"A First Step Elder..."

Lu Yin gazed intensely at the old, white robed man riding his horse. A faint, just aura emanated from him; the first traces of Immortality. From Lu Yin's location inside the tumultuous crowd, the might emanated from his figure completely covered his inner world, inciting his imagination.

"A cultivator." thought. His thoughts were simple, but sharp; sharpened by the everlasting feeling of hunger he felt, by the hardness of his bed, the coldness of the almost open mansard he slept in, and sharpened even more by his desire of becoming an Immortal, a figure of might in this world of mortals.

With his discerning eyes, in a glance he discovered a shine in the Elder's robe. A tremor ran through him and a mischievous smile formed in his lips. He had seen a luscius, plump once-bitten fruit in his pocket. It obviously emanated pure spiritual energy.

Soon, the Elder had past the street and dissapeared in his way to the palace. The crowd dispersed and the ordinary tumult of daily life returned. Lu Yin darted his way to the outskirts of the city, where he would find his family.

When he arrived, the familiar smell of the open river and the muddy water inundated his nostrils. The little shacks and old stone and mud buildings rose around him.

"Yu Yun! Bai Yang! Come here!" But no one answered. He could see in some windows the old aunties looking at him with gossipy eyes, scanning his every action.

"Yun'er, Yang'er! Come, fast, I have news!"

Then, after ten seconds or so, first appeared a little girl dressed in a mud-colored simple dress from coarse cloth. She smiled at him and one could see she didn't have three teeth, and her little tongue danced while licking the gap the missing teeth formed.

"Jin. What is it?" She asked curiously, looking at him attentively.

"Wait, wait. Let Bai come first."

After a few seconds, from an old building, a ruckus could be heard.

"No! Old Uncle! I washed the dishes everyday this week, it's Wang'er's turn!"

And the door of the building opened abruptly as a chubby boy ran outside, while a sandal flew behind him and expertly hit him in the head with a soft thud.

"Damned brat! Don't return too late home!"

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"Okey, old man! Now, I'm off!" Then, still a few meters from Jin and Yun, he brushed the dirt off his clothes and his hair, picked up the old sandal, and swiftly slipped it inside the home while closing the door.

"Well well. What did you find?"

Lu Yin gestured with his hands for him to come closer.

"Come, come, this is private."

Then, when the three kids were squeezed into a tight counsil, he recounted what had happened, and proposed his plan:

"...That fruit! That fruit will let us become Immortals!..."

And then, while whispering:

"...And that's how we will infiltrate the palace."

And he stood up proudly, looking at his friends he called family look at him strangely. Yu Yin still licked the gap in her teeth, and Bai Yang folded his sleeves and released them anxiously.

"Are you serious, Yin?"

Li Yin nodded energetically.

"Can we... uh... do it tomorrow?" said Bai Yang. Neither did Yu Yun nor he dare to refuse Li Yin, as he, months ago, had found by himself an old spirit root and had shared it with them two. Although it was the lowest denominator of spiritual herbs, it still had a nice effect on the three of their young bodies; their eyes grew calmer and their gaze deeper, and a minuscule glow permeated their flesh now.

"No! By tomorrow that Elder will be gone, and more importantly, he will have eaten the fruit!"

Against their best judgements, and a bit coerced by the piercing, sharp gaze of their friend, Yu Yun and Bai Yang followed him by the slums by the river to the center of town, from where they would reach the palace.

* * *

Seated with his legs crossed in meditation posture, an old white robed man drank some tea. Across him a young woman looked at him with strict mistrust.

"Welcome, Elder Hou, to the Town Palace of Cloudbreak. Soon the City Lord will be available to see you."

Making a gesture with her hands male and female servants appeared carrying fruit, more tea, and incenses.

"Should you need anything just give the word to one of my servants. I'll be leaving."

When she left, in a contiguous room, she talked with the leader of the guards.

"Why do we need one of these cultivators here? I don't like them."

The leader, a man well in his forties, frowned and answered, while keeping his attention on any strange phenomena:

"Soon the Riverlight Sect will invite the Emperor to their decennial disciple gathering. Every major city is recieving one of these Elders. Alas, as far I know, this Hou is a low level one."

The woman sneered.

"Well, Qigang, I'll return to the barracks if you need me." Then left. The man, Qigang, stood there, hearing carefully, but not detecting nothing more that the slow, gentle slurp of the tea, and the hushed breath of the servants.

The Elder seated emptied of thoughts, meditating in a light trance. By ettiquete, he did not extend his divine sense, as he knew most of the most powerful soldiers and the City Lord were the most cultivator-like mortals, and their senses were incredibly fine. But his senses were even finer, and he had no problem in hearing the secret conversation between the woman and this Qigang.

"The decennial disciple gathering..." he thought, finally returning to earthly matters. His standing in the sect was higher than most disciples, but feeble and weak when put against the elders or higher ranked disciples. His talent, a once in a century body and soul in his little native town, had been nothing more than a mediocre one in the great scheme of things, but his afable disposition and his profound insights had let him become one of the lowest Elders of the Riverlight Sect.

"I wonder what I will find this time in this Cloudbreak City."