4 Welcome to the Azure World (Part 02)
Elisabeth Smith was, in her teens, viewed as the most beautiful flower of the Smith Clan. She won the first prize of the Glory City Martial Contest with just twelve years, winning in the process the heart of many hot-blooded young boys. All the big clans of Glory City tried became her in-laws, trying to conquer for their clans a talented and beautiful girl.
People from all the cities of the Bull Province, even from Bull town (the province capital), came to woo this little flower.
But unexpectedly she became a shut-in for the next three years. When she showed herself again to the world everyone was astonished. She was... Incredibly...
UGLY!
She got a big scar covering all her face, one of her brown eyes became blind with that dead blue tone. Her delicate body became something Hulk like, her muscles were so big that the General of the Army looked like a skinny and little child at her side.
And that wasn't the worst part. Her behaviour was so bad that a drunken pirate should feel like a gentleman at her side.
In a week, except for the lower clans and families, all the marriage proposals were taken. No one cared about giving face to Smith Clan...
Inside the clan, because of the shame she brought, she started to be lightly suppressed and ignored by the clan elders. She only wasn't directly suppressed because her grandpa is one of the Grand Elders of the family.
Without receive enough resources from her family she was forced to list on the army. Under the name of Brother Beth, she become fiercer and uglier, all thanks the life and death fights and the low quality of treatment offered by the healers she afforded to pay.
She did great there. After showing her strength and abilities everyone on army saw again that talented young girl of the past. Even when the blows are fiercer and cruel she performed all of them with grace and nobility.
She is a lady in the war and a total warrior at home.
With her new temper, mood and power no one in family never tried to force her to marry. They simply assumed that she will never marry...
The problem was: she did.
When she had twenty and three years she found her first bottleneck in cultivation, just that could show how much genius she is. After her unexpected seclusion she neglected her theoretical studies, therefore she had to study again.
She expended a year in the family library, but without great results. The Smith Clan only have methods to evolve internal mana circulation and blacksmith skills. She trained internal circulation in the past but, since she came out of the seclusion she started to follow the path of physical circulation of mana. The only family arts that she uses are the hammer techniques.
In one of her visits to the Glory City library she discovered an interesting young guy. This boy always was seeing reading about cultivation, all kind of cultivation, and making notes.
The weird part is that he is a crippled man. Anyone can see that his knees and ankles were broke in past and, with a little probe, all his meridians were torn apart... Break the meridians and the joints of the body is a very ancient and unusual punishment for individuals who commit something that damage his clans.
So, why did he want to learn about cultivation? This intrigued her...
Asking around about this guy she got almost nothing about his life and past. His name is Luke King, he came to the Glory town three years ago and since then, he already was a cripple... He showed his knowledge for the library manager reason why he got a job there.
He leaves the library only for eat and sleep, his work was caring of the books and in his free time he spends reading them.
After their first meeting, when he helped her to crack her bottleneck with just his theoretical knowledge, she thought she finds a hidden gem. In exchange for new books or knowledge she always seeks him to try achieving enlightenment.
She fell in love for him without know, but never feed any hope because she knows herself, she knew her ugliness and her problems.
Breaking her expectations he, one day, tried to woo her. She, drowning in a blissful feeling, spanked him until he passed out.
Two days later, when he finally wakes up, she come to apologize.
They became a pair. Brother Beth the Bear and The Handsome and Crippled Luke. Everyone in the town made fun of them, better saying just at Beth's back. The ugly and the handsome, the genius and the crippled, the orc and the little gigolo...
When they decided to marry he chose to marry inside her family, saying that he was already expelled of his own clan. Elisabeth understood, but the others don't.
"Oh, what a beautiful fairy tale: The Beauty and the Beast". Was one of the jokes...
Her family started to see him like a gigolo that seeks the riches and glory of the Smith Clan.
The family gave them a small courtyard to live, and three years later Beth discovered herself pregnant.
For the venomous people this is an infinite fount of joke and ridicule.
"How brave that Luke could still use a sword even being a cripple"
"Most surprising is that he could use his sword to fight that bear every night"
"I swear that I used to think that it was she who eats him"
"I bet that the baby will be an orc, but a dumb and crippled orc"
For the luck of the couple both of them had the fortitude needed to face all that provocation.
The name was decided Arthur Smith King, even Luke marrying inside her family she decided give his last name to the child.
But, sadly, when the kid born there wasn't almost any sign of life. Just Luke that perceived the light and the strong life force that came from the child.
The doctor, with a sad expression, announced to the family that the kid probably will not live for much time and, even if he lived, he will be forever a demented boy...
