Fang Shi only traveled as short distance before the mortals he sensed came into view. Now that he was focusing on these new arrivals, the details of each group became clearer. The first group consisted of a couple of teenagers, a boy and a girl, and he guessed that they were only a year or two older than himself. They were both wearing robes of fine quality for the mortal world, but their clothes were drenched. The next group was four men, and what immediately stood out was that they did not come from the same place as the other two. These four had features that reminded him of European men with black, brown, and blonde hair, blue eyes, and the older two men sported fairly thick beards. This surprised him greatly, the only people he had seen here had looked the same as his countrymen from his past life and this caused him to go into deep thought.
Fang Shi wasn't sure if he was on the same world as before. The world he had been reborn into was obviously a cultivation world, but obviously the random teleport had taken him to a different world. He was still waiting for the system to report its initial findings about this place, so he filed away this new information for now. Looking at the four men it was obvious that these were warriors. Even though they did hold any weapons and it appeared that they had removed armor to prevent themselves from drowning, they still carried knives and had a weathered appearance.
Turning his attention to the last group, Fang Shi received two more surprises. The two men and the woman had a much darker skin tone than the first group, but also had amazing green eyes. The second surprise was that the clothes these three wore didn't cover as much as the other two groups. Since being reborn, he had gotten used to the people of this world wearing robes. The boy and girl from the first group had robes on while the four mercenaries wore a combination of cotton and leather clothes. But it was obvious that the last group lived in a place that was warm all year around, and they traveled the seas often. Their clothes were lighter, provided a better range of movement, and were more colorful. The clothes weren't lewd, it's just their shirts had short sleeves and showed the mid drift and the pants were closer to shorts.
Fang Shi looked at himself, and made a decision to change his own outfit. Compare to what these nine people were wearing, his own clothing was better than what mortal empires would wear. His robes were made from silk spun from second order silkworms, and enchanted with spirit gathering, dirt repulsion, and protection array formations and would stand out when on the beach. With a quick motion the robes and shoes he wore disappeared, and were replaced by a Jinbei and flip flops made of straw.
Fang Shi sighed because even these clothes were of high quality but aesthetically, it fit the beach environment better. He detected a sudden change in tone from the mortals he had been monitoring, and decided to show himself. It was easy to see that two of the groups had ill intentions, and intended to act on them so he took a few steps to intervene.
"My friends, why is there such discourse?", he inquired.
This brought an immediate reaction, the teenage boy's eyes grew wide as the girl next him screamed. The four mercenaries started cursing as they turned to face him instead, and the three that were being threatened backed away.
"Who are you?", the oldest of the four men demanded.
"I am Fang Shi", he replied, "Sorry to have frightened all of you, but I had to intervene. I would not have blood spilled on my island."
This drew an immediate reaction from all the parties.
"Your island?", the older man gasped, "Who are you lay claim to the cursed island?"
"Cursed island?", he looked around in confusion, "What curse? I've been here several days and never felt curse energy. Also, what manners were you taught as a child that someone introduces themselves and yet you fail to respond?"
"There's no reason to share one's name with a devil, a crazed man, or a fool", the elder man rebuffed him.
Before Fang Shi could say anything else, the man broke into a run towards him. As he watched the man run towards him, he could only sigh. As someone who has cultivated body, energy, and mind to the foundation establishment realm, he could take a mid level body perfecting realm warrior seriously. With the smallest of movements, Fang Shi avoided all of the older man's attacks as he tried to reason with him.
"My friend, I bare no grudge against you and should be able to see that you have no chance", he explained, "Please let's stop and have a discussion to clear any misunderstandings. I'm a patient person but I don't want my time wasted unreasonably, so I'll give you ten more moves to withdraw you attack. If you don't wish to listen to reason, you can't blame me for what happens afterwards."
This only made the older man nervous, and he activated some kind of special energy in his blood and quicken his attacks.
'Nevermind', Fang Shi's eyebrow slightly twitched.
He counted ten moves, and easily slipped behind the man. With fluid motion, he struck two different points on the man's head and neck causing the latter to pass out and slump over. He caught the man before his body hit the sand, and gently laid him down.
