In the Ruman Village.
The sun had started reaching its boiling point but yet the farmers still working on the field. The heat of the sun was unforgiving as the farmers were sweating heavily.
Not far away from the fields, a young man sat with someone that looked at least 20 years older than him.
"Darn Sun. Why is it so hot? It practically burning today! I feel my energy leaving me." The young man said while he was fanning himself.
"Just a little exercise and you're tired already?" The older man clicked his tongue. "You were still young. Where do those energies at? You know when I was your age I carried water bucket up and down the mountain..." He raised all of his fingers except for his thumb. "...Four times! Before I even took a break and also don't keep the fan just to yourself."
The young man redirected his fan so the it could get them both and said, "Why do you keep talking like you weren't young. You are just like 34 years old that wasn't old at all." The young man replied with a grin and stop fanning momentarily.
"Keep talking like that and I'll spank your ass until it's cherry red and don't stop fanning."
After that, the two of them spent some more time hiding from the sun until a shout was heard coming from the field.
"Li Kong, come here and help us!"
Li Kong rose up from his seat and looked at the older man.
"It seems my time is up."
The older man snorted. "Go ahead. I've had enough of you already."
"Then, I'll leave first! I hope your back doesn't give up on you, uncle Zheng!" Almost instantaneously Li Kong vanished from the spot. A cackle could be heard fading away slowly at distance.
"You little-" Zheng Liyang rose up from his seat before sighing. He sat back and smiled a little. His eyes never leaving the Li Kong's figure. Li Kong was working in the field and occasionally talking to other people making them smile or laugh but his body never stop working.
Looking at Li Kong, Zheng Liyang eyes were filled with nostalgia.
'The little kid has grown so much now. I still remember when he was a child, he was such a rascal.'
He still remember when he had to take care of the little demon and he kept pranking him everyday. One day, he was on the way back home after working on the field and what greeted him when he was opening the door was a water bucket from the sky. The other day, he was resting and Li Kong offered him a cup of water and it turned out to be a vinegar which resulted the kid's butt became as red as a cherry. Even after the spanking, the little demon kept pranking him and so to reciprocate, he would also kept spanking his butt until it was red.
'Now look at him.' Li Kong was stalking and laughing with other farmers. 'He turned out to be an even bigger rascal now.'
Zheng Liyang shook his head in resignation and rest for a while before returning to the fields.
Today was yet an ordinary day.
...
The work had concluded and everyone was resting away from the sun's embrace.
"Heavens! Why is it so hot today! The spring has just started!" One of the farmers complained.
"The end of the world is near." Another farmer somberly replied.
"Bah!" He slapped his mouth and said, "Could you spout something good for once?"
The crowds were talking merrily and Li Kong was taking a nap under a tree not far away from the rest of the group.
The women of the village arrived and offered the tired farmers a cup of water.
While on the other hand, Li Kong who was still enjoying his nap, suddenly sensed someone was heading toward his direction.
He opened his eyes and the first thing that greeted him was the face of a beautiful young woman.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Sleepy Head. How was your nap?"
Li Kong rubbed his eyes and yawned. He got up and said, "Not good. I've woken up by a certain someone."
"And may I know who was that certain someone?" The woman inquired, obviously clueless.
"I don't know who was it but one thing certain was it couldn't be the daughter of the chief village and the proud flower of the Ruman Village, Yu Mei." Li Kong responded with a smile.
Grinning at his response, she offered him a glass of water and then sat beside with an elegant gesture.
"Thanks!" Li Kong grabbed the cup and gulped down the water.
"Your welcome." Her lips slightly pursed.
After that, they went on conversations with each other. Their chatter and laughter filled the empty spaces under the tree's shades.
Meanwhile somewhere not far away, a dark shadow of envy looming on the distant.
The group of young men that was once detached from each other united under one banner and was holding a meeting.
"Damn it that Li Kong." One of them said while biting his lip.
"Did he pretend he didn't notice it or was he actually stupid." The tone of this young man was closer to bewilderment and admiration rather than envy.
"Why? Just why? Yu Mei, the flower of our village, why she had to fall for that bastard? Did he save the world or something in his past life? It's unfair!" The chubby young man said grudgingly.
The groups nodded in agreement.
"It should've been me!" He continued.
The groups immediately stopped nodding and shook their head.
"You bastards. Is this how you treat a friend?" The chubby one roared in anger.
He started a ruckus amongst the group of young man before a lady in her thirties suddenly appeared and smacked his head.
"What are you? Do you still think you're a toddler?" The lady was seething in anger and pulled his ear as hard as she could forcing him to stand up.
The groups of young man watched in shock and horror as the air surrounding the lady and her child was boiling.
But the shock didn't get to them for long and as if they had shared the same brain cells, with a coordinated move, the groups of young man immediately dispersed from the scene, like leaves blew away by the wind, leaving a big empty space surrounding the chubby young man and his mother as they gone.
"Ayaya! Mother, stop! You're making me embarrassed in front of Yu Mei!" The chubby young man cried.
"Shut up. I'm wondering where you went to and here you are. Now come with me and help your father carry his goods!"
The lady kept dragging her son by the ear before she was obstructed by the "river" of spectators, formerly "friends" of the chubby young man.
But without doing anything, the "river" split in half, a path was formed in between.
The lady continued her stride before disappearing from the group' vision. A miserable cry could be heard coming from the distance.
After that, the group of young man fell silent for a while as if mourning before they started talking and laughing like nothing happened.
Nothing had happened...
