The cultivator did not meet Lin Shao’s expectation of egregious arrogance. Though everything the cultivator wore was expensive, everything served a purpose. The horse did not wear golden armor, no servants walked behind the cultivator’s horse, and the cultivator carried only a single sword for self-defense. The cultivator was clearly wealthy compared to the villagers of Bluecrest, but he did not flaunt it.

The iron staff laid on the ground as Lin Shao stood from a seated position. Due to his elevated position, the staff was blocked from the cultivator’s sight by the hill. This was intentional on Shao’s part, as he did not want the cultivator to see the weapon unless a fight broke out.

The cultivator smiled and waved at Lin Shao, which just caused his grimace to deepen. To Shao, the man’s flippant attitude was an insult. The cultivator must have viewed mortals like him as insects that could never actually be a threat. At least, that’s what Lin Shao thought.

It was only when the cultivator disappeared into the village that Shao’s anger abated somewhat. He reminded himself that he didn’t buy the iron staff to pick a fight with the cultivator; he just had to keep an eye on the cultivator. The iron staff was only to be used if the cultivator stepped out of line.

In his heart, however, Shao wanted to attack the cultivator. There was no chance that the cultivator came to Bluecrest Village with good intentions. He was just going to subjugate the village and enslave the populace or kill the villagers for some kind of sick entertainment, Lin Shao was sure.

Carrying the iron staff on his shoulder, Shao took a seldom-used pathway back into the village. The pathway would take him directly to the town stables, where the cultivator would no doubt stop.

Long before Shao could reach the stables, he ran into a large crowd of villagers who had come to see the cultivator’s arrival. Nearly a hundred people crowded around the entrance to the village. Clearly, the cultivator’s visit to the village was not as much of a secret as the clan Patriarch would have preferred.

Over the heads of the other villagers, Shao could see the cultivator sitting atop the white horse. Up close, he was struck by the strange clothing the cultivator wore. Shao had never seen that type of coat or that style of robes. The clothing was superficially similar to the Hanfu robes worn by most of the villagers, but there were clearly differences.

As the cultivator dismounted his horse, Lin Shao placed the iron staff on the ground and began shouldering his way through the crowd. He would need to get closer to see what the cultivator would do.

Just as Lin Shao reached the front of the crowd, he saw an old man in his sixties approach the cultivator. This man was Yang Guanyu, the Patriarch of the Yang Clan. Years ago, Shao was told that Patriarch Guanyu saved the entire village during a long winter after a particularly bad harvest. It was said that he traveled out in the snow and came back with a great treasure that was used to buy enough food for the rest of the winter. For that, he was made Patriarch of the Yang Clan, even though Bluecrest Village usually didn’t have a clan leader.

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Patriarch Guanyu bowed deeply and said, “Greetings, honorable Shen Jian of the Shigong Temple. The humble people of Bluecrest Village welcome you. Though they are not worthy of a man of your station, we offer you gifts of our finest silk and jewelry.”

A small parade of villagers dressed in clothing that seemed extremely ostentatious to Lin Shao approached Shen Jian with large wooden cases held out toward him. Inside of one case there were rings, necklaces, and pendants made from jade. In another case was a long length of expertly-woven red silk. The dye alone for the silk would cost more than Shao made for catching the trout. These offerings were far beyond anything a fisherman could afford. In fact, Patriarch Guanyu was probably the only person in the village who could afford such things.

Shen Jian looked around at the crowd of mortals surrounding him, and he smiled. The cultivator seemed entertained, as if he was privy to a joke that only he understood. The expression made Shao want to punch him in the face.

“Your gifts are appreciated, Patriarch Guanyu, but,” as Shen Jian said this, many of those in the crowd winced, and several of the adults near Shao gasped in fear, “I shall not accept them without compensation.”

Shen Jian withdrew a small pouch from a bag on his horse’s saddle before saying, “I will be spending the next few days in Bluecrest. Please take this as payment for your gifts and any provisions I will need over the coming days.”

“You are truly very generous,” Patriarch Guanyu said as a strange emotion that Lin Shao couldn’t quite place crossed his face.

As Shen Jian handed the pouch to Patriarch Guanyu, he leaned in and whispered something in the Patriarch’s ear. Pure terror colored Yang Guanyu’s face for a moment as Shen Jian got close, but it soon transformed into relief. The Patriarch faltered slightly as he almost fell to the ground.

It was only when relief caused Yang Guanyu’s expression to relax that Lin Shao recognized the emotion that was previously on his face. It was fear. Suddenly, Shao recognized that same emotion littered throughout the crowd. Every older person in the crowd, those who were old enough to remember stories of other villagers’ interactions with cultivators, looked terrified. They were trying to create a festive air to welcome the cultivator, but they were terrified of what he would do.

Yang Guanyu looked in the pouch and said, “This is too much. I can’t…”

Holding the palm of his hand toward the Patriarch, Shen Jian said, “Please accept. Gold has little meaning in the Shigong Temple. You can repay me by helping me carry out the test.”

After patting the Patriarch reassuringly on the arm, Shen Jian began walking further into the village. As Shen Jian passed Lin Shao, the cultivator looked him in the eyes, and - for just a moment - his smile took on a predatory air. It was like Shen Jian was a panther looking into the eyes of a rival predator. The moment passed as soon as it came, and Shen Jian soon walked past Lin Shao.

Patriarch Guanyu cleared his throat and, in a loud voice, said, “The honorable Shen Jian will be a guest in my home while he is here. At some point, everyone in the village will need to come to my home, and Shen Jian will test you.”