Druidic Cultivation | Twenty-Three

Feng Jiao squinted at the back of Feng Nian as he waltzed away with his friends. From his previous attitude, Jiao was genuinely surprised that the kid had left their quall at that. Most often, the arrogant children who got smacked around would refuse to back down until they had at least one broken tooth. Feng Nian’s withdrawal actually made Feng Jiao feel more concentrated than he would had the child drawn steel on him.

Still, from his actions it seemed like Nian did not wish to harbor any ill-will for Jiao, regardless of the words he’d parted with. A bit of false bravado to try and recover his face followed by a swift retreat, something was up. 

Before Jiao could dwell on the thoughts for too long, a middle-aged man slowly walked through the crowd toward the stage. He wore silken trousers and a high-quality snakeskin vest over a silk shirt, as well as various rings. All in all, the man struck a distinct figure in Jiao’s mind as someone who was trying to look harmless. Although he wore soft clothing and bright jewelry, Jiao didn’t have to look too hard to find the man’s hidden fighters disposition. 

“Greetings, youth of the Feng clan. As many of you may know, I am the patron of this year’s youth competition. For those of you from off-site,” The middle-aged man who’d arrived on the stage tracked a couple groups with his eyes, “I will do the courtesy of explaining exactly who I am. My name is Feng Nan and I am the acting mayor of Southfeng.” Feng Jiao couldn’t help but wince when the man’s name was spoken aloud.

“Every year, the Feng Clan hosts a family reunion in order to collect their tithe from satellite and branch families, as well as a few of the retainer families who’ve been granted their own land. This year, it falls upon my Southfeng Family to host the event, and so here we are.

“The competition will be simple. At noon, each child who wishes to compete in this year’s event will enter the banded forest. The goal is to hunt and kill the strongest beast you possibly can and bring back a trophy to prove it. We have several alchemists present who can date the death of a creature so cheating will not be tolerated. 

“Now, on to the prize. Each year, the best candidate in the youth generation of the Feng Family is awarded a prize based on the generosity of the patron in charge of the event. This year, my Southfeng has pooled together their taxes and spare wealth, with no small amount of effort from myself, and produced this.” Feng Nan pulled out a small tarnished ring and flourished it to the crowd. 

The material appeared to be copper that had been left out in the rain for generations, pocketed and rusted in spots. Contrary to the expected reaction of outrage, the children surrounding Feng Jiao all quieted and stared at the ring as if they were cats who’d spotted a sun spot.  It was probably the first time since Jiao had arrived in this world that the crowd did not instantly break out into useful and knowledge baring chat. Go figure.

“I see that most of you recognize this item. For those that don’t allow me to elaborate. In my hand, I am holding a copper grade artifact known as an Inventory Ring. While this may be considered the lowest of the low when it comes to storage treasures, do not let that fool you. This ring in my hand represents a year of Southfeng’s profits as well as a small loan.”

Feng Jiao had read about storage treasures before but had never seen one. After Feng Nan mentioned what the item was, Feng Jiao was instantly able to locate the engraved rune that pledged for the authenticity of the inventory ring. A tiny beast of burden had been carved into the ring in a calligraphic fashion, barely visible from where it hid in a tarnish spot.

Inventory rings were, in fact, the weakest of storage treasures. Unlike spacial rings or void sacks, the weight within an inventory ring could still be felt at twenty percent of what it would be. Thankfully, the weight within an inventory ring would be evenly distributed across the wielder’s body, thus preventing a loss of balance. 

The ring within Feng Nan’s hand may not have been a precious cultivation resource but it was still invaluable to a newly practitioning hallowed artist. Although it could not contain as much as a spacial ring, the inventory ring still brought the convenience of being able to store a weapon and pull it out at a moments notice. In the long term, the ring would be much more valuable than a few pills that allowed one to save couple days of cultivation.

As for the competition itself, Feng Jiao figured it wouldn’t be too difficult. The Banded Plateau, which the Feng Clan owned and lived upon, was a large mountain with a straight top as if somebody had sliced the mountain top asunder. Four towns stood on the north, south, east, and west sides of the plateau, connected by a large circular road. All of these man-made structures surrounded a massive circular forest that spanned far, with a radius of 150 miles.

Within this forest were powerful beasts and monsters, such as the different snakes used to produce the Feng Clan’s signature Three-Tailed Tempering Pill. The more powerful beasts would live deeper in the forest were the ether was thicker in the air, only venturing out to strike back at the humans when they ventured too far. 

The competition of slaying a powerful beast was one that appealed to Feng Jiao’s newly developing skill set. He had, afterall, spent two entire months in the woods on the Crouching Grass’s mountain. With his new leaf-bladed spear, Jiao had no doubt that he’d be able to go head to head with a beast stronger than he’d battled before.

