by Tinalynge
Although Xu Min managed to drag her out just in time before the house burned down, he was not fast enough to prevent her death. Even though he applied every last bit of the limited amount of first aid that he knew, nothing changed. She wouldn’t wake up.
He realized that everything that he could have done to try to save his sister would be futile. His heart burned with the pain of this searing loss. The world, previously filled with colors and happiness, turned dark and bleak before his sight faded away. Xu Min closed his eyes as he yelled out in pain.
“Big sister,” Xu Min sobbed and gently laid her down. He looked around at all the adults who had arrived, cursing them under his breath for just standing there with dumb expressions on their faces and not assisting him earlier.
All of them had long since given up trying to save the small shack from the raging fire. Instead, they all gathered around Xu Min and Xu Wu. A mix of sadness and compassion could be seen in their eyes as they shook their heads in regret.
While he looked at everyone just standing there, anger sprouted in Xu Min’s heart, because he simply wished to be left alone with his sister. Why did the fire have to happen to them? He cursed before a sudden thought entered his mind, making him clutch Xu Wu even more tightly than he had before.
“Let her go.” A familiar voice sounded from behind him,interrupting Xu Min’s thoughts, making him turn around. Hope sprang to life as he saw Overseer Tian striding towards him. Perhaps he knew some sort of martial arts which could bring a dead person to life once more. She had, after all, not been dead for long. A slight smile appeared on Xu Min’s tearstained face, but it was a smile of madness.
“It’ll be okay sis!” Xu Min said to the lifeless body in his arms. “Overseer Tian can help you.” The words of Xu Min were like bolts of lightning to everyone who stood around him, and looks of pity were directed at the poor boy who was still in denial.
Upon hearing the words spoken by Xu Min, a tremor ran through the body of Overseer Tian and a sad expression became visible in his eyes. The older man kneeled down next to Xu Min and his large arms gently held the smaller boy by the shoulders, shaking him lightly.
“Pull yourself together, Xu Min!” he said with a harsh voice, “Tell us what happened here!”
Overseer Tian had known Xu Min for years and he obviously knew Xu Wu. Xu Wu was smart, and although she had never cultivated, she was still considered fairly strong. For her to be unable to leave a burning shack, something definitely had to be out of the ordinary.
“The door was blocked!” Xu Min suddenly said, his voice filled with certainty. How could he have not realised it before? Someone blocked the door before the fire started. It had to be, how else could a conscious Xu Wu succumb to the fire?
Thinking things through, an anger unlike anything he had ever felt before suddenly burned within Xu Min’s gut as his eyes landed upon the frightened young master and his entourage, who were standing on the side of the crowd.
At first, he wondered why they were here. Had they seen the fire and rushed over to help? No way! The young master would never be found in these poor areas of the family compound occupied by the servants, unless he was planning something.
As if the young master knew that Xu Min was looking at him, their eyes locked and a horrified expression started to spread on the young master’s face. He slowly tried to back away, only to find himself sliding to the ground. Boundless anger rose up within Xu Min. Anger, hate, and murderous intent.
“They did it!” Xu Min yelled while pointing at the young master. Everyone in the crowd turned their eyes in the direction of the pointing finger. An unexpected sight unfolded before them - the young master’s face was completely pale as he actually quickly fell to the ground kowtowing in front of the furious Xu Min.
“It was a mistake!” He said with a frantic voice, desperation clear from every move he made. “It should have been you! You should have died, not your sister!”
Hearing that, Xu Min tilted his head slightly and looked down at the unmoving woman in his arms again. Tears welled up in his eyes as he gently touched her skin, that was still warm, but no pulse could be felt. His dear sister, his only family, had left him for good.
And it was all his fault. Xu Min’s eyes became red as he wished that he had been the one laying there; he wished that he could trade his life for his sister’s, yet no matter how much he wished for it or how much he begged, he knew it was impossible. The only thing that was still possible was to get revenge for Xu Wu’s death.
Xu Min gently laid Xu Wu down on the ground and placed her arms over her chest, before he plucked a flower and placed it in her hair, after which he turned away. The anger in his eyes shone brightly into the dark night. The fire that was burning behind him made it seem as if he were a demon beast, ready to slaughter anything in its path.
“That’s enough!” Overseer Tian said, as he sensed how Xu Min was about to jump onto the young master, to kill the person who caused Xu Wu’s death. Before Xu Min even had the chance to move, Overseer Tian had already placed his arms around the boy, locking him in a tight embrace.
Xu Min’s entire body was filled with pure hate. The only reason why he could still stand on his own two feet was due to this hate and the need for revenge. It felt as though Xu Min had turned into an avenger. He had no other purpose in life than to ensure that Xu Wu’s death was paid for in blood.
