The next morning I woke up earlier than normal. My blood is still pumping from the oath I made. I decided to do a little light stretching in anticipation of our morning run.
After a while the brothers came to me. I looked at them and said, " ready to run"?
Big One said,"today we will skip our training as we need to have an early start to get to Hibiscus Town by night. Pack what you need and we will depart in an hour."
I looked around me and currently all I had to my name is Sia, my worn out lab coat which I'm definitely not bringing along with me, my beginner bow and quiver of arrows and my two sets of white shorts and vest which the brothers kindly made for me from the fur of the white boar. I tore up my white lab coat and made into a bundle where I can sling it around my shoulder. In it is the other set of shorts and vest.
I mounted on Sia with my meagre belongings. My heart racing at the thought of finally entering civilization. I went to the brothers to see if I could assist them with anything. When I got to them, I realized that they were long ready. They gave an hour grace thinking I might need it.
Big One said, "since we are all ready, let's make a move." Both of them also mounted on their huskies which had also grown considerably bigger. The brothers were slightly bigger than their huskies and it was a comical sight seeing them sitting on the poor dogs. But then again, the huskies were strong and tough. Each of them having no problems even if the weight doubled. The three huskies slowly trotted along with Big One leading the way.
Big Two who was next to me then said, "let me tell you more about the situation and powers in Hibiscus town so you will at least be prepared. There are many family clans in Hibiscus town but there are 4 families that equally rule Hibiscus Town. As far as we know, each of these families has a Platinum Warrior ancestor which is why nobody makes trouble for them. The younger generation within these 4 families constantly challenge each other. They all aim to be the sole power of Hibiscus Town. These 4 families are the Li family, Bai family, Guo family and lastly there is the Su family. If possible you need to keep a low profile as your strength is still not up to par."
I asked," Does this mean if I did have a problem and I asked Sia to assist me, the elderlies in their families who are Gold Warriors or higher will come and bully me"?
Big Two answered,"In the open, No. There is an unwritten rule that older generation doesn't interfere with the matters of the younger generation. You currently are a Beast Tamer so it's fine for you to use your beast to assist you in your matters. But remember what I said, in the open the older generation will not act out against you but who can tell what will happen when there is no one to witness".
These words got me deep in thought. I kept telling myself that I need to keep a low profile and not get into any problems. At the same time I made up mind, I need to start cultivating the Heaven Body skill. At the least I will have a very good defence. I am a firm believer that with a tortise shell, even if I can't win a fight, I will not get injured either. I don't like pain, I reminded myself.
The journey was uneventful, animals along the way ran away at the sight of Sia, Little One and Grey. When the sun was at it's zenith, we took a break, had lunch and rested. The dogs needed to rest as well.
Soon after we continued on our journey. When it was nearing nightfall, we finally saw a large town, fire lamps lit up all around the town ensuring that all can easily navigate the town.
As we approached the entrance gate. There was queue. There were guards guarding the entry to the town.
Big Two then spoke," you see the uniform of the guards. You can see the Su family insignia on them. Security of Hibiscus Town is managed by the Su family. Also each person is charged 5 copper coins per entry. Everyday hundreds of people come and go, so this a very lucrative business for the Su family."
At this moment, I asked Big Two something that had been on my mind for a while already. "Brother, do you know why is this town called Hibiscus Town"?
Big Two answered," every year at the beginning of summer, there are hibiscus flowers blooming all over the town which makes the town really beautiful . Also legend has it that a long time ago, the fabled Gold hibiscus also bloomed here. It is said that consuming the Gold Hibiscus not only extends one's life by a hundred years, it is said that Dust stage warriors who consume the Gold Hibiscus will automatically skip 3 levels. So for example, you are now at Dust Warrior stage 3, if you consumed the Gold Hibiscus, you will immediately be promoted to Dust Warrior stage 6. For Copper stage warriors, they will immediately be promoted one level. Bear in mind that the higher levels you are at, the more work and time is needed for you to level up. So if this Gold Hibiscus did make an appearance, I fear that there would be a blood bath. The older generations will definitely fight it out to get this for their younger generation. Also Gold Hibiscus flowers are a rare alchemy ingredient, therefore even alchemists will fight for it".
I listened to all this and can only imagine the joy of I could skip 3 levels. I was practically drooling at the thought. I thought if in the past there was a Gold Hibiscus, there are high chances there probably still are.but it most likely hidden or grows in a place where people rarely venture. I guess I'm going to go on a treasure hunt. Treasure hunts are my forte because as a professor in history, every time we go through ancient tombs or palaces it's a practically a treasure hunt.
We reached our turn at the gate and Big One paid 15 copper coins for the three of us. Just as we were about to pass the gate another person came up and said, "Halt, you need to pay another 15 coppers for the three dogs as well".
Both Big One and Big Two immediately scowled at this newcomer.
Big Two then said, " it's always been 5 copper per person and animals have always been exempted. Why is it changed now"?
The newcomer, who was very slim with an aqualine shaped nose and having a very arrogant bearing then said, "This young master says they need to be charged so if you don't like it you can scram back to where you came from".
People were now talking, apparently this young master whose name is Su Jin has been extorting many people these few days. He just got here a week ago and many travellers got beaten up for just speaking back. One can see that this Su Jin has a high position amongst the younger generation of the Su family and is truly enjoying the feeling of having power given how arrogantly he was behaving. It's as if he was the Master of the gates and it's up to his whim who enters and who doesn't. He abuses his power every chance he gets.
The two brothers were considering what to do next. They could easily over power this feeble young master but that would cause them and me a lot of problems in the future.
One can see Su Jin smirking as if he knew what the brothers were thinking. He especially enjoyed using his family name to make those stronger than him give in to him.
Big Two said. "Forget it brother, just pay him. We will be leaving soon but we cannot start a problem for our little brother who is going to stay here.
With that Big One paid another 15 coppers and we were let through. As we walked passed Su Jin, he snorted, "hmmph, just two over sized cowards, and here I was itching to try my new skill"
Big One shivered and was about to say something that would escalate the situation but Big Two calmed him down and said, "bear with it brother, what have we not endured all these years. This is nothing compared to all we have gone through. Furthermore, we are only bearing this humiliation to not give our little brother any problems".
As soon as I heard all this, I took a deep look at Su Jin, remembering him. Initially, I also wanted to speak up in defiance. But remembering my puny strength, and also throughout the journey the brothers kept imploring me to keep a low profile. Most importantly, I can sense the fact that the brothers chose to gave in because they did not want to cause me any potential problems. One day, I'll pay back the humiliation my brothers received by multiple times. Just you wait Su Jin.