Chin walked with a frown.

A cultivator came to him to talk, a third rank. He bowed to Rin and Mei but he was completely oblivious to Mister Bill. Everyone was.

Chin sighed.

“Oh well, the members of the Immortal Oasis Sect are here,” someone cried.

The makeshift streets parted in front of him and people looked.

They didn’t look at him though, only through. To them, he was a decoration, an extra. Something to do with politics or face, a servant maybe. All they truly saw were Rin Wi and Mei Shan and he was like the dust on a pearl.

Chin didn’t care. He walked through the crowd, leading the four of them into a courtyard-like area that had been kept just for this type of occasion. There was a tent at the center of it. It wasn’t a bad tent, but compared to all the lavish shades and beautiful fabric the other tents were made of, it was practically rags.

Chin walked towards it. This was his meeting station. It was where he met with cultivators and merchants, people who wanted to settle down her and set up shops. There was an immortal here, after all, one that did not allow violence. A lot of cultivators knew this, but the news had yet to soak into the region's mind.

Immortals were gods to these people, even if someone stated it, that didn’t mean it was true. But it was only a matter of time before that changed, and even now, many flooded his village.

It was to be expected.

Chin felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Wait a minute,” Mister Bill said.

Rin Wi walked past him and stood firmly in front of the tent.

“Come out!” She yelled.

The tent flap opened to reveal a man behind it. He looked tired, partially asleep, and ragged. He opened his mouth and yawned and Chin saw teeth as black as night. He had blond hair and wore strange striped robes.

Behind him was another man, this one was awake and well-dressed. His clothes were simple but prim. His robe folded in on itself in the most proper way possible and everything about him seemed just right.

Except for his eyes. The man had something dark over his eyes, something glass-like held up by two thin metallic bars that hung on his ears. Another metallic bar covered the bridge of his nose, connecting the dark glass circles.

“Now those are some expensive shades,” Mister Bill commented.

Chin didn’t ask. He knew better now. It was either a cultivator’s phrase or some strange thing from another world.

“Are you the guy in charge?” The man with black teeth asked.

He had looked at him. The man had looked not at Rin or Mei but rather at Chin, and he was clearly at the fourth rank. He should have been able to sense their power.

Chin nodded. And the man with black teeth rubbed his head lazily.

“They said this is where I would find the village chief, they didn’t warn me about the security though,” the man spoke.

He looked the two women up and down, and while that would have been an insult to some, Chin could sense nothing but admiration from his gaze.

His aura was open and unkempt and his emotions were not hidden. Respect, admiration, envy, and a little bit of fear.

It was strange.

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Chin had met many cultivators; none were nearly as open as this one. He had only recently broken into the first rank, but even then, of the cultivators he had met none were as open as this one.

It was overwhelming, like a stew with too much spice.

“Right, well I wanted to set up shop here and I guess I fell asleep waiting for you. Oh, and this guy decided to wait as well,” the man spoke, pointing at the well-dressed man behind him.

“Who are ya?” Chin asked.

“Rou Xin,” the man replied.

Informal, quick to the point. Chin liked that.

The girls stared at him with light suspicion and worry. Why’d they do that, Chin wondered. Weren’t they stronger than him? Mister Bill was still staring at the other man behind him, eyes glistening in curiosity and his tail waving slowly behind him.

“What’s your business?” Chin asked.

“Uh, medicine. I was hoping I could settle down here and start selling some medicine here,” the man replied.

“Got any baggage?” Chin asked.

“Baggage?” The man asked.

“Any assassins or sects that are after ya?” Chin clarified.

He’d had a few of those, criminals trying to hide from their punishment underneath him. Some he allowed, if he sympathized with them, but others he tossed out with no remorse. Well, Rin Wi did the tossing, but he nodded along from the sidelines.

“No one’s after me,” the man replied. “Maybe my family but, they already know I’m here.”

“Do they wanna kill ya?” Chin asked.

It was an absurd idea, a family wanting to kill each other, but Chin had to ask. These cultivators were strange folk.

“Nope,” the man replied cheerfully.

“And who would yer services be to?” Chin asked.

“Anyone really,” the man replied.

Chin thought about this for a second. They already had a doctor who sold herbs and treated people. But she was old and her back ached worse with every growing day. She had children and other people who helped run the shop, but they weren’t nearly as capable as her.

But Chin would be weary of placing the entire village’s medical needs upon one stray cultivator. That would be stupid and short-sighted.

“You can live here and work here, as long as you provide some texts and teach some students three times a week,” Chin finally said.

“Students?” The man asked.

“Our doctor’s getting old and she’s wanted to retire for a while. You can take over her shop with her permission and teach her students while you do so.”

“Teaching mortals?” The man said, mouthing the words curiously. “How interesting. I’ll do it.”

Then the man stuck his hand out to Chin and without flinching, Chin shook it.

Rin and Mei still seemed tense for some reason.

“Mei Shan can get you sorted out for the night and she’ll talk to our doctor for you,” Chin said.

“Thanks!” The man replied.

“And you?” Chin asked, looking at the second man.

“I’m just passing through, seniors,” he replied, giving a formal bow to Rin and Mei. “How long are we permitted to stay here?”

“As long as you like if you pay for room and board. If you want to live here though, you’ll have to book that through Mei.”

“I see,” the man replied suddenly staring intently at Chin.

“Just head up to the inn over there and ask for a long-term room. We just finished building a few yesterday. There should be one available right now.”

The man stared at Chin for just an instant more before nodding and heading off. Several other cultivators who had been listening in on the discussion also made their way to the inn.

The building was being done by Madam Rose and her people, along with Bri Lou. The girl seemed to like working with her hands so Chin had assigned her to the local carpenters within the village, and she seemed to be leading the operations, wanting to build taller and taller buildings.

Chin didn’t know if they had the resources for that, but she and Xi Lu had gotten into talks about sewers, and underground tunnels exclusively for waste management. Apparently all the big cities had them and Bri was insistent on building them before the expansion could grow too far.

It had been months since the girls had arrived but they had all taken to the village nicely.

Chin smiled for just the slightest second at that thought. Then he walked into the tent to start on the business. There was a lot to listen to, a lot to plan, and as much as he didn’t want to do it, he knew Mei Shan did.

He couldn’t read the girl for the life of him, but Rin Wi had told him that was the case.

He had been annoyed back when they’d been dumped at his doorstep, but now he couldn’t imagine the village without them. They were vital to the place, and more importantly, they were valued.

More and more villagers wanted to hear Rin Wi’s recipes and have Mei Shan judge over their disputes. Xi Lu and Po Pen were an odd but pleasant pair to see wandering the streets and talking.

Lin Tai was always busy in the forest doing Heavens know what, but she came back smiling nowadays, and she talked to him and the other villagers with a smile.

They all stiffened up around cultivators though, and they practically turned to stone around Mister Bill. He scared them, instinctively.

Every one of them except for Rin Wi started acting differently around that man.

And that made Chin feel something he had never felt towards the old cultivator, pity.

The man meant well, he always meant well. He always cared. He was a strange fellow, true, but he wasn’t scary. For all his power, he was just an old and lazy hermit who came down for dinner once in a while.

Chin sighed.

If he believed in the gods, he would have prayed for those girls. But then again, the gods were the ones who had done this to them in the first place.