Pinewall village was said to be a small city, but it was actually just a large village called Pinewall village. Only those who lived in the mountainous region and natives with no knowledge of the outside world called the Pinewall village city.
The only reason Xu Su knew about this was that he had been informed by his Uncle Chang, who had been working as a gatekeeper for more than ten years.
Pinewall Village wasn't very large. It only had one main road, known as Pinewall Street, which spanned from the eastern to the western borders of the village. There was also only one tavern in the village, located on its western border. For any traveling merchant that didn't want to sleep outdoors, this tavern was the only option.
There was only one road for carriages in the western part of Pinewall Village. It ran from the gates of the village and the Pinewall Tavern all the way to the Spring Fragrance Restaurant, the only other place anyone would visit besides the tavern.
Flower Fragrance Restaurant wasn't big by any means and was actually quite old-fashioned. However, this establishment had a certain charm that was appealing to many travelers. Every day at noon, there would always be a crowd of people, making the place constantly swamped.
A bearded man with a round face emerged from a carriage along with a dark-skinned, rotund little boy who looked to be around seven years old, and they both walked into the restaurant with a swagger. All of the regular customers knew who this man was. He was the manager of this restaurant, "Fatty Xu." The boy, however, was not someone they were familiar with.
"Elder Xu, this tanned little boy resembles you a lot. Could it be a child from a prostitute you spent the night with?" someone joked.
The moment the joke was uttered, the entire restaurant roared with laughter.
"Peh! This is the son of my blood brother, my own nephew! Of course, he'll look like me," Fatty Xu said proudly instead of being angered.
This duo had traveled for three whole days without rest before arriving at the village. They were Xu Su and his Third Uncle, who was known as "Fatty Xu" by the village people.
Fatty Xu greeted a few regulars before bringing Xu Su to the back of the restaurant and entering a remote courtyard.
"Nephew Su, you should rest here for a while. When the time comes for the Inner Disciple Examinations, I'll call you. For now, I must leave in order to attend to a few regulars." Fatty Xu pointed at a side room in the courtyard and kindly motioned for Xu Su to enter it.
After saying that, Xu Su's Third Uncle turned around and hurried back inside the restaurant to tend to his customers.
As he reached the door, he felt a sudden unease in his heart and reminded Xu Su, "Don't run about. You might get lost in the village if you wander around. So it's best if you don't leave this courtyard."
"En!"
Hearing Xu Su's honest response, he nodded in relief and walked out the door.
After his Third Uncle left the courtyard, Xu Su suddenly felt exhausted. The moment his head landed on his pillow, he fell into a deep sleep and began snoring, surprisingly without the fear of a normal kid staying alone in unfamiliar surroundings.
When the night came, a servant came by with some food. Although it wasn't a lavish meal, it was still delicious. After Xu Su ate the food, the servant was clearing away the remaining dishes when his Third Uncle leisurely walked in.
"How was it? Was the meal suitable for your taste? Do you miss your home?"
"Yes, I miss home…" Xu Su replied in his childish voice.
Third Uncle seemed satisfied with Xu Su's response. He began to talk to him about his daily life and bragged about many of his experiences. Gradually, Xu Su became less shy and started to laugh and talk with his Third Uncle.
In this manner, two days passed by quickly.
On the third day, after Xu Su finished his dinner, he was waiting for his uncle's stories of Jiung Hu when a carriage stopped in front of the restaurant door.
This carriage was painted a shiny black color and even the horse was a rarely seen golden steed. But what attracted the most attention was that on the frame of the carriage was the word "Clouds" written in silver characters in the middle of a red triangle emblazing a black banner. The image on the banner also emitted an unfathomable air.
Seeing this banner, every martial arts expert in the area knew that this carriage belonged to one of the two local overlords in the area, the Seven Clouds Sect. It seemed that an esteemed guest had arrived in Pinewall Village.
The Seven Clouds Sect was previously known as the Seven Overlord Sect, and the sect was established three hundred years ago by an extremely famous martial master named "Sovereign Seven Overlord". Having once swept across and dominated the Jang Province and the nearby Shua Province for a few decades, the Sovereign Seven Overlord was resoundingly famous. But after he was afflicted with illness, the power of the Seven Clouds Sect took a devastating hit and its influence dropped drastically. In the end, the Seven Clouds Sect was forced out of the main city of the Jang Province by the combined efforts of its rival sects. Thus, a hundred years ago, the sect was forced to relocate to an extremely remote area called the Celestial White Mountain. From then on, they rebuilt their roots in that third-rate region and became a local powerhouse.
As the old saying goes: "a starved camel is still bigger than a horse". The Seven Clouds Sect had once been a major sect, so it still possessed substantial potential. Once it arrived at Celestial White Mountain, it immediately gained control over around a dozen towns and villages, including Pinewall Village, and it had around 5,000 disciples, making it one of the two undisputed supreme powers in the area.
Locally, the only other power that could rival the Seven Clouds Sect was the Feral Snake Gang.
The Feral Snake Gang was originally a gang of horse-mounted bandits from the Jang Province that had no qualms about burning, killing, looting, and pillaging. After a while, an army dispatched by the imperial court encircled and fiercely suppressed the bandits. Some of the bandits accepted the amnesty granted to them by the imperial court while the remaining bandits reformed themselves into the Feral Snake Gang. The Feral Snake Gang was exceedingly cruel and bloodthirsty, retaining their former characteristics of having no qualms about committing atrocities. Thus, whenever they clashed, the Seven Clouds Sect was always at a disadvantage.
Even though the Feral Snake Gang controlled more villages than the Seven Clouds Sect, the gang didn't know how to manage the villages effectively to run businesses and generate income. In comparison, the wealth of the villages controlled by the Seven Clouds Sect vastly outstripped the villages under Feral Snake Gang's control. Jealous of the Seven Clouds Sect's prosperity, the Feral Snake Gang made plans to take over the Sect's territory, resulting in a long-standing conflict between the two major powers. The conflict gave the current Sect Leader of the Seven Clouds Sect endless headaches. Because of the Feral Snake Gang, the Seven Clouds Sect has been accepting an increasing number of disciples in recent years.
After the carriage stopped, a skinny forty-year-old man jumped down. His movements were extremely nimble, indicating that he was a powerful expert. He seemed to be very familiar with Fatty Xu's restaurant and walked pompously towards the room Xu Su was residing in.
Upon seeing the forty-year-old man, Fatty Xu immediately greeted him respectfully.
"Protector Zhao, why has an esteemed person such as yourself personally made the trip?"
"Humph!" Protector Zhao coldly snorted.
"The roads here haven't been peaceful lately. Because of this, there's a need to strengthen the defenses. Thus, the elders ordered that I personally come. Don't speak any more rubbish. Is this the child you wanted to nominate?"
"Yes, yes, this is my nephew. I hope that Protector Zhao will take care of him."
Looking at the impatient look on Protector Zhao's face, Third Uncle immediately retrieved a heavy-looking pouch and secretly passed it over to Protector Zhao.
After he assessed the weight of the pouch, Protector Zhao's impatient demeanor visibly relaxed.
"Fatty Xu, you truly know how to conduct yourself! On the way back, I will make sure that all of your nephew's needs are well cared for. Anyways, it is getting pretty late now. We had best to hurry on our way."