*whoosh* *swoosh* *swoosh*
It was a sunny day and the wind was blowing, sending cool breezes to relief the heat.
Chen Yi found himself in an open field outside of two buildings.
On his walk through from recent days, he has passed this place before. This place was a school that taught kids from age of 8 onwards about basic knowledge such as mathematics, history, physical education, language and literature.
According to the man from before who came to talk with Shen Jin the other day, children who were eight or nine years old before autumn of that year will be enrolled to the school automatically as long as they're children of Shen clan.
Those children will have to attend this school for four years before graduating, then they would have to do self practice until they are sixteen years old to prepare for the awakening ceremony.
To put it bluntly, they were left on their own.
Chen Yi walked around and found Shen Tian Yi not long after. He was sitting on his table thinking of something else while the teacher talked to the class.
Chen Yi observed him for a while when the bell rang and signal the end of school.
Shen Tian Yi stood up from his table and walked out of the class like the rest of the kids. Unlike many of his peers who were happy to finally get home, Shen Tian Yi was sad and frustrated.
Not long after leaving class, he was called out at the school gate by a group of six boys older his age.
They slowly surrounded him and walked together in friendly manner like a group of friends, but from the looks of Shen Tian Yi's face, that doesn't seem to be the case.
The group of boys gradually walked to an old run-down house just outside the village. Further away, to a place where 'mortals' live.
In the house, there seems to be someone already there, waiting just outside the front door. That person looks to be a boy not older than fifteen. He was quite a handsome teenager, tall but possessed quite the small frame compared to boys his age.
However, when the group of boys walked past the gate of the house, their attitude suddenly changed. Before they would talk to loudly to each other without a care in the world despite passersby giving them the looks. They would talk about all sorts of things, sometime harassed female 'mortals' on their way, or 'teased' Shen Tian Yi when they feel like it.
But when their eyes met with the boy sitting at the stair, their attitude suddenly did a hundred eighty degrees turn and they become obedient as a dog. After a brief moment, a boy in the group suddenly called out.
"Boss, we've brought him." A skinny boy said.
"Yeah boss, we've brought him. He seems to have gotten quite tame compared to the last few times we saw him." A chubby boy chipped in.
"Of course he is, he should behave at least this much when he's with the boss." A tall boy with quite a large and muscular build compared to his peers added with a serious look.
All the six boys laughed in unison and suddenly stopped when the 'boss' stood up and walk their way. He then bend down a little to match Shen Tian Yi's eyes level and said:
"So, where is the money?"
"..."
Shen Tian Yi did not reply and only look back at the 'boss' in the eyes without saying anything. Through his eyes, the 'boss' could see a pride and an unyielding determination. Looking at those eyes suddenly make the 'boss' really frustrated, he punched Shen tian Yi in the face so hard that it made him fall on his back.
"This son of a b*tch, you must think I'm easy since I've been so nice to you isn't it? I've been asking for you nicely for just a little bit of money for over a month now, but I haven't see even a little bit of Life essence stone around here did I?" The 'boss' questioned.
"I told you, I don't any money." Shen Tian Yi retorted as he got up while rubbing his face with one hand, his nose seemed to be bleeding.
"You? Have no money? Then what's about all those inheritance your parent left for you? Even if you cannot inherit them yet until you've come of age and possessed the necessary qualifications, everyone in Feng Yu mountain know the clan bestowed you sixty thousand Life essence stones, two bamboo houses and servants of four family when you were five. A few Life Essence energy stones are nothing to you, yet you refused to share them with your friend, your senior. Isn't that too selfish?" The boss asked with a honest look as if it's a normal thing that Shen Tian Yi should have done.
Towards this, Shen Tian Yi only smirked and spitted at the boss's face as before replied:
"Friends? you call yourself my friend? Would friends do each other like this? You only came to me because you want my money and you knew it."
Shen Tian Yi turned to leave when he suddenly felt a hand on his left shoulder, followed by a punch on his face as he turned to look back.
Moments later, the 'boss' jumped him and beat him to a pulp. Shen Tian Yi tried to resist but whatever he did seems to has no effect, even the six boys that brought him seemed scared witless.
Because they knew, if they tried to stop the boss, the one lying there next would not be Shen Tian Yi, but them.
The boss's eyes were bloodshot, his face dark like water as he has never felt angry and humiliated like this before, he felt like he could kill the kid right here, right now, with this anger. Worst of all, he felt defeated, like he just lost to this 8 years old child somehow.
'Why, why are you so confident? How can you still keep your cool when faced with someone above you, someone who's better than you every way possible? How can an eight years old kid be so determined? Then what about me? What would that make me then?'
The more he think of it, the more pathetic he felt and the angrier he got. He continued to punched Shen Tian Yi nonstop and beat him down even if he stood up and tried to fought back. After the rain of punches and kicks, Shen Tian Yi finally stopped moving as he lost consciousness.
However, that didn't stop the boss from attacking at all. He kept punching and kicking the unconscious Shen Tian Yi. Seeing this, the six boys began to panicked as they are afraid Shen Tian Yi might actually die.
