A day later, when Kairos arrived at his hometown, he was astounded by the changes that had occurred.
It was a refreshing change for him from the library he had buried himself in or the death march training he did together with Tommy. His eyes flitted across the place, and he became unexpectedly emotional to have returned home.
Gone were the mud paths and thatched roofs. Instead, there were proper walkways formed by cobbled stones. The roads too, were well-maintained, with newly-hired Astroire’s guards patrolling the vicinity looking out for bandits and wild beasts.
Stone bricks had also replaced the straw huts. Although it was basic workmanship, it was still a significant upgrade from the pig sty it was before.
There were many more inhabitants than he recognised now, most of them settled down after hearing of the Astroire Manor’s fame.
Now, the entire place looked like a beautiful and quaint small town.
Kairos had not known much about his village, but in fact, in the history of its existence, he was the first person who managed to do something to this mud-splashed, beast dung scented place.
For other villagers, they simply lacked the ability, or more often, saw no benefits in the task.
Conversely, for such a rundown place to survive near the bustling capital, it was a miracle.
Because the locals are all normal mortals without much cultivation, not many know that Rutea dated back nearly a thousand years; even if someone told them, none would’ve believed.
But the truth was simpler than one would expect.
As more trade routes open up to the capital, small settlements like this would either move or died down, but despite all these, Kairos’ hometown was saved because the Emperor, in remembrance of his son - the First Prince - kept it alive.
Thus, around the capital, Rutea became the only village left.
Granted, for a place that ought to have passed away unmentioned in the historic annuals, even with Galahad Vestimore’s grace, it barely survived.
The Emperor could not show partiality without reason, and at most he lifted the tax on the village whenever they are in trouble, using the excuse that it displays the magnanimity of the crown without costing the treasury much. Not many knew it was due to his regret of disowning his son who was unable to cultivate.
Of course, Kairos did not know that the place he grew up in had a link with the godfather of Lyla Hope.
Jim’s mother also did not feel a need to introduce such old history.
It was when her godfather was still young at that time. A famine struck, and as the land turned desolate, people started dying starting from the youngest and the oldest.
At that time, the First Prince who was tired of politics and the hidden power struggles had fled to this place. In his mercy, he saved the people in what will be recorded as the final act of a prince.
But problems arise afterwards.
The prince was touched by the simple, hardworking folks that managed to persist with the strength of their families, and he found a warmth that he never knew before.
Secretly craving loved ones of his own, he threw away his royal raiment and cast off his previous status, and by his request as their benefactor, the villagers never mentioned the prince’s name.
Of course, his actions infuriated the Emperor, and he was disowned immediately.
“Talentless brat. Since he is unable to cultivate, let his remaining years be lived out as a commoner!”
Such was the words the Emperor roared out, but after his rage receded, it was too late. An Emperor’s words are his decree and cannot be undone even by himself.
Afterwards, the former First Prince left Rutea in search of his place in the world, and though he was untalented in cultivation, he went on to become an incredibly wealthy merchant.
Of course, Kairos heard about the rest of the story. The First Prince outlived the new family he found. With his status as a former royalty, he grew up eating spirit herbs, and it wasn’t strange that he would have a long life even without cultivation.
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His exploits became legendary, and he became known as the Merchant Prince.
Then, in the final days of his life, he met a young girl, Lyla, and made her his inheritor.
In the end, the prince passed away in blissful peace accompanied by his god-daughter.
Kairos naturally did not know how long Rutea Village had existed, especially since non-practitioners have a lifespan between fifty to eighty years and few stories were passed down.
He made his way towards his manor, and when the guards and the villagers saw him, they greeted him vibrantly with cheer and respect. Even those who did not join Rutea till recently knew of the young master via his portrait.
“Benefactor! You’re back!”
“Young master! How was school, did anyone bully you? Old Toothy will help you beat them up!”
“You old fool, the young master could beat them up himself. If you went, you’d only be screaming for help in a second.”
“Ah ha ha ha! You’re right! Young master is too exceptional!”
“What are you guys blocking his way for? He probably wants to see the finished Snowdrifts Manor.”
“OH RIGHT! Hurry, let’s clear a path for him!”
Bombarded by their greetings, Kairos could only smile and wave. On the way, he chatted with a few old faces for a while, then took on a mystified expression.
“Say, why don’t I see the Niu and Yang families?”
