Escaping Fate

by Tinalynge

  Having finished one game, the beautiful woman went towards the betting area to collect her winnings. She bet on another game when her eyes were caught by the letters spelling out Xu Min’s name. The name rung out through her memory and the figure of a quite young but very mysterious person appeared in her mind. Looking at the arena he was about to fight in, Yong Meilin stared and her eyes narrowed as she instantly recognized the young man clad in black.

  “I wish to bet all of this on Xu Min,” she said to the broker and handed over all her winnings from the previous rounds. As to why she was certain of his victory she did not know, but from deep inside, it felt as though she was certain that he would not lose.

  It was still some time before it was Xu Min’s turn to battle. He too narrowed his eyes as he saw how Yong Meilin was on her way towards him. She had ditched her group of men who were all courting her to meet up with the young man. Xu Min could already feel a headache coming his way.

  “Master Xu, I never expected to see you around here,” Yong Meilin said with her clear and beautiful voice. She reminded Xu Min of a clear summer sky with no clouds in sight. She was as bright as the sun that shone its light upon the world and enlightened all with its warmth.

  Xu Min was not the only one who heard the alluring voice. Everyone around him heard it too. Any Warrior of Rank Five or above heard it as their senses sharpened through countless battles and years of training.

  Being greeted like this from Yong Meilin caused many of the surrounding men to look at this young Master Xu. They all gave anything but friendly glances towards his way. Even Warriors of the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Rank were glaring at him and waited to see how he would respond.

  Looking at all of them, Xu Min could not help but snort in contempt. Although Yong Meilin was incredibly beautiful, her personality was still lacking. Xu Min was in a foul mood for having been noticed by her.

  “Well if it isn’t Lady Yong,” he said with a smile plastered on his face. “I never thought I would see you here,” he continued. His eyes darkened slightly and his smile changed from a gentle smile to a snicker. “I have to thank you for last night. It truly was exquisite. You took so much time out of your busy schedule just to please me. I’ve never been as filled with energy as I am now. I only have you to thank for this miraculous transformation within my body.”

  Every word he said was said with a clear voice; however, he never spoke too loudly. He didn’t need to speak loudly as everyone could strain their hearing to hear his words. The words he spoke boomed in the ears of the ultimate experts. Even Yong Meilin was beet red in her face as she heard the words he had spoken. Who would have imagined that he would have said words like these.

  Chapter 29 - Punishment

  Three of the Five-Star Warriors within the hall stood up and started walking towards Xu Min while everyone around him had stepped backwards. All of their faces were filled with admiration, jealousy, and complete shock.

  Yong Meilin was standing there right next to Xu Min. Her intention had just been to tease him, but hearing the words spoken from the young boy, how could she? It would just make what he said even more real. Although he had not lied, he had indeed chosen some wrong words and caused her cheeks to flush even further. Xu Min’s intention was to scare her away and currently he seemed to be successful in his endeavour.

  It was impossible for her to reject what he had said, so she just stood there next to him with a flushed face and downcast eyes. She dared not to look at anyone around them. Anyone who looked at her would see that she was not rejecting what he said.

  “You!” A voice suddenly boomed out from within the hall. A large man stood up from the seats of the champions. These seats were reserved for those who had managed to consecutively win a hundred times. He took large strides towards Xu Min and Yong Meilin. However, just as he was about to touch Xu Min, a green light flashed towards the man and then back to Xu Min’s neck.

  Two seconds later, a gurgling sound could be heard. The large man had blood and foam falling from his mouth while his hands clutched his neck. Another two seconds went by and the man collapsed on the floor with his eyes open and devoid of all life.

  Seeing this, the entire arena was silent. The man was a Four-Star Warrior and had won his hundred battles in the arena. He was known to be the strongest of all the Four-Star Warriors, but here he was dead on the floor. He was seemingly killed by a One-Star Warrior who didn’t break a sweat.

  ‘Cheers, Cao Cao,’ Xu Min thought. ‘I’ll make sure to get you all your favourites tonight,’

  ‘No worries,’ the snake replied, ‘I loved what you said to that woman. She deserves it with the way she swaggered around with those hips of hers. Humph humph, you did well. I am proud of you!’

  Hearing this, Xu Min could not help but chuckle. The chuckling seemed a bit odd because he had just killed someone who was far stronger than he himself was.

  “You there!” Another yell sounded out; however, this time it was not a Warrior but instead a guard.

  “What do you think you are doing? Killing members of this arena without inside is a penalty. This makes it impossible for you to participate in any arena matches for the next month unless someone challenges you!” the man said with a heavy voice. Xu Min rose an eyebrow in surprise. He had expected some kind of punishment; however, he thought that this was too lenient.

  “Well... In that case, I have nothing to do here any longer,” he sighed as he turned around to get ready to go back to his inn. As he left Yong Meilin’s side, a group of cultivators surrounded him. All of them stared at him with jealousy and hate in their eyes as they cracked knuckles, and showed no signs of letting him go.

  The experts that had surrounded him were all One-Star and Two-Star Warriors. None of the higher ranked Warriors wished to participate in the battle. The speed of the attack that had killed the Four-Star Warrior had been so swift that they had not even been capable of seeing it. This warned them that they too would die if he could use the same attack once more.

  ‘You know, it's striking me how disliked you really are,’ Cao Cao said with a teasing voice. ‘Your hometown has given a bounty for killing you. The people we met within the forest were quite keen on killing you. Now, all these guys want to kill you too.’

  ‘Oh f**k it,’ Xu Min said back. ‘I feed you lots of food so you deal with the highest ranked of them. I’ll deal with the lower ranked ones.’

  As soon as Xu Min had said the final sentence, he stomped the ground hard. By borrowing the force of the impact, he shot towards the first One-Star Warrior. He grabbed him around the collar and he lifted him up only to smash his head down into the floor. A cracking sound could be heard as the skull caved inwards and blood started to stream on the ground.

  As soon as the first person had died, the trance that had been around the remaining cultivators instantly vanished. Soon, they started fighting for their lives.

  Xu Min was feeling terrific. He had been filled with pent-up energy from the medicinal pill; however, he was now capable of finally letting it go and used it to sharpen his senses. He jumped away from them all and entered the Radiant Jade Shower Stance. Suddenly, thousands of jade shards appeared behind him. As his hand stretched out and clenched, the numerous shards shot forward with the speed of light. They buried themselves inside the bodies of his opponents and caused multiple wounds.

  While they were wounded, Xu Min once more stomped on the ground and shot toward two One-Star Warriors. He caught them around the collar and smashed the two against the ground.

  While he was busy dealing with the lower ranked Warriors, a green flash could be seen moving from one of the high ranked expert to the next. Everywhere the green flash went, death would follow. No matter how much the experts of the fifth rank and above tried to catch a glimpse of the green flash, it did not help much.

  Soon, everyone who had been there to hold Xu Min back had now died. Now, he looked towards the guard who had been there before. He sighed, “Is it accumulative or can
I return within the next month?”

  The guard was completely stunned, but he eventually stuttered that one month was all. He could return after then.

  Hearing this, Xu Min nodded politely towards the man and winked at Yong Meilin who glared at him. Even though she was glaring, her face had become increasingly hot once more. This made her seem more adorable than ever before.

  Suddenly, the woman came to her senses and instantly rushed after the young man who was about to leave the hall. Her face was still red and her breathing was somewhat ragged, but she was still quick in catching up to the young man. She grabbed his hand and dragged him with her out of the arena hall.

  As soon as they entered the darkness outside, Xu Min had planned on dragging his hand back. However, he suddenly felt an immense sense of danger and instantly dodged an attack. He saw three experts appearing behind him and Yong Meilin.

  ‘We might be in for some real trouble now,’ Cao Cao said with a quiet voice. His body was once more camouflaged against Xu Min’s neck. When even the snake said that they were likely to be beaten, it was not a good sign.

  Xu Min’s face turned grim, his eyes turned dark, and his body became alert. His senses were sharpened as he observed the three men in front of him. Just as he was about to estimate their strength, Yong Meilin waved her hand and four experts appeared from around the area. All of them stood in front of the beautiful woman and Xu Min.

  “Oh my, Xiao Lei, Han Shi, and Wu Weisheng, what are the three of you doing here?” Yong Meilin asked with her most alluring voice. Her personality turned back to that of a vixen as her act made Xu Min roll his eyes at her. However, he said nothing and just looked at what was happening around him. He stayed vigilant albeit feeling that the danger had passed.

  The four experts that had appeared out of nowhere were clearly protecting Yong Meilin. For some reason that Xu Min was incapable of truly understanding, the woman seemed to protect him for some unknown reason.

  Yong Meilin was indeed planning something as her face was adorned by a sly smile. She quickly grabbed Xu Min’s hand and glared at the three men in front of her. All three were stunned by this sudden display of affection, even Xu Min was slightly taken aback.

  “For what reason are you following behind us and even ambushing my good friend? Had he not jumped to the side, he would have died by now!” Yong Meilin said with an indignant voice.

  The three men were all stunned from hearing her words. Everything they saw seemed to make the words spoken by Yong Meilin even easier to be misunderstood.

  Many other experts had exited the arena hall and observed what was happening. Xu Min was just following the flow and allowed Yong Meilin to drag him around, hold his hand, and play a worried friend.

  The four experts who were protecting Yong Meilin were all glaring at Xu Min. In addition, the entire male body that was standing behind her waited to see what would happen afterwards.

  Sighing deeply, Xu Min was about to drag his hand back and get ready to go back to the inn. However, the woman squeezed his hand and held him back. The whole misunderstanding was started by Xu Min himself. So, he decided to see it through as he appeared to be carelessly observing anything happening around him as though it had nothing to do with him.

