"I know the price of this milk isn't too expensive. But it adds up if you collect it."
"Yes! No need to pay, young master. Consider this a gift for our meeting!" He smiled cheerfully.
*I'm starting to get a little sick of this kid. Alright, I don't need to linger here any longer; I have to go to my aunt's house!* Aland thought.
"I can't refuse."
"Thank you!"
Aland and Bros walked away, leaving Avelin standing motionless, staring at Aland's back, smiling and completely spaced out.
"Miss!"
A voice called Avelin from behind. Avelin turned and saw a teenage boy approaching him. Just like Avelin, he was carrying several bottles of buffalo milk in his hands.
"Why are you running like that?"
Slowly catching his breath, he said, "The bo-boss is looking for you! Hurry! There are still lots of bottles left unsold!"
"You're relaxing here instead of selling all this milk!" he added, still panting heavily.
"If the boss finds out, your overdue salary from last month won't be given to you!"
"Umm... didn't I just join two weeks ago?" Avelin asked, looking confused.
"Huh?"
...
On the way to Hansam, something that had happened earlier was bothering Aland. It was the energy Bros had emitted while fighting the market thugs. It was a strange energy, one he had never seen before in his life in this world.
"Can the young master sense it?" Bros asked.
"I'm not sure if I sensed anything," Aland replied, looking out the car window.
*Is that possible? A child who isn't even twelve years old sensing an Aura? Generally, people can only sense it when they reach the age of twelve, because that is when the human dantian begins to form,* Bros thought.
"The energy the young master saw earlier... that is Aura."
"Aura?"
"Yes! The energy formed in the center of the dantian."
Dantian?
"What is a dantian?"
Ugh, damn it! Young Master, you don't need to know about that yet! You're still a child, act like a normal kid! *Bros thought, annoyed.*
"The dantian is a center of energy, or the Sea of Qi. It is formed through meditation or martial arts training, and it can make our physical bodies much stronger than those of ordinary humans."
"There are three dantians in our bodies. Namely, the Upper Dantian, which is located above the head. There is the Middle Dantian, which is between the two chests. And the Lower Dantian, which is located in the lower abdomen, below the navel."
I didn't understand what he was saying. But perhaps his explanation refers to beings who possess power, *Aland thought, smiling.*
"Uncle! If you're going to explain, please explain in detail."
"What do you mean, Young Master?"
"The lower center..." Aland replied with a teasing look.
This little brat! "The vital organs..."
"What? What? Answer me directly! Don't stop halfway, Uncle, hehe!" Bros's face flushed red; he was truly being emotionally provoked by him.
"I'm just kidding, Uncle. Don't take it seriously. The area below the navel is obviously the urinary tract, right!" Aland chuckled.
Madam, please save me. I don't want to be the Young Master's guard anymore! *Aland thought sadly.*
"But I already know the gist of it. The dantian is a center of energy produced by martial arts training or meditation, right?"
"Yes! That's right."
"Can I do it now?"
Aland's question instantly startled Bros and his driver. They were shocked to hear a six-year-old child wanting to cultivate a dantian inside his body.
"Forgive me for interrupting, Young Master," the driver said, trembling.
"... A dantian cannot be formed as easily as cooking rice. Young Master must first establish a foundation within his body."
The driver explained that dantian formation could only be achieved once a person reached the age of twelve. At that age, the body would automatically be able to absorb and store the energy generated from training or meditation.
Attempting to form a dantian before the age of twelve would cause the user's heart to explode, resulting in death. The body is simply not strong enough to contain and automatically absorb such a large amount of energy.
As a result, the accumulated Qi would scatter throughout the entire body because there is no automatic system to absorb the energy. It would be stored in all the vital organs, instead of being stored in the middle, upper, or lower dantian. That is why humans can only attempt this once they reach the age of twelve.
However, this is different for other races like Elves, Demons, Half-Beasts, or Dwarves, who might be able to achieve it from birth or at a much younger age than humans.
"So... are you saying I can't form a dantian before I turn twelve?"
"Yes, that is correct, Young Master," the driver replied.
*Thank you for explaining it to this crazy kid!* Bros thought, smiling as he looked at the driver.
"Thank you, Uncle Driver!"
*There's nothing I can do. Besides, I was only joking when I said I wanted to form a dantian or whatever that is. Because my goal is money! Hehehe!*
*Money is the most important thing in my life right now! The money my father gives us cannot guarantee my life with my mother. He could stop providing us with money at any time,* Aland thought.
"Uncle, you were planning to kill me, weren't you?!"
"What are you talking about now, Young Master!" The driver raised his voice slightly.
"You didn't explain that part. What if I had done it just now? I form a dantian and *Boom!* My heart explodes..."
"Hic! Hic... My mother would surely be very, very sad. Hearing the news that her son died in such a painful way. You are so mean, Uncle! I'm your nephew too, aren't I?" Aland said with a mocking tone.
*If you were my nephew, I'd rather not have one,* Bros thought.
"Mother would be left all alone. Just imagining it is already heartbreaking. Hic!"
*CAN I THROW THIS KID OUT!! I REALLY CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!* Bros thought, smiling.
"Yes, you are right, Young Master. It's my fault."
"Everything... everything, I shouldn't have said anything to you! Tch!" Bros muttered softly.
...
Elsewhere in Hansam village, five people arrived at Aunt Aland's house. They were carrying baseball-like bats in their hands. They were loan sharks who had come to collect a debt from Aunt Aland.
They made their demands aggressively, destroying the furniture outside the house. They even trampled the spice plants in the garden, flattening them into the ground.
Her husband pleaded for more time to pay the debt. He explained that the spices they had planted in the garden had either rotted or withered. Furthermore, some spice plants had mysteriously vanished overnight.
The man in the cowboy hat dismissed every excuse Aunt Aland and her husband offered. The cowboy hat man grew angrier and ordered his subordinates to destroy more items inside the house.
"Please! Please! Just give us a little more time. We promise to pay it back promptly!" She pleaded, trying to block the men from entering her house. She stood in the doorway with her arms outstretched.
"Hey, you scumbag! How many times have I given you an extension? Look at the result! I haven't gotten a single penny from you!" the cowboy man roared.
Maybe I should just take his wife? She's quite pretty, now that I think about it, he mused internally.
"Hmm... I have a solution." He then signaled his men to stop entering the house.
"My solution is this... you sell your entire garden plot!"
Hearing that statement, Aunt Aland and her husband were stunned. Their ancestral land, passed down through generations, was being demanded by outsiders.
"Th-that's impossible, sir. That land has belonged to our ancestors forever. We can't sell it," Aunt Aland replied, trembling.
"Is there anything else besides selling the land-"
"THERE ISN'T!" the cowboy snapped, glaring at Aunt Aland.