Chapter 6: Chapter 4.6: Silence
Shen Heng was a growing boy living in the outer skirts of the city with the village folks with the population nearing 60 they were nearing poverty, but they were happy.
Every day in the village Shen Heng lived his life with his family father mother and little sister.
was it dull? yes, was it hard? Yes, but Shen was happy living with his family laughing with his family the whole village felt like one big family the chief would scold him every day saying he needs to grow big and strong so his parents can rest easy when old age kicked in the neighborhood lady would tell them many stories teaching them small tricks to lessen the amount of work in the field
Everyone in the village knew each other in one way or another they would hold ceremonies together when happiness came and mourned together when sadness struck.
Growing up Shen wasn't the smartest child, but he wasn't dumb either he could see every time the chief went to trade the amount of stuff, he came back with started to lessen his sister asked for food more often he knew the things couldn't continue this way.
Right now, they had enough food and clothes to come by, but they weren't going to last long if things keep going down like this. After turning 8 Shen Heng with a couple of friends around the same age in the village had an idea, they were going to follow one of the traders into the city to get a job and support their family in the village.
Thanks to their stubbornness the adults and elders in the village couldn't force the boys in the village to stay, after all, they were also aware of the shortening amount of food reserves in the village.
The village chief had few connections in the nearest city thanks to his younger action-filled days, hoping things to turn out well chief allowed to boys to work in the city for a few months.
during the months in the city, the boys learned many new things and created few connections in the city thanks to Shen Heng's uplifting personality while most boys worked 2 small jobs Shen Heng and Shi Ye worked 3 jobs
Shen Heng wanted to help the village with his funds so he worked 3 small and easy jobs, but Shi Ye worked 3 jobs out of most he was the one who pressed this chance to work in the city the hardest because of his passing away in his early days his mother had worked herself too much and got injured was bedridden in the village living thanks to the others helping her.
Shi Ye wanted to help her mother and repay the others for their kindness he was shown the bright side of others helping her mother especially Shen Heng he was there almost every day somedays with his sister Shi Ye had never expressed it but he was thankful for that.
All the work they were hired to do were thanks to the Old Man that lived in the city who was an old friend connected to the village chief he had gotten a letter from an old friend requesting a favor to employ these kids in one of his many businesses hoping to help them earn some money so they can return safely and satisfied, telling them the kids weren't ready for a real journey asking to keep them safe.
The old man Feng wasn't a nobody he ran many small stalls and businesses in the city so he split the boys to work in different fields switching them after a few weeks for experience as well as showing some dark side of the business he had raised the boys from naive fools to a little less naive fools, he was proud he still had the disciplining skill from the military.
Eventually, the summer ended the Autumn was starting to settle in the boys had prepared to return to the village for the big harvest the adults couldn't leave the village because of their fieldwork and the Autumn harvest needed all the hands they could get.
The boys thanked old man Feng and left for the train station ending their short but fulfilling adventure while old Feng messaged the village chief Zhang for small talk and the boys left for the village.
During the train ride the boys couldn't contain their excitement after months of working they had changed and wanted to show their new skills to their families and the villagers. Especially Shen Heng had learned a few magic tricks from one of the restaurant waiters he was lovestruck with magic tricks when he first saw them he couldn't understand how they happened only after learning the secret he saw how simple the mechanics were.
Getting off the train only by themselves at the remote train stop that was rarely used they started to walk towards the village it was a few hour journey they walked and talked with each other sharing their experiences and difficulties during their work and how they had overcome the difficulty with little engineering their mind.
Walking with the village in sight the boys were happily walking in some expected their families to welcome them but there was no one they weren't disappointed the autumn harvest was near it was a busy season for everybody after all.
Walking in the village when it was all quiet Shi Ye first felt the weirdness of the silence followed by Shen Heng normal people would say silence was silence but the kids were different they had hunted in the forest before the silence in the village felt different from a normal silence.
Immediately they started searching the village to find someone
While everyone rushed to their homes Shen Heng went to the village center hoping to find the village chief he was the leader of the village if something happened in the village he was the man to know everything about it.
There he found the body of the village chief in the center of the village cold and unmoving when he moved the body it was much lighter than before, the growing strength of his body lightened the load but the lightness of the body was still felt.
In shock, Shen felt many emotions stirring within himself Anxiety, Sadness, Hope, and Shock all passed through his consciousness the old chief had left a small writing note beside the place he lay dead.
with shaking hands, he felt the notebook and opened it looking inside the content
it was full of tasks and things to do in the village followed by a diary of his everyday life in the village. Every entry was in the same format until the entry 3 days ago
Day xXx
following the entry of tasks being completed the entry continued
Hou couple had found a deer in the forest paralyzed after eating a poisonous mushroom from the couple the deer was stuck in the place for more than 24 hours because of the mushrooms what a stupid deer but thanks to its stupidity we have the opportunity to feast on its delicious meat.
As when I thought the evening couldn't get any better Shen Junjie found a boar dead in the forest near our village HAHAHAHAHA looks like the Deities are looking after me even after the war
Second last entry
Day xXx
after writing the tasks to do that day Village chief wrote a small entry on his condition feeling a little weak and dizzy in the morning
some people started getting diarrhea in the afternoon and feeling dizzy, others felt a little weak in the evening after work in the fields
The last entry was filled in after 2 days from the last one
Day xXXx
" Emergency " the Chief wrote but his handwriting was much more shaky.
Writing entry continued the chief wrote about the conditions of the village people needing a doctor or any sort of help no one was able to move to the city and call for help and everyone's condition was worsening even the male adults couldn't move much if they started to move constantly their muscles would start convulsing.
as the messages continued on the handwriting went worse originally it was readable but the further it went in the entry the worse it got, Shen continued reading with tears falling from his eyes the handwriting couldn't be read anymore but the continues same words felt like prays and the uneven parts were wet with the chief's tears
putting the notebook down Shen was in despair he was worried about his family but as he red the notebook to get information the fear inside him rose as well.
Right now Shen was scared the village went quiet again
Shen slowly got up and walked to his small house, nearing the house Shen's feelings were Anxiety, Despair, and Fear but there was a little stinge of hope remaining to only be
CRUSHED
He saw his family resting peacefully with their eyes forever closed. Shen had no idea what he could do all he could think was the reason for their misfortune what happened, he touched them on the forehead feeling their cold body with his hands in utter silence he just stood there doing nothing.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone