Chapter 58: Not So Easy

There was a large chamber which seemed to be the living room. The inside was really like a cave but lit by lamps giving off bright yellow light. Their fire kept the inside warm, though it was mostly due to the large fireplace at the back.

"Don't worry about the smoke. Haha, there is chimney which leads outside."

"Outside of this cave?"

"Yes."

'So then, won't we run out of oxygen, where's the air coming from?' I asked myself, looking around. That man wouldn't understand what oxygen was anyway.

Other than him, there also lived an old woman and a young woman who had half of her face covered.

"Oh my, who are these guests?" The old woman stood up from her mat. She was very short but had a straight back. Wearing red blouse and a white petticoat to hold her skirt, her and the young woman were dressed the same.

We introduced ourselves as humble travellers but she was quick to notice that I was pretty high ranked for a young man.

"She's my wife and that's my daughter-in-law. My name is Lou Gaeli. Shila, introduce yourself." The old man was energetic even though wrinkles covered his once youthful face, and white hairs grew on the previous territory of black.

Lou Shila, the young woman was mild-mannered and had a soft voice. At barely rank 2, she didn't speak very much while we went on to converse with the old couple. She seemed listless and lacked the energy that youths were blessed with.

"Old man, your son must be a really good person." The conversation had reached that point but Feng Yi suddenly stepped on something she shouldn't have.

Lou Gaeli's wife became sad at the mention of their son as he consoled her saying, "It has been a year now."

His frequent laughs stopped there as he told us that his pride and joy had already left this world. Then the friendly talk took an acute twist to lamenting, where the old man cursed nature for giving birth to bloodthirsty creatures, such as the Wind Taking Serpent which was the cause of his son's untimely demise.

Really an unfortunate young man, he had no children and made his wife a lonely widow.

An awkward pause turned into a decisive end to this conversation. I looked at Feng Yi in disappointment to which she didn't (and couldn't) reply. She sat on the chair provided to her, looking at her feet fingers. The old couple stood up while Shila went to prepare dinner.

After eating what I considered as a poor man's daily meal, we were brought to our rooms.

We had to bend down while passing through the chamber entrance. Reaching there, I asked why they lived in such a cave and not in a hut like everyone else. He smiled and gave no comments.

However, he didn't laugh this time as well. Too much laughing brought sadness.

...

When the light of the next day streaked past this canyon from the east, I woke up. I was thinking of taking a bath when I realized water was as precious as diamonds here.

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Still, I asked the old man and got a nice surprise. There was a well in this village but it was really deep, and fetching water out of it was not an easy job, even for a rank 4 pracitioner such as him.

Feng Yi woke up when he was about to take me to this well, and she decided to follow us.

"I also want to wash my body. Too much sweat, it makes me feel disgusted at myself."

We walked on the dusty path which had not been heated up by the sun yet. Still a little cold but not as much as at the middle of the night, this morning was fresh.

"The soil here seems fertile," I commented while looking at the grey huts. Silent and shadowed, they painted a unique picture of this village.

"No one can cultivate here. The Goddess doesn't cover the sky with clouds. Haha, rain is a myth for us and lush plants are something I've only seen twice in my life."

"So then the food..."

"Those cereals? All are bought from the travelling merchants like you."

It was harder to put food on the table (if they even had a table) in this place. Still, the villagers hadn't left this place for somewhere else.

I found it confusing. Pinchu town wasn't that far away from here. Then again, where would the travellers rest if these villagers decided to settle elsewhere. This was just one small corner of the whole Changlu continent but it was vital for many people.

Not many were awake when we reached the well. Just like what Lou Gaeli had told us, this well was deep but also dark, so much so my eyes couldn't see where it ended.

"What are you doing!?" snapped the old man suddenly when he was about to leave.

"Just checking if there's water." Feng Yi had a stone on her hand.

The old man facepalmed. "You can't throw that in there. There's a bucket just beside you."

It took some time to convince him that we won't throw anything in the well. He left grumbling. Feng Yi was giving me trouble this early in the morning.

I checked the iron bucket while she found a large wooden tub. There was a pulley here whose rope looked old and worn out. Still, it was sturdy.

We dropped the bucket and heard a splash after a few seconds. Yes, there was water. I thought Lou Gaeli was just joking when he said he couldn't fetch water out of it.

'I mean, how hard can it be to pull a bucket of water?'

It wasn't, actually. But the bucket was small and it took some time to take it out from the deep well. By that time, the bucket became half empty. Only then I understood what he meant. He wasn't talking about strength but stamina.

"Feng Yi, I'll pull ten buckets and you'll pull ten," I said after the third try. Why should only I do the work here?

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