"Tianfu! I don't want to stay with Lan Rudong. And even more importantly, I don't want you to stay there. He is not someone who can be trusted!"
"Kaishi, listen. He gave us this home and a job. Nothing bad has ever happened to us since then. Although you are right and I would rather stay with Michael too, we already owe him too much. Let's not burden him further."
"But..." Kaishi couldn't quite argue back. Tianfu was right regarding Michael. Kaishi once treated Michael as an equal, but the relationship soon turned into caretaker and child. Michael had done so much for them that Kaishi didn't want to burden him with more. The option Tianfu presented, though, was unacceptable for him.
"... we can't trust Lan Rudong's words. Let's ask Michael first. He was in the inner city during the past days too; he should know about this problem if it is real."
After some more exchanges, they agreed to ask Michael about the situation first.
They carefully knocked at Michael's door, waiting for him to allow them in.
"Come in."
After hearing Michael's voice, they opened the door and walked into the small room. They quickly told Michael about the presumable upcoming beast tide and Lan Rudong's arrangements. Then they asked Michael if he had heard of the beast tide as well.
A beast tide? He had no idea what they were talking about. He hadn't heard about it either.
"I haven't heard of a beast tide, but I didn't interact with a lot of people in the inner city, so it could still be truthful. As for Lan Rudong's arrangements," Michael took a deep breath before saying his next words.
"You cannot trust him. I'm not saying that because we don't like each other. Just remember this, whether the beast tide doesn't happen or if it happens. As long as I am around, you will be safe."
With that sentence, he headed back to bed. It was now Tianfu's and Kaishi's decision who to trust more.
It would certainly feel good if they chose me, but even if they choose Lan Rudong and something happens to them, I'll still save them and won't feel any different towards them.
Meanwhile, after just a few sentences, Tianfu and Kaishi came to a united decision: they would stay.
Two days passed in a flash, and tomorrow would finally be the day. Michael's chance to become an official alchemist. He would finally be able to buy all kinds of ingredients and sell pills to become rich.
Why do I even need to become rich?
Michael thought about his long-term goals during these past two days. Well, there just wasn't much more to do. His conclusion was quite simple yet not easily achievable at the same time.
Originally, all he wanted was to have fun, but the question was, what did he find fun? He wasn't sure. Would being rich be fun? Not really, but buying Kaishi and Tianfu a huge house and letting them live in wealth and peace would give him a sense of fulfillment. Maybe fun wasn't his main goal after all...
"Michael, Michael!"
Kaishi stormed into the room, filled with energy. "Can you take me with you during your hunt today?" He asked, full of excitement and expectation.
"Sure," Michael agreed.
Well, after telling them to put their full trust into me, it might not be too bad to show Kaishi at least some of my strength.
Kaishi, surprised at the agreement, was glad.
That is the only point where we still can't fully trust Michael. He always talks about his luck when hunting animals, yet always succeeds in his hunts. At some point it cannot be only about luck anymore.
Michael and Kaishi headed out, leaving Tianfu behind, who still had some time left before her work began.
Neither Michael nor Kaishi said a word during their walk towards the forest, but the atmosphere wasn't awkward at all. Both of them wouldn't talk without a reason but didn't mind silence at all.
They soon arrived at the edge of the forest, where Michael told Kaishi to stay close to him while following.
Michael advanced with careful steps, with Kaishi in tow. He walked extra slow and measured, acting like a true hunter, only to realize that everything about him felt off.
He still wore the expensive Master S robe instead of proper hunting clothes, making him stick out like a sore thumb in the green and brown colored forest. Most importantly though, he didn't even bring a weapon with him. How would he even hunt any prey without a proper weapon?
Kaishi, who also took note of these things, felt like Michael had no care in the world and wasn't afraid of anything.
Michael just shook his head and still continued to advance carefully, keeping up his act.
Just about 5 minutes into the hunt, Michael and Kaishi "coincidentally" ended up spotting a wild bear that attacked them on the spot.
Kaishi's first instinct was to run, but seeing Michael's confident look and remembering his previous results, he stayed to see how Michael would take care of the bear.
Michael simply hit the incoming bear with his bare fist. The bear simply dropped dead within seconds. Finally, a kill without destroying any valuables.
