Key:
'Thoughts'
"Whisper/Text/Past Conversations"
[Skills/Menu/Magic]
"Speech"
Sounds
Chapter 10 "Xialin City, Part 1"
As Jìng sat behind Owen on their horse, she couldn't help but remember the confusion everyone had two days ago. What had occured was that the following morning after Owen and her discovered the old shrine in the waterfall, the storm was simply gone.
Like it never existed other than the puddles of water that the group found alongside and in the road once they began to descend from the Ye Tai pass. When she asked Lady Cheng if anything similar happened when her group came across to reach Jingyi, the answer was a no.
Overall, everyone was baffled but Owen stated that they should continue on their journey lest they want to run into bandits or monsters by just sitting around. So they traveled and made their way until the sights of Xialin City were revealed to the party.
Lady Cheng poked her upper torso out of the carriage window and pointed behind the square shaped walls of the city towards the tallest building near the center of Xialin, she then spoke to Owen and Jìng, "that over there is where the Hóu lives, they are in charge of this whole territory overall. Near that building is where the Jia Emissary is located in the Xialin Territory."
Owen stayed silent but nodded his head while Jìng herself asked a question as she tilted her body so Cheng could see her.
"So you guys plan on heading back to Jia to report back?"
"Yes, once we reach the gates then it's probably the last time we'll see each other again," Cheng stated factually while showing her glasses back on her nose.
Well hopefully they have a safe trip and not get attacked by another Gwishin…
Everyone remained silent as they made their way over towards the entrance of Xialin. The gate held three wooden and metal doors, with the center one being the largest. Ahead of the gates were barricades of armed guards wielding spears and wearing lamellar armor slightly different compared to Owen's.
Above the gates was a large oriental building where Jìng assumed the guards of this wall slept. Suddenly Owen spoke to Jìng, asking a simple question.
"Have you been here before?"
"Nope!" Jìng answered quickly. While doing jobs in the last few years outside of Najin, she'd mostly remained in the territory surrounding Jingyi.
"I've mostly been throughout the villages around the capital whenever I've been taking jobs. When we first met, I was traveling with Sir Cao Ma just west of Jingyi in a small village."
Owen hummed as he went back to being silent, causing Jìng to give a small pout before thinking back about her encounter with a certain turtle riding merchant.
She remembered seeing the job posting on a billboard when she was visiting the capital for a potential job. Many mercenaries didn't bother looking at the note simply due to the idea that they would have to go to some village out west, give their Youxia Card to their hirer, and wait until they were approved so they could do the job. It was a long process and it was really better for merchants to seek out mercenaries rather than the other way around.
But Jìng had nothing better to do and at the time, wanting to not be near home, decided to make her way to that village and meet Sir Cao. When they first met, Jìng explained to the merchant the proper way to hire someone.
Which in turn made Jìng learn that the young merchant purposely did this to see what type of individual would be interested in the job. He was an interesting individual that Jìng had met in her life until she came across the Shaolin Hero.
Owen most of the time was spent muttering to himself about plans and stayed quiet whenever they were traveling. He'd only talk whenever he was meeting someone new or was trying to learn something from someone, so Jìng sometimes had to be the one to initiate conversation. Sometimes.
Despite that, Jìng considered him a friend for sticking up alongside her when she was dealing with her father and brother. She was enjoying being a member of his party so far and it seemed like he enjoyed having her along as well.
'I do hope I get to learn more about you, Owen…'
Her thoughts were swiftly gone as a guard approached the gathered group with a stern look on his face until catching a glimpse of Lady Cheng through an open window on the carriage.
"Oh you've returned Lady Cheng, I hope the trip to the capital wasn't too difficult? Have you been attacked by bandits?" The guard's gaze lingered on the small scorch marks that stained the carriage.
'Bandits…'
Jìng thought to herself as Lady Cheng greeted the guard professionally.
"Hello as well, it wasn't too difficult. We were attacked by a creature but thanks to these two individuals riding alongside up, we were able to survive. But the message will instead be delivered to the princess by these two," Cheng said as she looked over at both Owen and Jìng.
The guard turned to face the two as well with suspicion on his face, "who are you two then? To gain the trust of an emissary and deliver a message to the princess?"
