[Draft][BPOF] The Start of Our Adventure and A Tunnel - Chapter 1 (Patreon)

To start lets explain what this is. I have had a second story rumbling around in my head long before NeoRealm came about. It will be a more classical cultivation story. The plan for it is to have weightier chapters of around 3k words each. I have previously released a set of prologues and a first chapter. After getting some opinions of what I wrote for "Blocked Paths, Open Future " I decided to do better. Instead of a prologue it seemed that actually writing about how people treated the main character and such would be for the better. With that in mind there is no longer a prologue but rather it starts at chapter 1. The draft of which you can read below. Please comment on anything you see that doesn't feel right. The post will become public a week after release and after that I might put something about it in an author note of NeoRealm. Anyway, onto the story!

A stone hits my back, another bruise for tomorrow. Laying on the ground I hold a small plant close to my chest. All around me a mob of kids are jeering. The biggest boy steps forward with a large rock and sneers at me. “That’s right you jinx, just curl up and take it you nameless scum!” He hefts the stone over his head. Curling up I hold the plant tighter. Then a bored voice speaks up, “Oye, don’t kill him you fool. The clan doesn’t need any more karma with him then we already have. That Talentless waste has caused enough troubles for us as is. We don’t need to add fratricide to our burden.”

The clans groundskeeper is leaning up against a wall nearby. Once hopeful at being able to leave this backwater town. He instead ended up stuck at the peak of Houtian. Now the man takes pleasure in tormenting me. He smirks, “Hey jinx, get up and come over here. What’s that you got a death grip on.”

He’s going to steal from me again. Not that anyone else here would call it that. They don’t allow me to own anything so taking it is just retrieving the clan’s property. Nevermind I risked myself to harvest even this simple herb. Gritting my teeth I limp over to him and hand the man a small green stalk. Grinning now he takes a look at it, “Ah, something to help with bruised bones is it? The clan will definitely reward me for finding this! Now get out of here you waste.”

Limping further into the clan’s compound I stop in front of a tilted wood and mud house. Sounds of cooking and the smell of rice greet me as I enter through the empty doorway. “Grandma, I’m home!” and she turns around from a small pot over a weak fire. Her white hair throwing stark contrast to the drabness of the room. With a sad smile she greets me, “Welcome back grandson, our rice is almost done. The clan once again ‘forgot’ to provide any for you but I seem to have misplaced a small bowl from yesterday. You can finish it for me.”

Shaking my head, “No Grandma, I told you to eat what you can! You’ve gotten weaker and need  it all for yourself. Outside of town there is enough for me to scavenge. In fact, here,” and I pull out a couple root hairs I hid in the band of my loincloth. “These should be from a young ginseng, someone did a bad job at harvesting it so I was able to find two root hairs. Please, add them to your rice.”

A trace of fear flashes through her eyes, “Boy, they’ve taken our names. They’ve banished you to this backwater town. The only shred of clothing they allow you is that loincloth and you use it to hide ginseng? Do you want to lose even that?”

I grimace, “They shouldn’t know. I had another herb that the groundskeeper already took. How could they even imagine me finding two herbs? Plus, how else am I supposed to get anything here? They put you in not the most run-down house but rather the one farthest from the entrance. The wood hut they let me live in behind this place is literally against the back wall.”

She shakes her head and sighs, “I know but I would rather you not come home beaten every day. There are only a few more years in me but you have your whole life ahead of you. If you die nothing will remain of your parents and soon enough, me.”

I can feel a tear running down my face, “There has to be a way for me to still go out! They hardly provide enough food for you let alone both of us. Even that is only because of the other grandmothers. If they didn’t still respect your kindness from when you were in charge of the accounts. Well I don’t know what we would do.”

Once again Grandma shakes her head, “I know you silly boy. But hiding things like that isn’t the answer. If anything, take this as a lesson in karma. Even for us still in the Mortal Realm those invisible ties can bind us. In the past I was kind to others and so they help me out now. The new head elder has been nothing but rude to them and so he hasn’t found out. Now don’t cry, we can still manage.”

