Not all poachers were men, just as not all poachers were greedy for gold and silver. Some were simply down upon their luck and looking for a quick, albeit dangerous way to feed their hungry families for a few days until their luck turned for the better. However, these poachers just happened to be men of dark intent and reputation. As Cultivators, they were failures, unable to break through the thick bottle neck that separated the third and fourth stages. Unable to seek satiation in power, they sought it in money, but with their lofty ideals, they could no longer live satisfied by the hard working ways of commoners and they lacked the savviness of merchants. So they sought a "fast profit" by poaching, taking what they wanted from the land, no matter who they belonged to, in order to make money.They were not gentlemen, they were not honourable and they were opportunistic. And at this time, they had not discovered a small number of Greater Roe Buck that happened to stray from the herd to be slaughtered by their readied weapons, but two lovely, young beauties and their not so able male protector.
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When the two Teacher-brothers and their students raced to where the scream had emanated from, they had been expecting to rescue foolish students or servants (hired by the school) from a furious stag. Instead they came upon a scene that made even the rakish Corvus turn serious.
Four unpleasant men, skins stained with dirt and simple leathers upon their frames, were reaching for two panicked and crying girls who clung to each other, one terrified, the other cursing; "Do you have any idea just who my father is?" To one side was a boy, beaten and bloodied, clutching a wound in his stomach and breathing shallowly.
There was a quick exchange of glances.
Corvus dropped from the tree limbs to the foliage covered grounds first. "Excuse me," he said, with a sinister hint to his jovial sounding words. "May I ask, what are your intentions towards those young ladies?"
The four men jeered and looked at the man before them. His clean, attractive appearance automatically caused them to feel disdain and while they could not sense his level of cultivation, they blindly believed it could not be much more than their own. After all, such a pretentious, foppish man hardly looked like an immortal Cultivator far removed from the trivials of the mortal world. And there were four of them and just one of him.
Thinking this way, they turned their attentions away from the girls, believing that they would be able to deal with this intruder quickly then enjoy the spoils. They grabbed their fallen weapons and waved them threateningly at Corvus who put his hands in their air as if worried while saying; "Ho, can we not talk about this?"
"Tch," one of the men spat and launched an attack on Corvus, who danced easily out of the way of his heavy axe, before ducking beneath the wild swing of another"s sword.
"Ah, you missed," Corvus teased before adding; "you know, you"d have better control of your sword if you adjusted your grip just a little..." The knife wielder was a little more challenging to face, but not so much that Corvus was worried. Still the incorrigible man complimented his technique as he dodged the sharp blades. His sharp tongue and foolish play irritated the men, angering them beyond reason. Step by step, the men were drawn further away from the girls, who were quick to stand up and create distance themselves.
Sun leapt down and approached the wounded youth. "Ah, I don"t have any healing pills!" He lamented as he noticed the seriousness of the wounds.
"Here," Jin Li pressed a pure coloured Blood Pill into his palm, which was then fed to the boy. On noticing the pair, the girls quickly made their way to their sides.
"You saved us!" One said in adoration, while Jin Li looked down upon them with a frown. "Surely this is fate." Sun rolled his eyes, what saviour? Wasn"t it his Master that was the one who lead the poachers away?
Speaking of whom, once the girls were no longer within the poachers" reach, Pike and Teacher Corne joined in the fray. "Stop playing around, brother," the latter said as he nearly sliced one of the poachers in half with his broadsword. The head of another was lopped from his shoulders before he could turn around to defend himself.
"Poo!" Corvus complained, suddenly grabbing the neck of the sword wielder and crushing his windpipe effortlessly. The knife wielder was quick to react and attempt to flee, but his life was snuffed away just as quickly by Corne, who suddenly appeared before him and ran him through.
The three men left the bodies where they lie; they would later end up in some scavenger beasts" stomach and returned to the students. Pike glanced briefly at the girls who apart from looking a little pale of face, seemed otherwise unharmed and glanced at the wounded boy. "How is he?"
"We gave him a pill and the bleeding has already stopped," marvelled Sun, who was staring at the stomach wound. He could have sworn that the injury was deeper, but if that were so, a mere Blood Pill surely wouldn"t have produced such results so quickly!
As if understanding his thoughts, Jin Li added, dismissively; "It was likely not as serious as it looked." Pike nodded in agreement.
"Many thanks, Teachers, for your timely arrival," the girls bowed respectfully at the two older men, the girl who spoke had a voice like a chiming, gla.s.s bell, clear and delicate. It gave both men pause, even causing Corvus to glance at his older brother with puppy dog eyes.
Corne sighed and seeing as his useless sibling had opted to make him the disciplinary, he cleared his throat and began; "This area is out of bounds for unaccompanied students during this period. All schools have been notified. Thus begs the question, what are you three doing here?"