"Hurry up, kid, you're slowing us down," Stone Heart shouted as he came to an abrupt halt, his visage grim as he stared at the small boy who was panting like a dog in heat.
The thought of abandoning the child instantly surfaced in his mind, with the help of this boy he had successfully infiltrated the royal treasury and looted some treasures, invaluable items and precious materials. In return he had promised to take the child outside the country, but the returning of this gratitude could not be done at the stake of his life, his countenance was stiff as he weighed his chances, ‘maybe use the child as bait’, he thought.
Before he could come to a conclusion a rain of sharp-edged arrows covered the sky above him, the distance between him and the army shortened.
The middle-aged Stone-heart clearly being an expert sensed death and pushed the small teenager aside, taking a defensive stance, though death knocked at his door, and was a thief, he had a bottom line.
‘I can’t sack the kid’, he roared inwardly.
His body immediately emanated a faint glow but it was enough to make the ground shake, and dislodge the incoming arrows. However, the approaching army did not let him rest, and followed with another barrage of arrows pinning him in one position.
The kid who had been flanked to the side suddenly stumbled due to the shockwaves and stared at the cloud of arrows. Their tips shown under the moonlight, carried killing intent.
Fear immediately enveloped him. His bones were rattling, cold sweat slowly dripped from his head, paralyzed.
“Whis run away!”, Stone Heart shouted as he formed a shield on his left arm and threw the pouch on with his right, replacing it with a yellow Qi blade, he spread his legs apart preparing to meet the army head on.
In a split second, his body regressed backward, as he casted a sharp gaze at the paralyzed boy on the ground and yelled, “listen kid, one of us has to get off with the loot, you hear me?!”. Stone heart built off momentum. The arrows approached him at a steady speed.
“F**ck, forget it”, he begrudgingly muttered, after seeing the incapacitated boy. He dashed forward with his left arm extended forward, blocking the incoming onslaught. He had already decided — he’d go with at least half of the soldiers.
A glint of light suddenly flashed in the teenage boy; his countenance change, the shaking had abruptly stopped.
“Is this it?”, he murmured, taking a full scan of the landscape but is immediately met with a shocking, dreadful scene. The street was painted in blood with dozens of corpses laying around. Even more shocking was the middle-aged man in the distance, his robe was torn and had red stripes – Stoneheart.
Whis immediately realized that the blood stripes were not artificial.
“Is this the world of the immortals?”, whis heart jolted as fragments of memories materialized in his mind. He saw foreign scenes and faces. Unknowingly, his mind was already sorting and absorbing the memories.
His closed eyes suddenly opened, no longer shocked, he brandished the pouch beside him and attempted to lift it up but suddenly realized that this body was weak, unknowingly he started moving the hands all over the body. When he moved over a sensitive area his worries disappeared and heaved a sigh of relief.
“It’s not that bad”, he murmured.
His body was 15 years old and was well developed, the lack of strength probably came from the marathon it had just endured – he figured out.
A fast arrow dashed towards him, his body twitched sensing an attack and moved his head slightly to the left – narrowly dodging. But a thin red line had been drawn on his face – blood slowly tricked out.
The once calm heart suddenly palpitated. His mind was filled with only one thought – flee.
He grabbed the pouch on the ground and pushed himself off the ground, and scanned the surroundings, looking for an alley.
“Get the boy”, an intimidating deafening shout resonated throughout the town
The thought of the pursuing troops sent a shiver down Whis's spine. Hearing the order, soldiers with tiger-tooth-shaped sabers ran towards him.
It was at this moment that Whis suddenly recalled from the previous owner's memories that a harbor was nearby. He sprinted towards a narrow path between abandoned vendor carts. With each stride, his heart jolting with inexplicable emotion.
"This is kind of fun," Whis laughed as he increased the distance between him and the troop. Memories of the previous owner surfaced in his mind.
The previous owner was also called Whis, an orphan found by the third imperial concubine of the Shang Dynasty. This dynasty ruled the whole world and had many generals.
