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71.42% Learning To Live As A Cultivator / Chapter 230: Chapter Thirty - He remembers the promise we made

Chapter 230: Chapter Thirty - He remembers the promise we made

Russ came to visit the next morning sporting a rather prominent black eye, sealed to the point that he could barely peek through the swelling and Leon felt aggrieved for him.

"Your d-d-dad?" He wondered whether to rummage around in his pouch for a blood pill, eventually deciding to do so later and more discreetly as he also noticed the other boy was having difficulties getting about.

"It's no' so bad," Russ lied as he tried not to limb over to his friend.

Leo and Jin Li had made plans to head to town to purchase some things for his grandfather's home and also to help the old man get by this winter. There was also the new year to celebrate. Leonard could cook basic things, but around this time, most villager would eat more festive foods. Those with chickens would find people asking if they could exchange sweet potatoes or herbs for eggs and those with pigs would find people asking if they could spare a trotter or snout from their annual feast in exchange for dried peppers or pickles. Leonard usually relied on the spare bronze he'd saved all year round and most of the villagers accommodated him, selling him dumplings and meat filled steamed buns, pickles and eggs for his and Leo's New Year's Day. After all, he was a man of letters and to be respected. In turn, they'd give a few of these bronze coins in red envelopes to the children under ten in their families as a new year's gift.

Russ had appeared at the wall of the courtyard as Jin Li saddled Wu Ye. Wu Ye was just about big enough to ride and it was more than strong enough to carry it's human and the other one, just that Jin Li did not like to ride it anymore than Wu Ye liked to carry others. Their tactic understanding had them working side by side to hunt and ignoring each other at most other times. However, it was a good couple of hours to ride to town in a carriage, let alone walk by foot. Jin Li had no trouble with it, but his small alchemist could be inconveniently weak at times.

"D-did he st-st-steal all of your earnings?" Leon's memory on something's were much more clear now. Things that involved his grandfather and Russ were more easily remembered, with his aunt as well, but those memories with her mostly involved matters he didn't care to recall.

Russ glanced over his shoulder before leaning forward to whisper; "I managed t' keep some from him. I give it to me ma." He grinned brightly and Leon couldn't help but return the smile, not noticing an increasingly darkened expression behind him. "What are ye up to?"

"G-going to town," Leon replied. "Wanted t-t-to b-buy some supplies."

"Eh, I'll go with ye!" Russ declared and shivered thinking he needed another layer of clothing, the temperature was definitely lower than yesterday. "Me sister's and me ma go' some cold growin' herbs t' sell and I need t' buy flour and oil. Grandma didna think our lo' needed i' seein' as I were away."

Leon frowned; "Not even for your d-d-dad?"

"Ye know tha' big aunt is me grandma's favourite," Russ scratched his scruffy hair as he spoke.  Leon nodded, that woman had given birth to two sons, no daughters and was also the wife of Russ' eldest uncle.  "So big aunt cooks for grandma and me da' and uncles an' by doin' so gets the best stuff for her sons and sneaks a bi' for herself.  So grandma gives her mos' of th' oil and flour and tha' while me other aunts and me ma can only ge' a wee bi'."

"Based on n-number of g-grandsons?" Leon guessed with a heavy sigh.  He felt it was really strange when a woman suppressed other women in favour of the males in her family.  She had once been in their position after all, why insist on hurting them so?  He shook his head.  Everyone had family members who were not nice people, but if he had to choose, he'd suffer his horrible aunt who lived in another household than Russ' biased grandmother who made his mother and sisters suffer under her roof so badly.

"Aye!" Russ said without a shadow of defence in the old woman's favour.  "I'll go saddle up Bol' then we can ge' goin'!"

Leon nodded and watched as his friend half ran, half limped away.  Two fingers pinched his chin and forced his head to turn around.  Leon found himself glancing up at a very unhappy lover.  "W-what's the m-matter?" Leon asked completely oblivious.

"Why are we waiting for him?" He demanded to know, sullenly.

"Is it th-that m-much of a p-problem?" Leon questioned, still confused.

"This Lord expects you to make up for it later," Jin Li told him and finished dealing with Wu Ye's saddle, leaving Leon feeling as if he had missed something.

*****

Bol' or Bolt was an ugly looking, wall-eyed donkey that belonged to Russ' second uncle.  This uncle was a mild mannered man, who while did not agree with his mother's ideas, (mainly as he also had three daughters and not yet any sons thus his household didn't receive much from the family pot) was also not the sort of man to stand up to his oppressive mother.  He owned the donkey and a small wagon and would earn money by taking villagers or herbs and other things to and from the village.  But it was winter and there was less demand, so he currently only travelled once or twice a week now rather than every day, so he was fine lending his nephew the wagon and the donkey for the day.

It was naturally not Wu Ye's opponent when it came to speed, so the beast, which was carrying a small alchemist on its back, was a bit cross that it could not stretch its legs and had to actually wait for the inferior creature.  Li Ming, on the other hand, didn't really care and curled up in the wagon base in amongst the small sacks of herbs, to nap for a bit.

