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Chapter 73 – Yin Xue

In less than an hour, the group had raided and relieved the residence of everything. Along the way, the now freed Wase had alerted an older woman of what had occurred, urging her to have the others to steal and run. Some chose not to, fearing for distant families or hurrying away, to join one of the many clusters of villages. Most, though, took what they could, relieving the kitchen of much of the easily portable stores before they ran.

Yin Xue wandered how far they could get. Most here had no meridians opened, their bodies baseline demonic. As the kid said, running was an option, but the land was open, the wilderness out there was difficult and dangerous. There was a reason why humanity clustered together.

Such incidents were how bandits were made, but when one side had so much greater strength, bandit strongholds that grew too big or attracted attention did not last.

It was a puzzle that Yin Xue was working out himself. Having those here scatter would add to the confusion. Utilizing the flying instrument, he could travel faster than any present, though it was not subtle. There were many techniques that could track his passage unless he suppressed his aura and signature. Unfortunately, while he could do it for himself, the flying instrument and his entourage were another thing entirely.

Leaving them behind was always an option, though having a guide around the realm might be useful.

“Where do you intend to go?” Yin Xue asked Wase.

“Some will return to their villages, hide there. Others might try their luck in the wilderness.” Wase tilted his head to the side, stared at the flying instrument that Yin Xue had extracted. “Without their strongest, it’s possible some might manage to escape. The rahnuma himself is unlikely to bestir himself to hunt us down, though his son might.”

“Might?” Scoffed Vriti. “He hunted people for fun, when he grew bored. You and your people will

“I dare him try,” the young boy said, clutching the spear he had purloined tighter. “I’ll kill him.”

“With that?” Vriti scoffed. “He’ll shoot you from a li away and you’d never reach him.”

“Not if I ambush him.”

“And how’d you do that? Use bait?” The pair started bickering, laying out plans that were growing more elaborate with the moment. The fact that the boy’s gaze had slid sideways to the group of perfumed and smooth-skinned companions was not missed. Yin Xue listened in, idly, but was surprised at how bold blooded the kid was, to consider using the women.

Also, foolish, to think that he might survive the encounter. Or receive gratitude for hanging them out to dry. But that was not Yin Xue’s concern.

“And yourself?” Of them all, it seemed Wase was the most educated. When it came to matters of escape, that might not mean much, but he at least had a broader idea of the world and the abilities of their former leaders. If Yin Xue knew anything about people, it was that Wase likely had spent many nights pondering how best to escape their clutches.

Or wreak havoc on them, if ever given a chance. But the man seemed less like the vengeful type. He fitted the mold of a survivor, one who planned and scraped and bowed, all with the intent of getting through one more day.

“Why do you wish to know?”

“Does it matter?” Yin Xue let a trace of his killing intent leak, pointing it at the other. He quailed, but to to his surprise, the demon did not quail or buckle. In the end, he found himself explaining. “I have need to lie low too. And these are no use.”

“Hey!” Korcan protested. The fact that Vriti and the boy – what was his name? – were still arguing passionately told Yin Xue he might be losing the pair soon.

“With them,” Wase said, nodding to the ladies. “There is a… residence. One that the clan uses, a private place of the rahnuma utilizes, that his son does not know of.” At the look Yin Xue gave him, Wase added. “A place where he sees his mistress.”

“Is that wise?” Korcan asked.

“It is big enough to support enough of us, and will give us a few days, maybe a few weeks or quiet. We can hide from the initial trouble, and then arrange for escape further.”

“Right underneath their noses.” Yin Xue’s smile widened. “I like it. But we will have to hide our tracks.”

“We had plans, but if the Great One is coming…”

Yin Xue sighed, but nodded. He gestured for Wase to go on, and the man was fast and efficient at organizing the matter. Not everyone chose to stay with them, especially when they learnt that he was coming. Some of the others split off, heading away immediately, with Wase requesting that Yin Xue bring up the rear.

They group traveled on foot, having arrived too late to acquire any other form of transportation. What few beasts had already been stolen, saddled and ridden off by their caretakers. As a whole, the group started off, heading away from the mansion complex. Not daring to stop at the nearby town or any other place of major civilization.

There was no safety in the city, not for a group this big. Not when Yin Xue himself looked so dissimilar, an outstanding demon amongst a group of commoners. Nor did he wish to interact with them as well, for there was much to study and learn.

Lastly, before they left, Vriti made sure to set fire to the building itself. One last gesture of defiance for a place that had once contained her. Korcan and the boy had rushed around, dumping lamp oil all across the building – their fuel source the fat of the very creatures they farmed – before hurrying to join the group.

Rather than just destroy tracks for a single person or group, Yin Xue raised the earth over the entirety of the surroundings. It churned and swallowed the tracks, destroying the roadways back and around the mansion for a li in every direction. A small distraction, perhaps, but they were all small distractions in the end.

Enough, perhaps, to let his small band of rebels to hide. At least until he knew more of this land, and his options for escape.