Chapter 9

With the schedule that Ye Xiu had made during his time in the Locket Dimension, he repeated this routine for the next few days until it came to the day for him to visit the City Lord’s family. Knowing that this was probably an important meeting for him, he decided to wear the best clothes he had on hand. Which wasn’t much, it was a simple pair of silk robes and silk pants underneath them. His parents did not really believe in the saying that clothes made the man so they never bothered to spend the money on clothes. He didn’t really mind anyway because in his previous life he was a fashion disaster so it was an improvement in this life for him to be dressing this way.

Walking out of his bedroom, he greeted his mother and father who were both sitting at the dining table eating breakfast. Breakfast was usually a simple meal for them. A couple of loaves of bread, fruit and some unknown wheat product that he had never seen in his previous life together with some milk. His father began the conversation with him telling him things he was expected of for the meeting ahead.

"I fully expect you to behave whilst at the City Lord's residence, even though we are good friends with them it doesn't mean we can just randomly waltz in and tilt their world upside down. What it means for us is that we have to show goodwill and respect towards them, this is mainly a show for other people keeping a watch on the City Lord but it has to be done for appearances' sake."

"I understand Father, also could you tell me more about the personality of the City Lord? Considering that he raised his son they would be similar in some respect." Ye Xiu was curious about the family he was about to meet and become friends with.

"The City Lord's personality? I guess I could say that whilst he is stern in public and has to put up a domineering appearance, in reality away from the public he's a rather generous person. Especially towards his friends and family, you'd never believe it from looking at his appearance but it is true. He's as loud as he is boisterous so he's a very fun person to be around but he does get a bit too loud for my liking sometimes." Ye Qiu commented on the City Lord's personality nonchalantly.

Ye Xiu feigned his excitement for meeting the man, "Wow, I can't wait to meet him! His son must be just as amazing as him too!" Meanwhile, he was thinking, 'I hope his son is nothing like him, I'd rather have a friend which talks occasionally instead of being loud all the time. I admit that I like to have fun sometimes but it would be just too much for it to be loud everyday especially when you want to cultivate in the future.'

Ye Qiu started to stand up from his chair and said, "Well it's about time we start to leave our home to get to the residence. It's quite far away from where we are right now so we have to make our way there early if we want to come back in time." He made his way out of the home and waited at the entrance to the courtyard for both Ye Xiu and his mother.

The three of them made their way out of the Clan's compound to get into a carriage that was already waiting for them. Ye Xiu examined the steeds which were going to be pulling them and didn't actually recognise them. He had thought that with his knowledge he'd be able to identify what it was but he it was completely unknown to him. Seeing his son's confused face, Ye Qiu had an idea of what his son was thinking so he interrupted his thoughts, "Ye Xiu seems like all your reading can't help you this time now can it? It seems like the books you were reading wasn't talking about any of the Qi Beasts that are alive in this world. All you have to know is that this is a Grade 1 Qi beast. It is called the Swift Flame Horse because it produces it flames on the hooves when it is running fast. It can run at a speed of 60 km per hour and is considered a luxurious mount in this city." Ye Xiu nodded at his father's explanation of the horse but then thought of a good question to ask.

"Father, you mentioned that the horse was a Grade 1 Qi Beast. Could you tell me more about the ranking system of the Qi Beasts in the world?"

"Well, Ye Xiu the ranking system in this world is simple. Each Grade corresponds to a realm of Cultivation for us. Grade 1 is the Body Refining realm and the consecutive grades are similar as well. A Qi Beast at the peak of its grade can take down over ten men at the peak of the realm. So that should tell you to never underestimate a Qi Beast when you meet one. You can't tell whether the beast has reached its peak due to the fact that most of the strength of the Qi Beast is from its body. However, just because most of the strength of a Qi Beast comes from its body doesn't always mean that's true. Some Qi Beasts are more reliant on the cultivation of Qi Skills just like us so it is always best to be cautious around them instead of underestimating them in the future. Do you understand?" Ye Qiu concluded his explanation and made sure his son understood clearly what had been said.

"Yes I do father, it was an excellent explanation." Ye Xiu shamelessly praised his father and his father ate it all up with a shameless grin. Yu Er just shook her head in exasperation watching this scene play out.

"The both of you are truly childish aren't you?" Yu Er asked.

