Chapter 7: Fengshu City // Sibling consultation
The two siblings stood before the entrance of the city. Dozens of people were going to and from the city; creating very long line at the entrance.
Lan'er stood in wonder as she saw large carriages used by others as well as all kinds of creatures that served as pets and transportation.
Zed sighed in relief when nobody bothered them, especially with Lan'er wearing an inconspicuous wooden mask that he had carved.
They had to wait for hours but when it was finally their turn, they were granted smooth passage into the city.
The city walls had guards who wore the same light-blue robes along with golden chest plates and armaments. They all held golden spears and based on their fierce look and posture, they were soldiers that served the army.
Zed and Lan'er entered the city and what met them was a city of splendor. Modernized structures and buildings settling lane by lane.
Lanterns hanged and decorated the streets while there were also a variety of different people. The city was bustling as everyone kept moving, and if one was not paying attention, they would end up easily bumping into others.
"Woah..." Lan'er gasps from Zed's shoulders.
The little girl's eyes sparkled in wonder. She felt as if she had entered an entirely new world.
Th two of them were traveling with Lan'er sitting on Zed's shoulders because he was afraid that they might get separated.
As they were about to squeeze through the crowd, a sleazy-looking person approached them.
"Welcome to Fengshu City! Would you like a guide and a tour of the city?" The man said as he wiped his sweaty forehead.
It seemed that the sleazy-looking man has been waiting by the entrance, trying to pick up customers and offer a tour. However, judging by his sweaty appearance, it seems that he hasn't been successful in getting customers.
Zed had a feeling that the reason was most likely because of his appearance.
"Well! Don't worry kiddo, Since you're new I'll give you a very cheap price! Only for 6 yuans!" His hands were shuffling against one another as he tried to convince the pair of siblings.
His slit eyes slightly glinted while he thought, 'Heh! These two are clearly country bumpkins. Well, if they got this far then they should have at least a few yuans.
I'll just scam these two and leave them somewhere in the city!' The guide was chuckling inwardly while trying to show a sincere smile to the two children.
It didn't take long for the older one to agree but when the guide asked to pay up, the older one refused.
"6 yuans, right? I'll pay after you give us the tour. In the meantime, if you do a good job explaining then I might add more."
Zed looked the man straight in the eyes. For an old man like Zed, the guide's intentions were too clear.
And he wouldn't deny that the two of them looked like easy targets.
The guide frowned and eyed the child. "That's not how things work around here, young man."
Without missing a beat, Zed walked away as he stated, "If you don't want to do it then that's fine, we'll look for someone else."
The guide was momentarily stunned by Zed's decisive action and hurriedly chased the two children.
"A-are you sure? I'm already giving you the lowest price!"
Zed shrugged and continued walking.
The guide contemplated for a moment before deciding to agree to Zed's term since the children would give easy money.
He could also lead them to dangerous parts of the city.
'Plus, that boy's spear seems like it would fetch a good price. As for the girl...'
The guide subconsciously salivated as he could tell the girl was a beauty just by her fragrant scent.
Zed and Lan'er observed the guide's face and their expressions crumpled in disgust. However, Zed immediately recovered and his face returned to normal.
Meanwhile, Lan'er was more sensitive to other people's intentions and she hated the way that the guide was looking at her.
'I knew it... all men except for my brother are disgusting!' She turned her head away, refusing to spend another moment looking at the guide.
The guide didn't notice their expressions as he began to lead them through the crowd. "Come on, follow me!"
The two followed albeit maintaining a fair distance from the guide.
Zed felt Lan'er tapping on his head.
"What's wrong?" He asked without looking away from the guide.
"What are we going to do brother? We don't have any money at all."
"It's fine. I wasn't planning on paying him in the first place." Zed answered with a nonchalant tone.
Lan'er's brows furrowed as she asked another question. "Is that not a crime?"
Zed smirked. "Not if we get caught."
"But I thought brother told me to avoid doing evil actions?" Lan'er was worried that they might suffer a punishment or worse- get sent to jail.
"You can tell that he's planning on doing something to us, right? If so, we can only trick him first before he tricks us."
"Is that fine?" Lan'er was still not convinced.
Zed knew what her worries were so he calmly explained.
"Little Lan'er, I'm not saying we should do evil actions but what I'm trying to do is prevent ourselves from falling into unscrupulous plans and schemes made by other people."
He continued, "That man has evil intentions but we can't expect other people to believe us just because we accused him of it.
Even then, if we believed him and fell into his trap, everything would be too late. We can't expect help from the authorities because we're just two orphans.
The authorities exist to retain the ordinance but they are not charitable to ensure justice at every corner of the city."
He continued, "Listen little Lan'er, the majority of the people of this world are selfish. They only think for themselves and would only help if there are benefits.
Kindness still exists, but in this pugilistic world? It can only exist for so long.
It's similar to a man feeding a dying hungry wild tiger with the intention of helping it regain strength so that it may hunt on its own.
Once the tiger regains its strength, its first prey would be the man himself."
This time he glanced at Lan'er.
"Humans are even worse compared to that tiger. They are full of greed and maliciousness towards one another. Scheming at every moment to take advantage of another's weakness.
Therefore, you should do your best to protect yourself and avoid falling into the schemes of other people."
Zed leaned closer to Lan'er and held her face.
