Chapter 24: A Free Boy

However, it was very apparently even from the outside, that

this shack had been attacked.

Jia Yuan’s face went pale, and he ran into the shack, while

Guo Huo quickly followed.

Jia Yuan’s master was lying on the ground, his skin black

and blue. Fortunately, it seemed that he had not received any unhealable

injuries. However, he was still rather badly beaten up.

Jia Yuan instantly knew who had attacked his master. After

all, only the Zhao family would have the audacity to freely attack others in

the village.

Guo Huo, upon walking in, saw the man on the ground, with

Jia Yuan kneeling by the man’s side.

He tapped his necklace and drew out yet another pill, a

Heart Pill. This was a medium tier healing pill, that was able to quickly heal

a person’s injuries.

He gave Jia Yuan the pill and motioned him to give the old

man the pill. Jia Yuan hesitated slightly, but he trusted Guo Huo, who had

saved him from the bandits earlier.

Upon ingesting the pill, the master’s face became less pale,

and the black and blue bruises on his skin began to fade.

After a bit, the master was strong enough to stand again,

which he did.

He bowed and cupped his hands toward Guo Huo and said, “Thank

you Sir. You have saved me from a great deal of pain. How may I help you?”

Guo Huo didn’t mince his words and cut to the chase. “What

is your relation to Jia Yuan? I would like to bring him with me.”

Jia Yuan looked at Guo Huo and pouted. “No! I want to stay

here until the end of the year when the Army recruits come around. I want to

join the Burning Legion! That way, I can meet my brother again, and my master

can be rich again!”

Guo Huo gave Jia Yuan a very dry look. After all, he knew

that behind Jia Yuan’s earnest gaze, he was holding onto a small fortune. If he

really wanted his master to be rich, he could just give his master part of said

fortune.

However, he quickly realized the important part of what Jia

Yuan had said. This man who had been beaten up in the shack was Jia Yuan’s

master, which meant that Jia Yuan was a slave! A slave with a Song that was at

least at the peak of the high level! This was simply unheard of.

Guo Huo turned back to Jia Yuan’s master and said, “How much

will it cost to set Jia Yuan free?”

Jia Yuan’s master was shrewd. Even though he cares for Jia

Yuan, at the end of the day, Jia Yuan was still just his slave.

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“10 thousand small fire shards.”

“Deal.”

Guo Huo readily agreed. After all, to someone of his status,

what was 10 thousand small fire shards? He didn’t even really care for the 9

thousand large fire shards that Jia Yuan had.

He tapped his necklace and withdrew 67 large fire shards

from within and had the shards fall onto the table in the middle of the shack.

“Here is 67 large fire shards. A little more than your

requested amount.”

With that, Guo Huo turned and faced Jia Yuan. “Now, kid, are

you willing to be my disciple? I am one of the strongest people in the Fire

Kingdom, and I have years of experience behind me that I am willing to impart

to you.”

Jia Yuan had a simple response. “Nope.”

Guo Huo had quite the reaction to this simple answer. His

eyes shot open, and his entire body retreated back from Jia Yuan, as if he was

looking at a monstrosity.

“B-b-ut. What??? Why not?”

“Because I want to join the Burning Legion so that I can be

with my brother again.”

Guo Huo’s face turned incredulous. After a long while, he finally

seemed to calm down and dropped to a sitting position on the floor, looking

worn out.

“Son, how are old are you?”

“11.”

“So you still have two years until you Burning Legion

Tournament begins. Listen, kid. The only reason the Army recruits commoners who

have strong talent for martial cultivation at age 12 is because it gives them a

year to get used to the song the Army gives them.”

“For someone like you who already has a Song, you can simply

join the annual tournament to join the Burning Legion when you are 13.”

At this point, Jia Yuan’s ex-master interjected. “Wait what?

Jia Yuan has acquired a Song?”

Jia Yuan looked rather uncomfortable and said, “Well, a few

months ago I was exploring in the forest and um… sort of found one.”

The ex-master began fuming in silence. If he had known, he

would have sold Jia Yuan to Guo Huo for a much higher price.

At this point, Guo Huo motioned that he wished to lead Jia

Yuan to another location, at which point Jia Yuan raised a point.

“Guo Huo sir, there is a family here called the Zhao family

who bullies everyone else in the village. If

we leave my ma..er, my ex-master here, he’ll just be robbed and beaten again.”