Xiao Niu and Xiao Yang are two of the wealthier children in the village. Like Kairos, they did not have surnames, but because they are the only ones with livestock in the village, their families acted like the lords of this place.
Their names were given to flaunting the kind of livestock their families reared. The former meant Cow and the latter Sheep in the language of the ancients.
Of course, it also flaunts their knowledge that the other villagers wouldn’t know.
Given such status, Xiao Niu and Xiao Yang were likewise very proud of their heritage, and they often bullied the other children. More than once, out of their greed or mischievousness, they had cheated the game that Vouno gave Kairos and the others.
Even Jones who is expertly in dealing with thugs had only become this way after being swindled time and again.
In fact, none of the six friends was an exception, after all, dumb friends flock together and they often starved because of Xiao Niu and Xiao Yang.
But, despite their atrocious acts, the two of them were gifted at pretending to be innocent. They were like angels before the adults.
Fortunately, the villagers were helpful to one another on the whole, and except for slightly reprimanding the kids for being too mischievous, they were let off all the time.
Even without such troubles, the two single-parents could barely feed six children and themselves.
Food had always been scarce, and the forest was dangerous.
As rangers, Vouno and Jones’ father could only set up traps as deterrence against most of the forest inhabitants. If any of the beasts met them face to face, the only choice was to scare it off. Killing something is rare, and with the type of beasts in the forest, there are few small games left.
Besides, Jim was a penniless bastard son to Cannot Hope, the orphanage where Tommy, Edward, and Alan grew up in was just a makeshift shelter that runs by the donations of the other villagers.
Furthermore, after Jones’ father passed away, things turn worse, and Vouno had been raising five kids by himself.
The villagers who are all honest folks did not know the hardships their ranger had to go through to raise these kids, but how could the two culprits not realise that their luck is up?
When Kairos and the boys managed to get into the second year, Xiao Niu and Xiao Yang immediately confessed their deeds to their elders with faces full of tears.
The two of them did not even reach F rank, and couldn’t be considered as actual practitioners. They were truly frightened to death when they remembered the deeds they had done.
“I must be retarded to have listened to Xiao Yang. Why did I have to steal their food when I didn’t lack any?”
“Can’t believe that I joined Xiao Niu in calling them losers and the shame of Rutea Village … How could those useless brats do well in school? The heck, the heck, the heck is this! If I knew I wouldn’t have listened to him!”
After hearing the terrible things these two boys had done, their elders had only two choices. Tie them up and throw them in front of Kairos with a sincere apology or flee.
“Young master, the Niu and Yang families faced a difficulty many months ago. Their livestock died one after another because of some odd disease, so they sold their remaining possessions and left for another place.
They might not have known the latest news. If they heard that you've contributed that much to the Empire and brought prosperity to Rutea, they wouldn’t have left even if you beat them.”
If Xiao Niu and Xiao Yang heard this, they would’ve spurt out blood in frustration.
Who didn’t know of Kairos’ contributions?!
Starfire Array, Star Rune Weapons, the Training Hall’s stratagem, and the taming of the Unknown Flame Sovereign, with so many explosive news running rampant around the empire, even someone concurrently blind, mute, and deaf, would have found out by now!
Suddenly, the villager seemed to be struck by a ray of inspiration, and he looked at Kairos with bright eyes, “Does young master wish to call them back? After all, we are all from Rutea and should help one another. Surely, the young master would be really happy to meet with Xiao Niu and Xiao Yang again! Back then, the eight of you would always be running around the village together. Even though those two mischievous brats did not manage to succeed at the academy, they always claim to be best buddies with you. I’m sure they would also like to come back. And with young master’s generous disposition, you surely would’ve helped them!
Should we find them?”
Kairos looked into the eyes of the old villager, and with a gentle smile, he nodded his head, “Un! Call them to come back.”
If the Xiao Niu and Xiao Yang’s families heard the good intentions of their former neighbour, they would’ve displayed the miraculous party trick of consecutive blood spurting.
Thinking that Kairos would help them. Hah… You’re the one who needs help. Your whole family needs help! Who would like to come back? We are trying to run away with all our might, alright?
And, how can you be so gullible after living to such a ripe old age! We told you we are best buddies and you just took our words at face value? Even the livestock was killed by us, alright?
We tried so desperately to create a believable reason to escape, so why did you have to suggest to Kairos to bring us back?!