“Brrghhh—, ahhh–, I am full-, time for me to leave. Thank you for the meal---, ah--, kind old senior!?”
After finishing all that there was on his side of the table, Levis rose satisfied, as he walked out of the eatery, and took the back road to the green area again, as he continued towards the place where Hubert had previously entered.
“Fuck! I lost three gold coins, and three rank 4 shards. Well, I will tell the captain that we partied quite a bit. The captain will surely not be suspicious about three gold coins. Now, where are you, kid!? Ahhh—, shit Levis!!! You alright? Nothing bad transpired on your end, right?”
But as Levis was arriving, an angry and deluded Hubert was coming out of the “shop”, cursing and muttering something as his voice lowered at the sight of the boy.
“No, I have just eaten to my full, I think it is time to go and see if the clothes are ready.”
“Yes, come on.”
Continuing their walk thru the streets of Rud city, Levis took a much closer look at the people he could see, as after they were almost to the clothing shop, about two in every ten people that he had seen were cultivators, with the grand majority of those cultivators being nothing more than rank 3 lower, as rank 4 and higher seemed to be somewhat rarer.
“Let go of me! He started it!! I did nothing!!!”
“Hmm! What is that?”
“Just some idiots, let us go inside, take the articles of clothing, and then return to our room, I do not feel all that well.”
But as they walked to the door of the shop, in the distance, several guards were restraining a man to the ground, as others were looking after a second man, whose face was swollen, clearly from having taken a blow or two.
Though the incident did not matter to the two of them, as it was the guards of the city that had to deal with it, so they immediately entered and exited not long after, with Hubert, carrying two large bags.
However, as Levis and Hubert were strolling the inner part of the city, old Wan at this moment, stood next to the window of a long corridor, looking outside of it while holding the communication stone to his forehead, as he appeared to be smiling silently, while two large doors were at his back.
“Old Wan, what are you doing?”
Yet, after a short brief time, the two doors opened to reveal a tired Rowen, who immediately begin to scrutinize the old man the moment he walked outside of the room that he had been in for the last few hours.
“Nothing, nothing. Young master, have you submitted the full report?”
“I have, now I just need to see how the head captain will react to my request."
“Good, then all we need to do is to wait and see till we arrive at Green city. Even so, it is not such an overboard of a request, so there is a high chance it will be approved.”
“I hope. This way I can make Levis stay and be part of my force. If it is not to come, I will try other means if I have to.”
“Very well. In that case, once we reach Green, I will use the remaining of our time there and start guiding young Levis, while preparing to leave with master Adrian and maybe master Hubert.”
“---Alright.”
“So what do you intend to do for the day?”
“Retreat and cultivate.”
“Very well, in that case, I will procure the food, and deliver it to your room.”
“Hmm.”
“In that case please wait in the room, until I will arrive.”
While the old man began to walk away, Rowen took the opposite side of the corridor, as he began to walk outside of the building he was in, and then towards the one to which his whole squadron had been allocated.
Although, as he was walking in the premises of Rud’s guard branch, the many guards that Rowen had seen, could be added up to the hundreds, as if he were to see every one of them, the number would most likely rise to more than a thousand. But the most peculiar observation that even Levis had yet the chance to do, was that concerning the prowess possessed by the guards, as all of them had a cultivation of rank 5 and above, making the squadron led by him, look extremely weak and powerless, as there is only one wounded rank 5 cultivator under him at the moment.
“Hmmm.”---[I need more, more—, no not that, I need to wait, in time, Adrian will rise, so it will be with Levis---, Hubert is–, well I have to see. And if I play the right way those two might become good additions with Levis watching them. Square has restarted his cultivation, and if old Wan's assessment is right Zuger might have a high affinity for cultivation, they are not young, but not old either, this is just about right, with the rules of the Academy, and Father will have nothing to say against my arrangement—. Now, to begin my session, hope those two fools did not get themselves into any trouble.]
With his head full of his own thoughts, Rowen arrived at his own room in a very short brief, as he began to do his own breathing technique, while closing his eyes, as he was seated on the chair at the table of the room, awaiting for old Wan.
----------------------------------------
“Papers, papers, fucking papers! These papers are the ones that had truly achieved Immortality, not me! Fucking hell, the torturers of the underworld, will have mountains of papers ready for me!!!”
