A Talentless Cultivator's Journey

[vinci01]

AN: Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/cw/01vinci

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Song Ru was woken up in the early morning, the sun scorching his eyes and the cold breeze lashing out against his skin. Without a second thought, he hid himself from the mercilessness of early morning, cocooning himself in the warm blankets.

He sighed as his half-awake mind started to think about the day to come. It was unfortunate, but he couldn't escape back into the realm of Morpheus.

Groaning slightly, the teen sat up straight in the bed. He opened his eyes and took his first "breath" of the day, pulling the surrounding Qi gently into himself, causing his body and mind to wake up completely.

Breathing out, the young man sighed as he noticed the Qi exiting his body. He wasn't quite sure why, but he knew instinctively that this exercise was important for his growth.

'Cultivation, huh,' he thought while mentally scoffing with a smirk, amused at the image of arrogant young masters losing face and shouting, 'You dare?!'

The teen got out of bed, chuckling to himself, now awake and energised. Putting on his finest clothing, which he had righteously appropriated from some bandits, he headed to the bathroom, tying his long hair along the way. He took care of his personal hygiene with the water from a basin and a bar of scentless soap. He couldn't afford to dawdle around since he only had enough money for one night in the inn ― Song Ru still remembered the one time he got kicked out in the morning before he could even get his bearings straight.

While he washed himself as best as he currently could, Song Ru couldn't help but miss the conveniences of modern life. While he knew that cultivators had similar things in this world, he wouldn't see them anytime soon.

'18 years, huh...' Song Ru thought to himself, a bitter smile flickering through his tired obsidian-coloured eyes. He sighed deeply, burying all his heavy thoughts with practised ease as he stared at his reflection on the water basin.

It was difficult not to think about his past life whenever he looked at his own reflection. He looked so different than before ― he still hadn't decided if it was good that he was more good-looking in this life, when his beauty had brought him only trouble until now, after all. The teen didn't like ruminating on the past, however, too much bitterness.

He wondered at times if becoming a cultivator would be worth all his struggles. He pondered if he couldn't just settle down in a small village and have a normal life again. Song Ru knew the world wasn't fair and that he'd likely have to claw tooth and nail to get access to cultivation resources and knowledge. Ever since he was a boy, he knew that he'd likely fail at his goal, but he had to try.

The young man couldn't accept it. He couldn't accept the inevitability of his own death, that everything would one day come to an end. Just the thought of accepting his mortality reminded him of what he saw before being reborn in this world, sending shivers down his spine.

"I'm not dying again. Never again," he muttered to himself. Conviction steeled itself in his golden speckled eyes as he buried the hopelessness that came whenever he ruminated too much about his goal.

"This young master will live forever," he murmured to himself sarcastically, a mocking smile on his lips before chuckling softly as he shook his head.

Back inside the bedroom, he looked through his belongings, checking if everything was still where he put it. You never knew what to expect in places like this, after all. Once satisfied, he checked over his supplies for the road. A grimace flashed across his face as he noticed his shortage of food; it would only last one or two days more.

"I guess I'll have to hunt something to eat along the way." He scowled as he remembered what had happened to his bow and arrow. He'd have to see how rusty his trap-making skills were, then.

Looking at his map, Song Ru's expression twisted a few times before settling in a tentative smile when he noticed how close he was to the local sect. If they didn't let him become a member, he could only hope he didn't get killed for some asinine reason. The Scarlet Moon Sect wasn't a demonic sect, mind you, but you never knew what to expect when it came to cultivators. Some were kind, some were cunts; therefore, it was a matter of luck.

His lips thinned at the thought of depending on luck; he wasn't a betting man after all. It wasn't something he liked to rely on often, but he needed to join a sect, and Song Ru figured that whatever it was that had given him a second chance at life wouldn't let him die so easily. He hoped so, at least.

Taking a deep breath, the young man strapped a sword to his hip, hid a dagger in his boot, strapped the bag onto his back, and checked the bedroom thoroughly, making sure he didn't forget anything. Leaving the room, he headed down to the first floor.

"Good morning, Young Master Song," said the owner behind the bar, bowing. He was a short and ugly man; his only saving feature was his sharp hawk-like eyes. He was wearing simple brown commoner clothing, quite different from Song Ru's dark blue tunic.

