"Are you threatening me, boy?" A dangerous, almost suffocating aura exploded from the stranger and encompassed just Yue and the dark-hooded man. A deeply disgusting and vile pressure enveloped Yue and his body screamed at him to run from there but in that moment, pressed under a dozen kilograms of weight, Yue felt like he had experienced this pressure before.
"This… ugh!"
"Wait! You know this pressure?!" the dark-hooded man suddenly recalled the pressure and looked straight into Yue's eyes. He understood that Yue was not unknown to this phenomenon just from his eyes and he questioned him appropriately. Yue looked up and saw two large crimson eyes staring at him from under the hood. "You've experienced an Immortal's Aura? Who are you, kid?"
'Immortal's Aura? Is that what this is called?'
"So what if I had, mister?"
Shiing!
The dark-hooded man did not mince words anymore and placed a thick knife right by his neck. Almost immediately, Yue's blood froze and his hair stood on it's ends. "Afraid, are you?" the dark-hooded man spoke with a little glee in his tone.
The question was redundant because the dark-hooded man could easily see the fear in Yue's eyes but then suddenly, Yue started smiling. This caught the man off-guard but before he could say anything, Yue stepped forward and whispered into the dark-hooded man's ear, "if anyone should fear, then it's you."
"?" the dark-hooded man did not understand Yue's words but then it hit him. He looked up, shifting his focus from the boy to his surrounding and saw many people staring at him, their expressions were not very friendly.
"Ego is quite a bad trait in business, dont you think?"
Yue smiled as he said that sentence and understanding his position quite well, the dark-hooded man retracted his aura and dropped his blade. This did not satisfy the populace though as a few men, who knew Yue as the local flower boy, stepped forward.
"Oye, mister! Who are you? And what are you doing here unsheathing your blade? Dont you know that threatening anyone with blade in the market is prohibited?" the one who said it was followed by a few other boys too and some of them had a slightly different aura than a normal human. They, just like the dark-hooded man, were Immortals.
"Ah! My apologies, sir—"
"Ah-ha! If it isnt Mr Lu (this was a different Lu than old master Hu's assistant), coming to save this damsel from distress?" Yue jumped up from his crouching position and replied in a sly tone. Mr Lu frowned a little, he was neither the local sheriff or any bailiff but he was blessed with a good heart and he never ignored someone if they are in trouble. Most of the time it worked as he beat numerous enemies singlehandedly with his Immortal powers but sometimes it backfired spectacularly.
"You are not being pressured by this foreigner, are you?"
"Pressured? Pfft!" Yue dismissed Mr Lu's concern easily, "please don't blame the old man, it was I who was haggling a little too hard that I got onto his nerves. The man has short fuse…" he said the last line in whispering act but it was loud enough for everyone to hear.
Mr Lu was not satisfied with this simple conclusion though, "even then, it is against the rule of the market to produce a blade against a customer. You should know that threats against a customer with a weapon, any kind of weapon, is against the idea of this market and cannot be ignored. Step aside and let me verify who he is."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Yue jumped up and blocked Mr Lu once again as he pressed his hands against the man's broad chest. "Please, mister Lu. Dont fault the mister. He is a foreigner, true but I do not wish him harm. It is indeed my fault, sir, for I provoked him. So, please sir, dont spill blood needlessly."
Yue spoke in whispers, this time only to Mr Lu and ever the good hearted man he is, he stopped. His frown was replaced by a caring and worried expression as he whispered back, "dont trust foreigners, little Yue. You know not the rules of this world and the world is not just this village and it's folks. It's huge and it's not pretty."
"I know, I know, I have read about it. But please… do me a solid and I swear, I will return this favor."
Mr Lu stared at the bright eyed Yue for a moment before sighing to himself. "Very well." He said loudly as he backed off. "Today is a special day," he replied to his followers and others that were spectating this scene, "as such, it is not uncommon to have foreigners who will sell their wares to us during times of festivities. Let's not make anymore disruptions to the market and return to our own duties."
"Oh…"
There was a collective sigh of resignation as many felt that their chance of witnessing a good ass-whooping was denied from them but some others were still far more cunning.
"Well, that's good." A frail-looking man said as he stepped forward. "For I had business with this gentleman," he said pointing to the dark-hooded man.
"You do?" Mr Lu asked to which the man nodded vigorously, "of course, just think if little Yue, the most intelligent and the smartest kid in this generation has taken a fancy to this foreigner, I'm sure there is something of value in this foreigner."
