by Daman
Elias then turned back, and started speeding through the terrain. The interest Dane had on his disciple worried him slightly, but if any issues arose, he would deal with it within the shadows.
“At least he didn’t get hurt too seriously, I’ll have to keep a closer eye on him.”
The irony of that last sentence was not lost on him. Giving a low chuckle, Elias sped even more.
Chapter 22 – A Fresh Sight
*chirp* *chirp*
It was a peaceful morning while the birds sailed through the sky and searched for their morning food. The worms in the ground hurried to dig deeper into the soil before their feathered friends noticed.
In a small hut, enormous waves of essence surged around a small boy of eight years old. From the outside, everything appeared normal and not a trace of the essence leaked. The servants swept the entire corridor without realizing that anything was amiss.
“Phew, I think the essence in my core increased by another dozen drops. This is exhausting, after hours of cultivation and I only increased my essence by a mere few drops!”
Calron sighed while he slowly got up from the mat. If the Voice had been here, then he would have definitely smacked Calron! Those few drops of essence had been refined to its purest state and even a single drop of that essence contained an astonishing amount of power.
It was already shocking that Calron had cultivated a dozen drops in just a few hours! Unknown to Calron, this method of directly cultivating liquid essence would bring countless benefits to his core in future!
“Where is this Fatty, he said he’ll take me somewhere good and he still hasn’t shown his face yet!”
Calron muttered while putting on some clean clothes.
After a few minutes, a red-faced Fatty appeared in front of Calron’s door.
*pant*
“Sorry, big brother! I got held up in some important business.”
Fatty wheezed out the words while resting his arms on his knees. His face was completely red as if he had just ran around the entire school and sweat dripped from his forehead as Fatty continuously wiped it away on his shoulder.
“Don’t lie to me, Fatty! You were probably just wolfing down Gretha’s food!”
Calron said while giving Fatty a hard look. Under the intense scrutiny by Calron, Fatty instantly wilted.
“Ahh, forgive me big brother but she cooked sausages for breakfast, and you know how long it’s been since I’ve eaten those delicious things!”
Fatty said while joining his hands and miserably pleading in front of Calron. After spending such a short time with him, Calron already knew Fatty’s silly antics, so he didn’t really mind.
“Haha, Fatty, let’s go! You better take me to a nice place otherwise, hmph!”
“Don’t worry, big brother, I promise you’ll not regret coming to this place! Frankly, I’m surprised you haven’t heard of this place before!”
Fatty inquired with a slight raise of his eyebrows.
“I’ve only been here for a few days, so it’s natural I don’t know much about the surrounding areas. Besides, none of the other disciples were very welcoming.”
Calron explained while Fatty nodded his head. Although the same was true for Fatty as well, it was only by chance that he discovered this place.
“Alright, let’s go!”
Fatty shouted while dragging Calron behind him.
………….
“Uh…what’s this, Fatty?”
Several small strange looking lizard creatures were being grilled on sticks, outside a large booth. The lizards had double forked tails and didn’t seem to have much meat on them. The vendor was a sweaty pot-bellied man who kept rotating the sticks over the grill. His sweat dripped onto the meat, but he didn’t seem to care as he still kept roasting them.
Calron turned his face away in revulsion and even Fatty seemed a bit embarrassed by the situation.
“Forget about him, big brother, look around you! Anything you could ever want will be for sale here! Food, weapons, pills and even cultivation techniques! Isn’t it amazing?”
Fatty exclaimed with a spin on his heels. He seemed to be really enjoying playing the role of a guide for Calron today.
Calron gazed at the whole marketplace and it was exactly as Fatty stated. There were vendors selling all kinds of merchandise with buyers bargaining for cheaper prices while the vendors pretended to be cheated of profits.
There were many strange goods being sold, but Calron had to agree that everything he could think of was available in front of his eyes. He even thought he saw some caged beasts!
Calron realized that they were just at the start of the marketplace and that it actually went a lot deeper inside, with the quality of shops increasing, as the closer one got to the center.
This place was absolutely crowded! There were various kinds of people, from merchants to martial artists, just loitering around the shops. Calron even spotted a few disciples from the Red Boar School.
Giving a final disgusted gaze to the sweaty man grilling lizards, Calron started walking forwards as Fatty soon followed him.
Fatty continued his non-stop prattling on the different types of exotic food that were available here, while Calron paid close attention to what was being sold in the market. If he had any money, then he probably would have been tempted to buy almost half of the items he saw in the past few minutes!
All of a sudden, Calron stopped in his footsteps. Fatty realized after a while that Calron wasn’t following him anymore, so he rushed back to see what delayed Calron.
