41 - GRASPING ONTO GOALS

In the evening, Edgar and Fabby were aimlessly roaming the town, and there was cold wind blowing around. Even though the afternoon of that same day was like the hottest day they’ve ever experienced, thanks to the short but heavy rain, the atmosphere changed greatly. People of all ages came out into the streets. And they kept hearing different things.

“Someone stole my duck’s eggs!”

“Stop playing near the well!”

“Oh, Damn it! The cow has got its head stuck in the fence again. It took me so long to get it out last time.”

“Should I chop off the head then?”

“That’s my water! Don’t drink it!”

However, they had too many things running in mind to process everything their ears took in.

The days were the longest in summer, and so were the evenings. And this was the perfect time for children to play to their heart’s content. They all seemed to be happy.

But then again, some groups still looked to be stressed and were coughing, given that they were drinking alcohol and smoking weed, but that further dehydrated their bodies greatly, causing them to be stressed even more. As for why they were stressed, the heat of the summer may not be the main reason at all. But the common thing among them all was the fear that dwelled in their eyes, to a different degree in each person.

“Where do you want to go now?” asked Edgar. “The baronet or some other town?”

Going to another town meant that they’ve given up on joining a sect this year, so Fabby didn’t want to do that. “It’s not going to be easy either way. Let’s go to the baronet first. Otherwise, we might regret later on.”

“Mm…” Edgar also felt the same.

However, to their surprise, the baronet was coming straight in their direction, riding a horse. The siblings looked at each other and kept shoving each other to do something.

Eventually, Edgar raised his hand as he blocked the horse’s way. Jorga recognized the siblings, especially after seeing their meeting with Raha during the Red Night. “What do you want?” his voice wasn’t so pleasant and so was his gaze. It was clear that he wasn’t in a good mood.

“I want…” Edgar turned his head and looked at his sister, who widened her eyes in anger, as though telling him to focus on the person riding the horse. He looked at Jorgo again and said, “My sister and I are looking to get recommendations to join sects. So, we want to know if…”

Fabby’s jaw slackened. She wasn’t expecting him to ask Jorga in his face. (This idiot… It’s over.) She should have never pushed him to the front.

As expected, Jorga shook his head as if he was displeased. “You guys can’t even become foot disciples, so you came to me to beg. I have nothing to give to cowards.”

“A-Actually we’re from Vedi.”

Jorga was startled. “O-Oh…” It was hard to tell the differences between people from different nations given the complex history, so he wasn’t surprised that he didn’t think of them as foreigners. After all, his wife, too, was from Vedi, but he didn’t know that until after he married her. “Then… what makes you think I’ll be willing to recommend you both?”

“We’ll do our best!” Edgar and Fabby didn’t know what to say other than that they’ll do their best.

“How would I know that?” Jorga’s tone was indifferent. “Let’s say I recommended you two, and you later do some horrible things in the sects, then along with you, my name will be spoiled, too. Unless you have something that convinces me to put my trust in you, don’t come to me, looking for help regarding this issue.” Saying that he rode away on his horse.

The siblings stood until he was gone from their sight.

“I have over four silver, and I can’t take part in the Zha Clan’s contests to earn it either,” said Edgar. “It is better to leave the town before we run out of money.”

Fabby didn’t say anything.

“But… To be honest, I don’t want to leave right away,” Edgar put his hand on her shoulder “Let’s wait a couple of weeks, and we’ll leave after the Beast Tide hits. They say that the more beasts we kill, the more money we get. We can’t lose easy money.”

“But they also say that the Beast Tide is really dangerous. Are you sure we can do well? What if something bad happens?”

“They say the beast tide comes every year. If it was really as dangerous, you think this town would even exist now?”

“Y-You’ve got a point,” Fabby sighed and nodded. “Fine. Let’s give it a try.” She didn’t want to give up either.

Soon, they headed back to Doce. Fabby went to her room, but Edgar was standing outside the inn, lost in thought. It was getting dark, but he headed out into the streets again.

He chose a good spot under the tree. “I must practice the sword in the darkness, too, so I won’t be surprised by anything.” He kept swinging his sword again and again, refining his moves and footwork. Minutes turned to hours, and his clothes were drenched in sweat, but he applied dirt on his hands and continued to practice through to midnight.

While most of the town was sleeping, a sole soul was seeking more than just proficiency in the sword by putting his body, mind, and soul into what he was doing.

When he was at the peak of concentration, he ‘felt’ a lone leaf that was falling with the wind. He didn’t even look, but his sword swung in a way it went past the leaf without touching it, and it changed the direction the leaf was going. He swung again and changed the leaf’s direction without touching it. He kept swinging tens of times while lunging and twirling on his foot to make sure to keep the leaf floating without touching it. And while his muscles were reaching their limit, he ended it with a straight thrust that went right through the leaf, and split it in two.

“These must only be basics, but…” He sheathed the sword and was panting aloud. “Flowing Blade Floating Flower arts sure is tough. Master told me to try to do this leaf trick without losing my breathing rhythm or making any sound, but… is that even possible? It’s like he’s asking me to run ten miles in ten minutes with my mouth closed and with my breathing under complete control and not make any noise with my footsteps while I’m running.” He shook his head. “No. It’s not possible.”