Wu Family

Night.

The Void Sun in the dome directly overhead had gone dark.

Beneath a massive stone pillar, a huge stone wall enclosed a courtyard of seven or eight mu. A black fortress stood pressed against the pillar.

Vast patches of luminous moss and trailing vines clung to the fortress's outer walls. Their dim blue and pale green glow illuminated the entire courtyard, lending this small stone fort an air of ancient desolation.

Behind the courtyard's main gate, two Ox Tribe guards on night watch lay sprawled on the ground, snoring away. Two wheel-sized battle axes forged from crude iron had been tossed carelessly beside them.

Two Gray Rock Lizards slowly circled along the base of the wall. Each time they crawled past the two Ox Tribe men, their amber eyes would glare at them coldly, their long tongues flicking out with impatience.

The stone fort's main doors opened without a sound.

The slender Wu Tie walked out. The two Gray Rock Lizards quickly crawled over and affectionately licked Wu Tie's palm and the tops of his feet with their tongues before continuing their patrol along the wall.

Wu Tie looked at the two soundly sleeping Ox Tribe men, curled his lips, and took quick little steps around to the rear of the stone fort.

There was a training ground here, around a mu in size. All kinds of crude, heavy equipment lay scattered across the sandy ground: stone locks, stone cauldrons, and huge stone balls attached to long chains. The largest stone ball stood far taller than Wu Tie.

Carefully removing his close-fitting undershirt of fine hemp, Wu Tie bared his torso and stood in the middle of the training ground. Gritting his teeth, he slowly moved his arms and legs, somewhat stiffly and sluggishly performing a set of punches and kicks.

After only a quarter of an hour, Wu Tie, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath, collapsed to the ground. Veins bulged beneath his fair skin, many of them writhing violently. The muscles throughout his body spasmed, and the agonizing pain blackened his vision. He clenched his teeth tight without making the slightest sound.

The spasms continued for quite some time. Several times, Wu Tie nearly passed out from the pain, but he gritted his teeth and endured it by sheer force.

Once the intense pain had gradually faded, Wu Tie struggled to his feet and selected the smallest stone lock on the training ground, wrapping his arms tightly around it.

Closing his eyes, gritting his teeth, and tensing every muscle in his body, Wu Tie squeezed out the final shred of strength he had. His entire body shook violently, yet the stone lock, nearly half as large as he was, did not budge in the slightest.

After trying for a long time, his last bit of strength ran dry. Wu Tie abruptly sat down, his hands hanging limply at his sides, and heavily knocked his forehead against the stone lock.

"Some things will not necessarily bear fruit simply because you work hard at them." A somewhat hoarse yet exceptionally gentle voice came from the edge of the training ground.

Master Hui, around five chi tall, had the head of a wolf and the body of a man. Dressed in a loose robe of fine hemp, with his gray fur neatly combed, he walked step by step to Wu Tie's side with his hands behind his back, holding a leather scroll.

Wisdom glimmered in his deep eyes. Master Hui reached out and stroked Wu Tie's sweat-soaked head, saying in a low voice, "Taiping... I recall telling you that in this world, every person has their own unique and irreplaceable value."

Wu Tie raised his head and muttered softly, "But we have to find the right path to realize our own value!"

"Exactly, the right path!" Master Hui smiled. "And all I have seen, time and again, is you wasting your energy on the wrong path."

"I..." Wu Tie opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but he held back a breath, lowered his head in frustration, and savagely punched the stone lock.

His fist hurt badly. Wu Tie gritted his teeth and did his utmost not to show any expression of pain.

"Believe me, martial strength is not the only kind of strength." Master Hui raised his head. Hundreds of meters above them, the black dome was oppressive beyond measure. There was still a long, long time before the Void Sun lit up...

"Since you are in such high spirits." Master Hui smiled as he sat down beside Wu Tie, using a finger to write a long string of symbols in the sand. "The long night stretches on, and sleep will not come. Solving a few arithmetic problems would be good."

"And this poem—I find it exceedingly beautiful. Once you have finished the problems, memorize it with me!"

In the blue and green ghostly light, a furry wolf head swayed back and forth. Gently waving the scroll in his hand, he recited softly with a handsome young boy—"All night in a little tower, I listened to spring rain; at dawn, apricot blossoms were sold in deep alleys!"

"But, Master... what are apricot blossoms? I have never seen them! No one has ever seen them!" The boy's indignant complaint rang through the tranquil night.

"But, Taiping... apricot blossoms must exist!" Master Hui's gentle, slightly hoarse voice drifted forth. He murmured dreamily, filled with longing, "What a beautiful realm... Apricot blossoms must exist!"

Several cracking sounds came from the dome.

The thirty-meter-wide Void Sun lit up with a point of red light at its center. Gradually, the red light spread outward. An hour later, the entire Void Sun was fully lit, its warm red radiance illuminating Wu Valley for several li around.

The dampness carried by the wind from the surrounding mines and tunnels during the night had soaked into the ground.

The Void Sun's red light quickly raised the temperature in Wu Valley. Water vapor evaporated, and white fog several meters high gathered over the ground.

