There were three of them gathered around her. They looked like average bland bullies, with squarish faces and eyes a little too close together.
Wearing identical robes with red lining and a flame motif on their backs.
I didn't recognise it.
Their leader was slouching in a chair with his back to the wall and a look of arrogant amusement on his face. His long hair was pulled back into a slender tail and he had the look of a man who understood the power of parental influence.
His leg was up, one foot on a cushion, and he beckoned to young Metta. "I told you to sit with me," he purred. "You should do what I say. Don't you know who I am? I am Merald Fing, son of the Arms Master of the Fire Plum Sect. You should be proud to serve me."
So, I was right about the parental influence.
I shook my head sadly. Such trash seldom rose far with their cultivation. They would always fall short of their parents no matter how many pills were stuffed between the pouches of their cheeks.
Even a squirrel can't swallow all their nuts.
Two of the bullies held an arm each, as though Metta was some kind of super-cultivator instead of a serving wench. Clearly these men had deep problems with their cultivation which caused them to feel insecure. This lack of personal power often caused them to group together and bully the weak.
The third, demonstrating more cowardice than all of them, stood directly behind the frightened girl and gripped her by the scruff of her collar. He couldn't even stand in front of his victim as he was obviously deeply afraid.
Or ashamed.
Either way, he was weak.
They were all weak.
The girl let out a little peep of fright. "Sir, please! I am not worthy. I am just a poor serving girl…"
"Oh, I never said you were worthy enough for more than a quick tumble on the table," he said, patting the seat beside himself. "Come. Sit with me. I wish to see if your plump peaches are as firm and sweet as they appear!"
The three bullies guffawed as though the young man had made the greatest of jokes. Then they pushed her toward the table while she tried to dig her heels in.
"No, please! I am a maiden!"
"Not for much longer," the bully behind her snorted.
"Be a good girl," one of them told her. "Big Brother is a big man."
I doubted that.
"He will treat you like a woman," the last guffawed like a donkey. His face was long like one, too. "Big Brother is always gentle with ladies!"
She struggled harder. "No! I don't want!"
"Stop fighting, you trashy cow," the one at her rear hissed as he pushed her down to her knees. "You should be happy Big Brother even looked at you. Now, bow to him and tell him how happy you are!"
"Bow!" The other two cackled in unison. They'd clearly practiced this. "Bow down!"
"Look, Big Brother," the rear cried. "She is already on her knees for you!"
"You swept her off her feet, Big Brother!"
"Stop," she sobbed, trying to wriggle loose. "Please! Why do you do this?"
The one at her rear shoved her down further, pushing her head to the ground. "Be obedient!"
"Kile," the arrogant leader said, his voice tinted with cruel humour. "You don't know how to treat a lady of her stature. You need to be gentle if you want her to be obedient. You don't need to beat her like that. Just tell her you will kill her father and humiliate her mother, and she will be most compliant. Isn't that right, little girl?"
"Why? What did I do to deserve this?"
The young woman trembled as she was held down by three cultivators. Her fingers had formed helpless little fists which were pressed into the ground by the weight of the three men.
I saw a tear drop from her cheeks to splash to the ground.
The light, captured by the falling water, glinted as though caught off the edge of a blade.
I felt a brief moment of minor comprehension as I realised that violence was as constant as the ocean's waves in a world which was not captured within the cosmic glass of entropy.
My inner sea paused for a moment to consider this realisation.
Then the waves churned as I rose to my feet.
"Bullies," I sighed with disappointment as I stepped up behind them. "They are the same all over the world. Violence is simply a colour of motion. Thank you for this lesson, brothers. I shall treasure it."
Everyone held their breath until the man directly behind her opened his mouth.
"What-"
I slapped him.
I might have overdone it, as my palm impacted the side of his head as he was turning towards me and just kept going. I felt the skull shatter into an uncountable spray of shards as his head sprayed across the wall and his decapitated corpse tumbled at my feet.
Metta shrieked.
The two bullies let go of her arms and rounded on me, outrage and fear wrestling for dominance on their face.
I slapped the one to my left.
