Chapter 8

Shang Fei looked at the bedroom had been kicked out of by his ungrateful friend and felt extremely irritated. After shaking off these useless thoughts, he entered the room quietly and stared deeply at the sleeping kid he had picked up from the grass. Everything was strange about him;his clothes, his weak body and Qi, the fact that he was found in the grasslands near the forest. He didn't believe this weak looking kid came here by himself and passed through the forest, therefore he must have had some guards but they probably died in the forest. Sighing for a bit, he walked out of the room again, making sure he doesn't make any noise.

After two days and two nights, Long Shi came to check on the kid to make sure he was still alive. That was when he noticed some movement. It seems the kid was trying to wake up. Noticing this, he hurriedly called out to his friend in an annoying manner.

"Old fart, come here, the brat you brought is starting to wake up."

As if angered by this insult, Shang Fei bellowed out in response.

"Short squirt, do you want to anger me to death? See how i deal with you in the future. Why are you even calling me at this time of the day?"

Shang Fei retorted in contempt.

"Are you denying that you're an old fart? Anyway, it seems your kidnapped victim has woken up. Come and check up on him."

After a few moments, Shang Fei also entered the room and looked towards the kid who was moving his fingers a bit. The old men looked at one another and waited for the kid to wake up.

The youth opened his eyes slowly and noticed two old men in old century outfits standing above him. The short one was dressed in a green thick shirt without a collar and short sleeves. The shirt seemed to be made of the same vines he used to make traps in the forest and so was his trousers. The shoes themselves seemed to be made of some animal skin he has never heard of but he could tell it was an animal from the texture.

As for the taller guy, he looked more refined and his hook cane made his more elegant than the short old man. He was also dressed similarly, except his shirt was long sleeved and cuffed at the end of his arms. It was also white with a tint of copper around the neck part. His trousers were brown while his shoes looked open, revealing his stubby toes and veiny feet,prompting others to look away from it after a glance. The sole of his shoes were made of over-stacked animal skins, creating a multitude of red and brown colors overlapping with each other. Both mens' beards were seemed to be cut crudely while the shepherd guy had more beard than the shorter one, creating a stark contrast in their demeanors and statuses.

It was obviously that the tall guy was richer than the shorter one but there was never any hint of disdain or contempt on his face when talking to the shorter one. The moment they started speaking to him, he realized his choice of swelling his tongue was right, it felt like Klingon to his ears.

Seeing as the boy wouldn't reply to them. They realized he might not know their language, therefore Shang Fei did a sign with his hand to tell his to talk. The moment the boy opened his mouth, they noticed his swollen tongue and gave up on trying to make him speak.

They went back and discussed with each other on what to do about the boy since he seemed to be more burdensome than they thought. They hurried back and tried to say a few words in all languages they know of but there was no response .

They decided to postpone on trying to make him.

"Hey Shang, how about I let him do some chores until his tongue heals, it's obvious he must have eaten a bunshei leaf by mistake and can't communicate for a while."

Shang Fei immediate looked at him with irritation in his eyes.

"Look at you already trying to exploit that little kid. He's not even healed yet but you want to make him your servant. How shameless can you be."

"Hey, you can't just blatantly accuse someone of exploitation and labor law violation without any evidence. I'm just trying to strengthen his muscles a bit since he has slept for too long and might be weak. You also noticed his weak body and Qi. Doesn't he require some muscle strengthening in order to survive?"

Shang nodded his head after hearing that.

"I guess you're right. He really seems weak. Let's do this, you will let him help out around the house s bit. Don't you dare take him to your fraudulent shop and work him to death. Also teach him about the main continent's language. I will come after a few months with some information about him."

Long Shi replied after a while.

"What if you don't find out anything about him?"

Asked Long Shi, with hope sparkling in his eyes. Shang Fei looked at him and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but twitch.

"Then I guess,.....he's all yours. After all, I'm not in the position to take care of anyone since only servants and the main household members are allowed to live in the city manor. Also, I know what you're thinking. If I found out you tortured that little kid into working almost to death, you don't know what I will do to you?"

"Relax old man, you can return to the manor in peace. I won't treat him unkindly. How could you not trust me, your old friend?"

Looking at the innocent look in his friend's eyes. Shang Fei breathes out a sigh and had no choice but to return to the manor with some worry in his eyes.

Long Shi then turned back to his house and grinned menacingly. As soon as he entered the boy's room, the grin dis speared immediately and it was replaced by an angelic look of a caring old man.

Seeing this, Jerry felt this short guy might be as kind as the tall old man who rescued him and then, his days began.

He spent two hours of each day learning the language, some parts were ambiguous since whenever the old man told him to speak them out, he always started laughing and rolling on the floor. He knew he was being pitted and made sure to never speak them out in public.

As soon as that ends, that also concludes the resting for the day. What follows next is endless chores and working for almost sixteen hours a day either working in the old man's shop or taking care of the tremendous chores around the house and his neighbors' houses. He soon noticed that the neighbors he tortured himself for where always giving money to the old man but didn't know why. He didn't know why until a few months after he has learned the language that they paid the old man for the work he did himself. It was pure hell and despair living with him but even if he ran away, there is nowhere he could go.

So he has no choice but to slave off like a dog for this old man day and night. He had tried to use violence one time out of irritation and anger but was beaten black and blue until such ideas completely disappeared from his mind. This made even work harder as a form of workout since he didn't even have time for that, after all he only had eight hours to rest and two were spent with the old man learning the language.

He wallowed in pain and despair everyday for over nine months until he finally saw hope.