He said as he stepped forward but once again, Yue blocked him. "You scheming bastard!"
"Hmm?!"
"I mean, you naughty fellow!" Yue collected himself and corrected him when under the monitoring gaze of Mr Lu but just because Mr Lu did not approve of cuss words, that did not stop Yue from cursing him, albeit in a childish manner.
"How dare you swoop in between a seller and his customer? Have you no shame or did your wife take it away with her when she ran away from your idiocy?"
"You animal—I mean, naughty boy! Is this how you talk to your elder? Who said that one cannot swoop in between a purchase? I want to purchase something too so why are you blocking me? Also, why do you always need to bring my wife in between us?"
"Why? Because she has a brain and a dic—I mean, heart! A big heart while you have a—well, you dont have anything but a loose mouth and looser morals. The very fact that your father-in-law hasnt thrown you out yet is a miracle in of itself. Also, who said I was blocking you? You can go and buy whatever you want from him as long as I finish buying from him. But if you block me—or worse, steal what I eye—oh, boy, not even that dear father-in-law of yours can protect you."
"You-you—I'm not a man with loose morals! I-I—my father-in-law loves me! You dont know anything, you bitch!"
"Bitch! He called me a bitch!" Yue pointed to Mr Lu who, like many other, slapped their forehead at this farce.
"Enough of this farce! Tsk! This is a waste of time. You, come with me. And everyone else, do what you were doing. I shall not bother you any longer."
"But—but—"
The frail man protested by Mr Lu took him by the collar and left, they were immediately followed by all the other fellows who were spectating and Yue finally released a sigh of relief. But he did not rest on his laurels quite yet as he turned around in a jiffy and looked at the dark-hooded man in the eye.
"Now, I saved you from certain death, so you must do business with me. How much is it?" Yue asked the dark-hooded man who turned silent for a while. The dark-hooded man opened his lips and was about to say deny the child once again but then he closed it. He mulled over his thoughts for a few moment, much to Yue's displeasure, before replying calmly and with collected wits, "I had no intention of parting with this ginseng but … I can make do without it if you answer a few questions of mine."
"Questions? Like what?"
"Hmm… let's start with… who is this village's chief? Or what's his cultivation level?"
Yue's excitement died down like ice on a hot sunny day, even the craze in his eyes died down. He straightened his back as he looked at the dark-hooded man with critical eyes. "Who are you, mister? Why do you need to know about our village chief? What intentions do you have with out village?"
"Intentions… ah—no, I have no ill-intent." The dark-hooded man denied vehemently, "it's… a little complicated to explain but… it's seems like I was abandoned by my mother when I was small near one such mountain village like this one. I left my home village later when I grew up but now… now that I'm old and wiser, I wish to return to my homeland and give something to those who brought me in the place of my own mother."
"That is all I seek." The dark-hooded man spoke, his voice was much different than before, lacking the seriousness and ruthlessness of an Immortal and replacing that with the tone of a simple and frail man. Infact, if Yue did not know that the man was an Immortal, he would have very much been duped by the man into believing that he was indeed frail and old. But even then, he would not have divulged such knowledge to a foreigner.
"Forget what I asked of you, senior. I do not wish to do business with you any longer." Yue shook his head decisively as he stood up from his crouching position and was about to leave when the foreigner stopped him. "Wait! Dont leave! Here, take this ginseng with you. You wanted it, didn't you? So, take it!"
Yue looked at the foreigner with more suspicion now, after all, why would he give his ginseng so readily when he was so adamantly against it a few moments before? No, this man—no, this foreigner was up to no good.
"I'm sorry for troubling you, senior but I dont wish to have any dealings with you. Mr Lu was right, you are foreigner and you are not welcome here. And … take this piece of advice however you may but if you needlessly ask such … frivolous question, you WILL found your head separated from your body. We may be uneducated and isolated bunch but we will fight to our death. Dont try anything fishy, mister, it will not end well."
"Wait! Dont go! Dont leave this foreigner from afar alone, little sir. At least tell me whether this is my ancestor's land or not and this ginseng will be yours. No question asked."
Yue gave the man one last look, a look that was filled with disgust but not at the stranger. Instead, it was at himself as he swooped in, snatched the ginseng from the stranger's hand and hid it inside his pocket unceremoniously. "We do not accept foreigners, mister." Yue said in a tone that was filled with guilt but he steeled himself and spoke his mind, "we don't like you. And we never will. So leave... before something untoward happens to you. And... I... am sorry for taking what is yours."
…