Hello everyone, this is my first written work, you probably noticed that I am a fan of Chinese Wuxia, and you are completely correct! I love it. I’m going to try my best to write a decent story, I hope you guys like it!
- Love Trollguy <3
____________________________________________________________
The biggest difference between this world and the world Xian used to live in is the versatility of qi. In this world, qi can be used for more than strengthening, it could be used to manipulate the elements of this world. For example, a fighter usually uses his qi to strengthen the body and augment their senses, but there are something called qi mages who use qi to specifically call upon the powers of the earth, fire, wind, water, light and darkness.
There are also those who specialize in using both the qi to strengthen themselves and also call upon the elements. These people are called Battlemages. Apparently, battlemages are quite rare since it is difficult to train in both different aspects.
Although pursuing the path of a Battlemage is tempting, Xian has decided to follow the path of a fighter since it is presently impossible to even leave the town to find a mage instructor without a sufficient amount of strength. It would be a waste of time to even try to pursue a career as a qi mage right now.
Xian has recently turned 10 years old, his strength has clearly surpassed that of his peers. He is at the mid-level of the 4th rank. The average male in the Kingdom of Alz is around the mid-level of the 3rd rank, for a 10 year old to reach the 4th rank is simply unbelievable. His black hair grew quite stylishly, and his pale skin made him look beautiful. Everyone looked at Xian with awe and envy.
Currently, Xian was meditating near the outskirts of town. If one carefully observes, there are tiny groups of qi shaped like tornadoes spinning on the surface of his body. This method was a way to refine and increase his qi capacity in the most efficient way possible. Xian gathers external qi to create a layer around his body. His own qi then compresses the layer of qi on his body by creating the tiny tornadoes. After being compressed, the layer is absorbed into the body, strengthening Xian even more. This was one of Xian’s secret training techniques that he acquired from his previous life.
After three hours of meditation, Xian quickly head back home. Xian’s house was quite modest in size, but the interior of the house was quite messy, this was because…
“Cough, cough, Xian… You’re back so early again…”
Usually, Xian would train from early morning until late at night, but recently he has been returning home earlier than usual. This is because the village was in the middle of an epidemic, and his mother was infected.
“Do not worry mother, it will not make that much of a difference if I come back early once in a while.”
In fact, it did make a difference. Xian lost countless hours coming back home to care for his mother, also, it is difficult to train if one’s mind is worried about his mother’s health.
Back in his previous life, Xian did not have many who he would call family. He was abandoned in a martial arts temple and grew up there his entire life. The only ones that even came close to becoming family were his close friends who he considered brothers. They all died facing opponents that were too strong for them, or accidents during training.
Not knowing about parental love in his previous life resulted in Xian cherishing his mother who sincerely loved him. If he had to choose between his life or his mother’s, Xian would not hesitate to sacrifice himself.
Xian quickly started a fire and made a healthy porridge. Xian’s family was not particularly wealthy, the only one currently bringing income was his mother who labored in the farm all day. Every time Xian sees her blistered hands, a tear forms in his eyes.
“Here you are mother, I hope this porridge is to your liking.”
Sheila was now used to eating the porridge Xian made. Even though she has been eating the same porridge made by him for a week, the taste was always so good. Unknown to Sheila, Xian added some special ingredients he has located using his qi. These ingredients were highly nutritious, and maybe that is why Sheila was in a better condition compared to many of the other sick villagers.
Sheila nods with satisfaction.
“I am so blessed to have such a wonderful son. I thank the heavens for allowing such fortune. If I die now, I have no regrets.”
Xian gives a bitter smile as he recalls the challenge from the Gods…
That night, in the town hall of Weish, all of the important figures of the town was gathered as well as all of the healthy villagers. Xian was there too.
“It has already been a week since the epidemic has started and there are no signs of the sick getting any better!”
“Did somebody put a curse on us??”
“None of the medications you ordered worked!! You’re a doctor, do your job properly!!”
Many complaints were made by the villagers and it was difficult for the town elder to quiet them down.
“SILENCE!!!”
The yell of a 5th ranked fighter was quite effective, the hall immediately became silent.
“Thank you Teacher Sho. This is what we know so far, the people who first showed symptoms of sickness was last week and none of the regular herbs or roots we use for medication worked. Also, it appears that only females are affected by this disease. So far, we have no clue what this disease is and how to cure it, and so, we have no choice but to send someone to the capital to bring a more experienced doctor.”
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
“But the trip will take weeks, not to mention the time it takes to find a doctor! Do we even have enough money to pay for one?!!”
The mayor was criticized by the distressed villagers. With so many negative feedbacks, the mayor couldn’t help but break a sweat as he tries to calm the situation.
“Well does anybody have any better ideas?!!!”
Silence filled the halls once again.
“Since this task requires someone who can enter and leave the surrounding forest, Teacher Sho is the only suitable one for this job.”
“M-me? But mayor, there are surely others who could fulfill this role…”
“Nonsense, you are the strongest man in this village, therefore it is only logical that you are entrusted with this important task.”
“B-but to return to the capital again…”
“What was that?”
“I-I mean, of course! As the strongest man in this village, it is only fitting that I fulfill such an important role!”
Thus the meeting concluded.
Teacher Sho was given a large sum of gold to pay for the Doctor fees. It was an amount a villager would never be able to make within his lifetime. The currency in this world is quite simple, 10 coppers make 1 silver, 100 silvers make 1 gold. Most villagers make about 7 coppers per week.
Xian went back home wondering why it was that only females were affected with this disease. He was not an expert in curing disease. He knew too little about this world…
That morning, Teacher Sho left the village with what looked like an uneasy face. His disciples offered to follow, but Teacher Sho immediately declined.
After seeing Teacher Sho off, Xian decided to go visit the outskirts of town to train. On his way to his usual spot he hears a weird, squishy noise…
Xian immediately uses his qi to sweep the area and search for enemies.
There! Where the new wheat crop was growing! Xian quickly dashes towards the crop but the creature reacts fast as well and hops out to safety. Xian finally got a clear look at the creature. It was a seemingly harmless purple slime!
This slime is one of the lower leveled monsters in the forest. More specifically, it is a low-level 3rd rank monster. But since monsters each have special qualities, it is usually stronger than what its level is said to be.
The slime looked at Xian with anger, it immediately bounced at him with the intent to kill.
Although this was Xian’s first battle against a monster, his past battle experiences allowed him to remain calm and fight with efficiency. Xian moved slightly to the side just barely dodging the slime’s attack. He quickly counterattacked with a knife hand strike.
The attack hit… But the jelly like substance automatically regenerated the slime’s wound. The slime looked at Xian arrogantly as if saying “there’s nothing you can do to harm me”.
The slime then bounced at Xian once again, but Xian dodged again landing a kick this time. But with no effect.
This exchange continued on for hours until both slime and human were starting to get exhausted. Both were breathing heavily but none of them had any visible injuries.
“Hah… Hah… You’re pretty good…”
The slime also responded with a face that seemed to acknowledge the compliment.
Xian has been in many fights in his past life. He fought so many times that he has learned to communicate and understand the other fighter while fighting. In this fight with the slime, Xian has understood one thing, it was that this slime did not have any intention to harm until now.
Understanding the situation, Xian no longer wished to fight with the slime. Instead, Xian pulled out some leftover porridge he packed for lunch and gently gave it to the slime. The slime was suspicious at first, but eventually succumbed to his hunger.
After devouring the porridge, the purple slime looked greatly satisfied. Xian could tell that the purple slime looked at Xian in a new light and started jumping happily around.
Xian decided to sit down to meditate but the slime had other ideas. It started jumping around vigorously on top of Xian’s head. It wanted to play… Xian didn’t know whether it was such a great idea to befriend this slime or not anymore…
While the slime was jumping on Xian’s head, slime liquid were all over his clothes. The slime itself was quite viscous and unfamiliar, but when he smelled it, Xian was able to recognize this smell.
It was the smell of poison… Although weak, if exposed for a long period of time, it can be quite dangerous. Things then started to click… In this town, the area where the women worked and men worked were divided into areas. This specific area was where the slime was found so the women who were working here must have been exposed to the poison for too long… The food would have been slightly contaminated too but since the food was equally distributed in the market, the effect would be hardly noticed…
Xian grabbed a hold of the slime.
“We’re going to pay a visit to the mayor.”
Kind of what the slime looks like:
http://www.basilmarket.com/monster/Maplestory-Mutant-Slime-Monster-BasilMarket.gif