Lou Quan left that place. He departed during the night, so that the old man wouldn't follow him. He didn't like being followed. It was too troublesome. The old man could even be a spy from some faction trying to keep an eye on him.
"I don't want to put myself in a future mess."
He walked northward. He had no specific destination, but he kept moving to avoid pursuit from the Sky Sword Sect. He had to become stronger, too.
While walking, Lou Quan suddenly heard a strange noise. A woman's desperate voice—sounding like someone in distress. He tilted his head, trying to determine where it was coming from.
Once he figured it out, he shrugged. "Ah, bandits."
In his other memory, things like this were common outside of sects. Women were the most vulnerable—enslaved, forced to serve, or treated like livestock by men.
Their fates were tragic. The world was too cruel for the weak. That's why Lou Quan wanted to become the strongest—so no one could ever trample on him.
He sighed and turned around. "Damn. Why do I have to do this," he muttered.
Deep in the forest, dozens of bandits were indulging in a vile celebration. They had kidnapped two girls, barely sixteen, and were abusing them to satisfy their desires.
After being exploited for a few days, the girls would be killed, and their remains fed to their spirit beast pet—the Demon Dog. A spirit beast equal to a Golden Soul cultivator.
"You done, boss?"
"Do whatever you want with them. That girl was completely disappointing. She's dumb," the bandit leader grumbled.
He sat atop a rock the size of a human head, grabbed a jug of wine, and gulped it down in one go before hurling the jug into a tree.
He was clearly dissatisfied. His subordinates had brought him someone who didn't fit his taste. The girl was far too thin. He preferred well-endowed women with curvier figures.
"This is disgusting," he muttered.
He took a knife and walked toward the two girls. His subordinates quickly stepped aside at the sight of their leader wielding a blade. They looked fearful.
"Hold their arms. I'm going to cut them," he said.
His subordinates were shocked, but no one dared to object. They grabbed the girls' arms. Seeing the leader approach with a blade, the girls struggled in terror, trying to break free.
Whack!!
A loud slap silenced them. One of the girls fainted. The other, trembling, shook her head repeatedly, begging for mercy.
"Please, sir! Please forgive me!" she cried.
But her pleas changed nothing. She was slapped again, this time so hard her jaw shifted painfully. She screamed. And then the knife touched her skin.
It slid slowly across her abdomen—pain flaring where it touched. Moments later, the blade was pressed into her chest.
Blood poured rapidly. She screamed in agony. Even the subordinates looked away.
"Aaaah, this is incredible." The leader licked the blood dripping from his knife. "Now for the best part."
The girl shook her head in horror. Her face was pale with fear. She cried out for her mother and father, tears running down her cheeks.
But her desperation only seemed to excite the bandit further. The more she begged and sobbed, the more thrilled he became. It made his whole body tingle with twisted pleasure.
"Keep begging, wench!" he snarled.
He was ready to cut again, grinning maniacally, imagining her scream—
But suddenly, someone grabbed his hand, stopping him cold.
"Let go or I'll kill you!" he shouted, thinking it was one of his men.
"Stop, or I'll be the one to kill you."
He turned, startled. It was Lou Quan. The bandit leader leapt back in alarm. When he looked around, his subordinates were already dead—beheaded.
He was stunned. He turned back to Lou Quan.
"Who the hell are you?" he demanded.
"No need to know." Lou Quan glanced at the injured girl, then closed his eyes briefly. "I don't really care... but you'll die anyway."
The bandit leader laughed, underestimating Lou Quan. "You think you can kill me, brat?"
He grabbed a sword nearby and lunged forward without warning, slashing at Lou Quan.
His strike was powerful—splintering the tree behind Lou Quan. But it was slow. Lou Quan dodged it with ease.
No matter how many times the bandit attacked, Lou Quan evaded each strike. The man grew more frustrated.
"Coward! Fight me properly!" he yelled.
He kept attacking, but Lou Quan kept dodging, making the bandit's movements grow more erratic.
"Idiot," Lou Quan taunted.
He saw an opening and struck. A clean stab to the shoulder. The bandit staggered back. Lou Quan followed up with a powerful kick to the chest.
The bandit fell, dirt covering his chest and blood soaking his shoulder. But he got up again, anger replacing arrogance. "You bastard! I'll flay you alive!"
Lou Quan remained silent, his expression cold. Moonlight reflected off the bloody knife still in the bandit's hand—the same knife used on the girl.
The bandit roared and charged, sword slicing through the air. He even used his strongest technique.
Whoosh!
Lou Quan dodged nimbly—the blade narrowly missing his neck. It cleaved a tree behind him, splinters scattering like broken glass.
"All you do is dodge? Coward!" the bandit screamed, swinging wildly.
Lou Quan narrowed his eyes—and smiled.
Crack!
His fist slammed into the bandit's ribs. A loud snap echoed through the woods. The bandit coughed violently, stumbling back—but Lou Quan struck again like a snake.
Dreng! Dreng! Dreng!
Three precise blows to pressure points. The bandit's right arm went limp. His fingers spasmed. His sword fell.
"You—!" the bandit gasped as Lou Quan grabbed his neck, lifting him off the ground.
"I warned you," Lou Quan whispered. "I'd kill you."
He slashed at parts of the bandit's body. The man screamed—so loud that resting birds and animals fled in fear.
Lou Quan severed several tendons, rendering the man's arms and legs immobile. His face turned pale.
The bandit looked at Lou Quan with terrified eyes. "Spare me!" he begged.
Lou Quan remained indifferent. "When she begged, did you spare her? Then I'll do the same—but worse."
The bandit shook his head frantically.
"No. No. Nooooo!" he shrieked.