.

A bunch of butterflies flew out of someone’s head while they were on the road.

A bunch of butterflies flew out of someone’s head while they were in the middle of fighting.

A bunch of butterflies flew out of someone’s head while they were resting.

A bunch of butterflies flew out of someone’s head while they were running, and more.

The butterflies were like dreams. When a dream ended, so did the dreamer.

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