His voice was still as stern as ever, reminding Jìng of her father whenever he was upset at her. Jìng watched as Owen gulped nervously at the guard's gaze. To help out, Jìng placed her hand on his shoulder to help calm him down.
With that Owen answered the guard, "I'm the Shaolin Hero, surely you must've heard of my summoning days ago?"
For further evidence, Owen changed weapon forms. Causing the guard in front of them, alongside the ones near the gates, to kneel before him. The stern guard from before apologizing for his behavior, "I apologize for my suspicions, your holiness!"
Jìng tilted her body to see Owen's face, only to find him cringing at the sight before quickly responding back, "it's fine."
She just smirked at his reaction, remembering what Owen had told her regarding people worshiping him. It made him feel uncomfortable. Though Jìng worshiped the Holy Weapon, she made her worship more of a prayer during the morning and night instead of meditation so as to not make Owen uncomfortable.
"Are bandits becoming more of an issue lately?" Owen asked. Though Jìng knew he wanted more information about the city to avoid any problems they could potentially run into.
"As of now, yes. Our guards have to deal with numerous brawls and small robberies out in the streets, so do be careful and watchful of your surroundings, your holiness."
Definitely concerning for the two of them but Lady Cheng simply sighed while she motioned the guards to bring out a sack of Mon-Coins.
"We all have things we have to do, so here is the money to pay the entrance fees. I'll be paying for these two as well."
With their entrance fee being checked by other guards, Owen thanked the emissary who simply waved it off with a small smile.
"It's the least I can do, your holiness. I wish you luck in acquiring the tattoos to bring out your magic."
The two of them waved as Lady Cheng and her guards proceeded through the city gates with no interference. Owen then made Horsy go forward as well as they entered Xialin themselves.
…
…
…
Jìng and Owen would still be close towards the main gate overlooking the crowded but bustling city streets. In the distance, she could see many armored guards and many mercenaries wearing their Youxia Card's around their necks. Jìng swore there was some tension forming between the two crowds but the chattering and voices of merchants and sellers seemed to keep the peace together.
'Mister Zhou was right…there's so many mercenaries here. Some are scary looking too...'
Jìng thought to herself as the voice of the Shaolin Hero called out.
"Alright, Horsy is in a stable and I don't think anyone will try to steal from our cart since I paid some guards to protect it," Owen stated, causing Jìng to send a gaze at him.
"Hmmmmm."
"What?"
Jìng sighed before answering, "Are you sure it's okay to hire some of the city guards to look over our stuff? Wouldn't that bring suspicion or curiosity to our cart?"
She watched as Owen processed her words before shaking his head dismissively, "we're fine. I just paid the guards to give a glance at the stables if anyone suspicious came over to check it out. If someone tries to rob us, then they'll step in."
"And how much did you pay them?" Jìng raised a brow that seemingly caused Owen to sweat a bit.
"I uh…"
She took a step forward, her gaze now drilling into Owen's shakey eyes.
"I uh…paid them a Mon-Fif each…"
…
"You did what!" Jìng whispered loudly as she gave a baffled look to her friend.
Owen raised his hands up in surrender, "Look! I just wanted to make sure they were actually on board to watch our stuff! I only paid two guards!"
"So now we're down to four Mon-Fif's. You know not everyone accepts a bunch of Mon-One's since some people prefer to have a Mon-Fif coin," Jìng explained to Owen.
The two stayed silent a bit before Jìng realized that she shouldn't be too hard on Owen, since he came from another world and all.
"Look…I'm sorry."
Owen stayed silent a bit, which gave Jìng some concern but he'd soon reached out and planted his hand on Jìng's hair.
"It's alright. I'm sorry too, I should've asked you first about my idea," Owen said as he patted her.
Jìng blushed a bit before shaking it off with a smile of her own, "okay then, next time you'll tell me okay?"
Owen nodded as he took his hand off her head and proceeded to look at the streets. Thankfully for Jìng, he didn't seem to realize what he did just a second ago.
Whistle*
"This place sure is packed…alright Jìng, walk beside me and let's see if we can find the inscription school."
Jìng nodded as she walked right next to him. The two would walk together ignoring the glances or stares coming from both mercenaries, and civilians.
Though as they walked, Jìng seemed to realize that everyone was looking at the gem on top of Owen's Bo Staff. Hopefully no one realizes that the Shaolin Hero was in town, she didn't want Owen to get surrounded by people.
