Jian was not a patient person, he had spent the year after waking in the forest alone. He spoke to others, but never had any company and honestly he found having someone around annoying. He was really re-thinking his plan on gaining more information on the book. A slight headache was making its way between his brows and Jian slowly rubbed it with his finger trying to drown out the constant chatter of the kid trailing behind him. Ever since they left the run down village the kid had been chattering away non stop.
" But, you know I never met anyone that was able to cultivate aside from my father, how did you figure it out!?" Li Fang was extremely excited and couldn't help continuing asking questions even though none of them were ever answered. He had learned the name of his savior was Jian and he was feeling anxious that he was stuck near him, making sure that the person wouldn't leave him behind. He finally found someone powerful and he wanted his help in finding his family.
They were making their way through a dirt road filled with houses that were barely standing. This area seemed to have once been a small village but now was completely abandoned. Jian kept walking forward, ignoring the kid's question. He walked all the way to a small cottage that looked better than all the other run down houses, he drew near and opened the door as he walked in. He turned towards Li Fang and waved at him to come in. Li Fang ran into the small cottage and peered around the tiny room. It was mid afternoon and there was plenty of light streaming through the window, he was able to see that the cottage may be shabby but it was clean inside.
"How long have you been staying here brother?" Jian raised his eyebrow at the kid calling him brother but finally answered his question.
" About 3 days ago, I found this abandoned place and cleaned it up. I'm not planning to stay more than a week here." As he spoke he grabbed the only chair in the room and gave it to the kid to sit and looked around for some water to drink.
He handed the cup to Li Fang who drank the water quickly and leaned his back against the cottage wall.
" So tell me, why is the book so important and why did the village people curse your family?" Jian was not one to hold back, he said things simply without considering anyone's feelings. He only cared for what benefited him and right now finding out about the book was more important to him. When he had seen it he felt a small amount of energy coming from the book and once he started reading it he discovered that there were many different techniques for cultivators explained in the book. He had never come across anything like it before, so he knew that it was valuable.
Li Fang held on to the cup and slightly flinched from the cold words, but he steeled his back, if he wanted Jian help then he needed to make sure and grab his interest.
" This book is the first of a collection; there are 5 books in total. They were created by one of the most powerful cultivators in our history, the cultivator ascended to become an immortal at a young age and gave the different techniques he created to his only friend at the time. My great great grandfather. The books have been a treasure in our family for generations, and my Father always told me that it was important to never allow others to get their hands on them." Li Fang explained all he knew with a serious look on his small face.
Jian was paying full attention to what the young boy said, his interest already captured. One of Jian's flaws was his curiosity; it had gotten him into a bit of trouble before, but he could never hold back when something really piqued his interest.
" So your family was the only ones who had access to the collection?" Jian asked, with a barely hidden grin coming from his lips.
Li Fang shook his head " After many years our family divided into many different branches and each one took a book with them, holding equal power over the collection. My father told me that the books' could not be kept together for any reason, he never really explained why."
Jian grin was now full on his lips, he really found something exciting to commit himself to. His brain was already exploding with all the possibilities of what would happen if all the books were gathered. His fingertips were curling with giddiness and he wanted to get up and start his journey.
Jian looked at Li Fang who was frowning slightly at him. Jian's smile just grew and he reached out his hand to pat the top of the dirty head slightly, but stopped at the sight of mud and leaves. He thought of how he will have to endure this small annoying travel companion, but for the sake of his every brimming curiosity, he will deal and if the kid got too annoying he could just ditch him in one of the villages after getting all the information he needed.
Li Fang stared at the slightly older boy and wondered if maybe he made the wrong choice in telling him all this information truthfully. He rubbed his fingers on the cup he was holding, he needed Jian help.
Li Fang looked at Jian " My family was separated by force, my father was told that one of our branch families were in danger, the moment he left we were ambushed and everything in our home was stolen, I tried to protect the book and fled, but when I got to that village that store owner stole the book while I was sleeping and refused to give it back. I know my father and brothers are still alive, I need brothers' help to find them, please help me and my family will generously repay you."
Li Fang lowered his head slightly, pleading for help. Jian stared at the kid in front of him, he felt bad for the kid's struggles and he would help him, but he had his own agenda and that was gathering the books to appease his curiosity, hopefully he wasn't disappointed with the outcome.
Jian moved away from the wall and started gathering his things into the bag he had around his back. Li Fang was just staring at him with his eyes wide, wondering if Jian decided not to help him, his heart started to beat faster as he quickly stood up from the chair. Jian made his way to the door and looked back at the kid.
" Are you coming or what? It will take a few months of walking before we get to the next village. Also you stink there is a small waterfall not far from here. Let's get you some new clothes and a bath, because I dislike dirty things." Jian looked at him with a slight grimace on his face and continued making his way out the door.
Li Fang quickly followed after him, giving himself a quick sniff, he even found the smell coming out of his body nauseating.
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Panic…. a deep and freezing fear was snaking itself through the shapeless form of the Shadow, it didn't know why it was able to recognize this emotion, as it continued to race through the trees passing various mountains,and animals at a speed that was impossible to see with the naked eye. The Shadow arrived at the entrances of a runned down Garden, with dying flowers scattered in all directions. It frantically flew towards the middle of the garden, searching for the familiar figure that it had kept watch over for more than 100 years.
The Shadow reached the middle of the garden, pausing as shivers started to pass through its form. Gone, they were gone an imprint from where the person lay the only evidence of their existence. The Shadow moved back and forth trying to find any signs of the person. Once it couldn't locate any sign the Shadow went back to the middle of the Garden. Its form vibrating faster as a deep and wretched howl ripped from its formless body. The Shadow dropped towards the floor, its form expanding as the searing pain consumed its essence, swallowing the broken garden in a deep never ending darkness.
Jian jolted awake sweat dripping down his back, a hollow feeling squeezing his heart making it hard to breathe. He is not the type to dream or sleep for that matter, but after three months of non stop walking and cultivating, the moment he was able to rent a room, he had collapsed on the bed exhausted. A headache was forming in the middle of his head, the nightmare that had awakened him becoming a blur as he tried to remember the details, until all that was left was his galloping heartbeat and trembling fingers.
The light of the moon filtered through the murky window of the small room, scuffling sound whispered in the darkness of the night as people moved around in their room, thin walls unable to completely muffle the chatter of noise. Taking a deep breath Jian was able to finally calm his stuttering heart. In the time he had wandered around alone he had a handful of instances where he would wake up with an ache as though he was missing a piece of himself.
The feeling usually passed quickly, that he never really gave it thought. But this time the sensation lingered and was stronger than he felt before. Jian frowned as he rubbed his chest, he always felt as though regaining his memories was unnecessary, and only an automatic response to not having anything to do. This was the first time in the year that he woke up in the middle of the dark forest, that itching sensation of finding out who he was took a more pressing need in his mind.
A knocking sound, jolted Jian from his thoughts, he looked towards the flimsy door that separated the small room from the inn's passageway, another hesitant knock came.
" Brother, are you awake?" Li Fang whispered faintly through the door, a slight tremble in his voice.
Jian rubbed the spot between his brow, and got up from the bed. The boy had left the room to clean himself and grab some stew, as they had arrived when the sun had gone down to the inn. Jian opened the wooden door, the boy was holding in both hands two bowls of stemming stew, around his neck tied with a piece of rope was a half full bucket of water, Li Fang forehead was beaded with sweat as he struggled to lift his foot to tap the door again, startling when it was open by a scowling Jian.
Jian brow pressed together by the persistent headache, he had forgotten that the boy had left to get something to eat. When they arrived at the inn after a week of sleeping in the wood and crumbling structures, they were lucky to find that there was still a room available.
Though Jian did not enjoy sharing an enclosed space with another, he did not have the funds to splurge on two rooms. He reached over to Li Fang, grabbing the bowls out of his hand, and walked towards the bed, the only sitting place available. Li Fang quickly followed behind him, closing the door and placing the water bucks on the ground.
Li Fang glanced towards Jian who was holding one of the bowls towards, he grabbed it and instead of sitting next to Jian on the bed, slowly lowered himself to the ground to eat his food.
Li Fang had learned on his travels with this Big Brother, that Jian was a quiet person and disliked any form of physical contact. They had taken a full week to be able to reach Lao Village a decent sized trading port, that had a large river where fishing was a big part of its trade, many travelers had to pass through Lao Village to take a boat towards, Yin Country Li Fang place of birth and where the Li main family was located.
"Brother, how long will we stay at Lao Village?" Li Fang inquired as he took a sip of his cooling stew, peering at Jian.
Jian ignored Li Fang's question and continued to stare at the stew, in his hand. Jian always enjoyed trying new foods, but looking at the bowl in his hand, he had no appetite and actually felt no desire to eat it. Jain glanced towards Li Fang who continued to drink his stew peering at him with a questioning look.
" We will stay at the inn for 2 days, and in that time we will search for information on Yin Country." Jian handed the cold stew to Li Fang who had finished drinking his, Li Fang took the stew and watched as Jian just laid back down on the bed ignoring him further. A few seconds later a thin blanket was thrown towards him.
Li Fang wasn't upset about having to sleep on the floor; this was already better than what he had to endure the last few months. He quickly finished the last of the stew, and laid down to sleep.
