Learning To Live As A Cultivator

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Despite this, when they stopped for the night, they did so fairly close to one of these guard towers, but not so near as to give the guards concern regarding their ident.i.ties and still the two drivers and Sun"s manservant set up rolling duties to be on guard . All were highly trained in the arts of martial combat, something required by the General of his servants . In the meantime, the four youths slept more or less comfortably within the carriage .

It possibly would come as no surprise that the Dao couple claimed the bed to rest upon, or rather Jin Li pushed Leon upon it to rest and dared Sun to complain . Of course this Young Master was not courageous enough to! The bed was s.p.a.cious enough for two and who else would share one mattress anyway? Sun slept on the cushioned sofa instead . This left poor Russ the choice of the carpeted floor or the hard wooden servant bench . He chose the latter, it was still fairly good and the Young Master had thrown him a blanket, so he couldn"t complain about being cold . All in all, it was better than sleeping outside on the cold ground or huddled with strangers in the open bed of a wagon .

By lunch the following day, they reached a small town known as Cedar Town, due to the cedar wood trees that lined its streets . The houses scattered over the area were a mix of small stone cottages and old courtyard buildings, both were built in terrace lines with cobblestone roads connecting entrances and gates . Shops cl.u.s.tered together either side of the widest streets, which had a smattering of stalls down the centre . Naturally, large carriages could not breach the crowds of people gathering here, one would have to take a small, two wheeled cart drawn by horse or person if one did not wish to use their own legs .

Sun and the others got out here, planning on grabbing something to eat for the midday meal before moving on towards the village .   In the meantime, Sun"s drivers took a backstreet in order to avoid the crowded area as advised by a local guard .

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Seeing the silk dress of a Young Master, the waiter eagerly guided them to a room with a balcony and made a suggestion regarding food and wine before rushing off with Jin Li"s suggestion that it all sounded good (aka "That will do . ")  As they waited, Leon"s eyes were drawn to the bustling streets below and an unfamiliar memory flashed before his eyes . . .

Those stalls were replaced by tables and proud looking men and women all of whom appeared no older than their mid-twenties and who were sitting or standing at those tables . Youths in various states of clothing, mostly of hemp for there was only a handful of families who could afford silk in town, lined up at the tables . The boys, for he did not recall any girls in amongst them, just a handful of mothering women, would step forward one by one and were tested for age and apt.i.tude . He himself eventually reached the front of the queue and placed his hand upon the thick plate .

"Age sixteen, primary cultivation, body root . . . " the adult glanced up looking at him with some pity and resignation .   "Look kid, I"m saying this for your own good, but are you sure you wish to study at the Ascending Mountain Inst.i.tute?  With your apt.i.tude, it really will not be easy . "

"Want t-t-to," he replied as firmly as he could .   Everyone knew that people that studied at school could have a better life in the future, but it was costly to go to ordinary school, most commoners could not afford it .   So once his grandfather had heard that the school for Cultivators, the Ascending Mountain Inst.i.tute was recruiting in their area this year, he sent his close grandson to try his luck .   Neither of them knew whether he"d have a chance to be a Cultivator in the future, not knowing if Leo had the fortune, they could only hope .   And though it seemed his luck wasn"t great, it wasn"t awful either and he did not pa.s.s up the opportunity to study for his future . . .

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Leon"s mind came back to the present .   The memories felt odd to him, for while he knew that they belonged to him, they still somehow felt as if they had occurred to someone else .   Perhaps it was due to the fact that he had believed that he and Leo were two separate ent.i.ties for so long before learning otherwise, he was still not quite as resigned to the fact that they were one as he had originally thought .

A steamed, white bun was placed in the bowl before him, its scent distracting him from his thoughts and he glanced up at the man who had placed it there .   "Eat," Jin Li commanded, before he began to devour the various plates of food without reserve .

"En," he agreed .  

Sun was quick to fill his own bowl before slowing down to at least show he had some manners, but seeing the country b.u.mpkin beside him shocked silly by the volumes disappearing into one stomach he instructed; "If you don"t grab something now, there really won"t be anything left . "  This jolted Russ from his frozen state and he quickly followed Sun"s example, though he shared Leon"s awkwardness when it came to using chopsticks .

Quickly the plates were cleared and the four had satisfied stomachs at last .

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*****

The name of the Village was Herb and the men and women that lived there raised pigs and chickens, grew vegetables in their gardens and potatoes and common herbs in their fields .   There was also an abundant woodland close to the village"s eastern outskirts and this was where many wild herbs grew, therefore the villagers were easily able to supplement their small incomes after harvest and before winter came .   But that did not make it any easy life .

For example, Russ" family was large, consisting of his grandmother, his own folks, uncle and aunt-in-laws, plus numerous sisters and cousins . However, there were far more women than men and his grandmother had spoiled her sons to the point that they were lazy and only did the minimum of work necessary . His father also liked to drink, so whatever money he did not give to his old mother, he kept for himself and his habit, forgetting that he had a wife, son and three daughters to feed .

Therefore it could be said that his wife and children lived on his mother"s charity, but in actual fact, for sometime, they had lived by earning their own pennies, selling embroideries, selling wild herbs and the earnings Russ had obtained by taking odd jobs . Actually, it was not that his old grandmother gave them nothing, more that she only gave allowances based on the number of grandsons born and Russ" mother had just one son and many daughters . Russ really wanted for his mother to divorce his wastrel father and separate from the rest of the family, but this was against the rules of filial piety and respect, so he could only hope to improve his immediate family"s lot in other ways .

The carriage caused quite the alarm as it entered the village, the old village chief dragged himself from his dinner to meet the wealthy dignitaries, but their carriage did not stop before his house . He watched as crowds of curious onlookers followed the carriage as it finally came to a stop outside old man Leonard"s house . His wife then helped him put on his coat and boots that he might see what was going on .

A driver leapt down and pulled back the thick curtain and a man with a straight posture and plain, but well tailored clothing stepped out, before turning back to focus on the exiting occupants . The first was a boy with long, brown hair tied neatly in a white silver crown, a thick furred coat about his shoulders and a curious, but sunny expression upon his face .

"This is your home, right?" He called into the carriage .

"En," came the reply and another boy with Yin yang hair stepped out, all in white and also wearing a silver crown to tame his wealth of hair .   He adjusted his gla.s.ses upon his nose as he looked about .

"Eh?" The village chief suddenly blurted out . "In"t tha" our village"s Leo?"

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