[center][h3][color=c4df9b]Shrine of an Forgotten God, Henan[/color][hr][/h3][/center][b][i]Vanished[/i][/b] [@Kidd][@Feyblue][hr][color=d65e5e]"You're right about that,"[/color] Sima replied to Yifang. [color=d65e5e]"I've been out west for so long that I got sand stuck in my head."[/color]

Stepping out of the shrine, Sima gave his arms a quick stretch. [color=d65e5e]"We should probably take a few. Rest up and get ready to leave. Ask me any questions if you got 'em."[/color]

[color=d65e5e]"And [i]Blue[/i],"[/color] he looked back at Xiaying. The expression on his face was a strange one. Perhaps it was sympathy or perhaps it was the remembrance of an old memory. More so than a rugged master, he seemed more like a sorrowful man as he shared some words. [color=d65e5e]"It might be a little presumptuous of me to say, but walk with your head high. Doesn't matter if you have to fake it. The world's a rough place."[/color]

Looking back at the wilds, he took a place sitting with his back against a tree.

[hr][b][i]An Escort Warrior?[/i][/b] [@Zeroth][@Cu Chulainn]?[hr]
[color=7ea7d8]"Euuergh..?"[/color] A drunkard at a table seemed to raise his head. As if triggered by the words that came from Yi Hyun-Woo, he tossed a wooden placard at the young man. Though, his drunken state was very obvious considering that he almost beaned "Jin" in the skull.

Although it seemed like he was starting a fight, the drunkard seemed to be a little too faded for a bar fight. Instead, what was important was the information on the placard he threw.

It signified the acceptance of an escort mission. As written on its face, it was a job to escort a merchant caravan carrying supplies to various sects within Henan. Though it didn't explicitly say Mountain Ravine Fist on its face, those words awakening a barely conscious man were effectively confirmation that the school was one of the destinations.

Considering how the leaving date was early next morning, it seemed that the drunkard wouldn't be able to make it to depart in time.

[hr][b][i]The Hunt for the Madwoman[/i][/b] [@Restalaan][hr]
[color=ffee8c]"How did she look?!"[/color] The bald roughneck seemed to be annoyed. What did it matter how she looked? Still, he swallowed his emotions to respond. He also swallowed his pride as the large Xiao Shan effortlessly picked him up to place him back on his feet. How emasculating. He briefly closed his eyes to remember, but all he could barely recall was her damn eyes. [color=ffee8c]"She had... large red eyes? A red face too. She didn't really loo-"[/color] He had opened his eyes and realized that Xiao Shan had already been moving towards where he had fled.

[color=ffee8c]"Ah fuck, wait up."[/color]

[hr]
It was certainly a strange sight. Whatever fight Xiao Shan had prepared herself for had been replaced by an indescribable scene. The first was a group of men that had been bruised and battered. They stood in the middle of a clearing with their legs bent, their arms held up, and bodies bereft of clothing save for something to cover their bits. The second group of four had been conscripted in some strange ritual.

[url=https://i.imgur.com/lKoAh8e.png]And there she was.[/url] With an outfit of strange baubles and designs, bright-red makeup solely around her eyes, and a drunkard's flush, the Madwoman seemed to be riding a makeshift palanquin of branches and clothing. She (and by extension her conscripts) had been circling the other group for quite some time judging by the torn up grass circle surrounding them. Upon seeing Xiao Shan, the Madwoman clapped twice. The conscripts seem to slowly lower the palanquin on the ground as they collapsed from exhaustion.

[color=db587f]"I don't remember a woman among your ranks."[/color] She said to nobody in particular, her voice aloof and strange as though she was not speaking in her native tongue. [color=db587f]"How urbane."[/color]

She paused as she sized up the mask wearing giant.

[color=db587f]"Well?"[/color]