Chapter 3
Inside the vast deep blue waters...
Inside the deep vast realm lays a small figure sinking further and further down to the point of no return. The small bubbles escaping from his mouth became smaller one by one to the point they were barely visible to the naked eye.
However, even so, the figure didn't bother struggling desperately to survive. Instead, it flayed in complete resignation and defeat as it should have done in the first place. His ears kept ringing with all of his heart demons that seemed to get louder the more he got closer to what he surmised was the abyss. The jade-green eyes had long lost their shine leaving nothing but an empty husk.
His head was completely empty as if it had stopped all thoughts well maybe except for one...
The figure closes his eyes for a moment looking back to his memories.
Many people in this world usually have little to no memories of their early childhood years. Even if they did it was usually quite blurry and vague. At most, they could recount some sensations they felt at the time. Some could vaguely recall seeing certain colors or hearing sounds of what they guessed might have come from the environment they were in at the time.
The young dirty slave could hardly remember a thing about his past prior to living on the streets making ends meet. His earliest memories were of the time that he had spent with his foolishly kind brother desperately begging even for a small piece of stale bun. He didn't really care to be honest. The past was the past and there was no use dwelling on it unless you had a shitload of free time to waste on your side. What mattered was the present where they could drop dead at any moment should they let their guard down for even a single moment.
Plus it wasn't like there was much to his past in the first place. He was just a washed-up rat who had been fortunate enough to survive his parent's attempt to permanently rid him from the face of the world. A pity that they failed as a result allowing this dirty ominous stain in their lives to live beyond his expiration date and lead a trail of filth and blood behind every person he had encountered much to their misfortune.
The older boy couldn't bring himself to utter a single word which was more than enough of an indicator of just how much regretted picking up the dirty washed-up rat all those years ago. The little jade-eyed boy didn't blame him for thinking that way. Everyone would always say how he was bad and that there was nothing remotely good about him. There was something wrong about him probably had a few screws loose in his head. He wasn't like the others and was far too much for anyone to handle. He was a deranged lunatic that was what he was and will always be no matter what. It didn't matter how much effort people would put into him it would all be drained down the huge bottomless hole never to see the sunlight of the outside world ever again.
He remembers overhearing one of the slave brats stating how Qi-Ge should have never picked that trash up in the first place and should have left him to rot in the moot he was found. Better yet it would have been better for all of them if he had never come out of the river alive in the first place. He should have spent the rest of his life becoming a lost soul trapped eternally in the turbulent cold waters.
He also remembers the slave traders complaining about the troublesome cheeky little brat that they at the time had thought would prove to become an interesting merchandise with his unusual jade green eyes. Except he had proven to be nothing more than a huge pain in their asses with his sharp mouth and snappy demeanor. Clearly, they had gotten more than what they had bargained for, and not in a good way at that. They were honestly tempted to throw the brat into the den of stray dogs to spare them all the trouble. However, they have invested too much in that boy and now all they could wait was for a good deal to come their way and wipe their hands off of him.
Not a single person in the world was ever to have been glad to have Shen Jiu around. There had been some who had shown him kindness but they would all eventually quickly leave him when they saw through his true disgusting nature. Those who had stuck around were thoroughly dragged into the mud and suffered a fate worse than death.
Wu-Ge and San-Jie were proof of the fact that he was nothing more than a damn curse. The two older slave children were such good kind-hearted gentle souls.
Especially San-Jie who took up the maternal role of their small group. Xiao Jiu never had any parents and didn't know what a mother's love or kindness is but he thinks San-Jie was the closest thing he had to one. She was always so sweet, soft, gentle, calm, and most importantly wise. Perhaps it was due to her calm gentle demeanor that she was able to see things other people did not and seemed to know way more things about the world than any stupid adult ever will. San-Jie was the one who taught him the importance of patience and endurance. She helped him widen his eyes and scopes far beyond the narrow view of those stupid idiots. The older slave girl taught him how to see things from different perspectives allowing him to grasp the bigger picture. At first, he didn't see her point and thought she was an airheaded daydreaming fool. It was only after she was sold did he saw the true value of her wisdom as her departure left a huge gap in their small group.
San-Jie had one of her eyes injured by a stupid idiot bitch who was jealous of her for standing on top of the hierarchy among the children's slave group. They couldn't understand how someone so weak and dazed could earn the doting and protection of slave boys. She even had the little feral wild cat wrapped around her palms. All she had was her good face which in her opinion didn't even look that good. All she had to do was stand there and be stupid to get everything that they were working their asses off to get!
What the young girl wasn't aware of was that San-Jie had been one of the biggest breadwinners in their group. She earned her food using her great wisdom and top-notch communication skills to her advantage. She knew where to go and what methods to use to earn her share as well as the others. It was a trade secret of hers one she never revealed to anyone not even to Wu-Ge who had been with her long before Qi-Ge came into the group.
