Capítulo 9: Nightmare
One Well Village.
Nee Chen recently turned 18 years old, and now— he wanted nothing more than live an easy life. As an orphan, life has always been difficult for him. But now that he is a grown-up, he plans on making his life easier.
*Tuk
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Inheriting his dead grandfather's farm, Nee Chen only wanted to till the soil, sow the seeds, and work. He will repeat this cycle until old age claimed him. Just like his grandfather and the many fellow villagers that shared his fate.
They want none of the cultivator bullshit and the troubles that come with it.
That is why the One Well Village enforces the spirit of inconspicuousness. They don't want to be seen! Simple as that!
They wanted to live a life of obscurity far from the troubles of cultivators, martial artists, or warriors. As a member of the common populace, the perception of the members of One Well Village was understandable.
However, compared to other villages, the One Well Village has taken this perception to the extreme.
There is no particular reason. Nee Chen isn't sure either as to how even this stigma towards cultivators came to be. What he knows is that a lot of people in his village disliked and feared cultivators to the extreme.
"Big bro, look~ I am a cultivator! Shu~ shu~ shu~"
But this is not true for everyone else. Little Gao, the most troublesome brat in the village played with a wooden sword that Nee Chen carved.
The brat kept on making sound effects with his mouth which is getting irritating to Nee Chen's ears.
"Little Gao, shut up. I am busy here making ends meet. Don't disturb my farming!"
"But big brother Chen, don't you think that cultivators are awesome?"
Last month, a cultivator from a righteous sect visited One Well Village. The cultivator came, inquiring about any witness of demonic cultivators.
The village tried its best to look invisible in the cultivator's presence. But this little brat just can't help himself but make a commotion.
If not for the village elder threatening little Gao with some smacking, the cultivator's visit might escalate into something unwanted.
"Come on big bro! Didn't you see it? The cultivator can fly on swords!"
"Shut up. Will flying on swords feed you?"
"Huh? I... I don't know."
One Well Village as its name suggests is a village centered on one well.
The well existed in this village even before people settled here. The well is inexhaustible and became the primary source of the villagers for their livelihood, which is farming.
Little Gao has finally become tired of showing his moves to Nee Chen. Finally, the brat left to find his friends to play with.
Nee Chen focused on the task at hand. The repetitive process of farming allowed Nee Chen's mind to wander about a certain girl.
"Hmmm... Xiang Ya, is she doing well? I should gift some of my produce to them..." With a smug smile, Nee Chen fantasized about the girl of his dreams.
Nee Chen, after accomplishing his daily task of tending to his farm, returned to his humble hut to rest. He saw the many woodworks that were messily scattered around his hut.
Peeled wooden scraps, wooden dust, and all sorts of tools are scattered on the floor. Nee Chen had no time to clean his place this morning since he have to pay more attention to his crops this season.
"Hmmm... I almost died during the last harvest. I have to be careful about dividing my time between farming and wood carving. While selling my woodcraft also earns me money, so does farming."
Maybe if Nee Chen gets enough money, he will have a chance on asking the hand of the most beautiful maiden in the village. This thought stuck to his mind like a disease.
"He... hehe... hehehe..." A dumb face is plastered on Nee Chen's face at the thought of marrying the most beautiful girl in the village.
But not for so long, he erased his dumb face, Nee Chen composed himself.
It is free to fantasize, but Nee Chen preferred it to be 'real' instead.
"I will make it happen! I will work hard! I am the man!" He psyched himself.
With that single-mindedness, he forgot what tiredness is entire. Like a fool, he gave his all knowing that the results will remain uncertain. Nee Chen is satisfied enough that every time he worked hard, his chances will have a 'chance' of increasing.
"Hahaha... That's a funny way to put it. I can only work hard, I guess...:
So, he worked hard. Because that's the only thing he knows. To work hard.
Using his carving knife, Nee Chen skillfully made excellent work of the oak in front of him. He realized resting can come later. For now, Nee Chen wants to work till he drops.
"Like I said, I will work fucking hard!" With a smile plastered on his face, he continued to ship them on the wood with unbridled focus.