One of the boys, the tall and muscular boy, stepped forward and tried to stop the boss by grapping his arm and stopped it firmly in place.
"I think that's enough boss, you really went too far this time."
The boss suddenly stop his actions and turned back to look at the person who stopped him, his eyes red, his two fists were covered in blood.
"Get your hand off me." The 'boss' demanded.
"No can't do boss, I'm doing this for your own good." The tall boy said while looking annoyed.
"... So you think so too huh? You think are strong, you think you are above me just because you have slightly more strength than I do?" The boss asked calmly in a challenging tone.
"And what's about it? We all know I'm stronger than you, we just didn't say it because we were afraid it would hurt your pride. So we just played along, but you really got ahead of yourself and gone too far this time." The tall boy said with an angry tone while feeling increasingly annoyed.
"....."
Towards the tall boy's words, the 'boss' only has silence.
"... You guys are just like dogs. When there's a treat, you guys acted all good and obedient, but if I stopped feeding you for a while, you guys would bared your fangs at me demanding for more" The boss spoke softly under his breath.
After saying so, the 'boss' pulled his armed back with greater force. this caught the tall boy by surprise as he let go of the boss's arm. Then, without any hesitation, the 'boss' spun his body and kicked the tall boy right across his face. They tall boy swayed' but didn't lose his footing. He then threw out a punch with all his might, as fast as he can, but to no avail as the 'boss' disappeared from his sight.
What he saw next was a punch right on his face as he fell down to the ground. The boss didn't stopped there as he attacked the boy in various places. Each time he did, the tall boy tried to counter attacked, but was unable to land a single hit on his opponent.
He was hit by a fury of punches as he gradually lost his consciousness. The five boys on the side upon seeing their friend stopped moving, grew increasingly concern and nervous.
The chubby boy felt like he should do something before its too late. So he called out:
"B-boss, I think you should c-calm down..."
The boss suddenly stopped his actions and looked at his remaining 'friends' as he got up and walked towards them.
"Why, do you think you're stronger than me too?" The boss said when he was at an arm distance from the chubby boys.
"T-that's not i-it boss. Of course you are the strongest here, we all knew that. Tan Qian was really full of himself to challenged you like that. We are just concern about your reputation, t-that's all. W-what if words get out and y-your grandfather heard of this, wouldn't that make him angry or even sad?" The chubby boy said nervously he was stuttering nonstop.
"..."
Upon seeing the boss remain silent, the chubby boy gained some confidence and continued speaking:
"We know how much you care for your family boss, especially your grandfather and younger sister, we all. Right, guys?"
Saying so, the chubby boy turned his head back to his friends to ask for support.
They all seemed to have reach a tacit understanding and nod their head wildly with all their strength.
"Please, can we just... go, together?" The chubby boy said with a pleading look it almost look like he's crying.
"... Let's go." The boss said after a long pause as he walked past the other five boys.
The remaining boy instantly move as they all went to wake up the unconscious boy and supported him while he walked.
"B-boss, what about the boy? Should we really leave him here?" One of the boys asked.
"..."
The other boys had a look of dread when met with the boss's silence, they all felt like they want to punch that friend of their in the face so bad. Why can't you just keep your mouth shut?
"... Let's just leave him here, that kid is stronger than he looked." Said the boss as he tossed a small bottle made of low quality jade on the ground next to Shen Tian Yi and walked away without looking back.
The boys all seems a bit relieved when they recognize the small jade bottle, some felt like this might not be enough but kept their mouth shut in fear angering the boss. They quickly walked away in the direction of the boss and quicken their pace.
In truth, the boss has not calmed down as much as everyone has thought. He felt inferior, angry and pathetic for beating up a boy six years younger than him. He also felt hurt and betrayed from the words that his friends spoke to him. He has always thought of them as true friends, but it seems they think otherwise.
"Shen Jing, just you wait..." The boss said with blood-red eyes, through gritted teeth as he tried to suppress his anger.
The group of boys gradually walked way from the 'mortal' village and disappeared in the distance.
"Hmm, this is..."
Out from a corner came Chen Yi as he approach Shen Tian Yi and inspected his condition.
"So familiar..."
Chen Yi could not explain the feeling in his heart. According to his brain this place was new and foreign, but his heart said otherwise.
Or maybe neither of them were correct as technically he has no brain and no heart altogether at the moment.
Chen Yi inspected his surrounding a bit more and came back to Shen Tian Yi who's still unconscious. He realize that he could do nothing beside wait for the boy to wake up, only then can he proceed to the next scene.
Time passed slowly by as normal, from the cooling breeze of the after noon to cold wind of the evening as the sun slowly set on the west.
"Urgh...."
After a long while, Shen Tian Yi finally regained consciousness. Chen Yi who sat next to him stood up as he prepared to leave.
"My head... Did I lost consciousness? How long was I out?" Shen Tian Yi asked himself, but found no answer.
He stood up, but felt pain all over his body, the place that hurt the most were his arms and legs. He slowly remembered that when he tried to fight back the 'boss' with his arms and legs, the boss ruthlessly incapacitated him. He then punched Shen Tian Yi repeatedly in various places, causing pain all over his body until his mind couldn't take it anymore and lost consciousness.
Shen Tian Yi gritted his teeth and bore through the pain as he slowly stood up and inspected his surrounding. He noticed that it was quite late in the evening and no one was around here. He also noticed the small jade bottle on the ground and picked it up for inspection. He soon realized that it was a bottle of a high grade medicine contained in a bottle.
Shen Tian Yi however, did not consume the medicine as he has his suspicious and only keep it in his shirt pocket.
he slowly made his way back to the village while thinking of various thing, most of them being the possible reason why those older boys approach him and beat him to a pulp without any reason.
'No, at the end of the day, no matter what reason it will be, the fundamental problem is because my body is weak and frail, couple with my fortune, no wonder they want to rob me of some money.'
Shen Tian Yi then closed his eyes and sign.
'It's a good thing that I gave all the money and rewards to my adoptive-parents, otherwise it would not be just these little kids trying to get their hands on my money. Seeing as there are no attempts to rob me in the past few years, the adults must have know of this fact somehow.'
'But the kids didn't...'
'Well, there is some other way around this.'
Shen Tian Yi began to plan his revenge, but was interrupted by the guards when he arrived at one of the clan's gate.
The guard upon seeing the state was in asked with concern such as what is he doing here, where are his parents and the like.
They became shock and grew quite suspicious when Shen Tian Yi told them the names of his adoptive-parents. After all, what was the adoptive son of the rising hot-shot elder doing here so late, alone?
Nevertheless, they still took him to his house and inquired if Shen Tian Yi is really their son or not. After they got their confirmation, the guards respectfully left.
Shortly after the guards left and the door was closed, Shen An instantly jumped and embraced Shen Tian Yi with eyes full of tears as she cried.
"Xiao Tian, what happened? Who hurt you? Which beast and dog was so heartless as to beat an eight year old boy?"
Shen An asked with extreme anger and sadness which shocked Shen Tian Yi quite a bit.
'To think she was worried about me this much. Sorry aunt, no, mom, I'm such a bad son for making you cried.'
Shen Tian Yi was silence for a moment as he was sorting his thoughts and process her emotions. He then said everything was fined in an attempt to calm his crying mother down but it seems to backfired.
His mother sob even harder and didn't even ask him questions anymore as she was unable too. Then, Shen Jin stepped forward and knelt down with one leg as he looked at Shen Tian Yi with a gentle smile.
"Tian Er, it's fine, everything is fine. Father is here, your mother is here, even your sister is here, nobody can harm you while we're here. I can swear this on my life."
Shen Jin said with honest eyes, with heart more precious than gold.
His daughter who was hiding behind him also stuck out her head and nodded.
Shen Tian Yi was touched by their compassion and confessed the truth. Shen Jin facial expression twitch slightly, but still kept his gentle smile and comforted Shen Tian Yi as they all got back into the living room and eat some food, took a bath and went to sleep.
At least that's what Shen Tian Yi thought until he heard a loud sound of door shutting not long after his parents sent him and Shen Ai to sleep.
Shen Tian Yi decided to not do anything about it and continue sleeping as he was too tired and beaten, literally. He has a rough idea what's happening.
Morning came and Shen Tian Yi woke up feeling sore all over his body. He noticed that Shen An was still sleeping soundly beside him so he decided not to wake her up. He went to wash his face, rinse his mouth and take a shower with servants tending to him.
After he finished washing himself, Shen Tian Yi went to the kitchen to find something to eat before heading to school, but found his parents at the dinner table instead.
They smiled gently after noticing him, they then told him to come sit with them at the table.
"Tian Er, no need to worry, everything is fine. Father took care of it, nobody is going to to hurt you anymore, I promise. So why don't you and Xiao Ai not go to school and rest for today? Father already told the school about this, so we can spend time together as much as we want today, how does that sound?" Shen Jin said with a warm and reassuring smile.
Although felt that this father of his was not as confidence in his words from the look in his eyes, he chose to ignore it a he thought maybe it was just his brain messing with him. He smiled and nodded happily as innocent as possible at his adoptive father's word.
The father and son talked some more while waiting for Shen Ai to wake up and Shen An to finish cooking. After while, the whole family had breakfast together when the food was ready and Shen Ai woke up.
When the family finally finished breakfast, Shen Ai went back to her room as she said she has homework to do. Shen Tian Yi was about to do the same when his father told him to stay a bit more as there was something he wanted to talk about.
"Tian Er, do you remember the day you gave us all those Core Essence stone and two bamboo house with servants of four family that the clan bestowed to you?" Shen Jin asked with a gentle smile as he always has done.
"Yes, father."
"At first I was very surprised, who wouldn't be when someone offered them such a huge sum for no reason? I thought you might not know the value of those thing, so I asked you how many bowl of noodle can you buy with these fortunes, but your answer shocked me even more. I remembered it was something like-"
Before Shen Jin could finished his words, he was cut by Shen Tian Yi who then spoke:
"Core essence is a necessary resource for Meng cultivation as well as Meng. While Meng itself is hard to get, you can buy it from the clan or travelling merchants from caravans. Average price of a rank one Meng is around 1 two hundreds fifty to three hundreds core essence stone, rank two is five hundreds to two thousands while rank three can range from three thousands to ten thousands of Core Essence stone. As for rank four and five, I have no idea what their prices are."