Jian stared at the ceiling with his hand pillowed behind his head, Li Fang breathing the only sound left in the room. As the night has gotten deeper, fewer noise could be heard from the inn, customers settling down for a night of deep sleep. Half an hour after the inn had settled in silence, a scuffling sound could be heard in front of the room that Jian and Li Fang were resting in.
Muffled cursing as the person behind the door attempted to quiet their steps, in fear of alerting anyone to their presence.
"Hurry up and go in, they should be knocked out by now, the sleeping medicine is quite potent." angrily yelled a tall man, who shoved the shorter man out of the way and slammed the door open. Inside was a still snoring Li Fang unaware of the uninvited guest that had barged into the room.
" I thought you had said, there were two of them." sniffled the shorter man as he stepped into the room glancing around the small room.
" That was the information I got from the pub store owner. But what does that matter? Let's find the book. That thing cost a fortune." The tall man snorted as he moved around the room, kicking Li Fang in the process, who didn't even flinch. The man was Feng Quin, the store owner that Jian had bought the cultivation book from.
He had been beyond angry at his stupid son selling the most prized possession for such a small amount of coins, that he had tracked down the person who had bought it. Thankfully it seemed that person did not know the value of that book and had walked around with it in the open, making it easy for Feng Quin to track them down. He had his brother Feng Bo put sleeping medicine into their stew to make retrieving the book easier.
But as they searched around the room, there was no trace of the book, Feng Quin was getting more agitated. He turned and went down to grab Li Fang who was still sleeping on the ground. Before he was able to touch the boy, a snickering sound could be heard from the doorway.
Both Feng brothers turned towards the door, leaning against the door frame was a young man, slightly taller than Feng Quin, with shoulder length brown hair, but his most defining feature was the scar running through his left eye.
Jian smiled at the man currently in his room, his teeth showing as he waved the book in front of them.
" Is this what you are looking for?" Jian asked with a quirk of his brows. He had noticed something off in the stew, after letting Li Fang drink the two bowls, he checked the boy's condition and found he was only sleeping. He had assumed that someone was after the book since it was the only valuable item in their possession. After a few minutes, he left the room and waited, thankfully it was not long until these two had showed up.
" Hand that over boy, it doesn't belong to you." growled Feng Quin as he took a threatening step towards Jian.
Jian snickers as he straightens himself from the door frame, he turns the book around a few times in his hand, and glances towards the tall man.
" I did pay for it, about five copper coins to be exact. So you see it belongs to me." Jian's smile grew bigger, making the scar crinkle.
"But I'm a reasonable man, I can give you the book…. as long as you pay a price for it." The Feng brothers glanced at each other.
Feng Quin laughed while pointing at Jain, " why should I have to pay, when I can just take it by force."
At that moment Feng Bo, who was creeping towards Jian, lunged at him. Before he was able to grab the book, Feng Bo felt himself lift from the ground, rapidly move upwards, smacking his head directly into the ceiling, his whole body went slacked as he fell towards the ground unconscious. Feng Quin's face turned red from anger, he turned his eye back to Jian who was still smiling at him.
" I guess it is not as easy to take as you both taught. But since this was the answer, I might as well have fun." the smile on Jian's face fell from his lips.
He lifted his arm causing Feng Quin's body to be lifted from the ground. Jian's left hand formed a small vortex, spinning rapidly as it became a tornado in his palm. He lifted his hand looking towards it with admiration, and glanced back at Feng Quin who was still struggling in the air.
" This is the first time I'm using this technique, in the time it took to get here my level of cultivation has risen, and it's thanks to this book." Jian quirked his lips as he marveled at how much stronger he had become in such a short time period. He was looking forward to getting his hands on the rest of the collection.
"So thank you, for coming here and giving me a reason to try it out." A big grin decorated Jian's face, as he looked back towards the brothers, one struggling to get up from the ground and the other floating in the air, throwing curses at him.
He released the small vortex towards the siblings, the moment it reached them a burst of air like a knife,spiraled in their direction landing on the skin of the brothers, cutting deep causing blood to splatter in all directions. Screams ripped from the Feng brothers' throat as their bodies were cut into. The ripple of air did not stop, until the sound of human scream completely vanished.
Jian looked at the mangled remains that were left of the thiefs, his eyes showing no emotions of the massacre just committed. He knew that he was not a normal human, he did not feel or care for others, the only time he felt something was when something interesting or challenging happened.
A muffled mumble came from his side, he glanced at Li Fang who was floating near him. Jian had grown somewhat attached towards his little companion, not enough to care about his safety, but his constant chatterings have given Jian silent world a bit of noise, which he didn't completely mind.
Jian turned away from the room, walking out of the inn, as he passed customers were scrambling around looking for the screams that had awoken them, the night filled with the scent of blood, as the gruesome scene was discovered. Jian's shadow disappeared into the deep darkness of the forest.