Nee Chen is quite good at making sculptures. It is a talent that he nurtured in his leisure. Before he knew it, he has already become an excellent sculptor.
Once a month, a traveling merchant visits this village. Nee Chen is planning to make a lot of extra money on top of his harvest.
Just like that, the night silently passed away.
At the cusp of midnight only did Nee Chen find himself exhausted, and finally succumbed to sleep.
...
Nee Chen woke up with renewed vigor. As usual, he went to his farm to tend to his work. Today is a beautiful day, he thought.
Until.
"Big bro! Waaaa~ waaaaa~"
This? Nee Chen watched little Gao cry as the annoying boy run in his direction.
"Buojing and Guiren kept on calling me an idiot! They... they say I can't become a cultivator!" The brat, Lu Gao cried to Nee Chen scattering his snot and tears. The brat grabbed Nee Chen's arms while smearing his tears on Nee Chen's clothes.
Nee Chen suppressed the mixture of irritation and unwillingness rising in his mind, fuck it, he desperately wanted to stuff little Gao in the well.
'Breath in, breathe out…' Nee Chen calmed himself.
"Why come here, then? It's not like I can turn you into a cultivator..." Nee Chen calmly said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"..." Lu Gao was speechless.
"..." Not that Nee Chen really cared.
"WAAAAAAAAA~ WAAAaaaaaAAAAAAaaaaaaa~!
Nee Chen cringed at the outburst of the crying Lu Gao. It is annoying, Nee Chen is very tempted of smacking the little brat!
"Stop. Stop. Stop!"
Sadly, Lu Gao can't hear Nee Chen's pleading.
"Listen here, LU GAO!"
Nee Chen raised his voice, his intent finally reached little Gao. The little brat finally stopped crying, but his sniffling is clear evidence of Lu Gao trying his best to suppress his tears.
"Little Gao. You are only 9 years old this year. You have about a decade to wait for what you want to become. Being a cultivator is a matter of chance, so you can't really say for sure if you will turn out to be one. My suggestion is for you to enjoy your childhood for now, and not think of the heavy stuff, okay?"
"I—"
"O.k.a.y?"
"I don't know if—"
"O.K.A.Y?"
Nee Chen cut off little Gao with an interrogative 'Okay?' giving no room for the troublesome brat to argue.
Lu Gao meekly nodded at Nee Chen's assertiveness.
"Anyway. Little Gao, why come here?"
"Uuummm... because mom would just smack me if she hears me crying like this."
"..."
Nee Chen nodded understandably at little Gao's words. This village's perception of cultivators is quite nasty. This is true for many villages like One Well Village.
But the truth is... not many villages are like One Well Village.
"Go home now. You are annoying me. It is fucking midnight, brat..."
Little Gao bid Nee Chen goodbye as the young farmer-sculptor cleaned up the excess wood as a result of his sculpting.
To be more specific, Nee Chen is alternating from his hut to his farm. Using the wood waste as fertilizer for his crops, Nee Chen is making steady progress.
Just like that, Nee Chen worked until sunset.
Tomorrow, Nee Chen will continue tending to his crops and then proceed on honing his woodcraft. "Ugh... today is too tiring. I should rest early. I think I overdid my woodcarving last night."
Nee Chen slept early in anticipation of what he is about to achieve. "Tomorrow, I will do better...:
Maybe because he was in a good mood, Nee Chen had a sweet dream that night. He got married, got a huge house, and earned a lot of money.
"Xiang Ya, I love you."
"Me too." The most beautiful girl in the village answered Nee Chen's confession.
Suddenly, the clouds got darker, and a sword pierced Xiang Ya's chest. Nee Chen's eyes are wide in fear as blood swept the village red.
The corpses of his fellow villagers scattered, and their blood flowed forming a stream of crimson.
There is death, and then there is none.
What Nee Chen thought was a sweet dream is actually a terrible nightmare.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
Nee Chen woke up, his back drenched with sweat. He can feel his heart explosively beating with his hoarse panting. He rubbed his bloodshot eyes in disbelief.
Ominous...
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