It was a lustrous evening in Plight City. High buildings exuded brilliant lights, traffic was at its brim, and it was a lively atmosphere like every other day. Said was the nature for city folks. However, the further one went from the bustling streets and towards the more barren regions of the city, numerous villages sporadically flanked west and east, as the south was a restricted area for military activities.
On one of the suburban roads was a young man sharing a horse with an older man. Those were Yang Lin and Xi Jao, on their way back from the city. It was a trip from dusk till dawn, and it was a tranquil trip for the most part. On this trip, Yang Lin learned pretty much the basics of the ecosystem in Plight City from his uncle, from tax systems, social pyramid, and whatnot. As usual, the rich keeps getting richer while the poor keeps getting poorer. Yang Lin was depressed to know this, but such was life.
Under the City Lord's Mansion was the Military Ofiice, they handled everything from order maintenance and collecting tax under the direct orders of the Mansion. The division divided by rank are:
Official Officer, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain., Commander, and Deputy Chief. The ones who showed up and abused Yang Lin were Offical Officers. The rankings in the Military Office were intriguing. Each color of a star corresponds to a certain rank.
Copper Star? foot soldier.
Bronze Star? Official Officer.
Silver Star? Sergeant.
Golden Star? Lieutenant.
Platinum Star? Captian.
Diamond Star? Commander.
Obsidian Star? Deputy Cheif.
Each rank also has its own sub-divisions, seniority among peers is determined via Military Merit which is reflected upon the number of stars each personnel had accumulated within their respective field. As for how merit was distributed, that wasn't a piece of information a common public figure can obtain. Nonetheless, this was a good piece of information. It also seemed that a Lieutenant was a sufficient rank for one to obtain an Elder seat in the Military School, this made Yang Lin estimate that the head of the school must at least be a Commander.
For now, he could only withstand being beaten into a pulp by a mere Oficial Officer, this caused Yang Lin to feel even more depressed inside. Uncle Jao noticed Yang Lin's downcast mood, but he can't really help him much in his dilemma.
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"Daddy! Daddy!"
As the two neared on a humble-looking house near an open field of cultivated land for farming, a small girl that was squatted and feeding a flock of birds abruptly stood up. Spooked, the birds shot up into the horizon as the little girl who seemed to be around twelve ran over, yelling happily.
"Yue'er! Stop going all frantic early in the morning!" A beautiful, mature voice escaped from the house. Followed by the appearance of a woman who seemed to be in her thirties, she was still dressed in common robes and an apron, seemingly she was preparing breakfast.
Seeing her husband return with a young man, she gasped and covered her mouth, having not prepared enough dinner for four people. Luckily, her tongue was in check, she quickly retreated into the house. Of course, coming from the heart of poverty, Yang Lin could read the woman's expression, but he did not blame her.
The horse stopped and Xi Jao stepped down, greeting the cheerful lass in a warm fatherly hug as her silver giggles diffused through the air. It was a brilliant scene indeed, Yang Lin couldn't help thinking back to a stubborn little girl that he left behind, hoping she would do well in his absence, or at least hang on till he returned with enough power to bring her and her mother off that island.
"Daddy, who is that!?" Yue'er pointed her tiny finger at Yang Lin, asking with an innocent, cheerful tone.
"Say hi to elder bro… Cough, I mean your cousin, Lin'er." The man replied with an awkward smile flashed his face. Yue'er looked with her round eyes that flashed with a tint of sadness for a split second before she smiled brightly, not saying anything. "Anyway," uncle Jao then said, "Let's see what your mommy had us for breakfast."
Just as he started walking, Yang Lin said, "Uncle, can you show me to my room? I already ate on my ship, I'm kind of full, but I need to rest." Uncle Jao's eyes flashed, he didn't think that his wife's attitude was discerned by this young man, could it?
Uncle Jao narrowed his eyes and said, "Surely you don't think you're going to weigh over our pot, are you?" Obviously, the man was displeased by his wife's gesture.
Yang Lin shook his head and showed his swollen wrist, "Uncle. Look, do these look like the arms of someone who lacks food?" Yang Lin didn't lie but didn't speak the truth either. He was intruding after all, and he was already a cultivator, he can survive a few days without food, much less a single night.
Seeing Yang Lin's clear eyes, uncle Jao nodded, but no one knew what was on his mind as he turned around and gestured to Yang Lin to follow him towards the house.