— The Emperor's Imperial Record, Entry No. 2 —
The city clung to the base of the monstrous mountain range, like a beggar at the feet of a giant.
The Awoken Moon Sect's building was carved right into the rock, like a living sculpture. If one were to say that it resembled a butterfly coming out of its cocoon, you would be hard-pressed to disagree with them.
The entrance to the sect was a pale blue pagoda with gates etched from gold; they reached out like muscled arms from each side of the pagoda's entrance. The pagoda itself was joined to a large wall that spanned the whole base of the sect. It even had a jade crescent moon gleaming atop the mountain.
The crescent caught the moonlight like a mirror, casting a special tint over the color of the land.
The city sprawled like a three-legged beast at the mountain's feet—its left flank—the one I was facing, was so dense I could hardly make out anything; its right side gleaming with the painted facades and fluttering banners of a sort of wealth i had never seen before, where merchants bartered and postured like peacocks; and at its throat, nestled just below the shadow of the Awoken Moon Sect, rose another district, all carved stone and cold elegance, where I could barely make out anything I saw. If it was wood, it looked like an exotic other-worldly kind, and if it was stone, I had never seen that type of stone before in my life.
I looked at the gates marking the entrance to this sprawling beast. I approached the leftmost one, where a pair of guards watched the trickle of peasants and travelers.
I reached the entrance to the city's gate, and one of the guards at the entrance halted me, asking for something.
"Where's your city tag, kid?" The guard quipped impatiently.
I was confused. 'City tag?' I had never heard of that. I said, "I don't have any, sir. I came from a little village about three days from here."
"Do you have anything? A seal, a letter…?"
I shook my head warily. He seemed like he had a short fuse.
"Hmm, that's suspicious. Travelers usually carry some sort of token or seal."
The guard's eyes narrowed, his voice fell flat. "What village are you talking about? There's no village for miles anywhere near here." He took one step forward. "You're lying."
He cupped his palm around the sword on his waist, "I don't care how young you are, you'd best tell the truth," he gripped his sword tighter, leaving the threat unspoken.
I almost smiled at the thought of how unknown my home was, then I realized how much bigger he was than I. He loomed over me, scarred and tall, with battle wounds running all over his body. It was a grotesque omen to the kind of man he was.
There was an especially nasty one on the right side of his neck. I was guessing this man knew how to squeeze the life out of me with his big toe. One wrong word and I'd be picking teeth out of my stomach.
In other words, I'd probably lose this fight, but thankfully, I didn't have to.
The other guard came up behind him, "Oi, Rui, I think he's talking about that hamlet by the leafy creek. The one with the weird-looking elder."
"Oh… that one." Jie Rui turned back to me. "Luckily, someone remembered your home, kid; no proof usually means trouble," He sighed. "Why do I always have to deal with these dirty newcomers? I wish I worked at the right-side gate. At least then I could work with the nobles."
The other guard who had told Jie Rui about my village was directly next to me now.
He wiped something out of his nose—a booger—then spoke to me. "Evening, kid, why are you coming to the lovely city of Lunis at this time of day?"
I looked him straight in the eye. "Cultivation. I want to become a cult—"
"Harh! You want to become a cultivator?" He snorted. "You're not the first one to think so highly of themselves—to think they could become a cultivator."
He chuckled. "If cultivating was that simple, you think I 'd still be here as a guard... sniffing pig crap all day?" He roared with laughter. "Jie Rui, d'ya hear the boy?"
"Hahah, sure did, Mu Ke. Another tragic backstory on the way. So many kids have come through here to cultivate; I could probably guess it. What is it going to be this time?"
He looked towards Mu Ke with a smile on his face, then back at me, "A stolen sweetheart? Cursed heirloom from your dying mother? Dead parents with a tragic last wish?" His voice dripped with mockery, his smirk widening as he waited for my reaction.
**I was not yet aware of the common tales and myths told of the cultivation world; that was how ignorant and backward my village was.**
My face scrunched up in confusion. My reaction seemed to amuse them even more.
