In every village, there is a bully, and Liang’s village was no different. Growing up, he was weaker and smaller than most children his age were, due to malnutrition and illness. Bumps and bruises, scrapes and brawls, these were a normal part of childhood, but unfortunately, Liang found himself on the losing side of fights for many years.
However, when he turned 11 years old everything turned for the better. He grew taller, stronger, and faster than any other village kid; he was no longer at the bottom of the totem pole, he was at the top. It was a surprising transformation, and when a traveling merchant told the chief Liang had immortal roots, the entire village rallied.
The chief created a fund to pool resources for Liang, and every family was willing to contribute. Soon he was no longer another village kid, he was the village’s kid, and they rested their hopes on his progress. The bullies no longer dared to show their faces in front of him, but rather than feeling happy, Liang began to question his attitude towards strength.
When he was weak, he bowed his head, and when he became strong, he walked head high above the others in his village. He turned into someone who preyed on the weak and feared the strong, but all of that changed once he lost his cultivation. The harsh hand that slapped his head back to the ground was a black mist, and it was a sobering lesson in strength.
Liang was weak. Even now with the old man’s help, he was weak. He understood it clearly after leaving the village; he was slowly seeing how big the world was, and his old way of thinking was not acceptable. Huang Yun was strong, but that was only amongst his peers. In this world, he was also weak, and Liang felt no need to fear him.
He ignored the old man’s laughter and instead, he focused on Huang Yun’s words and attitude. Liang wanted nothing more than to dispel the illusion, but after thinking about it, he came up with a plan. He did not know Huang Yun, but going by the crowd’s reaction, he had a reputation, one he most likely wanted to maintain.
After finalizing his thoughts, he lowered his hands to his sides and continued his taunt, saying, “Shiny robes and loud mouth, indeed you’re impressive, but didn’t you hear me? What makes you think you’ll leave today unharmed? You want to fight later when your guards help you in secret? Don’t even think about it. You’ve probably never had a real fight in your life. Quit your b*******. If you’re a man, then fight me openly, if not, apologize and go back to your fancy house with your fancy robes.”
Liang’s vulgar words slammed into Huang Yun like a six-legged ox, and from the look on his face, he knew nobody ever spoke to him in that way. It was an open challenge in front of his rival sect elders and disciples alike. To walk away from such a challenge would be to admit defeat, and Liang did not believe someone as arrogant as Huang Yun would walk away.
Once the challenge was issued, the old man stopped chuckling and his previously hunched over body stiffened. His amused face turned serious, and he looked at Liang as if judging his intentions, but Liang did not care. He made up his mind. Today was the day he would shed his fear of the strong. He knew it was stupid to challenge Huang Yun. It was a small insult, and he could have ignored it, but more than anything else, he wanted to be free of his past cowardly self.
He needed to prove to himself that he was no longer the little boy that let other’s bully him. With Liang’s challenge, Huang Yun’s face darkened and the crowd slowly backed away, creating a ring around the two of them. He clenched both fists at the side of his body and through gritted teeth said, “Little girl, you had better apologize or else I’ll…”, but before he could finish Liang interrupted saying, “Save your words, come at me now or leave.”
The taunt threw him over his limit and Huang Yun closed the distance between them in a flash. Using all of his strength, he launched a palm attack towards Liang’s face, but instead of landing what would have been a devastating blow, his hand froze in place. The collision left him completely open for attack. Taking advantage of the situation, Liang channeled as much qi as he could summon into his right arm before slamming it into Huang Yun’s chest, driving his body to the ground and tumbling beyond his original spot.
It was his second use of the defensive talisman, and just like the previous time, his opponent was unable to touch him. However, because of his overexertion, many of the muscles in his back and side tore, reminding him of the strength imbalances he had not yet fully overcome.
Thankfully, the old man’s pendant worked quickly and the damage to his body completely healed by the time Huang Yun stood up. The exchange shocked the crowd. Blocking the strike with the talisman was understandable, but none of them expected the little girl before them was so powerful.
Becoming lost in his desire to tear Liang apart, Huang Yun spit the blood that welled up into his mouth onto the ground, and prepared to strike again, but his body would not move. An invisible web wrapped around everyone in the crowd and locked them in place. Even the peak Nascent cultivators could not break free.
The old man, now relying on a bamboo cane, walked in-between Liang and Huang Yun, and did not allow anyone to move. He lowered the hood covering his face drawing everyone’s attention, and revealed a wizened, aged appearance that looked wrinkled by time, and scorched by the sun’s heat.
He tapped his stick on the ground, releasing his hold, and attempted to deescalate the situation by saying, “My apologies to everyone. This old man only wished to sell his life’s work in your market to raise enough funds for what might be my last few years in this world.” His hoarse voice struck the ears of everyone present, and his breathing became heavy and labored.
Immediately the crowd empathized with the old man’s situation, but he struggled on, telling them, “My disciple is young, but she has a good heart and love’s her master. Please don’t fault her, as it’s a disciples pride to defend their master. Young man, please let us end this matter today, with nobody seriously injured, and no blood feuds created.”
People in the crowd voiced their agreement, and many even asked the old man to please sit down and rest, offering to help him back to his chair, but he refused and called Liang to guide him back. It was clear to see that everyone in the market admired the noble words of the old man, everyone except Huang Yun.
The exchange left him embarrassed and humiliated, but the display of strength by the old man left his guards unable to act, so there was little he could do. After fixing his robes, he walked over to the booth and slammed his hand on the table shouting, “Fine old man. I’ll let her off this time, but if I ever see her again, don’t think she’ll get off so easy.”
