Commotion at the Gate

Rao Wu hummed as he approached the city walls. Along the way, many hunters and travelers passed by, some on scary or imposing soul monsters. Eventually, Rao Wu came to a stop at the end of a very long line. It seemed people had to line up and get checked by the guards before they were allowed in.

Occasionally, some seemingly important individuals would skip the line and walk straight to the guards. They would then flash their badges and be let into the city.

After an hour of waiting, a loud shout shook the weary and bored Rao wu.

"Give way! Move aside, peasants!"

Rao Wu jerked his head to look at a procession of scantily-clad, beautiful women carried on the shoulders of cute, 3-meter tall Snow Pandas. The fuzzy white-furred creatures were not innate combat specialists, but their ice spells were almost as good as an elemental fairy's, making them decent bodyguards in a tight pinch.

The snow panda's beautiful appearance also endeared them to many female soul trainers, which was why it wasn't uncommon to see a few trainers reserve a spot for the cute bears. Curiously, Snow Pandas were native to cold territories. As such it was rare to see them in such high numbers in the forest-covered Hua Kingdom.

Snow Panda

Attribute: Beast (main) / Ice (secondary)

Species Rank: General

Stage: ???

However, many travelers soon understood the reason for the strange procession when they spotted a Wooly Mammoth at the center of the pandas. The 5-meter tall behemoth caused the earth to tremble with every step, and subsequently commanded the travelers' attention to the people atop its back.

Wooly Mammoth

Attribute: Beast

Species Rank: Monarch

Stage: ???

A bearded old man and a boy that looked to be about ten years old disdainfully glanced at the crowd from the beast's back.

Rao Wu, interested only in children in his age group ignored the old man and focused on the boy. The boy on the wooly mammoth had perfect pale ivory skin, unblemished and pure. Unlike the dirty Rao Wu, he seemed to have never suffered a stain in his life. The boy had perfect straight blue hair without a single strand out of place, and a pair of frosty sky-blue eyes.

The child, seemingly feeling Rao Wu's gaze, turned to look at him. However, upon seeing Rao Wu's dirty appearance, the boy sneered in disgust and then looked away.

"Aiya... Another royalty." A random passerby remarked as he watched the procession make their way to the gates.

"Really? You know who they are?" Another asked.

"Ah, you country bumpkin. Look there. You see that crest?" The passerby pointed at a crest, depicting a howling bear drawn on the cloth draped over the Wooly Mammoth's back. "That's Afl's Royal Family crest, the Ozursson's crest. They must have sent their son to enroll in Jiandao's Soul Academy."

"Ooh! The Soul Academy... No wonder." The hunter's eyes gleamed with wonder. "Ah, I missed my chance to enroll. I heard gods graduate from that school."

"Pfft. Don't lie to yourself. Like you have the talent. Soul Student by 12 years old? Do you think you have the right to enter that school?"

The two men returned to their positions in the line, taking them out of earshot.

Rao Wu's eyes gleamed as he watched the Wooly Mammoth confidently stride through the city's gates. He pictured a day when he too strode into the city on the back of an imposing soul monster.

"Rraff!" Xian Da indignantly barked. It would be the imposing monster Rao Wu rode into the city. The little cub glared at the distant Wooly Mammoth. One day, it would press that Mammoth beneath its paws.

"Haha, of course, of course." Rao Wu laughingly soothed the angry cub. In his heart, though, he had already steeled his resolve to climb to the top with Xian Da. So, Xian Da's declaration was already a matter-of-course to the young man.

Half an hour later, Rao Wu finally came face-to-face with the massive city gates. The gates were easily over 30 meters tall and looked like they wanted to stab into the heavens. It was also so thick that the path beyond the gate was more akin to a tunnel. The bleeding light at the end made it difficult to make out what was beyond.

"What's your name?"

Rao Wu collected himself and looked at one of the guards manning the gate. Beside the guard stood a Dusklight Wolf and a Steelback Ape, the staple soul monsters of Jiandao's military. The guard also held a strange stick with a hole at the end. Rao Wu had never seen this stick before, but it filled him with a sense of danger.

"Kid, I asked you a question."

Startled, Rao Wu stopped observing the guard and quickly answered, "Rao Wu. My name is Rao Wu."

"Rao Wu, is it?" The man tapped a screen and then looked at the child, "Do you have any ID?"

Rao Wu recalled Uncle Twilight's lesson. They had practiced what to say when he came to the city many times over. "No," Rao Wu truthfully answered. "I belong to a family of nomads. We accidentally entered Night Swarm territory." Rao Wu's voice dropped as he muttered, "I'm the only one who made it out."

"Aish," the guard scratched his head and looked at the child with pity. Night Swarms were an insect tribe in the forest. These tiny bloodsucking monsters became active at night and often sucked dry any monster unfortunate enough to run across them. He could only imagine the pain the child must be going through. It never crossed the guard's mind to find the child suspicious. After all, Rao Wu was only seven years old. Even if he was older, the procedure would still be the same. "Alright, kid. I'll scan you face. If you don't show up in the database, we'll work on getting you a new ID alright?"