"What do know is that one Core Essence is enough for an average mortal family to sustain their lives for about a month if they used it sparingly, two if they eat one meal a day. As for how much Core Essence a Meng cultivator need to sustain their livelihood, I have no idea as I am not one yet."
"However, I do know that sixty thousands Core Essence stones is definitely a huge sum, it's too much, even for two elite elders of the clan. The reason clan leader gave me this much compensation was either because some reason unknown or my parents' lives just worth that much, or it could even be both. I am not clear of the exact detail. The way I am now, I have no way to utilize it nor do I have anyway to protect it, so it's best to give them to you, my father's best friend, and also my adoptive father."
"What I ask in exchange is that you treat me well, you don't have to treat me if I'm your son if you don't want to. Having a three meals a day with a place to sleep is already enough for me."
Shen Tian Yi said expressionlessly back then, leaving his adoptive father in momentary shock while his adoptive mother was smiling lightly as if she has expected it.
Shen Jin regained his composure shortly after. For a moment, he saw a figure of his best friend overlapping with Shen Tian Yi. The way they talked, straight forward with confidence couple with their intelligence, the similarity is just uncanny.
Three years ago he asked Shen Tian Yi if he knew the values of these fortunes he was giving away so easily, the answer he received back then was the same as he received now, not one word more or one word less.
He was so shocked then, even more shocked now. This was not his first time witnessing such a scene, but precisely because it's not that he felt even more shocked and amazed.
"Guess you're a genius after all."
Shen Jin said with a soft smile after he calmed down.
"I'm just good at memorizing."
Shen Tian Yi closed his eyes and said with a smile innocently.
Shen Jin's expression turned slightly weird, but he still tried to keep his smile as he mumbled under his breath:
"You said this back then too..."
Shen Jin shook his head softly to clear his mind and gather his thoughts, then spoke in a happy and carefree manner again:
"Anyway, since you know the value of Core Essence stones, then I won't say much. This two bags contained five hundred Core Essence stones each, they are yours."
Saying so, Shen Jin waved his hand lightly in the air. Immediately after, two servants brought one bag of Core Essence stones each and placed them on the table before respectfully took their leave.
Shen Tian Yi was about to say something when Shen Jin raised his right hand and stopped him.
"I know what you want to say, but these Core Essence stones are not mine. They're from the person who harmed you, Shen Wu. Or more accurately, his grandfather. He want give you this one thousand Core Essence stones as an apology and promised something like this would never happen again. He won't take them back either even if we return them so just accept it, ok? It's all yours."
Shen Tian Yi was stunned. He had expected there would be some compensation, but he didn't expect it to be this much. After all, in his eyes, what happened back there was just a kid fight. Even if there was some age differences and was hardly a fight, the compensation should not be this much.
What does this amount of Core Essence stones mean? For average mortal family, one Core Essence stone meant a month worth of expense, a thousand of core Essence stones meant that they got their expense covered roughly for about eighty years!
For a rank one Meng Cultivator, it meant at least two or three rank one Meng, or even one or two rank two Meng of their choice!
Shen Tian Yi only was stunned for a short moment before he bowed down, thanked his parents and took his leave with the bags of Core Essence stones.
"Shen Jiang...." Shen Jin mumbled softly under his breath with eyes full of nostalgia.
Many years ago, on this very table, sat four people, drinking and eating together. They were the best of friends for each other, nothing could get between them. They would often came here and sit for a cup of tea or maybe a game with drinks on the side and chat about their lives. Sometimes they would drink together nonstop without any regards for missions and work, yet their performance still came out on top.
They would spent their times in here many days in their youth, talking about their own adversities with one another, chatting their worries away.
Time past slowly like water flowing in the sea, it cannot be stopped. They grew up slowly and got caught up with their lives, their families. They didn't meet up as much as they used to, but their friendship remain unchanged. If not for the other two's sudden death, the four of them might still be sitting in this very table.
"Oh Shen Jiang, why must you left me so? Why must you left your son all alone in this world? Did you know? Tian Er is growing up healthily, he looks like you more and more with each passing day, I even mistook him for you sometimes. As your best friend, I swore to myself to protect and raise him well for you like he is my own child, but with the child's intelligence, I'm afraid I can't fill the void in his heart even if I want to."
"Did you know? Tian Er got beat up the other day and I didn't even know where, when or even why he got beaten up to such a state until he came back to me with bruises and wounds all over his body, he was just eight years old! You would have protect him and make sure whoever did this to him got what they deserved, not some merely some Core Essence stones... I'm just a useless incompetent friend..."
"It's ok, you don't have to blame yourself. You tried your best and did everything you can and that's all that matters."
For a moment, Shen Jin felt like he misheard and quickly turned his head to take a look. What he thought was his best friend's voice was instead his wife who spoken to him. Unbeknown to him, tears has been running down his face the entire time while he talked to himself. Shen An wiped tears from his face gently while speaking words of comfort.
