Days passed as the caravan moved.
"Sir Ji Sheng, what's wrong with that child?" Tie Ergou asked as he was at his wit's end.
"What do you mean?" Jin Sheng replied, glancing toward the clearing where Shen Ji was training his martial art.
"Well, he is constantly with a blank expression. Even when we try to strike a conversation with him, he at most will give us a side-eye."
"What do you want him to do idiot? He has just lost everyone he knows in a beast tide, were you any better?"
"Yes I know that but he doesn't cry. He doesn't do anything. It's like nothing has happened to him. Not taking it into consideration he does not do anything but train like a monster. At this pace he is on, he'll die of exhaustion" he had lost sleep over the silence Tian Shen Ji showed, the little fellow crept the hell out of him.
Jin Sheng sighed; watching a child training desperately was not a beautiful sight. "He just puts on a mask to make sure he does not show weakness. It is indeed strange for a child his age but not something that is unheard of."
"But sir" as Tie Ergou wanted to beg, Jin Sheng cut him off.
"Dont worry, I am going to speak personally with him about his martial arts training."
"Now go away and don't bother me until we reach the Bitter Bamboo Market Town."
…
Tian Shen Ji was trying his martial art in the day and cultivating in the night barely allowing himself 2 hours of sleep. But that was not enough for him, his obsession with cultivation strengthening by the moment.
"Brat, are you stupid from birth, or have you gotten stupid after the beast attack?" asked Jin Sheng, approaching Tian Shen Ji as he finished.
For a couple of seconds Tian Shen Ji didn't know what to say to that question. "Neither of the two."
"Really? Then why do you try to kill yourself?"
Shen Ji paused. Kill myself? Then he instinctively retorted, "I don't try to kill myself."
"Yes you are," Jin Sheng said bluntly. "At the pace you are going, you will be dead in a month, two if you are a resilient bastard but not more. I understand you are in pain but dying like this is pointless and a waste. If you want to die a pointless death, go back and feed one of the wolves."
Tian Shen Ji frowned, but he wasn't offended. " Sir Jin Sheng, you are not good at giving advice."
"Is that so? Maybe you are right," Jin Sheng admitted. "I have never tried to put my words on everyone's terms. But one thing is certain: stop training to such a degree. You won't get anything good out of it, only an early grave."
"But I need strength," Shen Ji said, his voice flat.
Jin Sheng for the first time took a serious look at Tian Shen Ji, and he understood. "So… you understand that things are not as simple as they look."
Jin Sheng was perplexed. Did I get too old, or is the new generation so monstrous?
"How much do you understand, child?"
Tian Shen Ji was hesitant about how much he could trust this man and how much this man knew. Those were the most pressing questions.
"The beast attack was not a natural occurrence. Someone planned it, and they likely have people in this caravan."
"Ha-ha-ha!" Jin Sheng let out a sharp laugh. "What kind of monster are you to deduce that? Most of my men don't have a clue."
"What do you mean, what kind of monster am I? It is the logical conclusion," Shen Ji said. "You likely reached the same one."
"I did," Jin Sheng admitted. "But when I was your age, I didn't even know if I was a boy or a girl, but you are telling me something that most of my men don't have an idea about."
If this child were to have talent for cultivation, those crazy bastards that destroyed the Xiao Tian Village would have made a dangerous problem for themselves. Well, whatever, it's not like it has anything to do with me.
"Sir, I don't think it is safe to travel with you all the way to Five Dragons Immortal City."
"Why is that?"
"I know there are many people in the caravan, but a new face is easier to spot. Not only am I in danger here, but you are as well, sir."
"I see," Jin Sheng nodded, a trace of pity flashing in his eyes. The child was right; he had contemplated for a couple of days what he could do to make sure that he could keep both himself and the child far from danger.
"The next stop is Bitter Bamboo Market Town. The opportunities are not even close to the ones in the Five Dragons Immortal City, but it is very close to us and is a place that merchants pass very often. How old are you?"
"Five years old."
Young but if he were to have cultivated a talent sect will still take him. "The next stop is Bitter Bamboo Market Town."
A busting hub formed at the base of Bitter Bamboo Mountain by two Foundation Establishment families, and several smaller Qi-Refining families, With a considerable number of loose cultivators doing business as well. The place being rich in spiritual plants.
"I know a bastard that owes me a favor in Bitter Bamboo Market Town.I'll make sure he gives you a roof above your head and enough to make ends meet, but you will have to work for it."
"You will stay in Bitter Bamboo Market Town for two or three years until the waters are calm. When the time is ready, I will take you to Five Dragons Immortal City to see if you have cultivation talent."
"If you do, you can join a sect. If you don't, you can still find a decent job and live your life quietly."
"So, what do you say? Do you want to stop here?"
"I am grateful for what you did for me, but like you said, to die here would be a pointless death. So I wish to stop," Tian Shen Ji replied.
He wasn't really a child. To Tian Shen Ji, having a cultivator watching his every move was worse than once more starting life without a background to rely on.
"Good, I will take care of everything."