But after a while, the gaze seemed to die down and soon focused on Jìng herself. It wasn't…a nice or curious gaze to say the least, rather it was one that was making Jìng increasingly nervous herself.
She quickly paced herself alongside Owen and accidentally bumped her shoulder against his, causing a small pique of concern.
"You're okay, Jìng?" Owen asked while walking next to her.
'I…don't want to burden him with this…'
"U-um nothing, just tripped on a rock is all!" Jìng quickly answered, causing Owen to hum in understanding as he too looked at the road.
"Yeah I see what you mean, there's some small rocks that can trip you. Though now, we're kinda lost don't ya think?"
Jìng nodded to that, they'd been walking around for almost an hour and no progress was being made in finding the school. It didn't help that there was a crowd and loud conversations happening all around them.
"Oh maybe those mercenaries over there can help us out," Owen pointed ahead of them and Jìng saw a group of four men sitting on a row of stools for a small noodle restaurant.
Approaching the group, Owen introduced himself, "Hello, I was wondering if any of you knew where the Huô Inscription School is at, here in Xialin? We're newcomers."
He gestured to both himself and Jìng to show his point.
The group of mercenaries didn't look at Owen for too long before glancing away with annoyance. Though they did stare at Jìng, and more so her entire figure.
A man who was wearing a set of armor made from hide smirked as he spoke to the party, "hmm, now she's interesting. I haven't seen a woman with gray blue eyes before…"
Jìng shot a glance over to Owen who seemed to quickly figure out why they were now talking. It all happened very quickly but Owen grasped Jìng's arm and together the two walked away from the mercenaries.
As they moved away, the two found themselves in between two food stalls and in an alleyway. Looking at her friend, he didn't seem to mind the terrible smell coming from dumped trash as he continued to stare at Jìng.
"U-uh…"
She was cut off as Owen spoke with worry, "I saw how they were looking at you. Has this been happening ever since we've entered the city?"
Jìng shook her head as she explained to Owen, "no…only when we entered this street is when people began to stare. In Pan Bo, blue eyes are pretty rare and with my eyes being slightly different, it tends to attract attention…"
"I see…and have some people tried to ask you out?"
Yeah, there were a few times when that happened with villagers back in Najin. But she'd mostly ignored them since she didn't know the person or they couldn't try anything since she was a higher level, which she explained to Owen.
"Okay, perhaps having our arms locked together might stop a lot of gazes appearing you know? Since we might be seen as a couple," Owen concluded as he offered his right arm to Jìng.
'That's kind of you Owen.'
Jìng said in her mind as she gratefully took his arm and wrapped hers around his. Together they continued walking around the city, this time much more watchful of the people around them.
...
…
...
The arm locking seemed to work as less and less people were now staring at the two while they made their way to another stall, one that was being rubbed by an old lady.
When the stall owner saw the two, she quickly greeted them with a smile, "ah. Hello there young ones, are you perhaps interested in some lamb skewers? They're freshly made."
Jìng gave a smile as she asked for the price, to which Owen gave the correct amount and the two were given their food. After taking a bite, Jìng approved of the taste but there were some parts that were uneven with seasoning.
Nonetheless it wasn't bad. After they were done eating, Owen asked the old stall owner for directions.
Resting a hand on her cheek, the lady pointed down the street before making her hand turn right, "Just down the street and once you pass the fountain, you should enter the shopping district. Continue making your way over until you pass a green building, that's an elixir store, at the end of the road should be the eastern gate."
"Thank you Ma'am," Owen and Jìng said together as they bowed.
"My, very respectfully! Unlike those recent mercenaries that came to our city lately," the lady grumbled.
"Yeah…they were staring at my friend so we had to link our arms and act like a couple," Owen said embarrassed that soon died down as he asked a question of his own, "do all mercenaries act like that?"
The stall owner snorted, "if they don't have any respect for themselves they will. The mercenaries the city knows are polite and just wait until they get hired, these new ones? They act no different from bandits…"
Another piece of good information for the two. With nothing much else to discuss, Owen and Jìng locked arms again as the stall owner smirked at the sight.
"Are you sure you're not courting each other~?"
'Why is she teasing us!'