Another tear, “But Grandma, things are getting worse! If it wasn’t for the groundskeeper wanting my herb, I would have had a big rock bash my head in. Not even a year ago was when they switched to rocks and now the rocks are getting bigger. I need to go out for food but if I keep going out, they will end up crippling me!”

A small frown traces her lips, “Hm, this outposts karma will be bad for decades because of the Head Elders small-mindedness. The only reason things would go this far is if the parents are teaching it to them. Do they think the children will limit this kind of attitude to just you? The other grandmas must be heartbroken to see their grandkids being turned into monsters. True, might makes right in our world but what ‘might’ do they think we have out here? We can’t even awaken everyone! Over half of those kids will never cultivate. They will be stuck forever as the lowest of coolies for the clan. Even our slaves get treated better as they can be sold later.”

Then Grandma lapses into silence. I keep quiet as emotions play out over her face. Finally, her face goes slack, and she sighs, “I didn’t want to bring this up but fate has forced my hands. The clan doesn’t care if you go out only because they are hoping for you to go off and quietly die somewhere. On the other hand they take everything you bring back as they don’t want you to have any lucky chances. Now I have been saving up rice for a while. It isn’t enough to keep us going forever but there should be enough. Starting tomorrow you will no longer go out!” I panic and try to interrupt but she places a finger on my lips to keep me silent.

“I know what you’re about to say. You’ve always been a headstrong boy and even now you don’t want to back down. However, I am not about to suggest you give up and hide. Instead, from tomorrow onward you will be digging. The small storage shack where you sleep is, as you pointed out, against the wall. This was so if anything attacked from that direction you would be the first to die. But now we will turn it to our advantage. Using the small shovel by my bed you will dig a tunnel under the wall. While the whole town knows about your lack of Talent. Everyone else just pretends you don’t exist. What you do outside doesn’t get reported to the clan. This plan is risky but as long as you keep quiet enough it should work.”

As I nod in agreement, she adds in one final bit, “Oh and from now on eat more. You will be doing so much work. No more turning down the extra rice you hear me?” Sheepishly grinning at this I continue to nod. With that out of the way we get down to dinner with me grudgingly eating the rice Grandma has set aside. Then off to bed early, I have a lot of work tomorrow.

Waking up is odd. I usually try to get up after the sun rises to avoid all the other kids. None of them are exactly cheery after the required pre-dawn training. Yawning, I move the plank I sleep on to the side and grab the shovel. A solid thunk and the dirt comes up. Now where to put it? Random stacks of dirt would stand out. For now though I might as well use it to plug up the cracks in the shack. If anything, this will reduce the drafts. Finally, the sun comes up outside and the sound of Grandma cooking breakfast shakes me out of the work. After a stretch I head into the house, “Morning Grandma, I thought of a problem. Where should we be putting the dirt? I can only fill so many cracks in the shack.”

She nods a greeting while stirring the pot. “And a good morning to you. Sit down and have a bowl, I can see you have been working hard. Sadly there is nowhere for you to wash up.” I take a seat and she hands me my breakfast before continuing, “Anyway, I had planned for this already. Though I must admit I hadn’t thought of plugging the cracks. When you finish with the shack, there is a few spots in here to fill. After that is where I come in. While we can’t just dump it in the yard or the street there is a bit of luck in where we live. Because the entrance to the clans compound is facing the forest, we can take advantage of how the wind comes from that direction at night. During the day I will crumble the dirt you have dug up. Once fine enough we should be able to just toss it into the air at night and have it float away. Behind us is a disused alley so no one should notice.”

That does sound like a good plan. However I don’t want her to have to work. While nodding my head I try and dissuade her, “Okay, but let me break up the dirt. Please don’t work yourself so hard. I’m young and can manage it. A few late nights won't hurt me.”

She shakes her head, “No you silly boy! It isn’t like I plan to bash the dirt with a rock. We don’t exactly use my mortar and pestle for anything. I can use that to break the dirt up. Also, I might be old but I am still stronger than you! Maybe my cultivation isn’t the best, but I still made it to the fourth level even with no support. My years might grow short but I can still pound dirt. The only reason I am not out there digging the tunnel with you is that people would be suspicious if I wasn’t puttering around in my house!”

