What will I do after my illness is cured? Now that a real chance of being cured has arrived I have no idea of the type of future I wish to live!

How funny.

Being a noble was nothing like he thought. In the past couple of months as a noble Wei saw the dark truth behind being a noble. The path tread by nobles was a dark and narrow one.

It was a position filled with the hatred and limitations of second place.

At first glance Wei thought that nobles had the best positions in life. An extravagant lifestyle, wealth and authority fit for royalty with none of the responsibilities of a ruler. He had envied them thinking them truly blessed, only when he became a noble himself did he realize the sad reality.

Nobility lived, thrived and died for royalty.

No wonder some powerful nobles tried to revolt in the past.

The only thing available to the nobility was the illusion of superiority. They lived their entire lives tip toeing around the royal family trying to please them and preserve their position. One mistake was all it took sometimes and several decades or centuries of noble lineage would be ended by a single word from the king, sometimes because of a whim!

The proofs of Wei’s change in station were few but significant to a poor orphan; new expensive robes, a large amount of spending money, a sword made of fine steel (which all nobles carried) and finally a small golden medallion that all nobles possessed. The medallion had no markings but it was impossible to use forgery or other methods to replicate these medallions, any and all attempts had always quickly been reported by nearby nobles and the offenders captured. The reasons Wei had learned was because of resonance.

The medallions resonated with one another when in moderate proximity causing a warmth to emanate from them and since all nobles were required to wear them in visible areas (usually as a necklace) subterfuge was impossible. Wei had quickly learnt the ins and outs of noble life from Lady Seer in a few short days, the entirety of her teachings could be summed up in a few words.

Don’t anger the royals, don’t make unnecessary enemies and enjoy your life. All three were fairly easy for Wei to do. He only saw the Royal family in court once a week when all of the Kingdoms affairs were discussed, as nobility it was mandatory to attend these weekly meetings. Wei personally would have preferred to do something else with his time – and so would many others but it was obligatory so he reluctantly attended.

In these meeting only the truly wealthy and influential nobles spoke with the king and his generals. Everyone else simply kept quiet and listened as silent as a grave, to do so was expected and the punishment for the rule breakers were severe.

So, Wei quickly established his living routine as a noble. In the morning, he would read books at noon he would learn basic swordplay and in the evening, he would train his observation skills and test his intuition. His progress in swordplay was almost negligent but he still persisted. It was much more strenuous than his previous lifestyle but to him that feeling of accomplishing his goals was very satisfying and so he worked hard every day. Wei never stooped regardless of how sick he felt he would still complete his routine because it was the key to his past. To who he was.

Surprisingly contrary to his original expectations working with Lady Seer to con commoners and the odd noble was very easy and satisfying. The ‘House of Fortune’ was open twice a week and had a great reputation in the Kingdom. Wei’s only job in seeing the future was analyzing the ‘marks’ and giving Lady Seer the information she needed to make their future a convincing one. Truths, lies, guilt and worries Wei saw all of these and told Lady Seer. At first the clients were uncomfortable being stared at by a teenager but after a few weeks it became common for clients to see Wei sitting in a corner staring at them.

With Wei and Lady Seer working in tandem it was a piece of cake to gain a bigger reputation. Four months after adopting Wei Lady Seers business was booming and it was one of the most talked about topics in the Kingdom. For the first time in his life Wei was busy.

His only break came on the weekend.

The weekend was reserved almost solely for his painting. Wei had become enamored with painting and it had become one of his few passions. Only after weeks of copying Madam Songs paintings did he realize that every painter had their own style and that what worked for one person wouldn’t necessarily suit another. Slowly but surely, he started becoming better at painting.

While his painting was steadily improving his sixth sense his intuition had stagnated. I need another way to be more accurate with this intuition. At this moment, it’s the only thing that I’m confident in. I have to get even better with it. But what kind of activity would help?

After not finding a solution he consulted Lady Seer. She had looked at him as if he was an idiot and told him that if he wanted to test his intuition gambling was the best and quickest way.

After thinking on it for a bit Wei decided why not? With his weekly earnings and the savings he really did have more than enough money to gamble with, or so he thought.

The first time Wei had gambled he lost a lot.

He had hated it. Regardless of the fact that it kept his observational skills sharp and was a constant test of his intuition he hated it. It seemed to be too similar to his sickness, an issue determined solely by fate and luck which he had no control over. However, he was wrong.

Gambling was not up to luck or fate. It rested completely in the hands of the gambler. After seeing an old man smiling at him- partly in pity but also in amusement he knew he was missing something and so he took a step back, stopped gambling and really looked. A night of close almost obsessive observation showed the truth. Signals between people, a sleight of hand and rigged dice all instruments used to put the odds in one’s favor. Armed with a new perspective he started gambling smart.

