The stone house belonged to Mu, the worker. He was the person generally in charge of farm work. The farmland in their town was registered in his name. They really were not that ignorant of the world. The village elders knew that there was a town far away, and very rarely a few people would go to the town to transfer ownership of the village land to a younger person.
Mu was responsible for the food and drink of most of the people in the village, and he took good care of them. He was kindhearted. He always led the village during locust attacks or when someone was killed by wild animals in the forest. Kasuur was the strongest person in the village, but Kasuur was not the leader. He was a child. When he found Mais, he brought him straight to Mu, and Mu welcomed the little boy into his home.
It was getting dark and most of the villagers were leaving the fields and going home. Mu's wife, Mrs. Jane, brought some food to Mais. Mais's room was empty, and there was only a mattress on the floor. When Mu realized that Mais was blind, he left only the mattress so that Mais would not bump into anything in the room. Anyway, the little boy didn't seem to be able to handle things, even if there were things around.
Mrs. Jane was a woman in her forties with brown hair covered with light wrinkles. Mais knew that she was actually younger, but because of her working life, she didn't have time to take care of her body. Even though she was Mu's wife, she wasn't exactly a handful. Mais was in no position to care about her appearance anyway. Still, the roughness of her hands made him feel uncomfortable when she touched him.
Jane had washed her dry, dirty hands and was now preparing to feed Mais. She sat down on her knees in front of Mais. She looked at Mais' slightly smiling face. She smiled back.
"Three days ago you asked Kasuur if he wanted to go to the city with you. Apparently he is still thinking about it," Jane said. Mais laughed bitterly. He could hear Jane stirring the porridge.
"My cultivation is weaker than his, and besides, I'm blind. I have no sense of direction and what I say is no different than him taking me to the town. I want him to take me there more than I want to go with him. I'm only superior to him in knowledge, but he doesn't care about that either. I thought he would have refused by now. It's amazing that he waited so long. "Mais said. Then the flying spoon went into his mouth. It filled his cheeks completely, and before he had finished the porridge from the first spoon, he had the second spoon on the other cheek. He had none of the posture a prince should have when eating porridge.
"Don't look at him like a commoner. He has worked hard and is still hungry for progress. It was amazing how he found his way on his own, but he is reaching his limits. It will take him a long time to reach the next realm on his own, and he wants to see the world. For him, you are a hope, even if you are blind or weak. A hope that can tell him the secrets of the unknown world and cultivation. "
Mais listened. As Jane stuffed food into his mouth, he learned how hungry Kasuur was for cultivation. That was one of the reasons Kasuur had found him. Kasuur was in search of a town. He traveled a certain distance every day, not too far from the village, making a map and hoping to find a town that was closer. But Mais realized that there was no nearby town anywhere else. When Kasuur found Mais, Mais realized that the two of them had walked several kilometers on their way back here. Kasuur had come this far and still had not found a town.
He was not going to believe that Mais had come out of the void. He believed he had come from somewhere, but now that he had seen Mais' face, he didn't think it was so safe where he had come from. So he stopped going into the forest.
Jane turned her head and looked at the rattle in the corner of the wall. Nostalgia flashed through her eyes. She had watched a little baby grow as heavy as a boar before her eyes.
"He threw himself into eating. He always brought different fruits from the forest to eat. Some of them made him gain a lot of weight."
Mais nodded. Some of the food found in the forest might be too caloric for children.
The porridge in the bowl was running out. Mais continued to look ahead calmly. He had nothing but the stick on his back and the ring on his finger. Even the clothes he was wearing were not his. Here he was fed like a baby and felt like a burden to the people. For a moment he thought of Lagos. But he immediately put it out of his mind.
He couldn't think of it. He could not remember it. He just had to get on with his life.
"I want you to take care of Kasuur, Mais," Jane said. Mais couldn't see her eyes, but Jane, who was standing by the door, had a very serious and worried expression on her face. Her lips were pressed together and her hand remained on the doorknob.
"He will come with you. I am sure of it. He's just as ignorant as we are. Please don't let anyone fool him. No one."
'Not even me.'
Mais understood who the real emphasis was here. He sighed.
These people really did care about each other.
Hot drops splashed onto his face. Mais frowned. He didn't understand the purpose of the hot water. Why had Jane suddenly made such a violent gesture?
"Please don't be afraid that I will deceive him. I am not a bad person."
He thought Jane would have said that with a softer expression. It bothered him that she had made such a rude gesture.
Mais waited for a reply, but there was no sound. Mais thought it was an expression of approval. Then he heard the sound of the door closing. He wiped the water from his face onto his clothes and began to meditate again. The Establishment Realm continued to stabilize the first level. It was very important for each level to stabilize its foundation in the Foundation Establishment Realm.