In front of Calron were countless bottles of pills. Some were colorful, others were ornate with designs, and the rest were simply dull. Even their shapes varied as some of the pills were either spherical or cylindrical, and there were even some that were shaped like a cube!
A fifteen-year-old youth sat behind the counter and lazily stretched across the chair. Seeing Calron’s curious gaze, he spoke in a nonchalant tone.
“The colorful ones are five copper squares, the square ones are seven copper squares and the rest are all three copper squares. No discounts. If you are going to bargain, then just leave right now.”
Seeing the uncaring attitude of the vendor, Calron was slightly taken back. He thought the vendor would be trying to convince him to buy his goods but it was the complete opposite.
“Big brother, what’re you doing here? All these pills look pretty but their actual medicinal effects are very low! Real pills would not be sold for just copper squares. You need to be careful when buying something, as most of them are plain junk! Let’s leave!”
The young vendor didn’t seem to mind what Fatty was saying and just gestured with his hands for them to shoo away.
It seemed like they were still in the cruddy part of the market as Fatty explained that the best goods were closer to the center of the market, but Calron was pretty sure Fatty was about to say “foods” rather than goods.
Sometimes a few older girls passing by would swoop down and pinch Fatty’s cheeks as they cried out how cute he was, but Fatty would just shrug them off and continue walking. Calron was sure he saw a glint in Fatty’s eyes but he left it alone. He knew from the beginning that Fatty already had a destination in mind, so he simply enjoyed the journey.
It was thrilling for Calron to see all these new things so he just absorbed all the scenery, smells and noises. It was a chaotic jumble of sensations but it felt good to have his mind distracted from cultivation.
Just as both Fatty and Calron were walking, a huge crowd seemed to be gathering to the side of the market.
“Rare magical beast for sale! It’s your once in a lifetime chance to buy one! Hurry up and bid before your neighbor does!”
A loud boisterous voice sounded throughout the marketplace. It was clear that the man was using his essence to amplify his voice. The announcement exited Calron!
“Fatty, let’s check it out! I’ve never seen a magical beast before!”
“But, but we’re almos
t there. It’s probably a stupid first rank beast anyways, what’s so special about them?”
While Fatty continuously whined, Calron just dragged him towards the crowd. There were hardly any gaps to squeeze through and most of the people were taller than both Calron and Fatty, so they were unable to pass through the cluster.
“Fatty, get on the ground, we’ll crawl through their legs.”
Without waiting for an answer, Calron immediately crouched down and started tunneling through the gathered people, while Fatty just stood there with a blank stare on his face. Calron was obviously skinny so he would have no problem passing through other people’s legs, but what about Fatty?
“Big brother, I hate you!”
With a tearful cry, Fatty got on his hands and knees, and started crawling behind Calron. Every once in while, one of the standing bidders would kick Fatty in the rear as he passed by them. Stifling his tears and curses, Fatty continued forward.
While Fatty was getting kicked around, Calron had already reached the front of crowd. As soon as he laid his eyes at the sight in front of him, his mouth dropped open.
Chapter 23 – The Beast Within
Calron felt immense awe while gazing upon this magnificent creature.
It was truly a beauty to behold.
The beast was like a large white cat with rippling muscles. Its fur glowed with a beauty that was difficult to describe in words, and Calron was certain that the fur would be extremely soft to the touch as well.
It had thin, aqua-blue stripes swirling around its paws and its eyes shone with the same hue. There was a gentle aura emanating from the beast that made Calron feel as if the beast was a peaceful creature in the wild.
To see such a beast caged and crudely presented in front of an audience, Calron felt only sorrow and bitterness. There was nothing Calron could do to relieve it of its suffering, as he had neither the money nor the power.
Just then, a wailing Fatty appeared next to Calron with footmarks all over his robe and face. The footprints varied in their size and shape, so much so that one could tell Fatty had been brutally kicked by a large amount of the crowd!
“Big brother, how could you do this to me? You know how sensitive my body is, and look at my face now! One of the old women stepped on me mercilessly as she thought I was stealing her purse. Big brother!”
Fatty continuously complained to him, while Calron paid no attention to his ranting.
“This is a rare first rank beast with a water element! Furthermore, it’s still young, so it can be tamed much more easily! Starting bid is at ten gold squares, so start placing your bids now!”
The crowd erupted into a chaos of shouts. It had to be understood that a single gold square was enough for a small family to survive for months, and this beast’s starting bid was ten times that amount!
Moreover, this auction was happening outside in the market with no rules or authority to manage it, so the scene was completely chaotic with everyone shouting their bids. The man auctioning the beast seemed to be a bit overwhelmed as he tried to hear some of the bids, but then someone from a different location would shout even louder than the previous voice!