"I know how you feel, I miss them just as much as you do, but we need to let go of the past and live the present. The best we can do is raising the kids and live our lives well, so that their sacrifice will not be in vain."
"... You're right, I should not dwell too much on the past. I will look forward to the future instead, who knows? Maybe our kids will grow up to be incredible people someday, even greater than us."
Shen An giggled softly before putting her forehead against her husband's chest.
"I'm sure they will"
In the back yard of the house stood a man with his arms crossed under the shade of a tree, ginkgo leaves fell upon him. He has stood here, listened observed them through the back door from the backyard to the kitchen from start to finish, but he still has no idea what this thing was about other than the kid named Shen Tian Yi's life so far.
The wind of autumn blew pushing the ginkgo leaves into the air, creating a beautiful sight. The wind gradually picked up speed as more leaves were swirling in the air, the world was filled with ginkgo leaves before long.
Chen Yi: "..."
Chen Yi expression was tranquil and unmoved, yet his heart was filled with excitement. He didn't know how, he didn't know why. He has seen far more beautiful sight in his life many times, but he couldn't help but admire the scenery before him. It felt like when he was just a kid exploring the world and seeing things for the first time again, it's a weird sensation.
That se as the leaves sensation faded soon after as the leaves scattered. Chen Yi found himself in a small space. Upon a bit more inspection he realized that he was in a toilet room. He noticed a boy leaning unusually close to a sink, puking. He has many bruises and wound on his body while his face was full of dirt like he just rolled on the ground.
"Why, why does it have to be me? Why did I got bullied and picked on a again? What is wrong with these stupid kids!!?" Shen Tian Yi said after puking out everything he ate from the afternoon.
"Is it because I'm weak? because I'm average so I'm easy to pick on? Do I look so easy!? Just you wait...just you wait! We will see it by the end of the year."
Chen Yi: "?"
"What is he talking about?...AURGHH"
Just as Chen Yi was figuring what's happening, an indescribable pain suddenly assault him. He felt like his head was forcefully ripped open and needles were stabbing through his skull to the brain, injecting something in there.
After the pain subsided, Chen Yi found himself on a new place as new memories surfaced in his mind. He has no idea how long has time passed, or has it truly past at all.
Chen Yi found himself on a street, he walked a few moments before finding a familiar face, Shen Tian Yi. The boy was walking through the bustling street with a girl holding his hand and humming happily to herself, Chen Yi recognize her to be Shen An
"Did you see that? That's him, that's him! That's the rumored Shen Tian Yi!" A young girl of around eighteen years of age in a small restaurant by the roadside said, the buckle on her belt bonze with a 'one' word written on it.
"What!? That's him? He look so young, is he really the rumored Shen Tian Yi, the possible seventh greatest genius in our clan history!?" Another girl who sat opposite the first girl asked curiously, her buckle also has the word 'one' on it.
"What's you guys talking about? Who's even this Shen Tian Yi guy? What's the big deal with him?" An older girl asked slightly annoyed and embarrassed from her companion's loud voice. Different from the two girls, her belt buckle was made of silver and has the word 'two' instead.
The two girl looked at each other, puzzled. They felt like this senior of their might be living under a rock or something. Together, they turned their head to the other girl and spoke in unison.
"Are you kidding!?"
"Sister, haven't you heard the news? Even mortals know a thing or two."
"Yeah, has you been sleeping in a cave or something? How come you didn't know him at all?"
"Is he that famous? but he look no more than ten years old, how?" The older girl aske, puzzled.
The other two girl sighed at the same time before the first girl said:
"Okay, let me do the explaining. So as everyone probably knew, our clan was found by our first generation ancestor who possessed cultivation level of rank five. Although our clan has birthed many rank four cultivators, throughout our clan history, only three people have managed to reach rank five, being our first generation ancestor, our fifth generation clan leader and our current clan leader. This is a common knowledge in the clan that you can ask just anyone to find out."
"Now, the reason why Shen Tian Yi is so famous right now was because of his recent achievement that was even greater than his father, the fifth greatest genius of the clan, the youngest person to become an elder in the last five hundred years, the strongest person in his generation. It was said that in his childhood at school, his score in every subject was no less than eighty five out of hundred throughout the year, earning him first place in every subject and practice even after he awoken as a Meng cultivator and enrolled in the academy. Even then he was still first place in everything, with elder Shen Jin being second place, sometimes first and was the only one who has the qualification to compete with lord Shen Jiang. Thus, was born the rivalry of the age!" The first girl said excitedly as if talking about some kind of legend.
"That's not entirely right, if we also count lady Shen Lin and Shen An, then weren't there three people in that generation who can compete with him?" The second girl asked curiously.
In that moment, the third girl with a belt buckle made of silver suddenly spoke:
"You juniors know nothing, this kind of rivalry is to compete for greatness and challenge one's own limit, how can other people intervene? How can us woman get in between two strong, hot handsome men competing for greatness? How can we get in between their rivalry romantic?" Said the third girl with a certainty and boasting look as if everything she has just said was a fact.
"Ah, I forgot. Senior has a severe case of BL addiction." Said the first girl.
