Another day passed,
The three days that were given to the candidates had passed. Today, the results of the competition were decided and all of the kids in the class were present outside the village. This was because elder Wang had asked all of the candidates to be present, whether they passed the test or not.
And the teams that passed would move to the second round.
"You all know the reason for all of you to be here. I just want to tell you that only four teams passed the test. And also, a tragedy happened during the competition. One of the teams encountered a problem during the competition and was caught in a forest fire." Elder Wang was standing in front of all the kids. He was serious when he spoke. From his expression, it could be seen that something bad was going to happen today.
"Even though we managed to put out the forest fire, we could not save the kids who were caught in the fire. As a result, two kids died and one got badly injured. However, we managed to save the kid who was injured. And the team that was caught in the forest fire was Yang Zhai's team." Elder Wang explained all the things.
"Regardless, their team passed the test. Including Yang Zhai's team, a total of four teams passed the test. And as per the rule, because all of the given Black Rabbits were not caught, the remaining teams that did not pass the test will be whipped ten times for each kid."
"As for the teams that won, the competition should rest for today. Tomorrow, your second round will begin, and we want you to give your utmost in the second life; thus, you can rest for today." Elder Wang said to everyone.
Yang Zhai was also standing in the crowd and silently listening to Elder Wang. He had already healed completely. His skin looked like a normal human as well. The burn marks on him had already been healed. His face could be seen clearly now. He looked the same as he was before. Nobody would be able to tell if Yang Zhai was caught in a forest fire if someone saw him now.
On the other hand, everyone was looking at Yang Zhai with shocked eyes. They were surprised to know that two kids had died.
"Did you hear the elder? Yang Zhai's teammates died during the competition."
"I am truly shocked to hear this news. A forest fire started, and we did not even see it or notice anything. This forest is truly big."
"Look at Yang Zhai. He seems fine to me, so why did Elder Wang say to us that he was badly injured? I don't understand."
"Yeah, me too. Could it be that healing cultivators healed him? And anyway, I am impressed to see that he is fine after seeing all of this. If it was me who was caught in the fire, I would have surely stayed home for a few days."
"Yeah, me too,"
All of the kids were talking to each other. They were surprised to see that Yang Zhai was fine, even after he was badly injured.
"All four winning teams can leave now to rest. The teams which could not catch any rabbit would be punished; thus, you have to stay here to be punished." Elder Wang said to everyone and turned around to leave.
"Brother Yang, are you fine?"
"Yeah, brother Yang, how did this happen?"
"Can we help you in some way?"
"Can you please tell us how the fire started?"
Yang Zhai left the venue without talking to anyone. Many kids were curious about what happened to Yang Zhai and his experience. After all, people always wanted to hear about others' matters. They enjoyed interfering in others' matters more than looking at themselves, even if someone had just faced a difficult situation.
Yang Zhai arrived at the Moon Bull inn. He sat at a corner table around the window. He looked outside the wooden window and saw people walking around the street peacefully. Even though this village belonged to cultivators, it was quite peaceful. Streets were beautifully decorated with wooden lamps¹. Serene green plant vines coiled around the wooden lamps. There were some brown leaves in the plant vines as well.
"Yes, Lord," Jun Seo, the manager of the inn, came to Yang Zhai's table and asked.
"Did you buy what I had asked you to?" Yang Zhai did not look at the manager and asked. He was still looking at the streets. It had become even more difficult for him to see clearly after he had burned his face. He could not even see a person's expressions clearly now; thus, there was no point in looking at the manager now. It's not like he would be able to interpret anything from a person's expressions now.
"Yes, my lord. Even though you had given me a week, I bought it in two days. Here is the Ginger Ointment that you wanted." Manager Jun Seo handed a small bottle² to Yang Zhai. This glass bottle was only the size of a fist. There was a Yellow looking paste inside.
Yang Zhai opened the glass bottle and smelled it. He then examined it carefully and confirmed that this Ginger Ointment was real.
He then stored the Glass Bottle in his robe's pocket.
"What rank is it?"
"Lord, it is a Rank 2 ointment, as you wanted."
"Ok, you can go now." Yang Zhai sent the manager away.
Yang Zhai smiled. Everything was going according to his plan. As he had thought, manager Jun Seo did not disappoint him. He obtained the item that would help him in his plan. He had to be meticulous with everything. And this ointment was one part of his plan.
Now he only needed to check if the ointment was real or not. Even though he had already confirmed that this Ginger Ointment was real, he could not take any chance. He was a cautious person and he would not believe in anyone except for himself. Even he himself was an example, after all, many people believed in him, but was he loyal to anyone?
Such as, Chin Mae believed in him. Elder Wang also believed in Yang Zhai. But was he true to anyone? As long as anyone found a valid reason, they would do anything in the name of validity.
Like, a person could leave someone as long as a valid reason was given to that person. That reason could be anything, such as someone who loves you more than your present companion, your hatred, wealth, riches, benefits, relations, etc. Nothing is absolute, everything changes. Change was permanent.
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1-Lamps: Curved stone lamps were found in places dated to the 10th millennium BC (Mesolithic, Middle Stone Age Period, c. 10,300–8000 BC). The oldest stone-oil lamp was found in Lascaux in 1940 in a cave that was inhabited 10,000 to 15,000 years ago.
2-Glass Bottle: The first glass bottles were produced in Mesopotamia around 1500 B.C., and in the Roman Empire around 1 AD.