San-Jie might seem meek but her guard was very tight making it difficult to target her. However, that day she had been preoccupied with mediating between Xiao Jiu the feral cat, and the other slave children for driving them out of all the good begging spots! (It was the widest road in town that was clean and fit enough to let a grand carriage pass through. Some generous nobles or rich merchants might feel up for giving charity if they felt like it. However, it was also a road leading up to the soldiers' barracks meaning get the timing wrong and those nasty irritated frustrated soldiers would pass by. Those brats thought it would be a good idea to sit there just as the soldiers were finishing their rounds for the day!) Qi-Ge was there trying to placate both sides really only making the situation worse as per usual. San-Jie decided to intervene when she saw things were getting out of hand. However, as a result, she left an opening allowing the stupid child to injure her. Xiao Jiu wanted to return the favor by ten-folds but he was stopped by the tyrant Wu-Ge.
Wu-Ge gave one hell of a whack on Xiao Jiu's head yelling at him at how stupid he was to use his powers out in the open for everyone to see and hear. Did he want to get sold as some guinea pig to those damn perverted demonic cultivators!? Better yet did he want to put the entire group in jeopardy by parading the freak banner around!? It didn't matter if he was the only one with those powers or not because the slave traders won't sure as hell give a damn so long as they get a handsome price for their necks! Sure San-Jie might have been at fault for letting her guard down but it was...
San-Jie yelled at him to stop and not say another word. But it was too late Xiao Jiu wasn't stupid he knew what Wu-Ge wanted to say. He also knew that the boy had every right to say it. That it was Xiao Jiu's fault. Xiao Jiu's fault for getting scuffled up with those brats in the first place. If only Xiao Jiu hadn't bothered with those brats San-Jie wouldn't have been injured and she wouldn't have lost her right eye.
The older slave girl told him repeatedly not to worry too much about her eye and tried her best to assure him even putting all the blame of losing her eye on herself. But Xiao Jiu knew better. He knew it was his fault.
He heard the two siblings arguing that night they thought that Xiao Jiu and Qi-Ge were asleep.
"What were you thinking!? Getting involved in that fight!" The older tyrant shouted at the top of his lungs
"What else did you expect me to do to just stand by and watch?" The older girl kneads the bridge of her nose completely annoyed.
"Yes! Like you always do! You've always been smart A-San that's why you managed to survive even when all the others dropped dead. You never cared not for them not for me certainly not for those other brats either!" He points in the direction where the other slave children are sleeping in their cots. "Yet all of a sudden you decided to be stupid and help that brat!"
"It was a bad situation and..."
"And the brat could have handled it himself" Wu-Ge interrupts her.
"And here I thought you weren't capable of saying something nice about someone. Turns out you were just shy" The older girl pokes at the older boy with a teasing smile on her face.
"As if. He's been nothing but a problem since he came here." Wu-Ge crosses his arms and huffs annoyed "I knew I should have thrown him out the moment I saw that brat in that idiot's arms." He ruffles his hair in frustration. "Everything's changed because of that damn devil including you!"
"Yes, you're right..." San Jie deeply sighs.
"I tell you he'll be the death of us all I swear" Wu-Ge mockingly smirks not only towards at his foolish sister but also at his soft-hearted foolish self.
From there Xiao Jiu stopped listening he ran out of the small coot and headed for the river. The moonlight brightly lit the water's surface allowing him to see his reflection in full color. This was probably the first time the young child saw his appearance so clearly like this. What he saw though was the appearance of a dirty child with bruises and scratches all over him. His hair matted beyond repair and his skin as course as the rocks shorn up on the river banks. His mossy vomit-colored eyes are as feisty as a feral beast. Rather than a child, all he could see was a monster a monster that as Wu-Ge had said would one day bring the doom of them all.
Wu-Ge's words proved to be right when San-Jie ended up being sold the next day at an extremely low price by the slave traders to a sadistic brothel owner who was willing to buy her even with one of her eyes blind saying she was looking for something that would be interesting. He didn't even know if she was still alive most likely not though knowing the bad rumors about the brothel owner.
Wu-Ge himself didn't have a good ending. In fact, his death had been probably one of the most horrific things that Shen Jiu had ever seen in his life even to this day. 6 months after San-Jie was sold, Wu-Ge was also sold to a wealthy old nobleman who ordered the most robust and fierce slave out of all of them. The slave traders honestly wanted to sell Xiao Jiu to him and even recommended him to the noble. The senior became interested, however, he couldn't exactly trust just their words alone, could he? So he demanded to see the merchandise in action. The slave traders hesitated but when they saw the generous golden taels shining up on the table they guided the nobleman to where the slave children usually gathered around. Luckily, for them, Xiao Jiu was there as per usual fighting with the new batch of goods this time.
However, unlike normally this time the tyrant Wu had come in to intervene and beat the crap out of Xiao Jiu for annoying the fucking hell out of him! The noblemen's eyes lit up upon seeing the boy whacking some fucking sense into the idiot brat. He already made his choice right then and there and demanded that the little tyrant be sold to him. The slave traders were reluctant at first. After all, the tyrant Wu was actually pretty useful to the point that the boss considered allowing him to become one of them once he became old enough. However, blinded by the shining gold taels in front of them they ended up selling the brat to the nobleman.