"Yeah, me too. Especially when it comes to lord Shen Jiang, he's her ideal type of men after all." The second girl followed suit.
"Wait, how is this related to that Shen Tian Yi kid? And how great is he exactly to be called the seventh greatest genius in our clan history alongside lord Shen Jiang?" The third girl asked slightly furious as her dream man was compared to a kid out of nowhere.
Towards this, the first girl only said teasingly:
"Senior, you didn't know? You truly live under a rock aren't you? That Shen Tian Yi kid was lord Shen Jiang's son! Four years ago he earned a fortune as compensation for his parents' mortality while their inheritance were still intact, thus became rich overnight. Many people has an eye on his fortune, but turned away upon lord elder Shen Jin's gaze, which was when he adopted Shen Tian Yi. Nobody dared to even think about laying a hand on Shen Tian Yi since then." The second girl explained enthusiastically.
"Not only that, last month when the first year of the elementary school just ended, it was revealed that Shen Tian Yi has a score of hundred out of hundred in every subjects! At first the teacher in charge couldn't believe it and thought he cheated, but was too scared to confront him without any evidence as he was afraid of elder Shen Jin's wraith. So he contacted his superior and they set up a specially harder test to see if Shen Tian Yi did really cheated or not. Under watchful eyes of many elders including his adoptive father Shen Jin, Shen Tian Yi completed his test flawlessly in a relaxed manner without sign of cheating even under the elder's investigation type Meng. He then recited a unique poem of his father and walked away in a carefree manner, leaving the elders shocked." the first girl paused slightly be fore continuing.
"That's not all, when further investigation was run, they found out that Shen Tian Yi was even more incredible than they thought. Apparently Shen Tian Yi has the perfect score of hundred out of a hundred points, he's a naturally born genius! This kind of thing should be reported to the academy elder immediately so they could keep an eye on him yet the teacher in charge did not such thing. Further investigation revealed that this teacher of his actually was concealing this fact deliberately because one of a student with ill will bribed him to destroyed Shen Tian Yi future and prospect, but-" The first girl said excitedly before she was cut off in the middle of the sentence.
"But the teacher was afraid if he crossed the line, he would have to face tribulation by lord Shen Jin. So all he did was turned a blind eyes to Shen Tian Yi's life of being bullied while concealing the information of Shen Tian Yi abnormally high intelligence. Alas, paper cannot cover fire, how can this kind of peerless genius future prospect be easily destroyed by this kind of tricks? Who would have thought calling an elder to get a harder test for Shen Tian Yi and ran investigation on him would backfired. Not only was he demoted and fired, his cultivation was also reduced and he himself was sent to work on the battlefield for the rest of his life with no rest." Said the second girl enthusiastically as she cut her friend's sentence midway.
"Hmm, this Shen Tian Yi seem really interesting. No wonder you guys are so hype about him, his future prospect should be vast and boundless, he was destined for greatness!"
The third girl said excitedly when she suddenly felt a pair of hand pressed on her shoulder which surprised her and made her jump a little.
"Yan Er, what are you doing here? Don't you remember we agreed to meet for a mission this evening?" A handsome man said with a smile while closing his eyes.
Suddenly the other two girls stood up and spoke in unison:
"We greet senior Shen Jing!"
"Ah geez, you startled me. Why are you here so fast, don't we still have few hour before our meeting, why are you so early? And what' with the two of you? Sit down, you're embarrassing me here."
The two girls looked at each other reluctantly before they heard a gentle voice spoken to them:
"It's fine, no need for such formalities. Just treat me like you would treat Yan Er here."
The two girls sat down slowly upon hearing the man named Shen Jing spoke.
"So, I heard you were talking about something really interesting just a moments ago, care to tell me more of it?" Shen Jing asked gently in a curious manner with his eyes closed like before.
And so they began to chatted away while eating their food and drinks.
Meanwhile out on the street, Shen tian Yi has walked past the restaurant long ago. In his mind, he thought to himself:
"Great, the clan finally realized my worth now. All the bullying has stopped and there are even some kind of security put in place wherever I go."
He smiled softly to himself and thought:
"The best of all, I can finally get back at those bastard kids. I will make sure your childhood has nothin but pain and suffering, in the last remaining three years of school at least."
Meanwhile, Chen Yi was not far away behind, he was still lost in his own thoughts. In truth, the memories he receive this time was larger than any he has got from this realm so far, it was a memory of a lifetime. He was not able process half of them til now.
Suddenly Chen Yi's vision started to blurred. Old scenery disappeared as new sight took place in.
"it can't be, IT CAN'T BE!!!!"
"How come I've got only fourth class talent!!? The lowest class of Meng cultivator!! HOW CAN IT BE!!!"
Shen Tian Yi shouted and cried through his teary eyes and distorted with anger-face.
Chen Yi: "What the..."
Just as Chen Yi was figuring out what was happening, he felt the surrounding area changing again.
"How could the two of you do this to me? I get Shen Zhong, but not you too! How can you do this to me!? SHEN AI!!!"
Chen Yi: "Wait, wha-"
Just when Chen Yi was processing scene before him, confused, the surrounding started to change once again as wave surged and water rained down.
