Shuimiao City

Chapter 1.

Duk!

The fourteen-year-old sat down. The first released by another child, who was the same age as him, landed heavily on his chest.

Although blood flowed from his nose, Yang Shao and his friend Wang Yan did not become pity. There they bullied the child even more.

"It turns out that you are just a weakling! Entertainment house music player, with a maid's aunt, who is shameless!"

Wan Yan spat once again on the face of the kid named Li Wei.

He just kept silent, not daring to resist. Yang Shao and Wang Yan were students from the later rising Martial Arts School in Shuimiao City.

The matter is only trivial.

Just because of a girl named Chen Xin, who worshipped Li Wei for his cleverness in playing Erhu music, this Wang Yan felt jealous. He has long harbored a passion, making Chen Xin a lover.

Unfortunately, Chen Xin is a gentle girl interested in musical arts. One night, Li Wei, with his aunt, was invited to a nobleman's event. He played Erhu music while his aunt danced a simple opera dance.

Everyone in the audience was amazed; the two aunts and nieces became the stars of the night. Chen Xin was fascinated by Li Wei's music playing. He directly took Li Wei to talk that night.

Unfortunately, that night was present at the event. As the child of a little nobleman, his parents were invited, and the child was invited.

"I'm going to kill that brothel musician!" Wang Yang was inward when he saw his idol girl chatting with Li Wei.

Li Wei returned to his senses from the reverie when Wang Yang slapped him.

Plaque!

The star pool was instantly full on the head, and Li Wei almost fainted. Wang Yan used strength, the result of practicing martial arts.

"I don't want to see you approach Chen Xin again." This is a warning. And...

Buk!

Dissatisfied with all that, Wang Yan stepped on Li Wei's chest. The child almost vomited blood. This time he lost his consciousness.

Wang Yang with Yang Shao left, leaving Li Wei's figure unconscious in a quiet passage. Luckily a neighbor found him, who was in critical condition.

In the medicine house of healer Kwee.

"Luckily, this child was brought in time. If it's too late, I'll raise my hand. His life must have been beyond help." Doctor Kwee said seriously, ending his treatment.

While the middle-aged woman, Wei Fang, was crying over Li Wei's state.

When Li Wei opened his eyes, "Lucky Doctor Kwee saved you. Thank the healer." Aunt Fang stroked Li Wei's head, who still looked confused.

++++++

That night behind the Lotus Blossom stage,

"It's your time to perform, young man," the host man coded Li Wei.

Without looking nervous, Li Wei took the stage. He sat up, and his gaze seriously stared at the string and bow of the strings in hand. He closed his eyes, imagining a sad autumn. The song "Love Story in Autumn" can be heard playing throughout the entertainment room of Lotus Blossom.

Young and half-old women go back and forth looking for customers. Men get drunk with Choujiu wine, wine made from orange blossom juice and glutinous rice.

"Another cup master?" said Wei Fang spoiled. He squirmed on the lap of the striped nose man. Germo Mei Ling, the owner of the Lotus Blossom business, targets all flight attendants to market wine drinks so that customers spend their money there.

Li Wei just finished four songs in a row. All applauded afterward. The maid girls praised Li Wei as a talent and musician talent rarely encountered in Shuimiao.

Li Wei's father was an accomplished Erhu musician who often performed music in their town. At the same time, his mother was an itinerant opera singer who had a golden voice. Li Wei's life changed when there was a war between the Empires on Longwu Continent. His father, Li Tan, died while on the battlefield. At the same time, his mother, Mei Ling, turned a blind eye after three battled high fever infections due to an infectious disease outbreak.

Since the death of his parents, Li Wei has lived with his aunt Wei Fang, his mother's younger brother, who works as a maid at the Lotus Blossom Tea Room entertainment house.

++++++

The time it was passed quickly. This is the Golden Monkey month version of the Longwu Calendar when autumn has passed. This year, it was exactly four years since Li Wei's father and mother died.

Wei Fang's aunt seemed to wake up from sleep. He realized that his charm was fading.

"Look at it. Your beauty is fading. Wrinkles are starting to appear on your face." Pimped Mei Ling at one time. Wei Fang's aunt became panicked. Beauty is the main capital of a flight attendant. At the same time, soon Wei Fang was no longer a diva in Lotus Blossom. Income is certainly reduced.

Bills began to arrive, and many bill payments were delayed.

At that time, Wei Fang complained to Li Wei. "We have to be frugal! My sustenance is no longer like the past youth. We would move to a smaller place!"

Little Li Wei just nodded at the time.