Wu Tie stood in the watchtower above the courtyard gate, holding a cooked giant meat mushroom as he surveyed the surroundings.

Within Wu Valley, shrill shouts rang out amid the disorderly clusters of stone houses, accompanied by the crack of whips.

Gray Dwarves in groups of three or five shouted loudly as they waved their whips, driving great masses of Rock Gnomes from the stone houses. Led by two Ox Tribe men and escorted by seven or eight gray wolf warriors, a group of Rock Gnomes delivered basket after basket of cooked white mushrooms outside the courtyard.

The Rock Gnomes passed by in lines, each accepting a white mushroom and quickly swallowing the bitter food without expression.

In less than half an hour, more than a thousand Rock Gnomes under the Wu Family's command carried all manner of tools and marched under the escort of dozens of Gray Dwarves toward a mine outside Wu Valley.

Before long, the clanging sounds of mining drifted over on the wind.

A Gray Rock Lizard happily crawled over to Wu Tie's side and raised its head to stare at the giant meat mushroom in his hand.

Wu Tie looked toward the mine, curled his lips, and snorted at the two Ox Tribe men standing by the gate, hugging a huge basket of food as they stuffed themselves. "Tell me, how many of those poor gnome slaves will die today?"

The two Ox Tribe men bared their teeth in smiles. Their grins held reverence for Wu Tie, their young master, yet also carried an unusual bloodthirsty aura. "Meat," one of them mumbled indistinctly, waving his fist.

Wu Tie felt a wave of nausea rise within him.

He stuffed the giant meat mushroom into the Gray Rock Lizard's open mouth. The lizard, three times Wu Tie's size, happily swished its tail, clamped the mushroom in its jaws, and swiftly darted down from the courtyard wall.

Master Hui climbed up, swaying with every step, a scroll in hand.

Watching the Gray Rock Lizard run far away, he sighed and shook his head. "That is why you are unsuited to cultivation! Your father and your three elder brothers... they would never waste even the tiniest scrap of food!"

"Including those poor gnome slaves?" Wu Tie curled his lips, feeling sour liquid surge up his throat.

"At the very least, your father and brothers have never touched them..." Master Hui spread his hands. He looked sternly at Wu Tie and shook his head firmly. "Taiping... your father gave you that courtesy name in hopes that you would live your entire life in peace. That does not mean..."

Wu Tie turned his head toward the mine and said stubbornly, "Are you going to say I am weak? I am not..."

"This is a cruel world. Everyone must adapt to its cruel laws!" Wu Tie muttered as though reciting a tongue twister. "So I want to cultivate, yet you say I have chosen the wrong path! Can memorizing books kill enemies?"

Directly across from the courtyard gate, over three li away, a Gray Rock Lizard as large as four or five Wu Ties suddenly sprang from a cave more than a hundred meters up the rock wall.

An Azure Wolf warrior nearly two meters tall sat atop the Gray Rock Lizard's back, his right hand holding a crude iron spear high overhead.

A head had been impaled upon the spear. As the Azure Wolf warrior swung it, the tangled hair on that snarling head flew aside, revealing a rugged face covered in thick whiskers.

"Victory!" The Gray Rock Lizard came to a steady stop on the ninety-degree vertical rock face. Standing on the lizard's back, the Azure Wolf warrior let out a piercing, prolonged howl.

Three more enormous Gray Rock Lizards sprang out of the cave, and three Azure Wolf warriors threw back their heads and laughed aloud.

Amid hurried footsteps, more than twenty Vicious Venom Hunter Spiders surged from the cave like a tide. Each spider bore a muscular Gray Dwarf warrior on its back. They excitedly swung their great hammers, striking showers of sparks from the surrounding rock walls.

Four Ox Tribe warriors nearly a zhang tall emerged slowly from the cave, carrying huge battle axes.

When they spotted the Wu Family's stone fort from afar, the four Ox Tribe warriors snorted loudly, their enormous pure-gold nose rings swaying merrily.

Behind the four Ox Tribe warriors, a Rock Python as thick as a water vat and more than twenty meters long slowly slithered out. Wu Tie's father, Wu Zhan, sat cross-legged atop the Rock Python's head with his arms folded, looking around with unmistakable boldness.

Wu Jin, Wu Yin, and Wu Tong—Wu Tie's three elder brothers—were sturdy men nearly as tall as Wu Zhan, all over two meters tall. Standing on the Rock Python's back, they laughed loudly at Wu Tie from far away.

"Hahaha!" Wu Jin leaped up, bringing a wild gust with him as he jumped down from the cave entrance. His feet crashed heavily onto the ground, and he strode toward Wu Tie.

Wu Jin covered the distance of more than three li in only a dozen or so breaths. In a single step, he mounted the five-meter-high wall, spread his arms, and hugged Wu Tie tightly.

"Haha, Taiping! The Xiong Family, who have opposed our family for all these years, have finally been wiped out this time!" Wu Jin laughed as he removed a huge leather sack from his back and pulled several tattered, ancient beast-hide scrolls from it.

"Who would have thought the Xiong Family actually had a literary inheritance?" Wu Jin widened his eyes and held the scrolls before Wu Tie. "Never expected that, did you? We do not know many characters, and these are all crooked, twisted strange ones. Take a look—do you like them?"

Master Hui's eyes abruptly lit up. A trace of drool seemed to trickle from the corner of his mouth.

Wu Tie stared at the books without saying a word.

This was not the gift he wanted.

This absolutely was not the gift he wanted.

Before his eyes still lingered the image of the head on the Azure Wolf warrior's spear.

He still remembered that three years ago, this whiskered man, Xiong Hu, the Xiong Family's patriarch, had led a band of warriors in a surprise raid on the Wu Family. Wu Zhan had been out hunting with Wu Jin and Wu Yin, while Wu Tong, who had remained behind, was seriously wounded and nearly killed.

"You only brought back this few people?" Wu Tie ignored the books and looked instead at the Lineage warriors Wu Zhan and the others had brought back.

He remembered clearly that when Wu Zhan and the others had left half a month ago, they had taken several times more warriors than stood before him now. The Wu Family had mobilized their entire force.

"The Xiong Family has over a thousand mine slaves, along with quite a few surrendered warriors who need guarding, not to mention all those mines and farms." Wu Jin handed the scrolls to the delighted Master Hui and said carelessly, "So we left some people there. There are plenty of things that need proper management!"

Wu Zhan led the group to the courtyard gate and smiled as he waved at Wu Tie. "Taiping, bring out all the good food and drink from the storeroom!"

Wu Zhan smiled with ambitious satisfaction. "Now that we have swallowed the Xiong Family, we only need to spend some time merging their strength into ours. Heh, I have had my eye on Black Wind Valley for years now... That is a rich land dripping with fat!"

"Let us celebrate properly!" Wu Zhan swung his fist hard and burst into laughter.

All the returning Wu Family warriors laughed joyfully. Several Ox Tribe warriors laughed so hard that the muscles all over their bodies shook, tearing open many freshly scabbed wounds and sending streams of blood flowing out, yet they acted as though nothing had happened.

The Void Sun's light gradually dimmed.

Several animal-fat torches were fixed into the courtyard walls. Their vat-sized flames shone brightly, overpowering the glow of the luminous moss and vines and lighting the entire courtyard as bright as day.

Bowl after bowl of harsh liquor brewed from bitter potato-root starch was poured down their throats. Huge slabs of greasy roasted meat were constantly brought forth, while piles of high-starch roots were boiled, chopped into pieces, and carelessly heaped upon stone tables.

The Wu Family warriors feasted to their hearts' content. The Rock Gnomes serving them lurked furtively nearby, searching the ground for scraps of roasted meat and roots dropped by the warriors, then swiftly stuffing them into their mouths.

Some bolder gnomes simply crept close to several warriors. Whenever liquor dripped onto the stone floor, they hurriedly lay down and licked every drop clean.

The entire Wu Family stone fort brimmed with celebration.

Only Wu Tie was in the rear training ground beside a huge cistern, filling a stone basin with water and carefully washing Xiong Hu's bloodstained head.

He straightened every strand of tangled hair. After expending great effort, Wu Tie finally cleaned the vicious trophy.

Heavy footsteps sounded. Wu Zhan walked over step by step and stood behind Wu Tie, silently watching him.

After a while, Wu Zhan said in a muffled voice, "It is an ancestral custom... Cut off the enemy leader's head and offer it to the ancestors, and our family will have better fortune, and the Lineage will prosper!"

Wu Tie sat cross-legged before Xiong Hu's head, resting his chin in both hands as he quietly watched the head's closed eyes.

"Dad, one day, will our heads also be cut off and become trophies for others to boast of their martial prowess?" Wu Tie asked with utter seriousness.

Wu Zhan froze for a moment, then shook his head and laughed loudly. "How could that be possible!"

Proudly patting his chest, Wu Zhan removed a beast-tendon necklace from around his neck. He touched the white fang, over a chi long, hanging from it, then placed the necklace around Wu Tie's neck.

"Hmph, hmph, our Wu Family is not so easily bullied." Wu Zhan patted Wu Tie's head, nearly knocking him to the ground with that single slap.

"This thing is supposedly called Chi You's Fang. It is the Xiong Family's heirloom!"

"When you come of age, I will take you back to the main family to pay respects to the elders!" Wu Zhan said with his head held high. "Oh, right... Your eldest and second brothers have both met your mother. You and Third Brother have not met your birth mother or your little sister yet... In a few years, once we have saved up more good things, I will take you to see her!"

Pointing at Chi You's Fang around Wu Tie's neck, Wu Zhan narrowed his eyes and muttered, "Wear this thing and play with it for a couple of years. When the time comes, your birth mother will surely plunder it from you!"

A strange smile crossed his face as Wu Zhan vigorously rubbed his lower back. "When the time comes, I must give you another little brother... Though a little sister would be fine too!"

Wu Tie looked up at Wu Zhan in astonishment.