His success in gambling was gradual but every lesson and trick he learned was instrumental in improving how he looked at things. His original outlook made it difficult for him to even consider cheating because his sheltered upbringing which gave him a type of naivete. After almost a year with Lady Seer, observing and also participating in conning people of their money he had lost whatever naïve ideas he had about people this was further enforced by the few times he had attended court. The deception and ruthless backstabbing that occurred was simply shocking. Wei learned that trust was to be earned after much vetting and not freely given.

Exiting another gambling den with his purse bulging with gold coins, Wei left with a beaming smile on his face. He slowly and leisurely started heading back to the manor. He had barely begun walking when he froze, shit I can’t believe I forgot I have to do painting with Madam Song today. She’s going to be so goddamn mad, I know she’ll think I’m slacking off.

What do I do? If she thinks I’m slipping back into old habits it will erase the goodwill I’ve been building

I’ll just cut back on the gambling and apologize, no big deal. But it would certainly help if she sees I’ve made some strides in my painting. But how? How will I get ‘inspiration’?

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

The Kingdom of Chen – specifically the City of Chen had a host of beautiful sites and opulent buildings. All worthy of being considered inspirations in their own rights, but for some reason they never quite clicked with him and so Wei was looking for other more obscure sources of inspiration. This matter requires careful consideration, it may impact the future direction of my painting. I should consider it carefully.

While thinking of his painting Wei wandered around the local area mindlessly eventually arriving in front of a classy restaurant which he entered. The restaurant’s staff were overly courteous upon seeing his medallion and he was given exceptionally well treatment. Feeling thirsty he ordered an expensive fruit drink while he pondered where he could go. “— like anything else sir?” the waiter said. The words from the waiter awakened Wei from his thoughts and he looked up to see a young man of about 20 years of age looking at him. He looked at Wei cautiously while still appearing respectful and polite.

“What did you say?” Wei asked. The young man respectfully asked whether he would like anything else and when Wei answered in the negative he bowed politely and started to leave.

‘Wait a moment, Wei called out. Do you happen to know any place near here where there are obscure or very old sights to see,” he questioned hurriedly? The waiter turned around “there are many ruins in the Kingdom of Chen but they are much too far from the city. The only one I know is the Abyss Pond,” He answered. The Abyss Pond what an ominous name!

“What is the abyss pond,” Wei asked the waiter. “The abyss pond is a one of the rare phenomenon’s that occur every few centuries in the Enlightened Realm it was originally very visited by cultivators but none of them ever figured out what is inside of it, in fact several powerful cultivators and heavenly items all entered the abyss pond only to die, The only sign that it’s a pond at all is that it has ripples that are constantly rippling” he explained. Wei could clearly hear the fear and disbelief present in the waiter’s voice. Wei was incredibly shocked, to him cultivators were powerful beings who could accomplish anything, it was his most ardent desire to become a cultivator. To mortals like himself the requirements to become a cultivator were unknown, no one knew why a small percentage of mortals could cultivate.

However, every mortal wished to become a cultivator. Who wouldn’t want the chance to try to become immortal. To wield vast power and be able to fly across the sky. Even the current King would immediately give up his rule to become a cultivator. This was the prestige of cultivators. Standing above all!

“Where is the Abyss pond located? Is it safe to visit” Wei asked the waiter. This was the first he’d heard of the Abyss pond so he was very intrigued by it, in fact almost anything that had to do with cultivators was of vast interest to him. “It is located near the middle of the Ancient forest and is very easy to find, it’s also very safe unless you actually try to enter it. Countless mortals tried to enter it and all of them died.”

“How did you come to know about the Abyss Pond?” Wei asked the waiter. He had heard all types of rumors but never one about the Abyss Pond. According to his knowledge about popular legends and lore the Abyss Pond should still be talked about once in a while even today. Maybe it’s not as good a story as I think it is?

“Oh, the reason for this is that many people didn’t know about it originally and so right now almost no one has knowledge of it. The only reason I know about it is that my great-grandfather told me about it. He is still alive despite being one hundred and fifty years old. Apparently, he was told about it by a cultivator who favored him and gave him a pill. Which is why he’s still alive today,’ the waiter explained.

After casually conversing a bit longer with the waiter Wei decided he should head to the Ancient forest as soon as possible to see if he could get inspiration from the Abyss Pond and also to see if he could draw it. As he walked toward the exit Wei saw that the waiter was escorting him seeing such ‘special’ treatment caused a smile to appear on Wei’s face. I suppose he deserves it for giving me a good answer for my whimsical questions, usually I would ignore him just to see his face but I’m in a good mood today so I’ll reward him. With a casual glance at the waiter to his left Wei reached into his robe and fetched a gold coin from his purse and tossed it at the waiter.

