Morning came, bringing with it Lin Shu's familiar hunger. He woke up and washed his face using water from a bucket — filled the previous day from a stream outside the town. The cold water stung his skin, but he had long grown used to it.
By the time he made his way into town, the sun was already high. Lin Shu preferred moving when the streets were crowded or at night — the perfect times to pickpocket or snatch food without drawing much attention. As he wandered through the busy streets, his sharp eyes scanned the stores and people, searching for his next target.
While inspecting the crowd, he noticed a large group of people gathered in one place, voices buzzing with excitement. Curiosity sparked within him, and he carefully approached, trying to get a better view. Two men stood at the center, arguing fiercely. Lin Shu couldn't make out their words through the noise, so he shifted his attention to the surrounding murmurs.
What he overheard made his heart pound — something that immediately caught his attention.
"Who are those two?" someone in the crowd asked.
Another voice quickly replied, "I think they're cultivators... and from their tones, they don't seem friendly toward each other."
A man nearby let out a chuckle as he slowly backed away from the scene. "I'd stay away if I were you," he muttered. "A fight between cultivators is not something anyone would want to be close to."
Hearing this, the crowd around them grew restless, with some stepping back while others watched with both fear and curiosity. Lin Shu's eyes locked onto the two figures, a spark of longing flickering deep within his cold gaze.
The two men stood locked in a tense standoff, their eyes fixed on each other. One had long brown hair, tied loosely behind his back, and wore a flowing green robe embroidered with faint patterns — giving off a calm yet sharp aura. The other had short black hair, his red robe bold and bright, carrying an aggressive presence.
The man in red narrowed his eyes, his voice laced with disdain.
"I'm sick of seeing you cockroaches everywhere."
The man in green let out a mocking laugh, his smile full of scorn.
"Not my fault everyone wants to join my institute. Why would anyone choose your rundown place? In my opinion, you're all a waste of resources. Why don't you close your so-called institute and leave the wealth for those who can actually make use of it... or better yet—" his eyes gleamed coldly— "why don't you drop dead here and now? Even the air you're breathing is wasted on the likes of you."
The tension in the air thickened, making the crowd instinctively step further back. Lin Shu watched silently from behind the crowd, his heart pounding. Cultivators... He had heard stories about them — powerful beings who could defy ordinary humans, standing above everyone else.
In his hungry eyes, there was no fear... only a faint, burning desire.
Lin Shu could feel his heart pounding in his chest, his breath unconsciously quickening. His mind was in chaos.
"Cultivators... these are actual cultivators... are they going to fight? I really hope they do... I want to see them fight."
His cold, hungry eyes remained fixed on the two men, unable to look away. This was his first time seeing cultivators up close — beings standing above ordinary people, capable of bending the world to their will. The way everyone made space for them, watching from afar with either fear or excitement, burned itself into his mind.
Some people in the crowd were even trembling, their voices hushed, afraid to even breathe too loudly. Yet no one dared to leave — the allure of witnessing a cultivator battle was far greater than fear.
Lin Shu's small hands clenched into fists beneath his ragged sleeves. In that moment, a single thought carved itself into his heart — clear and sharp.
"Power... might... that's all that matters here. If you have it, people fear you... respect you... If you don't—" his gaze darkened, "—you're nothing but a worm to be trampled on."
For the first time, the faint spark buried deep within him flickered to life — a desire far greater than just surviving.
The air grew heavy as the wind howled around the green-robed cultivator, his long hair fluttering behind him. Opposite him, the red-robed cultivator's veins bulged beneath his skin, and the ground beneath his feet began to crack, faint traces of energy seeping into the earth.
Just as the tension reached its peak, a figure suddenly appeared between them — so swift that most of the crowd barely registered his arrival.
"Enough." His voice was calm yet carried undeniable authority. "Stop this nonsense and remember why you're both here. I'm not here to babysit you two, so don't ruin the mission because of your foolish enmity."
The red-robed cultivator clenched his fists tightly, the veins in his arms still pulsing. After a few moments of silence, he released a breath and spoke through gritted teeth.
"You're lucky we have to work together... or I would've cut that long tongue of yours."
The green-robed cultivator's swirling wind dissipated, his sharp gaze never leaving his rival. Instead of replying with anger, he simply smirked.
"You took the words right out of my mouth... hahahahaha."
His mocking laughter echoed in the air before he turned and walked away. The red-robed cultivator followed, the third figure moving behind them — as if the three were indeed part of the same group, heading toward a common destination.
The crowd slowly parted, giving way to the cultivators without a single word of protest. Some sighed in relief, thankful that a battle hadn't erupted — especially those with shops nearby. Others wore disappointed expressions, hoping to witness a rare clash between cultivators.
Among those with crushed hopes was none other than Lin Shu. His small hands remained clenched tightly, his nails digging into his palms. The brief glimpse of power had stirred something deep within him — a hunger far greater than the one gnawing at his empty stomach.
"Power... if I had power like that... I wouldn't suffer like this and i wouldn't be looked down upon."
Lin Shu was snapped out of his thoughts by a deep, gnawing hunger that twisted painfully in his stomach — a feeling he had momentarily forgotten while watching the cultivators. The harsh reality of his body quickly dragged him back from his daydreams of power.
Without wasting any time, he slipped away from the crowd. The air was filled with chatter as people discussed what had just happened. Some speculated about the mission the cultivators had mentioned, while others admired their power — though behind their voices, Lin Shu could sense the faint bitterness of envy hidden beneath.
The chaotic atmosphere was the perfect opportunity for Lin Shu. With everyone distracted, no one would notice a small boy slipping between them — hands quick and silent. He scanned the crowd, eyes sharp, looking for anyone carrying food or money.
His hunger urged him forward, but deep inside, another thought flickered...
"One day... they'll be the ones looking at me with envy."
But for now, he was just another rat scurrying through the cracks — fighting to survive another day.
After stealing bits of food from here and there, Lin Shu slipped into an empty alley — his usual hiding spot. He crouched down behind a stack of broken crates and began devouring whatever he had managed to snatch. It wasn't much, but to him, it was satisfying — more than he had eaten in days.
Stealing food was hard. Stealing money was even harder. The distraction caused by the cultivators today had been his best chance in a long time. Normally, he tried to pickpocket drunkards, but they either carried no money or had already been robbed by someone faster than him.
While eating a half-eaten bun, his thoughts drifted back to the cultivators.
"How much money... would I need to become a cultivator?"
It was a question that haunted him — one he had no way of answering. The few times he had asked, people either laughed at him or chased him away like a stray dog.
His grip on the stale bun tightened.
"But even if I knew... where would I get that kind of money?"
He glanced at his own thin, dirty hands — hands that had only ever touched scraps and stolen coins.
"Scavenging trash... stealing scraps... that's barely enough to survive, let alone become a cultivator."
For the first time in a long while, fear crept into Lin Shu's heart — not the fear of hunger or death... but the fear of being weak forever.
His sharp eyes flickered with a faint light.
"There has to be another way...".