Once, Aunt Wei Fang asked Li Wei to fill the show by playing Erhu music in the Lotus Blossom Tea Room where she worked. At first, Li Wei tried to refuse under all pretexts. "Is it legal for a minor to fill in a music show in an entertainment house like Lotus Blossom?" asked Li Wei.

Wei Fang stayed with the action.

She needs money to pay bills that are long in arrears. "Little Li Wei. Don't worry. Auntie has arranged it. You will look like a twenty-one-year-old young man with this tall stature!"

That same night, Li Wei filled the show at Lotus Blossom. Wei Fang's two comrade maids dressed him up to look mature.

"You are handsome." Xin Yue giggled.

"I wouldn't have guessed you were fourteen years old if you were dressed like this." Li Hua, the other maid, praised no less coquettishly.

Li Wei's First Performance on the Lotus Blossom Entertainment Stage

When the last Erhu friction was played, voices praised Li Wei's skill. "What a beautiful music game!" Play your music one more time!" The sound of unrelenting applause ended Li Wei's performance.

Since that night, Pimp Mei Ling asked Li Wei to regularly perform music at the entertainment house. After getting paid, Li Wei became delicious. He saved some of the money after being set aside to help Wei Fang pay for the rent of the house.

"I have to save some money. With this money, I will leave this Shuimiao Town in the future. If I continue to live here, I will end tragically after a long time. If you don't become an alcoholic, at most, become a gambler!"

Li Wei harbored an urge to move to a bigger city. And the way out for many people to highlight is to become a martial arts expert – someone who can work on the side of the empire as a military.

+++

Lotus Blossom Tea Room, tonight.

Just now, Li Wei noticed a conspicuous figure when he was still performing on stage. He wears a long black robe complete with a hood that hides his facial appearance to seem mysterious. The figure looked at him as if giving magic, unwilling to look away.

"Do you know that hooded figure?" asked Li Wei to Li Hua.

Li Hua - maid lengthens the neck. "That hooded figure? , Hmm, I don't know him. People come and go from this place quickly. Where do I know who that creepy figure is."

Meanwhile, on Xin Yue's stage, his aunt's friend's maid performed on stage an erotic dance performance she named 'The Goddess'

The hall of the Lotus Blossom Tea Room burst into cheers and excitement.

The mysterious figure with a hood suddenly disappeared in the bustle of the party, and Li Wei quickly forgot the creepy-looking but unique figure.

Midnight passed when Li Wei returned to his home in a dense village on the outskirts of the city, a slum where most people live.

The midnight sky was dark. The wind blows, and cold is felt. The atmosphere is quiet, and people have been sleeping, pulling the quilts high – driving away the cold.

Tuk-tuk-tuk! The sound of city clerk sounded, breaking the silence, saying this is the time of the Zi period or 23.00 – 01.00.

Wei Fang's aunt tonight will stay with a customer, while Li Wei goes home on foot with Xin Yue and Li Hua. Their homes are close together.

"Auntie didn't go home tonight!" Wei Fang asked Xin Yue and Li Hua to go home with her niece.

Li Wei quipped. "Bring a lot of money, not tear marks and bruises from scratches!"

Wei Fang pouted When Li Wei and his two companions left him at the gate of Lotus Blossom.

Li Wei was still lost in thought. Suddenly the wind blew violently, making the three people's hair messy. The moon appeared suddenly, and the shadows of the three extended on the streets.

"What are you doing?" Xin Yue cursed at the wind that ruined her hairdo. On the contrary, Li Wei shook his head. He focused on hearing the sound of the robe rippling in the wind.

Wush! Li Wei looked up.

He was wide-eyed. Just then, a cloaked figure - complete with hoods, stood mysteriously on the ridge of a row of houses across the street.

"I-tu figure in Lotus Blossom earlier." Li Wei poked Li Hua.

"He's what I meant just now When he was still in the hall of the entertainment house!" said Li Wei haltingly.

Li Hua was hypnotized; he was curious. Li Hua looked up and gaped in horror, also amazed.

Xin Yue was the most timid of all; she let out a small cry.

The figure stood arrogantly against the backdrop of moonlight. While the collection of black clouds passed quickly, making the rays of the Moon and the Stars look bright, highlighting his figure.

"H-he looks terrible! It's like a demon!" Li Wei hissed frantically. The nape hair of his neck got goosebumps instantly.

At that time, Li Wei just came to his senses. Two flashing eyeballs stared attached to Li Wei from behind the dark hood.

"The gaze is terrible, hypnotizing me to scream." Li Wei panicked.

"Will he torture instead of kill me?" Li Wei intends to take a thousand steps. But his legs felt stiff, and they were difficult to move.

"Please..."

CONTINUED