Jìng screamed in her head as a rapid blush began to form on her face. Owen didn't respond but figured that going to the eastern gate while there was still daylight was a better option.
It didn't help as a memory of the princess's question emerged in her head:
"I take it that you two are lover's perhaps?"
…
She'll just push that memory away now.
…
After a few minutes, the two turned right and entered the shopping district. There the city seemed to drastically change as no longer were their wooden crowded buildings but instead organized brick buildings and brick roads.
There each store had letters describing the names of their shop and small lanterns were held next to them. Jìng turned to sneak a glance at Owen who was now nodding his head at the sight.
'I guess he's interested in heading into some of these stores huh?'
Maybe that elixir store would be a good idea, that way Jìng didn't have to keep healing everyone and using up her mana. After sharing what she had in mind, Owen seemed to be on board.
"Yeah that sounds good. We do need some healing potions…let's go see if the store is open. Now she said "a green building…"
After a bit of looking ahead, Jìng pointed at the store. The green brick building was two story, meaning that the owner probably lived there as well. Near a sliding door, Jìng saw characters wrtten on a wooden board attached to the wall.
"Over there! It reads, "The Pleasant Discussion."
Both members of the party thought the name was interesting and it might be due to the owners potentially being kind spoken? They'll just have to see. So together, Owen and Jìng entered the elixir shop as a small bell rang.
Ring!*
Owen took a step forward as the smell of unprocessed herbs and recently made medicine hit his nostrils.
'A pharmacy too?'
Owen thought as he looked at Jìng who still had her arms wrapped around his, though they quickly stopped after noticing each other's gazes. Before they took another step, a gravelly voice from upstairs called out.
"Hello? Are you a customer?"
Not wanting to be rude or seem suspicious, Owen yelled out in greeting, "Hello? Me and my friend here were interested in checking out some elixirs you might have!"
The sounds of heavy and slow footsteps were soon made as a slightly hunched elderly man was walking with a cane. One which looked similar to the insides of Hardwood trees Owen and Jìng noticed back in Najin. He would finish walking down the stairs that were located behind the counter, and walk towards the party.
'Wonder he got that from?'
The old man would brush his white hair with shaky fingers before putting on his glasses that he had attached to a necklace. A couple of blinks later, he finally reached the two party members and greeted them.
"Ah hello, welcome to the pleasant discussion. You said you were interested in elixirs?"
Owen nodded, "Do you have any elixirs for healing?"
"Hmmm," the shopkeeper rubbed his facial hair before nodding, "yes it's behind the counter."
Suddenly the old man hollered towards a door behind the counter, "honey! Can you please check how many healing elixirs we have? I'm not as fast as I used to be, heh."
Owen didn't know if that was an innuendo or not, so he kept a straight face. If it was, then he really didn't need to hear that. Though Owen then decided to take a look in his surroundings before seeing a Jìng nowhere next to him.
'Where's Jìng?'
Deciding that he would search for Jìng, Owen spoke to the shopkeeper, "My friend is browsing through your ware and I think I'll join her until you get the elixirs, if you don't mind."
"Of course, my wife and I will call you once we gather our goods to show you," the shopkeeper responded.
Giving a thumbs up, Owen walked away and turned to walk through the numerous shelves containing different herbs, petals, and roots. Some herbs looked like grain while others looked like flowers, it was a collection of similar and different plant parts. Some parts were even submerged buckets of water.
'I wonder what each of these parts are used for? I could perhaps buy some off the shopkeeper but sadly I need to save some money for armor and food…'
Owen fought off the voice to absorb everything under the shopkeeper and his wife's noses. But back to what he was doing earlier, he soon came across Jìng inspecting a row of petals in a small wooden container.
"Whatcha doing Jìng?" Owen asked as he stood next to her now doing the same.
"Oh, I was looking at the Heng Heart Roots over here," Jìng replied as she soon went on explaining about them.
They're a type of plant that's the main ingredient behind healing elixirs. Though when the roots are eaten raw, they are apparently very bitter but do help improve your heart's health, hence the name.
"What type of other ingredients are needed?" Owen asked, only to get a shrug from Jìng.