I Sigh, “All right Grandma, but if you feel tired at all take a break! I can always help make up for any you didn’t complete before going to bed. You might not want to slow me down but if you get sick from overwork I don’t know what I would do with myself!”

Then with breakfast over I head back out to the shack and continue digging. The unchanging work once again lulling me into a moving meditation as the hours slip by. Eventually Grandma whacks me on the head. The sun has almost set and my work now looks like an actual tunnel. She whacks my head again as my eyes start to droop, “Boy! Goodness me, and who was the one that was worried about someone overworking themselves? You didn’t even stop for dinner! Don’t think getting this far means the tunnel will be easy to complete. Once you get under the wall things will be a lot harder. Not only did they pound out a good foundation to start with but the walls have been compacting the dirt under them for years. We aren’t exactly talking stone here but it definitely will not let you progress quickly. Now come in and eat your late meal before we dust the alley behind us.”

Dinner tasted wonderful though Grandma just scoffed and said something about appetite being the greatest seasoning. Now we are outside playing in the dirt. At least that is what it feels like. I take the shovel and get a good scoop full of powdered dirt then fling it up as hard as I can. It then forms a big cloud of dust that drifts over the wall. This would feel like a big accomplishment except for the bigger cloud right next to it. Grandma is simply grabbing handfuls and tossing them up but with her cultivation this still lets her get twice the work done. The pile is soon finished though I suspect that I did less than a third of the work. My arms are dead to me so I head off to bed, even pushing my plank back into position is hard. Finally I drift off at some point.

Having forgotten to close my door means the sun greets me next morning. Did I say my arms were dead to me last night? That was wrong because if that was being dead I don’t want to know what they are today. Do you know how hard it is to get up off a plank when even the thought of moving your arms causes pain? Did I pull all the muscles in my arms last night?

Well enough complaining, I have to get up at some point. Rolling onto my side pales my face as I break into a cold sweat, but I finally end up on my belly. Can’t waste the food, need to get work done today. Breathe out, get my arms braced at my sides. Breathe in, tense my muscles. Hold my breath and push. Pain, but keep pushing. Slowly rising onto my knees then up onto my feet. Eugh, I am definitely awake now, that’s for sure. Grandma should have some rice left for me. Oh, there she is at the backdoor to the house. Her look of concern is clear as I plod towards her, “Good morning Grandma! Don’t worry, just a little sore from yesterday.”

She looks pointedly at the sky before returning my greeting, “Why yes, good afternoon to you as well! I wanted to tell you to take the day off. As you’ve gotten up though I suspect that wouldn’t do any good?”

I flash her a sheepish grin, “Well the tunnel isn’t going to dig itself? Plus a little movement should chase away the pain! Anyway, I am a bit hungry so I was thinking about eating whatever was leftover from your breakfast?”

Massaging the bridge of her nose she waves me into the house. “Don’t pretend I would feed you cold porridge! I got up early and started a soup. I even used the ginseng root hairs you got.” I open my mouth but she glares at me. “No, no complaints from you Boy. We don’t exactly have the proper means to get all the medicinal strength from it. A good long boil in a soup is the best we can do and your going to need this more than me. Though I will eat it as well. Don’t think I don’t know you would refuse to eat the soup if I didn’t. Now get in here, the faster we eat the faster you can go out and torture yourself with digging.”

I finished the meal and let me tell you, it was amazing! That ginseng must have been at least 20 to 30 years old and not just a decade like I thought. But now I am back out digging. Even if the soil wasn’t hard packed at this point, I don’t think much would have gotten done today. As I lift the shovel up my arms burn. Now tossing the dirt onto the pile and it feels like red ants are crawling all over them and biting me. I can’t stop though. A solid thunk but the shovel only goes an inch into the dirt. I lever out that bit and the pain starts all over again. The thought of it being good that I can’t dig as much today crosses my mind. That idea quickly gets strangled though. Even if I doubt my ability to lift a shovel full of dirt, this can’t be slowed down. She tried to hide it but Grandma was eating less. I know that pitiful amount of ginseng wouldn’t do much for her but she still needs to eat.