"En." Rao Wu obediently nodded, and then watched curiously as the guard picked up a scanner and ran it over his face.

Moments later, Rao Wu's cute face was constructed on the guard's face.

No Records Found.

A few seconds later, the system sent a message confirming that Rao Wu was a foreign entity.

"Alright, come with me kid." The guard beckoned another to take his place, recalled his soul monsters, and then took Rao Wu into the tunnel. As they approached the light at the other end, the guard smiled and said to the excited little boy, "Not yet, kid. First you have to get your new identity."

"What?"

The guard chuckled and then, after having Rao Wu recall Xian Da, pulled the child through a door on the wall. Unfortunately, Rao Wu had to wait a bit longer to see the city.

Ka-cha, Ka-cha~

Rao Wu did not get to be sullen as he suddenly found himself in a busy hall filled with many humans rushing back and forth. Most of them wore guard uniforms and were in the process of dealing with visitors, some polite and others unruly.

The guard led Rao Wu through the foreign environment to a bathroom where he forced the child to take a shower and freshen up. When Rao Wu was done, he found a new pair of shorts, shoes and a T-shirt with an angry Steelback Ape. Rao Wu gratefully wore the new clothes, but left the shoes behind.

Fwoosh~

"Wow." The guard's mouth expanded in a wide 'O' when he saw the kid. With all the mud washed off, Rao Wu's curly grey hair was even more beautiful. Coupled with his bewitching gray eyes, it was no wonder the guard wondered if Rao Wu was the son of some royalty. The child would certainly grow up to be a lady-killer.

Rao Wu, oblivious to the guard's thoughts, reflexively patted his hair and then released a sigh of relief. Right now, his fox-ears were still too small to burst through the dense canopy. So, he was temporarily okay even without his scarf. Uncle Twilight had stressed several times that he should not let any human find out he was a hybrid. Although his Uncle did not give specifics, Rao Wu knew something terrible would probably happen if anyone found out.

Thus, he mentally made it a priority to get a new scarf once he was in the city.

"You clean up well, kid." The guard recovered his wits after a moment, and then looked curiously at Rao Wu's legs. "You didn't wear the shoes?"

"I feel more comfortable barefoot."

The guard shrugged, not thinking too much about it. Nomads often had strange habits. He had seen even stranger quirks in his time. "Alright, this way kid."

The guard led the curious Rao Wu to an office where a middle-aged woman quickly took his measurements, fingerprints and details, and then inputted them into a system. She then had Rao Wu sit at a blank wall and took his picture. Minutes later, another worker walked in with a card and then handed it to Rao Wu.

Rao Wu looked at the ID with curious eyes. It had his picture, name, birthday, nationality and place of Issue. "Hey, it says I'm from Hua Kingdom?"

The middle-aged clerk smiled and explained, "We need to put a nationality in order to issue an ID. Since you're a nomad, it's best to keep the same nationality as the place of issue. You don't mind, do you?"

"No, it's fine." Rao Wu shook his head.

"Alright. Rio here will lead you to the exit. I hope you have a wonderful stay in Jiandao."

"Thanks, Miss."

Rao Wu happily thanked the woman and then followed the guard Rio out of the office and back to the tunnel.

"Do you have a place to stay?" Rio worryingly asked. The city was a dangerous place for a kid by his lonesome.

"It's fine. I don't plan to stay long anyway."

"Ah, a nomad's instinct, is it?" Rio said thoughtfully. "Alright, is there anywhere in particular you want to go?"

"Yeah. I need to find a store where I can buy a bunch of Diver's Hearts and jugs."

"Ah. In that case, best place to find those would be the Summit Plaza. There're all sorts of shops in there. You'll definitely find what you're looking for. Maybe you'll even find some stuff you like."

Rao Wu's eyes widened. "Summit Plaza?"

"Yeah, just walk down the main road for about an hour and you'll reach it." Rio pointed down the tunnel and then gave the young man a pat on the back. "Goodluck youngster. Maybe we'll meet again one day."

Rao Wu laughed and then bid the guard goodbye. Once he turned around, he summoned Xian Da. The little cub jumped onto his shoulder and briefly turned to glance at the guard. It sent an appreciative bark and then turned to sniff Rao Wu's hair.

"Hey, hey! Stop that, it tickles!" Rao Wu chuckled as his ears flicked within his hair. Unfortunately, the little Xian Da was so shocked by the shampoo in Rao Wu's hair that it did not stop sniffing. "Aish, stop, stop!" Rao Wu grabbed Xian Da and playfully glared at the cub. "Next time I'll—"

Rao Wu's words froze in his throat as he gazed in shock at the city of steel and stone before him. A sprawling metropolis with hundreds of high silver buildings that fought against the clouds, and thousands of small, brick and wooden buildings line up on beautiful, wide streets.

