Profound Secrets

"I can't explain any more than that," Ding Wei said.

"But Brother Wei-!" Han Jin started, but Fatty Wan jabbed him in the side, cutting him off abruptly.

"He said he can't explain any more, Jin. It must be one of those 'Profound Secrets.'"

Jin's eyes widened. "Of course! A Profound Secret!"

Fatty Wan and Han Jin were obsessed with cultivation, despite lacking the talent. They spent hours each day coming up with wild ideas, speculating about which of their favorite cultivators would have won in a fight, and arguing with anyone who had a slightly different opinion about cultivation.

Profound Secrets were an idea they had come up with years ago, though Ding Wei had no idea about whether there was any truth to it. They said there were many inheritances and treasures scattered across the world, and some of those secrets were so profound that their makers must have built failsafes into them, to prevent the knowledge from slipping out even by accident.

According to their theory, someone could discover an ancient cultivation sword, for example, and be completely unable to mention a word about what it was, where it came from, or how it worked. They might even endure extreme pain just for speaking of it.

At least one of their crazy ideas was now benefiting him.

"I'm sorry for trying to pry, Brother Wei," Jin said, looking very apologetic. He probably imagined that Wei must have endured great pain just to tell them this much.

Ding Wei waved a hand. "It's okay. As long as you both understand. Please keep it to yourselves."

"Of course! I, Fatty Wan, promise to take this secret to the grave!"

'Hey. It's okay if others call you that, but you call yourself a fatty too?' Ding Wei thought to himself.

"Me also! I promise to never talk about this secret to anyone!"

"Good." Wei smiled, feeling closer to the quirky duo.

When they reached the fallen caravan, Jin gasped with horror at the blood and scars of battle. Flies buzzed around the horse carcass. A sour, unpleasant smell had already begun to rise from its body. With the help of Fatty Wan and a squeamish Jin, he managed to untether the horse and flip the carriage back on its side.

It was a massive thing, thrice as long as Wan's cart and as tall as his shack. It had to be to load as much cargo as possible. General Merchants would often use the same caravan to visit five or six towns before going back home to stock up.

But with Wan's fit physique, Wei's enhanced cultivation strength, and Jin's encouraging words, they barely managed.

A wheel had been broken in its fall, and Wan inspected it. As the son of a blacksmith and grandson of a carpenter, Fatty Wan had a lot of experience handling tools. Despite being the middle son, Wan was his father's favored helper and skilled at repairing all sorts of things. Fixing a wheel was easy for him.

"... I don't have all the tools I need to do it properly. But... I could probably do a patch job that's good enough to get back to the village. It'll take thirty minutes." he announced.

"That's good. Jin and I will bury the horse nearby in the meantime. The merchant was very attached to it. If we let it be eaten by wolves or scavenged by some villagers, he'd be overwhelmed."

Dragging the horse, even with Jin's help, was a very difficult task. It had been a sturdy thing, strong enough to gallop with the heavy caravan.

Though Wei had reached the Inner-Opening Level, his strength had yet to spike dramatically.

New cultivators didn't suddenly become super strong. In fact, the first few stages of the Awakening Realm barely improved one's strength. It wasn't until the Fourth Level when a cultivator began refining their bodies that there was a qualitative change.

To explain further after he had kept pestering her for advice, Granny Wu broke it down simply.

The first level only meant that a small amount of energy had taken root in one's body. It was what differentiated a cultivator from a mere mortal, who held no energy in their bodies. The next two levels allowed the cultivator to accurately sense energies externally and then internally. Before that point, it was very hard to do either and not at all exact.

Only after reaching this point could a cultivator begin refining their body, extracting impurities, and imbuing energy until they transformed. She had explained that before you could start building a house, you needed to be able to see and manipulate the materials that made it up.

...Yes. Ding Wei was certain that Granny Wu had once been a cultivator, despite her words. She knew too much and understood too deeply to have learned it in conversation. He wasn't a fool. But what he did know is that she meant him no harm and had been the only supportive figure in his life.

She was entitled to her secrets; he was sure that she had her reasons.

They buried the horse in a shallow grave, too tired from moving it around to bother with more. It would be enough to keep other animals from getting at it, and that was good enough.

"Wei, Jin! The caravan is fixed!"

When they returned to the Inn, they were greeted outside by the merchant. The man still looked run down after the previous night's events, but a few hours of sleep had done much to increase his energy.

"My caravan! It's still in one piece! I'd feared the worst had happened, and those bastards had trailed after me. I'm happy to see that wasn't the case. Thank you for your help; it won't go unrewarded."

Cheng Shang pulled a few silvers from his money bag and handed two to each of them. Ding Wei's eyes widened in surprise, and Jin looked at the coins as though they were some great treasure.

The merchant scratched his head. "I'm sorry that it's only this much. After the attack..."

It must be said that Ding Wei's monthly wage as a custodian had been one silver. Even Fatty Wan's father, the best blacksmith in the village, would only earn around thirty silvers in a month.

For them to have earned this much after only a few hours of work was a great surprise, especially since Wei had not expected to be paid at all.

"This is more than enough. You are very generous, uncle," Ding Wei thanked the man. "Though... I wonder if I could do something else for you."

The merchant smiled lightly. "Well, what is it you'd like to do?"

"Kill the Coiling Serpent Gang."