His cultivation must have been lower than his friend's, because I felt no resistance at all as his head met the same fate.
The other bully's fist connected with my cheek at the same time.
The only reason I noticed was he dropped to the floor, clutching at his shattered digits and whimpering like a kicked hound.
"Please," he moaned. "I didn't mean it!"
"Lies are not good for your cultivation," I said. "Also, they will get you killed."
"Thank you for the lesson, senior!"
"You're welcome," I said and slapped him.
My fingers barely brushed the top of his head, but it exploded just the same.
"Tsk," I said calmly as I turned to the arrogant man frozen in his chair. "It seems your friends were lacking in cultivation as well as manners."
"You…" Merald Fing gurgled, writhing to his feet. His voice squirted out of his mouth. "You dare! Don't you know who I am, dog?"
"You are the son of the Arms Master of the Fire Plum sect," I said. "And I am a junior disciple of the Black Feathered Goose sect. There. We each now know our place. Bow to Metta five times and beg her forgiveness and I might let you walk out of here with all your limbs."
"Junior disciple?" He growled. "And from the trash Black Feathered Goose sect? Even though my guards were weak, I'm surprised you managed to kill them! Your sect is nothing but a joke!"
"I haven't even heard of the Fire Plum sect," I countered. "But from the strength of its guards, I am guessing they are arse-wipers and boot-lickers to a sect with bigger testicles?"
He sucked a deep gasp of shock. "You dare!"
I crossed my arms. My opinion was final. "I do."
"You have no idea what the Fire Plum sect can do," he hissed.
"You are wrong. Today, I have learned that you die very well."
"You dare!"
"I do."
"Are you retarded? My father is the Arms Master. Do you even know what that means?"
"That he is good with his tongue and licked the right dog's balls?"
"You dare!"
"I do."
"Unbelievable! You think the Black Feathered Goose sect could stand up to the Fire Plum sect? Where is your brain?"
"I have killed three of your sect without trying!" I snapped, kicking the nearest corpse. "Where is your brain? Did you shit it out of your arse?"
"You DARE!"
"I DO!"
"Mongrel dog!" He waved a fist at me. "I will speak to my father, and he will have your Sect Master give me your head! And then I will demand he give me your granddaughter to warm my bed-"
"I don't have a granddaughter."
"Your daughter, then!"
Smiling, I shook my head. "Don't have one."
"Sister?"
"Nope."
"Wife?"
"Insolence!" I roared, slapping him in the mouth.
The boy had flapped his lips so much that I expected him to have had a high cultivation to back it up. Unfortunately, he must have neglected his body arts because his head fared no better than the others.
Blood misted like a puffy red cloud before his corpse slumped with a final twitch of his boots.
Looking around, there was indeed a lot of blood. If my wife saw it, she'd be mad at me for making such a mess inside a respectable public place like this. She might even force me to get a mop and bucket and clean it up myself.
Happily, she wasn't here!
I sighed as I turned to Metta, who was staring at me with wide eyes.
"I'm sorry," I said. "I made a mess. I can pay for it if you like."
"It's…" She blinked, pulling herself together and smoothing her robe as she shot to her feet. Then gave me a deep bow which brimmed with sincerity. "Sir, I apologise for my weakness! This poor girl is grateful to you for stepping in! Please don't mind the mess. We are a tavern which caters to all the cultivators of the sect, so we have a high-quality cleaning array!"
"Really?" I looked around but couldn't see it. It must've been a clever one. "My wife wants to get one of those for the house."
"My uncle is an array master," she said eagerly. "If sir would like, he would be happy to assist!"
I scratched my head.
While I didn't feel she should, she clearly felt obligated to give me something.
But an array like this would be very expensive.
I didn't want to cheat her family. If I did and my wife found out, I would be in more trouble.
"I would be pleased with an introduction," I said, holding up a finger. "But would also be happy to pay a reasonable rate for his service."
"Don't worry, sir," she said with a relieved smile. "Uncle Ged is very reasonable."
Then the front door burst open and two fellow disciples from the Black Feathered Goose sect rushed inside. They took one look at the bodies. Then their eyes bulged in horror.
"What have you done?"