"Kid, if you really do have a qi-based item, throw it away. I can tell you right now, from years of experience, it's low quality and more likely to explode and kill you than actually help you. You think cultivators just leave treasures like that lying around?" He chuckled again.
I had a blank look on my face, and he paused, then exhaled in frustration at my ignorance. "Empty out your bag, let's make sure you are not hiding anything."
Then, Mu Ke leaned towards me, grinning. His breath reeked of rice wine. "Well, if he doesn't have any identification, maybe a coin or two will help smooth the process," he rubbed two of his fingers together. His thumb, index, and the finger right next to it made a motion as if he was trying to remove dirt from in between them, "Right, Jie Rui?" The other guard only smiled in answer.
Jie Rui went through my bag, grabbing anything he thought valuable. "No seal, no token," he pocketed the coppers and the spices I had in my bag, "...no coppers…" as he was doing this, Mu Ke ran a thumb across his blade's hilt, "That's risky, kid."
He twirled the blade in his hand, "But maybe we can… overlook that for a donation."
My pulse quickened. They wanted a bribe.
On the outside, my face contorted, shaped into a slightly fearful look. I had at least known enough to prepare for something like this.
Inside my bag was at least half a kilo of dried rabbit jerky. If it wasn't enough… "Please, sir, I don't have anything but the stuff in my bag."
He lost his smile after that.
"You really are from that backwater dump. Alright, kid, quick lesson. After you get in, you're going to want to find some work after failing the cultivation aptitude test. I recommend blacksmithing or being a butcher—if they'll even accept you."
But his comrade, Mu Ke, got the message immediately, "Ah, poor kid," he took the bag, and turned his head on a swivel, "but we at least have to check…you know….for routine."
I gave him a nod, and Jie Rui, already starting to blow fumes from his mouth, almost yelled, "Mu Ke, we don't have ti–"
Mu Ke silenced him with a glance.
"...Ah, yes, procedure."
Mu Ke took out the wrapped bundle of jerky, sneakily tossing it behind him and into a basket nearby. If anyone saw anything, they knew better than to say it.
After Jie Rui had his turn, he handed off the bag to Mu Ke, "We should at least get something for this."
They both laughed at that.
"Thank you, sir." And as innocently as I could, with large, teary eyes, I asked, "Is there a fee?" and stole a glance at my pouch.
"I get paid by the hour. No," He said, as if he hadn't taken anything. "Just go in; there are enough of your kind around that nobody will notice an extra one. If you do become a cultivator, though, you owe me one."
"Thank you, sir."
He pointed over his shoulder at the city gate, indicating I should hurry off.
"Wait!"
It was Jie Rui. He held me by the shoulder, "We still need a tag." He coughed in a way that left me sure there was nothing in his throat. "There's another fee."
The bastards wanted more?
My jaw tightened, and I looked around for help. Help I knew wasn't coming. It was then that my eyes landed on the fat, slovenly man, heading towards our side of the gate.
The guards that accompanied him, and the switch in the expressions of the men in front of me, told me all I needed to know.
"Brothers, a fee? Won't I have to find some work first?" I directed my gaze to the heavy man who was approaching, making sure they followed it, "Do you think he will be hiring?"
If a kettle went off right there, I was sure it would have the same red, hot expression as the two men.
"Surely, an important man like him wouldn't ask too many questions about my fee?" I stood next to the basket now. The furious temperaments quickly cooled as they noticed where I had gone to stand. I didn't need to say more.
"Leave."
I quickly said my goodbyes and left to join the small, dwindling line of harvesters, farmers, and other people like me—peasants.
I was let in through a long, winding tunnel.
It wasn't long before I finally got inside the city.
I only had one word.
Disgusting.
This wasn't the city I'd dreamed of. It was a compost heap covered in silk.
Cultivators lived here?
I expected cultivators to have the same attitude I had towards cleanliness for their own city.
Even in my little village, it never got this dirty. Granted, I did get up every morning when I wasn't out hunting or trapping to go around and make sure that it was clean.
It was a habit I had picked up from my father. It would probably turn into a dung heap like this since I had left.