Xiao Jiu had no idea about any of this until the last minute and by the time he found out it had been all too late...
The next time he would see Wu-Ge or at least what remained of him was 3 months after he was sold. All that was left of him was the churned-up body parts that had been ripped apart and ravaged by his owner's dogs. Apparently, as the tale goes Wu-Ge had been brutally tortured by the nobleman to the point of insanity. By the time he was burned alive, he had lost all of his teeth, all of his fingers broken, parts of his skin cut off, his eyeballs dug out of him, his hair ripped off of his scalp, and so on. Even after being burned alive, he was still just barely alive and conscious as the nobleman's hunting dogs' teeth ripped through what remained of his body.
The young slave boy spent the rest of the day vomiting on the ground at the horrific sight before him. He didn't know how but after he calmed down a bit he did the best he could do to retrieve the remains and bury them at the small hill near the river banks.
From then on the older boy's death haunted him whispering into his ear how everything was his fault that he died and it would have been better if Shen Jiu had simply died in a ditch somewhere years ago. Now that he thinks back on it that must have been his very first heart demon...
But in his desperation to live, he ignored it and turned a blind eye to the whisper he realized he should have listened to all those years ago. If he had so many things would have been different...
He lied to himself that the reason that they died was because they were too soft-hearted and weak. Eventually after repeatedly telling himself those lies he eventually came to believe them. However, he could never forget the feeling of powerlessness and the deep sense of loss he felt from the departure of the two older slave children. He knew he didn't want to feel that again. So, he made the resolve to tightly grasp ahold of the little things he had including his sworn brother.
Qi-Ge was so soft and stupidly naive. He was also foolishly kind lending a helping hand to those that didn't even deserve it. It was one of the good things about him and what made Xiao Jiu like him so much out of all those snotty brats. But it was also one of the bad things about him that had him constantly worrying over the edge for him. The oaf was far too good for his own good because of that he always gets taken advantage of by those parasites mooching off of him. Really, if he hadn't been under the protection of the two older slave children he would have died off somewhere in the ditch years ago. Xiao Jiu knew from a very young age that he would have to work ten times hard to keep themselves afloat as he was the only one with the brain among the two sworn brothers.
He swore to himself that he would protect Qi-Ge no matter what and ensure he was well taken care of in the stead of the two older slave children. It was up to him to care for and protect the oaf!
How foolish right? Especially considering the fact that the one Qi-Ge needed protection from the most was him...
The little boy knew deep down inside his heart that Qi-Ge was better off without Xiao Jiu and he was proven right when his fight with Si-Wu had nearly led them both to be sold to the damn monster. Luckily, he managed to drive the oaf out just in time allowing him to escape the fate of being the monster's new punching bag or something even worse...
Xiao Jiu had a bad premonition when he saw the bastard's creepy smile as if though the messenger of hell had come to dig out his soul. His premonition truly had been spot-on as he felt the pieces of himself breaking bit by bit as the years passed by until nothing was left under the sick torture and rule of the monster.
Despite what the older slave child thought back then Xiao Jiu truly hadn't lied about his legs being broken by the bastard. However, he did omit several details so as to not worry the older boy. Also because he couldn't bear to speak of it his body shutting down the moment he remembers about... If the oaf had known what exactly had happened that day he feared that the boy would have continued attempting to rescue him even at the cost of his life. He knew he had to drive him away right then and there if not the boy would end up dead like Wu-Ge.
He was tired and done with losing things and he didn't want to lose anything anymore.
That's why he made the oaf make that promise with him. Even though he knew how unrealistic and foolish such a promise was. But it was the only chance he had to let go of Qi-Ge and let him become free from him far away from his curse and soar his big shining wings as he was supposed to. When his sworn brother had left he felt a deep sense of relief and sadness. Relief that he managed to save the one thing precious to him. Sadness that he had truly become alone like he had always been meant to be.
However, his heart was weak and as a result, when he had reunited with his former sworn brother he hesitated. Just for a slight second, he was tempted to run into the big wide broad chest of his kind-hearted gentle brother. But when he saw the reflection of himself in the young grown-up teenager's eyes all he could see was the great big figure of a bloody monster. With that, he managed to wake his eyes up from the fogged daze he was in just in time to stab his former Shifu before he could the immortal master. The young teenager then said all those mean hurtful things including the one about the bastard betraying him! (He didn't really mean it. He just wanted to drive him away from him.)
He laughed so happily when he saw the immortal master descending from the skies. Yes, this was it! He could finally free everyone from the disgusting piece of trash! However, just before the Cang Qiong Sect Leader could deal the finishing blow that he so desperately wanted, his former sworn brother deflected the attack and came into his defense. As embarrassing as it was he didn't remember what happened from there only that the next thing he knew his entire body was wrapped around in chains and locked up deep in the underground dungeons.
