The ‘Talk’
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"Ah, please sir... I just want this fruit for my brother. He's been sick for a long time due to a problem with cultivation. But..." Biting his lips, the young boy presented a pouch of coin, "I only have 349 coins."

The man in front of the boy had a neat, twirling mustache and a plain face. His torso was flabby and as he shifted in his seat, his stomach was pushed out further. But the man looked at the blue-colored pear and the bag of coins in front of him. He then gazed at the youth's pitiable expression.

"I-I saved this by going into the ocean every day. If it's not enough. Just give me one more day and I'll bring more coins!"

The boy's words made the man sight as he scratched his oily hair and exhaled deeply.

"Fuck," he cussed in a deep voice, "Give me the pouch," he demanded.

The boy quickly placed the pouch on the counter. 

"Pick up the Grand Pear," the man ordered.

The boy did as commanded.

"And get out."

"Ah!" The boy exclaimed. Shock soon turned into pure bliss and he quickly bowed before taking off. Seeing the boy's back, the man felt content with himself.

'I cannot insult you with pity, Little Man. I won't have sold anyone else this spiritual fruit for 349 coins... but you get the bargain this time.'

Satisfied, the man pulled out a small, rolled piece of skin before he lit up on of its end and then bit on the other end. Soon, a heavy scent filled the tent.

Meanwhile, as the youth rushed out, he took a turn to the left and met with four other children of his age.

"Woah! You really got this fruit! Thanks a lot, Vayu!" The fattest one out of the four rushed and hugged Vayu.

What Vayu said in his negotiation pitch wasn't a lie. Since Ron was forced to cultivate the Body Cultivation Technique, too, his physique was battered. Eating this Grand Pear can alleviate most of the internal injuries and rejuvenate the boy. In fact, the amount Vayu presented to the seller was the last of what Ron had. But he truly needed this Spiritual Fruit for his injuries.

"I know that Brother would have purchased this for me... but with this, I can surprise him," Ron snickered happily.

He placed the fruit inside the large bag he held over his back. 

"How did you do it?" Jeli inquired. The group had tried to negotiate with the fat seller but he wouldn't budge at all and Vayu was purchasing something else at the time. The moment he heard of Ron's plight, he instantly strived to solve it.

"Actually, Sister Kol would make me practice various expressions whenever we are idle. Now that we three are accustomed to match the accounting books of uncle Roa without Sister Kol's help, I usually practice my lines and expressions in her house."

"Lines? Expression?" The short-haired girl inquired.

"Yeah," Vayu grinned, "I always need to practice negotiation so I can learn what to speak and when. In fact, if you want to buy something and don't have enough money, tell me. I can try to get those items for you!" He proclaimed.

"Really?" Jeli was pleasantly surprised and so were the others. They didn't think that with Vayu's great talent in combat, something that even Instructor Vitski would praise, his brother would not train him in martial arts at all!

Soon, a young boy could be seen prancing around with a group of four children waiting for him at various corners. In reality, all five of them had promising talents in this area, according to Trilok. They all did manage to convert their short funds into something great the last time the Ark's Trade Ship traveled in. However, more than half a year has passed since then and they all took to a different direction.

Jeli was learning diplomacy and martial arts from her brother.

Ron was learning the art of alchemy from Noland.

Vayu was strengthening his basic education and social skills. According to Trilok's strict standards, Vayu still wasn't close to learning alchemy.

Kira, the other girl in the group, helped her family in her shop. She did not have a base as great as the three.

While Mitz worked in the port as an information gatherer. In fact, he did most of the task in finding out the required items in their group for now.

So, it wasn't strange that Vayu, who was being specifically trained to negotiate grew in this area while others who had their life surrounded with other tasks lost their touch in the matter.

Still, not all negotiations went great. A few failures were to be expected but each failure would upset the group as a whole.

Still, they didn't hold back once they knew that no taxes awaited them this time around.

Soon, the Sky Ocean Darkened, and the crimson sun had almost dipped into the lower ocean, waiting for the moon to pass and emerge from the other side of the horizon once again.

"Huh? What's this?" Jeli and the others walked over to a few men setting up large logs of the wood in the spacious region of the deck.

As they continued to gaze at men and women slowly hanging colorful stripes through the top of the tents, setting up thicker logs of woods as seats around the cone-shaped set of logs, and even placing a few stalls before covering them with a blue cloth. Women then filtered in. They would adjust the logs, revealing strength greater than some of the men while the teenage girls began to bring bowls of strange liquid.

Men, on the other hand, laughed and continuously rolled on square-shaped fish skins filled with dried herbs before pinching off both the ends and filling the baskets with such items.

"Let's go and check it out!" Vayu moved forward but his path was instantly obstructed by two half-naked women. They had their wavy hair loose while one of them had a piercing through her left nostril.

"Boy... it's already clear but show us your fisher Id," the woman with the piercing spoke up.

"Uh... why?" Vayu inquired while taking a step back.

"Carnival can only be attended by those above the age of 17. Only those with verified fisher id cards will be allowed to enter the carnival. See that?" She pointed towards a few men with thick bundles of ropes strapped on their shoulders, "We're going to seal this place soon enough. You can explore the carnival ship, but you cannot attend the carnival."

The woman smiled.

"Hey!" Mitz spoke up, "We just wanted to see."

"And I'm saying I won't let you in the region," the woman smiled, "Of course, if you have your fisher id cards and you're seventeen years old. You may enter the carnival."

"You guys! Get back to the ship!" A man soon called out and broke the confrontation.

"We may have allowed you to explore the Carnival ship but it's not good to use substance at such a young age. Now quick, follow me back to the community!"

A middle-aged man soon led the group away.

---

"Say what?" Trilok had just returned to Kol's home with Kol herself and was instantly met with an extremely flustered Vayu. 

"Brother, this ship is crazy!"

His words made Trilok's expression bleak while Kol smiled to herself. Vayu was at an age where it is hard to suppress one's desire and curiosity, after all.

"There are no taxes! I purchased so many items and even sold plenty!" Vayu smiled widely, quickly pulling a large leather bag and patted its full and plump bottom with extreme affection. Instantly, the expression on the two senior's faces changed. Kol felt hopeless for Vayu while Trilok was pleasantly surprised.

"Good," Trilok smiled, "You didn't feel too embarrassed, did you?" He inquired and Vayu understood what Trilok was referring to. The young boy glanced towards Kol, who smiled slyly and spoke up, "Boss, at least, don't embarrass your brother in front of me. I will change my clothes a little for the carnival. Meanwhile, you two can talk."

Trilok shrugged as Kol locked her room. He then glanced towards Vayu again, waiting for an answer.

"Brother... it was... I didn't mean to," While Vayu stammered for answers, Trilok pointed at one of the seats close to his mattress. He did sleep in the living area, after all.

"Sit," ordered.

Vayu let down the bag he was holding and sat on the chair quietly and slightly reddened cheeks.

"Vayu, do you have chests?" Trilok inquired.

"Yes!" Vayu nodded hurriedly.

"Do you ever feel embarrassed when you get naked to bathe? Or do you get embarrassed if you lose your shirt and are forced to be topless?"

Vayu tilted her head, "What's there to be embarrassed about?" 

"Right," Trilok nodded. In reality, he had heard from a few of his mates in the ship back in the day that their fathers had some kind of strange talk with them. Of course, those who had fathers at the time knew what the other person was speaking about but whenever Trilok tried to ask about the situation, because of his circumstances and low ability, he was only jeered as an orphan and mocked to find a dad before asking such things.

Clearly, his search for dad and the 'talk' is never met but he did understand what the boys meant at the time. These feelings and emotions come naturally with the passing of time.

"So, if you aren't embarrassed about being seen naked. Then you definitely have no reason to feel embarrassed if you someone else, man or woman, naked, or topless," Trilok pointed out, "Profits are eternal but breasts, often, tend to sag. Especially the large ones. Meanwhile, large pouches of coin never do. Keep your eyes on the direction of growth and remember one thing, a girl will never approach us, boys or men, without a few selfish intentions.

