Rat Ling

Chapter 84

A few days have passed since Shin Jiao found himself living in a dark and damped room. Here he discovered that he is now in a sect called Heavenly Crow. He became friends with Rat Ling who would always bring him some stories about what's happening outside and the ins and outs of the sect. So basically these days Shin Jiao was able to piece everything together.

It seems that a few weeks ago he was found by an outer disciple of the sect called Zen Nian. He is an illegitimate son of a grand elder of the sect who has 3 children. His elder brother and sister is an inner disciple of the sect, while he who has meager talent in cultivation was left out.

The Nian clan lived in a town outside of the Heavenly Crow sect in a large state, and in this large state lived many servants and the Nian clan members. In a particular place where servants lived is a building, Shin Jiao is staying under this building were servants who made mistakes are being imprisoned. This is because his origin is yet unknown and he will be turned into a servant after he recovers.

"It's been a few days now and I can't still feel my meridian healing. I guess the damage I received is far worse than I thought." Shin Jiao thought as he sat on the cold floor and tried to cycle his meridian to no avail.

"I need to treat myself first and then enter an alchemist shop. That way I can find the proper medicinal plants to heal my wounds and meridians. But how?..." While staying in the servant prison room, Shin Jiao started to plan his next move.

"The balm they are using is very effective, even my bones are recovering rapidly. If I can have some equipment here I really want to study what's on that balm. The few instances I used it, the pain was intolerable, but now it's not that much and my body seems to be sturdier than normal." Shin Jiao also noticed something about the slow healing effect of the balm.

2 weeks later…

Shin Jiao is now able to stand back up and is able to move. Since the doctor who checked Shin Jiao's wounds says that he is already a waste, they just turned him into a servant for the young master just like Rat Ling.

The sunlight shone brightly through the courtyard as Shin Jiao walks while limping. He is going to meet his benefactor and the person who saved him.

"Young master, I have brought him." Rat Ling said as he bowed his head towards a young man sitting in a courtyard while sipping some tea.

The young man looks feminine; in fact, he could be mistaken for a beautiful young girl if not for this male cultivator's robe. His build is also thin, with long silky hair tied neatly behind his back, this young man is the young master whom Rat Ling serves and is called Zen Nian.

"What is your name?" Zen Nian asked casually.

"My name is Shin Jiao young master, and I am truly grateful for saving my life. One of these days I promise that I will repay your kindness." Shin Jiao said as he also bowed his head.

He didn't want to antagonize anyone as he knows the status of his body. Unlike his overpowered self before, right now he is very weak and to keep his life he decided to keep a low profile first.

The young man looked at Shin Jiao's appearance and saw his face full of scars even his arms are not spared. When he found him in the river on his way home, he felt pity for Shin Jiao, at that time Shin Jiao's body is covered with wound and blood.

"Your body is healing well. The healing pills that I gave the maid are good I guess." Zen Nien said.

Both Rat Ling and Shin Jiao look at each other in confusion and seeing their reaction Zen Nian felt a little annoyed and angry.

"They wouldn't even spare the person I saved. Sigh… anyway, at least he is okay now." Zen Nian thought while feeling hopeless about the situation.

"Umm, master… I prefer this kind of medicine. If you have more then can I have it?" Shin Jiao sheepishly said while showing a small jar.

Upon seeing the jar, Zen Nian's eyes went wide. He knows what kind of balm Shin Jiao is holding in his hand. It is a lower quality balm and is usually used by the clan for those servants that they wanted to punish and torture.

The way they use it is, first they would whip the servant. Then they would apply the balm to make the servant suffer from the pain more until they faint. The next morning the servant's wounds would be healed and the process will continue. It is a kind of torture that most servants didn't want to experience as the hellish pain had already made many servants turned stupid.

But right now, Zen Nian had an incredulous look on his face at Shin Jiao's request.

"This man didn't turn stupid because of the pain he had suffered while healing his wounds right?" Zen Nian thought.