The old man thanked Huang Yun and waited for him to walk away before pulling Liang to him and whispering, “When the chaos begins, give this package to the girl and tell her not to open it until she’s alone.” Everything was calm, confusing Liang, but after passing the package to him, the old man shot from his chair and shouted, “Thief! You took my talismans, you thief”, while pointing in Huang Yun’s direction.
Cultivators lived a long time, and much of their lives was spent sitting in caves absorbing qi, so whenever they left, their ears were always open to scandals and rumors. When the old man called Huang Yun, a proud heir of the Huang clan a thief, their ear’s took control of their bodies and brought them racing back, ready for a show.
Huang Yun nearly fell in his tracks at the words, and when he turned around, he made a face like someone rubbed s*** on his upper lip. Through gritted teeth and clenched fist, he looked at the old man and said, “Old man, I gave you face, but don’t push your luck. Calling I, Huang Yun a thief, if you don’t have proof then don’t think my clan will let you leave this city with your life.”
However, the old man refused to back down and announced his accusations loud enough for everyone to hear. “There were no problems ‘til I took out my space talisman, then you came and started a fight. Everyone here saw that.” The crowd nodded their heads in agreement with what he said, they argued for the other talismans, but they fought with money, not fists.
With everyone in agreement, the old man looked directly into Huang Yun’s eyes and said, “After you exchanged blows with my disciple, you slapped my booth for no reason, and now my talismans are gone. If it wasn’t you, then who could have taken them from my table? Empty your ring and prove you’re innocent. I take an oath, if my words are wrong; let the heavens strike me dead were I stand right now!”
The old man’s oath startled the crowd, and they prepared themselves for what was to come, but after a dozen breath’s time, nothing happened. Oaths to the heavens were serious, and lying before them meant death, but the old man stood unharmed, meaning he was telling the truth.
With the heaven’s judging the old man’s words, the crowd turned on Huang Yun and called him a thief, a scoundrel, and an embarrassment to his clan’s name, which turned him irate. Finally, unable to take the abuse, Huang Yun shouted, “Enough! Old man you’ll pay for this”, and made a move to his ring as if he was reaching for a weapon.
However, beyond everyone’s expectations, a light blue glow wrapped around his body, and he disappeared. The old man fell to the ground, sobbing as he spoke just loud enough for people to hear, “My life’s work is gone, gone. He took it, it’s gone.”
The crowd was already on edge, but the old man’s state ignited a fire in them and they all shouted how terrible Huang Yun was and attacked his guards. They fought to break free, but dozens of elders piled on their attacks, and just as the old man said, the black market turned to chaos, with him at the center of it all.
While the mob attacked Huang Yun’s guards, Liang weaved his way through and tapped Fairy Xu from behind telling her, “My master told me to give this to you. Don’t open it now, he said look at it when you’re by yourself.” His sudden tap startled her, but when she saw it was the old man’s disciple, she nodded her head in understanding and turned to leave the market quickly before they attacked her as well.
Liang helped the old man up who was still sobbing, and grabbed their items before leaving to avoid any more trouble. In all, he was happy with the way things worked out. They made a large amount of money, and he tested his courage against a far superior opponent. Although he was never in any real danger, he felt as though a shameful part of his identity disappeared.
Once they exited the alley, they dispelled their illusions and traveled quickly to their room where the old man broke into laughter after closing the door, causing Liang to laugh as well. He had to admit, the old man was right, the black market was fun and was exactly what he needed to relax after so much training.
Nearly 60 breaths past by the time they calmed themselves, but shortly after the old man began pacing back and forth while rubbing his chin. He looked at Liang pensively for a moment, then said, “You’re about 16 or 17 now, and I remember that age, lot going on in a boy’s body. Young men should be hot-blooded, but don’t over-do it.”
“I won’t punish you for starting a fight over something stupid this time, but don’t get too ahead of yourself. There weren’t any people there strong enough to break my talisman or your shield, but I’m not always standing next to you holding your hand. Dead is dead boy. Even I can’t bring people back to life.”
The old man’s words struck true, and Liang felt a bit awkward, but in that situation he did what he felt was right. The risks were low to him, and even without the old man’s help, he was confident in escaping if he needed to. If he was not so sure about the outcome, he would never have done what he did.
The old man continued pacing and mumbling nonsensical words, but eventually they became clear with him saying, “That damn city lord. I don’t know enough about the fighters left. I wonder who that city lord is pushing his daughter on. Boy! How strong is that kid compared to the others?”
The old man had not paid much attention to the fighters, only knowing approximately how strong they were. However, none stood out to him, so when Liang told him he was much stronger than the others, a smile crept onto his face. “That bastard city lord, we need to watch the fights tomorrow. I need to know more.”
“I was gonna tell you to beat him if you fought, but you have a different goal. It doesn’t matter what place you get, but make sure that kid gets first.” Liang knew defeating Huang Yun would be tough, but even if he did, it would not matter in the end. They would leave eventually and it would be a brief moment of time, but if he helped him win first, then it would be a never-ending defeat for Huang Yun.
With their plan set, Liang asked the old man about what he did at the market, and he told him, “I snuck the distortion talisman in that kids robe when he came over. When he looked most guilty, I activated it three times. Right now he’s close to 100 Li south of here.” The thought of how confused Huang Yun must have been and how his reputation was tarnished made Liang laugh so hard his stomach began to hurt, but then he remembered another odd thing.
The old man made an oath to the heavens, but lied without consequences, which should have been impossible. When he asked why the oath did not work, the old man raised his head and said, “Because the heavens have no power over me boy. Nine shackles they locked onto me, and nine shackles I broke. Other than divine beasts who can cross the realms openly, there’s nobody free from their cuffs but me.”