"We only have one another so we can only rely on each other. You and I can't expect help from strangers since we can't afford to trust them."
They continued following the guide and Lan'er remained silent as she comprehended Zed's words.
Their tour finished around the afternoon and at the very least, the guide explained several parts of the city along with the places such as inns, markets, and the likes.
Zed also proactively asked questions about the city, especially about the parts they should avoid, the rules they need to follow, and the nobles of the city.
The guide kept unenthusiastically answering all their questions as he lead them toward the place where he had planned his ambush.
He kept constantly glancing behind his back since he was afraid they would disappear the next moment.
"Now this place is-" The guide turned and to his horror, the siblings suddenly disappeared.
He ran around trying to search for any clues of them but it was as if they vanished into thin air. The guide asked several passersby as well as merchants by their stalls but they all shook their heads as they didn't see them.
The guide thought it was weird because the two had peculiar appearances and at least one of the passerbys had to remember that they were following him.
However, even after asking several people he knew who he passed by during the tour, they all said that he was traveling alone.
"N-no way... that's impossible!" The guide gritted his teeth in anger and he refused to believe their statements.
Meanwhile, Zed and Lan'er were by the marketplace, asking for different prices for materials from the forest.
He made a mental note and made sure to remember all the prices while comparing them with the prices of other stores.
At the end of their venture, they found a trustworthy smithery and sold Zed's spear for a good price.
With plenty of money at hand, Zed bought food and sweets from the food stalls they passed by as they headed towards an inn.
Although Lan'er was plenty tired, she still enjoyed the food he bought since it was the first time she tasted a delicacy.
When Zed noticed Lan'er vibrant reactions, he decided that they would go out on a food trip tomorrow after they sold the rare materials they accumulated throughout the years.
They settled in a single room in an inn. It was a small room that only had one bed and a small window.
Nevertheless, they were both satisfied by the cheap bed since this was the first time they had ever slept in a proper place.
Back in the wilderness, they always had to be prepared for an attack in their sleep, but for the first time in years, the two children could finally sleep in peace.
Lan'er was plenty exhausted by today's events and she fell asleep as soon as they lay on the bed.
-
The next morning, the two of them woke up early and had breakfast in the inn. Lan'er was once again elated to eat flavourful food.
They only had a simple meal of beef stew and bread but Lan'er ate them like they were the most delicious things she had ever tasted in the world.
After Lan'er finished her food first, she spoke to Zed.
"Brother... I've been thinking about the things you said yesterday, but... aren't they contradictory with what you said before?
I thought you wanted me to grow independently and you also told me to not trust anyone. If so, then how am I going to make friends?"
Zed didn't expect her to ask about this, but he was happy that she was genuinely thinking about what he said.
"You see Lan'er, I wanted you to be aware that people, in general, are capable of doing evil deeds. I want you to be able to judge people's characters properly and carefully choose who you can trust.
After all, a single mistake could cost you and the lives of the people you care about."
"But aren't you strong, Brother? You will help me when I make a mistake... right?" Lan'er asked while staring directly at his face.
Zed bitterly smiled and replied, "Of course, I will help you, Lan'er... but I want you to know that I won't always be there for you.
There might be a day where I die first and if that happens, who will take care of you? That's why I'm teaching you now how to take care of yourself and grow up to be a strong and independent woman."
Contrary to his expectation, Lan'er suddenly shifted from her seat and hugged Zed.
"No Brother! Please don't leave me! If Brother dies then Lan'er will die too!"
She was expecting to be comforted but Zed flicked her forehead.
"Owie!"
"Now that's wrong, Lan'er. No brother in the world would ever want their little sister to just die because they died first.
I would even sacrifice my life for you just so you could live on. That is how precious you are to me." Zed reprimanded her.
"So don't ever talk about following me to death, or Your brother will seriously be mad."
Lan'er began to have many tears in her eyes as she tried her best not to cry. Her brother rarely punished her, this means that what she said must have been wrong.
"I-I'm sorry brother..."
She cried and stuck to his chest. Zed warmly smiled as he gently caressed her head.
"It's alright little Lan'er. Just know that brother will be extremely sad and upset if Lan'er dies so treasure yourself more, alright?"
"...Okay." She meekly answered.
She stopped crying after some time but remained in Zed's embrace.
'My little sister is spoiled.' Zed thought.
"Brother..." Lan'er spoke.
"Hm?"
"What can... what can Lan'er do to make Brother happy?"
'Now what is this little lass talking about?' Zed wondered.
"What do you mean by that, little Lan'er?"
"You see... brother is always taking care of me so I want to do something for brother too!" She exclaimed.
Zed chuckled before answering. "Just grow up to be big and strong. Live a long life and make your own family.
That's all brother wants from you."
Lan'er released herself from their hug as she looked Zed in the eyes.
She shook her head and said, "I don't want to make my own family. I only want to remain by my brother's side in the future.
And the way to do that is to marry Brother!"
Zed choked on his saliva as he didn't expect these words from her.
"Who taught you that?"
Lan'er answered innocently. "The kids from the village we passed through. They all proposed to me saying that they wanted to marry me."
"They also explained that a couple must be married first before they can become a family as a mother and father."
"I want to be in a family like that with you too, Brother! So I will marry you!"
She said the last part with strong conviction and Zed could only let her be, as he thought this was only a child's promise.
Edited By: WorthyAdversary