by Tinalynge
“When we were small, we sailed on that sea on the way here . One day I want to return to the other side and find our family once more.”
“I don’t like them,” Xu Min pouted as he heard his beloved sister speak, “I just want to spend my life together with you. I don’t need anyone other than you.”
Tears were in his eyes as the young boy reminiscenced about the conversation he had had with his sister years ago. With an angry wipe of his arms, he removed the tears which pressed their way through his eyes.
Red-eyed and determined, Xu Min started to pick up speed as he moved towards the city. He was ready to find a way for him to work and strengthen his body at the same time. But before that, he decided that there was a place he had to see first. He had to see the sea that his sister had dreamt about.
The city walls were taller than anything he had ever seen before. The walls were far bigger than the largest tree he had seen within the forest, but unlike the wild untamed nature of those trees, these walls made of black bricks were the evident work of man.
At the top of the walls, guards were visible. All of them were Warriors, a sight that shocked Xu Min. In his home village, a Warrior was by far a force to be reckoned with; yet here, even before entering the city, the young boy saw more Warriors in one place than he had seen during his entire life until today.
By now, he was part of the steady stream of humans walking towards the city gates. Most people around him were commoners - people who had chosen to make their living by means other than becoming martial art experts. There were also guards, mercenaries, and soldiers; perhaps one of these people would carve their name into history.
Xu Min was trembling slightly as he looked down at the ground, since he had to peek at both sides, constantly on guard against the many people surrounding him. His worst fear was that someone from his hometown was mixed within this massive body of humans pushing their way towards the city gate to get inside just a moment before the others.
If he was noticed, he wouldn’t be too easy to deal with. His cultivation base was no longer that of a mere child who had just broken into the Student Warrior rank; instead, he was now at the peak of the Student Warrior rank. He was now ready to break into the rank of a real practitioner.
Although Xu Min only knew one martial art skill, it was a skill he had trained to perfection. Despite that his Qi was still somewhat lacking, he would be able to stand against the majority of the guards sent from the Zhong Family. But if it was a captain or even Overseer Tian who found him, then the young boy was quite unlikely to escape from his grasp.
Having trained alone for two years, no one understood their body as well as Xu Min understood his. He knew his limits along with the best use of his current strength. His knowledge not only extended to his Qi limits, but also the body’s condition. Having trained his body physically, he managed to become a person with lean strong muscles. Thinking back at the many guards that he had seen back at the Zhong Family Compound, he knew that his body alone was strong enough to deal with early Student Warriors without any sort of assistance.
When it came to using the Shattering Palm, no one in the entire Student Warrior rank was a match for the young man, which meant that he had confidence in his own ability to stay alive.
Having assured himself that the captains and Overseer Tian were unlikely to be at this city, Xu Min finally dared to lift his head up. As he did, he stopped in his tracks, his jaw falling down as he stared agape at the city gate in front of him.
The gate itself was huge. It was at least twenty meters tall, and to a ten year old boy, this was an astonishing size, making him feel much smaller than usual. His heart started pounding hard from this sight as he was pushed forward by the endless stream of people entering the city.
The city walls were ten meters thick. As soon as he entered the city, he became even more astonished by the town houses and the many busy citizens bustling in the streets. Shops were everywhere, selling anything from shoes to services; anything that you wanted to buy was for sale.
All the sights in the city overwhelmed him as he was nudged further and further into the city. The stream of people led him past several different marketplaces where commoners hoped to sell their goods.
Arriving at one of these marketplaces, the streets that previously had been so busy and bustling were suddenly easier to move on. He also noticed that there were many carts parked with their owners calling out the prices and items they were selling.
Looking around the city, one thing that Xu Min noticed was that he was unable to find any shops that specialized in selling items related to martial arts nor were there any martial art schools in sight. After overcoming his hesitation to speak for the first time in two years, he decided to ask around. The answer he got, was that martial arts were something that only the noble families of the city had the luxury to enjoy. It was not for commoners such as themselves.
Hearing this, the young boy could not help but to feel downcast. Nevertheless, his eyes remained focused because he was certain that he could become strong enough on his own. All he needed was the strength to defeat the Zhong family leader. The young man was unsure of what he wanted for his future after his revenge.
Moving around casually within the city, Xu Min suddenly found himself at the harbor. His eyes widened with surprise as he saw blue water as far as his eyes could see. Ships sailed to and from the docks and large groups of men were loading and unloading cargo on the ships.
Having nothing to do except for adoring the scenery in front of his eyes, the young boy went down to the docks and looked around, wondering if he could be of any help.
