Chapter 9 - The Adventure Begins!

The knock woke Mr. Khan from his stupor. "Who could it be now?" he mumbled and blankly walked towards the door and opened it.

All he could see was a massive body blocking the entrance, leaving him speechless yet again.

"Uhhm, c-can I help you?" he asked stuttering.

"Yes, did a large, bearded man pass through here?" came a voice from the top of the body which was hidden behind the entrance.

"Um, yes, I'll go call him," Mr. Khan said going back to the dining room.

"I think there is someone outside for you," he said to General Ouki.

"Mmm, the boy will be fine, just let him rest," he said nodding to Mr. Khan. He turned around but after taking a few steps stopped, "What's his name?"

"That's big brother Hao Xuan," replied Emi, still covered in snot.

"Haha, lucky guy," replied the General while laughing as he headed outside. He opened the door, but there was no one there. Like he was expecting that, he continued moving and closed the door behind him, but before the door could even fully shut, he vanished from there as well.

***

Several thousand kilometers away, there was a man floating right above where the meteor had landed, looking down. Suddenly there was the sound of clothes ruffling in the wind, followed by the appearance of another person. General Ouki appeared out of nowhere right in front of him.

"Tou, Did you find anything?" General Ouki asked the man. Apparently, it was his second in command, Lt. General Tou.

"There is no sign of a fight anywhere. Some blood from high ranked demonic beasts but it was a one-sided slaughter. Whatever landed here was powerful enough to not even give them a chance to fight back," Tou replied respectfully.

This man, who was powerful enough to become a general himself, was talking to General Ouki with such reverence that anyone would be shocked. It made one wonder, just how powerful was the old general to command such respect from a cultivator as powerful as Tou?

"It is strange. Even I can't feel anything. Either the being is more powerful than even me, or extremely skillful at hiding," said the general frowning.

"But either way, it seems like it doesn't have any bad intentions towards the kingdom. As long it doesn't hurt the innocent, let it be," he followed.

"Oh, I almost forgot, there is a young human boy that recently came here, Hao Xuan is his name. He's got some balls on him. Send someone to pick him up, keep an eye on him and train him. Let's see if he has the potential to join our ranks," General Ouki said with a smile, as he turned back around towards Fortuna City, and then disappeared.

Tou's eyes constricted, "Someone caught the general's eye? That poor kid. But he must have a lot of talent if the general even remembered his name" he said shaking his head, feeling sorry for Hao Xuan.

***

The night passed and the morning came. Hao Xuan slowly opened his, still feeling tired.

He looked around and had no idea where he was. He was in a room he had never seen before, and slept in a bed he didn't remember.

There was some noise outside his window, he got up and drew the curtains open, reaching out for the window but there was nothing there, just an empty frame. Ignoring that, he peered down to see where the noise was coming from and saw two cute little girls running around, playing with each other. And then suddenly it all came rushing back. He was in a new world, a world completely unknown to him.

It was filled with things from the legends of old. It was a cruel world. The strong preyed on the weak, and no one would go out of their way to help someone else. God's existed, or beings as powerful as them, but they stayed in their ivory towers.

"I remember now," he mumbled to himself looking at the scene of the twins playing in the garden. That's what he had to protect, that's what he had to fight for.

"I thought I died last night, what happened?" Hao Xuan said out loud.

"Was it that man that saved me? or was it a dream?" he said, but it didn't matter anymore. He lived through it! He was ready to die, yet here he was.

"I won't waste my life away anymore, enough is enough. I'll become strong enough to take whatever I want, and protect whomever I want," he said with a firm voice.

He went down and everyone was caught by surprise, seeing him up and about after his condition last night.

After breakfast, Hao Xuan borrowed the remaining two horses, some ropes and tools, and followed the same trail he had last night. About an hour or so later he found what he was looking for, Joey's body.

He stood there in silence for a few mins, not knowing what to say. After a little while he slightly bowed and said, "Thank you. Thank you for saving them, and thank you for helping me."

Then he tied Joey's body to the other two horses and dragged it to a hill not far from there, and started digging a hole. It took him several hours to dig a big enough hole.

By the time Hao Xuan returned to the residence after burying the body, the sun had already set. No one asked where he had gone when they saw that he wasn't in a good mood. They ate dinner like they had done the last couple of weeks, but it was much quieter this time.

Hao Xuan quickly finished his portion and got up to leave, when Mr. Khan spoke up, "Hao my boy, some soldiers came today when you were out. They said there was something they needed to talk to you about. Maybe it's about that man that saved you. Pay them a visit tomorrow when you have time."

"Yes," Hao Xuan quietly replied and went up to his room. He lay there on his bed with eyes closed, looking over the Cultivation Manual that had been all but useless, thinking maybe he had made the wrong choice in selecting it.

When suddenly he felt a coldness on his forehead. Surprised, he opened his eyes and saw a cute little face staring at him concerningly.

Without even realizing it, a smile had crept up on his face. "Little girl, what are you doing?" he asked looking at the adorable little Emi who had her hand on his forehead.

"Emi is making sure big brother doesn't have a temperature. Big brother, does it hurt somewhere? Tell Emi, Emi will make it fly away," she said with an assuring face.

"Hahaha, Emi, do you like big brother?" Hao Xuan suddenly asked while laughing.

Thinking he is making fun of her, she says in a loud and resounding voice, "Of course, Emi loves big brother no matter what!"

"No matter what? What if I become a bad guy? Would you still like big brother?" he asked with a grin.

"Big brother is a good person," Emi said 'as a matter of factly', like it was the god's honest truth.

"But what if I wasn't?" he asked again.

"Emi would still love big brother no matter what," she said without any hesitation.

"How can anyone be so innocent?" Hao Xuan wondered as he looked at Emilie's doll-like face.

"Promise?" he asked extending his pinky outwards, "Mhmm", she nodded her head making a pinky promise.

Hao Xuan smiled and said, "Good girl" while patting her head, she giggled delightfully in response.

"Alright, it's late, go to bed now," Hao Xuan said looking at the time.

"Yes," Emilie nodded gleefully and skipped her way out of his room. Her objective had been achieved, Hao Xuan wasn't sad anymore, and that's all she needed.

Hao Xuan sat there on his bed, looking at the little silhouette leave his sight.

"As long as she is fine and happy, I will be happy. No matter what, nothing can ever happen to her, nothing!" Hao Xuan said somberly.

After that, he packed the few little belongings he had and went to Maaz's room. He was still awake.

"Brother, I have to do a few things, I might not be able to come back for a little while. Please take care of everyone," Hao Xuan said looking at Maaz.

Taken aback, "What? What do you mean? Where are you going?" he asked in return.

"Just to take care of a few things. You don't have to worry about me, I'll be back soon," Hao Xuan replied earnestly.

Maaz looked at him, seeing the look in his eyes, he knew Hao Xuan wouldn't stop unless he was done with his business.

"Alright, if you think that's best. But be sure to come back soon okay? This is your home now, don't act all formal with me," Maaz said as he got up and gave Hao Xuan a bear hug.

"Mhmm, I'll be back soon. Tell everyone not to worry," Hao Xuan said as he patted him on the shoulder, and then slowly left under the cover of darkness.

Hao Xuan knew he needed to get strong, and fast, but he couldn't do that living a comfortable life in the farmhouse. He had to venture out to overcome challenges, meet new foes, fight men and beasts, explore this dangerous new world and get a better understanding of it. And on that night, he took his first steps towards turning his dreams into reality.

What adventures await our brave little hero?