Fated Encounter

"Dammit, just when I was getting used to this world, something like this happens". Many thoughts went through his mind, however; Kai did not slow down.

Initially, he had been running out of fear of whatever could have created the explosion, however, now he praised himself for his cowardice as the explosion had produced a thick colorful gas cloud that was quickly spreading in all directions.

Kai had been running for what felt like hours to avoid getting caught by the gas. He had no idea what the stuff was so he would not risk being caught up in it.

The terrain was rather flat so Kai did not have to worry about obstacles within his way, he just ran like his life depended on it.

The massive mushroom cloud just kept getting bigger and did not seems likely to stop spreading anytime soon. He was ahead of it for now, but it would eventually reach his location if he stopped even for a minute, so he had to keep moving.

Finally, after what felt like 10 hours of running, the gas started to slow its pace. Kai noticed this and slowed down to a job while observing it. When he was sure that the gas had come to a complete stop and was starting to dissipate, he dropped to the ground as sheer exhaustion washed over him.

Kai's body had reached Mortal Grade 2 so he had more endurance than the average mortal, but 10 hours of full sprinting was not something he was capable of.

To get over his body's limits, Kai was using his Qi throughout his body to reduce the amount of pain and fatigue he was feeling by enhancing his lungs and muscles, however, this was not without its drawbacks.

He now felt the full 10 hours' worth of muscle pain and fatigue bearing down on his body which was excruciating. Kai could do nothing but lay down on the ground while heavily panting in extreme pain.

The mist only came to a stop at the break of dawn meaning Kai had been running right through the night and did not stop once.

"What the hell was that!"

Kai looked at the colorful gas in astonishment. He could no longer see the forest as he assumed he was more than 200Km away from it by now. The colorful mushroom cloud was still rising into the sky in the distance and the gas it produced seemed to cover a massive radius. Kai assumed it must cover at least a 200Km radius with the forest at the center.

"I'm lucky that I decided to leave when I did...Had I stayed at that hut another day..." Kai quickly stopped this train of thought as it terrified him. He just closed his eyes and counted his lucky stars.

He quickly tried to regulate his breathing as described by [Dragon Subduing Law] to try and increase his recovery rate even by a little. He needed to recover as quickly as possible as he felt too vulnerable in this state.

Hours passed as Kai regulated his breathing. Unbeknownst to him, he had entered a trance-like state at some point. Due to his mind being unable to cope with the pain, Kai had fallen in and out of consciousness, thus inducing his half trance state while his body recovered.

Kai was suddenly woken up from the trans when he heard a set of human voices.

"Brother, there is a person over here..." said an inquisitive yet immature sounding female voice

"Mina, get away from that person!". This time the voice came from a panic-stricken male voice.

The girl continued; "but he looks injured, do you think he was poisoned by the seven-color mist?" asked the girl.

"Not likely, those poisoned by the mist will get multicolored spots all over their bodies. Look at him, he seems perfectly healthy...wait, I said get away from him!"

"Relax, I won't get too close, I just want to see his face"..."but what's a young boy doing alone in a place like this?. Is he sleeping? look his chest is moving".

"We don't know if he is alone Mina, this could be a trap set up by the man-hunters! let's just go back to the village"

During this exchange, Kai was doing his best at playing dead. His body was nowhere close to being fully recovered. He had strained his leg muscles and lungs so badly that he had trouble breathing and standing straight, so he just lied there hoping they would leave.

"Excuse me,....are you in need of assistance?" The girl suddenly asked out loud.

Kai's eyelids twitched but he didn't answer.

Based on the contents of their conversation, the two did not seem to harbor any ill intentions, however, Kai didn't want to take any chances.

He was already preparing to enhance his body with Qi again, despite the damage it may cause to his already battered body. However what happened next completely baffled Kai.

He felt someone stand next to him and one of his eyelids being forced open. What he was was a small girl with golden brown skin and short silver hair tied in a ponytail. Her iris were as silver as her hair, which gave her a mysterious look.

She was pulled back by a boy who looked slightly older than her. He looked similar to the girl in features, except his hair and eyes were pitch black.

Kai lied there with one eye open as the two stared in front of him with utter confusion.

The girl simply continued...

"So you are awake, why are you ignoring us?"

"Mina...stop" the boy quickly said as he nervously looked in Kai's direction.

Kai sat up and scratched his head awkwardly. These were just a bunch of kids. How could he, the soul of a 26-year-old feel threatened by two kids?.

But Kai didn't drop his guard just because they were kids. This was a cultivation world after all. Even kids with enough talent could punch holes through boulders.

"Hello, my name is Kai. Can you please tell me where I am. I suddenly showed up in this place after being attacked and lost my memories".

This was the story Kai had prepared in the event that he would meet other people. It was partly true seeing as he could barely access this body's memories so he needed an excuse to be able to ask a lot of questions without standing out too much.

"You lost your memories?" The boy said skeptically. "Who attacked you, do you remember what they looked like".

Kai just shrugged. "As I said, I lost my memories, apart from waking up here and meeting you two, I remember nothing else".

