Chapter 30 - Brother Sang
Zhao Luo was moving towards the center of the city along with Si Chen and Rose.
He looked around and as they kept on going at an average walking speed, he realized something.
The outskirts of the city were slums where people had been mistreated and their rights had been taken from them.
'Why'
Because they were from the other Mountain Ranges.
It was approved to being hostile towards these people according to the relationships between the other ranges they were from and the Xin Range.
This is how the world worked now.
Si Chen explained everything to Zhao Luo.
A while ago when they passed a restaurant, Zhao Luo stopped while Si Chen and Rose kept on moving.
Zhao Luo had a question rising in his head.
'How long has it been since I got a chance to eat something?'
Zhao Luo's eyes got wet thinking about food as he was standing some steps away from the restaurant in this lawless city.
"Shiga."
That was the restaurant name.
As there was a tilted broken signboard that looked as if it was hanging from a cliff, ready to fall.
'i hope it doesn't fall on me.'
Zhao Luo thought as he called Si Chen and Rose.
"Hey, guys."
Si Chen and Rose turned around and realized that Zhao Luo was standing next to that run-down restaurant. They moved towards him.
"Are you hungry?"
Rose delicately asked Zhao Luo.
"Yes, a little."
Zhao Luo wasn't hungry at the least. He just wanted to feel the texture of food once again. Simple as that. It wouldn't have even taken much time. So they moved towards the restaurant.
"Who ate my noodles?"
A voice came from inside the restaurant.
"Noodles? I love noodles. Let's order noodles first."
Zhao Luo thought and as he opened the door to the restaurant, another loud voice entered his ear.
"Die"
In that split second, a head was rolling on the floor which soon ended up on Zhao Luo's
feet.
It was the head of a Pig.
The restaurant owner had a pig named 'belly'.
It would usually get to eat all the leftovers of the customer's food.
But today it made a mistake.
A while ago, the guy who had sliced the pig's head off just now, had ordered his food and went to the Water Closet to wash his hand.
His food had been served while he was still washing his hand.
Belly, a pig, whose brain smarts were only eating food in the fastest time possible, saw a plate.
'Oink, Oink, so much food. What a generous customer.'
So Belly started chomping down on it.
"Nom, Nom, oink"
In a matter of seconds, the pig had completely defiled the noodle plate.
It was so full that it lied down next to the table digesting the food.
As the man who came out ready to eat his food was left with a shock.
"Why is the plate on my table empty?"
The owner also came towards the man.
He was also frightened.
The owner looked at the plate and said.
"I just put it there and it was full but now it's empty."
"Am I blind? I know it is empty now that is why I asked you about who ate it?"
The answer of the owner was extremely exasperating for this customer.
"The owner was silent as he looked around the restaurant.
There were just a handful of customers today and everyone had their food in front of them. 'Who WOULD do such a thing?'
The owner had sweat running down his head as he thought about the culprit's identity.
The guy controlled his anger and asked the owner again.
"Where ate my noodles?"
He had his hand on the hilt of the sword by his waist.
Everyone in the restaurant was looking at this duo acting out their performance.
It was a compliment to their food. They could watch this show while enjoying their food.
The owner sweated profusely.
'It will be my head if I don't find the culprit.'
The owner thought.
"Burp"
A sound was heard by everyone in the restaurant.
A pig was lying on its back beneath the table. Its belly was protruding out as it turned continuously.
"Why did it have to be you, belly?"
The owner cried but he knew there was no saving for this pig of his.
'Oh, so it was you who ate my noodles.'
The man took out his sword in an instant and sliced the head of Belly who didn't even realize that it had been killed.
Its head went rolling and stopped when it came in contact with the foot of Zhao Luo.
The fresh blood was pouring out as the blood vessels opened up and the lower parts of Zhao Luo's purple robes were painted red.
The blood on his robes mixed with the stab mark on his leg further demonized his handsome looks.
"What the shmucks."
Zhao Luo sweater looking at the head of the pig on his foot.