As it is there isn’t much I can do though. Even wiping the sweat from my brow causes daggers of pain in my arms. Luckily all the running around looking for food has toughened up my legs. I don’t even want to imagine what this work would be like if my legs also wanted to die on me. Finally though, my thoughts fade away until I am once again awakened from my work by Grandma. Another day has passed almost unnoticed by me. Shaking her head, she admonished me, “You did it again Boy. Learn to take a break for goodness sakes. Even with as backwards as this village is we understand that doing too much work every day can weaken you. I expected that after a few attempts you would give up on working today. Instead, you managed twice the work for half the results. Tomorrow you will stay in bed except for meals.”

I frown, “But Grandma, the tunnel needs to be finished! We can’t live off of the food we have for too long.”

She pokes my arm and I grimace, “Yeah no, the ginseng will have kept you from hurting yourself too much today. In fact, that is the only reason I let you keep going. Tomorrow though you will focus on meditation and letting the medicinal power still in you do its work. Now I have another soup going, this time I used the bone of a level 2 Mortal cow. While the broth won’t fill us by itself, the bone should last us a while. Such a low-ranked bone normally wouldn’t help anyone but for you it should be a gentle way to boost your stamina. Anyway, you better savor it. The bone is one of the few things your father managed to bring with him when he was banished here.”

I slump a bit, “If you insist I won‘t work tomorrow. Sigh, I guess one day won’t exactly matter much in the long run.” Then peaking up at Grandma I quietly ask, “What was my father like?” I know this question will hurt her but I need to understand. It is a rare time that she will even mention him.

Her face hardens for a moment then goes slack, “Yes it is about time I told you. Come in and eat while I tell you a story.” I nod and follow her in. Once we are situated she continues, “I have always been good with letters and numbers. They make sense to me. While I didn’t learn them when young I quickly picked them up after marrying your grandfather. He worked as a messenger for the clan and being able to read and write was required of him to deliver letters. Noticing my aptitude for it he got me a position managing the supplies at this outpost. When your father was born he took to them even better than I. By the time he was your age even the Head Elder noticed this. After some training in more advanced words and such they elevated him to a clerk position. Not here, we have little need for a real clerk but rather at the nearest city. Being a boy they saw potential in him as well and slowly he was be elevated. The clan is always short of young people with the potential for scholarly work. Finally at the cusp of adulthood he was brought to the main clan holding. For you see, our clan isn’t a small one. If we wanted to, then taking over this kingdom wouldn’t be a problem. Our main base is many kingdoms away at the heart of this Empire we live in. It takes years to get there and your father probably spent most of his time traveling once the decision to advance him was made.”

At this point we had finished the soup. She looks down and shakes her head, “I only know this from what he told me when he returned. There is a reward for finding good seedlings. That is why we have a new head elder. The old one used what they gave him to advance himself past the Houtian Realm. That in turn got him reassigned to a better location. Anyway, while your father was there he was married to a flower gardener. I never met your mother but from the descriptions she was just like her charges. A delicate flower needing to be kept safe in her garden. Beyond that I only now she died giving birth to you. But don’t worry she didn’t hate you for it. I have it from your father himself that her last request to him was to not hate you because of her death. After that you probably know what happened already but I will state it out. After testing your potential they found you had no Talent. Not a single one of your main meridians was open at birth. While I don’t know all the political maneuvering that went on they banished you and your father back here. A town on the very edge of the Empire. You are seen as a jinx and so all direct relatives got implicated and stripped of our names. In fact I have to assume the Empire itself got involved in this. To get here as quickly as you did means they used a teleportation formation. Even as rich as our clan is them spending that much to send a baby out here is absurd. Anyway, night is here and now isn’t the time to finish that story. Off to bed with you and I better not find you digging tomorrow. Don’t worry about the dirt I can take care of today's small amount by myself.”