Sun Yunso settled into the lead carriage, he gently closed his eyes, letting the sounds around him grow faint.
He took a deep, silent breath, feeling the world slow down, its noise and chaos receding into the distance.
The stillness was almost palpable, a sense of calm washing over him like a soothing balm.
Lei Mei blinked in confusion.
“…Sun Yunso?”
His breathing became calm and steady as he focused entirely on the sounds outside.
A strange, unseen energy emanated from him, sweeping quietly over the battlefield, and in that instant, everything seemed to fall into place.
“…”
His eyebrows narrowed ever so slightly.
He noticed them, standing out among the crowd of bandits, three individuals who seemed different from the others.
Their Seidan, was much stronger and more refined than what he normally saw in people.
“Three cultivators.”
Lei Shun looked at him in surprise.
“What do you mean by that?
”
Sun Yunso’s eyes slowly came to life, the colorless orbs flickering open as he reached down to rest a hand on the hilt of the sword that hung at his side, a habitual gesture that spoke of a deep-seated readiness, a sense of always being prepared for what might come next.
The ordinary thieves didn’t pose the real danger, it was those three that did, and with that, he swung open the carriage door without saying another word.
Lei Mei instinctively reached out.
“W-Wait!”
Sun Yunso stepped onto the snow-covered road.
His black robes swayed gently in the winter breeze as his calm gaze swept across the battlefield.
“Don’t worry, this won’t take long.”
The fighting around him continued without pause.
None of the bandits realized another swordsman had entered the battlefield.
Lei Shun stood there, quietly observing as Sun Yunso entered the battlefield, a small, subtle smile creeping onto his face.
It seems like things are finally making sense now.
My gut feeling was right all along.
He got out of the carriage too, and he kept looking at the young man with the sword.
“So he’s a cultivator.”
Lei Shun stayed calm, not like his sister, and watched quietly, wanting to know just how good the young man really was.
He didn’t panic, but instead, he observed the situation carefully, trying to figure out what the young man was capable of doing.
He made no attempt to rush.
His hand rested lightly on the sheathed sword hanging from his waist as he followed the presence he had sensed moments earlier.
The clash of swords and the cries of the wounded slowly disappeared into the distance, but he didn’t notice, his attention completely absorbed by the three mysterious figures blended in with the bandits, their presence seeming almost surreal amidst the chaos.
Before long ne stopped.
A short distance away, a figure stood, anticipating his arrival.
The man, with a hint of mischief in his expression, wore a self-assured smile, exuding an air of confidence that was hard to ignore.
“I wasn’t expecting to see someone like us watching over those caravans, but now I’m wondering, where’s the other one?”
Sun Yunso looked at him without changing expression.
“…Other one?”
The bandit frowned.
“Don’t tell me.
It’s just you?”
Sun Yunso didn’t really get what the man was saying, and to be honest, he wasn’t interested enough to even ask him to explain.
The bandit clicked his tongue and turned his head slightly.
“Oi, you can come out now.”
As another figure emerged from behind the tree, it became clear that he was a different man altogether.
This one stood out because he had a pair of curved blades attached to his waist, a notable contrast to the first man.
His eyes met Sun Yunso’s, and he let out a sigh that seemed to convey his disappointment.
“So this is the other one?
I thought he’d be stronger.”
The two men slowly spread apart.
One moved to Yunso’s left and the other circled to his right.
Without realizing it Sun Yunso had been surrounded.
“So, you guys are resorting to teaming up on me instead of taking me on one on one?”
“Honestly, we don’t really care about doing the right thing.
We’re only in it for the money, that’s all that matters.”
“Is that so?
No one moved because they all waited for the first strike.
The two bandits slowly closed in from either side but neither rushed.
Both waited for the slightest opening.
Sun Yunso lowered his head slightly.
His hand rested calmly on the hilt of his sword.
“May your souls descend into the deepest depths of hell.”
The two bandits frowned.
“…What?”
“What did he just say?”
In that fleeting moment, their focus slipped, and Sun Yunso seized the opportunity.
With a gentle touch, his thumb pressed against the guard, and the blade glided smoothly out of its resting place.
Shing.
“Ashen River Sword…Silent Current.”
The two bandits attacked at the exact same moment.
Clang!
Sun Yunso’s blade intercepted both weapons in a single motion.
Before either man could react his sword changed direction.
It was so quiet that the two bandits didn’t even notice they had been hurt until it was too late, the blade had done its job without making a sound.
They stood motionless.
“Huh?”
A faint mark showed up on the necks of both of them, a thin line that seemed to appear out of nowhere.
Their eyes widened.
Blood splattered across the snow as their bodies crumpled to the ground, falling almost at the same time.
Sun Yunso gave his blade a quick flick, sending the blood flying off its edge.
In one smooth movement, he slid the sword back into its sheath.
He didn’t even bother to look back at the bodies, just kept walking towards the last cultivator.
Lei Shun was filled with amusement.
After witnessing what Sun Yunso had done, he was certain that the supposed guard that his younger sister had hired was actually a cultivator like him.
He placed his hand on his mouth, still amazed.
“Okay then, I think I should also show that I’m also like him as well.”