章 3: Chapter Three
The hand on his shoulder gripped harder, causing him a little bit of pain. Celius turned his head and saw a group of young men looking at him. There were about four of them, not much older than himself.
"Seems like the useless little boys of their families have come out to play. What, you couldn't find your doghouse so you're stumbling to me? You want me to play fetch with you? Or do you need me to take you for a walk?" Although he was usually very calm, hearing someone insult his grandpa for no good reason irked him.
The group was a little surprised to hear Celius reply in such a way, but they quickly recovered, and their faces turned red. The leader of the group was also the grandchild of an elder, however, this elder was of much higher status than Amlenor.
"Celius, what the hell did you say? Are you calling me a dog?!" His voice raised slightly.
Celius lifted his hand and rubbed his ear with some irritation written on his face. "Seems like you stopped sniffing your behind and began to use your head recently. Yes, I was referring to you as a dog. You happy with that answer, Pax?"
"You bastard." Pax Illeaf, although a distant cousin, had no familial feelings for Celius. "Come outside right now, and I will show you who the real dog is!"
"Show me? Aren't I looking at one right now? Oh, you were referring to your grandpa. Sorry, my bad. He is the big dog around these parts, right?" Celius was never scared of the elders as they could not do much to him. At most they could make his life more difficult by making people insult him repeatedly every day.
Plus, Pax's grandpa was only an elder for external purposes, so he held no sway over anything regarding his work and life. He could at most use connections to blockade him in certain areas.
Not being able to reply to Celius' sharp words, Pax was filled with rage. "Grab him, boys. Take him outside and give him a good thrashing!"
"Who are you going to give a thrashing?" Suddenly, a voice cut in. The group of boys looked over and to their horror, they saw Amlenor walking over. A smile hung on his face as he looked at the group of four.
Pax stumbled a little as he looked at the incoming elder. "E-elder Amlenor, what a surprise to see you here. I am sorry for causing any disturbances. I will take my leave." Pax and his group left as quickly as they came. Although they insulted Amlenor and the latter was at risk of losing his position, an elder was supposed to have some of the greatest power in the whole clan. Even if Amlenor was the weakest of all elders, he was still not someone Pax and his group of lackeys could directly offend.
"Pfft, truly lowly dogs." Celius scoffed before walking back to his table with Amlenor. Neither of them mentioned the conflict at the table as this was commonplace. People would pick on Celius and Amlenor would come and save the day.
"Sir, here are your dishes." The old man came back, but this time he held a large tray which held all the food and drinks they ordered.
"Yay!" Elrith and Alura were the first to exclaim. They stared at the large piece of Grey Tiger meat with drool coming down their mouth.
"Settle down, both of you. I will cut you two just one piece each. If you finish that, I will give you another." Celius cut two pieces off the large chunk and gave each twin a single one. He also cut a fairly large one for Grandpa Amlenor.
"Celius, leave it for the kids." He waved his hands, but Celius didn't budge.
"I ordered enough for five people, so you will get your portion as well." Grandpa Amlenor helplessly took the plate which had the meat. He also opened up the bottle of Tiger Heart Wine and began to drink and eat happily. Celius smiled as he saw this, and then he looked at Rislia who sat on his lap.
He took a small piece of meat and fed it to the little girl. "Do you like it?" He asked her with a smile. The little girl ate for a bit with a small frown. She chewed over and over again before a smile appeared on her face. She nodded her head and pointed at the meat.
"More." Celius smiled and took another small piece and put it in her mouth. Whenever she finished a bite, he would feed her another. This cycle went on for a while. Even Alura and Elrith got another piece.
Soon, the meat was all finished, leaving only the bones and a bit of grease. Using his shirt, Celius wiped Rislia's face who was happily swallowing the piece in her mouth.
Burp!
Elrith suddenly burped out loud. "You're nasty Elrith." Alura pushed Elrith angrily, however, the latter laughed it off while rubbing his stomach. He then looked at Celius expectantly.
"You little beast. Here, eat your cream bun." Celius could already tell what Elrith wanted. Alura hesitated a little before looking at Celius the same way. Celius was a little speechless. Although he ordered the cream buns for the two, he thought that they would at least wait a few minutes before eating it. "It isn't hard to tell both of you are twins. Here, eat it slowly." He passed her a cream bun as well.
Grandpa Amlenor watched this scene with a smirk. His face was slightly rosy because of the Tiger Heart Wine. He had finished his meat a while ago and was eating the rice and beans that he had ordered. He was enjoying his meal.
"Rislia, do want a cream bun or the milk?" Looking down, he asked Rislia with a smile. She was the one who was the most unsure of what she wanted.
Rislia looked at the milk and the cream bun, and then at her fellow siblings. "Cream bun." Celius nodded his head and broke a small piece off the bun, making sure it was coated with a sugary cream. He put it into Rislia's mouth slowly. "Eww!"
Her face suddenly contorted into disgust and she spat the cream bun into Celius' hand. The latter raised his eyebrows and looked at Rislia who was looking at him angrily. "You don't like it?" She shook her head, causing Celius to shake his head. "Do you want milk instead?"
