Chapter 5 The Outside World
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The boulder tumbled out and light shone through the cave for the first time in god knows how long. I looked at the man behind the boulder with apprehension. He was certainly stronger than me. Or else, he wouldn't be able to move the huge rock with such ease.
"Who are you?" I called out. The man stepped forward so that I could see him. It took a few seconds for my eyes to get adjusted to this bright light. I looked at him. He was the very definition of machoism. He had a curly mustache and a very muscular body. But for some reason, I recognized him.
A name fit this description. That confused me because I knew that I had never met this man before in my life.
"Uncle Du!" I called out involuntarily.
"My dear nephew. So this was where you had been stuck this whole time. Your mother spent weeks crying, begging me to look at the forest. I thought that you had run away for the third time, but it looks like I was wrong. I should have looked for you earlier. But what was that sound that led me here? Rocks were crumbling. I thought that the mountain would collapse when I saw this boulder." Uncle Du said.
"I don't remember how I got here. Someone might have put me here. An enemy of the family, no doubt. Let us go back to the city. My head hurts, and after all of this time, I am having difficulty remembering the names and faces. I better go there fast." I said. A clever maneuver no doubt. This would help me understand what was happening in the city from this body's perspective so that I could adjust accordingly.
"That is truly unfortunate. How about this? I will take you to the city and give you a full visitor's explanation. But now, I need to take you to your mother. Or she will kill me this instant." Uncle Du laughed as he held my shoulder. He then nodded and he walked out of the cave.
I took a deep breath and looked back. The cave, which was where I had spent so much time at, was kind of my home right now. It was time to bid it adieu.
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"How did you survive in there, Liu Feng? You were there for three months!" Uncle Du asked.
"There was a basket of food pills, Uncle Du. It might have been the final resting place of someone great, but all I could find was the basket of food pills. Nothing else. I ate three a day, and slept it out." I said.
"Well, you certainly did something. Look at you! You are three inches taller and have a much better body than before. If I didn't know you for so long, then I certainly would not have recognized you." Uncle Du said.
"I don't know what happened, Uncle Du. Maybe this was the fortune within misfortune." I said, trying to change the topic.
We could see the outline of a city by now. And to call it a city was an overstatement. It was like I was picked up and dropped centuries in the past. Buildings that did not cross there stories, and only one that did. It was probably the building of the city lord, or whoever was the most powerful of them all.
I saw that there were three sections of the city that were cut off from the rest. These were probably the areas of the powerful clans that I always read about. I probably needed to know more about them.
We entered the city through the gates. The guards bowed to Uncle Du, and looked at me with curiosity. They whispered to each other, but I could hear them.
"The idiot young master of the Liu Family is back! Who would have thought that he would return! It looks like the Cai family and the Bai Family need to know about this." one guard said to the next.
My mouth twitched. Idiot young master? What the hell is this body's problem? They could have made me the handsome and talented young master right? Why did I have to be the idiot young master?
We continued to walk. The city might have been very small compared to my modern standards, but standing within it, it was bustling. I enjoyed the company of humans around me. Everyone was talking. And they were talking in Chinese? Wait a minute! I could understand Chinese? How did that come to be? I wanted to ask the system, but it had to have started updating now of all times. I really should have waited until the system finished updating before I came out.
A giant arch, very similar to the city entrance, towered in front of the two of us. The words, 'Liu Manor' were written masterfully. I could feel a piercing glare from the words. It was like it was cutting at me, and would kill me if I showed any hostility.
"This must be the sword intent, or whatever." I understood.
There were three guards this time, and all of them also looked at me weirdly. They bowed down to Uncle Du.
"Master Du! I shall inform the third elder of your arrival instantly." one of the guards bowed with haste and ran off into the manor. I knew the moment I looked at this place that it was one of the three big sections in the city. If I had to guess, the Liu Family, Cai Family, and the Bai family, which the guards were talking about, were the three biggest families in the city.
"Remember Feng'er. When you see your father, the first thing that you must do is bow and beg for forgiveness. Your mother might be crying with sorrow after your disappearance, but Liu Qian was so angry that your grandfather had to intervene." Uncle Du warned me.
I nodded. I did not know the customs here, but certainly, the 'idiot son' had to apologize because everything was probably his fault.
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