The young teenagers spent weeks being tortured and interrogated by one immortal master to another until they finally resigned that he wouldn't speak a single word. He didn't know what the oaf said to get him out of there but it worked. He was brought in by the Hall Master all spick and span (well at least the parts that could be hidden with makeup), The Sect Leader threatened him to keep his mouth shut to not utter a single word of what had happened in the dungeons.
The Qing Jing Peak Lord who had happened to pass by so as she said took a fancy to him after seeing his dead-like fish eyes. From then on he had adorned on the robe of the Qing Jing Peak disciple and vowed his loyalty to the sect.
However, the real reason he stayed despite everything was because his heart was too weak as per usual. He couldn't bring himself to separate from Yue Qingyuan who had latched onto him whether it be out of guilt for abandoning him, obligation to save him from Wu Yanzi, or to use him as a convenient tool for him to climb up high up the stairs.
A tool...
From there Xiao Jiu's foolish hopes and dreams of wanting to protect his brother reignited. He had allowed himself to drown in this illusion that Qi-Ge still needed him and that he was helping him by acting as a footstand for his ascendence to glory.
He probably would have allowed himself to continue drowning in those delusions if it hadn't been for the world reminding him yet again that he was the cause of everything bad in the first place.
Right San-JIu and Wu-Ge had ended up with horrific fates because of him. What was he doing dragging another person into his mess? Not just any person his former sworn brother. The shining Qiong Ding head disciple and future Sect Leader of the Cang Qiong Mountain Sect.
He had already ruined so many things for him as children and he was also doing it again after they had reunited.
It was because of him that Yue Qingyuan's relations with his martial family had become greatly strained even though according to the other disciples they had gotten along so well before.
It was because of him that the disciples started questioning Yue Qinguan's position and status as the next future Sect Leader.
It was because of him that the older boy was forced to swallow his pride and dignity to give him useless apologies
It was because of him that the young teen sighed more than he did when they were children.
Everything going wrong in Yue Qingyuan's life had been because of him.
He was such an idiot! He was such a foolish stupid dumb mutt like Qiu Jianluo always mocked him!
For once in his lifetime he thanked the heavens for coming to remind him just in time before he could completely destroy his former martial brother's life. They were even so generous as to give him the opportunity to rid himself from the face of the planet finally putting an end to his curse.
It was only a pity though that he couldn't prevent his death from becoming another burden to his former sworn brother.
However, with him gone, everything should go back into order as it was meant to be. That thought was the only thing that kept his mind in peace.
The little dirty slave smiles as he feels himself sinking even further down just enough to allow the darkness to finally gulf him whole...
In the caves up the coast cove
A strong gust of wind breezes through the coast carrying the gentle lullabies sung by the ocean waves. The colorful leaves and dandelion seeds dance among the beautiful verses of the musical score. The wind continues to travel gently touching everything it comes into contact with.
Eventually, it finds its way to the entrance of a small cove near the coastal beach. It swirls around for a few minutes or so until it makes its way inside. The paths started very simple however as they travel deeper and deeper inside the path separates into a series of what was a complex maze. The wind keeps walking in loops from one dead to another However, at the end of one of the small roads there is an opening leading up.
The wind climbs up above reaching up to the blinding light. There it is beholden with the grand mesmerizing sight of a crystal clear waterfall falling from the huge sinkhole of the cave ceilings. The moonlit illuminated cave was covered full of lush green leaves and flowers that grew in between the stone cracks making it an ethereal majestic sight one that could even perhaps rival the heavenly gardens itself.
In the midst of it all small balls of light gather around the center of a small hill that lies right in the middle of the huge waterscape.
On top of the small hill lay a huge furry blanket covering a small figure. The small figure was hot red his body burning with a huge fever. The young figure's body was injured all over no doubt from his great fall from the cliffs. As a result, he had to be wrapped with bandages from head to toe as though he were a mummy. The wounds varied from light scrapes to serious infected gashes that no matter how one looked at it could only be described as extremely painful. Those had to be slabbed with medical salves which thank Heavenly seems to be doing its job.
But even so, throughout the entire process, the small figure didn't let out even a tiny squeak probably from being too weak to do so. In due time his fever should subside and the infected wounds would stop swelling.
However, as more time passes the boy's condition worsens and his pulse becomes weaker by the minute.
The small lights whisper amongst themselves. "Poor Child"
"Poor Child his soul it's too weak" One of the small lights whispers
"So small, so thin, so fragile" The other small light sings along
"It's a miracle he's managed to even survive until now" One of the lights points out.
"But it won't be long before he perishes." The biggest light among the group lets out a deep sigh "Such a poor child. It's always the purest ones that suffer the most."
"He has been through far too much and forced to bear too much burden. If not for his willpower he would have perished much sooner." The light next to the big light says it's voice full of sorrow for the child bundled up in the furry blanket.
"But he has even lost that. It won't be long. It's really only a matter of time" The big light looks at the boy full of pity and sorrow for him.