On the way, Leon passed Russ a blood pill which would heal his inner injuries, such as the majority of the bruising.  Any surface wounds, cut and scraps, would remain, so no one would think that Russ hadn't taken a nasty beating, but Russ would no longer be in pain nor limp from it.  Russ took it, more out of good will than thinking that it would be of use.  Naturally, he trusted his best friend, but he didn't understand much about medicine.  Despite the beatings over the years, he never got sick and although his sisters had once or twice, their old grandmother never spent the money on medicine for them.  He was very surprised when his eye opened, the swelling practically gone and the aches and pains eased until he no longer felt them.  It made him even more certain that that he was right to make that agreement with Leo in the past!  He talk to him about it later, when they returned home.

While Russ went about his business, Leon bought some dried meat, potatoes and pickles to increase the food stores at home.  Next was candles, soap, salt and oil as well as a small lump of ink.  He then found a store selling cheap hides, such as oxen and bison.  Many people raised these animals for milk and heavy chores, their fur was a bit on the rough side, so their hides were not as valuable as some wild animals and much less than wild beasts.  Leon bought four that were reasonable in size and quality, thinking of the warmth they'd provide at night for him and his grandfather.  It would be nicer to have a duvet, but these tended to be filled with feathers or wool and sewn by the women of the house, it was not so easy to find one for purchase.  Leon definitely could not sew.

Lastly, he purchased a new broom and two sets of plain, but new, hemp clothing for his old grandfather as well as a cloak and boots.  He suspected the old man would attempt to refuse him so much new clothing, so he would gift them for new year, when it was considered inauspicious to reject.  People believed doing so was not a good sign when ushering in a fresh year.  Jin Li suggested that they split the packages into two, with himself gifting the cloak and boots in order to further give the old man less reason to refuse the good intentions.  Leon agreed that it was a good idea.

With their purchases tucked away, they waited on Russ, who rushed over with the oil and flour he had bought and the three began to make their way back to the village.  They entered Herb village just as the sun was a couple incense worth of time above the horizon and the houses were darkened by the long shadows of their neighbours.  "Leo," Russ began as they reached Leon's grandfather's home.  Li Ming jumped down from the wagon bed and rushed over to Wu Ye's side.  "D' ye remember the promise we made before ye wen' away?"


Chapter 231: Chapter Thirty One - Just who am I marrying?

Leon couldn't help but be startled and automatically rummaged through his memories trying to figure out what had been said.  Just, while he remembered a lot of things involving Russ, did not mean he recalled everything. Plus it was in the nature of children to make promises all of the time, some were kept, some were forgotten, but seldom were any that serious.  It also didn't help his concentration that Jin Li gripped his waist more tightly, mounted together as they were on the back of Wu Ye.

Russ didn't take it to heart, knowing that Leo had become muddled due to whatever accident had turned some of his hair white and began to remind him.  "Ye said ye would ge' yer education then come back t' the village t' take care of ye granda?"

The alchemist didn't recall, but it did sound like something Leo would have said, so he agreed; "En."

"Then d'ye recall abou' takin' a wife?" Russ asked him.

Both he and his Martial Artist felt rising foreboding in their stomachs, but while one was worrying his past words might upset a certain man holding him, the other was wondering just what sort of stupid promise his small alchemist had made and how much trouble was it going to cause him.   "Ah, n-n-not really," Leon stuttered, nervously.

"It's jus' me sister is of age now," he carried on as if there were not a storm brewing in front of him, "an' it's no' like me da' an' grandma care abou' her marriage, so it's up t' me t' make sure she marries well!  An' we always said wouldnae be great t' be real brothers!"

"D-d-did I... d-did I really pr-pr-promise?" Leon asked him, nervously aware that Jin Li was becoming increasingly irritated. 

"En," Russ grinned, brightly.  "O'course ye didnae have t' marry her now, just ge' engaged an' the formalities can be deal' with when ye comes home for good.  Um, how long is tha' anyway?  Ah, i' don't matter, I guess, she's still fourteen and can hold ou' a few more years..."

"Oh she can, can she," Jin Li snapped in a particularly low, angry voice.  Leon swallowed in an attempt to dampen his suddenly dry throat, while wondering how to get out of the tricky situation and not upset his friend too much.

However, it seemed the fates were a little on his side.  "Russ!" The girl was tanned, the sun having blessed her skin as she foraged and laboured growing vegetables for the family all these years.  Leon didn't have much memory of her, only recalling now that she was often at odds with her older brother over certain things.  Just like at this moment.  "Wha' did I tell ye?! I don' wanna marry ye friend!  He's too weak an' too soft!  Wha' am I gonna do with a man like tha'?"

Jin Li snickered, wickedly and murmured into his ear that he didn't mind him being weak and soft, causing him to blush profusely.  Unfortunately, Russ thought he was embarrassed by his little sister's words.  "Taru, ye cannae day things like tha'!  Leo is educated!  How can he compare t' others?"