Shock. That was the only feeling Kaishi had at this moment. Can humans even do something like that? Is Michael even a human?
Numerous thoughts went through Kaishi's head as he watched Michael casually pick up the unmoving bear and, with an unchanging expression, say, "Let's head back," as if everything he did was his normal routine.
"Ok," Kaishi could only answer in a single word as he was still in a daze, thinking about what Michael had just done.
Thinking back, the large tiger split in half. Did he also do it without a weapon?
Kaishi didn't quite dare to believe it.
As they headed back to the entrance of the forest and later to one of the butchers, who happily greeted him with his nickname, "Caveman," to sell the huge bear, Kaishi just silently walked next to Michael, seemingly still deep in thought.
Michael, noticing the oddity, was worried that he had overdone it. "Ähm, Kaishi, are you ok?" he carefully asked.
Kaishi looked up, caught off guard by Michael's words. Looking at Michael, his confused look switched to a bright smile. "Mister... sorry, Michael, you are so strong. How did you do it?"
"Well... I just learned a bit of... martial arts. Yes, martial arts," Michael remembered the several martial arts training halls within the inner city. As to why he didn't tell him about cultivation, it was the same as before; Michael wasn't really sure if cultivation was something ordinary people would know about. Martial arts, though, was something publicly available, at least in the inner city. A cultivator in the eyes of ordinary people would probably be something they only heard tales about.
"Wow, a martial artist? I've heard that only the gangs around here have real martial artists. And you seem to be even stronger than them. With you around, Tianfu and I really should be safe," Kaishi now believed Michael's words from a few days ago.
Michael himself was happy that he held back the truth. If Kaishi reacted like this to a martial artist, who knew how he would react to him being a cultivator, or even a billion-plus-years-old one?
The bear with all his materials was quickly fully sold, as the siblings and Michael had enough meat left.
"So now that you came with me to hunt, how about I stay with you for the rest of the day to see what you usually do during the day?" Michael asked.
He had nothing to do anyways, so spending some time with Kaishi was something he wanted to do. He was interested in what Kaishi did to help his sister, who earned a stable salary.
"Sure, Michael," Kaishi said in excitement. He was happy to spend more time with Michael.
The boy who was wary of Michael during their first meetings had really opened up and seriously explained what he did on a day-to-day basis.
He would usually stay at a designated spot where people who were looking for working opportunities gathered. Money was rare, so most people didn't hire a lot of workers for money. The people who would hire some of the odd people gathering for opportunities to earn money were mostly either members of the small or larger gangs around or some of the few relatively wealthy people within the outer city.
The jobs themselves were mostly related to physical strength. Therefore Kaishi was rarely chosen, since he looked weak and frail. The only time when he would get a job was when wealthy people would search for people to clean their house. And even then he was mostly chosen out of pity.
Kaishi, though, with his own hard work and independent thinking, managed to leave most customers impressed and had already earned himself quite a respected reputation within the housekeeping field of work.
Sadly, cleaning jobs came around rarely, so usually Kaishi would not be able to work and earn. Then he would spend the day training to eventually become strong enough to be able to fulfill strength-related jobs that came around more often.
Today though, he wasn't alone. Michael already had a strong reputation shared by hunters and stall owners as "Caveman," the one who is strong enough to provide. The latter part of the saying had to sadly be cut out due to Michael's change in clothing.
Sadly, due to the later arrival of Michael and Kaishi, most of the daily jobs were already assigned. Even with Michael present, finding a job would be difficult.
Kaishi and Michael waited together and talked about various topics. Kaishi told Michael about the different criminal gangs, their strength, and their zones within the outer city. Michael listened attentively while mostly grumbling about the, in his mind, undeserved nickname that was the topic of the workers around left without a job.
A few of these workers even wanted to shoo Michael away but were held back by more experienced people that knew more about "Caveman's" strength.
Eventually, a man, dressed in a clean black outfit yet without the emblem of Master S, came towards Michael and Kaishi with steady steps.
"I have a job for you, Caveman. Come with me for more details."
"Only if he can participate," Michael pointed at Kaishi, who looked somewhat panicked.
