Simple Life

"I am loneliness, it's my past, present and future. This is my path."

The western corridor linking the 乾(Qian) Empire with the western nations of the continent, stations the Metal Camp, home to the Ivory Tiger Army.

The corridor is where 青海(Qinghai) city is built, the only large scale city in the west acting as a entrance of western Qian and a hub for trading in the west.

The daily life of a Ivory Tiger Army is simple.

Until one day, unlike many others in the wake of the sun, a faint cry can be heard from outside the camp, a cry that sounded very much like a child's cry.

Upon hearing the cry, a man wearing a white leisure clothing made his way to the doors of the camp.

There was a young lady in red, embracing a child as if the child was her treasure, covered in blood, the child still has his umbilical cord still intact. And the man could see a trace of blood on the floor.

The man stepped forward to check on the lady, like he suspected the lady was no longer breathing. The lady in red had skin as white as the snow from up north, purple eyes that feels like it can look straight at your soul, if she was alive, she would be able to make any man fall for her.

The lady was from the exotic Urumqi tribe of the west, they pride themselves for their beautiful women and their dances. And purple eyes are their distinct feature native to them.

Many women from the Urumqi tribe are taken in by brothels in the western region from a young age to teach them the basics of serving people and the arts like music, chess, calligraphy and painting, all to become valuable in the market when they are of age to work.

And like many of the Urumqi women, the lady in red is from the brothel, one that is well-known in the region for having some of the best service and best looking women in the city.

From the looks of it, the lady has found her loved one, but unable to be with him due to her occupation. And for their child to have a better future, she decided to let him be brought up by the Ivory Tiger Army.

It was the season of autumn when he was born, hence the name 秋(Qiu). The last think he could remember of his mother, was the smile of his mother as he laid in her arms. It was a warm smile, one that can only be seen on a mother after seeing her child for the first time.

On the streets of Qinghai city you can frequently see a pale boy fooling around, bullying kids younger than him.

"Qiu, stop bullying the little boy."

"You are already ten, can you stop being this childish."

"Hey stop running away, I am going to tell brother Xu." Exclaimed by a short girl with curly brown hair holding a ladle in her left hand.

Growing up Qiu was mistreated by those around him, as a child it was his pair of eyes, he was born with heterochromia, one of his pupil was pure black while the other was purple. In addition to his pale skin, the people around him nicknamed him the pale demon.

The mistreatment made Qiu develop a persona, one which is cold and constantly produce an unfriendly aura around him. Kids his age would always run away when they sees him and the only ones that would hang out with him was those from the army camp. 

But the life of a soldier is a busy one, hence he would often be left alone in the camp, in which he would sneak out to play.

During this time Qiu was happy, the camp site situated near the West gate of the city was his home, after being taken in by the Ivory Tiger Army.

To him the soldiers were his family.

吴(Wu), the wrinkled man in his early forties sprouting out gray hair was his father figure, the one that brought him in and thought him the basics of the world and trained him.

许(Xu) is in his mid twenties was like the eldest brother, always calm and composed, the one that thought Qiu how to read and write. And the one to take over Wu, when he becomes one of the four heavenly kings.

While 梅(Mei), was the army cook, shorter than Qiu, curly brown hair was like his sister, always nagging him and giving him more food. This was his family.

Running away from Mei, Qiu ran up the hill outside of the walls of the city and laid on his usual spot under a tree.

It was the only woods in the western region and it was his favourite spot since young, right under the tree lays his mother, hence he always felt a sense of warmth when he comes near.

It has been twelve years since he was brought into the family and till now, he still remembers the day that Wu brought him hear and telling him that this is where his mother lies and the tree was planted the same day that he was born, so the tree was like a brother to Qiu too.

"Ha, ha, ha, ahh, that was fun, fight with me, still too young to be on my level."

"Sigh, wish it stays this way forever."