  To be honest, he was quite confident in his ability to survive. Even if Cao Cao was incapable of killing these high ranked experts, the two of them together should be able to run away from the danger. It was highly likely than they would all underestimate him. None of them were capable of understanding how a One-Star Warrior could have the physique of a Two-Star Warrior.

  Although he had understood that he could run away, he eventually came to the conclusion that it was not needed. Finally, the crowd vanished and allowed for Xu Min to stand alone with Yong Meilin. The two stared at each other as though they were battling purely on their will alone.

  Both of them did not speak for a long time. They just stood there looking at one another. Finally, after a long time, a sigh broke the silence as Yong Meilin finally looked away.

  “Come with me to the Alluring Treasure Pavilion and stay with us for a short while,” she said with a self-mocking smile. “You will be wanted by a lot of jealous men, so let me help you to a safe location.”

  Hearing this, Xu Min considered the offer for a moment. He pondered slightly before he nodding his head and accepting the offer. Although he could escape, he had no interest in living on the run anymore. So, he smirked as he followed behind the beautiful woman because he felt the multiple gazes hidden in the shadows directed at him but acted as though he felt nothing. Xu Min vanished within the beautiful Alluring Treasure Pavilion. He was enjoying himself as he was once more looking at the very beautiful woman in front of him.

  Staying within this Alluring Treasure Pavilion, Xu Min could only smile. It seemed as though he had found a good location to hide while he increased his cultivation base.

  Chapter 30 - The Yong Family

  Following behind Yong Meilin, Xu Min looked around at his surroundings. The beautiful woman had dragged him by the hand through the pavilion. They travelled through the building in the back and finally to an area located behind the building. This was an area where a great deal of small houses were situated. All of them had small courtyards outside and guards were patrolling the area.

  “This is the humble abode of the Yong Clan,” Yong Meilin said as she still held Xu Min by his hand. She led him further into the maze of streets and alleys towards a small one story house where she finally let go of his hand.

  “You can stay here for now,” she said with her gentle voice. With a flick of her hand, a set of keys appeared from the pouch which hung around her waist. Seeing the curious look on Xu Min’s face, Yong Meilin could not help but chuckle slightly. She felt very satisfied with herself for having something that caused the young man to be interested.

  Yong Meilin was as old as Xu Min. However, she seemed much more mature as she had grown up within a family of merchants. She had learnt during her childhood that the more mysterious you were, the more attractive you could become and the better you would do. Yet, here was a man who had appeared to be unaffected by her. Somehow, he had triggered an interest from the beautiful woman.

  Seeing that Yong Meiling was deep in thought, Xu Min looked at the keys in his hands. He quickly entered the building and found a place where he could sit down and meditate. He had to find a way to let go of all the overflowing energy from when he ate a medicinal pill.

  Xu Min was unaware about what determined the capacity of the energy from the medicinal pill he had been absorbed. The energy floated through the meridians and veins within the body. It was the strength of the body that determined how much extra energy it would be able to handle. Someone who had trained his body from the day he was born had a great advantage over the young masters who had never before trained their bodies.

  This was also the reason why the young master of the Zhong family had been capable of keeping up with Xu Min. He had undergone the same physical training as the servants to become strong. His body was well nurtured and looked after by the Zhong family.

  Having such a strong body and eating medicinal herbs allowed for a stronger effect. This was the same feeling that Xu Min was experiencing now.

  Having found the building that was filled with Arenas, Xu Min felt slightly disappointment that he could not go there again for a full month. However, he had already waited this long so enduring for one more month was doable.

  Thinking like this, Xu Min sat down on a bed that was inside the house. He closed his eyes as he started cultivating. The snake around his neck slithered down and placed itself within his lap where it once more coiled into a round circle. Its eyelids closed which allowed for the small snake to fall into a deep sleep.

  ….

  “Little Meilin, I heard some crude gossip about you from the Hall of Champions,” an elderly man said as he looked at the beautiful woman who was standing right in front of him.

  “Grandpa
, it’s the young man whom I’ve relocated over to our own guest wing.” she started. Her voice had none of the usual haughtiness or arrogance. Her entire personality was incredibly respectful towards the elder.

  “He is the one who has provided both of the Yearning Sunflowers and I am of the impression that he possesses even more legendary herbs. Not only that, he managed to kill the first champion of the Four-Star Warriors without moving. Later on, I was sure the attack he used was the legendary Falling Night Sky.”

  Hearing these words, the elderly man narrowed his eyes and looked at the girl. He was determining whether or not she was lying. As he saw that she was completely honest with him, the elderly man could not help but sigh.

  “The medicinal herbs I can understand. He must have come across a patch of good fortune on his way towards this city. As for killing the first of the fourth champions, he must possess some treasure which allows for him to kill opponents that are stronger than him. However, I imagine that it only works once or twice and that he too must pay a great price in order to use it. As for the Falling Night Sky, I refuse to believe it. It must have been a cheap trick. There is only one person who can execute the Fallen Night Sky and he had died millenias ago.”