Old Zhong

'Am I dead again?'

Li Zian felt as if his body was drifting away in an infinite void. It was oddly calming compared to last time.

'I must be…'

He sighed, when suddenly he heard a noise.

His eyes flickered open, and he discovered he was lying in bed with warm sheets pulled over him.

An old man stood nearby, sorting through some drawers when he noticed Li Zian had awakened.

"Ah- I'm sorry if I woke you up," he said apologetically.

"No… It's alright. Where am I?" Li Zian asked, sitting up.

He was wearing only his trousers, with some bandages wrapped around his left arm. The bandages were dyed red.

A few bandages were around his head too.

"I found you passed out in the nearby forest. You had hit your head hard; I hope you weren't one of those people who jump from the cliff above."

"Ah, no, I slipped off the edge while… Hunting," he told a simple lie, and the old man seemed to believe it.

"What's your name, boy?" He asked.

"L—" He stopped and thought for a second. "Yi Zian," he told him.

Nobody knows his name except for the elders of the sect, who are all most likely dead, his parents and grandfather who are all dead, his aunt who is most likely dead and the Li family guards who are also dead. But it was better to be safe.

He wondered whether the maids were alive but concluded that they were most likely slaughtered. He pondered about the koi fish. He was somewhat attached to them…

"Yi Zian, good, good. My name's Duan Zhong, you can just call me Old Zhong," he smiled.

This old man seemed to be in his seventies, with thinning grey hair and robes with several stitches in them. He was quite tall and strong, despite being so old.

Li Zian swept his divine sense over the building he was in.

It was a small wooden hut with a thatched straw roof and a small garden nearby with several types of crops growing inside of it. There was a clothesline outside with several clothing items hanging on it.

The old had a simple aura, meaning he was just an ordinary mortal.

"Old Zhong, why are you living all the way out here, if you don't mind me asking?" Li Zian questioned the old man.

"Oh, I just enjoy living in nature. It's nice out here," he smiled.

"That's… A good enough reason, I suppose."

Li Zian climbed out of bed and didn't feel any pain. 'Did I really fall off a cliff?'

"You're lucky, the forest below that cliff is quite thick so the tree canopy slowed your fall. If it wasn't for that, you'd probably be dead."

Li Zian gulped. 'I came so close to dying… I was lucky this time. I should be more careful in the future.'

"Old Man Zhong, do you know the direction to the Skyward sect?" He asked.

The old man looked at him, confused, and then shook his head. "I've got a map in the back room. You can go and check that if you want."

The old man left the small bedroom, the door creaking behind him.

Li Zian stretched his arms and legs and sat down on the wooden bed in the lotus position.

He began to cultivate to regain the qi he had lost during his escape- he had used a lot to keep up his energy, and so his divine sea was nearly drained.

He absorbed the spiritual energy into his body but discovered that it was extremely thin. This was the worst possible place for a person to cultivate!

'Damn, this old man really lives out in the sticks. It'll take a few hours for me to recover a bit…'

He cultivated for a few hours, regaining his qi.

Once he was feeling energetic again, he left the bedroom and wandered through the wooden hut.

There were three rooms from what he could see- the bedroom he had been in, a front room where there was a small table, a furnace and some furniture, and a back room which was filled with shelves containing items and food.

He wandered into the back room and spread out his divine sense, finding the map.

It was a large piece of parchment, rolled up into a scroll with some string around it to keep it rolled up.

He took the map and made his way to the front room, where he unrolled it on the table and began to examine its contents.

It was a map of the Redsky Empire, the massive empire the Li family was a part of. He didn't know much about the empire but knew that it was one of the biggest in the entire Earth Shattering Continent.

He cast his gaze across the map and discovered where he was.

Old Zhong's hut was located just a few kilometres north away from a town.

He continued to look across the map and spotted the Li family compound, written in bold letters. A hundred miles north of it was the Feng family compound.

He clenched his fist and calmed his breathing. He continued observing, and eventually spotted the Skyward Sect.

It was located a hundred and fifty miles east, which was quite the distance for him to travel by foot.

'I need a horse or something…' He contemplated for a while.

He came to a decision quick. 'I'll head to this town and try and get a horse. I'll head east from there, straight to the Skyward sect. I shouldn't take any detours and shouldn't reveal who I am to anyone. I don't want any trouble.'

He rolled up the scroll and put it back where he found it. Li Zian then made his way to the bedroom however he couldn't find his clothes.

He made his way outside where the clothesline was hanging up. It was a cloudy day, and the winds were strong.

His black robe was hanging on the line, waving in the wind. Old Zhong was in his garden, watering some of his crops.

Li Zian hastily yanked his robe off from the clothesline and pulled it on. Old Zhong approached with a friendly smile.

"Young man, are you leaving?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm going to meet up with my brother," Li Zian nodded his head in response.

"That's good. Make sure you keep away from any spirit beasts, and…" The old man paused for a few moments. "Steer clear of the Red Python Gang. They're a vicious group of bandits that haunt the nearby towns, robbing anyone who crosses their path. They're dangerous."

Li Zian nodded. "I'll try to steer clear," He smiled.

'What am I saying, if anybody tries to rob me, I'll just cut them to pieces.'

Such thoughts wouldn't have crossed his mind before, but now he simply didn't have the patience for bandits to stop him on his journey.

"Oh, and one more thing," Old Zhong went inside and fetched Li Zian's sword.

It was in good condition, despite the fall off the cliff, and in fact looked better.

"I polished it a bit since I was bored, I hope you don't mind."

Li Zian drew the blade and inspected it. "No, I don't mind. Thanks, old Zhong," He nodded his head and sheathed the blade. "I'll be on my way."

He turned around and began to walk in the direction of the nearby town.

"Good luck! And remember what I said about the Red Python Gang!"

Li Zian nodded and began his long journey to the Skyward Sect.