The bell of the little hillside restaurant rings as three customers walk into the tavern. They aren't here to eat; they are our beloved C-grade useless characters who have no purpose being here but to cause unnecessary and pointless ruckus and problems. It's a bustling little inn even though it's small.
*thump*
One of the guys places his foot on the table and the shock spills some noodles from a bowl down to the table. The man in the black elegant robes who was eating them paid them no heed. He was wearing a big straw hat that samurais wear, but it was dyed black. So was his sword that rested in his sheath on the left side of his waist – a beautiful and magnificent katana, unlike any that nobody might have seen before. His whole demeanor was that of an immortal who had lived for centuries, but that didn't quite fit... he was but a 16-year-old boy, a boy that could easily be mistaken for a man as his face is not easily visible thanks to that large hat. His clothes were meant for combat but still looked very much like some royal would wear at a funeral.
"You are that 'SEER' fella, aren't you? I heard the rumors. Damn, who knew? You really are here," one of them spoke up, the one who had put his feet on his table to disturb the mysterious man's meal. He made sure to be loud enough so all could hear him, and he succeeded in catching their attention. The once very normal-looking people who were just chatting around were now being very wary of the black-dressed stranger.
"It really is him!" a customer shouted in fear. "Young and wearing all black, it's him!" he yelled.
So was the presence of the seer, an almost invisible and normal person who was now at the center of all the attention, a topic of fear and awe. A baseless rumor now in front of all would believe their senses. The seer was one of the hottest sensations of Murim, a man who could predict the future.
The man in black once again ignored the three ruffians and continued to sip on the soup from the bowl.
"Oi, you can predict the future, right? Why don't you predict ours?" another one of the ruffians spoke up this time.
The man in black could no longer ignore them and therefore he spoke up.
"Fine, I will tell you exactly what is going to happen as soon as I finish talking. See that blondie over there? Yeah, her. Your 3rd mute brother will try to mess with her. And, oh yes, don't worry, she isn't as powerful as you three so you can kinda get away with what you are thinking of doing right now... just beware of her bodyguards. They are weak but surprise attacks always do it."
The blonde woman in question, who was already very curious, was now furious and shocked that that man knew of her real identity and bodyguards, but she did not react – only kept on listening to his absurd talks. Not just her, but all people in the inn.
"And then after you beat the bodyguards, you will try to assault her, but that red-haired guy can't possibly let you get away with all that nonsense. He can't stand it so he will promptly slay you where you stand as soon as my predictions are proven correct. And then the blondie will be like just who is this handsome and strong young man and while she thinks that that old man up there will think something like that |seer who accurately predicted everything. Just what is his identity|. And quite honestly that would really make me wanna punch that old man." The seer had now finished talking.
"Bah, look at this bastard, he really went for it. What utter bullshit are you spewing?" they could not laugh enough as they said it.
"Haha, that red hair? slay us?"
"Man, you really went for it. Well, that's the seer for you, We weren't actually expecting some seer shit from you."
The man in black only continued to sip away at his meal.
"But you know what? I really do wanna mess with that blondie over there. She is so cute."
"Haha, you sicko! You finally spoke up, huh? Well, have fun. We will see what happens."
Those three continued amongst themselves, and the third brother started to approach the blondie, who had now pulled out a weapon. Two men jumped down from the upper floor, brandishing their swords.
"Oh, you really do have guards. Guess this bastard was right, and you know what else he was right about...you guys are no match for us."
A fight broke out, and after a minute of sword clashing, one of the guards was slain. Then, the moment one of the guards died, there was a flash. The thug who slew the guard turned back to see his two brothers dead at the hands of the red-headed man. Another swing and the third ruffian fell as well.
Everything the seer told was true, and throughout the commotion, the seer did not move. He stayed there, annoyed as now he had blood spilled over his food...
The red-haired man now walked up to the man dressed in all black. The marks of blood were fresh on his robe. He quite elegantly and politely bowed to the seer.
"May I sit here, brother?" he asked rather politely and humbly.
The seer could not possibly refuse him when he was being so nice and humble.
"You, waiter, clean this up and get me two more bowls of what I was having, and also put it on this young man's tab," the seer leaned back towards the counter while tightly gripping the table as he ordered.
The man with the bluish robe with a tint of red was now delighted. He took his seat in front of the seer and, in his customary way, made a greeting with clenched fists as he once again bowed. He introduced himself, "An Liu from the An family. I am their second heir of the branch family."
"Call me Neon," the rumored seer responded with the same degree of politeness and softness.
As the people wound up and cleaned up the mess that had been caused, the two young men continued to chat. The kind-hearted smile was a constant from that Liu character, something unnatural for the people living in the Murim. The only thing that the seer could think of while looking at this chap was, 'Damn, this guy gonna die.'
"By the way, brother, I sense no qi from you... why is that?"
"Oh, don't worry about it. I am not a cultivator. And before you go on about how talented I am, I would like to make it clear that I am not interested."
This really shocked Liu.
"But... why?"
"I just don't want to get involved in this bullshit or this world of cultivators."
"But... why?" Liu asked once again with much more pain in his voice.
Cultivating and having talent was like every person's dream. Even farmers knew some degree of cultivation knowledge here in Murim. Someone not wanting to be a martial artist was just that abnormal.
"I understand if you wish to not talk about your techniques, but I really don't..."
"Alright, shorty, calm down. I know this is new to you, and me doing something like this is like you seeing some legless person sprint. But think about it, why would I want to?"
"To... to... live longer and be stronger. To protect yourself and your loved ones. To be happier and wealthier... Why would one not?" Extremely confused and in an even more painful voice, Liu replied.
"All these questions, my new friend, have very simple and obvious answers that you aren't able to see. And quite frankly, it's not your fault."
Liu collected himself quite quickly. He seemed to have understood at least some jist of emotion that the seer was trying to express thru his replies.
Liu was a naive and idealistic sort of person but not completely stupid.
The seer was just simply glad that he did not push any further with his questions.
In fact, he seemed even happier and even more full of admiration and curiosity toward The Seer.
"Brother, where are you headed after this? If you are traveling aimlessly, I would be grateful if you traveled with me to the capital." He had more to say, but he was interrupted by his own thoughts. The blond woman now approached them.
"I am extremely sorry, but I am already engaged," Liu immediately stood up and yelled this out at the beautiful blond girl whose face could not possibly be more pink.
She, with her face pinker than the pinkest pink color you can create, slammed both her hands on the table, looked at the seer, and also yelled, "I did not think that!"
"Didn't think what?"
"I did not think what you told me I would think not even for a second" she replied just as loud as earlier. She was extremely flustered.
Then Neon raised both his hands up towards her and just told her to chill it off. And attempted to calm her embarrassed ass down.