I almost turned back. But I'd come too far.
The sect's gate had gleamed like jade in moonlight, so I thought its city would be a reflection of that. But this? It felt like I had been promised gold and someone had given me a bucket of piss.
From a distance, the city of Lunis was a breathtaking marvel. Up close, it stank of rot, ambition, and the dreams of the desperate.
A stocky man, who seemed even shorter than me, noticed the dazed look on my face and ambled over, his face fashioned with a knowing smile.
"You new here, kid?"
I nodded my answer.
"Ha, that's why you got that look on your face. You came from the gate at the front of the city, right?" He didn't even wait for my answer this time.
"You probably saw the breathtaking view of the city and thought that's where you were going, huh?" I continued to stare with a blank look on my face.
He laughed again. "Here," he took a small brown pouch out of his bag and handed it to me, "have some." They were grain buns. I took a bite and they tasted better than I expected.
"This is the Mudfoot District. The city is divided into three: the Mudfoot District, the Jadevein District for nobles, and the Silverscale District for wealthy commoners."
"For people like us. If you want to go to the parts of the city you probably saw, then you have to either be a noble, very rich, or," he looked around nervously and whispered, "a cultivator."
I gasped, my eyes widened in realization, while the corners of his mouth curved up as he smiled in satisfaction.
I asked, "I saw the sect as I came toward the city. How do I get accepted into it?"
He glanced at me knowingly and said, "Planning to become a cultivator, eh? My son is also trying again this year. They are having a test four days from now. It starts at dawn. If you pass the test, then you get into the sect. If you don't, then you get rejected."
"Oh, then where do I go to take the test?"
"Don't worry about it, kid. Looking at you, I'm guessing you don't have a place to wait for the sect tests to begin. Stay with me for the next four days.
You also don't have money, right? You can help around my house, and then you can go with my son to the sect."
"Thank you, sir. Truly, I'll make sure to repay this kindness." I immediately took off the bag he was carrying, which held farming equipment, before inviting him to show me the way.
The stocky, slightly hunched over man led me through a winding maze of narrow alleys and dilapidated buildings, his pace steady and sure, despite the muck that stuck fiercely to our shoes.
When we reached his home- a simple construction of earth and straw–though, it still struck me as sturdier than most I'd seen so far as we walked here—It was definitely better than the mud huts we had back in my village.
It was an oasis in a desert of squalor. He opened the door and invited me to walk in.
My hands moved before my mind did, straightening a crooked stool near the entrance.
The floor was also made of earth and straw, and the furniture consisted of a few stools, a trunk for bedding, and some cooking utensils. He told me he only had three children—unusual for a peasant man.
Most tried to beat death with sheer force of numbers.
A couple of minutes later, his son also came to the house. It turned out he was a town guard in the Silverscale District.
He was tall, much taller than I was, but most men were taller than I was at that time, and he looked like he was specially formed of thin, wiry cords of muscle. It was no surprise to me then, when I saw the look of pride in his father's eyes at the sight of him.
He was probably counting on his son to take them out of the peasant life.
The son's name was Huo Feng, and the father's name was Huo Qianlei.
Huo Feng's sisters, Huo Xue and Huo Mei, pounced on him with squeals—he flexed, lifting them by just his biceps as giggles rang out.
The oldest looked to be six years old; she was Huo Xue, and the youngest, about five or so, was called Huo Mei.
However, in this age, beauty was a double-edged sword.
And girls like them attracted the wrong type of attention. It was like dropping raw meat in a den of wolves.
As I was sat at the corner of the house, Huo Feng didn't notice me for the first few seconds he was in the house, but when he did, his shoulders tensed up, hands balling into fists, every part of his body tightened, like he was preparing for a fight, nearby, a passerby cast a too long glance at his daughters.
I'm sure it would have turned into one if his father hadn't handed me a piece of stale old bread, indicating that I was there with his permission.
Being accepted into the sect was likely also his only hope–his escape route, the only way to pull his father and sisters out of this pit.