Nodding her head, Celius dropped the half-eaten piece onto the plate which had the only bones left and then picked up the small cup which had the milk inside. He slowly fed it to Rislia who drank it happily.
"Which one of you two want Rislia's cream bun?" As he fed his youngest sister, he looked at his other two siblings and asked. He didn't want to waste the bun and since the two really liked it, he might as well give it to them.
"Me!" Both of them yelled at the same time. Their mouths were covered in cream and crumbs.
"I will break it in half. Both of you can have some then." With his remaining hand, he broke the bun in half and gave them bought a half. Although they weren't the exact same, they were very similar.
"Hey, Alura has a bigger piece than me." Elrith looked at his own piece and then at Alura's.
"No, your piece is better than mine. Mine has more bread, but you have more cream." When Alura said this Elrith checked the two halves again and his eyes glinted with enlightenment.
"Never mind, I'm good." Celius laughed at their conversation. Alura was not lying but Celius found it surprising that she noticed such a small difference.
'They aren't as dumb as I thought. Hehe.' Of course, he was happy to see such a thing, but he knew that the smarter they became, the more troublesome it would be.
Soon, they finished their meal and Rislia and the twins were fast asleep. Rislia and Alura were carried by Celius, while Elrith was in Grandpa Amlenor's arms.
"Celius, should I talk to some people to help you acquire a new job?" He was still very concerned about this. He himself had no time to get another job, so only Celius could.
"That is alright, I have a plan as to where I should work. I might try and work on the fields because they pay well--" Celius spoke about this, but Grandpa Amlenor stopped him.
"Are you crazy? The fields aren't growing normal plants, they're growing essence herbs. Only someone who has completed the Physique Purge realm and has begun to absorb essence can work in the fields. This meant only those at Essence Engulfing - Earth realm or higher could do such a task. You are barely in the Physique Purge - Earth realm. Are you suicidal?" After one completed his Physique Purge, they would begin to form a small sphere or orb in their chest which would begin to absorb essence in the air. Once the orb was formed, one could officially be considered in Essence Engulfing - Earth, and they would also officially be considered cultivators.
"I know that it is a difficult task, but it's my best option. Not only do they always need people, but they also pay very well. I will be getting at least four times what I am paid now if I work there. Sure, it will be tiring, but in the end, it is all worth it." Celius exuded a hint of confidence as he spoke.
"No, I'm not going to let you do this. Celius, you will get seriously hurt, and there is a possibility of death if you're not careful. Even if you don't care about yourself, think about these three. If something happens to you, what will they do? I can care for them, but my life is almost at its end as well." He spoke quickly, trying to change the mind of his grandchild, but seeing his unwavering eyes, he could only sigh a little. "Alright, but there is a condition. You have to prove to me that you are indeed capable of doing such a job without any risk, only then will I allow you to do the job. As your grandpa, I still have the right to prevent you from doing some things. You're not yet an adult." The atmosphere became tense as they walked. Celius stopped walking and then looked straight into his grandpa's eyes.
"Hold Alura for a second." He passed Alura over to Grandpa Amlenor, who took her with a confused look.
Suddenly, Celius placed his empty hand in front of his right eye. He covered it completely before moving his hand away a second later. He did the same thing to his left eye. His eyes were closed for a few seconds before he opened them both.
���W-what!" Amlenor looked at Celius with shock and astonishment. 'Gold!' Celius' eyes weren't his previous bark like color, rather they were a bright gold, resembling the shining sun. "W-when did you get these eyes?! Wait, no, you're at Physique Purge - Hell?!"
It was shocking news. It was very difficult to figure out what realm someone was in during the Physique Purge realm since it only resulted in slight changes to the purity of the physical body. It wasn't something that could be investigated with the naked eye. So, everyone in the clan assumed that Celius was only at Physique Purge - Earth since that was what he claimed. Who would have ever thought that he lied about his own realm?
"I achieved Physique Purge - Hell three years ago with father's help. Only dad and mom knew about this." He sighed at the mention of this. He placed his hand onto his eyes and reverted them back to their bark color. "I would have exposed myself if dad was still alive, but now there is no reason. If the clan finds out that I have such eyes, there are only three options the clan has. Either they will heavily focus on me by providing me with more resources, which is highly unlikely since they hate our family. Even if they did choose this, I would be restricted from going out, that's not what I want. The second option would be for them to ruin my life even more, where they wouldn't even pay me for my work, thus getting rid of a talent. As for the last option…" Celius didn't continue, but Grandpa Amlenor knew what the last option would be.
His lineage could be considered very talented. His two sons were prodigies and would have been able to take over the clan with enough time given, but they met their ends very early in life. Of course, Grandpa Amlenor had his suspicions that all of this may have been orchestrated by the clan, but he never said anything since he had to care for his grandchildren.