"It would be a much kinder fate to let him go and allow him to return to nature." One of the small lights states.
"Yes, that would be the best for the child" All of the lights nod in agreement.
The big light sighs "It is unfortunate that he refuses to listen to us and insists on saving the boy. Nevertheless, we have already made a promise to him to heal the child however we could to the best of our abilities"
It was around then they heard the familiar rustles coming from in between the bushes. A large figure appears at the entrance and slowly starts making its way toward the small hill in the middle of the vast lake. The figure wore a huge fur blanket over his head and shoulders glided back down to his ankles. His face was covered by a mask made from the melted bones of the beasts and demons he had culled during his youth. As he walked over the beautiful clear waters he kept dragging his scarred left leg that had been greatly injured beyond repair a couple of years back.
Once he makes it to the hill the small balls of light approach him welcoming him back to their sanctuary.
The first thing he asks the moment he steps foot on the grass is "How is he?"
The great big spirit is the one to answer him "We are doing what we can but he has lost all will to live. Just keeping him in this state is already difficult as it is."
"I see" The furry man's head slumps down. He knew that the boy was far too weak. After all, when he had first found the boy he hadn't even been breathing. If he hadn't checked his pulse and felt the faint heartbeat he would have thought he was dead. Either way, though he had to breathe air into the child's lungs to help regurgitate the water he had swallowed up as he was drowning. However, even then his breathing was so weak as if it could stop at any second. By the time he brought the small child back to the coves, he was already burning up with a very high fever.
He did what he could do to treat the boy. He took off his clothes and carefully tended to his wounds. The man's eyes couldn't help but squint seeing the slave brand burned deeply onto the boy's delicate waist. Even with the fresh gashed wounds he could see the faded scars ranging from large to small hidden throughout the body. The ones on the child's back were one of the worst. The skin on his back was completely marred over full of lumps and bumps most likely from repeatedly being injured on a frequent basis. As if that wasn't enough the young child was thin as bones with his ribcage protruding from his skin.
That was only the surface of everything as he looked in deeper he was beyond horrified at the poor condition the boy was in. Indeed as the spirits had said it was even a miracle that the boy had managed to survive until now. The state of his organs was poor, to say the least of it. One of them was even on the verge of failing. His nerves were damaged here and there most likely due to a combination of having his bones broken and not receiving proper treatment leading it to become deformed. He must have been living in constant pain.
It was no wonder the boy barely let out even a tiny whimper as he was tending to his wounds. After living with chronic pain for so long he must have either gotten used to enduring pain or become numb to it.
However, as much as he wanted to help him he didn't have the ability to do so. Not in this state at the very least.
His soul was also terrifyingly weak its light so faint that it wouldn't be strange for it to vanish at any moment. He begged the spirit guardians for their help and to save the child no matter what. The spirits initially hesitated some even trying to reason with him to let the child go in peace. But even so, he kept on begging. They finally relented after seeing that the man wouldn't budge no matter what.
"But we did manage to break the bloody demonic slave seal on the slave brand. Such a truly wicked and ominous thing. Humans can be far too cruel." One of the spirits groans
The spirit guardian nods "Especially those disciples of the heavenly ordain. We have been having difficulty removing the ring that is binding his soul realm. How humans could bear to put someone of their kind through such a realm shattering inhumane torture is beyond our understanding."
The figure couldn't agree more with the spirit guardian. "How long will it take to remove them?"
The spirit guardian pondered for a while "Really depends... Usually, it would only take a month or two but considering his condition right now and how strong the ring is... it would take more than a year to safely remove them."
"A year..." The figure silently mutters.
"The seal was easy to remove since the one who engraved it has long been dead. However, in the case of the ring, since it was something made from the blessings of a heavenly tribulation even the caster can't remove it. Only those whose fates have been touched by the heavenly realm's blessing can remove it. There are a few exceptions though like a spirit guardian like me who was blessed by the earth or a heavenly demon who was blessed by the demonic realm. Given enough time we can override the blessing and remove the rings" The spirit guardian huffs.
"So one can infer that the caster had every intention to forcefully bind this child to the heavenly ordain order for an eternity with no means to escape" The large figure strokes his chin
"Yes." The spirit guardian nods confirming the man's suspicions "Not only that he also didn't have any intention to keep the boy alive for very long. The ring isn't just binding his soul realm but it's also absorbing the life force energy of his spirit because of it his soul has been corroding away bit by bit over the years. Forget about the child perishing, his entire existence would have been erased from the plains of the world never to find peace and rest."
It was then another big light a different spirit guardian appeared to join in on the conversation "This poor child. It is cruel enough he had his life and fate taken away and twisted by another. Now his entire being and existence are being taken away again by the parasite."
"Luckily it hasn't been that long since the ring was put and we managed to stop the flow before it could inflict even more damage. However, the life force that was taken can never be returned." The great spirits sigh greatly disappointed with their inability to help this child.
