The steel ax trembled, cracks spread around it, and the stranger's eyes widened, "Oh? What is this? I didn't think I was strong enough to destroy iron with my hands. At least the readings didn't show so. Was the average human in this world stronger? Except for the physical advantages of simply doing more physical labor, making them a bit stronger... But that shouldn't be such a big difference that it would lead to something like this."
The man rubbed his chin thoughtfully and crouched down, picking a piece of the broken ax off the ground and looking at it in a trance as if he were in his own world. Futou was frozen in place, looking in a trance at whatever remained of the ax handle in his hands.
But the man didn't seem to pay much attention to it. His gaze settled on them, and he smiled, "Sorry, I'm not usually so arrogant or rude as to ignore someone. But this really surprised me. Where do you get your weapons from? Maybe their metal was just that shoddy?"
The way he spoke was so polite that one might have thought he was just an unassuming and well-mannered neighbor's son.
They immediately dropped their weapons, or whatever was left of his ax in Futou's case. Tufei's mind worked a thousand miles a second as even his bow seemed to move in slow motion as it fell to the ground.
Was this it? Was this how they died? Who would take care of their mother?
Within two breaths, the three brothers were on their knees with their foreheads on the ground. Tufei could smell the green grass, and sweat trickled down his nose. But he didn't dare look up, no matter what!
"Please spare our lives!" Tufei begged, and his two brothers followed along.
"Why do people think that bowing would solve any problems?"
Those words were like a bucket of cold water splashed over their heads. At that moment, Tufei knew the odds of them surviving plummeted.
Maybe running away would work, he wondered.
But such foolish thoughts disappeared as soon as they came. This wasn't someone they could fight or run away from.
There was no other solution; their fates were in someone else's hands, and there was next to nothing they could do about it.
"The way I see you guys is that you're scumbags with no redeeming quality. Honestly, a part of me is thinking of using you as a way to get used to killing humans. It is bound to happen anyways since this is that kind of world," he sighed regretfully, but the cold look in his eyes did not lie. They weren't dealing with the kind of guy who would spare their lives. "After all, what better victims for this than some murderous bandits nobody would miss."
This was it. Tufei knew that they were going to die.
In a way, he was okay with this. Sure, he wanted to live. But either way, life didn't have much in store for him.
Even if he continued living, what was there to look forward to for the rest of his life? He had no dreams other than living and maybe finding a good wife. He would have had to still spend whatever remained of his life doing back-breaking labor on the farm.
But what he did regret about this was pulling his brothers along to their deaths also. This had been his idea after the previous long winter.
As the oldest brother, it was his responsibility to protect his younger siblings.
However, even if he gave up his life and tried to buy time for his brothers to escape, there wasn't much he could do against someone like that young man.
Was he even young to begin with? Sure, their victim looked young, but it would be no surprise if he was some centuries-old monster.
"We never killed anyone," Tufei stated.
Sure, they had robbed people. But that was less troublesome than actually killing someone.
If someone was robbed on a road, they would never cross that pathway again, at worst. However, if someone died, then their families would come out looking for their pound of blood and flesh.
They were simple farmers and not gangsters who could scare people into not taking revenge.
Sure, their reasons for not killing people might not have been done with the best intentions in mind. But this was the only thing Tufei could think of that would even have an inkling of a chance of buying them some time.
"Never killed anyone? Well, that changes things. Even I think that killing for simple thievery is a bit extreme. Also, it isn't like you guys would have been much of a danger to me to begin with, and are likely to continue being so," he rubbed his chin. "Then again, your brother did swing his ax at me without an ounce of hesitation. What do you have to say about that?"
The guy was actually listening to what he was saying?! Tufei had assumed the man was playing with them, as some predators did with their prey.
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Relief washed over Tufei, and he felt like crying. But they weren't in the clear yet, so he hurriedly added, "My brother was just panicking, great lord. He has always been a fool who would jump at things like this. He only did it because he thought we were in danger and he would gladly give his life for us."
“You don’t need to call me ‘great lord’ or anything like that. It feels weird,” the man glanced at the biggest brother, "Were you really trying to protect your brothers."
Futou had the common sense to nod and not interrupt while the strange young man continued, "Would you say he is someone prone to anger and a danger to those around him?"
"No! Never!" Tufei insisted a bit too loudly. He realized he might have messed up when the man frowned.
Did that annoy the cultivator? Were they going to die just because their older brother spoke too loudly? Tufei cursed internally.
They were still on their knees, ready to bow their heads to the ground once more. The young-looking man sighed. "It seems like my assumptions were quite wrong. I fell for the oldest mindset in the book of vilifying and demonizing my enemies."
Tufei had no idea what to say to that, so he just kept his mouth shut, and when he noticed his brothers were about to say something, he sent them a glare.
