Chapter 2: The Weary Mao Nianzu
The lonely moon hung above, glowing as though the world turned sluggish, accompanying people peacefully. Beautiful.
On this romantic night, the crowd was lively, with many fireflies of lamps lit up the surrounding.
A towering high statue stood imposingly. It was piercing the clouds, giving a high-level and unfathomable mighty person vibe. It was placed precisely in the middle of the plaza.
This imposing statue was the current emperor of the empire whose tales still caused people's admiration and dread. Considerate to his people; no mercy for his enemies!
Everyone in the city enjoyed celebrating the emperor's birthday—a triumphant moment.
However, the citizens here were not jubilant because of the tales, but because of his origin!
He came from this very city!
A leader of millions of lives, whatever he does, would cause a ripple in the world.
In this case, his origin affected this city's prosperity, making it a paradise for those who were after benefits.
The emperor stayed here instead of celebrating it on the imperial city's mainland. It showed how important this place was to him.
At the plaza, everyone wore dazzling clothes. Brilliant rays of light spread everywhere, and mystical silhouettes flew around.
They had to wear their best not to humiliate the emperor or ruin this glorious atmosphere.
Threads of dignified aura burst out from a magnificent, majestic hall close to the plaza. The emperor stayed within.
Not everyone could enter the hall because of the frightening pressure exuded by the emperor.
He wore a golden brilliance robe that fluttered by a gentle breeze. Profound eyes looked down upon everything, gazing at the far horizon as he sipped a cup of wine.
Many servants were kneeling and trembled in fear even though he had said nothing. But were they genuinely worth as servants?
These servants could trample anything in the outside world, and many bigshots would beg their favor. Of course, all of them here was no ordinary figures!
After all, only capable characters could withstand the emperor's aura. Only helpful people could work for the majesty.
"A pitiful, lonely moon," the emperor raised his cup as he expressed indescribably, "I'll accompany you tonight. Be honored."
Even though this celebration looked mesmerizing, with many wondrous and priceless treasures used to please and lit up the mood, not all of them were that happy. Especially…
One man.
He worked here and there. His pay was barely enough to flare.
Twenty years had been in nightmares. Wondering when will life comes fair.
Yes, this man in his twenties had been working since he was four. Why did he work at such a young age?
Was he an orphan? The answer was no.
Was it because his parents got an enormous debt? The answer was still no.
Bitter life. Working because he had to. Living in a vicinity of a prosperous city did not guarantee an easy life. It was the opposite.
His parents had many things to pay in taxes. Besides, many jobless people - substitutes – were ready to replace anyone. If one lazy, dismissal awaited.
Thanks to his strict, academic parents, he was more adept at academic skills than his peers. Thus, at four years old, he tutored neighboring kids on how to read and count. Food was the payment.
Tutoring class with such superficial knowledge. There was no hurdle, was it? Not really.
Envious jobless were against this idea. Many despised him because of his age and even doubted his credibility.
Reading and counting were essential yet important knowledge - letting a mere four-year toddler teach this was the worst idea.
As this premise arose, people couldn't help but feel suspicious and fury toward his parent, thinking maybe his parents were scheming to crush their kids' future with this tutoring class.
Even after he no longer provided any tutoring class, bad-mouthed opinions flew around relentlessly. His parents were people of morals, loving peace. So this event caused a throbbing crack inside their heart.
"Teach your kid some common senses!"
"Don't ruin people's future!"
"Don't raise a scammer!"
These were some soft mockings, and many more heart-breaking opinions came from the neighbors' mouths. The innocent four-year-old, who thought working would lessen his parent's burden… gave them much more burden instead.
Exhaustion.
Mental pressures.
This escalated to hot rumors in that area, even creating obstacles in their parents' jobs.
Of course, this city never lacked people, and many were hoarding jobs every day. So, if there were an opportunity to take down someone, people would do it to the fullest.
In this case, finishing the parents' career.
His parents kept wracking their brains to suppress the matter. They had no idea why a mere tutoring class could escalate to this level, but eventually, they decided something.
Cutting the ties, they forcefully sent the toddler to an orphanage.
Thanks to this, people could not pursue this matter, preventing his parents from losing jobs.
Why did it require such a simple solution? Because an orphanage was known as a positive environment, with doctrines and many charity events. A perfect repentance place.
