— The Emperor’s Imperial Record, Entry No. 6 —

  I sat silent, still in the same place, brooding and in deep thought, the weight of what I was to do pressing down on me. Even with all my bravado and self-belief, what if I still failed? What if I never became a cultivator?

  I needed a plan.

  Hundreds of ideas and conclusions battered my mind as I continued to think about what would be, but then, a sudden thought hit me. Cultivators were not completely out of touch with the mortal world. They still had to interact and command their servants to go out and do their bidding.

  To that extent, they still valued mortal wealth and influence. I tightened my hand into a ball around the hot ash from the fireplace, ignoring the temperature. In my mind, I was holding on to the idea that had dropped into my head.

  ‘Cultivators don’t gather all their own supplies, do they? Someone has to make their lives easier. Why not me? For a small fee, of course.’ I chuckled to myself.

  From what I’d heard about them, cultivators didn’t like interacting with us much. Especially not the multitudes of us they would have to go through to get every little thing done. ‘If I could gain both money and influence, then maybe I’d be able to angle myself into getting someone to offer me a cultivation manual one day.’

  With such a dream, it wouldn’t happen in a few months or even a year, but it was a path, and if I had something to tread on, then I had somewhere to go.

  It wouldn’t be easy; in fact, it would be nearly impossible. Especially, if I had to get to the point where a cultivator would value me enough to trade a cultivation manual. They kept those secrets notoriously guarded, no matter what faction they belonged to.

  If I could offer something they needed, maybe someone would take me seriously.

  ‘But, would it work? What was to stop them from just killing me and taking whatever they wanted?’ I couldn’t afford to dwell on any doubts I had, after hours of scratching into hot residue, I was at my wits' end. This was the only thought that made sense.

  “Plus, even if they couldn’t show me how to cultivate, they could at least guide me on something else that could work… right?” But I was talking to no one. Everyone else was asleep.

  It was a shot in the dark, with the rain falling fiercely, but it was a start. I knew cultivators dealt with mortals only when it suited them. If I wanted a chance, I needed leverage. Wealth would be my first step.

  If I really choose to commit to this path, I’d need to complete every task flawlessly, build connections with the right people, and—above all—avoid offending anyone. Cultivators weren’t known for their patience with mortals

  My goal was now clear: earn enough goodwill among the powerful cultivators to convince one of them that aiding me would be in their best interest. It would be a tough sell, and a long journey, but I’d have to take it one step at a time. I had no other choice.

  But at least my first step was clear: wealth and influence. Without them, my plan was dead.

  ‘Merchants thrive in the area—food staples, tools, and other essentials are always in demand. Maybe I could start small? Trading what people needed most. It wouldn’t be much at first, but it was better than nothing.’ The idea sparked something in me. ‘Maybe I could become a travelling merchant, bringing more than just food and such to the peasant folk.’

  But, I still had to make money. All of these thoughts were dreams if I didn’t have any hard silver to back them up. I had to find something to do. Even though Huo Qianlei had been kind, and I wasn’t going to be staying here for free, I did not feel good living on others' goodwill.

  But, finally, I was done. I had done it! I had come up with a plan, and all I had to do was carry it out. I have to gain enough silver to start a trade caravan. And then become so good that I can be the one cultivators hail when they want something done.

  In my young mind, I thought that would be enough to get what I wanted…I wish the world were so simple.

  After thinking through my plan, I lay back on the mat and tried to sleep. After a few seconds of moving around, trying to sleep, I went outside. If I couldn’t sleep, I might as well practice. I was trying out Huo Feng’s training method. I just had to adjust since I didn’t have a spear but twigs from a tree.

  I didn’t notice the time pass, but soon, it was morning, and Huo Qianlei and his daughters got up to do their daily duties. By that time, I had already completed all of the household chores Huo Qianlei had given me.

  The first step to my plan was to earn copper coins, and since I knew no one else in this city, I approached Huo Qianlei after he was done with his duties.

  “Good morning, Uncle Huo Qianlei.” I was not sure what to address him as, addressing him by his name alone seemed disrespectful to me.

  He nodded, focusing on putting on his shirt properly across his back. "Morning, Khan.” He looked around at the clean house, “ I see you’ve been busy, good job, lad.”

  I passed him his sickle. “Is there any work to be had in the fields? I want to be able to make some money.”

  Huo Qianlei stopped, a bit surprised. “Oh?” Then thought for a moment, “That depends, what can you do? There's room for some more field hands and threshers, but you don’t seem like the type to want that sort of work.”

  “No, but I know how to hunt, was the best in my village. Second only to my father.” I didn’t have any of my hunting equipment on m,e save for my dagger and my father's bag. I had forgotten to take anything else in my grief.

  “You can hunt?” He squinted his eyes in a mixture of disbelief and unshaken sleepiness from earlier, “Can you actually hunt, or did you just catch a few rabbits in where you came from?”

  I shook my hands and head, “No, no, I can actually hunt, I’ve been able to get multiple deer, beavers, even a bear once, but it was with help from a group.”

  “Alright then, come with me, if you can really hunt, that will be for the overseer to tell. Pass me my boots.”

  I handed them to him and he clasped them with a large smile on his face, “You seem like a good kid lad, don’t let the sect tests bring you down, with that kind of work ethic, you’ll be able to have your own home with a wife and kids in a few years.”

  I was confused at the sudden praise, then realised he had probably noticed the long sleeves I was wearing to cover up the mark on my right forearm. I was told it could take half a year to a year to fade away. But I saw no reasons to tell him of my new plans, so I just thanked him.

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  He clapped me on my shoulder, “Good, then let's get moving, we’ll send my daughters to Yao Po’s place, and then we’ll go to the fields.”

  —

  After leaving his daughters at Healer Po’s place, Huo Qianlei and I set off to the fields. The air was warming up as it got sunnier, and the scent of freshly tilled soil and threshed wheat grew stronger as we got closer to the fields. They were outside the gates of the city. The same place I had entered from when I came here a few days ago.

  When we got to the fields, Huo Qianlei led me to a hill I hadn’t seen the first time I had come through here. It was next to the wall, and you could see the whole grain fields, the forest, and everyone who went on the fields from here.

  It was like a watch tower.

  He knocked on the door to the overseer’s lodgings before we were let in. I made sure to stay at his side as he introduced me. When he was done talking, the field overseer looked me over once.

  He had a large silver plate filled with duck meat, and fresh herbs drizzled over it. A mug of beer and a gourd of alcohol next to the plate. Doubt clouded his face, then he crossed his arms tightly, forgetting to wipe off the grease before touching his clothing, but it didn’t seem to bother him.

  “You don’t seem like the type for this type of work. How old are you?”

  “Fifteen.”

  He clapped his hand on his thigh, *Hah*, before choking slightly on a piece of meat in his mouth, “And you want to come to my fields and hunt?” The man almost launched into full-bellied laughter. “Alright, we’ll see if you can prove me wrong. We’ve been having problems with some foxes around the fields, they’ve been digging up see—” he waved his hands around his head as if he was trying to push away a bad idea.

  “What am I doing? It’s not like you can actually get them,” then looked me straight in the eyes and laughed, “Just bring me ten foxes.”

  The overseer gave out a list of additional requirements for me to complete, then said. “You’ll find the tools in the equipment room,” he pointed with his thumb at the location of the room, “make sure you hurry up, I have things to do.”

  I squared my shoulders, making sure to keep my voice steady, “I understand, overseer, I won’t fail.”

  He scoffed and then waved me off, along with Huo Qianlei.

  I wasn’t offended by the overseer’s antics, I was young, and all my muscle was hidden under the largeness of my garments. I was aware of how I came off to other people. I was still short, and the fullness of my beard was one thin string that disappeared in the right lighting.

  Huo Qianlei walked next to me, “Are you sure about this, kid?”

  “Yes…Uncle, I didn’t lie to you, I really know how to hunt.”

  “Alright then, just know that if it ever gets really dangerous, you can just quit. Your life is worth more than his approval.

  “Don’t worry, Uncle Huo Qianlei, I can handle this.”

  He sighed, “Okay, but you should know, most of the hunters around wouldn’t be able to hunt so many that quickly. Much less in one day!”

  “It’s not a problem.” We were at the equipment room now, so I searched around for weapons I could use.

  After some searching, I found it. A bow and a quiver of arrows, although there was a good amount of dust covering them.

  Now, it was time to hunt.

  I made sure to set a couple of traps as well. If the field overseer was already looking down on me then I wanted to make sure I went above and beyond.

  By the time it was sundown, I had come back with my haul.

  The overseer was standing outside, at the base of the hill, with two bulky guards on either side of him.

  I had my kills tied on a rope attached to a long horizontal pole I was able to fashion from a tree. It hung on my back, making my silhouette look like an oddly shaped ‘T’.

