Li Jun walked through the bustling city streets. It seemed quieter today. Maybe it was because most of the people his age were taking mandatory literacy and numeracy classes.
Perhaps he would have been jealous a few months ago when he was laying seeds in the pouring rain. But now it was summer, and he spent all day in the sun. It felt refreshing. Now that he was injured, he would have to take a break, and he owed it to Mister Bai to let him know that he wouldn't be able to help out with the harvest.
Li Jun walked a winding road and passed countless stores on his way to the city gates. Once he made it out, he walked in a straight line until he reached the first house, which was surrounded by fields.
"Mister Bai!" he shouted as he saw the front door wide open. The blazing heat made it no unusual sight.
"One minute!" A rough-sounding voice called back, and less than a few breaths later, a middle-aged man walked out from a wooden shack at the side of his house, holding the headless, mangled corpse of a chicken.
"Damn, foxes got in again." He sighed as he looked over at Li Jun. He paused as he looked him over and saw the bandaged arm.
"What happened to you? The foxes didn't get you, too, did they?" He asked with a chuckle.
Li Jun almost laughed, but his shoulder still ached more than anything he had experienced in his life. Not to mention the fear of never being able to move his arm again. There wasn't anything he could laugh about at the moment.
"Just an accident. It's nothing to worry about. I should be back to work within the next couple of days. I was just hoping you wouldn't mind if I took some time off to recover?" He said with a smile.
"I don't know, kid. That doesn't look like the kind of injury that will take a few days to fix. Even I can tell that much." He said with a dark expression.
"Trust me, it doesn't even hurt that much. I'll be back to work really soon. Please don't replace me just yet." He forced a chuckle, but he was worried that he would be replaced if Mister Bai knew the truth of his injury.
"If you say so, take as much time as you need. You don't want to make it worse by forcing yourself to do too much," he said before sitting down next to a bucket of water and plucking the chickens' feathers.
Li Jun watched for a moment and let out a sigh.
"Thank you. If you need anything, just let me know." He said before turning and walking away. But then he stopped. He remembered that he had left his sword on the floor yesterday.
It wasn't anything special, but it was a gift from his father when he was young. He hoped it was still there. He hesitated for a moment.
'Those bastards should be in class right now. The only chance I'm going to have to be able to get it is if I go right now.' He thought before deciding to make his way back across the fields.
He walked for an hour until he reached the spot where he had been stabbed in the shoulder. Sure enough, his rusted old sword was lying in a pool of dried blood, split in two at the hilt.
'There's so much blood.' He thought as he looked at the grass around him. 'How did I even survive? Surely that's enough to bleed to death.'
He reached down and picked up the hilt. It was small enough to put into the leather pouch he had tied to his waist. He then picked up the blade, making sure not to cut his fingers as he grabbed it. Which would have been hard given the state the blade was in. He didn't have the money to have it sharpened or oiled, so it was left to the elements for years.
Just as Li Jun was getting ready to head back to the city, the sky suddenly grew dark. He looked up at the sky as a feeling of overwhelming fear struck him in the chest.
'What's happening!?'
As the sky darkened up above, a bright glow illuminated the darkness as it zoomed through the air, leaving a trail of sparks behind it. He watched as it descended further and further until it slammed into the nearby forest.
Li Jun watched as a shockwave made the surrounding trees tumble and snap. Whatever it was, it had to have been heavy. Once it landed, the sky returned to its normal brightness. It seemed as though whatever had fallen from the sky had sucked in all the sunlight as it descended.
Li Jun's heart raced. He wondered if anyone else had seen it. He wondered if it was some kind of treasure or perhaps a meteorite ore? He had heard of people forging legendary weapons out of metal that had fallen from the sky.
Without a second thought, he took off, running toward whatever it was. He couldn't let the possibility of it being something valuable pass him up. If he could sell it, then he wouldn't have to worry about working. He wouldn't have to worry about his arm. Maybe he could even find a doctor that could repair his mother's throat. He had always wished he could hear her voice once again.
He ran faster than he had ever run before. If anyone else had seen it, they would surely be on their way to snatch it. If he could get there first, he would have a head start and perhaps be able to make off with the treasure before anyone else arrived.
Li Jun soon approached the tree line as the scent of burning wood shot into his nostrils. It smelled like a bonfire and charred deer meat. He carefully stepped through the trees, avoiding patches of burning grass and branches.
The ground around him seemed to descend in elevation as he reached the impact site. It was gigantic. He guessed that roughly a thousand trees would have stood in the hole of the impact site, but now they had been burned to ashes by whatever treasure lay ahead of him.
Li Jun gazed down into the gigantic crater. Apart from the scorched rock and burning trees, he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. That was until a red light flashed from the far side of the crater.
'What was that?' He thought as it flashed once more. He quickly made his way towards it and knelt down. As he reached towards the ground, he saw a small metallic rock. Or what he thought was a rock. He used his one-functioning hand to dig away the dirt to reveal something he never predicted to see.