"No. I only want you, not some brat," the man said, keeping a bossy attitude. "One more time, will you accept?"
"Then not," Michael shrugged his shoulders.
"Heh, refusing me means offending the Ying Yang gang. Can you bear it, Caveman?" the man said and leisurely walked away.
Can they stop calling me Caveman? Michael let the member of the Ying Yang gang walk away without saying anything.
"Michael, he is one of the core members of the most renowned gang around. You need to be careful," Kaishi said with some shock, while most people hearing them talk agreed.
"The poor guy, he seems to be unaware he is courting death without knowing anything."
"To really offend the Ying Yang clan..."
"Even in public, they won't let this humiliation stay unanswered."
As the people around declared Michael as dead, he himself didn't care too much about some gang in the outer city. The only people he wanted to avoid offending were the official authorities; a random gang wasn't a problem.
At the same time, he was surprised at how fast these people would resort to threats; wasn't he just declining a simple job?
The following few hours, Michael and Kaishi weren't selected while a lot of others were. It seemed like the rumor that Michael had offended a big shot had spread.
Just as Kaishi was about to give up and start his daily training, a man walked towards the pair in the meanwhile nearly empty place.
"Hello, young friends. I was wondering whether you would be willing to answer a few questions about this city."
Michael and Kaishi looked towards the man. He was dressed in a casual yet elegant outfit. To Michael it looked like someone who had money but didn't need to show it off. He looked to be in his mid-40s and exuded a friendly yet serious aura. Someone who definitely didn't fit in with the usual outer city people.
"Sure, mister," Kaishi answered. "As long as you pay us a little fee, we will be able to answer every question about this place," Kaishi answered, having seemingly grasped the financial situation of the older man.
"Of course, that won't be a problem," the man chuckled and directly handed 10 silver coins towards him.
That's more than sister earns in multiple months! Kaishi couldn't help but look at the man again, making sure that he wasn't mistaken, but the man simply smiled at him and Michael, who tried to guess the identity of this gentleman.
Not outer city. Too casual and friendly for a normal inner-city citizen. Maybe someone who once was in the outer city and made it in the inner city. Nobody else seems to know him, though...
"Alright, how about we head to a more suitable location before you answer my questions? While getting here I passed by an interesting restaurant. How about I treat you to a meal while you answer my questions?"
Kaishi, usually good at reading people, found nothing wrong with the man, so he happily nodded. Michael tagged along, also quite interested in this unusual character.
Soon the group of three arrived in front of the restaurant, making Michael's eyebrows twitch. Coincidentally, it was the exact restaurant Tianfu worked in. A place where Michael was not welcome.
Although that was the case, he still headed inside; he was just here to eat, after all.
Heading to the first empty table, soon Tianfu came to their table and handed out the menu.
"Brother? Michael? Why are you here? Let's not spend any more money than necessary."
"It's fine, Tianfu. This generous man will pay for us," Michael said, calming her down, while luckily spotting no trace of Lan Rudong.
The man just smiled and ordered multiple dishes, more than enough for the three of them.
While waiting for the food to arrive, the man turned serious. "Alright, I will start with my questions now. Please think carefully and answer them truthfully. If you don't know the answer, just say so, but please be serious; it's very important for me to uncover the truth."
"Of course, sir. We will share everything we know," Kaishi answered while Michael nodded.
"Thank you. I heard that recently the forest has become more and more dangerous. Is that true, and why do you think that is?"
"That's true," Kaishi answered. "Recently the beasts, normally deep within the forest, have appeared more and more frequently in the outer layers of the forest, causing even experienced hunters to die. As to why that happened, there is a rumor that in the center of the forest a Tier 1 Spirit Beast awakened and is now claiming more and more land as their hunting grounds, driving out the beasts from their normal territory. Nobody knows if the rumor is true, though."
Someone from the inner city to investigate the forest? Michael still guessed the identity of the man.
"What is the strongest power within the city that you know of?" The man continued to ask.
"That's the Ying Yang gang. They have the most members out of any gang and can therefore control other gangs at will," Kaishi answered truthfully.
"Do you know how strong their strongest member is?"
"I don't, but people rumor that he has reached the highest form of martial arts."
Someone who wants to get rid of dangers in the outer city? But who would even...
The man quickly shook his head before moving on. "Has there recently been someone new in this city, someone who has earned a certain amount of fame within a short time?"
Kaishi didn't directly answer but instead looked at Michael before speaking after seeing Michael signaling him that he could answer. "Yes, this man next to me. His name is Michael, and he came into the city only about 10 days ago. He is someone who often hunts in the dangerous forest and always brings back meat. That earned him the title "Caveman" among the people buying and selling meat. He is also very nice and helped me and my sister a lot," Kaishi said without leaving much out.
Couldn't he leave the Caveman part out? Michael thought, slightly irritated by his spreading nickname. Well, if the guy is here to stop dangers, I should be safe at least.
"Ah, Sir Caveman, I already heard about you," the man said with a knowing smile, making Michael want to facepalm. This nickname spreads way too fast.
At this moment the dishes arrived, carried by Tianfu, who looked quite exhausted. Today seemed to be a hard day.
As the group of three started eating, the man asked a few more questions, mostly regarding the general situation within the outer city and the forest, before showing the two of them a picture.
"Have you seen this young man?" he asked.
Michael casually looked at the picture without any expectation but suddenly spit out the food currently in his mouth in surprise.
The person in the photo was wearing a blue robe and luxurious accessories. He had the look of an arrogant noble. This was without a doubt Hai Yan, Michael's first victim.
Michael coughed a few times before acting like nothing happened, even though his mind swirled with panic and he wanted to leave right away.
"Do you know him?" the man asked once again. This time his face wasn't as friendly as before. His eyes stared at Michael like he wanted to see right through him.
"No," Michael simply answered, trying to keep a neutral face. "I've never seen him. I first thought that I knew him, but that was someone different," he lied without batting an eye, while controlling his facial muscles to show no signs.
Why is he searching for him?
Kaishi also said that he had never seen this young man.
The man, seeing that Hai Yan was unknown by the two people in front of him, sighed and returned to his friendly smile. "Alright, thank you for answering my questions. If you somehow find out something about this young man, named Hai Yan, you can visit me at this address." He pulled out two pieces of paper, on which a rather expensive hotel, for the standards of the outer city at least, was listed. He handed each one of them a piece.
"I'll probably stay for another week or two, if you find anything, and I mean anything of importance." He gave Michael a deep look. "Visit me. Just ask for Hai Tan, and you will be able to see me. Every useful clue will directly be paid for."
With that, he left more than enough money for the meal behind before standing up and exiting the restaurant.
At this point, while Kaishi was happy to have finally contributed again, Michael wasn't happy at all.
He felt like he was struck by lightning, taking him back to the times in the Immortal Spirit Farm, where lightning would strike him at random from time to time.
Hai Tan? Is he the father? At least someone from the family. I need to stay as far away from him as possible. He will probably head to the forest next. Will he find any clues about Yan Hai... Hai Yan that point towards me?
Michael was panicked and simply hoped for nothing to go wrong without taking any action yet.
Although Michael felt like he could be caught any second, he still continued eating with Kaishi. He had to say that these meals were quite delicious. Compared to his own cooking, it was obviously a lot worse but definitely still acceptable.
After some time Kaishi and Michael had finished everything Hai Tan had ordered, and Tianfu came to clean up the plates.
"Hey sister, I haven't seen Lan Shi today. Where is she?" Kaishi asked.
"Oh, Sister Shi is sick. Today is already the third day; hopefully she is ok," Tianfu said with some visible sadness under her normally smiling expression.
"Sick? Have you seen her?" Kaishi asked. He felt like something wasn't quite right.
"No, Lan Rudong told me that her disease is very contagious and she needs to rest and should not be disturbed."
Michael himself found nothing weird about what had happened. Sicknesses happen, especially in this dirty environment. He only felt bad that Tianfu had to shoulder extra work, but his focus was still on Yan Tan... Hai Tan and the search for his missing family member.
Soon, all three of them headed home together. Michael cooked something for Tianfu, as he and Kaishi had already eaten.
Then he went to bed, contemplating what to do about Hai Tan, as suddenly a familiar voice sounded in his head.
"Finally, I can control the formations how I want to!"
Iris had come back.