The Sect Leader System

Yang Xiu crept through the forest, all her enhanced senses alert. Everything her eyes saw in the early morning light was exactly as it should be. None of the shadows were just a little too big. The bulge on the backside of that tree was just a knot, not a small person trying to conceal himself behind it. Nothing was out of place.

Her ears filtered out the bird song and leaves rustling in the wind and even three squirrels dashing through leaves a hundred yards away. She didn’t hear any of the sounds she wanted, though. Breathing. Cloth rubbing together. Wind whistling strangely around a body.

Neither did her nose pick up the scent of a human, not the slightest whiff of sweat or body odor. And if taste or touch could help her find Zou Tian, she had no idea how to accomplish such a feat.

She was close to calling the game when he quietly stepped out from behind her.

That was unexpected. There was no reason to give up when he clearly had her beat.

He put a finger to his lips before motioning for her to follow.

They moved silently east for several hundred yards before a smell hit her—a man who had not experienced the cleansing power of soap in weeks, maybe months. Zou Tian stopped and pointed, but she had already spotted him.

The man was older, well above thirty, and rough looking with a gnarled beard and wearing torn and stained clothes. And he held a sword.

A peasant holding a noble’s weapon was unusual. Very unusual. Only one type of person could possibly fit the picture her mind was painting. A bandit.

Yang Xiu shared a glance with Zou Tian. The boy wasn’t as adept at reading her questions as her brother or Master, but with familiarity of being together nearly constantly for days on end, he was picking up the skill.

Zou Tian pointed past the man and held up eight fingers. Then he pointed south and flashed his ten fingers five times before shrugging.

A camp. At least fifty men but probably more. And these eight were out doing something. Scouting. Hunting. It didn’t matter.