The man remembers the spirits telling him something similar when he stumbled upon this place years ago by chance. As they had explained to him what has been lost will remain lost and can never be returned no matter what one does such was the laws of the world. Back then he didn't care he just needed to live long enough to fulfill his purpose. He had been living day by day waiting for this very moment when the gates to the outside world would finally open and bring forth visitors to their realm.
This was the only chance he had to break apart this curse that had been binding them all to these accursed lands for so long.
Indeed as the spirits had said it would be a kinder fate for the child to perish and return to nature. But in order to fulfill his purposes no matter how much profound sadness and pity he felt for the child, he must turn his heart into steel. These visitors hold the key to everything.
The large figure approaches the small child tightly bundled in the blanket. He bends down to his knees so he can have a better look at the child's face. The man softly gazes at the boy with warm gentle eyes. He reaches his hand out to brush away the child's bang away from his eyes "I'm sorry. I don't expect you to forgive me, especially for prolonging and adding to your suffering. But for the sake of everyone, I'm afraid I have no choice but to use you and your friends. In exchange, I promise to help you return back to nature and find peace once this is all over."
Soon the moon sets down and in its place, the bright yellow sun rises up.
The man looks up to the spirits and bows to them entrusting the care of the child to them. He then makes his way out of the cove. One step to another as he walks on top of the water his form becomes transparent bit by bit. By the time he exits the waters only half the size of his form is left.
When one looks closely enough they can see golden eyes piercing right back at them until they disappear into the darkness.
The Meeting Room
In the dimly lit surveillance room of the cave dungeons, masked figures gather around the water basin that is currently displaying a map of the forest. Several locations were marked with a circle and had images strung alongside them. However, at the cliff though there was an additional hand-drawn portrait of the third party member of their prisoners. Well to be more precise a mere slave they were using as a tool to encriminate the tribal nation.
The prisoners unfortunately weren't that much of a help (they were just one huge pain in the ass if anything really. Seriously what the hell were the imperial aristocrats teaching their children nowadays?) They kept complaining most of the time about the damn lecherous scum who had most likely abandoned them and ran up for the hills. At first, they thought they were pointing to a fourth member which raised a lot of concerns for the council members. Some of them even started panicking about completely overlooking this supposed fourth member!
However, as they listened in on the conversation they quickly started realizing that the person they were talking about was the third party member who is currently still missing. Judging by the flow of their conversation it seems they were unaware of his status as a slave. However, it didn't make any sense that they were ignorant of the facts considering they were supposedly martial brothers and had been accompanying one another for quite a while. But then again they've heard of people planting highly skilled and trained spies among the aristocratic noble circle to well keep tabs on things so as to say... Perhaps one of the noble clans or the elders and masters of the sect, or even the peak lords might have placed the boy there to monitor the young noble masters' and mistress's movements.
Regardless since they were willing to use the boy as a tool there is no doubt that the Cang Qiong Mountain Sect Peak Lords were aware of this child's true status. Maybe not all of the peak lords were aware though. If so that would explain why these two brats had no clue about the true identity of their third party member. After, regardless of how much of a fool they were, they were also candidates for the position of the next peak lords of the Cang Qiong Mountain Sect and came from rather powerful backgrounds. It would be quite strange for them to be left out on certain matters regarding their sect and fellow martial siblings.
There was also a possibility that there might be some personal matters involved hence the need for the peak lords to keep their mouths shut even to their successors.
No matter though if the child is truly a slave as stated by the warring faction then he is a truly pitiful one. According to the statement made by the guard of the warring faction, his waist was engraved with a nasty slave brand probably burned onto him. He could also sense some demonic energy seeping out of it. This could possibly suggest that he was bound by some demonic servitude seal of some sort. Such an inhumane, barbaric, and beyond disgusting act of cruelty forcibly binding a person to an eternity of servitude.
"As pitiful as the boy might be. It doesn't change the fact he poses a serious threat to our nation" One of the masked members Councilman Lang crosses his arms and huffs.
"Plus we aren't even certain if the boy even is a slave. There might be a possibility he is just another spoiled brat like those two down there" The other masked figure points down to the prison cells where the two disciples are currently being held.
"But if he is then all the more need that we find him before things become too late and those bastards take advantage of the situation and we end up with another war on our hands." The man in the armor Captain Jiang points out.
One of the masked figures let out a deep sigh "Back then we barely managed to stop their forces especially after from advancing further due to the combined efforts of Chief Huang and Former Captain Shao the great hero... However, both of them were left crippled by the war. The great hero has even lost his mind after losing his family."
This time it is the Captain's turn to sigh "We also lost of good warriors including Grand Warrior Ou. We don't have as many younglings as it is and with the loss of an entire village, our army has taken a huge blow. Forget about looking for talent we don't even have enough manpower."
"Even if we did it would be difficult to replace the firepower we've lost. Grand Warrior Ou for one and the Chief of Heiyaoshi Village for another. Then we also have the Grand Hero. Who may I remind you were some of the most powerful warriors of their generation. The Great Hero was a natural-born prodigy and even said to be a one-of-a-kind genius. I heard that even the Lord Shaman praised him for his immense talent in the spiritual arts." The masked figure also took a deep breath and sighed.