The other eight reacted differently when they witnessed the elder man incapacitated by a sixteen year old boy. His three companions rushed forth to engage with Fang Shi, and the other five tried to find some sea oaks or large rocks to his behind.
'This is getting annoying', Fang Shi kneaded his temple with his knuckle as he pulled a spear from his storage space.
This action caused the three to stop in their tracks, but it also caused the young teenager that was trying to hide to rush forward and bow in front of him.
"Immortal", the young man looked ugly as he bowed on the sand, "It is the fault of this poor soul, Liang Renwei, that you were troubled by his bodyguards. I don't dare to order one such as yourself, but I hope you'll be merciful."
The three other men also fell in behind the young man called Liang Renwei, and waited in trepidation for any judgment that Fang Shi would render.
Seeing the change in attitude, Fang Shi put away the spear, summoned ten folding chairs, and addressed the others, "I will recognize that they were doing the job you hired them for. Please everyone, take a seat. I have only recently arrived here, and I have a few questions to ask."
"It is too much of an honor…", Liang Renwei began to refuse the seat but Fang Shi interrupted him.
"Everyone sit", he changed his tone, "I have things I want to know, so there's no reason to refuse my request."
Even though none of the nine could feel Qi, they still felt a sense of oppression from this teenage boy. The three mercenaries took a minute to wake their leader up while the other five sat down on opposite sides from each other. Once the other four men sat down, Fang Shi took the lead.
"Now I'm sure that everyone here wishes to ask me about myself, but as I said before I would like a proper introduction from everyone", He instructed the group, "I'll make myself clear, I understand that some here are in conflict with the others but for now let's have a truce. Let's start to my left, and go around the chairs."
"Immortal Fang, this humble one is Liang Renwei", the young man reintroduced himself, "I'm from the Azure Tide empire. My uncle serves as a minister to the second prince."
There was a moment of silence before the young lady next to Liang Renwei realized it was her turn, "Immortal Fang, this young lady's name is Shen Lanyue. I'm also from the Asure Tide empire and am the favored by younger master Liang."
"Immortal, my name is Garrick Stonefall", the oldest of the bodyguards said, "I'm from Ironwake island, an ally to the empire and I work as a warrior for hire."
"Immortal", the second oldest man went next, "The name's Corvin Hale from Stromwatch Atoll, also an imperial ally."
This caused Fang Shi to pause for a moment and interrupt, "The two of you aren't from the same island?"
"No", "No", both men shook their head in unison.
"Interesting", Fang Shi commented before pointing at the next man, "Please continue."
"Markus Venn", the man replied, "Home is Blackshore Haven, and like Ironwake island it has been integrated into the empire."
"Integrated?", Fang Shi suddenly had a suspicion as he looked at Liang Renwei, "Would it be a fair assumption to think the Azure Tide empire is trying to unite the neighboring island nations under one flag?"
Liang Renwei face went flush in embarrassment when he heard this from Fang Shi.
"The emperor simply heard that the other nations were mistreating their citizens, and felt compelled to remove their corrupt leaders to bring prosperity to the masses", the young man look guilty when he repeated this in front of everyone.
Fang Shi just smirked before pointing to the youngest warrior.
"Immortal Fang", the young mercenary responded, "My name is Elias Thorn from Silverwind Key."
Fang Shi nodded in acknowledgment and turned to the look at the last three.
"Immortal Fang, my name is Kadeem Akashi", the older man introduced himself, "Myself and the other two hail from Verdent Cross island, one of the thirteen islands that make up the Free Isle Compact."
"Should I assume that this alliance is an enemy of the empire?", Fang Shi guessed.
"Yes", Kadeem had a proud and solemn look on his face, "We will never bow down to these barbaric invaders, so kill is if you must."
"Please be at peace", Fang Shi tried to assure Kadeem, "As a cultivator, I will not be interfering directly in the affairs of the mortal people. I can't help if my presence causes some indirect influence, but I have my own purpose in coming here. As long as I'm here, I will not allow the unjustified killing of others."
Fang Shi felt his words probably wouldn't convince the man, so he looked towards the next seat.
"Greetings Immortal, I'm Riven Solari", the younger man spoke.
Fang Shi nodded, and looked at the last chair where the other young woman sat.
"Immortal Fang", she said, "This young lady is Mira Velan."