"Alright, you can go ahead and do the fieldwork. Tell me, what is the ability of these eyes? I have heard of some eyes having the ability to increase reaction speed, giving night vision, and more. There were even the really rare and powerful ones that would allow one to stop time or distort space…" As he spoke, he suddenly saw bits of thick fog surrounded Celius' body. Surprisingly, the color of this fog wasn't grey, rather it was an extremely deep black, very abyssal.
Just as he was about to scream in shock, the fog quickly vanished. He saw Celius looking at him with a small smile.
"Was that illusion skills? But that can't be possible, you shouldn't be able to use such abilities even if your eyes are powerful, that's just not at your level. Plus, that illusion looked too real. It is impossible for you to have such powers." He was completely shocked.
"No no, I don't have the ability to control illusions or anything mysterious like that. My eyes are able to create special types of clouds which could be controlled at my will. That is all. What you saw was a black cloud which I turned into a fog with my current strength, I can't do anything major with the clouds." Celius spoke calmly. He didn't act arrogant in any way and remained tranquil.
Amlenor looked at Celius but shaking his head with a faint smile. "You brat, your talent is really frightening. Who would have thought you would get such a weird ability. I don't think I have heard of it before."
Celius only shrugged his shoulders before taking Alura from grandpa Amlenor and continuing towards his house.
The whole walk was silent. It wasn't stifling nor filled with tensions, rather it was a peaceful silence. They finally reached Celius' house. Entering the house, there were two bedrooms, both small. One of the bedrooms was shared by Alura and Elrith, while the other was used by Celius and Rislia.
Alura and Elrith were gently placed on the soft bed in one of the rooms, while Rislia was placed in the other room. Celius sat on the bad while stroking Rislia's hair. He looked at his silent grandpa who continued to stare outside the room's window.
"How far are from reaching Physique Purge - Heaven? You already purged the impurities from your eyes, which means your mouth and nose are also cleared, right?" Celius nodded his head.
"I am almost through with the ears. Maybe in a few days, it should be cleared. I will be able to then break through and begin clearing my internal organs. Who knows, the fielding could be very useful to me." Hearing his words, Amlenor nodded in approval. Although people in the Physique Purge realm couldn't absorb essence, that didn't mean that essence wasn't helpful to them. It gave them a purer environment, making progress quicker.
"Do you think you will be able to enter Essence Engulfing - Earth before becoming an adult?" Celius was taken aback by this question. Although it wasn't too difficult to go from Physique Purge - Earth to Physique Purge - Heaven with enough resources, it was a completely different scenario when going from Physique Purge to Essence Engulfing. These were two major realms; they had a very large gap.
Not only did he have to create an orb inside of his body that could absorb essence, but he also needed to have a certain understanding of how essence worked. It wasn't something that could be taught by others, and only one's own understanding would help them.
"I'm not sure. There is a chance if I can complete Physique Purge - Heaven at least a few months before becoming an adult. Only then will I have a high chance of entering Essence Engulfing - Earth before turning eighteen. Why?" He was confused why such a question was asked.
Grandpa Amlenor turned around and then looked at Celius. "If you can achieve such a realm before becoming an adult, I will leave the clan and come with you to the town. Only with such a realm will you be able to do something in the town. Plus, when you achieve this realm, I will finally be able to give you something which your uncle left for you before his death."
Celius' uncle was killed many years before his own dad. He had no offspring and didn't even get married, but his talent was extremely high. Before dying, he was beyond Essence Engulfing, becoming one of the strong men in the village.
Since he had no children of his own, he treated Celius like a son. His death was a surprise and mystery, and Celius still found it hard to believe. Now that he knew that there was something that his loving uncle left for him, of course he would be excited.
"He left something for me? Why didn't you give it to me before?"
"I couldn't. He told me to only give you this if you were able to achieve Essence Engulfing before turning into an adult. I didn't tell you about it before because I didn't think that there was a chance of that happening, plus you already had a lot going on, but now there is a good chance of such a thing happening." He would have kept this a secret if Celius didn't do what his uncle wanted him to. Even Grandpa Amlenor didn't know what was left behind.
Taking in a deep breath, Celius recalled his large uncle who would come and play with him every day. He would take him fishing, training, and anywhere else he wanted when he was young. Plus, he would protect him from his strict dad whenever he was in trouble. His sweet uncle.
"Don't worry, grandpa. I will achieve this goal no matter what. I will not let down my uncle's hopes. Let us see what he has in store for me. Maybe it might even be something extremely useful to my journey in a year." His hands clenched tightly into fists as a flame appeared in his heart. He didn't want to let his uncle or grandpa down.
Seeing such a reaction, grandpa Amlenor nodded his head with satisfaction. "Alright, get some sleep. I will be heading out. I will talk to the Elder in charge of the fields and help you get a good place. You should just head straight for the fields when you wake up, I will come here before the three wake up."
Celius laid on the bed and closed his eyes. He pulled his little sister into his embrace, snuggling tightly with her. Amlenor gave one last glance before departing with a heavy expression.
'For such a young boy to experience so much already… this world is really unfair.'
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