He had no wish for his newly forged techniques to spread across the jianghu so quickly, for the factions that wished to see him crushed would surely come for him then, seeking to snuff out this budding threat before he could grow strong.
The Duan clan, the Lu clan—they were but two of many.
Gao Han had made countless enemies, and far too many powers stood to gain from his demise. At his current level of strength, he could not defend himself against a Spirit Fusion expert.
The day he could escape such a foe with his life, he would fear nothing.
But with his current reserves, to hunt down and kill each of the twenty fleeing men was nothing more than a fool's dream.
His true essence lingered at less than ten percent; even his Earth-Shaking Might could not fell a First Layer True Essence cultivator, let alone a band of them. He had not eaten in half a month, his stomach empty and his strength sapped.
Though he possessed the physical power of a Ninth Layer Qi Condensation warrior, he lacked the energy to wield it.
Gao Han's eyes flickered, and a plan took shape. He had no choice but to gamble.
" Halt! All of you! The first man who takes another step dies!" He put on a fearsome front, his voice icy and laced with murderous resolve, as if he would strike them down without hesitation.
The bluff worked. The instant his words left his mouth, the twenty bandits froze in place, not daring to move an inch.
"Return! I have words for you. Rest assured, I will not kill you. My word is unbreakable." Gao Han sheathed his sword, and with a flick of his wrist, stored it within his interspatial ring.
With that done, he slowly lowered himself onto the layered ice, his gaze fixed upon the bandits.
The twenty men exchanged hesitant glances, shoving and jostling one another as they inched toward him at a snail's pace.
"Move! Now!" Gao Han's patience wore thin. Though his weakened state favored delay, he had to maintain an air of authority.
If he let their provocations go unchallenged, they would see through his facade—that he was all bluster, no bite.
The bandits scrambled toward him in terror, dropping to their knees before him in a panic.
The First Layer True Essence bandit stole a trembling glance at Gao Han's face, fighting down his dread. "Spare us, Lord Gao! We swear to serve you as your loyal servants! Command us east, and we shall not go west; bid us catch a dog, and we shall not chase a chicken!"
"What were your parents' surnames?" Gao Han asked abruptly, leaving the bandits stunned, unsure what trickery he was plotting.
"I… I have no parents left, my lord."
"What did they do for a living?"
"My father was Tian, my mother Xie."
"What cultivation art do you practice?"
"They were farmers, my lord."
After an endless string of such exchanges, Gao Han could bear it no longer. "Are you simple? Can you not answer a single question properly?"
None of the bandits noticed that ever since Gao Han had sat down, his hands had never left the ice, which shrank steadily with each passing moment.
Their attention was fixed on the bizarre exchange between the fearsome Ice Hero and their stammering comrade. They marveled that even a True Essence cultivator could be reduced to such incoherent panic before a stronger warrior.
The ice dissolved into wispy streams of frost, flowing into Gao Han's body to replenish his strength. His power had already climbed to twenty percent, and with his remaining reserves, he neared thirty.
At last, his true essence rose to forty percent. Midnight approached, and Gao Han had endured long enough, grilling each of the twenty bandits with the same repetitive questions.
Fifteen of them had answered nonsensically, driving him to the brink of frustration.
"Freeze!"
Gao Han rose to his feet in an instant, unleashing a wave of bitter cold that encased the twenty warriors in solid ice.
He held back the worst of the frost, however, trapping them motionless but leaving them alive.
The bandits stared at him in terror, unable to fathom his intentions.
Gao Han strode over to the villagers, pressing his palms against each of them in turn, drawing the frost from their bodies back into his own.
He had acted now for a reason: wait much longer, and some of the villagers would perish from the cold—a fate he had no wish to inflict.
One by one, the villagers stirred awake. At first, they eyed Gao Han with fear and anger, but upon seeing the bandits' corpses strewn across the ground, they understood his ruse. They dropped to their knees, begging his forgiveness and thanking him for saving their lives.
Gao Han helped each of them to their feet. By his usual cold nature, he would have turned and left without acknowledging their gratitude, but he needed them now.
He had given the bandits his word that he would not kill them, and he meant to keep it.
Yet he would have the villagers slay the twenty men instead, ensuring his secret remained safe and his honor unblemished.
He would stay until he saw the bandits dead, so his mind would be at ease.
Night had fallen in full, the bright moon hanging high, its silvery radiance bathing the earth. Only the chirp of insects cut through the stillness, as if all creation had fallen quiet.
But outside the village at the edge of Hengyuan Valley, life bustled. A crowd gathered around a roaring bonfire, celebrating their deliverance.
Learning their savior had not eaten in half a month, the villagers slaughtered pigs and sheep to feast their hero.
Gao Han felt bashful amid their warm hospitality, yet he ate with quiet gusto, a roasted chicken in one hand and a grilled lamb leg in the other, tearing into both with relish.
At last, he patted his stomach in satisfaction, a small mountain of bones piled beside him.
By rough count, he had devoured four chickens, eight lamb legs, and a fair portion of roasted pork.
With his meal finished, Gao Han felt his strength return in full. The villagers surrounded him, their voices warm and curious.
"Young Hero Gao, have you yet chosen a wife?"
"How old are you? Do you wish to marry?"
"I hear you are unwed! Might you consider my daughter? She is a pure young maiden, the fairest in the village!" an elderly woman gushed, tugging Gao Han's arm.
He followed her pointing finger, and every hair on his body stood on end. The girl was positively ghastly: easily two hundred jin in weight, barely five feet tall, her face covered in freckles, her lips duck-like, her eyes squeezed shut into thin slits. She looked more brute than beauty.
Gao Han nearly retched up his meal. He forced a smile. "I am already betrothed. Thank you for your kindness."
The woman left in disappointment, while the girl kept casting coquettish glances his way, making Gao Han's skin crawl.
He could scarce believe the villagers called this creature their greatest beauty.
Before he retired that night, the enraged villagers had beheaded the twenty bandits, offering their heads as sacrifices to those who had died. The bandits' corpses were burned to ash.
Gao Han spent the night in the village, sheltered in the home of the young woman who had been violated by the bandit chief.
She lived alone with her father; her mother had passed away years before.
Few homes remained intact. The bandits had burned many to the ground, and others had collapsed under the shock of his Frost Forged Mountain.
With no private chamber to spare, Gao Han stayed with the elderly man, who was overjoyed to host the Ice Hero.
That night, Gao Han meditated as usual. But past midnight, he heard soft sobbing from outside.
He followed the sound to find the young woman sitting on the stone steps beneath the moon, her head buried in her arms, weeping quietly.
When he asked the reason, she explained that she had been betrothed to a young man of the village, and the two had loved each other deeply.
After what the bandits had done to her, she feared her betrothed would no longer want her—and if he cast her aside, she would rather die.
The Tianwu Continent still clung to old traditions; a woman's chastity was held sacred, and his rejection would be only natural.
Gao Han sighed softly. "If he will not have you… then I will."
The girl froze, speechless.