3 NOT MEETING THE GREATEST BROTHER (1/2)
The closest people immediately took a few steps backwards disgusted: the young youth in front of them was so dirty that even his face was indistinguishable! Even his long, flowing, black hair that reached the waist had blackish earth and mud attached to it… It really made one wonder whether black truly was the color of the hair, or if it was simply so unclean that it had been naturally dyed like that!
The absolutely worst thing though was that the boy stunk. He stunk really bad! He was so stinky that many people had to hold their noses and breath through their mouths: judging by the smell alone, it wouldn't be weird for one to guess that the child had never taken a bath before!
”Y... Young child, what matters could possibly bring you to come to my Mysterious Light-Shadow Sect? Is a sibling of yours studying there?” The man that was constantly being sung praises to asked the small boy while holding back his annoyance: despite his exquisite acting skills, even he had trouble hiding the disgust on his face. Before he could react, he had already clearly bent back slightly, all in order to put some distance between him and the dirty child.
The golden-eyed child's gaze scanned the man in front of him. Slowly, an imperceptible smile formed on the thin lips as the child realized exactly what kind of man he was talking to.
”Oh, This Lowly Junior has no siblings, relatives nor friends at esteemed Senior's Mysterious Light-Shadow Sect. This lowly Junior came to join the Sect and become a powerful cultivator just like Senior! Esteemed Senior's strength can be seen simply by his air and demeanor; truly worth of a king among men!” After noticing how much the man seemed to value face, the boy wasted no time and immediately started flattering him in front of the other disciples. The praises had come out extremely smoothly, without the slightest hint of sarcasm amidst the fancy words. It was a beautifully done flattery, so much so that the man's expression immediately turned from disgust in the stinky youths' regards, to pride, and finally self-satisfaction, as if what he had just gained had not been a slight bit of face, but rather the greatest of riches imaginable!
He looked around, a huge smile plastered on his face, as if he were saying: ”See? This genius is so great even a small child understands how he should act in front of me!”
MWAHAHAH! Indeed, this Genius is the greatest!
”Cough, cough, ahem!” The man with three white stripes on his black robesstepped closer to the kid and he waved his hand towards him: immediately afterwards, the air flow changed! An invisible pressure started to firmly yet gently burrow into the child's body before emerging; at the same time as it did, the invisible power had also removed all traces of dirt or mud from the golden-eyed youngster's figure.
The boy watched in 'amazement' as the previously dirty him suddenly turned into a clean, refined young boy: his beautiful and long pitch-black hair, and his wide, somewhat girly, golden eyes as well as his handsome face mesmerized some of the females on the spot.
Those long eyelashes, that small, straight nose pointing slightly upwards... With such delicate features to his name, how in the world was this child not a girl?
He was even prettier than many beauties!
It was to the point that some girls even came as far as awakening their hidden shotacon side, and immediately started to think of methods to get closer to the beautiful youth.
The child's pretty, girly looks coupled with the hint of courage between his eyebrows and the innocent and pure look in his bright, golden eyes... If he was this beautiful while still so young, how breathtaking would he become in the future? Gah! Arrows of blood shot into the sky!
Ignoring the strange reaction from his female companions, the thirty-one year old cultivator smiled at the child. ”Good child! You sure know what you are talking about! As a little reward...” The black-robed man looked up and the air surrounding them trembled as the two suddenly shot towards the sky! That single move had brought the two of them really high up. In the blink of an eye, they soon were more than a hundred feet off the ground! Just as they seemed on the verge of falling back down though, the crowd realized that the two of them were actually as still as a rock on the ground: the child and the older man were fluctuating in the air!