Song Ru was amused by his excessive politeness. He was aware that the old man was only being so polite because he thought Song Ru was a cultivator, which wasn't exactly wrong but quite far from the truth; Song Ru knew about Qi and consequently was stronger than a normal man by a great amount, but he was nothing when compared to a cultivator.

"Good morning, Mister Ming." The young teen answered with a polite smile.

"Are you already leaving, Young Master Song? Wouldn't you want to stay for breakfast?"

"I would love to, but unfortunately I can't. I must head out now. I have a long journey ahead still. Thank you for your hospitality, Mister Ming," Song Ru says, bowing slightly.

"It's merely my job, Young Master Song," the older man said with a deep bow.

Song Ru found he quite liked this inn. The owner, behind that kind and calm mask, was probably terrified of him, which he could understand quite easily. Cultivators weren't beings you should mess with lightly. Even he, who wasn't a cultivator yet, could probably take down every guard in this small town; a fully fledged cultivator could wreck this entire place with no difficulty.

Walking through the little town's buzzing streets, "Young Master Song" wondered how often these people dealt with cultivators, living so close to a sect.

'Probably not often at all, actually,' he concluded after some thought; cultivators didn't usually mingle with mortals, after all, and yet they all seemed to slightly stiffen in his presence, some even walking away at a fast pace. Not that he put any effort into looking particularly amicable, mind you; the young man has always been well aware how his almost sickly pale skin and sharp, snake-like, golden eyes made others feel.

"Maybe...?" he muttered out loud.

'Is my "presence" growing stronger?' he wondered. He did notice he had a certain presence when he was a child. His mother had been the same, he'd been told; she was actually the one who taught him how to hide it.

Taking a deep breath in, he focused on the little amount of Qi that he could feel and reined it in a little more, trying to keep it as neutral as possible. It wasn't overly difficult, as his Qi was naturally very fluid and calm, like a lake.

It was odd how... dark his Qi felt. It didn't feel evil per se, but rather animalistic and brutal. It felt foreign and very different from who he used to be in his past life, sometimes. Song Ru did, however, accept that that was part of who he was now and that was all that mattered.

Song Ru wondered many times who his mother was and why she'd chosen to live in a small town far away from any conveniences he'd heard others had access to. As he understood his Qi more and more, he started to doubt she was even a cultivator herself. The ways she'd taught him how to feel and control his Qi were... too instinctual.

Taking a look around his surroundings, he noticed that people were still avoiding him, but in a much less fearful manner. He hummed to himself, now satisfied; it wouldn't do to go around spreading rumours left and right, after all.

Leaving the city behind him, he allowed his mind to wander.

He knew very little of his parents and doubted he would ever find out much more about them—both of them were dead, after all. Song Ru did know that his mother was special in some way and that consequently he was special too. The young man could only hope that whatever it was that made him different than those around him helped him instead of hindered him in the coming times.

Sighing softly, he walked into the deep forest, completely ignoring the road nearby. After living in this world for so long, he was long since used to travelling through rough terrain — it was bothersome at first, of course, but highly profitable — with a keen eye, one could pick up quite a few things along the way.

He walked carefully through the forest for hours on end; it was boring, sure, but he was long since used to the monotony of it all. Contrary to popular belief, there weren't demonic cultivators squatting in every nearby woodland; there were, however, highly poisonous and valuable plants.

Scouring his way through the forest, carefully keeping himself going in the right direction, Song Ru stilled abruptly, his eyes lighting up as they settled upon an inconspicuous violet flower that looked like a spider lily. Quickly grabbing a glass jar from his leather bag, he carefully harvested the plant, grimacing in the process but doing his best with his current resources.

There were so many interesting things in the wild that he couldn't harvest, or he'd be risking walking into his own death. It was lucky that whatever mythical beast he was descendant of seemed to be immune to poisons, since he'd have died so many times if he weren't so resistant to them... Song Ru's smile stiffened slightly at the thought.

'Still, this will be useful,' he thought to himself with a giddy smile on his face. His smile turned into a grimace as he looked at the skies.

The teen, noticing how late it was, decided to make a camp there. He was near another town already, but rushing towards it in the dark would make things worse.

 

[vinci01]

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