"There is a demon in our lands," an old monk said, seated on the Temple's long steps. He was breathing heavily, obviously tired after ascending the long flight of stairs.
The three children each looked at him in fear.
A demon really lived near them?
The other two monks smoking pipes also listened on with focused faces, stroking their beards. Another demon... and this one near them?
It was indeed very troublesome. Many monks might die if they had to fight.
"This Demon hails from the Starlight Clan but has no powers of the starlight," The old monk continued, his voice deep, "He kills children and the elderly without blinking or hesitation. His heart is cold, and his sword even colder."
The pipe-smoking monks grew serious, their faces growing severe. Yet, they didn't stop smoking.
The older monk had just gone down the Temple but had to come back running after hearing the news, which had stunned him. To believe that the Demon was just a young man was... really a fearful thought.
The three little ones had their faces go pale.
It was a beautiful evening of the 12th month. A new year was soon approaching, and the Temple was celebrating the days by giving the ordinary people clothes to wear and rice to eat.
Who would have thought the first thing they heard after waking up would be this news?
Demons were always scary when they appeared. Men; unscrupulous men with no bottom line or any fear of worldly laws. They always caused chaos.
The temple steps turned quiet as the monks stopped talking. The youngest monk here, a short old man with a pipe, asked, "Why did you say it in front of the little ones?"
"To warn them," the eldest said seriously, "To tell them to run if they ever see a man with shoulder-length black hair and pure crimson eyes. To run and warn us so we could escape with them. This Demon is dangerous as far as the news I heard spoke."
The other two monks nodded in assent.
"But also be wary of the woman who is always with him. She might seem weak, but she is also dangerous," the eldest added.
"Woman?" A child questioned. Women can be villains?
"The demon's mother," The monk sighed, "she is always with him, apparently, and is just as dangerous if I heard correctly, and she has red, crimson hair when she uses her powers."
The children were afraid and sat along with the monks. Each mumbling to each other about past demons and how their Temple had subdued some.
One of the two monks asked the old monk, "So, where did you hear of this particular Demon?"
Cursing his bad luck, the old monk looked at the orange skies that were on the verge of turning dark. "The news spread out from the Southern Lust City. Apparently, the Demon had killed innocent people there before running away with stolen Magical Resources and his mother. Anyone who kills the Demon would be given an enormous bounty."
"Who needs bounty?" The children shivered, and a boy said: "We should put him down! We should contact the higher Temple; the Demon Restraining Temple would surely have strong people to get him on his knees. He is just an Evolved, after all."
"Monk, does your Teleportation power come with any other authorities?" Han Li knew he was being awfully nosy, but monks shouldn't mind. Or so he hoped. This power could really put a stain on all of his plans for the future in one way or the other.
He might have to think of a way to kill this monk when he could. As friendly as the person was, and as much gratitude as he felt for him because he had looked after Ruo, Han Li couldn't risk his future ambitions for that. Not that the man seemed killable.
Yet, the biggest issue of all was another thing. Monk Hen Shin had a Lie Detection Magic Power if he remembered correctly. So, it would all get slightly tricky if he were to antagonize the man.
"Other authorities?" The monk rubbed his white beard. Monks were usually not people with a beards, but Hen Shin was quite different from a run-of-the-mill monk. "I do have other authorities. For example, I have a perpetual connection with all of the continent, as in, I can contact any person I wish to with a thought."
Han Li felt a chill in his heart. Calling a person from one end of the continent to the other with a thought? That would make Hen Shin one of the most influential people of this era when added with the power to teleport once per year. It was almost assured that the monk would get one of the Transcendence orbs in the next Transcendence War.
"...That is convenient," he chuckled wryly.
The monk also laughed, merry. "Indeed, convenient. But I need something they use, like a piece of clothing or a lock of hair or something. I contacted these monks earlier and made them find you. Then, I had the location and teleported right beside you."
Han Li grimaced slightly. "So if you had a piece of my clothing, you could appear beside me any time?"
No matter where he hid...
The monk smiled. "Indeed. This monk has become quite something."
All the monks around laughed and clapped their hands, to which Hen Shin also laughed and clapped his hands.
Han Li sighed.
"This is your era, Monk Hen Shin," he said. Then, Han Li looked at little Ruo, who was cradled in his mother's hands; his women had all already been quite familiar with flying due to Hua Yu helping them up and down the waterfall cavern, but they were still amazed by this long-distance flight.
Hen Shin shook his head and also looked at little Ruo.
The monk who had been helpless against the Fang Family to save Ruo by himself was not the current Hen Shin. The current Hen Shin could easily save Ruo with no trouble. He would have the influence once the world knew his power, and he was also stronger than when he had entered the Demon World.
The monk had nothing to worry about since no one, even the Transcendent, could steal his power. It was the power of the Demon World itself to look after anything, and he was just given a minor authority over it because he had won the 5th Trial.
Fang family, the reason for all of Ruo's torments, was not even one of the four sects. Only the four sects had Transcendent cultivators. Hen Shin only had to worry about the Transcendent now. If he so wished, he could save Ruo.
Han Li was not one to say no to such favors, and since the monk desired to help Ruo from the start, he had a feeling the monk would help her. It would be a weight out of his back but he would have to check the process from start to finish.
"I won't help her," The monk said, and Han Li was startled. A distant temple appeared before them, and soon enough, they descended on them, startling the people conversing there. They especially looked at Han Li.
Han Li looked at the monk. Even if Hen Shin didn't help, Han Li had the means to save Ruo by himself. Calmly, he nodded. "Fair enough if you don't want to help. But may I know why?"
The other monks all exchanged glances. The calmness Han Li was displaying against a Power Born hadn't been lost on them. They had noticed it, but saying it out loud and snorting were not the styles of practice they endorsed.
Hen Shin cupped his hand on his back and looked up at the sky; night had already fallen. Stars littered the sky.