However, at the same moment of the day, at a very long distance from Rowen’s room, and even from the city of Rud, far to the east. In a very large room, a very short hair man, cloth in an outfit of all blu, who seemed to be in his thirties, was moving his free hand and the one holding a feather pen, as he was signing paper after paper, while giving each one of the sheets a very quick glance, almost too quick, for as any normal person would see him, they could consider him a lazy person trying to end his works, without truly reading the papers he was signing.
“Fuck, fuck, another one. These assholes from the military branch, drinking and fighting like there is no problem in the world. Fuck you, for giving me these papers.”
“Haaaaa—, I understand that you are trying to relax your frustration, but does this help you?”
“It helps me more than seeing your face right now.”
“You sure have become an ungrateful brat.”
Nevertheless, the man was not alone. In the middle of the room stood two sofas and a low table. And, at the present, an old man was currently smoking from a wooden pipe as he stood lazily on the left couch from the man’s position.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“And for what am I supposed to be grateful? For this position, that I have been unable of escaping for the last twenty years! Or for the fact that you have mostly lied and faked what was I going to do? Arghhh—, and why are there so many bar fights, what the hell is wrong with this city?”
“And so what would you like to do?”
“To be the one fighting, after drinking myself to the point I can not remember anything.”
“You should find a woman and have kids, maybe you will become more consciously stable.”
“Where? And how to find it? With what time? I barely have time between the job and my daily cultivation. I do not want an arranged marriage, that the old fool wants.”
“Do you not have a beauty next to you serving as second in command?”
“Youuuuu–, you-- mean a---, a “snake”, that you and the old fools had lodged to me, so that I will never be able to leave this place.”
However, as the conversation changed to that of the woman who was working under him, the man took notice of his environment, as he used the words snake, as though fearing a real snake might come out and bite him.
“That is just how you see it, but that is not the case, just go for it.”
“ “Easy are the words spoken by the ignorant who has yet to see and experience the reality of the fact.” ”
“---.”
“Are you calling me ignorant? You brat!”
“I am, you darn old man!”
In a moment, the strange open mood that was created by the two suddenly transformed as the old man gave a side glance at the man, while the man looked directly at the old man, meanwhile, the air in the room seemed to be frozen still, as the both of them were looking with serious gazes with one another.
“Hah-aha—, you have grown more and more audacious over the years, now you are openly cursing at me— haha. I should demote you for unruliness and lack of respect. But that is what you actually want, so stay where you are and do your job.”
“Tsk!”
However, with the clicking of the tongue from the man, it was evident that his little ploy had been seen thru in an instant, making him roll his eyes, at the old man that could not care if he was insulted or not.
“So how are the military bunch? Any news about what happened in the southwest corner of the Kingdom?”
“I do not know what are you talking about.”
“Tsk!! Can you give me more than your blatant and effortless evasion?”
“Haaa—.”
While being pressed on, the old man relented as he took a stone from his waist, and put it on the table at his front, as the air in the room was taking a bizarre shift.
“So?”
“When was it now—? Well fifteen or fourteen days ago, they had been quite restless, as some of them had run off towards Rud. Well---, you can use your imagination as to why, because I truly have no information regarding their operation or whatever they are doing.”
“This is all?”
“This is more than what you knew a moment ago, and about what I myself know, so do not go greedy here.”
“I was thinking you were more important than this and not just a guide.”
“Hmm—, what do you know? As long as I get paid, and do not get into any trouble from this, I am alright with the current state of affairs. Speaking of things of troubles, I hear you have the youngest son of East working under you, how is he?!”
“Hard working to the point of being stupid, right now he is on his way back, from the “place”.”
“What do you mean?”
“The fact that he is stupid or—?”
“That he is coming back.”
“The low region, had some bandits attacking the villages nearby, but since no one from here to the closest branch did not want to take the job, the kid had taken the men I have given to him when I made him a captain and moved on. I tried to make him stay, I even prohibit him to take any ship to Rud, and he still had gone on the horse, from here till there, crazy stupid right? Even his caretaker had tried to stop him.”
“We sure are heartless and spineless cowards. If a boy has more guts than us. But stupid, nonetheless, a wrong move and you can die. He certainly does not know who he is, if he tries to prove something or not. Still, you made him a captain!?”
“What should I have made him? A simple guard? I made him a captain and gave him some new recruits. I thought, he was going to behave here, for the time he has to do for his academic assignment, not going off as he did.”
“A crazy man, really can not have sane children. Anyway, as long as he is safe, there is nothing to be anxious about."
"Yes, and with his care caretaker there—! Huuu–, here, she---, she is returning.”
As the man was speaking, all of sudden, the old man moved quickly to deactivate the sound-dampening stone, as sounds of fast steps, were coming from the outside of the large double door of the room. In a moment, one side of the door opened quickly to reveal a short hair woman in her twenties in a firm blue fitting similar to the man, as she stormed in hand with several sheets of paper, which made the man twitch at their sight.
“Sir, I politely asked you not to smoke inside the Head Captain’s office. And what do I return to? A room full of smoke that can choke someone to death, and more importantly the captain is slowing down his signing pace.”
“Now you are exaggerating a little, little Risa. I barrel-l-lyyyy, what are you doing you lass!? You two sure do not have much respect for the old me at all, have you forgotten who I was?”
Yet, just as the old man was trying his rebuttal of defense, the woman pointed with her finger at the senior's head as a powerful stream of wind blew on his face and on his pipe, killing the fire in it.
“You were someone yesterday, you are someone new today, that is all.”
“What the hell are you saying, honestly you two sure are a pair.”
“Who is!?”---“Please do not insult me, old man?”
“You see.”
“---Head Captain, the report of Captain Rowen was submitted via the branch of Rud city, just now, would you---?”
“Hm, he is already there!? Give it here. Hmmm!—Hmm?-Hm!-Eh?”
“What, what are you humming for? Tell this old man what is in its content!”
“Hmm—, he saw some action, killed and kidnapped villagers, a camp of a thousand, a battle against three hundred bandits. And, escaped leaders, and a certain “Red” Pervert, possibly at Immortal stage, unknown rank, well-one death is not bad, given the men he had with him.”
“Quite the experience he had gained from this mission.”
“Wait,---this submission,– he sure made some request. Old man what do you say.”
“Hmmm?”
As the man read the paper brought by the woman, he asked for a second opinion regarding one of the last points on the report to the senior, who was lighting his smoking pipe again.”
“You should give in. There is much to lose from this, and only to earn if you approved. Plus he seems quite staunch on this request.”
“This is odd but I guess, I can approve it then. Prepare the papers, it is better if I do it now before I forget about it.”
“As you please. And also, he has denied the founding to return via a transporting ship.”
“Tsk, stubborn fellow, he is still angry from our last chat.”
“---.”
“Alright. It is time for the old me to leave. Head Captain, if you want to drink, come to my place, we can continue there—!”
“Slap!!!”
“Eh!”
“Sorry, but Head Captain has an inspection to make in the early morning, so he needs to rest early, so he is kindly refusing old Sir’s offer.”
Just as the invitation was coming from the old man, the woman slapped the table with her hand while giving a hard stare to the senior.
“---Alright, since it is like that, I will see you two–, tomorrow then.”
As the old man was walking out of the room, the man began to move his hand as he was making signs to the senior, while the woman had her back towards him.
“You will not, you do not want to fall on your bad behavior.”
“What? I have said nothing.”
“Slap”
“Alright, alright, I will sit home and cultivate then, —ahhh. I will just imagine having a good time then.”
“No escaping in your mind either! You still have to sign all the papers.”
“Am I not free, even in my own mind—!?”
“Hmmm?”
“---yes ma’am." - [Sigh—Well at least kid Rowen is travelling and adventuring. Oh, good life, where are you, truly where the fuck are you? This position—, I must find a way and get out of it, the hard creep had always wanted it, I will let the old fools deal with him---, yes, I will do it, yes---, a great plan, the best plan.] - "Yes, I forgot to ask, where is the city lord's daughter, and her party right now? Still on the same course?”
“Yes, given their own speed they should arrive—, no, but they will most likely meet with Captain Rowen.”
“That is obvious, given his resentment, and his stubbornness as to not take the ship here. Still, why is that miss taking the long and slow ride? Well not my problem, time to end this round of hellish torture."
Though, as the man begins to think about his own situation, he started to automatically move his hands, signing the sheets of paper left and right, without giving it a full read of their content. But the hard stare that was coming from his left side, made him slow his pace, and complete the reading of the whole content, written of the papers.