"I didn't know what you mean about this. But that is a low-quality healing balm for those who are imprisoned and being punished by the clan." Zen Nian explained.

"Ohhh… So that's it. Then master since it's low-quality this is very cheap right? Can I have some more of it then?" Shin Jiao said with a foolish face.

"You… Sigh… alright, suit yourself. Rat, give him more of that balm." Zen Nian commanded.

"Thank you very much, master!" Shin Jiao bowed.

No one knows except for Shin Jiao the true effect of the balm. He actually didn't understand it fully, but through his experiments when he applies the balm in his skin without wound he actually felt more painful but there are changes that are happening.

If he can really have his equipment he truly wanted to study the balm more. But right now, the only thing he can do is use the balms every day and try to tolerate the pain as much as possible. Because right now he already found that his skin is already comparable to a late-stage body strengthening realm cultivator. And in his opinion, the change that has happened in his physique might actually be on a cellular level or even DNA level. This might be the reason for the pain; it might be the pain of his skin and body being refined.

That day, Shin Jiao was introduced to his job as the young master's servant. Many who saw his appearance showed a disgusted look on their faces, especially the women as he is full of scars. But he didn't mind as this way he would maintain being low-key as he slowly builds his strength once again.

On their way back Shin Jiao saw a particular building.

"That's it! That's the alchemy building of this clan." Shin Jiao thought.

"Brother Ling, what's that over there?" Shin Jiao asked while pointing towards the alchemy building.

"Oh that's the alchemy house, that is where our young master is working. Because of his low cultivation, he tried to be an alchemist instead… but…" Rat Ling explained while feeling dejected.

"Hmmm… I guess young master also has his own troubles…" Shin Jiao muttered.

"Yes, he has. But one day… one day, I will help him and will become his shield. He has helped me when I was young, so if I have enough resources to cultivate, I will help young master." Rat Ling said.

"Really? You can cultivate? I thought… What realm are you in?" Shin Jiao said with suspicion.

"I am a low-level cultivator at the second stage body refining realm." Rat Ling said proudly.

"Pfft!" Shin Jiao almost laughed.

"Big brother Shin, are you mocking me?" Rat Ling said in annoyance.

"No, you miss understand me. I think your cultivation technique has some flaw in it. Can you show it to me?" Shin Jiao asked.

"What cultivation technique?" Asked Rat Ling confused.

"You… you don't have any cultivation technique and you reached the second level?" Shin Jiao said in surprise.

This time it was Shin Jiao who was dumbfounded.

"This boy… this boy might be a genius cultivator. Just relying on simple breathing he is able to advance. Hehe, I found a good seed." Shin Jiao suddenly thought of a plan.

"Alright, you said you wanted to be strong right? This will be our secret, I will teach you. You know what the doctor said that I have wasted my cultivation right? I have some knowledge so I will help you become strong, okay? But remember, this is our secret." Shin Jiao said in a low voice.

Upon hearing his words, Rat Ling almost jump in excitement. He could not believe that this wounded and crippled older brother of his is willing to teach him. He already knows what's the attitude of the cultivators in this clan. Even those who were wasted and became lowly servants didn't even want to teach him, so now he is really happy to hear Shin Jiao's promise.

"Thank you, big brother! Sob, sob…" Rat Ling suddenly said as tears began to form in his eyes.

"Wait! If you cry, I will no teach you. Real men don't cry easily. Be brave. That is your first lesson." Shin Jiao said trying to stop Rat Ling from crying with a bluff.

...

That night Rat Ling stayed in Shin Jiao's dark and damp room. Shin Jiao prefer to stay in this place because he felt that he can keep his secrets in here. Then he started to teach Rat Ling some cultivation breathing exercises and the principle behind absorbing spiritual Qi. Not long later, he was dumbstruck and amazed at Rat Ling's fast comprehension.

It didn't take for him to immediately grasp the cultivation technique.

"Truly a genius." Is what only Shin Jiao said in his mind as he was really amazed at Rat Ling.