"Sadly I don't really know. All I remember was that when I was little, I'd gotten sick with a bad fever and my father gathered these roots to try to help me fight off my fever…I just don't understand him sometimes…"
Owen listened to the tone of sadness now present in Jìng's voice. The story about her father helping her brought some thoughts to emerge in Owen's mind as he gently patted his companion's back.
'I guess…he still cares for her even back then…it doesn't excuse his behavior whatsoever though.'
He could probably think what was going on in Jìng's head. Confusion maybe? Why did her father go out of his way to help her only to become harsher as she was growing up?
Though he'd soon realized that he probably needed to truly check up on her about her joining his party and leaving Najin. Perhaps after they deal with the upcoming wave? After a bit of time, Jìng collected herself and told Owen that she was fine.
It only made Owen think about how distant he kinda felt to everyone outside of Jìng, Zhou, the Princess, and the advisor.
'I don't really know anyone else here…I…kinda feel alone but maybe that's just me…'
"Owen?" Jìng called out to him in confusion.
"H-huh? Ah, sorry I was just thinking to myself," Owen answered back before hearing the voice of the shopkeeper call out to the pair.
'I guess I'll need to have a check up too one day…'
"If you're done looking, we got the products you are looking for!"
Turning back to Jìng, he motioned for her to lead the way. Following her, Owen looked at the box of elixirs now sitting on the counter. There in the container was only 9 elixirs with 11 more empty spaces.
"Did you have a recent sale?" Jìng questioned as she watched Owen reach out and grab an elixir to examine it.
Owen himself read the potion and gained an idea of what it could do:
[Regenerative Heart Root Elixir (weak)]
'ah…so it's not instantaneous but rather it heals you over time.'
The potion itself easily fit inside Owen's hand as he attempted to look through the purple glass containing the liquid, he could see it full up to the neck of the bottle. It was also sealed thanks to a cork.
Placing it gently back on the table, the old shopkeeper returned it to the container as he answered Jìng's question though grimly, "I wish…"
This time the shopkeeper's wife spoke for him, "my husband hasn't been able to search for more Heart Root thanks to the recent Field Tigers, south of town."
She was much healthier looking than her husband, having much less wrinkles and a bit more upright in her posture. She wore what appeared to be an apron and on that were stains.
'Does she make the potions and her husband searches for the ingredients?'
"And with stories about bandits robbing merchants trying to leave Xialin east, I can't go to purchase any ingredients outside of Pan Bo," the shopkeeper added.
Owen rubbed his chin with concern thanks to more evidence of bandits being a problem here in the city. But a few taps on his shoulder from Jìng would help him focus on why they were here in the first place.
"I'm sorry to hear that, hopefully the bandit situation dies down eventually," Owen said while keeping the details that he was the Shaolin Hero secret. No doubt that the guards he had met earlier outside the gates had started discussing with others about him reaching Xialin.
And he honestly didn't want to deal with fighting bandits or getting their attention. Who knows how strong or high level they could be compared to him? He didn't want to risk himself or Jìng's safety, especially Jìng after seeing how those mercenaries from before were staring at her.
'I don't want any problems occurring while trying to get to the school…'
However on the opposite side…Owen did feel like he should do something about this. He was a hero right? And that meant helping other people too with their problems. Looking back, the only person he could say he 'helped' was Jìng but even then he'd only done it because the problem suddenly was pushed onto his hands!
'But am I even helping her now? I haven't taken a step back from getting spells to ask about Jìng's mental well-being…'
He knew what it's like to disappoint people you care about and a part of him didn't want to be a hypocrite to his own words…
'... I'll…think about this later.'
Nonetheless, Owen decided to do the same as always and shoved the problem deeper into his head to avoid it.
Jìng on her part kept herself silent when Owen didn't mention he was the Shaolin Tool's Hero, she would ask him later after they buy some elixirs and his partly strange behavior in the shop so far as well.
But back to what they were here for…
"How much is each elixir?" Owen asked before looking over to Jìng, "how much do you think we should buy?"
"Hmm, maybe three since we're saving our Mon-Coins?" Jìng suggested while the shopkeeper pulled out three elixirs from its container and placed them on the counter.
"Then that will cost you…one Mon-Fif and thirty Mon-Coins," the shopkeeper said, causing Owen to sigh internally as he pulled out two coins and placed them on the counter.
