THE CURSED ONE - THE BOY WHO CHALLENGE DESTINY

A Group of Mysterious Peoples - 1

Emperor City

The crowd in Emperor City still not decreasing even though it was already evening, many peoples still pacing in the city road, busy with their own business. Hyung Jae also still wandering around the city, every time he finds some interesting thing he will stop to watch it, and often he was seen admiring the beauty of the city woman which incomparable to the beauty of the woman in his birth town.

“Hello lady, may I know your name?” Hyung Jae tries to get acquainted with one girl he met on the street and that girl didn’t have any interest in him even at a glance, he got dumped.

“Damn, so many beautiful girls in here, but all of them are haughty.” Hyung Jae murmured.

He then continues his walks on the city road, until he found himself standing in front of the mesmerizing palace with a tall wall circling around it. “This must be the Emperor Palace, how magnificent.” Hyung Jae talked to himself while admiring the building. He then wondering how the current emperor Manjing looks like, he never saw him at all. When the Emperor has visited the Blue Wind sect 7 years ago, he didn't get the chance to met him because he was on his final assessment in the Cloud Sun sect to get his plaque. Manjing from the Red Dragon sect who had claimed his emperor throne since 30 years ago when Hyung Jae was a little kid, known as a magnificent legendary martial artist that won easily in the competition to claim the throne. Now 30 years after still no sign of him stepping down from his throne.

Hyung Jae froze himself for a while in front of the palace until one guard come near to him.

“Do you have any business in here?” The guard asked Hyung Jae.

“I am sorry sir I just admiring the palace, this is my first time in here.” Hyung Jae answered.

“This is not a place for everyone, only someone who has a special permit allowed to enter the palace, leave now.” The guard said it firmly.

“Okay sir, I’ll leave now.” Hyung Jae said it and he bows, he doesn’t want to get into any trouble on his first day in this city. He immediately walks away from the palace.

“I think that guard never smiled at all, if all the guards like that then I’m a dead man.” Hyung Jae murmured, he started to regret his choice to apply as a guard. But suddenly he realizes that he doesn’t have any choice, he must become a guard or he will get difficulties getting food and shelter to stay until he found the boy. He only has 1 silver coin left in his pocket right now, he just makes up his mind to join gungjeon gyeongbi.

Hyung Jae needs to find a place to sleep this night, he tries to enter few inns but came out with disappointment. “What a crazy town. Why everything so expensive here? A small and dirty inn like that need cost twice as much as a good inn in Hawin City.” He grumbled.

All of his money only enough to rent a room for one night, if he spends all of it to rent the room then he won’t have any money left to buy food for tonight and tomorrow. Tomorrow is his first day as a guard, he doesn’t want to be seen as a weak and tired guard in his first working day.

“Kruuuuukkk!!” his stomach made a strong voice that enough to make a woman who walks nearby take a glance at him. Hyung Jae giving his best smile at her but she walks away without any response at all.

“What a rude woman,” Hyung Jae talked in low voice, "Apparently Dahan was right." He added.

He remembered what Dahan the skinny guy told him about the character of Emperor City peoples who don’t have any empathy for others. Dahan and he was teammates when they worked together on a mission to eliminate a group of robbers in Gaja Mountain, Dahan also Hyung Jae knew that Emperor City always open recruitment for gungjeon gyeongbi, a position he was always dreamed of. Dahan then said about the difficulty of the selection test which he had tried 3 times and all failed, but on today's test, Hyung Jae feels it was very easy.

Hyung Jae’s stomach continues to tremble, he has not eaten anything since leaving Hawin City this morning. He looks around to find some food house and he saw one place open nearby, he then walks towards the food house. “FULL MOON LONGS” the words that are written on top of the door.

“What kind of person named his food house like this?” Hyung Jae questioning the name, “Whatever, as long as the foods are good and cheap, I don’t care about its name.” Hyung Jae added.

The food house is big enough with 2 floors available. Although the customers quite a lot, still many tables are empty. Hyung Jae chooses to go up to the 2nd floor and sit near the window. He plans to spend his night in here until closed, and he will be lucky if the owner allows him to stay overnight.

One waiter walks towards Hyung Jae, “What is your order, sir?” The waiter asked, “Tell me the best menu in here.” ask Hyung Jae.

“Goat leg soup is the best food in here, but we don’t have it anymore for today sir.” The waiter answered.

 “Don’t mention anything you don't have dude, what else?” Hyung Jae said.

The waiter starts to mention the list, “We have hot fire-lizard, pangolin’s tail soup, crocodile tongue burned with special ingredients, sna….”