Meanwhile under the tree's shade, Li Kong and Yu Mei were busy giggling at the sight of intense radiance of motherly love.
"It seems Auntie Lin really love her child by how she "bonded" with her son." Li Kong playfully remarked.
"Because if she didn't, he would grow up becoming a rascal just like you." Yu Mei flicked his nose.
"Aiya!" Li Kong exclaimed before he rubbed his nose and glared at Yu Mei resentfully.
"You!" Li Kong stared at her begrudgingly. "What will you do if my handsome nose becomes crooked?"
"That meant I was doing good deeds for the world." Yu Mei smirked.
"The heck you mean a good deeds. It'll be more of a loss for the world. Do you understand the consequences of making my nose crooked? The whole word would immediately exploded and the mountains would shook. Young one, do you really understand the aftereffects it would do to the world? Not only the mountains but the sea would also..."
But unfortunately for Li Kong, Yu Mei wasn't going to hear all of that. She tightly closed both of her ear and shaking her head.
"I don't know and I don't want to know~"
Li Kong keep spouting nonsenses and the list got longer and longer until not even he remember what he said at the first.
Fortunately for Yu Mei, the other woman had finished their job and called her.
"Yu Mei, we're done here!" A figure of a young girl around the same age as them called Yu Mei.
"Ah, wait for me, Tang Xia!" Yu Mei hurriedly packed things up.
Yu Mei stood up and was just about to bid farewell before she suddenly stopped to closed her eyes and crease her eyebrows while placing her finger on her chin making a funny face on the process.
"Oh!" She jolted off and said, "I almost forgot Uncle Ye told me to tell you that today he will go hunting and he ask you to join him."
"Really?" Li Kong stood up enthusiastically. "Tell him that I would like to go too!"
"I don't want to." She stuck out her tongue. "Do it yourself. I have something else to do."
She then departed with a smile on her face and humming a happy tune.
Li Kong clicked his tongue. "Petty."
Then Li Kong started to stretch his stiff body.
"A little nap after work is one the best thing in the world." He said with a yawn.
...
On the outskirt of the village, a man was leaning on a tree and appeared bored out of his mind.
The man's appearance was that of a robust middle-aged man with an unkempt beard. The man's height reached to almost 190 cm tall. His body was packed with muscles. His figure comparable to a tree trunk. On his side was a bow and its arrow in the quiver and a knife wrapped in a leather pouch hanging on his waist.
"Just how much long would this brat makes me wait? A hour almost passed!" Ye Cheng was filled with irritation and couldn't wait to smack someone to ease his anger.
But fortunately for Ye Cheng, the person he's waiting for had finally arrived.
A black-haired young man with a strong stature, dressed in leather garments carrying a large leather bag that he tied with a rope across his body. On his waist was a pouch with a set of daggers hanging on it.
Although the young man's figure couldn't be compared to Ye Cheng's trained body, the young man body was healthy beyond his peers. His body was anything but frail, adorned with just the right amount of muscles.
Li Kong was out of breath. He greedily gasped for air for about a minute before his breath steadied.
"I'm sorry I'm late, Uncle Ye. Granny Qing asked me to help her to find her wedding ring." Li Kong hurriedly explained.
Listening to his explanation, Ye Cheng chose to let him off the hook for this time.
Realizing that he was safe, Li Kong breathed a sigh of relief.
"But if you were late again, I'm not asking you to come with me ever again." Ye Cheng said while preparing his tools.
Li Kong struck his chest and solemnly said, "Of course, uncle! When did I ever come late?"
The urge to smack suddenly boiled up again in Ye Cheng but he ultimately decided to hold back and only snorted.
"Let's go." Ye Cheng said.
Li Kong followed after him and soon.
Ye Cheng assessed Li Kong for once again and after some time, he realized something was missing.
Something that was very crucial for general activity of hunting.
"You brat! Didn't I tell you to bring a bow for many times?" Anger fueled up Ye Cheng entire being.
Li Kong quickly cowered in fear and cautiously replied, "Bow just wasn't suited for me, uncle Ye. We're not fated for each other in this life!" Cold sweats rapidly formed on his forehead.
"Not fated my ass. Do you think you'll marry the bow or what? You were just lazy." Ye Cheng was about to explode.
Li Kong was indignant at the accusations and replied, "I really don't need a bow, Uncle. Haven't you see already my throwing skills?"
By his mention, Ye Cheng was immediately reminded by Li Kong's throwing dagger skill at a certain evening which prompted him to instantly made him his disciple, albeit with a little force involved.
'That sense of accuracy is terrifying.' Ye Cheng remarked in his head.
That evening Li Kong threw daggers onto a flying target and each of his dagger was etched deep right in the middle part of the target.
'And to waste that talent on mere throwing daggers? Such a waste of a talent.'
Ye Cheng had asked him to learn archery from him many times but he was headstrong, insisting that his throwing daggers was more than enough.
Ye Cheng had to brute force his way so the brat could learn archery, although reluctantly and the only thing that could be said after that was Ye Cheng's judgement was absolutely right.
But in the end, even after learning archery from him, albeit not for long. Li Kong's still insisted that using daggers was better.
Resigned, Ye Cheng just shook his head and sighed.
"I let you off hook just this time but next time you have to absolutely bring a bow with you. You hear me? Or else you won't even left a single step from the village. You understand?"
Li Kong wanted to refuse but he could felt that his uncle wasn't in the mood of joking right now. He sighed and resigned to his fate.
"Okay."
After that both of their figure disappeared into the forest.