The children around Jiao seemed to have similar reactions. Their faces showed a varying range of emotions, excitement, greed, fear, terror, and some outright boredom. Several adults had shown up since Feng Nan began his speech and, from what Jiao could see on their faces, they seemed shocked by the award Feng Nan put forward. 

Feng Jiao, however, was not surprised at all. Earlier, when speaking to Feng Nian, Jiao had learned that Nian was the son of this Feng Nan. Jiao was also able to smell a slight taint to the air surrounding the boy which he later identified as a sort of weapon poison. No doubt the sword that Feng Nian carried had been prepared for this exact event. A sharp blade with a lethal poison would assist the boy in slaying a beast many times more powerful than himself as well.

From this, Feng Jiao determined that Nian had learned the criteria for this year’s youth competition from his father, either intentionally or not. Jiao assumed that the most likely scenario was Feng Nan telling his son about the criteria as well as helping his son prepare. From there, the man secured the most valuable award his city’s council would allow him in an attempt to embezzle it to his own child. So long as Feng Nian won, the town of Southfeng would not be in the loss from such an expensive reward. 

Naturally Southfeng had not been prepared to host a monsterous talent like Feng Jiao. Jiao decided then and there that the ring was as good as his, regardless of which children decided to group up and compete with him. He knew that Nian would use his retainers to help him take down a powerful beast along with the poisoned blade. Even with that much preparation, the children wouldn’t dare to venture too deep into the forest. As long as Feng Jiao went deeper and managed to slay a more powerful beast, he’d be able to secure his victory. 

“Go now, children. Bring back a trophy organ of the strongest beast you can slay. The winner shall receive this inventory ring as well as a single request of me. Be wary not to go farther than you can handle, there will be no aid until the competition is over.” From his words, it was obvious that the men of Southfeng would bar entry into the forest from anyone not competing, likely in an attempt to prevent children from having a parent help them hunt.

Feng Jiao turned from the stage and began to walk toward his tent in order to retrieve a small sack for rations. Although he could go three days without eating, Feng Jiao refused to risk being unable to find something edible in the forest. Food was one of his many passions. Specifically, eating food.

“Cousin, wait up a moment.” A voice sounded out from behind Jiao, causing him to falter in his steps and come to a halt.

“Cousin, tell me, do you have a group for this hunt?” Mock concern slipped out from between the lips of Feng Lou. “I know that your mother is nothing but a retainer herself, but surely you have a few of your own?” 

Feng Lou, ever venomous with his words, stabbed at Jiao’s lineage. Feng Jiao’s mother, Weifeng Xue, was a member of one of his grandmother’s retainer families. A retainer was someone who’d sworn their blade to a lord, in this case it was his maternal grandfather who’d sworn to serve his Granny Xiaoke. Although marrying within the nobility was not a requirement, his father had endured no small amount of grief about his decision to marry his mother.

It would have mattered very little had his father continued to marry, but he hadn’t. There was a large difference between marrying someone lower than yourself as a first wife and marrying someone as your only wife. While both implied a certain amount of love required to branch the difference in station, the second inferred that the woman being married was somehow superior to the noble women who’d been snuffed.

Because of the slow rise of Crouching Grass’s station within the Feng Clan, as well as the fact that his Granny Xiaoke had had no daughters in a maternal branch, there were several far-removed Feng ladies who’d hoped to marry into Granny Xiaoke’s line. Both of Jiao’s uncles had married such women, opportunist vultures, but his father had taken only Weifeng Xue as his wife. Truthfully, his father had been the best option of the three brothers. He was a more successful cultivator, better with his numbers, and most importantly, Xiaoke’s favorite son.

The reason Feng Jiao didn’t have any retainers was simply because he’d never wanted any. As a child, he’d unintentionally snuffed all of the children that his parents had tried to form bonds with him. It wasn’t until a few months ago that Feng Jiao realized the importance of friends and bonds when it came to the path of hallowed arts. In truth, he’d already planned on rectifying his retainer issue in the future. Still, Feng Lou’s words painted a picture of inferior lineage and called into question Feng Jiao’s worth.

“Feng Lou, last we spoke I recall reminding you of the perils of speaking in a man’s voice. Do you wish to be embarrassed so publicly once more? Unlike yours, my retainers will be loyal to me and not only follow me because their parents forced a friendship. Tsk, Tsk, watch your step cousin, the forest is very dangerous and these retainers already look like they can’t stand your presence.”

With that, Feng Jiao turned and continued his walk back to his tent. His resolve to gather a few close friends as retainers was reaffirmed, if only to prevent loose tongues from bad mouthing his mother. 

What Feng Jiao did not see were the many winces and glimpses exchanged from the four boys who followed Feng Lou. Each of them had felt Jiao’s words in their hearts, never truly enjoying the company of Feng Lou. Were it possible, they’d wish not to be retainers of such a foul-mouthed and rotten little child, but those were not the cards they’d been dealt.

Feng Lou only smiled at the departing silhouette of his cousin. The smile, however, did not reach his eyes.