Zhao Luo moved back and excited the restaurant but before the door of the restaurant closed the head also rolled its way out of the restaurant.
"Oh my Belly"
The owner cried as his pig was departing away and away from him.
"A pig head."
So Chen said as the rolling head came to a stop after coming out of the restaurant.
"I feel sick."
Rose said while looking away from the head of the dead pig.
"Same, let's go to where we were headed before."
Zhao Luo said to Rose and Si Chen.
All the thoughts about food had vanished.
His fantasy about reuniting with food was destroyed because of this incident.
Just like Zhao Luo, even Si Chen wasn't in the mood of eating anymore either, thus they decided to go towards the middle of the city.
"But Why are we going to the middle of the city?"
Zhao Luo suddenly asked Si Chen.
"Every city has a teleportation circle in the middle of the city."
"Generally called a 'TPC' by the people of the Xin Range. The operators would be running it.
These operators were personally chosen by one of the elders of the Xin Sect."
Si Chen explained to Zhao Luo.
The teleportation circle allowed a person or group of people or goods to be teleported from one teleportation circle 'TPC' to another teleportation circle 'TPC'.
The teleportation was limited to the cities within the Xin Range.
There was one rule that had to be kept no matter what.
'The people of the Xin Range weren't allowed to teleport to the middle mountains city that is the city with Xin Sect.'
'The disciples of the Xin Sect were allowed to teleport to the middle mountains teleportation circle 'TPC' only. The operators weren't allowed to let anyone else teleport there.'
If the operators messed up then it will cost them their lives.
Each teleportation cost 10 Xin coins.
Every transaction in the Xin range could be done in three ways.
Either you use something equivalent that the other party wants for the thing you are taking.
The second way was that you could exchange them using gold coins or silver coins. This method was only used by the royal family.
The third was the most common method. It was using the black Xin coins.
Si Chen told everything to Zhao Luo while they were on their way to the Teleportation Circle.
"Well, I don't own any of them though."
Zhao Luo who had been wearing a borrowed robe said to Rose and Si Chen.
Rose laughed a little.
"Don't worry, you will get the Xin Coins once you join the Xin Sect. Well with your strength you may even get some gold or silver coins in a year."
Si Chen confidently told Zhao Luo.
This gave Zhao Luo some hope for his financial condition.
While the three were still moving past the road that was leading towards the center of the city, there was a guy who was also going in the same direction.
He was a little behind than Zhao Luo's group.
Zhao Luo who was still not familiar with the city yet kept on looking around the city as he was walking behind Si Chen and Rose.
He realized that the conditions of the houses were getting better and the people looked healthy too.
Si Chen noticed that Zhao Luo was looking around and told him.
"This is the inner part of the entry City and this is also somewhat the middle of the city. We are just a short walk away from the Teleportation Circle."
"Good."
Zhao Luo said to Si Chen.
After a little while, they had arrived in front of a black squared building. It looked more like a tent.
"The teleportation circle is inside."
Si Chen said as he entered the building followed by Rose and Zhao Luo.
And after they had entered another man entered the building.
After entering the building Zhao Luo saw that in the middle of the building there was a circle drawn on the floor.
Between that circle, there were weird markings.
"Hmm, a Sun. That's a moon there. They look like clouds."
Zhao Luo tried to identify the markings. But he could only figure out three of them.
"The inner markings of the circle represent Heaven and Earth. The thick rods surrounding the circle generate that power with the help of the marking and sets the coordinate. Thus teleporting the person on it to the designated place."
Si Chen explained to Zhao Luo.
"Interesting."
"That is not all. Each Mark inside the circle is capable of storing power too. Only the operators are taught how to use this teleportation circle."
The man who had entered after their group said after listening to Si Chen's incomplete explanation.
"You-you are the pig slaughterer from the restaurant."
Even though Zhao Luo had entered a second late he knew that this guy was the one who had killed the pig. As he was holding the sword with pigs' blood on its edges.
"Hello, brother Sang."
Rose and Si Chen bowed to the man who had slaughtered the pig.