If someone had nothing good to say, sometimes it was better to keep their mouths shut. Tufei had learned this lesson in the village the hard way. It was the kind of lesson everyone would learn after a certain age. His brothers were coming up in their twenties, but even they hadn't been taught this lesson yet.
The young man hummed, which sounded like the reaper getting closer, "Do you have anyone who would miss you? Be careful not to lie to me. I have a technique that can help me detect lies. If even one lie is detected, I will kill you all."
"Yes," Tufei answered carefully.
Did a technique that could detect if someone was lying even exist? He didn't know. But he saw no reason why this man would lie to him.
"Oh, before I forget," the young man disappeared from his previous place, and Tufei only saw a blur. The next thing he felt was something flicking him in the forehead and appearing behind him.
Tufei touched his forehead, where he felt a stinging pain, and his brothers copied his movement. Showing something similar had happened to them. The cultivator had touched them all before any of them could react.
“I have just placed a curse on all of you, one that will bring about your demise in horrific ways should you commit evil acts,” the man smiled. “Believe me, the deaths won’t be quick. I'm not a sadistic individual, but the creator of this technique certainly was. Can you imagine? He was hailed as a saint during his lifetime.”
"What do you want from us?" Tufei stuttered. He had never fathomed the existence of such a technique before. Yet, as a youth raised in an isolated village, he was beginning to grasp the vastness of the world.
But what choice did he have except to trust the stranger? This man could kill them all before they even blinked. Why would he bother lying to them?
"I want you to guide me back to your village," he declared, his voice leaving no room for argument.
“Yes, my lord—... sir,” Tufei rose to his feet. His brothers followed suit as they treaded away from the rough pathway and toward the village, weaving through trees, bushes, and obscure forest trails imperceptible to the untrained eye.
They had traversed these woods since childhood, knowing them like the backs of their hands. They were familiar with the perilous areas inhabited by strange beasts and monsters. Tufei contemplated leading the young cultivator to one of these dangerous locales.
But guiding the cultivator and his brothers to such a place would likely result in their deaths. What if the cultivator easily killed the monster? It would only lead his brothers to death. Tufei preferred to rely on what he had seen with his own eyes, and the young man didn’t seem cruel or a sadist.
“You know, you guys are very fortunate you didn’t encounter other cultivators,” the young man remarked. “I know some cultivators who like exterminating entire family lines for even the slightest offenses. Most of the people who traversed the road I was on would have been cultivators at the same stage as I am. So you truly were lucky not to encounter any of them.”
“We…” Tufei contemplated his next words very carefully. “We have only been doing this for less than a month, and you’re the sixth guy that we tried to rob.”
“Then that is even better luck, as there is still a chance you didn’t offend the mortal family of some cultivator or someone like that,” the man nodded. “I understand how hard life can be sometimes. Before I became a cultivator, I too was just some average working man. Though the closest thing to compare my job to would be something like a scribe, so working in the fields must be even harder.”
“Not like we had much of a choice after the long winter,” Tufei nodded and stopped in his tracks.
What had he just said?! Why was he talking to this man like he was just some friend when he had clearly threatened them with death not even a dozen minutes ago? He had gotten so absorbed in the atmosphere and the way the cultivator acted that he had talked to him like an equal!
Tufei swallowed and glanced at the cultivator, praying to all his ancestors and Gods that he hadn’t taken offense. To his relief, the cultivator continued acting as if nothing had happened.
Not long after, they arrived in the village, which consisted of straw and mud houses situated on the side of a mountain and close to a small river. With less than a hundred inhabitants, the population dwindled each year due to Monstrous Beasts or migration to the nearby Greengrass Town in search of opportunities.
Tufei had contemplated doing the same at one time, but lacking funds and special skills, he found himself limited. His cousin had ventured there but returned, finding little opportunity for village folk like them, who weren’t even considered for labor jobs like construction.
As they walked to their own house, Tufei glanced at the people around them, pondering. Whatever it was, he hoped the cultivator wouldn’t unleash his wrath on the innocent.
“Mother, we are back,” called out Oftu, spear still in hand.
Their elderly mother, who relied on a walking stick to move, emerged from the hut, her familiar friendly smile lighting up her face. “Oh, how was your hunting trip?” Then her gaze shifted toward the cultivator. “Who is this? Is he one of your new friends?”
Tufei felt a lump in his throat as a bead of sweat rolled down his cheek. He felt trapped between a rock and a hard place. Their mother remained unaware of their banditry, believing their excursions to be hunting trips where they sold their goods to wandering merchants and returned with coins.
“Mother… We…” Tufei began, his heart weighed down by the impending confession.
How could he tell his mother that despite her sacrifices in raising them after their father's death, they had turned to banditry?
But before Tufei could utter another word, the cultivator stepped forward.