"Well mother I am a child so what do you expect?" and "I'm a child at heart and you should know that my lovely Yu Er." both rang out at the same time, making her laugh. The other two joining in shortly after. As they continued making conversation, time passed and they soon arrived at the City Lord's Residence.

"Well, we are here, now be respectful and kind to our hosts." Ye Qiu said whilst getting off the carriage and helping both his wife and son off safely. Seeing the City Lord waiting at the gate of the residence, Ye Qiu called out, "Hello Xiao San! It's been awhile since we've met up, hasn't it? Three years or so since my son has been born and I haven't visited you once! It's good to see that you are still in good health."

"It's nice to see you again Ye Qiu, and yes it has been a long time since we've seen each other. I can see your cute son just standing beside your wife so why don't you introduce me to him?" The City Lord asked loudly.

Introducing his son to his friend, "Well Xiao San, this is my son Ye Xiu and he's very intelligent for his age. He's probably more mature than your own son!"

Ye Xiu greeted the City Lord, "It is nice to meet you, City Lord Xiao San."

Hearing his friend boast to him, the City Lord countered back, "This midget being more mature than my son? I highly doubt that considering that my son is probably just as intelligent if not smarter. Patting Ye Qiu's back and leading him in with his arms around his shoulders. Ye Xiu just watched the scene play out with wide eyes and suppressed his giggles because of the childish manner the City Lord acted in around his father.

When they had entered the residence, Ye Xiu had noticed that it had much more grandeur compared to his own residence and thought, 'Is this truly for appearances' sake or does the City Lord actually like to flaunt his wealth? I hope his son is as carefree as his father.' He could see antiques all around the living room and stopped himself from touching them. The City Lord suddenly approached him and said, "Now that you're here, you can go look for my son to play with. He's probably in the training grounds, you will be able to see the training ground right outside the window so you should be able to get there safely. Stay there until your father and I have finished our conversations, is that okay with you midget?"

Ye Xiu replied with a, "Yes Sir."

Xiao San nodded in appreciation, and said, "Now us grownups have something important to talk about so I'll be off. Let's hope you get along with my son. He needs friends at his age." The City Lord started to walk towards another door which was probably his office and Ye Xiu headed towards the training grounds where he said his son would be.

Entering the training ground he could see that it was much wider than his own courtyard. Thinking that the City Lord was truly extravagant, he proceeded his search for the City Lord's son and found him doing some exercises by himself. He walked up and greeted him, "Hey, how are you doing? Are you the City Lord's son?"

The boy barely glanced at him before returning to his exercises and spoke with a soft voice, "Yes I am Xiao Tu, are you here to extort my father for money by using me?" The boy asked with a cynical voice which was definitely beyond his age.

"I'm not here to do anything besides become your friend. Also aren't you too cynical for your age? What could you have possible experienced to make you immediately believe that anybody who approaches you is here to take your money?" Ye Xiu asked scandalously obviously offended with the tone of voice that the boy answered him with.

"Considering most of the people who have approached me regardless of age have slyly tried to manipulate me then it would be obvious for me to develop this view. Also aren't you much more mature than you are supposed to be? You look like you are barely 4 years old. A toddler at best and you want to talk to me about the way I view life?" Xiao Tu answered back snidely.

"Arguing is going to get us nowhere, the both of us will just keep this argument alive by simply referring to our ages and that's pointless so how about we start on a fresh page? Ye Xiu conceded the argument trying to start on a fresh base with the boy.

"Fine if that's what you want." Xiao Tu accepted petulantly.

"How about we talk about training? It seems like you are pretty invested in it after all. I like to train as well, I've started my training early because I got a Cultivation Technique which allows me to." Ye Xiu boasted obviously to get the boy interested.

"Training? I like to train because it keeps my mind off other things. I also plan to be City Lord one day to take over for my dad so I can protect everyone that I love! That means I can't be distracted from my training by things such as love or girls! I just want to train because I know my father has enemies!" Xiao Tu loudly exclaimed his dream for the future.

Ye Xiu smiled because he knew that he had caught Xiao Tu's attention, "How about we be friends from now on? You help me and I'll help you achieve your dreams."

Xiao Tu thought for a moment before smiling widely, "Ok sure. Now let's shake hands and we will have a deal." They both shook hands and they became friends just like that. A simple friendship born out of a dream.