Li Jun strolled through the streets as he made his way back home. The entire city buzzed with discussions of what had fallen from the sky. They were eager to see what the guards would bring back once they had investigated the impact site.
However, they would soon lose interest once the guards came back empty-handed. Li Jun was sure the only thing that had fallen was the silver ring that currently resided on his middle finger.
When he stepped through the front door of his house, he heard a loud voice coming from the kitchen. He couldn't tell what they were saying, but as the talking escalated into shouting, he quickly ran inside.
"Little Chen said that your bastard son attacked him! What are you going to give him as compensation? He used a sword, you know!? What if he had killed him?" A woman's voice screamed.
Li Jun slammed open the door to see his Auntie yelling.
"Li Cui! Who did I attack, you damn wench!?" Li Jun shouted as he pushed past the servants into the dining room, where his mother had her head bowed towards an older woman in a fancy-looking red dress.
"Who are you calling a wench, you brat? You're lucky my husband isn't here to cut out your tongue for that disrespect." The woman cried, outraged by the insult Li Jun had used to address her.
"And you're lucky my father isn't here to cut off your husband's head if he even thought about it!" Li Jun screamed back just as loud.
"Don't you come into my house and criticize my mother because you failed to raise your son correctly! If you want compensation, then cut off your arm and then cut off your son's arm, too! Because after what he did to me, that's the only compensation you deserve!"
This was the first time in his life he had felt such rage brew within him. He had been crippled by his own cousin, and then his Auntie came to ask his mother for compensation. What kind of family was this?
He wished his sword was still in one piece so he could ram it through her heart, but he knew nothing good would come of that.
"How dare you!" The woman screamed.
But just as she was about to say something else, Li Jun stepped forward and slapped her across the face without any warning.
The room fell silent. Li Jun's mother covered her mouth. The servants began to panic as they expected hell to break loose. Even Li Jun felt shocked. It was as if his body moved on its own. He wanted to slap her, but he didn't actually know he could follow through with it.
Li Cui fell into a state of shock as she felt her cheek burn with a pain she had never felt before.
Li Jun also remained silent as the echo of the slap dissipated from the room.
"I'm giving you a single warning." He said quietly, but the room was silent, so his quiet voice instead boomed out so everyone could hear him.
"Stay the hell away from me and my mother, or I will wipe your stupid family out of existence!"
At that moment, as Li Cui looked at Li Jun, her face went pale. As she looked at her nephew, she was reminded of a scene that she wished to forget.
Without another word, she turned and left. Hu Mei rushed to lock the door to make sure she didn't come back as Li Jun let out a deep breath. He then settled into the chair across from his mother.
"Do you have any idea what you have just done?" His mother slid a parchment towards him. Her usual beautiful calligraphy now looked rushed and frantic.
"I don't care!" Li Jun snapped. It shocked both his mother and the servants, who had never seen him act this way before.
"I have lost my arm! I will be a cripple for the rest of my life. I have nothing to lose at this point. If they want to keep bothering you like this, then I will strike down whoever steps foot across the threshold of our property line, even if it is Li Hong himself."
He knew deep down he was just venting his anger. There wasn't a chance in hell that he would be able to land a single hit against his uncle, who was a trained martial artist. But he would at least try it if it meant they would stop bothering his mother.
Li Jun's mother stared at him for a moment and shook her head before she began writing.
"I bought a tendon-repairing pill from the Pill Pavilion. It has a good chance of being able to heal your arm completely. You shouldn't have acted like that. You know that your uncle has an awful temper."
As Li Jun read the words on the parchment, he almost fainted. He couldn't believe his eyes, but as his gaze settled on his mother again, he looked at her with worry.
"What did you do? We can't afford to buy pills, and you know it." He asked.
Li Jun's mother felt her stomach churn a little as she debated whether or not to tell him.
"You know of the attendance token that your Uncle wanted me to give to Li Chen, right?" She wrote.
"Don't tell me you actually gave it to them? I don't care about a thing like that, but I would rather you have destroyed it than give them what they wanted." Li Jun sighed. But at least she hadn't given away anything too valuable.
His mother smiled.
"I didn't give it to them. I gave it to a pill master in exchange for the pill." She wrote.
Li Jun laughed as he read the words and then let out a long sigh.
"Thank you." He said as he looked up at the ceiling and then covered his face with his arm. He didn't want her to see him cry.
"Thank you, mom." He said again as tears streamed down his cheeks.
His mother rushed up from her chair and threw her arms around him, making sure to avoid touching his shoulder as she hugged him.
The two of them stayed like that for what seemed to be an eternity as Li Jun felt relieved he didn't have to give up on life. Once he got his hands on that pill, he would be able to work again. He wouldn't be a cripple.
The sun set over the horizon, and Li Jun finished eating dinner with his mother before heading back to his room. He looked down at the ring on his finger and sighed.
He really wished that he had found something worth more than a silver ring. But he was glad that his quick thinking when the guards arrived had made sure that they didn't take it from him.
"What even is this gem anyway? Maybe it's a ruby?" He muttered as he pushed his finger against the red gem that was set into the silver ring.
A bright light shone out from the ring and illuminated his entire room. He felt as if he would go blind if he looked at it for too long, so he closed his eyes tightly and turned away. A thud shook the room as the light vanished.
Li Jun turned his head back and slowly opened his eyes.