The golden-eyed youth turned towards the man at his side, who was firmly grasping his shoulder and sharing the power of flight of an Advanced Stage cultivator with him. The man looked back and, seeing his little friend's 'shocked' face, he explained emanating an air of superiority, ”A king among men, you said? Well my little Junior, you were absolutely right! Your Senior is indeed quite powerful. I am actually an Advanced Stage Cultivator! As a reward for guessing correctly then I, Liu Biao, will personally escort you to the Mysterious Light-Shadow Sect!” Having said that, the man that had called himself Liu Biao turned towards the tall walls in the distance. He smiled and the child felt a strong pull as they suddenly sped up, moving so extremely fast that the trees beneath them could not be clearly seen and the people below seemed even more like colored blurs!
In less than twelve breaths they had travelled quite a distance and reached the tall walls of the gigantic fortress! The fort spanned for many miles in both length and width and it was absolutely massive, so big that it could easily house at least a few million men while still having plenty of space left over.
”Young boy, Senior has given you his name, so can Junior tell what is this little Junior's name?” As they landed and started approaching the tall walls, Liu Biao also started to ask the youth beside him a few questions.
”Senior, this Junior is called Cheng Hao and he comes from a small mountain village in the south. This Junior truly thanks Senior for his assistance and hopes to one day be able to repay kindness with even more kindness! But as Senior is so strong and important, this measly Junior truly doesn't want to waste the great Senior's precious time and thinks that for Senior's best it is better to part ways here...”
Although the intention to sweet-talk and flatter the older man was crystal-clear in the boy's words, the 'Advanced Stage cultivator' had already fallen for the young man's soft schemes and sweet praises so much... That he actually couldn't bear to part with the boy! It was like biting into a delicious cake: now that he had gotten a bite once, he wanted more! Because of this, he quickly disregarded the boy's suggestion. ”Hahaha, this Junior can call me big brother Biao and I will call you little brother Hao! How about it? There would be no need for worries when we are brothers right? Onwards, let big brother help you easily pass the exam for Vacant Disciples!”
Cheng Hao caught onto the occasion and knelt on the ground. When he looked up, his eyes glinted with excitement as he softly called out. ”Big... Big brother Biao...”
Ugh! Too cute!
Some passers-byes felt as if an arrow had suddenly stabbed into their chest!
MWAHAHAH! Indeed, this Genius is not only the greatest in cultivation… to have such a cute little brother, I must also be the greatest big brother!
”Ahahahah!” Liu Biao lifted his head upwards and laughed loudly to the sky. By doing so though he had also missed the grin as well as the greedy countenance that appeared for a really short time on the child's face. Suddenly, the child's expression changed as he slapped a golden blur that had suddenly shot out from his ragged clothing. The blur whimpered once, and then returned back into one of Cheng Hao's front pockets.
”Not yet,” he hissed. Without being seen, he hurriedly closed the front pocket where, for a moment, a golden, scaly tail could be seen moving about...
A short while later.
”Little Bro' Hao, you wouldn't by any chance have already started to cultivate, have you? Those trashy cultivation methods that ordinary peasants use could really harm your foundation, as it is really difficult to change one's method midway...”
”B-big brother Biao!” Cheng Hao stuttered. ”How could have I? I am so young, how could I possibly have started to cultivate?” The child chuckled before his expression darkened. ”Our mountain village only had one cultivator, and that cultivator didn't let even his closest of friends look at his cultivation method. Let alone a small, poor and...” the child sniffed theatrically, ”orphan child like me...” At that Cheng Hao gradually started to slow down and began to sob. An incessant stream of tears also didn't wait long before falling down the sides of his face.
”You... You are an orphan?”
”Y-yes... W-w-WAAAAA! MOMMYYY! DADDYYY! WAAA!”
Liu Biao panicked when he saw the child cry even more at his question. He hesitated but he then knelt in front of the child. ”Do not worry, you may have no parents, but now your big brother is here! Big brother will protect you from now on!” After saying that he tightly hugged Cheng Hao and let the boy cry his heart out on his robes. After a long while, the child seemed to have finally calmed down and he looked at the older man with what seemed even more ardor. ”Big brother, thank you!”