He didn't even notice the woman next to him whose throat had been slit with her eyes open.
Blood continued to cover the ground.
***
A hundred meters away from the stone house, a fat boy ate a loaf of bread and watched the other children work hard. He had managed to find a direct path to the Beginning Realm. So it was he who controlled the progress of the younger generation. The adults worked in the fields. They had already lost their potential. They were not fit for war. There were a few small cultivators of the Beginning Realm among them, but that was only the result of long hours of work. It was difficult for them to make progress now.
Before Mais arrived, Kasuur had relied on these children. Some were even older than him, some were younger, but all of them had potential. If they started cultivating like him, he could leave this boring village with them and become stronger. But apparently, that was no longer necessary.
But deep down, he didn't want to just leave them here. That would be the end of their cultivation. Even if Kasuur left them a guide for his own cultivation, it would not be like a living human being.
"Look at this! Our powerful instructor is afraid to leave some children behind. Let's all attack together so he can see our strength!"
Kasuur was surprised when 10-15 children stood up together and attacked. His eyes were on them for a moment.
2 minutes later, all these kids were on the ground. Some were holding their backs, some were holding their faces. Kasuur was not one to show mercy easily. One boy with a face like an egg grabbed his butt and yelled at Kasuur.
"You seem to be getting stronger, Kasuur."
Kasuur laughed and waved his hands. His hands were sore from the blows.
"Maybe a little."
"You are very ruthless, Kasuur. I'm sure you will strike fear into your enemies when you reach the town," he joked. A tall, skinny boy. He was clearly a pencil compared to Kasuur's fat body. Kasuur didn't even touch him. He had crashed into Kasuur and collapsed to the ground.
"Foundation Building Stage 7. Mais told me that even in this big world, this is a pretty meaningless level of power. He said that some cultivators are so powerful that they can completely destroy a planet on their own," Kasuur said. Suddenly, he stood up, his stomach shaking. His T-shirt could not withstand the size of his belly and opened slightly, but Kasuur did not notice in his excitement. When the skinny boy and the others saw the excitement in his eyes, they couldn't say anything. They were surprised. They were surprised to see that excitement.
'Were those people as excited as they were? Do they want to cultivate as much as you do?'
"Hey, Kasuur, your belly is open! Hahaha, be careful in the outside world and don't embarrass us."
The smile on Kasuur's face disappeared and he lowered his head. He began to scratch the back of his head with his right hand.
"I haven't even decided to leave yet. What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"HAHAHA!!!"
The crowd began to laugh, and then they hugged each other. Kasuur did not expect them all to hug him. He realized that he didn't even understand what was happening.
"We don't want to get in your way, Kasuur."
"Don't punish yourself for our laziness. We know how hard you worked when you went to the Foundation Realm. And for the Beginning Realm."
"Do not be ashamed. You are our pride."
Kasuur felt the warmth from each of them. These children had not given up. They just wanted him to move forward. They just didn't want Kasuur to limit himself, and they dreamed of him becoming a dragon, soaring into the sky.
"Go forward, Kasuur. We will be right behind you. Walk ahead of us and hold our torch as the future leader of the village of Hokka," the skinny boy said. Kasuur looked at him, confused. The skinny boy nodded. Kasuur's eyes filled with tears. He had no family and had never been prone to emotional moments in his life. But here, in this village, he felt he had a family, even if it was not blood. A family he could never leave, a family he could never break the bonds with.
"I'll do my best!"
He closed his eyes and hugged them.
SWİİİİSHHHH...!!!
"..."
A single second.
Everything happened in a fraction of a second.
Kasuur felt the bodies in his arms suddenly collapse like hollowed-out dolls.
Kasuur immediately opened his eyes, but what he saw was anything but ordinary. They were his friends, yes, but each of them had a cut on their throat. They could not speak. They were holding their throats. A 5-year-old boy had already passed out of this world with his eyes open. Kasuur trembled. Then he realized that the skinny boy had collapsed on the ground, clutching his throat and trying to speak.
FIIISSTT!!!
Suddenly he noticed a shiny object coming towards him, coming from the children. Kasuur immediately realized that it was this shiny object that had killed the children.
He was frightened and surprised. He could only jump back and with his right hand he struck the sword across his blunt cheek.
The tip of the sword was deflected, but Kasuur's hand was still slightly injured. He retreated even further. He opened the distance between them and saw the short man, bald, wearing torn clothes and a red bandanna around his neck, watching him with the sword in his hand. He was as tall as him, but much older. Seeing his strength, Kasuur immediately knew that he was also a cultivator. In his hand was a broken object about a meter long. He had a safe place to hold it, and he had killed his friends with the sharp object.
He had killed them all.
Kasuur listened to the village. He noticed that there was no sound anymore.
He focused his eyes on the shiny object.
Was it a sword?