Chapter 24- A Child Doing Wetwork

“You want to do more missions, but on your own?” Brother Fu put down his brush. He had just written the character for ‘knife’ and Tian found it spooky. Who goes around writing ‘knife?’ Especially when there was a small heap of discarded previous attempts. A whole pile of ‘knives.’

“Yes, Senior Brother. I don’t like owing merit points, and want to pay them back as soon as I can. Also,” Tian had to pause and grope for the words he was looking for “You all scare me.”

Brother Fu went still. “I’m sorry to hear that. Is there anything in particular that scares you?”

“Yes. I’m scared that I will be eaten alive. Either when I break through and go to Mountain Gate City, or if I don’t and remain here with the Senior Brothers.”

Brother Fu sagged. “We aren’t actually cannibals, you know.” Tian noticed that Brother Fu wasn’t meeting his eyes.

“I know what happens to small, weak things once they get a little fat, Senior Brother. The little bones go crunch, crunch, crunch.” Tian nodded firmly. “I need to get stronger. That means taking more risks and keeping more of the rewards.”

Brother Fu laughed a little helplessly. “You really are destined for the Inner Court. You are right on track with where you should be on your cultivation, and you can cultivate while you move around, so strictly speaking, doing missions won’t delay your cultivation much.”

The old man stroked his beard. He glanced out into the courtyard and smiled. Tian looked over- small birds had gathered in the parasol tree and were squabbling with each other. They were making a cheerful racket.

“Five missions. You do five more missions with your Senior Brothers, just so they can show you the ropes. Show you the kinds of jobs we do. If they are satisfied you can carry out your duties, I’ll turn you loose… on appropriate missions provided by the Mission Hall. Also, ignore any mission mentioning the Southern Border. That’s for Senior Brothers only.”

“Thank you very much, Senior Brother!” Tian bowed just how Brother Fu had shown him. Brother Fu smiled slightly and waved him out.

“Senior Brother Fu?”

“Yes, Little Tian?”

“If there are any other characters you need to practice, I can show you how to write them. I know the three hundred basic characters pretty well, and there is plenty of dirt on the ground to practice with. You don’t need to spend all your money on paper and ink and brushes.” He pounded his little fist into his palm. “AH! Would you like me to steal some paper for you on my next mission?”

“Tian?”

“Yes, Senior Brother Fu?”

“Scram, before you find the things I’m holding for you flying at your face faster than you can blink.”

“Yes, Brother Fu.”

Tian walked off shaking his head. His Senior Brother was very kind, but much too shy. Being unable to write well wasn’t a shame, so long as you were trying to get better. And the Senior Brother could read just fine. He sighed a big sigh. This must be what the seniors called ‘vanity.’ He would have to carefully watch out for it in the future.

The first job was hunting a dangerous wild dog that had taken over a pack. The second job was harvesting an obscene number of purple bamboo poles. It took weeks. The third job, however, was to kill a heretic. Twelve was, the Brothers all agreed, a little old to join their war on evil cultivators, but not too old. There were always more villains to kill.

“Alright, Junior Brother. I’m going to wait here, cultivate, maybe eat a little something. Try to scream if you die so I know to avenge you.” Brother Su patted Tian on the shoulder. “An insect like Wang shouldn’t require a Level Nine like me to intervene, so if you do die, it’s best you die quickly and reincarnate. Just think- in eighteen years, you could be a good man!”

The warm afternoon sun seemed to add a halo of light to the beaming Brother Su. The senior brother had located a nice flat rock to sit on, and had already laid out some snacks. There was even a broad-leafed tree for shade.

Behind Tian was a steep hill with a narrow cave entrance. Something foul had happened inside the cave, the stench clawing its way out and fouling the forest air. Tian could see stains of blood and feces smearing the entrance.

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“Thank you for your good wishes, Senior Brother.”

“In all seriousness, Bloody Cleaver Wang deserves a brutal end. Your first human killing will be a righteous act. This is your first time killing a human, isn’t it?