"Du Baoji, Meng Kai come quickly !! The fool is doing it again". A little boy, Bai Sheng of around 9 years old was shouting to his friends which made the two running from a distance. There was already a pool of kids gathered around a boy who looked mature beyond an average 7 year old. "The little fool is at it again? Honestly, what a stupid guy~" Meng Kai feeling helpless went in to join the fun. Du Baoji was just shaking his head making his way to the front.
There were more than a dozen kids watching the young boy pointlessly arguing with two boys about why they were stomping on the ants for fun. This has been a daily routine in Juuko village where men prominently go out to gather food, while the women watch after the kids and the neighborhood.
"Shin, stop it. Why do you care about some ants who get stomped and cause this ruckus?" Meng Kai made her way through. The kids made a way for Meng Kai with some fear and respect and some even held an awe as if looking at a jewel. Despite being 6 years, she is the princess of Juuko village and daughter of the village chief. Meng Kai exudes an invisible air of aloofness to others which makes anyone except their little group to approach her.
"But someone has to care, Kai. Killing shouldn't be for fun. Isn't it just bullying because you have more strength?" Shin retorted with a frown while edging " Right? Bai Sheng ". "Right, my ass !!", Bai Sheng smacked Shin's head and dragged him away from the kids while everyone mocked him. They were even afraid of catching his stupidity by being near him.
Shin is known for his foolish questions (considered foolish as no one in the village can give an accurate answer) and often mocked for his stupid behavior. His friends were ashamed of the ridicule and he also causes quite a pain for his parents. Kai's face reddened with shame and reprimanded Shin for always being meddling and quarreling with his questions and logic. Shin's father is the deputy chief and his mother the chief of medicine in the village.
People can only bear with Shin as he comes from a big family. Being pampered since he was born, Shin often felt that he did not belong to this era in the 7 years he has been in this world. His thinking and questions were in fact encouraged by his father. Though the parents were worried for the kid's growth and future, they were in fact proud due to his calm thinking and profound questions. Thinking deeply, Shin bid farewell to Baoji and group and returned home.
As soon as he was home, he caught sight of his mother Ming Rui cooking delicious monster pig meat which is hard to come by few times a year. His mouth was watering at the delicacy but still kept his face serious acting as an adult man and angrily asked "Mom, why are ants insignificant? Why can they be killed for fun by the Shun brothers (kids fighting earlier with Shin)?".
Ming Rui was amused by the child's behavior acting as an adult despite his eyes which were on the food. She let out a chuckle " Ming Shin, keep your questions for your father and come have your favorite dish ".
Hungry as he was but a 7 year kid, despite gorging on the food and relishing it, his mind still couldn't get off the behavior of the people/humans these years. They all act oblivious to such acts and normalize it making his little brain frustrated. Ming Rui rolled her eyes and guessed what was running in his mind "Shin, have you started studying the various herbs in part-1 book and remembered their effects?". "Yes, yes, yes mom !! They were too easy" Shin smiled happily.
Ming Rui is really proud that such a young kid even rivals then intelligence of many adults in the village. She quickly wiped out her tears as she was both happy and worried for Shin was smart but his thirst for knowledge was endless. The door of their hut opened and Ming Jian, Shin's father has come home for lunch after sorting out few issues in the village. Being the head of the home, he had to bear the brunt of Shin's questions and curiosity. God knows, how many times Ming Jian cried internally for having no rest since last few years due to his little brat.
Juuko village is situated within the borders of Chen and Pitu villages and is more than 300, 000 miles situated from the nearest Henji town. Hence these three villages depend on each other for trade and various necessities. Due to huge swathes of forests and hills, these three villages are practically isolated and once in 5 years, a group of convoy from Henji town come to these villages to trade and buy the monster meat and other forest resources.
Being the difficult journey of 300,000 miles, the convoy is accompanied by strong guards of at least a "condensing realm" to fight the monsters or bandits. Most of the people in the village eagerly wait for the convoy every 5 years and trade in various new things, gadgets and delicacies from the town. More often the people of these three villages bribe the convoy chief and other members, in order to move to Henji town and enjoy the town life.
The past 200 years, there was only a meager 100 people who actually left with the convoy of which less than 10 people have returned and the others have either died or facing unknown situations in the new place.
The convoy mostly consists of the leader, deputy and roughly 30 staff and at least 30 guards. The towns people people hold their contempt for these backwater villages, but still look for any talents within any field which are worth protecting until the town make use of them. This morning, when Shin went out to meet with his gang, the village seemed a bit restless and people were walking with heavy steps around him with excitement.
"What weirdos..something is happening?" Shin thought and rushed to Bai Sheng's home which usually is the spot where Meng Kai and Du Baoji. "Took your sweet time Shin" Baoji shrugged as he saw the guy as carefree as ever.
"Tch...what's up Kai? what's the ruckus in the village?" Shin asked. Meng Kai smiled " Ming Shin, the convoy from Henji town is coming in 10 days. They shall stay in our village for 3 days and recruit various talented people". "Finally, I have heard a lot of great things of the town. How I wish I could see a new place and learn lots of new things" Shin smirked happily dreaming about such future.
The other three did not have such ambition nor any idea to move away from the village. They were but kids unlike a certain oddball who was praised as a fool within the three villages. They were a bit sad knowing that Shins talent will be recognized and are gonna miss their daily fun without him. Shin is also known for his martial prodigy and his innate speculative talent but were often dwarfed by people's opinion due his daily squabbles. Little did he know that this event would pose a dramatic change in his life.