5 The Great Debate

Chapter 4: The Great Debate

Van woke to a pair of beady eyes staring at him.

"Ah!"

He jumped on to his feet and threw the mouse on to the bed.

The mouse gracefully adjusted itself midair and landed on all 4 feet. It squeaked joyfully and rolled around on the bed.

"Very Funny. I'm dying of laughter right now. Ha ha ha"

The Mouse continued to squeak as a fuming youth tried to calm himself down.

"Van! It's time for you to head out!"

Van headed downstairs and found his aunt ready to send him off.

"I thought you disapproved of my going?"

"Since I can't change your mind, I might as well do my best to help you come back safely."

Tears came to his eyes as those words seemed to have released some invisible chains from hm.

"Take this box, your brother would've wanted you to have it."

His aunt handed him a case carved from a strange azure metal. Van collected it with both hands and handled it as if it could break at any moment.

He gaped at the box. It was made out of a material he had never seen before.

"Your great grandfather found this in a meteorite crater. It seems to be made by some divine material."

"Junior thanks aunty for her benevolence."

Van carefully placed the box into his bag and waved goodbye.

His aunt watched as the youth and the mouse walked down the alleyway back into the city.

"Alia, do you think they'll be alright?"

A strange voice sounded out behind Van's aunt.

"You worry too much Bo. I trust that he will take care of himself. Besides, he has the Divine Jade Dragon saber with him."

An old man appeared out from the shadows behind her. He had a cultivation at the Emperor Stage.

He let out a sickly cough and teetered on his feet. Alia caught and steadied him.

"My time is running short. Take care of my grand son for me."

Alia softly whispered into his ear.

"I will Bo. I will."

Van walked to the address on the piece of paper that he had been given yesterday. He eventually ended up in front of an inn with the words, "Cat's Luck" on it with a drawing of what was supposed to be a cat resting on a clover.

Van made eye contact with the Mouse and it quickly dove into his pocket.

Then, he walked inside and was hit with the smell of roasted meat. There was a jolly atmosphere and many people had collapsed, drunk, on the floor. He noticed that most of the people on the job were either nearing the end of their lives or young people like him eager for a lucky chance.

"All right people! Settle down!"

A voice booming voice carried across the room. Van found the source of the voice. It was a black haired man with, strangely, red eyes that seemed to hide a dangerous killing intent. He had a finely chiseled face and a fit body. He looked to be in his 30s.

Everyone immediately quieted down except for the occasional drunk yelling out incomprehensible phrases.

"Everyone come up here to find your group number. You will stay with your group throughout the entire hunt. Never abandon your comrades. Or else."

He drew his finger across his throat in a dangerous manner. Van swallowed the saliva in his mouth and turned towards the paper posted on the wall.

He skimmed through the words until he found the words "Van Nguyen" and the number "24" next to it. He found a few other names with the same number. Those names were:

"Binh Gao"

"Han Kim"

"An Lin"

"Xuan Gan"

He looked around nervously and tried to listen for those names. After a while, everyone seemed to have found their spots except for him.

"Hey, Van Nguyen! Over here!"

Van looked at the girl that was waving at him with a large grin on her face.

She was wearing green-colored travelling dress and was about the same height as Van. Surrounding her were 2 men and another women who seemed as if she was allergic to socializing.

When Van came over, the two men were introduced as "Han Kim" and "Binh Gao". Han Kim was a middle-aged man with a burly mustache and brown eyes. Binh Gao was a rogue type and made Van stand on edge whenever he got close. The girl dressed in green introduced herself as "Xuan Gan".

"The girl over there is An Lin. I've known her for a while, but she doesn't like strangers."

Van waved at her in greeting and was rewarded with a curt nod from the girl. She proceeded to pull out a knife and use it to get the gunk out of her fingernails.

"Well Van, I will be your team captain. As the one with the highest cultivation, I deserve it! I'm at the 5th Stage of Body Fortification!"

She beamed with pride as she showed off her aura.

"You're too dumb to be team captain. I think I would be more suited to this position."

Binh Gao stood up as he declared his ambitions and flaunted his aura of the 4th Stage of Body Fortification. Xuan Gan started to pout and throw a tantrum.

Han Kim stood up and revealed his aura at the 4th Stage of Body Fortification.

"We should have a vote so that it will be fair."

Van chuckled nervously as he tried to push off the pressure.