Seeing the waiter’s beaming face reminded Wei of the everyday differences between people. A commoner would rarely interact with gold coins their entire life. Almost all of their exchanges of wealth were measured in silvers and coppers. Today must be a joyous for that waiter. Perhaps it would change his life. In the end, it was your position in life that dictated how you lived.

With a single glance, back at the waiter who was carefully putting away his gold coin Wei tightened his grip on his walking stick and set off towards the Ancient forest.

After five minutes of walking Wei quickly reconsidered his idea and quickly looked for a method of transportation that would get him to the Ancient forest. After asking around he was directed to a hunter’s caravan that was headed into the forest to hunt. At first, they weren’t sure about taking Wei but after he talked a bit to the leader and flashed his medallion their attitudes quickly changed. It was evident that the leader of the hunters had let them in on his status; the quiet atmosphere attested to that.

Seeing the slightly tense atmosphere Wei decided to try to ask some questions to set them at ease but only received polite clipped answers in return. Quickly stopping he went back to staring out of the flap of the caravan to observe the forest. The trees were vast, vibrant and lush covering most of the forest in shades of green and brown. The forest was alive with sounds of birds and other wildlife making the forest seem alive with their sounds. However, Wei quickly noticed that the deeper they got, the quieter their surrounding became until the only thing that could be heard was the sound of the horses’ hooves as they thundered across the land.

A couple of minutes later and the terrain was unsuitable for horses and so majority of the hunters disembarked and headed out on foot while the remainder stayed behind to stay with the horses. In a few moment Wei was left behind alone in a vast forest. Ignoring the silence of the surrounding forest Wei quickly started walking towards the center of the forest. It was evident due to the many paths all heading in the same directions. It seemed that although the Ancient forest had many entrance and many exits all of its paths when followed one way or another lead to the center.

After walking for several minutes and changing paths several times Wei was becoming increasingly relaxed. The scentless powder he had purchased indeed worked well! Scentless powder not only obscured scent but also had a strong repulsive effect on predators. Hunters saved lots of money to buy it but for Wei it was a mere trifle. After changing paths once more Wei sat down on a tree stump to rest.  This journey is going exceedingly smoothly. I wish something exciting would happen. But seeing as my body’s condition is so feeble I guess I should be happy with the dullness of this ‘adventure’. I really wonder if the abyss pond will be as incredible as the waiter said. Endless ripples, nothing that goes in can come out. How intriguing.

While Wei was thinking about the Abyss Pond he suddenly felt the ground start rumbling and the entire forest seemed to become both quiet and still.  What the hell is happening.  Just as Wei made to stand up he saw a blinding light shoot down from the heavens toward an area a few of miles in front of him. Holy shit it’s a heavenly item. I can’t believe it. I thought it was just a myth. A heavenly item can be born from heaven, earth or sent down from a higher realm. I thought the book was just spouting some rumors mixed with bits of truth but if it is. I…

I have to get it. It would change everything. Lady Seers acquaintance, doctors, none of these are for sure. But a heavenly treasure contains massive amounts of power. I’m guaranteed to become a cultivator. Can a cultivator be stopped by a mortals’ illness? Hell no! This is my chance! But I have to hurry everyone saw that light and they will be rushing here. The Kings imperial army … No never mind the king. What about cultivators they can fly, teleport ride on swords who knows which of these is fact or fiction. Regardless their fast!

I have to hurry.

Wei ran toward the slowly dimming light as fast as he could, he ignored the pain in his limbs and lungs and continued running. It still wasn’t enough. This was the first time he had ever run this fats and it was honestly pathetic. He had barely covered any ground.

Faster… Faster… Faster. Wei threw the steel sword at his waist.

Faster... he dodged a tree and threw his walking stick. Faster, to cure his illness! To change his fate!

Faster. The entire world became a blur, it wasn’t that he was moving too fast to see his surrounding instead it was his eyes blurring, his chest heaving and his lungs burning.

FASTER.

He entered a vast clearing that seemed to be empty of all things. All the vegetation and animals had disappeared without a trace leaving an empty space for a couple dozen feet.

As he looked across the clearing he saw IT. A lazily revolving silver coin that hovered about two feet of the ground strongly buffeting up dust with huge gust of wind.

A heavenly treasure, a silver coin. It called to him.

It was hovering a few feet from him.

The key to changing his fate. His Destiny.