"It's a pleasure to meet everyone", Fang Shi relaxed a little, "So first things first, I don't wish to be referred to as Immortal. My purpose in coming here is to open a pavilion that will sale various wares and services to the surrounding area. So please call me owner Fang or boss in the future. After hearing all of your introductions, it easy to guess this region is currently experiencing chaos after some event took place. I want to know more, not about your current situations but the events that led up to this. Liang, Kadeem, Garrick, the three of you strike me as ones who would have the highest chance of answering this. Am I correct in that assumption?"
Garrick step up to Fang Shi, "Yes, I believe I can provide the answers you are seeking. The events that took place are closely tied with this cursed island. Over a year ago, this land was much different. The air and land felt different, and immortals such as yourself were more plentiful. They ruled the land and us mortals, some formed families while others build grand sects. Then one day everything changed. I don't personal know where the enemy came from but these strange looking people came suddenly, and they attacked the cultivators. Us mortals could only run and hide from the ensuing battles to save our own lives. I'm not sure who was winning the battles, but I personal think the cultivators were losing. I say this because one day, a light could be seen coming from this very island. The light beam touched the sky before disappearing only to be followed by other similar beams of light. It all happened so quickly, but once the final beam of light reached Heaven, the earth shook. I'm not sure what happened, but I left my place of hiding once things finally got quiet. The first thing I noticed was that the air felt different, like something was missing. Those who had hidden themselves with me also went out to see if the danger still existed. What we found was that our home had been cut in half, and the cultivators that protected the island was gone. We tried to rebuild, but it wasn't long before the Azure Tide empire arrived to 'help' the people. Since then I've been living as a sellsword to survive."
"I see", Fang Shi rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Last year, we also were attacked by the devil race around the same time. And the bright lights could possibly have been an attack array meant to stop the devils invasion. I'm not very familiar with array formations but when I look at the situation, this array acted as a last resort. Not only did it destroy a large number of invaders, it also destroyed spiritual veins making this land unappealing to the devils. That's just a theory though."
Fang Shi looked at the other two, "Did Garrick explain everything correctly, or is there anything else that either of you could add?"
Neither one answered so he just took it as a mystery he would have to look into and solve later.
"So my next question is, how did all of you end up here?", he asked.
Kadeem was first to reply, "We were on our way home when they attacked us."
"You were traveling through empire waters", Liang Renwei snapped back.
"You can't just claim any waters as the empire's own just because you wish it", Kadeem's brow was furrowed.
"I see", Fang Shi stopped the potential conflict, "So what will you do now?"
"There's no much we can do", Liang Renwei sulked, "Both ships sunk due to reefs so it will be sometime before my family notices I'm missing. I can only wait here until they send a rescue."
"I was able to send a signal", Kadeem answered, "I believe it should be a few days before my people will come."
This new information seemed to cause young master Liang to panic, but before anything else was said, a loud noise caused everyone to turn their attention to Mira.
Fang Shi laughed when he heard this, "Are you hungry, young lady?"
Mira looked mortified when she realized everyone was looking at her, "My apologies, Immortal Fang."
"Don't apologize for being hungry", Fang Shi felt relieved that he could use this to ease tensions, "I don't selling you food as I'm a merchant, but do you have a way to pay?"
"I only have these bronze coins", she look sorrowful as she gripped a bag tied to her waste, "It definitely isn't enough to pay for the food an immortal sells."
When Fang Shi looked in her hand, he noticed six copper coins but one looked different from the other five.
"Do you mind if I look at that coin in you hand?", he asked.
"Please, Immortal Fang", she quickly took the coin in question and gave it to him.
"No need to call me immortal, just boss is fine", Fang Shi commented as he began to inspect the coin.
As soon as his senses began inspecting it, he felt a familiar aura. It was the same aura that came from the mountain that was part of the natural spirit gathering array formation.
"I have some good news, young Miss", he turned to her, "If you use this, I can provide you with meals until your friends arrive to rescue you."
Mira looked at Kadeem with worried eyes, "What do you think?"
"We have no use for this thing, so let's trust the boss", Kadeem replied.
Mira turned back to Fang Shi, "I would like to make a deal."
"Me too", young master Liang ran forward holding a similar gem that was red, "Please feed me and my people."