They were only children, but in such a place, innocence was a fleeting luxury. I didn't know them, but I'd seen enough girls, even in my own small, remote village, taken or... broken, to understand the weight in Huo Feng's eyes.
I almost asked about their mother—but looking at Huo Qianlei, I knew the girls didn't get their beauty from him. Maybe she caught the eye of a noble. Maybe she vanished. Maybe...
Huo Qianlei spoke to his son after he had dropped the little girls gently onto the floor, their smiles and giggles mirrored on his face.
They spoke at the entrance to the door for a minute or so, I didn't know what they were talking about, but I could guess, the hut wasn't that large.
Eventually, Huo Qianlei turned around and looked at me, showing he wanted me to come outside by pointing out the door, then at me.
I understood the message and followed him outside into the cooling evening air. Walking around Huo Feng as I left.
Huo Feng quietly moved his sisters out of the way as they clamored for him to keep playing with them. He spoke in a deep, gravelly voice that almost immediately annoyed me. He looked to be only a year or two older than me, and he already sounded like a man.
"Sit down and be quiet, and I'll bring you a gift." Their eyes lit up at the promise.
"Yay, gift!"
"Is it pondi buns?"
"Maybe, maybe not, you'll have to find out, won't you?" His voice had softened—almost sing-song.
But they got up and hopped around trying to cling to his legs.
He glared at them before carrying them both by the arm and placing them down by the fir,e where they sat and pouted.
Chuckling, he walked outside with his father, but his gazed darkened the very moment he stepped outside.
Huo Qianlei coughed, clearing his throat, his gaze shifting constantly between his son and me. "I've not already introduced you guys, but," he looked at his son, "this is Khan," He said finally, and then looked at me, "This is Huo Feng."
Then he went back to talking to his son. "He'll be staying here with us until the Awoken Moon Sect entrance test. He doesn't have a lot, but I think we can manage, right?" He looked meaningfully and firmly at his son. He looked at me warily before nodding and turning his head away.
"You guys will be going together. He will also be helping me out with stuff that needs doing at and around the house or at the fields till then."
Huo Qianlei had made up his mind, even if he wasn't completely sure why.
Huo Feng stared at me now. More warily, as if he thought I wasn't just some backwater peasant but some sort of con or trickster.
"Those are my sisters in the house." His gaze hardened, and he made his voice drop as low as he could make it, "Those little girls are all I have left. If something happens to them and it's because of you, I'll make sure to etch my face into that knotted scalp of yours. Got it?"
Huo Qianlei glanced at his son sideways as he was talking, but Huo Feng ignored it, eventually he decided that his son had stared me down enough and said, "Feng." One word. That was all it took to stop his son, but Huo Feng still stole glances at me like I was a thief.
I spoke to Huo Feng, "There's no need for all that, I understand." If I had sisters, that would also be my reaction.
They were young, still too innocent to understand the curse they had been born with.
"Alright," Huo Qianlei clapped his hands together as if to signal the end of our meeting. "You and Huo Feng will be sleeping on the mat on the floor."
—
It was a little longer before it was actually time to sleep for us. I carried all my belongings, which was just the stuff in my bag, to the corner of the room.
As I put my head down on the mat next to Huo Feng, the sounds of Huo Qianlei's family faded, but my mind remained, ringing with thoughts of what lay ahead.
Failure here wouldn't just be bad... it would be worse than the rejection I had felt from the villagers. It meant staying in this city, drowning in this filth, watching all my hopes and dreams rot like swan meat in the gutters.
I clenched the mat I lay on like it was able to hold my future together. But somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew—I'd passed the first hurdle, and I knew, for the next one, spices and rabbit jerky wouldn't be enough.
The air was still, and the crickets had turned quiet, as if the world was holding its breath. I had to prepare for what was next.
Whatever it was, I was sure I had to pay for it.
For a moment, the Ink shimmered, and Jin Hao's qi flickered. He shook his head, finally realizing he had been here for hours, and he sat down, dropping to the floor.
...he breathed in, shuddering as a little shiver of joy ran through him. He had found it!
Quickly, he started reading again.