"Woah!" Whis exclaimed as he suddenly halted, almost falling into the water. He had reached the entrance of dork, ahead of him were many narrow paths leading to different sea vessels. However, time was not on his side—the bells on an ancient ship sounded. It was leaving the harbor, and the troops were hot on his trail.
He hastened his speed and cried for help; he knew this was his chance to escape this continent. The ship was gaining speed as it maneuvered around other docking ships. Whis knew the calamity heading for him if he waited any longer so he started looking around, ahead of him was an endless body of water.
Whis’s mouth crept up to form a smirk after spotting a hanging rope at the back of the ship – the chance was here. The only problem was how to get there.
He had already arrived at the end of the path, and all that stood before him was water and some parked boats and ships. Suddenly a crazy idea popped in his head, perhaps the most dangerous thing he has ever attempted in his life, other than asking his 11th grade teacher out, of course.
The parked boats were arranged in a neat row. However, whis only saw a red carpet to his escape. As meticulous of a person he is, whis wasn’t going to attempt it at first glance and immediately weighed the options.
* Woof *
"Oh boy!" The bark was the final push he needed. Instantly exerting pressure on the ground, he jumped onto the docking boats, skipping at each end as he made his way towards the ship. The troop was shocked.
"How can a mortal be that agile?" a soldier exclaimed, holding a spear in his hand. The question was answered by another soldier holding a torch, who had just stopped chasing and halted at the end of the path.
"That's careless; one fall and he could die," the soldier nodded as he stared at the skipping Whis, who suddenly jumped and grabbed onto the rope and started climbing, with the pouch between his teeth.
"Wow, he made it," another soldier exclaimed in shock. But the one-armed leader, who had just arrived on the chariot, was displeased. The anger of losing his arm and the further ignorance of his men in catching a child, amplified by the fact that they were taking amusement from it, only added salt to his wounds.
"You... idiots, he's escaping," he rushed up, his Qi spiking as he raised his whip upon the soldiers, enraged.
"Get the boats now!" he ordered. However, the ship had already raised a few centimeters above the water and was moving at a break necking speed – it was no ordinary ship.
"Goodbye!" Whis teased the guards as he waved at them. A strain appeared on the leader's forehead – he was furious. His reputation would surely decrease after this incident.
He, the imperial Guard Ming, had not only lost an arm to a rogue cultivator (-one that is not affiliated with any sect or power) but had also let the third prince escape. His would be made fun of.
“Soldiers, listen up, carry the wolves on your shoulders all the way back to the palace, do not use your Qi”, leader Ming roared, his anger diminished slightly.
He stared into the horizon; all he could see was a small paper airplane – it was the fast-moving ship. He knew what it was, a special travelling artifact belonging to the Hundred Mile House. Its speed was known to surpass even the fastest of birds, this time he had lost and could only retreat.
Whis looked at the diminishing figures at the port and sighed in his heart. 'This world is dangerous,' he thought to himself as he turned around. He had to figure out his next moves. Now, he was akin to a sheep in the wolves den.
His countenance was serious as he staggered on the deck the fatigue kicking in., He knew this was the beginning, at Giza he had decoded the glyphs and was transmigrated into this younger version of himself but in a different world.
From the memories of the previous him, he knew there was something called cultivation in this world. It was akin to possessing magical powers, the only difference being, they could be leveled up like an RPG game.
‘Maybe it’s not going to be boring as sitting on that damn desk…’
"Game on," Whis said to himself. He had always been a fan of RPGs and the thought of actually being in one was incredibly exciting. The possibilities were endless. But the reality of the situation quickly set in.
He was in a world where strength and power were the most important things, and he had none of that. In fact, he was now the lowest of warriors, with nothing but his wits and a few glyphs to his name. He needed to figure out how to survive in this new world, and fast.
*Definitions*
Rogue Cultivator – A cultivator who is not attached to any sect or power
Artifact – A tool refined by weapon masters and has amplified abilities
Hundred Mile House – A power which focuses on transporting materials, weapons and/or people
RPG – a role playing game where each player has a character which levels up after quest, battles and the likes
