'Armed' with sixty silver coins and a potted plant, Ren braved the rest of the path down the mountain until he saw signs of life which were in the form of the small houses ahead.

A shabby bamboo wall and gates were all that stood in the way of experiencing the culture of the humans in this realm.

The first thing he wanted was to find something to eat to satiate the ugly hunger threatening to end his life. His newly acquired body needed mortal food to develop and cease looking like a seventeen-year-old boy who had just experienced a growth spurt to tower six foot seven above the ground.

Walking further into the unexpectedly busy village, Ren caught the attention of any eye that fell on him.

They whispered amongst themselves and smiled whenever his eyes met theirs.

Whether it was the young girls or the older women, the desire on their faces was readable... But it only made him feel disgusted, reminding him that this might be a world where age didn't matter and it was okay to ogle a seventeen-year-old boy just because he was attractive.

'An inn!' he rejoiced, laying his eyes on the square board above a wooden two-story building nestled between two shorter buildings. 'Wait, how can I read Chinese?'

Brushing it aside due to his grumbling stomach, Ren walked into the building with the desire to get rid of his embarrassment.

He scanned the vicinity by sweeping his eyes over the people and empty tables before him just as a young woman, probably in her mid-twenties, approached him from behind the wooden counter.

"Welcome to Li Inn, this way please."

The setting had a bit of a modern touch, leaving him wondering whether someone else from Earth had been here before him.

"Ah, thank you!"

He set his plant on the round wooden table and looked around curiously.

The walls were graced with black and white paintings of natural scenarios that gave off a calming aura as if whoever had put them up there had aimed for the customers to feel relaxed.

"Young lord?" Ren was pulled out of the daze he had fallen staring at a particular painting.

"Ye-yes?"

"What would you like to eat?"

"Um... Is there a menu?"

"What is that?"

'Argh! So much for the modern touch.'

"I mean, what do you have?"

She smiled politely and mentioned all the dishes available. But the only thing he found himself familiar with was pork belly and rice.

Afraid of eating something funny, he ended up ordering rice and pork which cost only a silver coin and would be accompanied by a jar of wine. 'Not bad.'

#########

Munching down his food, he thought secretly, 'The meat Han grilled tasted far better. But I'm starving right now.'

It had its uniqueness like how tender and juicy it was, but his taste buds had gotten used to the food Han made for him until a mark was left behind in his heart.

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For the first time all day long, he felt a sense of emptiness thinking about Han.

His gaze fell on the plant he had named after him in his memory, and he let out a half smile. "We'll be alright. You and me, Han."

With his hunger gone, Ren leaned back to let the food settle before he could make his next decision.

Caressing the leaves of his plant, the doors were suddenly kicked open and then a group of thug-looking men walked in, flashing their weapons and ugly expressions at the customers closest to the entrance.

"Where is he?" Roared the one leading the group. His teeth were dirty brown, and his height stunted to a mere four foot three, but he owned a burly structure that allowed him to carry the axe placed on his right shoulder. "Who dared touch our brothers and hide here? Come out!"

The girl who had attended to Ren hurried to try and ease the situation.

"We'll give you an extra fee in two days. Please don't-"

"Out of the way!" One of the taller bandits shoved her aside to fall on a nearby table, knocking down a jar as well as the customer's food.

"Present yourself while we're still being merciful. Kneel and kowtow begging for your life!" The leader yelled, sending fear into the hearts of the mortals who had been dining.

When nobody appeared before them as they expected, they started pulling everyone and throwing them on the floor like dolls, punching and slapping those who resisted.

Cries and groans of pain filled the once peaceful air that Ren had been enjoying.

They finally got to his table.

One had a chicken drumstick in his mouth he had picked up from one of the abandoned foods and was biting into it ruthlessly. His other hand pointed his saber at Ren, scowling at him, offended. "Get on the floor you brat! What are you doing sitting here looking pretty and innocent, huh?" He yelled before taking a harsh bite.