"Educated, so wha'?  Can he lift a pig beneath each arm and carry them as far as town?" The girl crossed her arms about her blossoming chest.  Her clothes were too tight, her grandmother too stingy to spare them cloth right now, so she wouldn't get new clothes until the spring and then they would be her older girl cousin's hand-me-downs.  But, Rius was fairly flat up top and the boys in the village were becoming more and more aware that Taru was going to be well endowed.  It was Russ' plan to marry her off to a good man as well so those boys didn't get the wrong idea about his sister!  It was just that their opinion on what was a good man differed greatly.

"Taru, ye will marry Leo!  We already agreed t' it!"

"What nonsense!" Leon groaned as a third voice made itself known.  It was female and came from the entrance of home.  Jin Li rolled his eyes as he leapt from Wu Ye's back, before helping Leon to climb off as well.  Aunt Lessa eyed the large, black beast warily before continuing what she had to say.  "Marriage is in the hands of ones elders.  A marriage between your sister, Russ and my nephew has not the approval of myself, my father nor your elders, so it will not happen."  From his rocking chair, Leonard snorted as he listened to her righteous speech, thinking it was ironic that she attempt to use filial rules now when it suited her.  Like she had cared when he had attempted to intervene in her marital decisions.

"R-R-Russ," Leon said softly, as his eyes noticed that the doors of nearby houses had opened a crack as gossipy neighbours watched and listened to the increasing volume between his friends and family on his doorstep.  "I kn-kn-know you want the b-b-best for your s-sister, b-b-but its n-no g-good.  You sh-should listen t-to her."

"I jus' don' wan' me da t' try sell her for a barrel o' wine!" Russ wailed, unhappily.  "An' I though' ye go' on well with her!"

"B-because she is your s-s-sister," Leon smiled, gently as he let him down.  He really could not remember making such a promise, perhaps he had just agreed as he had heard but not listened to his friend talk, while he was thinking about other things.  Going to school and making his grandfather proud had filled his thoughts a lot in the days after they had learned that the recruitment for the Institute would be occurring in the nearby town that year.  Jin Li squeezed his hand discreetly, before removing the saddle from Wu Ye.  The beast shook its large body before entering the side building closely followed by Li Ming.

"Russ," Taru sighed and placed her hand on her hip, before nearing him to murmur beneath her breath only loud enough that her brother and Leo's family could hear.  "I already know da' will try sell me for a drink, so does ma.  So Bral has already se' a barrel to brew."

"Bral?"

"Yeah," Taru's expression became a little flushed and dreamy as she thought of Bral's strong physique and square jawline. 

"But, isn't Bral a bi'... dim?" Russ questioned worriedly.  The young man was a year or so older than them and also had a deep scar that marred his face from brow to cheek, he was even blind in the effected eye thanks to a wild animal attack when he was a little boy.  If it weren't for that, he might have already been married despite his not so great brain.

"Whose dim, your dim, the whole family is dim!" She spat angrily, defending her man.  He wasn't the most handsome and he wasn't the most smart, but he worked hard and without complaint and was very kind to his mother and gentle when it came to her.  His parents and her mother had already secretly come to an agreement.  The bribe of wine would see her father happily agree to it as well.  She glanced at Leo, who seemed equally as relieved and smiled reassured that she hadn't hurt him because of her stupid brother.  She liked Leo well enough, but he really was weak and wasn't what she wanted in a husband.

"Well, you have your head on straight," Lessa said, in an almost approving manner, though not completely.  She knew of Bral, he was a fool, in her opinion and she thought only another fool would marry him.  This girl was clearly only intelligent enough to realise that she did not match her nephew however and that was enough for her.  "Leo would not be able to marry you even had you not, however.  He is already engaged."

"Wh-What?" Leon immediately questioned.  He had absolutely no knowledge about this and could only look inside the house at his grandfather, just that the old man looked equally as confused and also through out the same question.

"What?"

Lessa's cheeks became a little flushed, but she continued with her plan, completely unashamed by her brazenness.  "It was something that Aleora and I came up with when they were little, him wedding my daughter, Siri, when they are old enough."

"Bullshi'!"  Leonard growled, but Lessa did not backdown from her obviously made up claim. 

"I have the engagement agreement right here!" She lied, wavering around a contract she'd had forged the night before and completed this morning.  True it was her maid that provided the second fingerprint and the witness was her husband's small councillor friend, easily bribed by silver, but it looked authentic enough to be real.

Jin Li sneered and gathered his small alchemist to his chest, the action screaming of ambiguity.  Leon did not squirm in his hold either, placing his hands calmly on his man's arm in reassurance and to clarify his position.  "I'd like to see you try to uphold an engagement when the man is already bound and married.  To me."

Just as everyone else did around him, Leon froze due to the words in Jin Li's statement.  "W-What?"


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Ebonsolaris Ebonsolaris

As ‘perfect’ as I thought I had the storyline, I have noticed a few mistakes when going back and reviewing the early chapters, though nothing unfixable. Just I originally said, for example, that Leo was his grandfather’s only grandchild. Oops! So there will be minor amendments happening!

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