Those Whom I Will Protect.

𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘥𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘻𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘲𝘪 𝘰𝘳 "𝘲𝘪" 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘴.

--Hao Laoshi on the fundamentals of Cultivation.

Cain stirred to rustling the next morning. Old Luo was busily grinding away at some herbs at the other side of the room. He sat up feeling considerably more clear headed than the previous night, still in the infirmary.

"Oh, your awake," Old Luo noticed Cain's movement. "I looked over you while you were sleeping, and against all odds you somehow seem just fine," Old Luo continued grinding away for a while before he seemed to remember something.

"Oh, you can leave now. I'm sure your mother's worried."

𝘎𝘰? 𝘎𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘢𝘮! Cain let out a sigh before getting out of bed and heading out the old wooden door.

Cain stepped outside into what seemed like another world. The sun hung in the sky casting light on a bustling village, people moving about along the dirt paths that separated the wooden buildings from one another. Old Luo's place seemed rather dingy compared to the other buildings. In the distance expansive fields of rice could be seen, farmers busily tending them.

Seeing these sights, a sense of vertigo enveloped Cain, flashes of a life he never lived flitted past his consciousness. The life of a boy barely 12 years of age that shared the same name as himself. A poor father who worked the fields with his wife's support to make a living for his family. The last thing Cain saw was a boy his own age knocking him to the ground and pummeling him until he stopped moving.

Cain took deep breaths as he came too. 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦, 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘊𝘢𝘪𝘯.

After taking it all in once more he set out to his family home. His family lived in a hovel out in the paddy fields. They only worked a small portion of the field and as such barely made enough to sustain themselves. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭. Cain looked down at his skinny physique, it was no wonder the other kid could easily overpower him, he was practically skin and bone! 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘗𝘩𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥.

Cain was soon in sight of his family home; he could see his mother and father working in the fields. As he approached, they saw him too and immediately broke out into smiles. His mother and father swept him up in a hug. It actually felt 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥, he never had a good relationship with his parents in his old life. They left when he was at a young age, he had no choice but to live with different family members until he was old enough to take care of himself. The closest thing he had to a father was Grandmaster Phet.

He immersed himself in martial arts as a way to direct his anger, his frustration. This time he had a chance at loving parents, and he wasn't going to let it slip away. Cain swore then to find a way for these two to live without worry, to get strong enough to protect those he deems as close.

"Father, Mother, I'm back!" Cain gave his parents a toothy grin.

"Just in time too," his mother gestured towards their home, "Dinners almost ready."

Cain's father looked at him, worry evident in his features. "I'm glad you're okay son, don't go scaring us like that again." His father's smile fades, "What happened anyway? The village hunter found you near the edge of the woods half dead!"

"I was attacked by a wild beast!" Cain responded feigning fear as he said the first thing that came to mind. 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.

Before the conversation could continue Lila interjected, "Well I'm sure your hungry after all that, let's make our way back."

The three went back and Cain had the first family meal he has had in what felt like a lifetime. A warm feeling rose in his heart as laughter filled their little home, and Cain reaffirmed his resolve to give his loved ones a better life. He lay on his rickety bed that night and thought of ways he could go about making his way in this new world.

𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘧𝘶𝘭. 𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦? 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘖𝘭𝘥 𝘓𝘶𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵? 𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. . . Cain's thoughts lasted but a moment before eventually giving way to rest.

Cain awoke early in the morning to begin his recon. It took quite the convincing to assure his parents he wouldn't go and get himself injured again before they let him go. He retraced his steps from the previous day until he stood in front of the dingy building once again. He tried to read the posts along the way, as well as the battered sign out in front of Luo's before he came to a realization, 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 . . . 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵. Cain couldn't make out what any of the words meant! He was never taught to read or write. He sighed once again before entering the building.

Luo was not in the infirmary room, so Cain searched for a while before finding a door that was slightly ajar, Luo could be seen hunched over some books within. 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘐 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥. Cain approached, making himself known, "Old Luo I wanted to thank you for helping myself and my family." Cain cupped his fists and gave a slight bow.

"It was no trouble, I couldn't do much anyway." The old man turned his attention away from the book, "Anything else I could help you with young man?"

Cain hesitated for a moment before responding, "Actually I was wondering if you could spare some time to teach me how to read and write, I won't get very far being illiterate."

"Wow, an ambitious young fellow aren't we? I would be happy to teach a bright young mind, in my spare time of course, I still have a business to run!" Luo motions to the empty infirmary. "Come back in the evening after business hours." 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. . . Of course, Cain kept that part to himself.

"Thank you teacher. I look forward to it!" Cain changed his way of addressing Luo to teacher immediately, causing the old man to smile. He looked to be enjoying this quite a bit. "Teacher, before I go could I ask you to point me in the direction of the man who brought me to you?"

"Of Course I can." Old Luo took the time to write down the directions to where the hunter stays before passing it down to Cain, "Take this, you should have no problem finding him now."

Cain gratefully accepted the paper and after some quick goodbyes found himself on the way to the Hunters residence. Cain gradually familiarized himself with the village as he traversed, trying his best to imprint the layout to memory.

At least that's what he was doing until he spotted a familiar young boy. 𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵. . . 𝘐𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩? Cain inspected the boy, Ren, once more. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘮! Cain could feel a fire rising in his chest, the desire to fight struggling with his self control. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥'𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘯. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘸! Cain ducked his head and took a detour around Ren and his group of degenerates. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘙𝘦𝘯!

Before long Cain was in front of a cabin decorated with the pelts of various animals and other beasts Cain couldn't recognize. Meats were hanging to dry on racks surrounding the cabin. 𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 m𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺, Cain pondered. He needed to eat better to lay the foundations for a strong body, he would surpass his old self one day!

A gruff man could be seen working leather at the side of the cabin.

"Hello may I know if you are the man who found me near the forest?" Cain inquired, respect lacing his tone. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘦. The man turns his attention from the leather to Cain, then back to the leather.

"Mhm" Is the only reply he gave.

"I wanted to show appreciation for what you did for me, my entire family really, thank you." Cain bowed for the second time today. The man only gives a curt nod this time. 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦'𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩.

Cain continued "I wanted to know if you would be so kind as to impart to me your knowledge of hunting?"

The Hunter gets up from his work attention fully on Cain this time, "Why?" He asks.

This question stumps Cain for a moment before he recalls what he told his parents, "I want to hunt the beast that put me in such a state!" Cain exclaims, passion could be seen in his features. In a way it was true, he needed to get stronger to get back at Ren. To do that he needed sufficient skill and backing.

The Hunter grins a bit at Cain's proclamation, "Fine I'll teach you on one condition. I'm taking the pelts of whatever you hunt as payment, but," he looks at Cain's malnourished body, "you keep the meat. Not worth much anyway."

"Great! When should I come here to learn from you?" 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺!

The Hunter looks at Cain for a moment before going back into the cabin. After a while he came back out with a bow, two skinning blades, and a pack with what Cain assumed were supplies. Passing one of the blades to Cain he says, "Let's go." Before setting off into the tree line. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘺! Cain raged in his mind as he rushed to catch up to the Hunter. It was not long until the two gradually faded into the forest.