  I noticed his facial expressions when he first saw my catch. A flash of surprise before quickly going back to normal. *Hmm* “Not bad, but you’ll have to keep this up.” He directed his men to help me remove the kills from my back.

  “You can start tomorrow. You’ve done enough work for today. If you keep those foxes and wild animals out of my fields, we’ll have no problem.” He handed me ten copper coins. “One per fox.” Then turned around to leave.

  “Wait!” I wiped of the blood and dust from my hands with a clapping motion. He angled back towards me, “What, kid?”

  “I caught more. It was too much to bring back alone.”

  Now, he allowed his face to show the surprise he was feeling. “You better not be joking with me. Men, go help him bring back whatever he said.”

  The two men, who had already placed down the foxes under the shade accompanied me to the forest, where I had multiple kills stached around, but that wasn’t the best part.

  My goal was to show I was valuable. I didn’t want to go through continuous ‘tests’ like these for the remainder of my time here.

  It was 4 deer. I had shot one straight through the eye with my arrow and the rest I had caught in some well placed traps.

  Now, it was the guards turn to be shocked. They each carried one and came back for the other two, I took my stash of other kills; some birds, a few rodents and some swine.

  We came back and laid them all at the field overseers feet. He stared at them voraciously. “You really are a good hunter. But these are my fields.” He put his hands behind his back, “I’m taking half.”

  I almost sighed, my ego had gotten the better of me. What did I expect? To keep all of it? I was almost regretting having hunted so much.

  “Half? Of everything? Isn’t that going to far?”

  He stared at me, then thought about it for a moment, “How about this. I take two of the deers and nothing else, but once a week you bring me one deer, of the same quality.” He thought about it some more, “and you still get the coppers for the foxes. I’m not going to be any nicer than that.”

  “Deal.” And that settled it. I had full income now. I kept my face serious, four deer in one day was out of order for me. I had only gotten them because I had caught them trying to swim across a lake and had known to set a trap for them. The other deer was pure skill. But I wanted to sell the image that this was nothing for me.

  I didn’t think there were any good outcomes of him seeing me as weaker or less capable. “Also, before you leave, am I allowed to prepare a meal with the rest?”

  “Do what you want, their yours. Just keep it quiet.”

  This was an opportunity. I had just come here, and was already making more than most of the senior hands at the field. Huo Qianlei warned me earlier that I had to do something to sow some goodwill, the dagger in the night was far more dangerous than the sword in broad daylight.

  So, with Huo Qianlei’s help, I set aside the foxes and one deer for myself along with the other animals I was able to kill, and began preparing the rest for a feast.

  I was not the best cook, but weeks on end hunting in the forest had forced me to be able to make something at least not terrible.

  Only a few hours after I had started roating the deer over the spit, the wind picked up, sending the aroma everywhere around the field. I was going to give these farmers some venison.

  The best they’d ever had was probably some rodent, or pork bones. With this, I was sure there would be no ill will towards me.

  The field hands drew closer as the smell intensified, drawn by the promise of a rare feast.

  By the time everything was over, I had old, wizened men, patting me on the back and calling me by name as if I was their favourite son.

  I planned to sell everything else by morning. It was too dark now, and asked Huo Qianlei for some advice.

  Then we loaded and took everything else to Huo Qianlei’s house. While on the way, he nudged me for my attention, “Khan, you have to keep in mind, next time you hunt, even after giving the supervisor half, you’ll want to keep the finest cuts for him.” He coughed, rubbing the back of his neck, “I saw the way he looked at you today, when you were grilling the deer for everybody. The man is greedy, he doesn’t take well to perceived wrongs.”

  “I understand. I’ll make sure to take out the finest bits for him next time.”

  Huo Qianlei gave me a firm clap on the back. “Smart lad. It’s not just about respect. It is better to not offend someone in power than to please them. Do you understand?”

  I nodded.

  “Good. People like him don’t need much of an excuse to make life difficult. Best to stay on his good side.”

  We went inside the house to place everything down before taking some food to Healer Yao’s place and getting Huo Xue and Huo Mei.

  When we got back, the sight of the carefully grilled meat and the lingering scent of roasted deer, froze them in place. Their eyes widened. “Is this for us?”

  That brought a warm, fatherly smile to Huo Qianlei’s face, then he told them to go eat.

  Tomorrow, I’d go sell my haul. It was the first step to my plan, to becoming a cultivator…