Yin Hu tried his best to keep that stoic ancestor look he’d been working on the entire way here. It was getting harder and harder. His face felt stiff and jaws ached at his expression. He wanted to scream and run like a headless chicken but that would be counter to his current persona.

He was an ancient master. The Ancestor of a once mighty family. These peasants–with deadly spears that could poke through him faster than he could probably catch with his eyes–were insects beneath his glory! With a wave they would all cease to exist if he so chooses.

Aren’t they lucky he was so kind…

Yin Hu hid his hands behind his back in the ultimate hidden monster pose. The long sleeves hid his palms as they shook.

Shit

He was so close to dying.

“Shu-Shu. Come with me.” The lady grabbed Hu Shui’s hand and started to pull her away from the fuming guards. She appeared like a ghost and easily disarmed them. It was quick moments of grace and elegance he didn’t think possible.

She even ended with a ballerina pose.

Hu Shui pulled her arm away. “No!” She ran to him, unwilling to let go of his hand.

The same hand he tried to hide.

“Xinyi! Don't you see? He…” She pointed with a knowing look. Hu Xinyi just looked bewildered. Hu Shui sighed and ran up to her, whispering into her ear.

Yin Hu watched Hu Xinyi’s face morph from confusion to unadulterated rage. He knew at that moment he done messed up. That girl, probably in her late teens, early twenties, turned into a whistling kettle. He could see smoke rise from the top of her head.

“Yes.” She said dangerously. “Our Ancestor should follow us.”

Hu Shui clapped happily unaware of the danger she had just thrown them into. She grabbed his hand and dragged him past the guard. They were unwilling to have the ire of an already enraged and dangerous Hu Xinyi targeted at them.

Especially without weapons.

They walked into the town, Yin Hu making sure to memorize the way they came as an escape route. Right, right, left, right, left, right, right, left, left, right.

That was his mantra for the foreseeable future. He would need to escape as soon as possible before Hu Xinyi slit his throat. The monster walked before him, every step harsh and promising endless pain. If his hearing was to be believed, she even breathed in like a raging bull.

But that could be his imagination.

Eventually, they reached a small house that was in better condition than the surrounding buildings. A wall a person's height gave it a sense of privacy even if one could peer over it if they stood on their toes.

Hu Shui rushed in like a hurricane. Kicked the gate open and blasted through the courtyard and around a small tree surrounded by large stones. On the other hand, Hu Xinyi waved him in, her glare never lessening.

If looks could kill, he would have been tortured and skinned alive before she cut him to a million pieces. He gulped and walked in, still attempting to keep his ongoing persona. Every step was harder than the rest, until he reached the adolescent tree. Yin Hu tried to look like he was contemplating life in hopes Xinyi would leave him alone.

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Instead, she leaned back onto the wall and stared at him the entire time. She was waiting for something.

Hu Shui rushed out, having changed into another set of dusty robes that had seen better days. She twirled around him.

“Shu-Shu!” Hu Xinyi called. “Take this and buy some bread and vegetables. We will need to feed a guest.”

Hu Shui grabbed the coins and rushed out as quick as she had arrived. Not once questioning Xinyi. Yin Hu, on the other hand, gulped.

Xinyi walked towards him, Yin hu did not look back intently focused on the tree. He could feel her behind him just waiting. “You recognized the family's great tree. An offshoot, but still part of its once mighty form. The stories say you planted it with your own hands and blessed the land it grew on with a mana pool.”

Yin Hu nodded sagely.

…good enough! Make assumptions!

He knew the less he spoke, the better the situation as they made their own conclusions. But that didn’t explain the sheer wrath he felt coming from behind him. Was she testing him…

Xinyi laughed derisively. “That land is now a barren desert. Destroyed.” Her voice was getting louder. “Everyone… The entire Hu family is gone! Our homes were burned to the ground and the land salted!”

What the hell was he supposed to say? He wasn’t their ancestor? She’d kill him in seconds!

“Why don’t you say something?!” Xinyi screamed.

He turned around to give her a far off look, but was caught off guard. She was crying. Her face was still morphed in anger, but streams of tears trailed down her cheeks and dripped.

She jabbed him in the chest with a finger. “Where were you when my mother died?! Where were you when the clan elders and the patriarch all sacrificed their lives to reach you?! Why didn’t you answer their plea of help?!” Xinyi sobbed. Her voice was getting weaker until it was nothing but a whisper. “Where were you when we needed you?”

Yin Hu looked away. The emotions were too raw and untainted. He felt aching in his chest, but also a growing discomfort witnessing something that was meant for someone else. It was a private conversation he had no stake in.

She fell to her knees, quite similar to Hu Shui not too long ago, and cried. He tried to take a step back instinctively, but she grabbed the bottom hem of his robes. Xinyi looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears.

He wasn’t so sure she could see him other than a blurry figure.

“Don’t…” her voice was desperate. “Don’t leave us. Please stay with us, keep us safe. These people, they want to hurt us. I notice their evil looks, only fear of the Bandit Lord keeps them away. I.. I don’t want to be his…”

Yin Hu grit his teeth and placed a hand on her head. It made some sense, her facade of confidence was to keep wolves and pariahs away. But it was just too much pressure for a kid. He couldn’t imagine the stress she had to go through everyday struggling to get enough to eat, protect Hu Shui, and then protect herself.

They were laying the emotions on him thick. He knew his plan to just run away had gone awry. The Hu family was illustrious, maybe he could use their past to set himself up. But at the same time, they were destroyed. He had to watch his back for enemies.

All of this was just too much. He wasn’t some ancient super cultivator. There were no fireballs and no tornados. No earth shattering strength or qi powered cultivation technique he could use to destroy enemies.

But he did have a strength. An advantage over everyone else in this entire world.

He had eons and eons of rewards given to him by the system. Maybe he couldn’t unlock the power itself, but he had access to a shit tonne of wealth, world shaking weapons, cultivation techniques, and cultivation manuscripts. They were useless to him, mostly, but for others around him they would be miraculous.

All the Dragonslaying this, World ending that, and universe devouring those were primed to be gifted. It would only increase people's loyalty. He also recognized that it was easier to be loyal to an ideal or a larger structure than it was to a single person.

Yin Hu had to use that loyalty to the Hu family to get subordinates that would sacrifice their lives to keep him safe. Just like how the clan had literally thrown themselves into a sacrificial ritual just to reach their ancestor.

And if that ancestor appeared… Well, hopefully by then he would already be established enough to counter or buy enough time to run away.

“I’ll be right here. I won’t leave.”