10 Visiting the City Lord (2/2)
”Let us do the paperwork and have me signed up for the army alongside all the other youths from this city.”
Seeing the way he smoothly changed the subject, Shen Bingwen understood that there was no reason to ask questions. It was highly likely that Xue Wei would just avoid them, and since this was the case, they might as well just change the subject to signing up Xue Wei for the war.
Xue Wei had always been a smart child. During all the time he had lived in Tiankong City, he would have spent all the time on reading books and following Xiao Lei around; his intelligence was high compared to other children his age, and his knowledge surpassed even that of adults due to him having been reading day in and day out.
Although he was a smart child, he was also very obedient to Xiao Lei. He would do anything to make his uncle happy. Since he was incapable of making his uncle proud of him when it came to cultivation, he often made food for his uncle instead, such as snacks, lunch-boxes and so on.
When it came to other people, Xue Wei was incredibly cold. He was considered friends with Shen Mu, yet Shen Mu knew absolutely nothing about Xue Wei, and Xue Wei never treated the other with any real friendliness.
Shen Bingwen sighed. It was not surprising that Xue Wei was cold to anyone other than his uncle considering how he had been treated, but now more than ever was he happy that his son had done what he could to be at least considered a friend. It turned out that although this child's current achievements were low, his future achievements might not be so shabby.
”Okay, I will sign you up for the army. You will be in the same battalion as little Mu. He will help look after you.” Finding a stack of papers from a shelf behind him, Shen Bingwen wrote on one piece and filled in the forms. It took him around the time it takes for an incense stick to burn down before he finished.
”Drop some blood on here,” he ordered, and Xue Wei did what he had been told. Cutting a finger with a nail, he allowed for a drop of blood to fall on the paper. A golden gleam appeared from the paper before it turned slightly azure. The azure light lasted for merely a moment, and one could argue whether or not it had even been there, but as the azure light vanished, the paper returned to normal.
Shen Bingwen looked with surprise at the paper. ”How surprising!” he exclaimed. ”I have never before seen an azure gleam, but the golden one means that the contract has been sealed. If you do not show up at the army office at the summer months of your 16th year of birth, then you will die.”
”Okay, the formalities have been completed. In a little more than a year, the two of you will be heading to the front lines alongside the others of the same age from our Tiankong City.”
Xue Wei nodded his head. He was secretly very proud of what he heard. He would be going to the front lines! He would be fighting against the beasts, and he would be able to bring back glory for his uncle!
On the outside, however, one could not even begin to guess the emotions that were ricocheting about inside Xue Wei. Since he had been beaten and bullied time and time again, he had learned to completely shut off his emotions, to not let anyone see how he truly felt.
The only time he would be himself was when he was with his uncle. There he would cry and laugh and play like the child he had been.
”Well, there is no reason for us to stay here any longer,” Shen Mu said laughingly. ”Why don't we go to town and look at some plants and skills? I heard that a new merchant has arrived who even brought with him high-ranked martial art skills!”
Xue Wei had quite a lot of money at his disposal and there were a few things that he needed. Although he had gotten enough skills from the ring that his uncle had left him, he could still use medicinal herbs to increase his cultivation speed.
Although he felt that he had come far in the time he had locked himself up, he also understood that the reason he had managed to get that far was exactly becauseof the amazing scripture he had been given.
But a scripture could only do so much. He needed to work hard to be able to continue his cultivation at his current speed, and medicinal herbs were exactly what he needed. Fortunately, he had a great understanding of medicinal herbs from the time before he lost his memory and thus he was quite certain of his own ability to find what he needed.
He knew that some of the cheaper herbs, if used together, could make for great herbal baths that would help strengthen the body and increase the amount of Qi he could absorb.
Usually, he would not have followed Shen Mu to town, as he knew that if he ran into someone, then he would get beaten up, but things were different now.
Although he was not as strong as the Young Master Li and the geniuses of the town, he was no longer trash, and he had been able to increase his cultivation fast. Secretly, he hoped that they would become friendly towards him, but he also understood that that possibility was not very big.
Still, he was no longer trash, so they had no reason to attack him, and even if they did, he had a superior martial art. By now, he had learned one of the attacks and had touched upon the Forbidden Rush, something which allowed for him to move as fast as the wind and avoid many of the attacks.
Speed-enhancing and evasion techniques such as the Forbidden Rush were incredibly hard to obtain, and not many within Tiankong City had one, making it possible for Xue Wei to feel some sort of safety. Even if he could not win a fight, he could escape, even though he had only just touched upon the beginning of the Forbidden Rush.