He did not want to help because he was a kind person. No, as soon as he had been informed that there were no specific places within the city where they would teach martial arts, Xu Min decided to focus on training his body, sculpting it into the perfect tool.
Physical exercise would also help him to increase his cultivation base. He was, after all, a Student Warrior. Unfortunately, although it was a way to raise one's strength, it was far inferior to absorbing the essence of the heavens and earth and then refining it into Qi.
What Xu Min had discovered during his time within the forest was that if one only trained in one aspect without the other, then it was far inferior to training both physically and mentally simultaneously.
Hearing that there were no schools in the area, the plan of the young boy was to find manual labor to do during the day, and then spend his nights cultivating Qi. That way, a balance would form and he would be able to train throughout the whole day, not wasting any time.
This schedule did not allow for any time to learn martial arts, but this was not a real problem because Xu Min had already perfected the Shattering Palm and he had no other martial art skills at his disposal to train.
Walking down to the harbor, Xu Min found a man who seemed to be an overseer and caught his attention by pulling at his shirt.
“What do you want, boy?” The older man asked with a grumpy voice, “Are you lost from your mummy and daddy? It’s dangerous here, you better run along and find some nice people to help you out!”
Hearing that, Xu Min could not help but feel slightly insulted, but none of his emotions showed on his face. Once more the young man overcame his fear of talking and his hoarse voice was heard, “Old man, I’m looking for a job. Do you need more manpower?”
Hearing the young boy ask such a question, the overseer stared at him with disbelief before a deafening laughter escaped from his lips.
“Oi kid, this is no joke. Children like you have nothing to do here! We don’t need people to sweep the floor, we need strong men who can lift these crates with one arm. You think you can lift this crate with one arm? I would like to see you try.”
Hearing the challenging voice with which the man spoke, a harrumph sounded from the young boy before he went towards one of the crates. With a leisurely expression, the child lifted the crate exactly with one arm and as he walked past the overseer, his
eyes could not help but appear to be slightly mocking.
“Where do you want me to put it down?” He asked. This time the overseer looked at him with a wry smile as he scratched his forehead. “Why don’t you put it down over there with the other ones.” He no longer made fun of the youngster.
Xu Min was a peak Student Warrior. How could it be hard for him to lift such a crate? Although this city was far bigger than the one Xu Min came from and despite there being many more Warriors within this city, the men working at the harbor were far from being Warriors. Real Warriors could obviously find a much better paying job.
Placing the crate with the others, Xu Min went back to the overseer, and not even one drop of sweat was evident on his face. The overseer could do nothing but laugh bitterly at himself while wondering where such a monstrous young boy came from.
“Am I good enough to get the job?” Xu Min asked with bated breath. The job here at the harbor would be perfect for him, and happiness bubbled up inside of his chest as he saw the overseer nodding his head.
“You can start now. Move all those crates to the pile over here. You get paid at the end of each day and you better work damn hard, or I’ll fire you.”
Nodding his head, Xu Min was excited as he got his first job within Honghe City.
Chapter 7 – Overseer Wang Li
Hearing that the overseer gave the young boy a job, the other workers could not help but sneak a glance towards the young boy who immediately started to move crates like he had been told to.
Although he was young, no one made fun of him, nor did they question why he had wanted the job. They just observed the young man as he moved the crates, one at a time, towards the shoreline part of the harbor. A cart was waiting for them so they could be sent to the shops in the city.
After they saw the young boy working earnestly and how his face was starting to sweat like their own, they felt respect for him. Their respect increased even more when they saw that even after several hours moving crates, the boy continued, sweating hard but showing no signs of giving up.
Seeing this, all the older men who worked at the harbor were greatly surprised. When it came to strength, it seemed as if the boy was equal to them, something they had a hard time accepting. His speed was also very similar to their own, signifying that he was definitely a cultivator.
The other workers were not the only ones watching the young boy. The overseer spent the majority of his day observing the young child. His eyes narrowed and his hands clenched and unclenched once in awhile. All this time, his eyes were focused on the boy but also somehow distant, as though he was busy contemplating something important.
The day turned to dusk and the sun set on the other side of the sea. The blue seawater and the blue sky turned purple from the sinking sun. The sight was so breathtakingly beautiful that even Xu Min, whose heart was filled with hatred and vengeance, had to stop to enjoy the beautiful scene.
As Xu Min was observing the beautiful sunset, a new group of workers arrived at the harbor. The voice of the overseer rang through the air, “Everyone gather up! Time to switch shifts. Come and collect your money or I will keep it.”
Hearing the voice, laughter could be heard in the harbor as everyone went towards the overseer and gathered up in front of him to accept their pay.
Working at the harbor was a job that could only be done if the workers had a certain amount of strength; however, when these men gained enough strength, they would move on to better paying jobs. This meant that the job as a worker at the harbor was neither really good nor bad.
After waiting for his turn, Xu Min was astonished when he received five copper coins. Although five copper coins was only enough to pay rent for a bed and get one meal at an inn, it was still the first time the young boy had ever earned money with his own hands.
His life at the Zhong Family Compound had been one where he was a servant. Everything he had was given to him, or provided by the family. Since they had paid money to buy him at a young age, Xu Min never saw any sort of payment for his training to become a family guard. Neither had his older sister.
Just as Xu Min was about to walk away, wondering if he should sell some of the plants he had found, he heard the overseer’s voice, “Wait. I still need to speak with you kid,” He said it in a whisper right next to him. Xu Min instantly stopped in his tracks and obediently stepped aside, waiting for the overseer to finish his job.
The overseer’s job was not done yet. As soon as he finished paying the workers at the harbor, he had to spend another half an hour explaining to the new overseer which ships were unloaded already and which ships still needed to be unloaded. He also needed to report what happened during the previous shift.
While the overseer was working, Xu Min stood completely still, waiting for the overseer to return to him. He was in no rush since he had nowhere to return to in this city. All he needed to do was to find an inn and spend the rest of the night cultivating.
“It’s good to see you waiting for me,” A deep voice sounded. Xu Min was startled, because he had not expected to hear any voice from right behind him. He was a cultivator, how was it possible for him to be taken by surprise like this? Even if the other guy was a Warrior it still should have been possible to detect his movements.
“Now follow me,” The overseer said, as he turned around and walked into the dark alleyways leading from the harbor. Seeing this, Xu Min hesitated slightly before he decided to follow the man. It was obvious that the overseer’s cultivation base was far above his own and if he had wished to harm him, he would have done so already.
The truth was that Xu Min was curious. He was curious to know what rank this man had achieved and how he could sneak up on him without being noticed.
Walking through one alleyway after another, Xu Min had quickly lost track of where he was and which way they were moving. Even so, the young boy still rushed behind the older overseer, following him to the best of his abilities.
Finally, after moving for half an hour, they arrived at a shabby looking house attached to other similarly looking houses, none of them seemed to be in good condition. Watching the overseer open the creaking door, Xu Min would have guessed that it would fall from its hinges at any moment, but, unexpectedly, it lasted.
Entering the house, he saw that it was not as shabby as on the outside. Inside was a small stove and a bed. Apart from the overseer, no one else seemed to live in the house, but unlike the outside, both the stove and the bed seemed to be well-maintained. At the foot of the bed was a chest with a lock on it; as to what was locked within the chest, Xu Min had no way of knowing.
“Welcome to my home,” The overseer said casually as he kicked his boots off and sat down on the bed. “So, tell me, are you a young master who escaped from home?”
Shocked at the question, Xu Min looked at the overseer with an expression of complete and utter disbelief on his face. He looked so lost that the overseer could not help but laugh out loud.
“I guess not,” He said while wiping a tear from his eye, “Well, if you want to keep your job, you better tell me your background. I can’t afford to have someone noticing you and thinking that we have kidnapped a genius from some noble family.”
“I’m not from any noble families, though.” Xu Min said with his hoarse voice as he looked at the overseer and contemplated whether or not to tell the truth. Telling the truth would not be a big deal, as long as he made sure not to tell him where he came from; however, there was always a chance that the overseer would start searching for his background. If he found out, who knew, if he would sell Xu Min for the bounty given out by the Zhong family.
“You have to be from a noble family. How else can a kid like you become a peak Student Warrior?”
“My talent is good.” Xu Min stated. When it came right down to it, it really was his own talent which brought him this far. He was never given any medicinal herbs or pills like the young master, so he was actually not lying.
“Well, someone taught you how to
cultivate. And it was someone who was not a complete idiot either. Looking at you, it’s obvious you have been training both your body and your Qi. It is not a bad job you have done, not at all.” The overseer said as he kept looking at Xu Min with a penetrating look. It seemed as if he could see the deepest secrets of the young man.
“I’m not a noble runaway,” Xu Min finally said, “But I can’t tell you where I’m from.” Having decided that it was simply too risky to talk about his background, the young boy could only clench his teeth and accept that he needed to find another good manual labor job.
“Alright,” The overseer sighed, “My name is Wang Li. You can stay here for now. Since you are only a kid, I can’t let you fend for yourself.”
He saw that the young boy was very hesitant and unsure. He wished to refuse the offer, but as soon as his eyes locked with Wang Li’s, he understood that this was not an offer but an order. He swallowed his objections and nodded obediently.