Several men, women and soul monsters busily traversed the streets, each one looking more imposing than the last.

Rao Wu swallowed his surprise, unable to let out a sound for fear the city would squash him for belittling it. "Wow... this is way bigger than Uncle Twilight described." Rao Wu obediently put his head down, returned Xian Da to his shoulder and then walked into the street adjacent to the gate. According to the guard, he just had to walk straight down this road to reach the plaza. Rao Wu, uncomfortable with so many people around him, could not wait to buy the items and run back to the tranquil forest.

And so, Rao Wu walked down the road, unaware that a pair of eyes were tracking him from within the tunnel. A radio cackled as a young voice muttered, "Tell the princess we found the child. He's headed to Summit Plaza."

Rao Wu, unaware that he was under surveillance, openly gaped at the cityscapes. Everything was new and wonderful. The sights, the smells, even the weird food sold by old men at stalls tasted far better than anything he'd ever had.

Rao Wu bought enough meat skewers to feed the entire pack, and put them in his bag. He then paid the stunned salesman and continued his trip while sharing a meat skewer with Xian Da.

"Rrao~"

Along the way, Xian Da's soft cry drew Rao Wu's attention to a group of hybrids walking behind a young woman, carrying her bags. Rao Wu had seen similar scenes everywhere. The hybrids often walked behind humans, either as bodyguards or servants. He hadn't seen a single hybrid standing by themselves.

Slowly, Xian Da was starting to get an idea why Uncle Twilight did not want him revealing that he was a hybrid. It appeared hybrids were not treated very well in Jiangdao. At the very least, they did not appear to be on the same level as humans.

Rao Wu buried his unease and hastened his footsteps to the plaza. The sooner he was out of the city, the less he would have to worry about his safety.

"Finally." Half an hour later, Rao Wu finally made it to Summit Plaza. The young man bit into a meat skewer as he admired the fanciful complex. "Let's go find the leaves and go." With those words, Rao Wu hurried into the complex.

Rao Wu quickly searched through the complex until he came across a store that sold jugs. He bought twenty man-sized jugs, and fifteen pitchers. After paying the clerk, he stuffed the jugs in his spatial ring and then continued to search for a herb store.

"Here we go." Rao Wu finally found a herbal store. He walked in to find a hybrid teen bent over, cleaning a mug. The youth's droopy ears revealed he should have come from some canine bloodline. "Hello, I want to buy ten clumps of Diver's Heart. Do you have those here?"

The hybrid noncommittally pointed at a shelf and muttered, "Third from the right. Take the first two bottles. The last one's quality isn't as good."

"Oh? Thanks." Rao Wu eagerly picked up the bottles. He glanced at the green leaves dancing in the water filled jar. "So, these are Diver's Hearts? They don't look that special."

"Most herbs aren't special at first glance. Don't judge them by soul monster standards."

"Hehe... sorry." Rao Wu apologized as he brought the bottles to the clerk. "Are you a Soul Alchemist? My uncle said alchemists are pretty important people."

"Heh. You're funny, kid." The clerk laughed deprecatingly as he rang up the items and then placed them a bag. "That'll be 100 Zunes."

"Wow. Uncle was right. Alchemists are real money-grubbers," muttered Rao Wu as he slid over a gold coin.

The clerk accepted the gold coin and laughed as he said, "Yeah, you could say tha—"

"Trash! How many times have I told you not to converse with the customers!" A sharp shout brought Rao Wu's attention to a dark-skinned man who came in from the back. The man arrogantly knocked the hybrid's head as he complained, "Aish, is your head only filled with air? You must want to return to the Market."

The hybrid clerk shivered, his face turning deathly pale. "N-no! I'm sorry! It won't happen again." The teen bowed at Rao Wu, "I apologize, sir!" and then ran into the back room.

"U-um," Rao Wu hesitantly watched the clerk's retreat. He wanted to say something, but the store's owner promptly interrupted him with a series of sickening platitudes.

"Ah, my apologies, young master." The man rubbed his palms with a disgusting smile on his face. "The mutt hasn't been trained properly yet. I promise he won't disturb you next time. I trust you got everything you needed?"

"Uh. Yeah... Yeah, I did." Rao Wu did not want to spend any more time in the store. He quickly left after a perfunctory goodbye.

"Rrao~" Xian Da whimpered, affected by the child's sour mood. It licked Rao Wu's face to soothe, causing him to finally let out a chuckle.

"Thanks, Xian Da. I fill better now." Rao Wu swallowed a breath and tapped his cheeks. He decided not to let this incident bring down his mood as he made his way out of the store.

"Hey! Finally found you!"

Outside the store, Rao Wu froze in his tracks as he saw the most unlikely of characters.