Li Chu stood in front of me, sporting his usual sneer.

"Hello, Farmer Gongsun, I’m not interrupting you today, I hope," he said smugly.

“Well, no ‘Junior Brother’? I am appalled by your rudeness.” I tried to keep my nerves in check by acting normal.

"Besides, as you can see," I said, pointing at my sorry state, "I just had a hard day, and the only thing I want to do now is to wash and go to bed."

“Eh! Sorry, but you’ll have to bear with it,” he said, still looking smug.

After that, his face made a grimace.

“As for the ‘Junior Brother’, I don’t want to bother with that nonsense with you, but I had to keep up some appearance, as you may -” he looked at me up and down, “- not know, I suppose.”

“Well, that's better. You sounded like a eunuch. And as I already told you, I am returning from work,” I said annoyed.

He just shrugged. “I don't care about your opinion, and, besides, I was talking about your choice of clothes. You still look like a farmer, not a cultivator."

“People farm even here," I defended myself.

“Yes, but have you see anyone dress as poorly as you?" he asked disdainfully.

I had no rebuttal there. I hadn't paid much attention to clothes, but I don't think many dressed like me.

"Well, returning to the point of my visit," he said, changing gears, "it seems you had accidentally avoided getting recruited. I am here to amend that."

I looked at him dubiously. “You are recruiting me?”

"Yes. You see, the Seventh District is kind of a dumpster for the garbage that enters the sect – congrats on making it, by the way – and so, someone thought of putting it to use, instead of them just wasting Credits," he explained with a bored face.

“I don’t think that you get to decide if what I do with my Credits is a waste or not,” I said, a bit annoyed.

He rolled his eyes. "You still seem to not be using your brain, or your ears, very well. I said 'someone' didn't I?"

“Trust me, I too think it’s a bit harsh, but the system is what it is, so I have to roll with it. And besides, I am doing fairly well in it anyway." He smirked again.

“And what would be this ‘system’ you speak of?” I asked.

I was bitter that he was the one that caught me, whatever this thing was.

“Well, that is of no concern to you," he said, waving his hand. "We have various roles, and yours is different from mine, obviously."

"It simple, really. You just have to buy the things we tell you with your Credits, and in exchange, we will protect you from the dangers of the Sect. It's a win-win for both parties. You just have to use the Credits you'd have spent on medicines, and you'll avoid all the pain and the risks. Being unable to complete the required weekly assignments means expulsion, after all. It’s wonderful, right?" he said with a bright smile.

I looked at him, trying to guess what he was really thinking. “I don’t think I have any need of that protection, and I like to spend my Credits however I whish.”

“Mm,” he said, with such a fake worried expression, that it was clear he was showing it on purpose. “Are you sure you want to reject my offer? It’s not safe around here lately, and we don’t ask for much.”

“I am,” I said, making it clear I wouldn’t change my mind.

Whatever scheme he had, he couldn’t force me to accept, and if he tried something I would just run – It’s hard to follow people in the dark.

“Very well." He whistled, and suddenly two guys appeared from the street behind me.

Fuck.

Seeing that the situation was getting dangerous, I didn't waste time on words and tried to escape. I dashed toward Li Chu, since he was alone, trying to shove him out of the way, but he didn't budge. Instead, I was knocked back, and a fist flew toward my face so fast I nearly didn’t see it.

The impact knocked my head back, lifting me off the ground. The landing made me lose all the air inside my lungs.

While I was trying to breathe, still disoriented from the blow to the head, hands grabbed both my arms, lifting me up. I had a metallic taste in my mouth.

“In truth, I didn't come here to do this, but I can't deny that I am feeling some pleasure now. I never really forgot that beating you gave me, and even though my father took a good chunk out of your family, I still feel like having a little payback. I guess it all turned out fine in the end," he said, smiling no more.

“Fuck you bastard,” I shouted when I got my breath back.

I tried to get out of the hold of his companions, but it was futile. I was completely immobilized.

He replied with a punch in the gut. I would have bent over if I had been free, but I was held in place firmly. After that, he started beating me, over and over. At the start, I tried to insult him when I had the breath, but, sooner than I would like to admit, I gave up, just moaning and groaning. After that, I even started to shout when he hit places that were already injured.

An interminable amount of time later, he stopped.

If I wasn't held up, I would have fallen to the ground – my breaths came in short, painful gasps.

Li Chu then grabbed my chin and turned my head to face him. I could barely see in front of me. "You know, I wasn't lying when I said I owed you. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't have learned to hold my tongue as well as I do now."

“While it’s quite the unpleasant memory, it’s thanks to it that I am doing so well here, so I am willing to give you another opportunity. When I come back, I hope you'll be more reasonable," he said, letting go of my head.

I don't know what made me do it at the moment since I was barely conscious, but as his hand left my chin, I spit at his face.

He didn't move for a few seconds before he spoke again. "I see. You're still as stubborn as always."

"Guys, beat him up some more, and leave him there, but don't leave permanent wounds," he said, before turning at me. "Farmer Gongsun, I will come again soon. You'd do better by getting rid of that attitude by then."

After that, he turned and left.

His men then threw me to the ground and started kicking me. I went into the fetal position as they kept hitting me until I lost consciousness.

The next thing that I felt was the chill of the night in my bones, accompanied by a plethora of other feelings – mostly of pain, but also nausea, and a general feeling of weakness.

I don’t think I ever felt so bad in my whole life.

I stayed there groaning for a while until I somehow willed myself to move. I had been beaten quite badly, and, even though I had a strong body, this was the first time I had to move with such injuries.

When I tried to stand up, I had a sudden spike of pain in my side that made me fall back down, making me let out an involuntary shout. After some more time, I tried again, more slowly.

The walk to the Medical Pavilion had been a test of will for me.

I didn't think and didn't allow myself to rest. If I stopped, I wasn't sure I would be able to keep going. I think I limped forward for hours, swaying after every slow step before I saw its doors.

It was a miracle I had even found the place.

The relief I felt by seeing it nearly made me fall there.

I managed to stay on my feet, though, and, gritting my teeth, I walked forward until I reached the entrance – inside, there were still people moving about despite the late hour.

One of them saw me entering and stopped what he was doing, scanning me.

“H-help..” I wheezed out.

He didn’t seem fazed in the least by seeing a badly beaten person enter the place, just yelling to one of the doors. “Hey, Junior Brother Ma, there’s someone that needs to be healed.”

“Is it urgent? I am busy,” I heard a voice yell back.

The man in front of me gave me another look. “No, take your time. He just got beaten up a bit.”

I just spectated the exchange without understanding, on the verge of falling unconscious again.

“You, just lie there," he said, indicating a corner of the room with mats on the ground, "someone will come and get you later."

After saying that, he left.

I didn't have any more energy or willpower left, and I also had difficulty stringing together a coherent thought, so I could only follow what he told me. I just went over in the corner and collapsed in one of the mats.

I couldn’t think of much at the moment, other than the intense pain, but I somehow came to remember that time I had beaten Li Chu when we were kids.

I didn’t remember how much I hit him, but I’m sure he was hurting quite a lot too at the time.

“Life is like an echo. What you send out usually comes back to you,” seemed like a prophecy at the moment.

Well, if this is Karma, it really came back hard…