Chapter 2: The Beginning of New Destiny
The ancient sun was drowning the entire continent in its light. Its warmth could be sweet to many. For others, it was cruel, but it was certain to descend from its place at the top only when it followed its own path.
In the forest near Bitter Sea Town, a wounded cultivator was leaning back against a tree, watching the cliff. The many cuts on his body had caused severe blood loss. His clothes were stained red and the strength in his legs was gone. He could no longer smash rocks like before, nor could he run with the wind in his hair. All he could do was wait in silence for death to come.
When the leaves of the tree began to sway in a gentle breeze, he closed his eyes and listened to the sound. The rustling of the leaves sounded like a melody of death. He tried to sit up a little more, but his arms were shaking. He didn't even have enough strength left to support himself from the ground. He could no longer hold his sword.
He put his sword down beside him. When his gaze lifted to the sky, he had a strange feeling. Perhaps fate had finished what it had written for him. Maybe this was the end of their breath. There was no path left for him to walk beyond.
He looked for a while at a piece of paper he pulled out of his blood-soaked clothes. Then he crumpled it up, put it in his mouth and swallowed it. He didn't want anyone else to see it. What was written on it should have gone with his corpse into eternity.
After a few minutes of waiting for death, he heard a sound that made him feel that the gods were smiling at him. These were footsteps. Someone was coming towards him. His heart began to beat faster. With sudden strength he turned sideways and looked to see who was coming. It was a young man with long black hair. He had not seen the need to tie his hair. He was coming towards him with an ordinary sword at his waist and a curious expression on his face.
The wounded man opened his mouth to make a sound, but nothing came out of his throat, soaked with his own blood, but a growl. There was no need anyway. The young man had already seen him.
When the young man reached his side, he knelt down slowly. He put his hand on the injured man's shoulder. "Are you all right, brother?" he asked. It was clear that the wounded man was not well. "Can you stand up?"
The wounded one shook his head slightly from side to side. He couldn't do any more. He could not feel his legs. He looked at the young man with eyes begging for help.
The young man smiled slightly. "Don't worry. I will help you," he said reassuringly. A smile also appeared on the wounded one's face. The man made no sound as the black-haired youth picked up the sword from the ground.
"By the way, my name is Huan Wei. You might want to know. I have respect for people in their last moments." He never broke his smile. After putting the sword on his own waist, he leaned towards the man and took the wounded man on his shoulder. The man, covered in blood, was overjoyed with the excitement of being saved. Until he saw him carrying him towards the cliff.
The injured man's eyes widened in fear as the young man lifted him off his shoulder. Then he felt through the man's pockets. "Let's see what you have."
After a few seconds of searching, he was pleased with what he found. "Good. I can get rid of this for a few pieces of silver."
Then he leaned towards the wounded man. "Don't take it personally. It's just that, you know, some of us rise above others. That's the rule of life. It's your fault for being stepped on. If you weren't in this situation, I wouldn't step on you either." Then he lifted the man by his hair and opened his throat wide. Then he put the sword he had taken from the man against his throat. Slowly he cut it, causing more blood to gush out and the poor man to die with a gasp. Then he pushed the body down the cliff. He threw the sword after him.
He watched the body fall for a while. Then he turned towards the tree the man was leaning against. He rubbed his foot on the ground to erase the footprints in the soil. Then he played out the scenario he had envisioned in his head. He walked towards the cliff with heavy and sparse steps, as if he were a wounded person. When he reached the edge, he fell hard on his knees. Then he cut his own throat as if he had a sword in his hand. He wanted his knees to leave marks on the ground. If someone came here soon, they would think that the person who died here had committed suicide. The bottom of the cliff was close to the sea, but since fishermen roamed around there, it was very likely that the body would be found. That's why this plan was necessary.
After leaving the tracks, he checked around. There was usually no one in this part of the forest. Huan Wei only went hunting. His main source of income was meat from the forest. He had specialized in traps over the years. both animal traps and human traps. It wasn't the first time Huan Wei had robbed and killed someone. The forest was dangerous for people who didn't know the inside. These people would end up in bad situations. Huan Wei would be there to finish the job. He had managed to save money by disposing of the things he had collected from them.
"At this rate, I'll soon be able to buy the medicine to get me to the Traveler stage. Once I sell the goods this time, the money will be raised."
It was Huan Wei's curse. He could not develop normally like other people. In order for him to evolve, he needed high energy fields or drugs that he could cultivate. Unfortunately, it was impossible for him to access one of the energy fields. He was not lucky on the family side either. His mother had died giving birth to him. His father was an unemployed drunkard. So he had to earn money for the food and the medicine. Fortunately, he was okay with that. He believed that as long as he used his mind, he could cover everything up. Setting a trap and diverting attention was his specialty.
He looked again at what he had just taken from the man. It was a necklace of some kind. He figured it would be worth a few silvers for the workmanship. It would be another good sum of money to add to his savings.
