Severing Time & Space

I Want to Become Stronger, Part I

Not even an hour had passed since Wu Jian challenged Wu Yong, and he was already regretting it. What had he been thinking? Why did he challenge someone who was not only several years older than him but also so much stronger? Had his brain left him? Was he stupid? Wu Jian couldn’t stop trembling at the thought of fighting Wu Yong.

“That was very reckless,” Wu Meiying chided him with a sigh as she swept back midnight bangs from her eyes to stare at him.

“You think so too, huh?” Wu Jian gave her a tepid smile. He looked down at his hands, which were shaking. Clenching them to make them stop just made his entire arm shake. “I know what I did was stupid.”

They were in the hospital wing again. It wasn’t Mother who was there today but an older man with a bald head, a long beard, and surprisingly no wrinkles. He looked like an old man who appeared younger than he really was. The hanfu he wore was pure white and immaculate. There was not a speck of dust on it.

His name was Wu Shaolin. He was their healer and an Hunger Realm cultivator. Wu Jian didn’t know what level subrealm he was at, but there was a rumor going around that he was close to breaking through to the Anima Realm.

That means he’s probably at… the ninth subrealm of the Hunger Realm, right?

Most Wu Clansmen were only at the Hunger Realm. Only a few like Father, Mother, and Father’s second wife were at a higher realm.

Resources were scarce this far in the countryside. Alchemy Pills and natural treasures were akin to unicorn horns and phoenix feathers, nearly impossible to find. When something was discovered, it always went to the clan head and elders, who needed to cultivate more than the others. Unfortunately, since the Wu Clan did not have much in the way of resources or money, they were unable to afford such treasures often.

The Wu Clan did not have an alchemist, someone who possessed a natural affinity for the wood and fire elements and used those two affinities to refine alchemy pills. Alchemists were rare, especially in small countries like the Shang Kingdom, even more so when they lived out in the countryside like the Wu Clan did.

Zahn City was located so far from everything else that it probably wasn’t even on any maps. There was no way an alchemist would ever come to such a place, not when they were in such high demand in larger, more prosperous cities. There was no money to be made here. Because they had no alchemist, they relied on healers like Wu Shaolin to help them mend injuries.

Wu Shaolin had just finished wrapping bandages smeared in a healing salve around Wu Jian’s torso. The salve was made from herbs that Wu Shaolin had crushed into a paste. It was dark green and smelled funny, but it worked wonders to promote the body’s natural healing.

His ribs had indeed been broken. That explained why the pain was so much more intense than anything he had ever felt before. Wu Jian was sitting on one of the beds. A worried Wu Meiying sat beside him on a chair.

“You aren’t normally the kind of person who would stand up to Wu Yong like this,” Wu Meiying began slowly. “Is what I said the other day why you put yourself in harm’s way like that?”

“You said it yourself, right? If I don’t get stronger… you’ll be taken away from me, and I won’t be able to reach you.” Wu Jian took a shuddering breath as he lowered his hands onto his knees and looked at her. His lips trembled, but he was still able to form a smile. “I don’t want you to ever be taken from me. And if the day comes when someone tries to take you away, I want to be strong enough to protect you.”

“Wu Jian… thank you.”

Wu Meiying’s eyes glistened as she placed her hands over one of his. She didn’t cry. However, there was evident joy in her smile. The warmth from her hand filled him. It told him he made the right choice to stand up to Wu Yong. If he could see her smile like this, he would gladly stand up to anyone—even his father.

Wu Jian was one of the only people who never doubted her words. While everyone else assumed she was just a strange child who spoke nonsense, he alone believed everything she said. It might have taken a little while before he began to truly believe her, but even when he hadn’t, he still supported her in front of everyone else. That alone meant the world to her.

“Ah. To be young and in love,” Wu Shaolin said with a wistful smile.

His words earned him a pair of beaming grins from the two children.

“Of course! Mei and I are getting married when we grow up!”

“Mmmm. I can’t wait for our wedding.”

Wu Shaolin chuckled at the pair of unrepentantly grinning children.

Since the healing salve had been applied, there wasn’t any reason for the two of them to remain in the hospital wing. Wu Shaolin warned Wu Jian to take it easy for the next few days. He was not allowed to do anything that would stress his healing ribs. This would cut into his training, which they had only just started, but he supposed that was what he deserved for acting stupid. This was punishment in a way.

“What should we do now?” asked Wu Jian as they made their way across the clan compound. There were a lot of people wandering about. The few they passed on the walkway stepped aside and bowed to Wu Jian, though it was more out of courtesy for his title than because they respected him. He was sure that, to many, he was just an undeserving child who happened to be the clan head’s son.

Will I one day earn the respect of these people?

Honor and respect were taken very seriously. To earn respect, one had to honor their family, and the best way to do that was by becoming strong. The strong were honored. Right now, Wu Jian was weak, but if he became strong…

“Right now, we should rest. You need to heal,” Wu Meiying chided him, interrupting Wu Jian’s thoughts.

“But after that, we need to begin training, right? Is there any way we can increase my training?” asked Wu Jian.

Wu Meiying tilted her head and tapped a pale finger against her lips, appearing thoughtful. “Hmm. There might be. Let’s go ask Grandpa Son if there are any books that can help us.”