Chapter One
"Ah! Aha! Aaki ! Aalip! Ui…Ua"
A baby no less than 6 months of age had awakened. It had awakened in a flurry of shock. The reason for its shock was unknown as it lay in its cradle without any discomfort. Its cradle exhibited extraordinary design. It implied that the baby, who lay in it, was not an ordinary one. It was a cradle made of rare colored wood. Its design was that of a coiled serpent coiled around a basket. It was as if the serpent was protecting the child it carried from all danger.
Except… what was such a peculiar cradle doing in an ordinary place like this. A room rented in a well-reputed Inn famous for offering rooms of great quality to both nobles and commoners without discrimination. The Inn, owned by the honorable Snow Wind family, was built 40 years ago in commemoration of Lord Ye Long's achievement of becoming the first Legend rank Demon spiritualist in Glory city. It also signified that if he, who was born a commoner, could achieve great heights then even the other commoners could do it too.
The room in which the cradle lay was one of no extravagant layout. It was made ordinary like all other rooms in the Inn. It showed that all were equal. But that was an empty dream. No one was equal. Every being was different. This could be seen by examining the different advantages experienced by the nobles compared to the commoners.
The setting of an ordinary room that was blessed with the presence of a beautiful cradle carrying an equally beautiful baby, made one imagine a scene of the baby being brought down from the heavens to live among the poor unworthy commoners. And this story would be true except the baby was indeed fallen from greatness. The child's father had exiled himself and his child from the luxuries of noble life to mourn the death of his child's mother.
The baby was left to stay in the room alone while its father would go and pay for the room. Alone the baby lay in silence before its outcry released from shock.
"Ahh…Ahhh…Naaa… Agrr.." The baby mumbled to itself as it recovered from its shock. It seemed unfamiliar with its surroundings. It tried to move but failed due to the weakness of its body. The baby was surprised at its weakness. It was once again surprised once it noticed the size of its own body. The baby cried. No one answered.
The baby was one of extraordinary origin. Its soul was from another world. The soul had rooted itself to the womb of its body's mother a decade ago, waiting for the womb to give birth. It lay in deep slumber until its rebirth.
And now… it was reborn. Now it had properly been reincarnated. It had awakened the memories of its past life. Before his death, he was a normal man. He was not married nor did he have a spouse. He was an ordinary man. No power to cause any of the unnatural occurrences.
It lay mumbling and tumbling within the cradle, thinking about what was happening. After a while, it made peace with what had come to pass.
Slowly, it grew in hunger. It shouted.
"Ak! Ahhhh! Uaah! Augh! Uaaaah! Uaaagh! Uargh!"
It shouted and shouted for some to hear. No one arrived and when no one arrived… it prepared to embrace death once more. The lone child closed its eyes.
"Ye Long!" A man rushed into the room with a worried expression. He quickly took the baby into his arms and consoled it.
"Ye Long! Ye Long! Your father is sorry! Please be okay! Wake up, Ye Long! My son! Don't leave your father… Don't leave me like your mother…" The man cried trying to wake the child.
Slowly, the child opened his eyes. He looked at his father's eyes with eyes that shown with excellence. He was happy. His face expressed his happiness. His face then turned in another direction and lifted his tiny arms. It looked like he was waving someone goodbye.
"Ye Long! You're Awake! Ye Long… Although my rough hands don't contain the same comfort as that of your mother's. I will not leave you. My son…" The man caressed his son's delicate face softly. He too smiled at the sight of his smiling son.
"Are you hungry, my child? I will feed you… Although the food that I give you will possess the same sweetness as your mother's. I will be here for you." The man expressed his thoughts filled with conviction.
H then, lay his son back in the cradle and moves towards a bag. It was filled with fruits and other things. He took a fruit and prepared a bowl and another utensil and began to crush the fruit.
The baby stared at his father's back. It was sturdy. Dense, bulking muscles could be seen through the robe that he was wearing. His father was tall. His back looked reliable. He too wished not to leave this loving father of his.
His father turned towards him and caught his staring eyes. He smiled. He then prepared to feed his young son.
"Ye Long… Promise to be with me till death do us part…"
"Hn."
It had been a few days since they had moved out of the inn and rented a small house from a neighboring aristocratic family and Ye Long was now able to move around the house. He crawled from one place to another at a speed comparable to a turtle and this was fine with him. He was in no hurry to grow up quickly. Although he had the strength to stand up, he abstained from doing so. He did not want to raise unwanted expectations from his father. Ye Long was extra careful to not act like an adult but his former pragmatic behavior would often show its ugly ass.
Ye Long was now laying on his and his father's bed trying to sleep. Ye Long's father had informed him that a commoner woman would come and take care of him while he was away. He was a scout and his duty toward the city was important. He could not just take a break from work and call in sick. He had to scout for dangers lurking around the city borders and report back to the guild.
If he left on a Monday he would be back on Friday. This also meant that Ye Long would be left alone for long periods. Ye Long's father often thought of going back to the Snow Wind Family but decided against it. He had exiled himself for five years and he would go back until that time is finished.
That's why… there was a young lady with below-average beauty sitting beside Ye Long, singing him to sleep. Ye Long had discovered that her name was Chu Yuli from her less-than-pleasant discussions with his father. His father seemed to dislike commoners to an extreme. He could bear them being servants for the nobles but doing something that was not meant for a servant to do was intolerable. Despite my father's clear dislike for commoners Chu Yuli did not quit her job and took care of me.