The wind rustled Ren's hair and the morning sun warmed his cheeks. He had walked all night long to get away from the scene, leaving the fire to consume whatever it wanted, including... Han's body. But that had been according to Han's last wishes.

In a single night, Ren had lost something he didn't know he slightly cared about. This feeling had left him a long time ago, and it made his chest feel tight as if he couldn't breathe properly.

Those little snakes were innocent. Han was as well.

He had only hunted the monsters who came to him first, much like Ren had over the last seven centuries. Even the cultivators he might have killed if they were like the ones from the previous night, Ren felt they deserved to die and be erased.

After bidding the cave goodbye, he only took with him two things: Han's golden core and the odd plant he had previously decided to leave behind.

He felt like he needed something to remind him of Han's existence if he, one day, forgot his face.

He wasn't bent on vengeance but promised that if he ever came across that old man, he'd not spare him for his sin of killing Han and his family.

"Where should I start? I initially hoped Han would give me directions and some cash."

"I also need to find some special techniques. I only got through last night because of the one he taught me. If not, I'd not have stood a chance against those scumbags. But I don't feel like joining those dirty sects acting righteous but are just filled with greedy imbeciles."

"Argh!" He groaned, slapping his eyes to shield them from the bright sunlight. "Why can't this system give me tasks like they did in the games? How am I supposed to know where to go and what to do in a foreign world? It can't even give me a map or answer any questions I ask. Did that weird guy do this intentionally?

"Why isn't he in this world? From his hair, I can now tell he is a cultivator or even an immortal."

He sighed for the hundredth time, feeling lost and confused.

His goal was to find the girl who would eventually lead him to the old man who had once helped him years ago to say thank you. But Han had said it'd be impossible to meet a disciple unless he joined the sect, which wasn't a full guarantee. Sending a duel letter was insane.

His cultivation level might have been profound, but his foundation and skills were quite lacking.

Surviving even as a mortal meant he had to earn money.

An idea suddenly popped up from the depth of his mind.

He sat up, a wicked grin on his face. "If every world has bullies, doesn't it mean that there will be thieves and gangs here as well? I can just rough them up a bit and take over their territory. Ha! I'm a fucking genius."

Beaming with life, Ren got off the grassy ground, picking up the plant in a small charred cooking pot he had gotten from Han's trash collection.

###############

The trek down the mountain under the sun was exhausting. He may have acquired a fire skill, but it didn't help him unless he consumed his qi. But by doing that, he'd be wasting valuable energy, so he chose to be stingy and bear the heat flushing his face and ears.

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Moving down the shrubby, narrow path ahead, Ren sensed the presence of at least six people hiding in the thick forest.

From their poor cultivation level, it became evident that they were independent cultivators yearning for a place to belong. A place that Ren very much needed.

He smirked to himself, acting ignorant, and even began whining about his nonexistent money. Using Han's description of the mortal money in this realm, which were mostly silver coins and gold bars, he drew the attention of those lurking in the shadows.

"Where did those servants hide my gold? I'll give them a hard beating if I find even a single coin missing. Those miserable waste of space."

A strange wind blew from the east carrying with it a net. Hidden within the natural breeze, Ren had almost missed it.

"Oh no! What is happening?" He feigned fear, looking around for the bandits.

"The drug!" A voice ordered. "Hurry!"

'Come to me little rabbits. You're my prey today.' Ren grinned still acting paralyzed from both fear as well as the subduing effect the net possessed.

Whoever must have infused their qi in it was over level four hundred in cultivation. That was a lot for a sectless cultivator.

Two men in shabby clothes jumped in front of him carrying blunt swords and a rope, as well as a small white bottle.

The cork was pulled out and the white powder tossed at Ren's face while they laughed like maniacs.

To make the act believable, Ren let his head droop and his eyes shut halfway.

"Give us all your money or you will die without a grave!"

"Wait, why is he unconscious? I thought the drug was supposed to alter his mind and make him obey us?" His partner questioned.

"Oh! I should act confused and brainwashed, not unconscious."

Ren suddenly lifted his head, rolling his eyes backward and swirling it around as if possessed. "Take my...money."

"It's working, get off of me!" He yelled thrusting his partner away from him while throwing the empty bottle to the ground.

"Hey, brat! Where is your money? Tell us and we'll let you go."

"Come...closer."

Oblivious to the trap he was walking into, the bandit approached Ren, confident about the drug and the net. "Where is it? Where are your servants?"

"Behind you," Ren whispered smirking.

"What do you mean behi- aaaah!" He screamed out as a fiery dagger dug itself in his left arm, causing his hand to immediately drop his sword.

"Come out, all of you, unless you want to watch your bodies cut into pieces. And trust me, I know where it hurts the most," he instructed as two daggers made from his qi fire sliced the net like cutting through a cake.

One by one, all six of the bandit came to kneel in front of him, forced by the fire daggers edged on their throats.

They could barely swallow the fear, let alone try to disobey or flee.

"You!" He addressed the bleeding bandit whose large unkept beard hid traces of his mouth. "What is your name?"

"Xa-"

"Never mind. I'll just call you Beardie."

He glared up, his hand holding the bleeding arm with clenched teeth.

"Tell me Beardie, do you want to die?"

Silence.

Ren sighed creating a dagger in his right hand. With a cruel expression woven on his face, he moved the sharp tip along Beardie's temple, leaving behind a painful scar due to the cauterizing effect.

His breathing turned furious glaring deathly at the young man with a plant in a pot.

His simple looks had had them mistake him for a weak cultivator. Something that they were now regretting heavily.

"Answer me or I will drive this in here."

He rested the dagger above Beardie's heart.

"N-n-no."

"Good. Because I am very hungry right now and my feet are killing me. I need you and your little friends here to take me back to your camp, base, or wherever your little gang resides. Am I clear?"

The other five exchanged confused glances while Beardie only frowned. "Alright. We will do your bidding."

"Great. I like smart people... Okay, stand up."

With the daggers still against their throats, they obeyed once more but the fear in their eyes was so blinding.

"One more thing, you will take me there as a prisoner and bring me food. If I realize that you have planned something behind my back, I will kill you all in the most miserable way possible.

"I will set your hideout ablaze and watch you all cry in agony while I feast."

"Yes. I understand," he breathed lowering his head.

Ren smiled, welcoming their submission when all of a sudden, Beardie walked right into the dagger, letting it pierce his arteries. Once in his body, the fire dagger dissolved, and blood gushed out like water from a faucet.

"What the..."

Witnessing their leader's suicide, the rest followed before Ren could get rid of the daggers. In the end, he managed to save only one among the bloody mess at his feet.

"What's the meaning of this?" He questioned the one who had remained, grabbing him by his collar.

"We cannot take you there," he said with teary eyes.

"Why?" Ren's rage was threatening to spill. Why was there so much blood ever since he gained a mortal body? Why was there so much death?

"Because there are children there and our elders who cannot defend themselves. Why should we lead death to them when we can just-" a steel blade appeared in his hand which he drove through his abdomen without hesitation, "-die here."

"Ack! This is maddening," Ren mumbled letting the dying bandit drop to the rest of his kind. "But I wasn't going to kill any children. Committing suicide for no reason. How little do you value your lives?"

Handling corpses didn't disgust or frighten him the least. He had been a doctor before after all.

"So these are the so-called coins." He marvelled staring at a single tarnished silver coin with a hole in the middle.

Searching the rest of the bodies, he gathered a few strange pills, more silver coins, and even a small gold bar the size of half his palm.

Once done, he set the corpses on fire and left them to burn to ashes.