2 The Harsh Reality

Twelve Years Later

A little boy was standing in a field watching as the world in front of him burned down in golden flames. The boy knew this scene, for he had seen it play out countless times behind his eyelids. He watched as the familiar large man melted and let out a scream as he watched a woman aging until she turned into bone.

Qing Shan woke up screaming.

Except he was not making any noise. Most people. Would be confused by this, but for Qing Shan it was just another part of everyday life.

According to his Father, Qing Yun, Qing Shan was born with a birth defect, which was why he was mute.

Qing Shan actually did not mind being mute, as he felt that there was no need for him to talk. He had grown up all these years honing skills that most others did not need to hone. These skills were observing, hearing, and thinking. Because Qing Shan did not have to worry about the words he said, the part of his mind that would normally focus on these things worked elsewhere. This was why Qing Shan had the wisdom of someone more than double his age. Unfortunately, only he knew of his wisdom.

Waiting for his Father or one of the Uncles in the village to come to tell him what to do, Qing Shan started to enjoy his favorite pastime: thinking.

'Oh, Imagine being able to roam the world without needing to rely on others. Imagine being able to live, unthreatened by words. Imagine not having to obey those who could speak due to the inability to talk back. Oh imagine a perfect world…'

These thoughts of a small twelve-year old child were definitely profound beyond his years. Living in the Silent Plains village with the Qing family, Qing Shan had always secretly been bullied by those around him. Almost all of the older boys and even some of the Elders would not hesitate to take advantage of him. Yet Qing Shan, the silent boy, had always endured. He had never once cried according to his Father, and his eyes carried a small world within them.

However, Qing Shan saw the world through an entirely different lens than those around him, and this was not only due to the hardships of being mute.

Just then, The door to Qing Shan's room opened and his Father walked in.

"Oh, Xiao Shan you are already awake. Can you please come to the workshop? You know I enjoy your company while I am working."

Qing Shan opened his eyes and nodded with a small smile on his face. He started to get up while going back to the question that had always been within his mind.

'Why is it that we all move so slowly?'

This thought had always been present in Qing Shan's mind, but this was only due to the fact that everything around him, including himself, moved at a snail's pace when compared to his mind. Qing Shan only though that everything around him was slow, when in reality it was just that his thoughts were almost thrice as fast as the flow of time. This is what caused Qing Shan to mature so quickly.

Qing Shan walked out of his house, looking at the village around him. The village was dug out of the ground, like almost all of the settlements within the silent plains. The ground of the village was about 5 meters below the ground level, but he could clearly see the sky. Some of the buildings in the village were tall enough that they had exits onto flat ground, but most of the village was below the surface.

Qing Shan walked through the village until he arrived at the center square. He then walked into one of the adjacent buildings; his Father's shop.

"Ah, there you are Xiao Shan, come over here."

Qing Shan walked over to his Father and noticed that his Father was doing something different that usual. Normally, Qing Yun functioned as the repairman of the village, as he had the skill to repair almost anything that came his way. But now, he was tenderly polishing an object that looked like the hilt of a sword.

Qing Shan looked questioningly at the sword, for he had never seen his Father caring so much for worldly possessions.

Qing Yan was the kind of person who was very kind and compassionate to everyone around him, someone almost impossible to dislike. However, Qing Yan had never cared for any one item. That was why Qing Shan was so confused.

Qing Yan noticed his son's gaze and sighed, "This was the hilt of your mother's sword…" Qing Shan spoke absent-mindedly, as though he did not realize his son was there.

When Qing Shan heard these words, his mind was quickly thrown into turmoil, and the boy who was always composed began to desperately tug on his Father's tunic.

'Father never mentions Mother. Maybe he will now!'

Qing Yan finally snapped out of his dazed state and gently put the hilt down. Once he realized that he had mentioned his late wife he quickly clenched his eyes shut, sighed, and opened them again.

"Xiao Shan, why don't you go be with Uncle Luo."

Noticing that his Father was not going to reveal anymore on the subject of his mother, Qing Shan's face instantly transformed into a emotionless mask as he nodded to Qing Yan and walked toward the village square.

Qing Yan watched his son walk away, phantom pain stabbing through his heart and dantian. Ever since the day that his wife had died, Qing Yan had always felt the pain from his crippling wound every time he thought of her.

"Oh Xiao Shan, I truly wish I could tell you about her, but I am afraid you are not yet ready."

Qing Yan carefully picked up the sword hilt and carried it back to his bed chambers. He opened up a trunk In the corner of his room, emptied it, and pulled out the false bottom. He then carefully placed the hilt in its place before putting back the trunk as it had been before.

Qing Shan walked slowly to the village square, where one of the activities that he both loved and hated was taking place. In the Village square, there was a large platform about half a meter above the ground. This large area was where the people of the village would cultivate and try to enter the first cultivation realm of Soul Formation.

When Qing Shan arrived at the square, he noticed that his Uncle Luo was leading another cultivation lesson. The elderly man was standing at one corner of the platform and telling everyone in front of him how to gather qi.

In this world, qi was life energy that was present everywhere and was part of everything. According to Uncle Luo, Qing Shan understood that one had to focus their mind and attempt to circulate their innate qi, the qi that they were birthed with, through their bodies. A qi circulation was supposed to go from the dantian to the left hip, from the left hip to the lower spine, from the lower spine to the top of the spine, from the top of the spine to the left shoulder, from the left shoulder to the throat, from the throat to the third eye, from the third eye back down to the throat, from the throat to the right shoulder, from the right shoulder to the sternum, from the sternum to the right hip, and from the right hip back to the dantian.

Unfortunately, Just like Qing Shan could not talk, he also could not cultivate. The reason for thus was apparently because his body rejected any qi energy from entering his body, and his innate qi was inaccessible. So, while cultivation was the thing that Qing Shan found most interesting in the world, he also found that it was the thing he was the most jealous of in the world, which led to his feelings of hatred for those who could cultivate.

Luckily, due to Qing Shan's wisdom, he was able to suppress this hatred and not let it affect his daily life. Before Uncle Luo noticed Qing Shan's arrival, he took a break from teaching to relieve himself. As soon as Uncle Luo left, Qing Shan heard the first piece of ridicule that he had to face every day.

"Look, it's that trash!"

"Oh Qing Chen, please don't bring our attention to him, I don't want to dirty my eyes."

The children and adults alike in the square kept ridiculing Qing Shan, who silently closed his eyes, letting his rational mind flush out all thoughts that could lead to self-depreciation.

Not wanting to deal with the obnoxious people around him at the moment, Qing Shan walked away, a destination clear in his mind.

"Look, look, he's running away! Maybe he's going to go cry to his father!"

Qing Shan quickly made his way to a building next to one of the walls of the village. He entered the building, climbed the stairs to the second floor, and stepped out of an exit onto the vast plains, where the only noise he could here was the soothing sound of the wind. Qing Shan kept walking, until he came to the community garden, the place where all of the nearby villages grew their food. This happened to be one of the areas that Qing Shan came to most often, for he liked listing to the sound of the wind while gazing upon the many colors of the garden.

Qing Shan climbed into one of the small trees that lay near the outside of the garden and relaxed, allowing himself to clear his mind.

A few hours later, Qing Shan's eyes opened, and he found that he had fallen asleep in the tree. It was already getting dark outside, and Qing Shan estimated that it was a little before the time that his village would be serving the last meal of the day. He scuttled down the tree, somehow coming face to face with a boy that seemed a little older than him, one that he had never seen before. Qing Shan guessed that the boy was from one of the nearby villages that he had never visited. Whenever the people in the village went over to different villages, Qing Yan and Qing Shan stayed home, as they did not want anyone to cause more trouble for Qing Shan or the village.

Qing Shan's stomach growled faintly, and tried to pick up his pace upon realizing that he had missed the mid-day meal. He pushed past the other boy and started running.

"Hey! Watch were you're going."

The boy grabbed onto Qing Shan's arm.

"Apologize, would you. Just say sorry and I will let you go, understand?"

Qing Shan nodded, already predicting what was going to happen. He braced himself, his small body loosening up to keep the damage to a minimum.

"I said apologize! Kid, stop ignoring me! Last chance, say you're sorry and I let you go. Ignore me and face the consequences."

Even though he knew that it was inevitable, Qing Shan could not just let himself get beat up, so he used his free hand to pint to his mouth before shaking his head.

The boy laughed evilly. "Haha! You expect me to believe that you can't speak? Okay, then forget apologizing, all you have to do is kowtow to me three times. You don't need to speak to do that, do you?"

Qing Shan's gaze turned cold. 'Who does this guy think he is, my grandfather? No one has ever made me kowtow before, and I do not plan to now!'

Qing Shan had been planning to just take the beating without struggling, but this boy had touch his bottom line. Even though he had to endure many things throughout his twelve years, he still had his pride!

Qing Shan swung his body with a nimbleness that did not seem to fit his weak appearance. He quickly regained his footing and used the boy's hold on his arm to launch his most powerful punch at the boy's wrist, hoping to release himself.

As Qing Shan did this, he did not notice the cruel smile that had appeared on the boy's face.

Crack

When Qing Shan hit the boy's wrist, a distinct sound of bones breaking rang out through the Silent Plains.

Qing Shan opened his mouth and let out a silent scream of pain. 'This boy has entered the Soul Formation realm!' Qing Shan was both astonished and scared at this point, he was not even paying attention to his broken knuckles and fingers. Even in his village, only a few elders had actually entered the Way of Cultivation. The fact that this boy had already stepped onto The Path was amazing! Unfortunately, for Qing Shan, this was like a nightmare.

The boy laughed manically, and started to mercilessly beat Qing Shan, who could not fight back in the least.

A few minutes later, the boy walked away, leaving a bloody mess of broken bones and bruises lying on the ground. Naturally, this mess was Qing Shan.

Qing Shan, who had stayed conscious throughout the whole beating due to the cruelty of the boy, stared silently at the retreating figure of the boy, a hate-filled fire burning in his eyes.