"If we were to face them now without them we would be put at a great disadvantage. We'll just end up losing our heads at the end of the day." Councilman Lang has no choice but to point out the painful truth as much as he hates it.
He doesn't know how things were during ancient times but the reality right now is that the Tribal Nation is a very weak country with little power or authority to quite literally speak of anything. They were constantly under the threat and mercy of the great powers that surrounded them. Their movements were restricted and under constant surveillance by those heinous vultures of the empire. Trade that had once made a large share of their livelihood more than half of it taken away under the pretense of paying taxes to the empire. They keep adding more heavily armed supervised fences over the borders to not only keep outsiders away for their protection but also trap them inside. They had no freedom or right whatsoever.
The only thing they had left was their pride, dignity as a tribal nation, and thousands of years old culture that had been passed down to them by their ancestors. Even then the vast majority of their knowledge and technology had been lost to them over time. All that was left of them were old wives' tales about the golden era of the Grand Ancient Nation and its golden civilization.
Grand right...
Look at them now. What Grand Nation? What golden civilization? Long gone were the glory days of their people who had once stood on top of the world filled with riches and wonders that the current human mind couldn't possibly comprehend. Every day they were barely living day by day scraping off of whatever they could get their hands on. The formalities and civility that their ancestors had once proudly paraded around had been thrown down the drain. People simply couldn't give a damn about it too focused on ensuring their survival. The once peaceful and harmonious people were angrily shouting and screaming at each other left to right venting their misery upon one another. They've only just barely managed to keep their language alive but very few know how to read or write it anymore.
The once grand tribal clan had been reduced to nothing more than a bunch of squabbling pigs waiting for slaughter.
Oh yes, he should have also added 'dying' to the list.
As one of the council members had said fewer and fewer younglings are being born each passing year just as how more and more couples are having difficulty conceiving. Even when they finally have a child the probability of them miscarrying or having stillbirths has significantly risen over the past century. Giving birth to healthy infants was also another different set of problems. One way or another they would be carrying some sort of problem whether it be physical, mental defects to health issues.
Their blood has become too thick one of the Shaman Elders had said.
Councilmen Lang had heard before that the tribal nation had used to introduce foreign blood every now and then to keep everything from becoming too concentrated. Contrary to popular belief the purer the blood, the more prosperous the bloodline was just a complete bogus. It actually weakened the bloodline by introducing more risks to them eventually harming them in the long run. This was why the Tribal King's wives were random women chosen by the Shaman Lord and Councilmen from their respective villages.
But even then there was a limit. After spending centuries of being closed off from the world and their numbers steadily dwindling it was inevitable that their bloodline would become closely entangled to one another. What person hadn't married someone who was related to them through a third cousin or so?
He could understand why the late previous Chief of the Heiyaoshi Village had desperately begged on his knees to the Tribal King to be allowed to keep the young foreign former Captain Shao. He was probably desperate to find a solution to their problem.
His thoughts are interrupted when Councilwoman Sun clicks her tongue. "Seriously those damn bastards. Can't believe they can't understand how dire everything is."
"They think the relics will solve all our problems. As if it was that easy. If we knew how to work that thing we wouldn't be in this miserable situation now would we!?" Captain Jiang slams his fist down on the basin
The relics... All of the masked figures suddenly become silent.
The relic is an ancient artifact that had once acted as the heart and core of their entire civilization. It had been the pillar and foundation of their highly advanced technological society at the time. Using the relic as their source they created magnificent contraptions and tools that had greatly enriched their lives. It was a prosperous era overflowing with great wonders and riches. However, what brought them great prosperity also brought them great calamity that nearly drove them into extinction. Nobody knows what exactly happened only that one day without any warning whatsoever the grand tribal nation suddenly perished overnight not leaving a single trace of itself in its awakening. It was as if it never existed in the first place. The world was left completely dumbfounded by the sudden disappearance of the grand nation. Chaos and confusion ran amongst the three realms all wondering how and what had exactly just happened.
Even the few remaining survivors were left baffled as they gazed at the empty field where their glorious homeland once stood. In its place though stood a magnificent giant tree that covered the aker of land of their former capital city. Later they discovered that at the very core of the mighty tree laid the relics artifact. According to the records, it was said that the relics once used to be powerful and magnificent eliminating force that supposedly even made the heavenly quiver in their boots. Now though all they could see was a ginormous oversized dim rock with moss and vines growing all over it. There were some witness claims of it emanating a faint glow at times but they were never able to confirm it. They couldn't see anything special about the rock except for the strange words engraved on it. Unfortunately, it was in a language that was unknown even to their ancestors. Apparently, there had been scholars who had attempted to decipher the words but had yet to be successful. Their theory had been that it was something left behind by an ancient civilization that had existed prior to the tribal nation a long time ago.
Whether it was human, demon, gods, or something completely foreign though remains a complete mystery.