Xu Min was trying his very best to escape from the tight embrace in which he was locked, however, he was still only a Student Warrior and nowhere near strong enough to pull away from Overseer Tian. He was filled with unreasonable hate towards the Overseer who had acted like his parent in the past years.
From far away, bustling sounds could be heard as more people approached. Xu Min narrowed his eyes as he saw that the Zhong family leader was amongst those people. He knew that his chances of realising his revenge had now just plummeted to the ground.
This young master was the only son of Master Zhong and he spoiled him rotten, handing him all the cultivation resources he could have possibly wished for.
Xu Min was not the only one who saw Master Zhong appear. Overseer Tian also noticed the arrival of his master. Upon seeing him, he let go of Xu Min to greet Master Zhong and rushed to the Master’s side to explain what had happened.
As soon as Overseer Tian let go of Xu Min, the anger within the young boy exploded, causing him to instantly rush towards the young master. He smashed a clenched fist into the young master’s face at full force, causing the spoiled brat to scream out in pain and stumble backwards, blood streaming from a broken nose.
One of the guards immediately rushed to the young master’s side, caught Xu Min’s shoulder and tore him away from his liege. Xu Min was thrown several meters away, where he got up, only to see the young master hiding behind the guard, which made him grind his teeth in anger.
Master Zhong looked at his son with displeasure as he saw his reaction to the pain. However, as soon as Overseer Tian explained what exactly happened, his face instantly turned brighter and a smile appeared on his face.
“Little Ji, I never thought you had it in you!” He said in a praising voice, causing the young master to be stunned for a moment, shocked to see that he was not being scolded. “To think you actually had it in you to kill someone, father is proud of you!” He continued, his eyes lighting up with surprise and his words causing Xu Min’s head to go blank.
To kill an innocent woman who had never cultivated was considered something to be commended for? Hate seeped out of his eyes and Xu Min felt as though he would jump right at Master Zhong, attacking him with his fiercest attack.
Fortunately, Xu Min was aware that he was nowhere near as strong as Master Zhong and his burning desire for revenge told him that he had to endure for now, or else he would fail for sure. Endure! He bore his fingernails into his palms, allowing the pain to flood in, in an attempt to fill the void that appeared in him.
What Xu Min did not expect was that right at this moment,
while Xu Min was staring at Master Zhong, the family leader looked at him and a cold flash appeared in his eyes.
“Kill the brother!” He said with a casual voice. The order caused enormous shock amongst many of the people present. Xu Min used that moment of surprise to turn on his heels and run. With a final look at his beloved sister, Xu Min rushed into the thick forest, running through the familiar paths with sure steps.
Xu Min had lived in that shack his entire life, and his mornings were always spent either bathing in the nearby stream, or playing in the forest behind the city. Xu Min could move through these paths with sure steps even in the dead of night, giving him a head start on the many soldiers who were trying to catch up with him.
Back at the still burning cabin, a frown was apparent on the face of Master Zhong. However, it quickly smoothed over as he looked at his son who was still crying from the broken nose.
“Stop being such a wuss!” He scolded his son, with a resigned voice, almost as though he was giving up on him, “Go to the healers and have them patch you up. Everyone prepare a feast! My son has finally become a man! This is a great time to celebrate for anyone who cultivates martial arts!”
“But milord,” One of the guards behind him asked in a trembling voice, “The person who died was a personal maid of the third wife. A maid who never cultivated....” Before the man managed to continue, a hand smacked his head with such force that the guard fell to the floor, blood running from all the openings in his face.
Master Zhong looked around at the people present and his eyes promised more pain for those who dared to say anything against him. “No one cares about a mere maid. She died for the sake of teaching my son how to kill, and that is already a noble cause to die for. If anyone ever brings this up again, I will see to it that they are the next person my son trains on.”
His voice was ice-cold and seemingly devoid of all feelings. Seeing that no one dared to look at him, Master Zhong snorted contemptuously as he started moving away. “Make sure to prepare a great feast. I will give one gold coin to anyone who can get me the head of that boy.”
After saying that, Master Zhong turned around, not even looking at the forest once more, and hummed quietly as he made his way back to the main hall of the Zhong Family Mansion.
Chapter 4 – The Hunt
Within the forest, Xu Min was rushing forward, his feet moving on a familiar track that he usually played on. His head was clear, with only one thought floating through it -- survival.
The most important thing for Xu Min was to survive, so that he could return one day. Return to ensure that both the young and old master of the Zhong family died by his hands. But right now, he knew that his chances of survival were slim, since a horde of guards was hot on his trail.
Had this happened just a few days earlier, Xu Min would have been caught already; however, after breaking into the Student Warrior rank, Xu Min was now much faster than he would have ever believed to have become, and he also became able to store Qi within his body.
What assisted him in his escape was not only the small amount of Qi he had been able to gather in the last few days, but also his familiarity with the forest, and the physical strength he had trained to improve.