This is the same for men. So, always remember not to feel too comfortable around women whom you don't know for years, and even then, don't you dare try to give a woman, or anyone else, a greater cut of earnings just because they are beautiful. Poor men and women often look horrid not because they are ugly, but because they are poor!"

Kol, who had her ears pressed against the door to her room almost rolled her eyes and passed out when she heard this extremely strange, profit-derived conversation that actually seemed to have a greater effect on Trilok's life. The plot of the 'talk' was complex but Kol understood one thing.

If the situation remains as is.

'They both will definitely die alone... but Boss did say that Vayu can trust women he knows for a long time. Does that mean that Boss holds the same thought of life?' Kol pursed her lips.

Sighing, Kol quickly changed her clothes. This was her first carnival and she had heard a lot about it before. Of course, last time, she could have entered but didn't participate in the carnival because of her pathetic situation.

Removing her slightly ragged robes, Kol looked at her selection. Over the years, she had gathered quite a few articles of clothing saved for special occasions. There was a green-set Hanfu. A bright red set of silk robes. And a flower printed white qipao with a wider leg.

After a few moments of thinking, Kol quickly slipped into the qipao. The red dress was too special and felt too extravagant to be worn in a carnival that was most likely filled with topless women. And the Hanfu... well, she didn't want to admit it, but the Hanfu was complicated and hard to wear and remove quickly. The qipao itself looked quite luxurious but as she wore it, the fabric sticking to her upper body, curving down her hips and finally widening through her calves, Kol gulped. She really enjoyed the feel of the dress against her skin. It was soft. The material was flexible so she didn't fell out of place even if a little bit of her stomach became prominent.

Looking into the crystal mirror, Kol took a deep breath. Quickly, she tied up her shoulder-length hair and fixed them with a carved red pin that contrasted to the red and pink flowers on her qipao. She didn't leave any strand loose and once she tilted her face sideways to check the result, Kol nodded in satisfaction.

Only then did she glance towards the hourglass.

'It's already 40 minutes? But it only felt like 5!' This always happened when she tried to dress up. Quickly, she packed her clothes away, wore a traditional sandal, and walked out.

'Tada! I look gorgeous, right? I—' 

Kol looked at Trilok with a dazed expression. His hair was still unruly as ever. But his body had changed significantly from the last time she saw it. Trilok had gotten a little bulky due to his cultivation and somehow, slightly more vascular. He still wore his shorts but instead of a tunic, the youth wore an unbuttoned shirt.

He looked towards Kol in a dazed manner himself. Then his gaze turned sharp and he looked at Kol from top to bottom. 

"Nice dress," Trilok smiled, "But I thought you'd go topless. It's a carnival, right?" he inquired.

"I'm not going topless," Kol snorted and glared at Trilok, "Boss, you cannot be this uncouth. It is expected of Vayu, not you."

Trilok shrugged.

"He's in the bathroom. Let's just lock him in and go out," Trilok walked out.

If he could, he would have been topless instead of wearing an unbuttoned shirt. But he couldn't, in the end. The last thing he wanted was someone ruining his mood by questioning about his scars, which only grew prominent as his bodily impurities were removed.

"Fine," Kol walked behind Trilok, eyeing his back.

After a few minutes, Vayu walked out with a satisfied grin and inquired loudly, "Anyway brother, we were stopped from entering the festival. Can you tell me— Brother?" Vayu looked around.

"Brother?!" He called out again.

Hearing no reply, Vayu thought for a moment and shouted again.

"When you don't look towards me, I fart in your oils!" He flinched unconsciously but soon, nothing hit him.

"He left already?" Vayu mumbled before shrugging.

This was the best time to cultivate!

He quickly sat down in Kol's room, pulled on the bag he filled with resources, and finally took out a dark red pill. This was merely the first of many resources needed for body cultivation. Vayu couldn't help but imagine the number of resources Kol and Trilok would have purchased for themselves.

After all, they easily had dozens of thousands to spend. Meanwhile, this bag in Vayu's hand was only worth a few thousand.

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