Ren's left eye twitched from the disgust whirling in his stomach, seeing how awful the chicken was being devoured, spitting and chewing uglier than a pig.

Thinking of a pig eating alongside this bandit suddenly made the meat he had just eaten stir in his stomach.

He slapped his mouth when nausea struck him and the bandits took this as a rebelling sign. But in truth, he felt like throwing up on their faces.

The saber was raised to cut him down.

Ren felt the threat and was about to counter it when a sword came flying and knocked the saber out of the bandit's hand.

Just as fast as it had pierced the air, it rushed back in the direction it had come from, taking with it the attention of Ren and the bandits.

"How bold of such uncultured bandits to disrupt my young lady as she is eating!" A girl about Ren's age hissed standing at the stairs leading to the upper floor.

The sword was now hovering above her head like a halo, only dangerous and merciless. "Leave now before you lose your worthless lives!"

She wore a simple blue hanfu, her black hair adorned with two hairpins that had red butterflies embedded on their ends to add her feminine charm.

"Where did this little girl come from? Do you want to follow this big brother home and entertain me?" Their leader asked licking his lips lustfully.

Ren sat straight, his disgust soothed by the sight of a heroine who would end up dead if she continued playing the good guy in this situation. Her cultivation level was barely three hundred.

Facing six bandits whose cultivation totaled one thousand and two hundred, she'd be gobbled up before she could make her first kill.

"Insolent fools. Do you know who my young lady is? You'll lose your lives without knowing how it-"

"Shut up!" The dwarf leader roared swinging his axe at the girl, releasing a blade qi.

The girl's sword hopped in front of her to counter the attack and directed the qi at the wall to her left, leaving a visible slash on the wood.

Ren noticed the strain from the impact that had pushed the girl a step back, yet she kept her brave face and clutched firmly on her sword. "I said. Leave!"

"Aaargh! You're so annoying! Take care of her!" He gave an order and focused on the defenseless mortals shaking on their knees.

"Okay, boss!" Two chorused turning to face the girl, their expressions obnoxious.

Sighing, Ren secretly darted a wisp of his qi into her sword as she swung it to fight off the two bandits intending to climb the stairs.

A slash of powerful qi emanated from her blade which travelled through the air and sliced the enemies in halves.

Screams of terror echoed in the space, filling the atmosphere with a chilly aura as the halves dropped to the ground, bleeding out like rivers.

"Ah, shit! I've done it again," Ren mumbled with a hand on his mouth.

He continued scolding himself while the fight ensued, long forgotten along with his plant. 'Have I given her a little too much? How much is too much? How do I control-' His thoughts were interrupted when a decapitated head rolled across his table, a piece of meat between his teeth.

"Fuck!" He cried out grabbing Han out of the way. "Hey! Could you watch where..." Words faded as he laid eyes on the bandits, or, what was left of them...pieces.

Breathing like she had run hundreds of miles without a break, through a bloody ocean, the girl propped herself against a wall. "My...my...my La..." She was too out of breath to convey her message properly to the mortals who were shaken beyond comprehension.

They had clung to each other, covering their eyes and ears to shield them against the violence, but the blood still managed to splash all over them.

In the aftermath, the girl made her way to Ren's table, half her face bathed in blood just like her clothes. The exhaustion in her body could be detected through her eyes.

She stopped in front of Ren's table and offered a clenched fist salute. "My young lady invites you for a cup of tea. Please."

"Oh? A cup of tea? I hope she'll pay for my mental damage as well because I am traumatized by what I've witnessed."

"Yes, young master!"

He ignored the way she had addressed him and followed her quietly, showing no fear as he stepped on the blood.

The other customers were being aided out of the area by the slaves working in the inn.

##########

'A private room?' Ren noticed as he walked in it, catching sight of a feminine frame sitting on her knees, wearing a round white lantern veil that matched the white hanfu she had on.

The doors behind him were shut offering the two the privacy they needed.