The guards never needed to enter the forest, and although it was considered safe, it was not a place people would venture into, unless they were poor and tried to harvest edible plants or hunt small critters.
Another thing that slowed the guards down was the elaborate metal armour they were wearing to show off the magnificence of the Zhong family. Unfortunately for them, it was far from helpful while chasing someone in a dense forest. After a few hours of chasing after Xu Min, the final guard gave up and returned to the mansion.
….
“What do you mean, you can’t find him?!” Master Zhong’s voice roared throughout the entire hall, as everyone present cowered in fear from what their family leader might do as punishment for failing to complete their mission.
“That boy is not ordinary,” Master Zhong said with a low and intimidating voice, “His talent is far above average, so we can’t afford to let him go. If we do, it will come back to haunt us. Have someone who knew him sketch up a drawing, issue a bounty of one hundred gold coins, and give it to whomever manages to provide me with his severed head.”
Having said this, Master Zhong took a small break to consider what he should do with the ones who failed to capture the boy. With a sigh, he waved his hand, ready to dismiss them.
In the middle of the motion, Master Zhong seemed to have changed his mind, since he opened his eyes once more and said, “Every day, send a team into the forest to see whether or not you can capture him. The same bounty holds true for my guards as well as anyone else. You have to kill him.”
Seated beside Master Zhong was the young master. At first, his face had been rigid from fear and regret; however, as the night progressed and he was congratulated on his actions, excitement grew in him and he felt as though he had finally succeeded. Murder was truly the way to becoming stronger.
He was also thrilled that Xu Min left. It didn't matter much to Zhong Ji whether Xu Min was alive or dead anymore. As long as he was gone, it meant that there was no longer anyone of similar age who could overtake him while training or be more skilled than him. Thus, the young boy had a broad smile on his face.
Young master Zhong was not aware why his father was so intent on killing Xu Min, because he saw Xu Min as nothing more than a pest. Although his talent was astonishing, he was nothing but a small boy who was now all alone in the world. He could hardly be called a threat by anyone.
Master Zhong disagreed with him on this point. Allowing for the boy to live would result in a potential thorn in his side, because he had seen the sheer hate and anger burning in the boy’s eyes when he escaped into the forest.
Master Zhong felt rather uncomfortable as he mulled over the entire situation, but after shaking his head a little, he decided to return to the banquet he was hosting. With a polite smile on his face, he greeted the family members that were present once more.
At the almost unnoticeable background of the banquet, all the maids who were ordered to pour wine and serve the food did so without smiles on their faces. Instead, most of them even had almost unnoticeable tear stains on their cheeks. They all thought about how their good friend died because of a weak-willed pathetic young master who killed her just because he did not have the guts to face his rival head on.
….
As he sat on a branch of one of the largest trees in the forest, Xu Min gritted his teeth. His hands were filled with scrapes and his eyes shone with a red hue.
It had been days since Xu Min was chased into the forest by the Zhong family guards and he had long since realized that all the humans in the forest were after him.
On the first day, he had almost gotten caught by a group of mercenaries because he went to them for help, only to hear that they were after a bounty on his head. Since then, Xu Min dreaded sleeping because he feared being found during the night.
Leaving the forest was not easy either, because Xu Min saw that guards were patrolling the vicinity of the forest, ready to catch him whenever he showed himself. With no other options left, Xu Min decided to venture further into the forest and see what kind of landscape was on the other side.
In all the years Xu Min had lived, he had only heard a little information about the other side. The other side was a vast country, unimaginably bigger than the city Xu Min grew up in, a place where every cultivator would venture out to carve out a name for themselves. Stories, which Overseer Tian told about it, were what caused Xu Min to become interested in cultivating in the first place -- one day, he would carve his own name into history.
As he thought about his childish dream, Xu Min snorted at himself for being so naïve. Currently, he was wounded, tired, and mentally unstable, but deep within, his survival instinct was still roaring, forcing him to hide day after day.
He had not slept for days and
he had finally managed to climb up into a large tree, where he could spot anyone without them noticing him. The branches were all larger than he was and he finally allowed himself to rest a little while sitting leaned against the large tree trunk with his legs crossed.
Xu Min kept swearing at himself for not being strong enough to fight his way into the main house and slay his targets immediately, but he knew that now was not the right time. It was the time to continue cultivating, following the instructions taught to him previously by Overseer Tian. Currently, Xu Min did everything in his ability to stay invisible. To pretend that he was the air, that he was the essence of heavens and earth.
The sky was dark when Xu Min finally fell into a light sleep. Although he slept lightly, his body was still that of an eight year old boy which needed rest, inducing him to sleep throughout the night and the majority of the morning.
When he woke up, Xu Min was shocked when he realized how long he had been asleep. He even felt a tinge of guilt that he could sleep so soundly while his beloved sister could not sleep at all anymore.