"Greetings Kai, my name is Mina, and this is my younger brother Ryu. This is the Southern Empire. We're from Yellow Crow village which is half a day's walk south of here".

"Mina!, why would you tell him all of that, we don't even know who this person is".

"Didn't he say his name is Kai?"

"..."

"..."

Kai was at a loss for words. One was a little too trusting and curious and the other was overly skeptical and anxious. He was getting tired of just listening to them but he needed information and they seemed harmless enough.

"So the village you're from. Is it safe?"

"Safe?, haha we have the village chief, The Iron fist Jurgen. Chief Jurgen is a famous body cultivator whose family has kept the village safe and prosperous for generations! not only that but his power is also the top when compared to the other village chiefs, also..." This time it was Ryu who spoke as he went on and on about the greatness of this Iron fist Jurgen.

Mina simply rolled her eyes as this seemed to be a common occurrence with the boy. She simply turned him around pushed him away from herself and Kai so they could no longer hear him speak.

"Kai, do you want to come back to Yellow Crow village with us? this place won't be safe in a few days when the beasts return".

Mina was curious about this boy who had lost his memories and wanted to learn more about him. His clothing also intrigued her. He wore an old straw hat and straw cloak and was completely barefoot. No matter how she thought of it, he shouldn't have been able to survive out here by himself which was interesting to her.

Kai felt that his legs still couldn't move too well so he decided to keep asking questions to avoid showing the severity of his current weakness. He was also curious so it worked out well.

"Can you answer a few questions first before I agree?. I'm still not sure about many things due to my...condition"

"Sure!.", Mina instantly agreed as she sat down in front of Kai with a beaming smile. Her silver eyes were curiously inspecting his clothing and especially the homemade rucksack slung behind his back.

"So Mina, you said the beasts would return in a few days, can you explain?"

"Oh that?....well during the year, this place is actually very dangerous. It's filled with all kinds of beasts, some even reaching Grade-3. However, at around this time of year, they will migrate further west because the beasts can sense the unique energy fluctuations in the ground from the Seven Colored Lotus and will know when to escape before the explosion occurs.

Mina pointed towards the slowly dissipating mist on the horizon before she continued

"The Elders say every year the Seven Colored Lotus blooms at the center of the deep forest. The blooming itself is a very violent occurrence where seven kinds of elemental Qi are gathered within the lotus, causing it to expand as large amounts of Qi react within it. The peak of this reaction causes a massive explosion that spreads the poison stored in the lotus, causing the poison mist to cover the entire area"

"The mist is dangerous to living creatures but it is nutritious to plants, so a lot of interesting herbs and fruits will have a chance to grow after being affected by the mist. This is actually the reason why my younger brother Ryu and I came all the way out here. To try our luck at finding some rare herbs before the beast come back and eat them all"

Kai now had a better understanding of what was going on. He was curious as to why there were no signs of life since he left that forest.

"So are there beasts that don't leave?". Kai was curious about the worms and rabbits so he decided to ask.

"No, they all leave eventually, some later than others. Apparently, it has something to do with how in-tune the beast is with the Qi fluctuating in Lotus. If you want to know more, you're better off asking one of the Elders as I don't know much about Qi stuff. Just what the elders always teach."

"Thank you". Kai decided to stop his questioning session there. Ryu had recovered his composure and was standing next to his sister staring cautiously at Kai again.

Kai just smiled at them feeling slightly more at ease. " Let's have something to eat while we talk"

He pulled out a handful of dried Vicious Hare meat strips. He offered some to both of them which Mina gladly accepted. Once they had a whiff of the meat, both were shocked.

"Is...is this vicious hare meat?!!". Ryu was completely stupefied when he tasted the meat. Initially, he had done so as a test to see if it was safe for his sister to eat, however, he now found himself subconsciously savoring the delicious flavor.

"We would be lucky to be able to eat this once a year!....how do you have so much" Mina followed up as she stuffed her pieces into the mouth afraid that Kai would change his mind and ask for it back.

Kai was dumbfounded. "Is it that good?".

Kai was thinking that he would have actually just preferred a normal steak made from beef over this rubbery meat but to each their own.

"Is super good" Mina continued with an excited expression. " It's also very rare. The Vicious Hares are some of the last beasts to retreat before the seven-colored gas comes, but their territories are some of the closest to the forest which is very dangerous. They're also extremely fast and difficult to catch so only body cultivators can hunt them successfully.

Only a few Vicious Hares can be procured each year so they are very expensive. Even the hides, bones, and internal organs sell very well.

Kai started thinking as he pulled out his backpack which was filled to the brim with dried meat as well as his sleeping bag made out of hare hides.

Kai showed her the backpack full of meat strips and asked with a cautious smile.. "would these be able to sell well in your village?".

To Kai, this meat wasn't that useful so if he could trade it for other goods or information, he was more than willing to do so.

Mina mumbled to herself as she stared at the backpack filled with meat. "It seems well preserved so it could be added into stews and broths over the winter. The price should be quite high and if we include the hides...."

A spark quickly flashed in Mina's eyes and she came to an immediate decision before looking at Kai with a serious expression.

"Kai!...no wait, Boss-nim! let's go into business together!"