"You really thought that you could get away, did you!?" A youth openly laughs. Large quantities of wood Qi gather in his fist. The green energy folds and compresses, gradually gaining more and more strength.

Until…

With a punch, all of it is released right into the gut of an outer disciple. The aforementioned disciple is sent flying through the grounds of the residential area as a result.

"Hah hah hah!" A second youth laughs out loud at the sight. "Great hit, Brother Xiao."

"Thank you! Thank you! I strive only for the best of performances." Brother Xiao 'politely' bows to his junior. "But we're not finished yet. Come on, let's go teach that wet dog a lesson." A malicious smile crosses the disciple's features. He'd sent his opponent flying with such a wicked speed that the protective inscriptions on one of the cultivation huts had lit up from the resulting impact.

The earth under Xiao's feet trembles as he leaps high off the ground. Even more of the green energy coalesces into his fist as he prepares to strike once more.

*Bang!*

The sound of impact echoes through the air as Xiao drop-punches his opponent. Grass and dirt are thrown into the air as the intended target of the attack manages to swerve to the side at the very final moment.

"Ooooh, dodging is it? What happened to all that bravery of yours, Haruki? Weren't you going to put me in my place Huh!?" Xiao kicks the still disoriented outer disciple in the jaw, knocking him out.

"Hmph!" He snorts out in open disdain before turning to his junior. "Hold him up." He imperiously says while enforcing the coating of Qi on his arms. "Let's see if he can sleep through this."

Brother Xiao begins hammering Haruki's body with blows. "That's what you get for your insolence! Did you think that we were gonna let you go when you disrespected us so openly?" He shouts. The legs, the abdomen, the face. Not one segment of the unfortunate disciple's body is spared from his onslaught. It does not take long for Haruki to wake up from his blunt force trauma induced sleep.

Red blood floods out from the disciple's mouth as he tries to struggle free. The junior's grip however is too strong for him to escape.

"Oh? What was that?" Xiao ceases his beating for a moment, sticking his ear out provocatively instead. "Is this an apology that I hear? A pleading to be let go?"

"Bugheeh!" Even more blood spurts out of Haruki's mouth.

"Hmm, I don't know. You're kind of hard to understand." Xiao presses a fist against his chin, giving off the appearance as if he's deep in contemplation. His eyes move to his junior. "What do you think? Believe he's learned his lesson?"

"Not at all, Senior Brother. Look at him, he's still standing up on both legs instead of properly kowtowing" The junior tightens his grip on Haruki's arms as he speaks "He still has much to learn."

Xiao laughs manically. "You are quite right" He throws another punch, one that directly strikes Haruki's face and causes his upper lip to split.

And so the beating proceeds.

Haruki is kicked.

Punched.

Thrown to the ground and stomped on.

Teeth are sent flying and ribs are broken.

Finally, after several minutes…

“Ptui!” “Ptui!”

The duo spits on him.

“Best regards, you slug for brains!” Xiao calls out as he turns to leave, more than satisfied with his work. His junior naturally copies him, biting out with his own condescending remark before following after Xiao.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

…

“Let’s go and buy something to drink!”

“But Senior Brother, sister Hirana wished to speak to you.”

“Oh right, I’d forgotten about that…”

The duo’s idle chatter is the last thing Haruki hears before fading into unconsciousness. His fingers grasp onto the grass.

‘I will… remember you. Xiao…’

==========================

The unmistakable click of a door being unlocked resounds. It originates from Kenki's hut - the hut that had been struck by Haruki's flying body.

“You think it’s a good idea to come out?” Kenki hears Naoe’s whisper as the door creaks open. She’s in the middle of comforting her easily frightened servant, trying to prevent him from crying.

“Well, I’m just getting a real sense of Deja Vu here. And I’m fairly certain that the people responsible for the commotion are gone.”

“A Deja what?” Naoe inquires, a question mark floating above her head.

Kenki frowns “It’s a saying from my village, I’ll explain it later. But in any case you should remain here, unlike you I actually have the protection of a core disciple.”

The girl shrugs her shoulders. “Just make sure not to shove your nose too much into other people’s business.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He doesn’t need to be told that.

