Alex had the sword somewhat hidden behind his back. If someone were to give him more than just a glance, they could see the hilt in his hand and the shiny tip revealing from the side of his shoulder.
Hiding was never Alex's intention in the first place. He only wanted to not stand out immediately.
He walked straight ahead, past the begging crowd who ignored him. The big guy and the other lackeys of the boss that were behind him saw him coming and said nothing.
In their eyes, he was just another person coming to beg. However, the boy that had just come looked straight at them and asked, "I'm here for you boss. Can you tell me where he is?"
Alex wasn't expecting a proper answer but still wanted to see how these henchmen of the bosses would react to him asking that. As expected, they started laughing.
"Hahaha, you want to meet the boss? Dream on kid. Even we get to barely meet the boss every day, and you think you can meet him after just arriving here? Haha," the man kept on laughing.
"Brother!!," one of the other lackeys walked up to him and said in a small voice and said, "look behind him, is that…?"
"Hmmm? What's behind him?" the big guy to look.
Alex didn't bother hiding the sword anymore. "You guys talking about this? Oh, I only brought it here to deal with your boss. However, I can use it to deal with y0u too, if you want me to, that is," he said.
The group of henchmen was shocked. Not at his statement, but the fact that Alex had a sword. No one was allowed anything before they were sent away here. Even their storage bags were confiscated by the elders.
"How do you have a sword in the forbidden fields?" the big guy started to get a little scared. He could fight against these empty-handed, weak, hungry, and tired folks that knew nothing but how to beg.
But a fine person with a weapon on top of it was an actual problem.
"Oh, let's just say I got lucky, hehe," Alex said. "Anyway, so is your boss not here?" he asked as he poked his head to the side and looked toward the hole in the cliff.
That was where he was supposed to be staying.
"You can not meet the boss. You think our boss is afraid of a random sword from a nobody?" a henchman at the back screamed.
"Oh, then what about you. Will you take a sword strike from this nobody?" Alex asked as he stared at him with a slight smile on his face. The henchman hesitated.
"Alright, I will have to ask you to step aside so I can meet this boss of yours," Alex said as he started walking towards the cave.
"No you don't," the big man tried to use his carelessness as an opportunity to strike at him. Alex was waiting for him to do that. The punch was very slow for him, as it was done by a mortal after all.
Alex easily dodged the incoming punch by a hair's width of distance and returned a simple punch with no force, to his solar plexus.
The goon fell to the ground and start wheezing as the pain and difficulty to breathe hit him at once. The other people behind him got shocked that the strongest one of them got defeated in a single hit.
"You dare!!," another of the henchmen screamed and came right at him. Alex straight kicked his legs, stumbling him to the ground and have a solid kick to the back of his head, fainting him in the process.
Alex turned toward the rest who had made no movement yet and asked, "You guys gonna fight me too?"
The goons immediately shook their head violently and started pointing towards the cave. "The boss is there, don't hurt us." They immediately shouted and gave up on their boss and ran away.
The begging disciples on the ground had noticed the violence and were now staring at Alex in shock. They couldn't believe that someone would actually dare come fight against the boss.
"Is he… stupid or brave?" someone asked.
"Whatever he is, if he can succeed, it will be awesome. I will help a little if he needs my help," another person said.
Alex ignored the rest and started walking towards the cave. He had his sword with him, still unused, shining in the moonlight. Just as he was nearing the cliffside, he suddenly heard something and saw some movement at the opening of the cave.
"Goddammit, who is making so much noise during the night. I'm trying to sleep here," A voice came from inside. It was the voice of a man unenthusiastic about what was happening and angry that he had been woken up for no reason.
Soon a man with a lean body and scruffy beard came out of the cave, being lit by the distant moonlight. The man lazily stretched himself as he yawned and looked at the different people in front of him.
He saw the group goons that he had employed looking at him terrified. He saw the group of beggars on the ground looking at him and another man that was standing there.
He finally looked at the single man standing in the moonlight with a blade on his back. At first, he didn't care much for the newcomer. Plenty had tried to fight him before, but they never won against him.
However, when he looked at his face a little more carefully, he lost all sense of laziness and an evil grin appeared on his face. "It's you."
Alex was shocked when he saw the boss as well. The dark green robes, the lean-looking body, and the face of someone bad. He remembered this core disciple very clearly, as he had helped Alex a lot indirectly.
The boss was Song Zun.