"Y-youngmaster have mercy, I did not mean it, it was an accident... I did not eat anything for two days, have mercy..."
Again.
"Come, come, come. Try your luck."
Again.
"Lord please have mercy on this little merchant. This store is all that I have. Please lord, I beg of you..."
Again
"Why would you even waste your time on someone like me? Go somewhere else, I have nothing to give and I also cannot repay your kindness."
"This is not kindness, it's love."
Again.
"Dear, I think my time has finally come...."
"No, no, no. What are you talking about? You'll be fine, even I can live this long so why couldn't you? Don't say such a thing again, don't leave me..."
"Thank you dear, for your sweet words, but I know my limits. I'm at the end of my lifespan now while you still have many years left in you. I've lived my own life to the fullest. Although we are poor and life was hard, but I still enjoy every second I spent with you. I have loving husband, a filial and faithful son, what else could I possibly ask for more? I've lived my life without regrets... Although there's still the last one. Which was how I couldn't accompany you anymore, I couldn't watch the face of our future grandson and granddaughter *sob* I-i wish i could spent more time with you guys, smiling and laughing together again like I used to."
"Dear..."
"Hehe, don't cry dear, weren't you the one who told me that this is normal? Nothing last forever, we human live and dies, it's a part nature."
"You know I always agree with you most of the time right? Back then I pretended to agree too, but right now I don't think I can do it anymore. You said back then that no one can live forever, that we human will all die in the end, why? Why is that? Why can't humans live forever? It's already hard enough to find a person who love you for who you are, why is death taking us apart still? Why can't people live forever with their love ones? I don't want to die, I don't want our son to die, I also don't want you to die... Why must death come for everyone? Was it because it's part of nature? Then why must nature have to be this way? Is it real that Immortals can live forever, but I've never seen them in my entire life, let alone become one. Does immortality really, truly exist? Then where was it? How come no one has found it since? Was it going against the heaven to seek immortality, was it going against the laws and nature to just live forever? I have so many questions in my mind, but I no longer has the time, nor the strength and wisdom to find out... Thinking about it now, if I have another chance in life, if I can turn back time, I think I would make the same choice, I would love to marry you still."
"...."
"You should forget, forget everything I said and move on... Make your remaining life full of happiness memories. I'm just an old woman on her last breath, thinking of me would just hurt your heart every time... So forget me... So please, don't cry..."
"Are these... tears?" Chen Yi muttered as he rubbed his cheek with one hand softly, shocked.
Then again.
"The scenery is wonderful, this is more than enough for my graveyard."
"My wife die, my son also died, so will I, eventually. Living to this point for a hundred and eighteen years and yet all I have left was just a small food store, a house and a few lands, I am truly pitiful... and pathetic."
"If it's not for that twenty years Lifespan Meng, I'm afraid I won't be able to live to this day...."
"I truly don't want to die, but my age is catching up with me... Just a casual walk and I'm already out of breath... Compare to slowly die from sickness and old age, jumping this cliff into the deep sea might be better. At least it will be quick and painless..."
"What am I doing, talking to myself? I must have gone senile or something... I'm tired, let's just jump..."
"Wait, this place is..." Chen Yi mumbled as he subconsciously stretched his hand out after the old man.
Then the scenery changed once again.
*Cough* *Cough* *Cough* "Where am I? Wait... I'm still alive, I actually survived that?"
"... What is this place... An underwater cave? How am I breathing"
The old man inspected his surrounding and waited for a while before deciding to explore the place. He found a stone tablet standing strong at the end of the cave after walking for some time.
" "Lies behind this path is the key to power. You will be able to move water and sea with your mortal body, living eternally as an Immortal." Is this... A water path inheritance?... Left behind by a rank six Immortal too!!?"
"So the Immortals really exist! If... if there's a chance... If there is even just a glimmer of hope, then I will not stop living, I will chase it till my last breath!"
"No, this is not right... this is my... !" Chen Yi looked around with bewilderment on his face. This place look strange and new, yet familiar to him.
*Rumble*
"What..."
Before Chen Yi could do anything, water engulfed his vision it swirled into a giant dome.
When water dispersed and the dome disappeared, Chen Yi found himself standing on a small piece of land akin to a small boat.
"Hahaha, success! I finally got out!"
"The stone tablet said that only by cultivating to rank five will I be able to move mountain and sea, I didn't think it would literally mean to move mountain and sea. Hahaha!"
Chen Yi noticed the person beside him and instantly recognized him as the old man he was with a few moments ago. However, this person now look young and energetic, his body full of life and vitality. He has the face of a youth in his mid to late twenties. Not only that the two are both young, their face also look nearly identical too. They are like a pair of long lost twins who has lived a completely different place and different lifestyle, resulting in the change or their body shape and facial features.
"It took me fifty whole years to cultivate to rank five, but thankfully I used that one hundred and eighty years Lifespan Meng or else I would have been dead long ago. That Immortal is really far-sighted, I expect no less from such a powerful being!, haha."
The 'youth' spoke loudly with joy and laughing for a long time even though he was alone on a piece of land in the middle of the sea. It was as if he has gone crazy from the long years of cultivation.