However, someone adopted him soon after he entered. Well, instead of adopting, it was a child-trafficking business—a mere disguise.
Because when he, the depressed toddler, thought he was going to turn a new leaf from this adoption, he arrived at a mine.
He saw many kids of similar ages. They were not mining there, but becoming a living supplement.
The workers had some weird sorcery that could suck up toddlers' vitality, increasing the quality of the minerals. That was a terrible life, and he barely had any proper meal—just dried bread and disgusting water.
Every night, the mine filled with painful and horrible screams. Every day, the mine seemed like a typical, functional mine. Because of a messy sleeping schedule, he never slept in the night after that.
He 'worked' there for a while until he moved for an unknown reason. The workers locked the children in cages, which were strictly monitored.
Fortunately, an accident happened, causing a chaotic scene that triggered the workers to slaughter the children hastily. It was to erase the evidence, he heard.
During this moment, his survival instinct surged up, then he took advantage of the chaotic situation and successfully escaped.
He escaped alone and aimlessly walked.
Thankfully, he was near a town. There, he sought a job. Due to his uncertain origin, many did not want to let him work. Moreover, he had no actual skills in doing jobs.
But never give up on life.
He peeked at public education like seminars and workshops and tried his best to keep up with the environment. His educated parents affected him and kept his spirit in check to learn and learn more.
After some time, he got some basic skills and got proper jobs. Yes, it was plural because he took many part-time from the get-go, all of which had a meager salary.
One day, someone told him to work with one job to get a better salary through promotions. Hence, he focused on one; the result was different.
There was a saying, "hard work pays off." However, this never applied to him.
He spent three years on one job and did well not because he was thinking high of himself, but because that was the truth.
Yet… never even once got promoted. Even when he did, it would not last long.
Simply put, bad luck was always befallen him whenever things were going better. Moreover, he got no official degree, so it lessened his credibility.
This pressure was never easy. No human is born with a love for pain.
Innumerable thoughts about similar matters had flashed through his mind countless times. No proper answer besides 'trial and error; try again tomorrow.'
Inside a dark room, a simple thin mat overlaid on the cold floor.
In his twenties, Mao Nianzu, the man, curled up in thin fabric. He felt his legs numbed, severe eyes strain, and many uncomfortable symptoms all over his body. Barely breathed at ease, his trembling back leaned on the wall with incredible difficulty.
Mao Nianzu recalled his life; he worked for nothing. He only bought the necessary—meal, never bought what he wanted. Even he slept in this room as a job payment.
But shouldn't he be grateful for whatever he had right now?
At some point, that was right. Still, he got no close connection with anyone. He had strings with some people in the past, but a past was a past in the end.
No close connection. Whenever he returned from work or got paid, no one genuinely waited except criminals—no one to share emotions with, no place called home.
After all, living in poverty with a family was multiple times better than the current circumstance, lest the family could act as something to lean on.
"The world has abandoned me. This damned world must've abandoned me!" Mao Nianzu cursed internally, but his face showed an emotionless daze and flat expression; dead tired.
Suddenly, the moonlight serenely pierced through the window, revealing a crack in the wall before his emotionless eyes. He threw his gaze at the waxing gibbous moon.
If it were normal people, they would feel relaxed and have various peaceful emotions about this beautiful moon, but he felt nothing. He was weary beyond words.
Creak!
Illuminated by moonlight, the cracks on the wall twisted as it expanded larger with crips noises. At the same time, darkness burst slowly as a pair of luminous eyes hovered within it. Squirming, it stared at Mao Nianzu's black-pitch, dead eyes.
The luminous eyes had red blood-retina, and behind it was an endless dark space, so dark even the moonlight got sucked inside.
Mao Nianzu stared back as a reflex. "Sigh, what business does this sort of creature have for a mortal like me?"
He naturally knew this kind of creature would never come for an insignificant ant like him; they belonged to a different world.
Then, a deep voice chuckled.
Buzz!
"Ugh!" The chuckle caused his head to spin excessively, like getting hit by a hammer multiple times as his heart pumped rapidly. Blue veins popped out of his forehead, and acid boiled up within his stomach as he felt extreme nausea.
"We understand you." The deep voice sounded dignified. A bizarre, grinning teeth appeared within the crack under the luminous eyes. "Fighting alone is tough, isn't it?"
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone