With how large the new years festival was I had expected Zhou’s wedding to be a massive scale as well with all the preparations. It was certainly grand but not at the level of an entire festival. Apparently they had started the ceremony several days ago but the actual party was tonight. Xue entered the hall in a red dress adorned with countless jewels. The large cartoon pig necklace was shown proudly while the dragon and phoenix on her wrists subtly stole away attention.

The feast went well into the night. Things only ended once most of the guests were too drunk to make it home.

The next day I woke up earlier than I had expected after such a night. I made myself coffee and went to watch the river.

As I watched the water flow by, my mind wandered. This really was such a wonderful place. After some time I heard shouting.

“Henry!” Andre was running towards me. Last night he had tried joining a drinking competition with Wang Tai and I but passed out before we were halfway done. I was surprised he was awake so early. He panted as he leaned against the boulder I was on.

“Did you see it?” He had a mixture of fear and excitement in his voice. I looked at him strangely. He waved his hands in a wild manner.

“Read this!” He pointed at the empty air. If I wasn’t sure that it had something to do with his status window thing I probably would have thought he was crazy, especially with the groggy look in his eyes. I just raised my eyebrow in response.

He waited a few moments before it seemed to dawn on him that I couldn’t see what he was pointing at.

“The-It’s-” He was stumbling over his words.

“The competition is starting!” He shouted. I continued to sip my coffee as he paced nearby.

“What does that mean?” It didn’t make much difference to me but it would be rude to brush off something someone else considered this important.

“I’ll just read the whole thing for you since It’s kind of confusing.” Andre took a moment to compose himself.

“Congratulations on surviving so far. You, who have been chosen by gods, are to begin the second stage of the contest. Use whatever means you must to complete your goals. Whether you have gathered armies or built your individual strength you must now show your gratitude to your patrons. Whoever can take control of the largest region and build a temple for their patron shall be rewarded with an advantage in the next stage. Go forth and conquer.” Andre’s excitement had been mostly eaten away by his fear. I was suddenly glad that I wasn’t involved in whatever this contest was. Conquering sounded fucking exhausting.

We sat on the boulder by the river for some time before he finally spoke again.

“I don’t know if I can do this kind of thing man.” Andre shook his head. I shrugged.

“Just put up a little altar or something in your closet, at least you can say you tried.” I finished my coffee and we headed back to the village. Andre was still deep in thought when I left him.

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I returned to the workshop and found Long Fa working on some kitchen utensils with Wang Hu. It was strange to think a nobleman’s son was learning to be a blacksmith but he probably didn’t even understand what his family’s new position meant. After a short while someone had arrived. Min Ryong was waving with her usual grin. She seated herself lazily on one of the benches along the outside wall before she spoke.

“Hey big man, I have a request.” She brushed her wild red hair away from her face. Long and Hu both kept working as if they didn’t notice her. She passed me a piece of paper that had a drawing reminiscent of shin pads for sports but made of metal.

“Won’t be cheap.” I yawned as I sipped my new cup of coffee that I made once I got back.

“What, no daoist partner discount?” She had an exaggerated expression. I scoffed. I wasn’t lacking in funds especially after the last request Shu had made. He tried paying me in elixirs again but I decided that from now on my products were cash only.

“That’s with the discount.” I smiled back at her. She harrumphed and acquiesced.

“Fine, but make sure to put the proper formations in this time.” Before I could respond both she and Long Fa suddenly went on alert. A moment later I started to have a strange sense of anxiety. I couldn’t place my finger on it and before I could think more there was a massive noise and the ground shook. Min bolted away from the smithy leaping over the building. Long Fa turned towards me with a light smile on his face.

“This should be a good chance for you.” I looked at him strangely.

“Aren’t you curious just how strong you actually are?” He laughed softly before turning back to his work.

_________________________________________

Wang Tai was on the edge of the village. His wife wouldn’t let him go hunting as often anymore. Now he needed to do paperwork instead. He had never imagined himself sitting at a desk at all. The large tree in front of him reached into the sky and watched over the entire area. There were a few merchants that had asked permission to start clearing the forest in order to expand even more but this area was off limits. He nursed his headache as he sat on the forest trail. He was regretting trying to have a drinking contest with Henry last night. He was brought out from his thoughts by a young man in rough robes and a wide brim farmers hat that was meandering along the trail. He had two swords on his waist. One long and one short.

“Hello ther-” before Wang Tai could finish his words the man had drawn his sword and dashed towards him. Tai swung his hatchet on instinct and managed to smack away the sword as he jumped away.

The silent man seemed confused as he looked at his sword. He then looked at Wang Tai with a wild grin before dashing at him again. Tai had survived his fair share of brawls but those were always between normal gangsters, this man was obviously a true martial artist. Tai was certain that he should have died the moment a man like this drew his sword but he couldn’t stop himself from trying to survive. He moved without thinking and blocked the man's attacks several more times. Whoever this piece of shit was he seemed intent on killing. He struck again and Wang Tai couldn’t stop it completely. The swordsman managed to pierce his shoulder and Tai bit back his scream. The image of his wife and son flashed before his eyes. He emptied himself of everything but the resolve to survive. He roared as he swung his hatchet with the sword still in his arm. He felt the moment drag on longer than it should have. He could notice every strand of the stranger’s hair as it moved in slow motion. The change in his expression dragged on for an eternity as his eyes widened at the hatchet swinging towards him. There was a pulse of energy that shook the ground as the blunt side of Wang Tai’s hatchet connected with the other man’s ribs. Several trees were uprooted as the man crashed into the large tree that still stood. Tai staggered and backpaddled. Since when was he that strong? It took everything out of him and he collapsed not far away. The bleeding wouldn’t stop since the wound was so deep. The last thing he saw before he passed out was the swordsman getting back up and brushing himself off as if nothing had happened before he was suddenly blocked by a shock of red hair.