Suddenly,
“SILENCE! How dare you maggots cause a commotion in the market?”
A group of guards came marching, while their captain furiously roared at the crowd. The guards had the city Lord’s emblem on their chests, as they walked arrogantly towards the man on stage. Their emblem was a black bear’s head growling to the side.
“Hand over this beast right now! It is illegal to auction any property publicly without the city Lord’s approval!”
The captain stated loftily.
Hearing those words, the owner of the magical beast visibly crumpled. He had lost many brothers while obtaining this beast, and if the guards were to just take it away, then how will he take care of his dead brothers’ families?
“Sir, please forgive this lowly person! I will give you all the money I have, but please don’t take away the beast. My brothers fought against its mother and lost their lives trying to obtain that beast!”
The man knelt on the ground and begged the guards.
If he had the money, then he would have directly gone to an auction house as opposed to selling the beast on the street. If he had paid the commission cost to the auction house, then he wouldn’t have much money remaining in the end.
That was the reason he decided to take a chance and sell it publicly instead, but how could he have expected that the plan in return, would make him lose everything?
Seeing the man kneeling on the ground, the captain of the guards just raised his foot and stepped on the man’s neck.
“You think I have time to waste on you? Just hand it over, or else I will personally chop off both your hands for breaking the law.”
The captain coldly stated.
In truth, this was not a serious matter as there were many vendors who didn’t have permits, but the captain wanted that rare magical beast as a pet. Although it was only a first rank beast, it was still worth decent money, or it could be used to bribe an officer for a promotion. The beast was pleasing to the eye, so any officer’s child would definitely fancy it.
Faced with that threat, the man bitterly cried, as there was nothing he could do. The crowd of surrounding people had been watching the scene from the start, and yet not one person objected or intervened.
Calron felt his heart violently surge with anger as he saw the man kneeling in front of these pretentious guards. He was almost about to jump on the stage when he saw the captain step on the heartbroken man, but then he suddenly felt a steely grip on his arm.
“Big brother, you cannot get involved. Those guards have the backing of the city Lord and if anyone fights back, then not only the person involved will get killed, but his family and friends will be held accountable as well. Please endure for now, big brother.”
Hearing Fatty’s frosty voice, Calron was startled. Fatty’s face was burning in rage and even the air around him chilled to a great extent, as the nearby people subconsciously moved away from the cold.
This was the same feeling Calron felt back when Felice had released her essence. He didn’t sense any essence from Fatty, but that bone-chilling aura was unmistakable!
Even Fatty’s vice-like grip on Calron arm contained a strength that belied his outer chubby appearance. Fatty’s arctic-blue eyes had a certain sharpness and intensity to it that Calron hadn’t noticed before. So far, he had always seen Fatty goofing around or chasing after food, but this was the first time he felt like he saw the true Fatty, no, Roran.
He currently had the same noble aura as Felice, and Calron started to feel that there was a lot more to Fatty than the goofy attitude he showed to the world.
“Sigh…sorry Fatty, I should have known better than to rashly head into trouble. It still angers me that none of these people here tried to stop the guards.”
Knowing that Calron had calmed down, Fatty released his grip and even the aura around him returned back to normal.
“Big brother, don’t blame these people as they also have no choice in the matter. If they objected to the guards, then their lives would be at stake and who would be willing to sacrifice their life for a stranger? It’s the way humanity is, and only the strong can change their fates and that of those around them.”
Fatty sadly uttered to Calron.
Hearing the hint of anguish from Fatty’s voice, Calron was sure something must have happened to Fatty in the past, but he wanted to let Fatty reveal his life’s story by his own choice, rather than confronting him about it. He had learned after being with Elias that some secrets were meant to be in the dark.
“Sir, please don’t do this! The livelihoods of several families depend on the money from this beast’s sale!”
The beast’s owner continued to cry while the captain had his foot on his neck.
Seeing the broken state of the man on stage, many of the gathered crowd felt pity in their hearts but
none made a move to stop the guards.
“You filth! Look at what you did to my shoes! It’s dirty now, so obediently lick it clean!”
The captain insolently commanded the grief-stricken man, while the other guards behind him snickered quietly.
“Captain Gar has way too much fun these days, remember the old blacksmith a few days ago?”
“Oh, wasn’t captain interested in his daughter? Hehe.”
The guards shamelessly bantered, and since they were being openly loud, the rest of the crowd could hear them clearly as well.
Other than feeling disgusted by them, there was nothing else they could do but quietly watch.
“You! How d-“
Seeing that he was just being kicked around, the man finally started to realize that no matter how much he pleaded, the guards would still take away his beast. Felling both rage and humiliation, he started to get up and furiously released his essence.