"Great, with this, my future is limitless, there's still room for improvement and I'm one step loser to immortality."
"Great, great, hahaha! I've never felt this great in my entire life! No wait, is it two lives now, three? Hm... Whatever, it doesn't matter much anyway. What matters is where should I go now? Hmmm... Alright, since I'm a water path cultivator, then west it is."
"Just wait for me, Western Sea!"
The 'youth' shouted then jumped high up using the current as his foothold, and continued doing so until he disappeared in the distance.
Chen Yi watched all of this unfolded while not moving from the spot. he watched as the 'youth' slowly disappeared without so much as blinking, but when he did, he found himself in different place.
"Again..."
"Aurgh... My head, where am I? What is this place? Wait... Who am I?"
"You awake, mister?"
"W-who are you? Where am I? Who... Am I?"
"My name is Xing Yun, I saw you collapsed in the forest when I went out to gather mushrooms, so I brought you here! Welcome to my home! As for who you are... I'm sorry mister, I also don't know the answer to that question."
"Oh..."
"... Are you hungry? I can make dinner for both of us and you can stay the night if you have nowhere to go."
"Is that ... So? ... Alright."
"No... This isn't right. I clearly remembered that girl, but how come I don't remember any of these?" Chen Yi spoke to himself while watching the confused man got up and moved around.
When the food was ready and the table has been set up, the middle age man sat down and ate the food, albeit reluctantly. The food was surprisingly delicious with many side dishes yet strangely enough, the only ones eating at the dinner table are only two people. The said two people ate their foods silent without any words or questions as if they were forbidden.
The man himself was confused why he was not asking any questions when he knows next to nothing about his situation, yet something inside him told him that now is not the time. So he swallowed his food, and kept his silence.
"Xing Yun... And is that... Me? But how... I've been one and always a Sword path cultivator all my life... If the 'me' lost my memory and ended up here, then why do I not remember any of this? Did I lost my memory a second time?... That should not be the case. If I really had lost my memory a second time, then how come I can remember Xing Yun and all these Water path killer moves?"
"Wait a minute... Did I just say Water path killer moves? What is goi- AUGHHH!"
Suddenly, Chen Yi felt indescribable pain all over his body. This pain seems seep into his core, his very being, new memories buried themselves within. Chen Yi himself has been through great many tortures, some of them are so inhumanly cruel that most people would have gone insane. The pain was so great that Chen Yi has fallen on his knees, holding his head like a madman, wishing the pain would go away. Throughout his thousand years of life, Chen Yi has only experienced this kind of extreme, seeping and intolerable pain once.
"ARGHHHHHHH!"
Chen Yi felt the pain risen to the extreme, he screamed at the top of his lungs and opened his eyes wide.
What he saw after opening his eyes were only eternal darkness, yet there existed a small ray of light not far away from him. He raised his hands and touched his cheeks, cold sweat soaked his two hands. He felt a slight gust of wind touched his face, he heard sounds of insects flying near the ray of light, he smelled the scent of wind and rain.
When he realized it, the pain has already gone away like a dream. His senses were sharp, his body without any soreness, like the crying pain from before didn't exist. It was like he has woken up from a dream and forget about it, whether it truly existed is hard to say.
This discoveries brought nothing but joy to Chen Yi as he got up and run to the ray of light which was nothing but a small hole from a window. Chen Yi pushed them open without any hesitation, midnight rain fell upon him with the breezy fresh air, as he declared himself to the world.
"Mhm~ Tian Tian, why are you laughing so loud in the middle of the night? Quickly close the door, it's raining outside, you might catch a cold."
*Yawn* " Let's get back to bed." *Yawn*
Chen Yi was startled awake from his joyful excitement. He slowly turned around while closing the window, wearing an innocent and confused expression as he looked back the the person talking to him as if asking what they were talking about.
"What's wrong Tian Tian? Is there anything on your mind?"
"... No, it's nothing. Just nightmares... That's all."
"Aww~ It must be pretty scary huh? Come here, I'll get rid of them for you."
Chen Yi walked back to the bed while examine the person that talked to him. The person in front of him seems to be a girl in her sixteen. Her skin reflect the moonlight, showing it's white and tendeness of a youth. She has cute and beautiful face and eyes that seems to draw people into them. She used one hand to rub her right eye to get rid of the sleepiness while her left eye remain opened, revealing a unique charm that made people unable to take their eyes off her.
'This face is true without fault, she's...'
Chen Yi soon reached the bed as he climbed back up and sit directly opposite to her. Upon closer inspection, Chen Yi found that the girl in front of him wore nothing but a set of short sleeves and pants of pajama, he could even see her smooth belly. The way this girl acted so carefree and defenseless in front of him as if it's a normal thing only confirmed Chen Yi's suspicious about her and his own identity.
'Shen Ai...'
"Omh~ Nightmares go away~ Pew~"
The girl blew his forehead softly with a big smile.
"That should do it, let's get back to bed now, shall we?"
"Yeah... Let's go."
They both layed down together, under the same blanket they sleep. Well, this was true for one of them, at least.