Fishing

Minos could only smile as he calmly ate the food. Ronkus and Meninka constantly offered him different things, stuffing his plate full with all sorts of exotic fruits and vegetables he had never eaten before.

Eventually he could only push back with force as he patted his bloated stomach. Fortunately, Ronkus and Meninka finally gave in.

Tinka laughed as she watched Minos constantly beg for no more food, the entire room filled with a happy and joyous air.

"Alright boy, since you're full, it's time to go fishing!"

"But I still need to make my boat."

"Don't worry about that. We'll be done in a couple hours at most, after that you can come back and work on your boat

The day was still young and there was plenty of time left, so Minos didn't mind spending a few hours fishing.

Besides, the map he had memorized was extremely vague, only showing the relative area in which the Nine Sword Divinity grave was supposedly in.

Even if someone else got to searching first, it would be a long and arduous process to pinpoint where the grave was, and even then, the whole thing was likely to be a hoax.

Minos had already planned to spend 2 months at most, and if he got nothing, he would come back, so wasting a little time here didn't affect him much.

The two were quickly geared up, Meninka giving her husband everything he needed, whereas Tinka helped get Minos his supplies.

As she finished giving Minos his stuff, she couldn't help but come close and whisper into his ear, "Be safe."

Before Minos could say anything, Tinka leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. He could only stand there slightly stunned as he rubbed his cheek, watching as Tinka ran away in shame.

"Are the lovebirds done singing?" Ronkus laughed as he looked at Minos.

"In that case, let's go." Ronkus said as he dragged Minos out of the hut.

Minos could only look back at Tinka until the door of the hut shut. He shook his head vigorously, removing all the strange thoughts from his head, as he followed Ronkus out to the boat.

The boat was quite massive, about 8 meters across, capable of easily fitting at least a couple dozen men.

The boat was already surrounded by the tribesmen, loading on supplies as they waited for Ronkus to come and make the call.

"Alright everyone, let's get to work!" Ronkus shouted loudly.

Everyone cheered as they jumped onto the boats, the woman waving as they watched their men head out for another day on the seas.

Minos looked through the crowd with a little expectation in his hope, but unfortunately he didn't see who he wanted. Just as he was about to turn back, he noticed a little head poke out of the crowd.

Tinka and Minos's eyes met as the boat got deeper into the sea. Tinka began shouting some words as she waved, but Minos was too far away to hear her, but based on the movements of her lips, he could piece together what she was saying.

"Take care, and always remember to protect yourself first!"

Minos smiled at her admonishment. He waved back as the crowd disappeared over the coastline. Only once they vanished, did Minos turn back, Ronkus patting him on the shoulder.

"No need to feel melancholy, we'll be back in no time. On the other hand, I've been wanting to ask you about the other cultivators you told Tinka to warn me about."

"I'm not the only one who came here looking for treasures. If other cultivators pass through here, they might do something."

"No worries, our tribe isn't as weak as you think, so even if anyone comes here, we'll teach them a lesson."

"But what if they come when we are at sea, who will defend the woman?" Minos couldn't help but ask.

"You just need to know that they'll be safe, as for the deeper secrets, I can't say." Ronkus answered solemnly.

Minos naturally wouldn't be ignorant enough to keep questioning Ronkus. He naturally believed him when he said that, after all, it was his own tribe at risk.

The boat continued to cruise through the vast seas, and after another half hour of boating, the ship came to a pause.

As the ship stopped, everyone threw their hooks into the ocean with their entire bodies' strength. Minos followed everyone else, and unleashed his hook as far as possible.

As the hooks sunk deep into the abyss like water, the crowd sat in silence. Fishing was an art of patience and stillness, one where strength played little role.

Minos similarly sat down in silence. The crowd seemed incomparably familiar with such a thing, and none of them uttered even a single word.

Minos couldn't help but feel such a way of fishing was incredibly inefficient, but he would never think the tribe was to stupid so as to come up with something better.

Rather, it was more likely that they only fished for what they needed, so they could avoid as much waste as possible.

While they could get more fish through a better method, who exactly would they give all those extra fish too?

Minos watched as the birds soared across the sky, the clouds slowly traveled across the firmament, like a snail across soil, fish occasionally leaping from the ocean, saying hello to the upper world before sinking back into their homes.

Minos had never really given himself a moment to sit down and do nothing. His entire life was filled with action after action, no chance to sit back and reflect.

He thought back to the Green Barrel Sect, to Venix, to Jabar, to Rendo. Thought back to when he first bought that book on talisman making, rather than the One-Moon Lock Breaking Pill.

Back to when he finally beat up Gantel, the moment of exhilaration he felt, and the rebirth he seemed to go through after finally unleashing his true nature, no longer bending to the whims of those stronger than him.

Back to the inheritance, to the danger he went through, to the Levitation Talisman he invented, to the wine that could have killed him with a single sip, and the doors of life and death that could have been the end of his journey.

To Tamber Lekmin, the man who left behind the inheritance, and blessed him with the Soul Rune Ascension, giving him the first major chance of his life.

To his farewell to Venix, and his initial meeting with Rendo. The lessons he taught him, and the lessons he learned in return. To Rubella, the young little thief, who he still had a lot left to teach.

To his younger years, when his parents told him that he belonged to a much larger world. That he should never be confined here, and to the smile and hope on their faces as they died, sending him away with life.

To the years of wandering and struggling, being a beggar and thief. To the first man he killed over a loaf of bread, one that was as stiff as a brick.

To the amazement and astonishment when he found the Green Barrel Sect, and found out that cultivators were real, the renewed sense of purpose and ambition that bubbled in his heart.

All the way to now, to his meeting of the Salt Breathing Tribe, and most importantly, his meeting with Tinka.

He didn't know what love was, but he could only imagine it was similar to peace. A feeling that you're right where you belong, your home being next to your partner, a place you'll always feel welcomed.

Despite the stoic look he put on his face, the truth was, Minos was always anxious about his future and his goals. He constantly ran through different things in his mind, never having a chance to just think of nothing.

When he met Tinka however, he felt that peace for the first time in his life. It reminded him of when he was young, when his parents took care of everything for him, and he had no worries.

He hadn't felt that kind of tranquility until that day he danced with Tinka. Suddenly his mind went silent, and the problems of the world weren't so relevant anymore

Minos had heard of love at first sight in the past in the books he had read in the past, but he never believed. He thought love was limited to the nobles, to the ones with the luxury to care about more than just surviving.

For the beggars like him, love was no different than a mythical creature. The only relationship people could have was one of transaction and aggression, no more.

Even when he joined the Green Barrel Sect and finally became a cultivator, one of the 'nobles,' he realized that his position hadn't really changed. He was still a nobody, just a nobody among cultivators, rather then one among mortals.

Minos always felt that love wasn't something meant for people like him, that was until his and Tinka's eyes met.

Even now as he thought of her, the world went silent. Talisman, weapons refining, the Nine Sword Divinity, even the Heaven-Sundering Sword, none of it really mattered. It was all dwarfed by Tinka's beautiful smile as it replayed over and over in his head.

Minos couldn't help but smile as he looked outwards towards the glittering sea, reflecting the brilliance of the sun, like a thousand little stars embellished on the surface of the water.

His heart felt at peace, as if someone had gone in there with a brush, wiping away all the filth and darkness that had accumulated over the years of struggle, revealing a glittering jewel underneath.

Minos suddenly felt that the world had suddenly changed in an incredible way he couldn't explain.

He couldn't help but look around at the tribesmen on the boat, however he was shocked to find everyone one of them had a different colored aura hovering around their bodies.