Chapter 31: The Meeting I - Considerations.
A sigh sounded out in a small wooden room, pieces of equipment strewn everywhere over the table tops and the sound of bubbling water over the fire echoed, a slight herbal scent wafted through the air gently drifting out from a glass tube.
Shu He sat at his desk leaning back, his head cocked to the back as well; He had just returned from his meeting with the three cultivators and felt completely beat, the pill he was given healed his body, rather he has never felt better since it even healed many minor scrapes or bruises that covered him, but mentally he was worn; He had a lot of information to process and unfortunately, it wasn't over yet.
His head shifted to the side, looking through the wooden slat window that was cracked open slightly, letting the nights cold air in.
'Tomorrow they said…'
Before they had parted, Shu He hadn't forgotten to ask what they were doing here, but again they didn't give him a straight answer, instead they simply told him –
"Come to your village chief's house in the morning, we'll be having a meeting there, so it'll be easier for you to learn about it there rather than us having to explain twice" Chao Shi had said before they parted.
He sighed once more, sitting up and looking at the circular object laying on his desk, it was silver coloured and had 'metal' and 'referral' engraved on it, it was the medallion that he had been given.
They had explained to him afterwards that it was used to gain entry to the exam to enter their sect, it allowed him to skip the pre-screening and pre-exams saving time.
But…
'I have no idea whether I even want to join that sect'.
Shu He was only thinking in the immediate future, and he had no intention of leaving this village soon… He had been enjoying living a life with his family, just doing what he wanted in this small peaceful village.
'Well, peaceful most of the time' The murder a few years back and the arrival of these cultivators now were far out of the norm.
To him, ideally he would live here as long as he could, maybe leaving to expand his horizons occasionally, going on trips to the further villages and cities when he felt like it, he definitely didn't want to leave in the next 4 years, around the time when the entrance exams started.
In fact, he was far more interested in an entirely different sect.
'The Sleeping Forest Sect, if they teach how to concoct pills like the one they gave me earlier, I'm far more interested in them'.
When it comes to what Shu He really wants to do, it would be to advance his skill as a Apothecary, but now his eyes have been opened to the world of 'Pills', which coincides with cultivation, he wants to learn about them.
'I wonder, is it called 'Alchemy' here too? Pill concoction, that is' He thought to himself, in the end, while he definitely has interest in cultivation and is ecstatic to finally be able to walk on that path, it is a secondary interest.
Sometimes, when Shu He sleeps, he dreams; or rather has nightmares about his other life, a body that can barely move with others assistance, relying on strangers to do simple things like go to the toilet or eat his food, the look of pity or complete blankness he would receive from the people that were treating him like he wasn't even human… now that he has tasted the feeling of a healthy, functional body, he wants to learn to how heal such things even more, so he can prevent himself or any of his loved ones facing the same fate.
As for strength, he will still continue advancing in his cultivation as much as he can, but it wasn't his priority… right now, where he was he didn't need it.
'I may be naïve in thinking this, but I want to live a life where strength isn't everything'.
It was the innocent desire that rested in his mind, one that stems from his origin.
A third sigh sounded out in the small wooden room.
Shu He picked up the medallion and shoved it in his desk draw, he didn't want to look at it right now.
'I best get some sleep'.
He wanted to be fully awake for the meeting tomorrow.
…
The next morning, Shu He got up early, washing his face and getting dressed he left his room to go to the meeting, but as he did, coincidentally he ran in to his father who was also getting up, however Shu He quickly noticed that he wasn't getting ready for his usual work, he was not carrying any of his tools.
Shu Li also noticed his son; he surprised Shu He was up early and raised his brow.
"Shu He? You're up early, you didn't get back till late last night so I thought you'd sleep in" He said, then noticed that Shu He had dressed to go outside already "Going out already?" he couldn't help but ask.
Shu He on the other hand, looked at his father and immediately realised something.
"Father… you don't happen to be heading to Elder Cao's right?" He asked.
"Yes, why do you ask?" He looked at Shu He with some suspicion.
'Of course… it makes sense father would be involved since he's considered one of the villages protectors of sorts'.
"Uh, well, that's where I'm heading too" he said while looking at this father's expression, as he thought, the moment he said that his father's brows furrowed.
"Why? There shouldn't be a reason for you to go there".
Of course, this was true, before he had only one reason and that's if he was going to see Cao Meili, which was a rarity in itself, now she was gone so he had none.
"There's a meeting right? I'm going to attend as well." Shu He replied, hoping his father wouldn't stop him from going.
Shu Li opened his mouth to talk as his brows, however he stopped and took a second to observe his son, he could see worry in the young boy's face, like something might be taken from him; He crossed his arms and took a deep breath.
"… I see, did someone tell you to come?" This time, he could tell this wasn't merely a whim or some mischief his son was up to.
Shu He merely nodded.
"Got it" Shu Li didn't even ask who, he knew who was attending the meeting, and he had an idea who would invite his son, so he didn't need to.
"Then we should get going, it's better to be there a bit early since we don't want to keep our 'guests' waiting" he said, gesturing Shu He to follow him.
"Okay" Shu He nodded and began to follow him along.
The distance between the Cao mansion wasn't too great, it was about 10 minutes of a brisk walking pace, as they made their way Shu He couldn't help but take in the morning peace of the village, it was part of his morning routine to do so if he was up early enough.
The sound of people waking up for the day, beginning their tasks, walking to their jobs, putting out and washing clothes, the sound of farm animals clucking and mooing which chewing on their feed, the gentle breeze that brushed over the grass making the morning dew fall to the ground; Everything calmed Shu He's mind and let him get some respite before he went off on whatever work or training he was performing recently.
He would be happy if he could experience this peace for the rest of his days.
He chuckled to himself at this thought.
'I'm still only 9, why am I acting like an old man now?'
His previous life didn't matter in that aspect, it doesn't matter what anyone said, he was a mere child right now.
It wasn't long until the two arrived at the mansion, as soon as they got there they were directed by the few servants inside, some giving a weird look towards Shu He, and were led to a large room that seemed to be suited towards large meals.
In the centre was a large rectangular smooth black wood table, on it were a few leather mats and some candles, the walls were adorned with some simple decorations, the standout being a large bear's stuffed head mounted at the end.
There was a fairly large amount of people gathered in this room, quite a lot of the adults on guard rotations were here, there was Dai Niu, Old Yun the craftsman, Gang Bo was even here along with what seemed to be his small group of mercenary friends and of course Elder Cao, Cao Yang sat near the head of the table.
The stars of this meeting were, however, without a doubt the three sat at the head, of to the two side were Yun Hua and Bai Shun, and of course the one right at the head was Chao Shi himself, however unlike yesterday there was no sense of relaxation or fooling around on their faces, instead their expression was serious.
As they entered, the room of people all twisted their heads to look at the new arrivals.
"Ah, Shu He you're here!" Chao Shi greeted him with a smile as if his previous expression didn't exist.
However, Shu He didn't feel like greeting him with the same energy, so he merely nodded.
Everywhere he looked, expressions varying from scared, worried and terrified filled the faces of the many.
As Shu He looked towards Elder Cao especially his heart dropped like a stone in water.
His face was white as a sheet.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone