by Tinalynge
“My name is Xu Min.” He answered honestly, before his eyes became alert because he finally realized his mistake. Telling his real name had never been his intention, yet this man managed to get it out of him without any problems.
Seeing a satisfied smile on Overseer Wang Li’s face, Xu Min had the urge to punch him in the face, but instead he moved towards the wall of the house and sat down, leaning against the chilling wooden wall.
As he closed his eyes and he was about to start breathing like Overseer Tian had taught him, he felt something land on his lap. Opening one eye, he saw that a key was lying on his leg.
“Since you will be living here for some time, you better keep this copy,” Overseer Wang Li said before he turned towards the stove and started a fire in the hearth.
Taking the key in his hand, Xu Min once more closed his eyes and started breathing as he had been taught. It did not take long before golden specks of light were visible in the air around him, with some entering and others exiting.
Looking at the boy, a brief expression of surprise was visible on the face of Overseer Wang Li before he smirked and murmured to himself, “He truly does have monstrous talent,” before he continued focusing on the stove in front of him.
On the stove was a saucepan and within it was a hearty seafood soup filled with the best shellfish and stonefish which he managed to purchase during a small break at work. On the side was some bread which Overseer Wang Li sliced into pieces. He quickly placed it next to the soup on the stove, allowing the bread to heat up slightly.
After he heated the food up, Wang Li did not instantly start eating; instead, he looked at the meditating Xu Min. A smile appeared on his face as he saw the boy constantly absorb and emit those golden specks. Then he sat down on his own bed and started to meditate as well.
The two men, one young and the other old, were seated in meditation for a few hours as both of them absorbed the essence of the heavens and the earth. Their breathing started to sync at some point, resulting in the entire room being filled with golden specks of light. Some of these specks were large while others were small, but they were everywhere within the room.
After a few hours, Xu Min finally opened his eyes. As he did, Wang Li did the exact same thing. Looking around, the young boy was deeply shocked because he had never seen that many golden specks before. But sadly, they soon dissipated into nothingness, leaving behind no traces at all. Sighing deeply, Xu Min heard his stomach growl. A smile appeared on his face though, as he saw Wang Li handing him a bowl of soup and some bread.
"Eat Up," the Overseer said, as he poured another bowl of food for himself.
Chapter 8 – A Hundred Gold Coins
Hesitating slightly, Xu Min looked at the food that had been handed to him. Although he had decided to rely only on himself, his stomach did not seem to agree with him now. It started growling loudly, making the young boy’s face turn crimson.
Fortunately, Wang Li showed no signs of reacting to the loud growling sounds of Xu Min’s stomach; instead, he kept pouring the warm soup into his mouth and as soon as he had emptied the bowl, he would pour a new serving for himself. He was eating to his heart’s content. Looking at Wang Li, one would think that they had found the most comfortable man alive.
Smiling slightly, the young boy placed the bowl to his lips and tried some of the broth, only to realize that the flavor was amazing. He quickly ate in a hurried but satisfying way. It was as though the food was rejuvenating his starved and exhausted body.
“So, kid.” Wang Li said after they finished the entire pot of soup, “Are you going to be meditating all night, or do you plan on getting some sleep?”
Looking at the old man with vigilance, Xu Min wondered whether or not it would be possible for anyone to sleep if they were in his situation and responded by moving towards the wall again.
He fell to the floor and quickly sat with his legs crossed and his hands resting in his lap. He closed his eyes and started breathing in the way Overseer Tian had taught him.
Usually, it would take some time for a young boy such as Xu Min to get adjusted to his new surroundings; however, after living in the forest without any proper rest for two years, Xu Min learned how to completely disregard his surroundings and only react to the essence of the heavens and the earth.
While Xu Min was very attentive and alert, he was also aware that it was impossible for him to escape Wang Li’s grasp. As long as the older man wished to look after him, the young boy had absolutely no way to go against him. Since this was the case, he decided to use the opportunity that he was seated in a warm room with a roof above his head to cultivate, hoping that at some point he would break through and transcend the Student Warrior rank.
Although this was Xu Min’s hope, the young boy was aware that despite the fact that he was cultivating every time he could, he was unfortunately in need of some kind of challenge to push his limits. But he simply had no clue how to challenge himself other than how he had been doing for the past few years.
Every day he challenged his physical limits and transcended them while working hard. Previously this constant cycle was accomplished within the forest; however, from now on he would do so at the city harbor.
More than anything, Xu Min wished to find a teacher who would assist him with his training, but finding a teacher proved to be much harder than he expected. If he spent every day at the docks, the young man found that he would have no time to search for a teacher. His only option was to see whether or not he could form a bond with this Overseer Wang.
It was with mixed feelings that Xu Min reached this conclusion. Mainly because the young boy did not trust the man at all. The fact that he accidentally gave away his real name was also something that bothered him a lot. Were this man to hear about the bounty that was placed on him then Xu Min was certain that his head would be delivered to the Zhong Family on a platter.
But at the same time, although this man was someone Xu Min did not trust, Overseer Wang was clearly an expert ranked far above Xu Min. Seeing someone with such strength caused the young boy to feel veneration and hope at the same time. He was hoping dearly that the overseer would not sell him out, and instead focus on teaching him as a disciple.
These thoughts were floating in his head all night as he cultivated. As the sun rose in the sky, painting the clouds to a beautiful purple color, Xu Min opened his eyes and saw that Overseer Wang was gone. The boy quickly locked the small house before he rushed towards the harbor.
Rushing through the alleyways, the young boy was uncertain which way he should go, but his physique was good, which allowed him to keep running at his highest speed for quite a while. At first, he ran about randomly, but as the scent of the salty seawater and fish reached his nose, the young boy rushed in the direction of the smell. He arrived just at the time the sun was finally visible above the eastern horizon.
Wang Li was already busy working in the docks. Multiple scrolls were open in his hands while he barked out orders. As soon as he saw Xu Min, a smile appeared on his face and he waved the boy towards him.
“Good job at arriving on time. Now go move all those crates with fish to that cart.” The Overseer said as he pointed to the crates and the cart.
Hearing the order, the young boy immediately did as he was told without hesitation. Xu Min was hard working. Although he started sweating, he kept working at the same pace, pushing his tired limbs to their limits. He forced his body to overcome its limitations as he constantly trained to improve his strength.
Every time his body was just about to break, it would scream in pain and agony, begging his muscles to stop working; however, when this happened, Xu Min would force himself to remember how his sister died in front of him, and how he was unable to do anything but watch. Watch, as she died. Had he been stronger back then, he should have been able to save her.
While Xu Min was busy focusing on improving his body and working hard, Wang Li was often observing the young boy with a curious gleam in his eye. Throug
hout the day, the overseer watched the young boy for a long time before he temporarily left his duties at the harbor and found a good friend of his, a beggar.
“Listen up, Xiao San,” He said with a smile on his face, “I need you to get me all the information you can about a boy named Xu Min. No matter what you find out about this boy, just tell me. I’ll pay a good price.”
Having asked the beggar, Wang Li rushed back to the harbor only to see that everyone was still doing their tasks as ordered, none of them slacking off in the slightest.
As the day passed and the sun started to set, Wang Li looked at the boy and gave him one last order, “Put these cases up, go back home, and start cultivating. I’ll cook when I return home.
Wang Li could not help but pat the young boy’s head while he said that and a gentle smile emerged on his face. To be honest, Wang Li usually disliked kids a lot. He hated all people who were weak-minded and easy to control, yet this boy was clearly willing to do anything to increase his strength, something that both amazed and worried the older man.
Xu Min looked at his benefactor, hesitating slightly because he had to wonder again how big of a risk it was to stay with this older man. As he pondered over this dilemma, he suddenly remembered the delicious food that was cooked for him the day before. Considering that he had eaten nothing at all the whole day and was working the entire time, his judgment was clearly clouded as he slowly walked towards the small house owned by Wang Li.
At first, Xu Min walked slowly towards his destination, but how could someone this motivated to become stronger walk slowly? He quickly increased his pace while he rushed back to the house. He traveled through all the many alleyways he had used in the morning.
Although the trip was longer than when he had followed Wang Li, it was definitely the best way for Xu Min. He could become familiar with the different alleyways he needed to use to get to the docks like this. Xu Min was the kind of person who would rather be safe and spend extra time on something than be sorry and find himself in a troublesome situation.
While Xu Min was running back to the house, Wang Li was standing at the harbor, no longer focused on the workers in front of him. He was instead leaning against a wall, seemingly in wait of someone’s arrival.
It did not take long before a poor beggar made his way towards the overseer with a sleek grin on his face.
“Overseer Wang,” He greeted, nodding his head yet showing no signs of respect apart from that. “I did as you asked and investigated this kid called Xu Min.”
“Xu Min is a fugitive from a small town within the woods. The reward for bringing his head is a hundred gold coins. As to why he is wanted, I could not determine. In spite of that, let’s split the reward, fifty-fifty. You kill him, and I will return with his head to the Zhong family who issued the bounty.”
Hearing this, Wang Li went quiet for a while, glancing at the beggar to see his expression.
“This information,” He asked with a low voice, “have you told anyone else about it?”
Hearing the question, the beggar could not help but snort in contempt. “Who do you think I am?” he asked, slightly upset, “I do not want others to steal my golden goose. Are you interested or not?”
After Wang Li heard these words, a cold gleam flashed through his eyes. Quicker than anyone was able to notice, his hand struck out, entering the chest of the beggar where his hand squeezed tightly around the beggar’s heart, turning his heart into pulp.
As Xiao San collapsed to the ground, his face was filled with shock. He had not even had a moment to let out a sound, let alone a scream.
As the man collapsed to the ground, Wang Li had long since vanished. He merged with the dark shadows of the small alleyways and made his way back to the house where the young man was awaiting his arrival.
Wang Li stopped briefly in one of the darkest alleyways where he wiped the blood off his hand with a cloth, which he then tossed away. A hard expression was present on his face, which then slowly turned back to his usual jovial look. As his appearance slowly returned to normal, the Overseer headed towards a marketplace, where he purchased ingredients for dinner.
Returning to the room, Wang Li noticed that Xu Min was seated on the ground. He was in the exact same place as he had been the previous night. A slight chuckle escaped the older man’s lips. For some reason, Wang Li took a liking to this young man, and he could not help but feeling curious about what such a young child could have done to be hunted at such a tender age.
Without disturbing the cultivating boy, Wang Li started cooking the food he had purchased. After an hour, Xu Min was unable to cultivate any further because the scent of food reminded his body how hungry it was after a whole day of hard labor, and it interrupted his concentration.
Seeing that Wang Li seemed to be contemplating something while cooking, a feeling of danger surfaced in Xu Min’s heart. Instinctively, his eyes looked towards the door as he estimated the necessary time he needed to run away.
However, before he had a chance to make even the slightest movement, Wang Li was in front of the door with a smile on his face.
“So kid, I hear your head is worth a hundred gold coins. Why don’t you tell me what you did? Depending on your answer, I might just find myself a hundred gold coins richer.”
Chapter 9 – Attempted Escape
Xu Min froze as he heard Overseer Wang’s words. His eyes widened and his heart started beating rapidly. Since the door was already blocked, he quickly looked around to search for other exits.
There were none and the overseer just stood in front of the door with a sly smile on his face.
“Now now,” Wang Li said as he noticed the boy’s sudden panic, “I am not so desperately in need of money that I would hand over a boy without hearing his side of the story. But if you lie to me, then I’ll make sure that you never speak another word again.”
As the overseer threatened Xu Min, the young boy already knew that he had no other choice than to tell the truth. Fleeing would be impossible now, because the only exit was fully covered by the overseer’s large figure. His eyes were locked onto the little boy who was currently feeling like a rabbit trapped by a hungry wolf.
Seeing the fear in the young boy’s eyes, Wang Li could not help but wonder once more what exactly a child this young could have done to make him worth such an extravagant bounty.
Young eyes locked onto older ones. Both of them were completely silent The atmosphere within the room was so tense that one could cut it with a knife.
Because the only exit was guarded, attempting to escape would be futile and would likely only cause the older man to become angry. He also already said that if Xu Min were to lie, then the young boy would have sealed his fate to be delivered to the Zhong Family.
Thinking all his possible choices through, the young boy sighed deeply - his eyes gleaming with perseverance. He lived to get revenge on the Zhong family. He could not afford to die now.
Nodding his head, Xu Min sat back down on the ground. His black eyes were seemingly as deep as an endless abyss and no emotion was visible other than overwhelming despair.
Seeing his despair, Wang Li once more questioned the past of this young man. To be honest, he had no intention of handing the young boy over for the sake of some petty coin. It was only due to his curiosity, how such a skilled young boy could appear seemingly out of nowhere, that spurred him to pressure the young boy to get information about his background.
Xu Min gritted his teeth as the despair in his black eyes turned to anger, and then to hate. His fists were gripped tightly, and although he had not said anything, Wang Li easily understood that something terrible had happened to make this boy this way. His interest grew even stronger, and the sly smile on his face grew somewhat larger.
“My sister and I were sold when we were children,” Xu Min started to explain, and spent the rest of the evening talking about everything that had happened to him.
He did not reveal his background for the sake of confiding
in Wang Li nor from the threat made by him. The reason he explained everything down to the tiniest detail was to get some pity from the much older overseer. If the Overseer pitied him, there would be a bigger chance for him to live.
Another reason why he opened up to Wang Li was the hope that Wang Li would get distracted; creating a chance for him to quickly escape from the small house without risking his neck in the process.
The most important thing for Xu Min was not how others viewed him, nor was it honor and pride. In his perspective, survival was the most important thing. As long as he was alive, he would be able to get revenge.
That being said, although this young boy did not feel about honor and pride like most people do, he still had his own code of conduct. As long as he was treated with kindness, he would repay that person in kind. If he was shown respect, he would in turn give respect.
Halfway through his story, Xu Min’s face turned exceedingly ugly. He noticed that no matter what he said trying to cause the older man to lose focus and move away from the door was futile.