‘I have something else on my mind though… what are the odds that I would bear witness to something like this twice in such a short amount of time’ The young cultivator thinks to himself. He’d overheard the ‘conversation’ that had occurred right at his doorstep. One part of his mind merely thinks that it is just the standard Xianxia dialogue - the overbearing attitude of this so-called Xiao would have fit almost perfectly on any character in the setting, easily offended and prone to violence.

The other more calculative side of his mind on the other hand…

‘This reminds me of how crime syndicates operate. And why do crime syndicates form…?’ The boy shakes the thoughts away. He’s jumping to conclusions now.

He locks the door as soon as he leaves.

A quick survey of the surroundings shows Kenki that there is nobody in sight - no cultivators and no servants. The ones responsible for the commotion are nowhere to be found.

“Hmm…” He lighty hugs the wall nevertheless, applying at least a tiny amount of stealth. He casually approaches the corner before taking a peek at where the sounds had originated from.

*whistle*

What he sees is shocking. So much so that he cannot help but exclaim with a whistle.

‘Homeboy looks like he’s got a bunch of prunes glued to his face, damn. Doesn’t the the body require some time before it swells up to this ridiculous of a degree?’ The frown crossing Kenki’s face deepens.

‘Should I drag him over to the medical pavilion?’ With steady steps he approaches the mutilated body.

“Well, they sure messed you up didn’t they?” Kenki calls out with a clearly audible voice, trying to get the outer disciple’s attention. Though, as he expected, there is no response.

‘Unconscious, figures. He’s still flaring out his aura despite that - its power is somewhere in the fourth realm, same as me' Ken presses two fingers against the neck of the disciple. ‘Heart is still beating but I don’t really have the medical knowhow to be aware for how much longer.’ Ken’s Eyes travel to the bruised abdomen hidden behind the torn up robes.

‘Internal bleeding is purely evident, I know what that looks like at least. And his organs should be fairly messed up too’

“...”

For a brief moment Kenki contemplates his options. Why beat this disciple up to such a savage degree? Is he even capable of surviving such injuries? A normal human being would be dead within the hour, but a cultivator? Would there be any consequences if he helps?

Kenki shakes his head.

‘Might as well, Naoe can wait inside for a bit.’ He finally decides, the exact opposite of his decision from the day before. Has the protective hair clip given him a boost in confidence? Knowing that his master Rinako Suzuki has his back?

Ken scoops up the battered disciple with his arms, getting him into a princess carry.

“Let’s go get you some help buddy.”

===============

The medical pavilion of the Verdant Sword sect, often mistaken for the alchemy pavilion due to the fact that the disciplines quite often intersect. Both pavilions occupying the same plot of land in the sect does not help in differentiating them from one another.

Heads turn to the auburn haired disciple sprinting through the grounds, some watch on with curiosity, some return to their tasks after merely a glance.

…

"It seems like someone got his skull kicked in." A disciple in charge of overseeing the medical ward comments, his voice bouncing pleasantly over the walls of the large room he's situated in. His friend leans over to check the sight through the window, humming with interest.

"Fourth realmers, eh? I bet five coins that they got attacked by a beast too strong for them."

"Oh yeah?" The first disciple smiles with a toothy grin "I bet you ten coins that the cause is more human in nature."

"Geh." The second disciple chokes "I'd like to rescind my bet."

"Heh. No conviction at all. That doesn't speak well of your character, you know."

"Oh come on!" The second disciple raises his hands in protest "You of all people should know how crazy the outer sect has become. So many newbies have been inducted into the sect, they're really upsetting the delicate balance we have here." The disciple shakes his head, turning to look at the sterile room they're inside.

Dozens of beds stand there - some empty, some occupied. A pang of fear crosses his features when he lays his eyes on yesterday's victims.

A group of four. Apparently they'd tried to settle 'unpaid debts' in the middle of the Emerald Forest exam and caught the examiner's ire.

The results are… far from pretty. All of them are somehow expected to make a full recovery but one wouldn't know that just by looking at their state. They look more like ground up meat than a human being.

"Aye… A lot of chaos has begun to brew because of the war, and the higher stage cultivators are too busy to care about us" the first disciple comments with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Come on, let's go and prepare to receive another patient." He sends another glance at the long-haired disciple outside, he is speaking with one of the servants, presumably asking for directions. "We'll have some work cut out for us once that little brother is done waffling around and actually finds where the medical ward is."