"Have no worries", Fang Shi collected both gems and stored them away, "I'll take you to my temporary home, but it will be a bother if we walked so let me arrange transportation."
Fang Shi pulled a sword out from storage, and after activating the technique 'Unnumberable Sword Scroll', the single sword split into ten.
This caused a commotion but he quickly managed the situation, "Just step on a sword, and I'll take us back to my home."
He waved his hands causing the ten swords to line up in a row just a few feet off the ground.
"Just watch", he demonstrated to the others as he stepped up and stood on the closest sword with ease.
After a few minutes, everyone eventually got the courage to stood on a sword.
"I realized this will be a new experience, but promise you won't fall", Fang Shi said before making a few hand gestures.
The swords slowly rose above the treeline before shooting forwards at an incredible speed. What surprised Fang Shi was despite keeping the swords at a low speed, almost all the people on them were screaming in terror, or frozen in fear with one exception. Several minutes later, Fang Shi arrived with everyone in tow. Once the swords stopped, everyone jumped off of them except for Elias.
"I want to be a cultivator", he said as he stood there, "I want to ride on a sword again."
Markus looked at the young man like he was crazy before he and the others started looking around. What they saw was a small building but it was made of the most exquisite materials he had ever seen. He wanted to take a closer look when he was interrupted by Fang Shi.
"Since you all are my first customers and you've already paid, I should provide what was promised", he smiled, "As an added bonus, I'll also set up temporary shelter while you wait for rescue.
Fang Shi hadn't thought of this at first but when he had accepted these strange gemstones as payment, he received the following warning:
[Payment provided by customers exceed the goods being purchased. Host must ensure fair trade is established or be punished.]
The group of people were about to refuse when he cut them off, "After taking a second look at these stones, I realized that their worth to me was much higher than my initial estimate. I don't want people thinking my store takes advantage of guests so I insist. Now let's settle dinner first, how do you wish to be seated? Altogether? In two groups? Three?"
Liang Renwei, Garrick, and Kadeem looked at the others before answering, "Three, please."
Fang Shi walked towards the shore of the cove and when he reach the point where the sand meets the grass, he pointed to three different spots. At each spot a wooden gazebo appeared with a table and chairs in the middle.
"Please sit down", he invited everyone in.
Two went to the first, four to the second, three to the third. Fang Shi went to the first gazebo with young master Liang and Shen Lanyue. As they sat down, he explained how things worked as he took a board off the middle of the table.
"This is where the fire is", he explained as he lit the grill using a spell.
He started taking plates of food out of storage, and setting them down on the table.
"Use these tongs to place and remove the meat and vegetables from the grill", he said, "If you wish to make soup, pour this broth into the pot and add the ingredients you wish to eat. Also this container has riceballs in it."
"Thank you, boss", Shen Lanyue shyly replied, "I wonder if your food will also allow us to cultivate as well."
Liang Renwei had also been wondering what type of food they would be served so he listened carefully.
"Unfortunately young Miss, if you ate food with spiritual energy there's a high chance it would damage your body", Fang Shi's words crashed their dreams, "Without spiritual roots and a method to refine the energy, it would rampage inside your body."
"I wasn't serious", she nervously laughed as Fang Shi finished setting up the table.
"Enjoy your meal. Once you're done, head to the beach and your tents will be ready. I'll handle the clean up", he slightly bowed before repeating the same process for the other two tables.
After serving all three tables, he walked into the beach. Fang Shi cast a spell on the sand in front of him. Under his influence, the sand flattened out and became firm. He pulled a luxurious family tent out of storage, and set it up on the spot he prepared before doing the same at two more locations. Half an hour later, everyone had finished their dinner and had arrived to see the tents.
"Your residence are ready", Fang Shi smiled, "And for a final service, I'll cast a spell to help your allies help find you."
He cast a modified fireball spell into the sky over and over again, and his nine guests was suddenly the recipients of a firework display.
"Thank you for choosing the Heaven & Earth pavilion", he said as the fireworks finished, "Remember I will tolerate guests attacking each other. Enjoy your evening and your stay."
Without any further words, Fang Shi turned around and walked back to his home base. The nine people stood in awe for a few moments before the split into their own groups and entered their tents.