The next morning…

This will be the first day of Shin Jiao's work. When he woke up, he found Rat Ling's spirit undulation very peculiar. And the feeling seems familiar to him, this made Shin Jiao's jaw almost fell to the floor.

"What the heck is this kid? In just one night he broke through to the spirit refining realm first stage." Shin Jiao thought incredulously.

Not long later, Rat Ling opened his eyes and a wide grin appears on his face.

"What a smug." Shin Jiao said grumblingly.

"Big brother Shin, look! I became stronger now… Hahaha!" Rat Ling said who is grinning like a fool.

"Hey, you need to consolidate your cultivation first." Shin Jiao said.

"We need to find a set of martial arts that focus on power, this way your cultivation will become stronger in just a short time." Shin Jiao explained.

Although Shin Jiao can show him some techniques however he is not sure if it is compatible with Rat Ling.

"Yes, big brother… maybe I can ask the young master for this." Rat Ling said while thinking deeply.

The two went out of the room and started their daily chores. Rat Ling is an all-around guy, who is really good at serving the young master. As Shin Jiao is new, he just followed and assisted whenever Rat Ling needs his help. As he is still limping, his usefulness is negligent and Rat Ling would also just help him every now and then.

The two's action of helping each other didn't escape the head servants eyes and a sinister glint suddenly appear in them. This head servant is one of the Eldest young master's people, he is the one who would always bully Rat Ling and make it hard for him. And since he has the backing of the Eldest young master, Zen Nian is unable to do something about it.

After a day of hard work, Shin Jiao felt tired as he and Rat Ling walked towards his quarters. Rat Ling intends to continue training under Shin Jiao as he now considers him his master in secret. On their way, Shin Jiao's eyes suddenly change as he squinted. He then had a smirk appear on his face as they continued walking. Then all of a sudden, two people appear in front of them then another three from behind, the five people now encircled them.

"What is the meaning of this?" Rat Ling shouted.

"Hehehe… Rat Ling, you seem to forget something... Anyway, we are just here because the Head Servant wanted to see you." one of the men said with an evil smile.

Rat Ling looks at Shin Jiao who nods towards him. And so they followed the group outside the manor until they reach a grove of trees.

"This is bad, big brother. I'll stop them and you run okay." Rat Ling said while clenching his fist.

Shin Jiao saw the determination in the boy's eyes and he smiled.

"This guy is very brave and loyal. I guess this place is already secluded enough, I can show him a thing or two in here." Shin Jiao thought.

Although, Shin Jiao is still limping however his body is already strong enough to fight against these mortals.

"Little Rat, I want you to watch and remember the things you will see." Shin Jiao said in a low voice.

"What are the two of you whispering? Do you think you can escape from this? Hahaha…" a man from behind then said.

But before he can laugh more, he suddenly saw a fist going towards his face.

Thump!

Crack!

In just a couple of moves, Shin Jiao sent the three behind them sprawling to the ground already fainted. While he stood there almost dumbfounded at what he did.

"This… the physique of my body is comparable to when I started forming my first sphere." Shin Jiao thought in a daze.

"You! Let's get them! No need to wait till we reach the inner grove." Shouted one of the two men in the front.

The two suddenly rushed towards Shin Jiao, who is still in a daze.

"Big brother, watch out!" Rat Ling shouted as he jumps in front of Shin Jiao to block the punches.

"Let's see if he can think while in battle." Shin Jiao thought as he didn't move.

"Your courting death Rat Ling!" shouted the man near Rat Ling.

His fist is already traveling towards Rat Ling's face, which had an incredulous look on his expression. Then as if by reflex he just leans his head to evade the fist.

Then he suddenly remembers Shin Jiao's move, it was clearly too fast for a mere mortal to follow at that time but for Rat Ling, it is at a normal speed. Then he clenched his fist and readied a stance which he copied from Shin Jiao. Then following Shin Jiao's movements, he quickly executes a double combo of punch and kicks towards the two people in front of him.

Crack!

Puff!

Then before Rat Ling knows it two lifeless bloody figures now lay on the ground.