Councilman Lang took a deep breath and said "Even if we did the relics aren't something that should be trifled with. There are simply far too many things that we don't know about the damn thing. In the end, even our ancestors had no freaking clue what the fucking hell that thing is. It's better to leave that thing be."
"I agree with Councilman Lang" Councilwoman Sun nods agreeing with her fellow council member "If the legends about it are true then all the more that we should be wary of it after all a nation can't suddenly disappear into thin air overnight without any notice can it?" She points out implying the relics' role in the demise of their once grand nation.
All the masked figures found themselves shivering at the very thought and came to a silent consensus agreement that the relics were something they should never touch no matter the circumstances.
"OH COME ON!" The screeching voice of the damn brats ring out throughout the entire room nearly bursting the masked figures' ear drums.
All of them look back to the water basin where they see the image of the damn energetic stupid prisoner attempting to break free of the chains that were currently hanging them up. Luckily they placed them far away from the walls or otherwise the brat would have kicked the damn thing and caused the entire cave to fall in upon themselves.
The other prisoner had already grown weary of attempting to get his martial brother to listen to reason to absolutely no avail. In the end, he simply gave up letting the war god throw up a tantrum by himself as he pleased. Instead, he started focusing on attempting to make contact with their jailors. In all amidst the annoying grumblings and shouts of the godforsaken muscle-headed brute he kept calling out to them expressing his wishes of wanting to talk with them. "Please all we want to do is talk. We have no intention of harming your people in any way or form. We know your story and we know you have been greatly wronged by the aristocratic faction in the past. I understand your concerns and your suspicions about us and I understand why you felt the need to imprison us. But we are different. We came here to help your people right the wrongs of our people in the past and help you restore the honor that you had lost because of the Empire's nobles."
"Don't bother Mu Shixiong they've probably already been tricked by that sly fox or otherwise we would have been out of here a long time ago!" The martial warrior reprimands the healer as he continuously struggles against the chains.
Ok that was it he had just had it "That's it I've had enough of their nonsense. I'm gonna go punch the damn brats in the guts right now!" The senior man cracks his knuckles ready to carry out the killer punch that he has been dying to deliver ever since he heard those kids spout their first words.
"Calm down there Councilman." Captain Jiang gently waves his hand down trying his best to placate the senior "Although I know how exactly you feel, we can't risk having the nobles go at our necks. Even if they are damn spoiled brats they are still sons of very powerful noblemen of the empire. Especially Duke Liu. Don't forget if it weren't for the Duke being busy handling those foreign invaders from the west we would have all lost our necks by now."
"I know I know" The councilman waves his hand he knows better than anyone just how frightening the fearsome grand general of the imperial army is. Even the Royal Family of the Imperial Empire wouldn't dare to offend them much less a weak tribal clan like them that was just barely standing on their feet. Provoking them would only lead to the complete extinction of their people. He knows that but still...
"DAMN IT! THAT SHEN QINGQIU! I knew I shouldn't have let my eyes off of him that damn sneaky bastard! Now he's completely on the loose doing whatever he damn likes!" The brat curses loudly for all of the world to hear.
He annoyed the councilman so much he couldn't bear to shout back "Doing whatever he damn likes my ass! Do you think we're freaking idiots who haven't figured out that he fell off a cliff for damn's sake because he came chasing after you bloody bastards! Which he wouldn't have needed to if you hadn't ignored his warnings and left him behind alone in the dust!"
"Now now Councilman Lang calm down" This time it was Councilwoman Sun placating the senior "Don't let yourself get caught in this idiot's pace. We have more pressing matters to attend to which is finding that boy." She reminds everyone in the room.
"When we do find him though let's keep him far away from those two for his sake. After all, stress is detrimental to one's health and can impede their recovery. Plus he deserves some rest after dealing with those lots for the entirety of their time together" The other masked figure crosses their arms and huffs.
"Tell me about it" The councilman gruffs "They're already driving me insane from just watching them over here. If I had to spend one second in the same space as them I would already be wrangling their necks by now."
Captain Jiang lets out a deep long sigh "Unfortunately, we might not have much of a choice. It's been days and none of us have found even a hair off of that boy. As things stand they are the only clue we have of the boy" he groans in complete and utter displeasure which they all understand.
"Well, you can count me out unless you want a blood bath at your hands." The senior resolutely stands and so do the other councilmembers. What? They don't want to get infected by their idiocracy.
Seeing as how nobody was willing to go down to interrogate those damn idiots the captain raises his hand "Fine since I'm the one who suggested it I'll do it"
Everyone sighed a silent breath of relief. Thank god they don't have to deal with those idiots.
The councilmembers clear off of the water basin leaving the captain alone to stand at the center. The large man silently mutters a word causing the water to suddenly ripple temporarily distorting the surface before returning to its clear form.
The warrior takes a deep breath as he mentally prepares himself. Once he clears his mind and makes his resolve he gazes at the image above. From there he slowly opens his mouth.
"SILENCE!"