'Another one bites the dust…'
It was pretty obvious that Owen didn't want to give up that much money to everyone else as the shopkeeper began to apologize, "I didn't mean to ruin your mood sir. It's just that business is starting to get rough for everyone in town and we only have a limited amount of materials to make more elixirs."
"It's fine…" Owen reaffirmed as he grabbed the three elixirs and looked down at the belt around his waist. After noticing there were actually containers to place elixirs in, he quickly did that.
"Alright, they should be secure," Owen said to Jìng as he began to twist his body from left to right, testing how secure the elixirs were. Soon satisfied with the belt, Owen spun to the owners and asked for more information.
"Sorry but before my friend and I leave, I just wanted to ask a few questions."
After getting the go ahead, Owen asked his first question, "do these elixirs expire?"
"They do only if you open them, if you don't then it should be fine and not deteriorate in its effects," the shopkeeper answered with a smile.
"Okay, what do we call you guys? I apologize for not introducing ourselves earlier too, my name is Owen," Owen said as Jìng stepped forward and bowed in front of the old couple.
"And my name is Jìng, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Ah you can just call us Mr. and Mrs. Gye," the shopkeeper greeted back before looking back to Owen for any more questions, only to look with interest as Owen pulled out his Youxia Card.
Placing it down on the counter, Owen spoke to the store owners, "I'm wondering if you two are willing to offer me and my companion a job. One to gather some Heart Roots for you and I return. I want to know how to make this elixir…"
Taking the card from the counter, Mr. Gye gave it to his wife. Who'd soon brought out a book full of different symbols, likely a book of references. Then Mr. Gye took a look at the book as he matched the stamp with another inside before speaking to Owen.
"I see…and you were hired by the Xinya Shrine Family? But are you sure? There might be bandits or even Field Tigers, they're vicious animals even though they are quite weak to other monsters," the shopkeeper seriously informed.
'Well, I don't plan on running into either but I really need to learn more skills for myself.'
Owen thought before nodding, bringing Jìng to voice her concerns into the conversation,"Are you sure Owen?"
"Yeah, unless you don't want to?"
Jìng quickly shook her head as she reminded Owen about their party, "I'll help you no matter what Owen, I'm supposed to watch your back remember?"
"Yeah…I got yours too Jìng," he soon replied with a smile, causing the same reaction on Jìng's face.
Cough*
Cough*
The two's attention were brought back to the shopkeeper who was now holding a set of bowls, pots, and all manners of tools for grinding and lighting.
"Since you two are willing, then we will give you this job. We need twenty five Heart Roots, find them and we'll teach you how to make these elixirs as well as giving you our stamp for your Youxia Card's," the shopkeeper said as he handed back the Youxia Card to Owen.
Putting the card back in his pocket, Owen asked the couple how long they were willing to wait until the job was considered expired.
"Since they've been growing around lately and with the risks of bandits and field tigers…I think four days is fair? What do you think honey?"
"I think that's alright, are you two okay with this?" Mrs. Gye asked as she placed the elixir box back underneath the counter.
"Yeah that works with us, we'll come back once we gather the roots you need," Owen confirmed, causing Mr. Gye to reach his hand out to Owen's, the two would handshake the deal.
With their newfound elixirs, Owen and Jìng both said their goodbyes to the old shopkeepers as they made their way out of the store.
Thankfully the sun was still up so they wouldn't have to worry about finding an inn to sleep in and with a much less crowded street, the party was now heading their way back to the stables across the city.
Along the way, the two had locked their arms around each other but neither didn't comment about it. Instead Jìng started a conversation between her and Owen as she thought back about the store owners, "They were quite nice, dontcha think?" Jìng said, causing Owen to snort a bit.
Snort*
"Hey, what's so funny?" Jìng pouted as she poked Owen in the face again.
"I-its-nothing-" Owen attempted to lie but after seeing the pouting face of Jìng, he'd instead explained why he was snorting.
"I just think it's silly how you're saying some words like I do, dontcha think?" Owen repeated the word he was hinting about to Jìng, who was now realizing what he was talking about.
Stammering a bit, Jìng slightly got embarrassed, "w-what? There's nothing wrong about shortening the way you speak to get a point across!"
Shaking his head, Owen felt bad about his teasing, "my bad, I was just teasing you!"