Hyung Jae cut the waiter's words, “What kind of food was that, those foods were not my taste, just give me some normal food like chicken or duck or anything normal.”

“Okay sir, I’ll prepare it.” The waiter answered.

“Great, prepare it fast, I’m hungry.” Said, Hyung Jae.

Hyung Jae doesn’t understand why city peoples used to eat strange foods like that, crocodile tongue? Pangolin tails? He must be crazy if he ever eats it, that what crossed in Hyung Jae’s mind.

The waiters went away, while waiting for the food Hyung Jae look outside the window. He sees a well-built chariot passing by slowly, everybody in the road seems to avoid the chariot to make a way and they bow in front of the chariot. The chariot uses a transparent curtain, he looks at the back of the chariot and sees the silhouette of a young girl with long hair inside the chariot. Hyung Jae thinks that she might be the daughter of someone with a high rank in the palace.

The chariot has passed far away, Hyung Jae’s mind already traveling somewhere else and coming back to reality when the waiter comes with food in his hands. “Here your orders sir,” said the waiter while his hands put the foods on top of the table.

“Wow, looks great. Don’t forget to bring some wine.” Hyung Jae gives another order, “Okay sir.” answer the waiter.

Before the waiter leaves, Hyung Jae asked about the chariot that he saw earlier.

“Did you see the luxury chariot that passed the road earlier? Everyone on the road seems to bow to her, who was inside?” ask Hyung Jae.

“She was Princess Liana sir, the only daughter of Emperor Manjing,” answered the waiter. “She always passed through this road every day to pray in the Sky Temple in the northern area of the city.” The waiter added.

“Pray every day in the temple? What a boring life, am I right?” Hyung Jae asked, the waiter doesn’t give his answer, just smiling.

Hyung Jae is starved, he wants to immediately taste the food in front of him. He was tempted by the good smells of the food. He immediately tries all the foods on the table once the waiter left, he eats heartily.

Either because of starvation or because of good taste, Hyung Jae feels all the foods he eats today are the best food that he ever tastes. As long as he lived in the Blue Wind sect or as a wanderer, he used to eats any foods that he can get, but he never done any crime to get foods to eat. Stand on justice was his way of life even if he will have to put his life on the line because of that.

“The food was very delicious, I’m lucky to find this food house,” Hyung Jae said with a full stomach, “I must come here again later after becoming a guard.” He added while removing some food debris between his teeth.

Hyung Jae heard some noises from the bottom floor, the noise of the crowd mumbling which make him curious and stand up to find out what happens below. It seems that a group of peoples just entering the food house. 8 peoples are there in the group, 7 men and 1 woman which seems to hide his identity by dressing as a man, but Hyung Jae knows if she was a woman from her shoulder and body shape. The crowd seems to mumble about their appearance that looks different.

“Who are they? I never saw any clothes like what they wear.” Hyung Jae also mumbles.

Everyone in that group wears a similar long dress, with some large knitted fabric covering their chest and back body while their heads are covered with a straw hat. Hyung Jae thinks that they must come from some places that he doesn’t know, might be they are wanderers from one of the 3 mysterious places.

Southern Desert, Eastern Ice Mountain, and Western Ghost Forest are the 3 mysterious areas outside the controls of Martial Art Emperor. They are very rarely showing themselves in the martial art world, only a few times recorded in history their member build relation with the martial art world, even when the big battle against Sword Monster, those 3 mysterious places didn’t join into the battle. There was no news about Sword Monster stepping his feet on those places either, this might be because their location was very difficult to access. And Hyung Jae thinks if this group was coming from the Southern Desert.

One of the wanderers talking to the waiter to ask about an empty table, not long after, the waiter takes them upstairs and asks them to sit on the empty table next to Hyung Jae’s table. Hyung Jae pretending not to look at their presence and they start conversating in a language unknown to him, he is now convinced that they must come from one of 3 mysterious places.

Some of these men emitting big energy, Hyung Jae can feel it, He estimates they were on master level, but one thing that out of his prediction was about the young woman, he feels the biggest and strangest energy was coming from her. Hyung Jae estimating the skills and power of this woman would be at a legendary level. This makes Hyung Jae's curiosity increased, seeing from her appearance, he guessed that she is in her early 20’s, he now wondering how such a young woman can emit huge energy like that.

“What is their purpose in this city? Why they suddenly appear in the martial art world which far away from their home?" Hyung Jae questioning himself without any answer.

"I hope no bad things that will happen in this peaceful world.” Hyung Jae said while he looks up far into the blue sky.

Hyung Jae’s hope will far from reality, the wheel of the world's fate will start to spin downward where the chaotic world awaits.