The sunlight creeped through the handing branches and pierced through the forest.
"Boy, you should wake up now. You had no energy to spare, so we indulged in the feast all by ourselves." Shi Cheng was sneering as he looked at Lou Ben in disdain.
"Brother Shi Cheng, why must we treat him to a feast and heal him so? We are not righteous, so why do we take the time?" Cai Niu was curious as he saw that Shi Cheng was once again holding another green glistening rock.
"Brother Cai Niu, if we left him in that state then our profits will dwindle. Look at this stupid face of him."
Lou Ben was covered in blood and grime, but what interested the two deathly figures was that underneath was unpolished jade.
Lou Ben had striking figures, his hair was deep as the abyss, eyes as bright as the stars, but what was most intriguing was the subtle white aura that lingered around Lou Ben.
It was as if underneath the blood and grime was an untouched gem not dirtied by the affairs of the world.
"If we leave in the sorry state we caused, I'm sure those geezers buying slaves would look down on us for damaging such a product."
Shi Cheng was not in the least concerned about the way Lou Ben was staring wide eyes at his own body. What he cared about most was his own profits and losses. The cost of two green gems and one blue gem were nothing to scoff at, but to him it seemed his biggest profit would be selling Lou Ben into slavery.
"Brother Shi Cheng, now that we succeeded in the sect's mission, what should we do now?" Cai Niu was staring at Shi Cheng awaiting a response.
"We're going to travel to the nearby village. There we can send off the jade slip and hand this mortal off to the slave camps."
Shi Cheng had already deduced the profits and was licking his lips at this mission rewards and gains from auctioning off such a prized slave.
Lou Ben heard these words and remained in shock. He only had awoken from a deep darkness and hoped that what had transpired was only a nightmare.
When he opened his eyes he looked down to see a subtle green aura encircling his 'then' missing limbs, but what he saw was that they had returned.
It was as if nothing happened. The shock of losing both limbs and waking up was no laughing matter, it made every conceived notion about his previous life pale in comparison.
"This sort of magic healing is leagues ahead any of the modern method. There can't just be give and take. How could this happen?"
It seemed as if Lou Ben was at the whims of these ghastly figures unable to even act under their watchful gaze.
He became meek and only wide eyed the mysteries that this world was showing him.
First was his reincarnation at such an unfortunate and now the realization that magic was real. If he didn't live in earth during his past life he would have never imagined such a miraculous energy existed.
It was all to eye opening.
"Boy, its best if you keep your mouth shut and do as we say. It wont be long until we get rid of you and sell you to some creep for a pretty penny." Shi Cheng, the leader of these two dark figures spoke.
Lou Ben had no words to discuss, he was still trying to imagine how this 'magic' worked. Although mysterious, what was worse than that, was the nature of Lou Ben had still lingered. The subtle observer of those flower fields, the one never running amok, but instead the always thinking and never acting nature of his.
"It seems like heaven is challenging me to put my words into action. Although I have learned, I never thought I would be given the chance to live up to expectations."
Lou Ben was slowly walking along with the two figures as they delved deeper into the forest.
The blood and injuries that Lou Ben's body sustained no longer ached. It was as if he never came from a battlefield.
The clothes of Lou Ben were much different than this though.
The clothes that Lou Ben was wearing resembled closely to that of warriors of medieval time, in the way that there was metal armor encasing Lou Ben. The tattered cloth came from his cape that was nearly burned into nothing.
Lou Ben seemed eerily different than the two figures that were leading him. The people in front had no armor whatsoever, what brought him into fear was that the person who sustained through the explosion of a red crystal was seemingly unharmed. His dark robe was spotless!
As the moments go by Lou Ben is constantly in amazement.
"How can someone survive something like that? Wait no… If they were able to completely heal my body from being torn apart then that's not in the least surprising."
"What's most surprising is that they both seem to keep calling me a mortal boy, does that mean there is something else than being a mortal?"
Lou Ben was constantly thinking, this was his nature, he was forever in clouds of thoughts. Although Lou Ben had reincarnated after spending countless years trapped reliving through his prior life, this nature was something not easy to get rid of. It was as if this senselessly thought-provoking nature was what made Lou Ben unique.
"Boy were not too far now from where we will part. It's been a pleasure." Shi Cheng was sneering as he thought of the profits from this mission.
In the mind of Shi Cheng not only did he accomplish his mission, but he also made a pretty penny on the side. It seemed to him as if heaven was granting him this opportunity and he needed to make a profit from it.
"Although the selling of combat mortals makes small profit, do you really think this little guy is going to be that much more expensive?" Cai Niu was hesitant to see the value in Lou Ben.
For what Cai Niu saw Lou Ben was a worthless mortal that had nothing remarkable about him. Lou Ben might have looked slightly better than average people, but the cost of good-looking mortal slaves was not too much different than standard people.
Shi Cheng was walking in front when he had the thought to speak to Cai Niu behind him as they both took long strides forward "What will you know? You grew up in an orphanage. Only a person that was traded as goods will know the value of a good combat slave."
"Oh, so there truly is something about this lowly mortal to take such good care of." Cai Niu was still not convinced and was probing Shi Cheng for information.
*SLAP
The two figures stopped walking and Shi Cheng slapped Cai Niu.
"Brother Shi Cheng!" Cai Niu was surprised and caught off guard.
Shi Cheng sneered "Watch how you speak to me! I'm team leader on this mission and what I say goes. If I say to jump and cross the river of time, then I expect you to swim against the tides of turbulence. Do you not understand the gravity of questioning me?"
Shi Cheng was fed up with Cai Niu and his lack of intelligence it felt suffocating as if the world around Shi Cheng was lonely and full of despair not being able to hold a conversation with a single intelligent being.
"Subordinate understands. It will not happen again!" Cai Niu finally understood his wrong doings.
He was not at all surprised. If they were both willing to engage in the very risky mission of retrieving such an object against enemies then he intrinsically knew that the team leader is a very capable figure.
It was not often that missions to enter enemy territory was given, it seemed as if the aroma of war was brewing.
"Look kid, the village we're going to is not far. I'm speaking to you naturally because our two ways will part, and our lives are separated from the walls of heaven and earth. Next time do not underestimate dao masters." Shi Cheng was berating Lou Ben who held his gaze across the scenery in front of him, slowly being forced to tail the two figures.
Lou Ben gathered the courage to finally speak to the leader, Shi Cheng, so that he can alleviate this gnawing curiosity "What are dao masters?"
Shi Cheng stopped as he was going to take his next step "It seems you have been living in luxury all your life. How can a mortal as yourself not know about dao masters?"
"Alright I'll entertain you for now, since it seems like our time together will be short-lived."
"In short, dao masters are those who can use the power of heaven and earth to cause destruction. The reason you can grow your limbs back and live today is because of this green crystal."
Shi Cheng was happy to expel his knowledge as one who is as intelligent seems to do.