Jìng stayed silent before talking to Owen about his behavior at the store and as of recently in a whole.
"I'm not sure if you knew but recently…you've been stammering less when you speak to other people. Though at the same time…you seem kinda distant. Like at the shop for example, you stayed silent sometimes. Is something on your mind?"
Deciding it would be better to have the conversation somewhere else, the two head into an empty alleyway. That way they can continue the conversation without disturbing anyone nearby. Inside his head, Owen found himself agreeing with what Jìng was saying.
'she's pretty spot on…as of recently I've been able to talk to people much better. Maybe thanks to having to get as much information as possible? And the distance…'
"Yeah I've noticed too…I'm not sure how to explain it without sounding like a selfish person but…all this bandit talk. I'm just trying to figure out a way for us not to be in harm's way, which is why I didn't mention I'm the Shaolin Hero to that couple…"
"There are active criminals operating around us, you know? So that's why I didn't offer to help against the bandits…I don't want you or me to get hurt…or something worse," Owen confessed as he waited for Jìng to process what he was saying.
Deep inside, he was waiting for the usual, "but we need to help people Owen!"
But instead something else happened…
He felt a pair of arms wrapped around his plate's chest as Jìng hugged him.
'Huh?'
"You have nothing to worry about Owen," Jìng replied softly before continuing, "I understand where you're coming from but don't worry, I'll do my best to help you no matter what threatens us."
Looking down at her, Owen saw that she was giving him a small smile.
"You're my friend, so do I really need to repeat that in order for you to trust me? I'm here if you need someone to talk to Owen, okay?"
Sighing, Owen nodded his head as the hug was broken and the two returned to walking together in the city streets. They both remained silent as they traveled together until they reached the stables to find that Horsy was okay and that their cart was surprisingly left alone.
"I guess no one came to steal," Jìng said with some surprise in her words. She watched as Owen began hugging the horse who was simply snorting at the contact.
"I'm so glad you're okay, good job on watching over the cart!" Owen cheerfully said as he went to the back and pulled out a carrot as a treat.
After Horsy was done eating, Owen climbed into the saddle before giving his hand out to Jìng and lifted her behind him.
Suddenly Owen called out to Jìng.
"Hey Jìng...thanks for the talk. J-just know that I... I-I'm here if you need to talk to someone."
"..." Jìng said nothing until she gave a thumbs up with a smirk.
"Now you're teasing me about my thumbs up?" Owen said with a grin only to get his companion sticking her tongue at him.
Shaking his head, Owen proceeded to start their ride towards the eastern gate. After a few minutes of peaceful silence, he turned to see the sun now starting to descend from the sky.
Now he couldn't help but continue thinking about the short conversation in the alleyway.
'yeah, she doesn't need to repeat herself anymore. I trust her with protecting me...so maybe I don't need to stress out too much.'
Perhaps with this, he can begin to overcome the paranoia and concern of being judged by those close to him.
Another thing to note?
The sun descending into a sun set over the city walls? It was a nice sight to see...
[Otherworld Index]
Founding/History of Xialin City:
The city began its history as a small colony village on the outskirts of the Jia Royal Kingdom over 200 years ago. It was the only secure and bustling hub in the Tai-Jia Fields due to numerous monsters out west and north.
When the last Shaolin Tool's Hero was summoned, Xialin Village soon became the place of power where they governed the rest of the Tai-Jia Region. But records state that the village found itself destroyed by a group of powerful monsters, causing the Shaolin Hero to instead found Jingyi, a new city north west of the Ye Tai Mountains.
While the village was rebuilt into a city, Jingyi was the preferred choice for the capital of the newly created Pan Bo Dynasty compared to the already existing Xialin.
The main reason for this choice was simply due to Xialin being much closer to the Jia Water Guild's borders, so the place of power needed a more secure spot. Had the Waves of Calamity not occurred 200 years ago, Xialin may have very well been either a much more powerful trade city in the Royal Kingdom, an independent city state like Hantzu, or the capital of an alternate Pan Bo.
A/N: Okay I want to apologize for the delay of this chapter. I've been busy with personal life and from how it's looking? It will be a while until I can get to work on Chapter 11.
This is now a two-parter so thats a nice fact I guess. Once again, thanks for taking the time to read this story, means a lot!
Till next time, see ya.