Chapter 88 - Sweetheart

Li Ming was following the little boy quietly when she suddenly asked, "I have heard a lot about the Divine Treasure Hall of the Wang Empire. There are rumors that they are going to auction some very rare treasures in the coming weeks."

Lies!

She had never heard the name of this auction house before and if not for Zhang Yong she would never have found about the upcoming auction. 

Zhang Yong advised her to pay the Auction House a visit to see if she could find a weapon of her liking. 

The Divine Treasure Hall was the actual treasure of the Wang Empire. It's a rumor that the Master of the Divine Treasure Hall was actually someone from the Central Empire.

This Auction house had many branches in different cities of all the Empires. But the most famous one was that of the Wang Empire because every year two days before the Lantern Festival, the biggest auction of the year was organized by the Divine Treasure Hall of the Wang Empire, and the treasures that were auctioned off were said to be one and only of their kind.

Li Ming was curious to know why someone from the Central Empire chose Wang Empire as the main location to open their biggest auction house, especially when Wang Empire was considered the weakest Empire.

According to the knowledge that she had gathered about the Wang Empire, before the opening of the Divine Treasure Hall, no one was interested to visit the Wang Empire because there was nothing in the entire Empire that could be considered as useful to them.

After looking at all those facts, the presence of the Divine Treasure Hall in the Wang Empire was actually suspicious.

But Li Ming didn't try to ponder too much on it since she had nothing to do with either the Wang Empire or the Divine Treasure Hall.

She was only going to visit it so that she could finally found a weapon of her liking and to use their teleportation array to reach the Jin Empire.

Yes! The only teleportation array of the Wang Empire was under the ownership of the Divine Treasure Hall.

"The Auction house is on the same street as our shop. They have not officially announced the date of the auction but according to the rumors, they would announce it soon. Are you here for the Auction, Goddess?" The Little boy asked as he looked at her with his twinkling eyes.

Li Ming halted and looked at the boy for a few seconds and asked with raised eyebrows. A soft smile playing on her lips, "Goddess? Why are you calling me that?"

The little boy blushed slightly but then murmured in a small voice, "Mother and Elder Sister always told me that a Goddess looks so beautiful and she is always kind. And you too are very beautiful and kind. If it was someone else then they would probably have beaten me for ruining their dress but you didn't even raise your voice at me. You are just like how I have imagined a Goddess to be." 

Li Ming was so surprised by his words that it took her a few moments to collect herself. She crouched down so that her eyes were at the same level as his.

She took his small hands in her warm ones and said with a soft smile, "This world is a cruel place. There are only three kinds of people who exist here - one who are givers, second who are receivers and the third one are those who stand at the side and watch everything in silence. Those who carry the status of givers are allowed to speak, give, or do anything they want. It doesn't matter if they are wrong or right. Those who are at the receiving end don't have the status or power to question or challenge the givers and the ones who stand by and watch in silence are the stupidest of all. They are too afraid to speak but too excited to watch the downfall of others. Even if they know that whatever is happening is wrong they will never speak against it because they aren't aware of their own power. They haven't realized the strength that they hold in the unity of their voice and it will take a lot of patience, sacrifices, and time to make them realize their strength." 

"I know that you are still a little child but life, hardships, and pain never take the age into consideration. I can only tell you the reality of the world in which you are leaving. It's up to you which one of these three types of people, you want to be."

The little boy looked at her with his innocent eyes. His lips trembled slightly as he asked, "Which one of them is the best?"

Li Ming chuckled but her eyes only held sympathy for the child who was waiting for her answer to his innocent question. 

"None!"

"Huh?" The boy was confused by her answer.

"None of these three is best. If you become the first one you will end up exploiting your powers. If you become the second one you will always be at the receiving end of the endless unfairness of this world and if you become the third one you will end up in the crowd full of cowards and heartless people. So, in conclusion, none of them can be considered as the best. What matters is if you are brave and righteous enough to stand on your ground and be exactly who you are." Li Ming smiled softly as she looked at the puzzled expression of the little boy.

"Do you want to be like those who misuse their power?" She asked him in a soft tone.

The boy immediately shook his head in denial.

Li Ming nodded her head once before asking her second question, "Do you want to spend your entire life as a person whom anyone can humiliate and take advantage of?" 

The boy again shook his head in negative.

"Do you want to be a part of those who keep silent at every wrong and unfairness happening around them just because they are too afraid to even try to voice out their opinion?" Li Ming asked as she started in the eyes of the boy which promised a bright future if given a chance.

"I don't want to be any of those." He said in a determined tone.

"Good. Because there is another type of people in this world but they are so rare that it feels like they don't even exist. They are the ones who have learned their lessons. Who knows how it felt to be wronged and being abused by those in power. They have realized that silence only leads to the demise and they have also learned that the power is not for harming others. They are the people who have seen the reality of this world and have decided to become someone who is completely different from the rest of the world."

"Can I become like them?" The boy asked.

"Yes, sweetheart. Anyone can become like them as long as they have the same goal in their mind - to make this world a better place." Li Ming pinched his cheeks lightly as she said.

"Sweet h-hat?" The boy looked at her in confusion.

Li Ming chuckled softly as she answered, "It's sweetheart. You can call someone sweetheart who is cute, adorable, sweet, charming, closer to your heart, and whom you love & adores a lot. It's a type of endearment." She tried her best to explain.

"But I'm not close to your heart then why would you call me that?" He asked with a cute pout.

Li Ming wanted to pinch his slightly red cheeks and turn them into tomato but she controlled herself as she replied, "I'm not a real Goddess but you still called me one because according to you I have the same character traits as a Goddess. Similarly, though we have not met before and we don't know each other but to me, you appeared like a little cute, adorable and innocent dumpling. Now it's your choice whether you want to be called a sweetheart or a dumpling? Choose quickly." 

"I'm not a dumpling." The little boy said with a cute pout.

"Alright! Then I'll call you sweetheart. Now, let's go to your shop." Li Ming said as she lightly rubbed his head and stood up, stretching her legs a little bit to bring them back to life.

With a flick of her fingers, the stains that had covered her sky blue dress disappeared. The boy looked at her with amazement sparkling in his eyes.

"You still want to come to my sister's shop?" He asked but Li Ming could see the desperation in his eyes.

"Of course. I need to buy some dresses. Now let's go." She said with a smile on her lips that was covered with her veil.

The boy nodded his head and started walking again towards their destination.

As soon as the silhouette of Li Ming and the boy disappeared, the man in the shadows came out and looked at their disappearing figures. 

The only thought that was flowing through his mind was Why no one ever called him Sweetheart?