He walked to the town. When he came out of the forest to the edge of the town, he walked, watching life go on. People were growing, shopping, walking to their destinations. It bothered him to be the only one among all these people who could not develop from where he was sitting. The anger in him made him want to frown, but he did not break his plan. He put his usual innocent smile on his face and kept walking. On his back was a hard-fleshed mole caught in his trap.
When he entered the town, people didn't care. He didn't want to get into unnecessary conversations with anyone and kept walking. He passed houses and halls. He tried not to pay attention to other young people his age who were showing off their strength to each other. He brushed back the hair that had fallen in his face with one hand. He walked looking ahead until he reached the marketplace.
When he sold the hard-fleshed mole, he got some copper coins. It was enough to live on, but too little to save. Besides, he would have to deal with his father. The asshole was always asking him for money and he didn't do any work.
On his way home, he passed through side streets and came to his own neighborhood. This is where the real period of patience began. This was where people knew him.
He walked straight ahead. He tried not to look at anyone, but people looked at him. They pointed at each other and laughed. As he passed a group, one of them stopped him. His blond hair was tied behind his head.
"Hey, Huan Wei, are you coming back from the forest?"
Huan Wei looked at him without breaking his smile. "Yes, I'm coming back from the forest and going home. Now, if you will excuse me."
"I heard you've moved on to the Traveler stage," the blond-haired one said.
Someone else in the group added with a laugh. "But he heard listening to unfulfilled dreams."
Huan Wei laughed along with them. "That was a good joke. I don't plan to try again anytime soon, though. You know, sometimes one has to accept one's fate."
"Well said. It's nice that people like you know who you are."
Huan Wei pretended to be a little upset. He understood that they would not let him go otherwise. They wanted to see him suffer somehow. Actually, he wasn't suffering. He wasn't weak enough to sit and cry because he couldn't cultivate. People had to have a strong spirit. The rest would come by itself. Yet some people had to torment others in order to feel good about themselves. They were the weak ones.
When Huan Wei pretended to be upset, they let him walk away. He could still hear them laughing behind him. His smile slowly faded. What he felt was not pain. It was anger. He was going to kill this group of people who thought they were better than him just because they were at a higher level of cultivation than he was. And he was not going to wait until he was stronger to carry out the decision he had made at that moment. He would kill them while he was still weak so that their arrogance would be crushed.
Huan Wei had never been a proud man. His plots and conspiracies often gave him opportunities to keep a low profile. He liked this profile. No one suspected him. Because he was weak. Because he was powerless. It gave him invisibility, but none of them knew about the devil inside him. The devil was not sleeping. He only pretended to sleep. Sometimes he would get up from his bed and distribute death rations. Then he would go back to pretending to be asleep. No one suspected him.
When Huan Wei arrived home, he opened the door and went inside. When he looked inside, he could not see his father. This made his feel relieved. If he was not here, things would be easier.
He went to his own room and took out the small box where he kept his money from the hole where he had hidden it. He added a few coppers he had taken from the mole's money and put them back in. Then he looked at the necklace in his hand. He would have to dispose of that too, but he couldn't bother today. His father was coming soon and he wouldn't let him go out. He wanted to have everything under control while he was here. He would probably ask for drink money again, but Huan Wei was no longer willing to give him money.
His father had chosen the Path of the Earth to develop as a commoner, but even though he had power, he was just a lazy asshole who didn't want to do anything. If he had worked to earn money, their situation would have been much better. He was taking the easy way out by putting all the burden on Huan Wei's shoulders. This was taking the young man's life. He was wasting his time and money that he could have been spending on cultivation.
Soon the door opened and his father came in, ruffling his disheveled hair. As soon as he entered the house, the heavy smell of liquor filled the air. The man could barely stand. He staggered over and sat down on one of the chairs. When he opened his filthy mouth and shouted "Wei!", Huan Wei made no sound.
"Wei! Come here! Where's my money!?"
Huan Wei just sat in his room and listened to his shouts. The man was shouting angrily, calling for his son, but he had no intention of leaving. Soon the man's footsteps could be heard. He was coming towards the room. Huan Wei stood up and waited for him to come through the door.
The door opened and a man with unkempt hair walked in. He had anger in his red eyes. He came up to the young man and shouted. "Have you gone deaf!? Can't you hear me calling you?"
"I heard you," said Huan Wei. "It's just your usual meaningless talk."
"Give me my money!"
"You don't have any money! Snap out of it!"
"Did you raise your voice at me!?"
The man raised his hand and slapped him, but when Huan Wei ducked, the slap was wasted and the man lost his balance and fell to the ground.
The young man had a disgusted look on his face. "You disgust me. You're a useless loser. The people in town just can't see that you are inferior to me."
"I'll show you when I get up." When the drunk man tried to get up, Huan Wei tripped him and knocked him back.
"You don't deserve a single copper I'll give you. I will get rid of you soon." Huan Wei picked him up and threw him out of the room. After closing and locking the door, he sat on the bed and listened to the man pounding angrily on the door.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone