Xu Lin and Xiao shi slowly moved toward the platform

after the fierce bloody display of liu dali, the big man and the man who could throw fire

the refugees were completely silent

no one dared to make a single sound as they moved along the winding path,

the back-and-forth thundering of hooves and lances and the pounding of feet and the bursts of flame were not so loud now as they were moments ago

It was as if the world had gone silent all at once,

the faint crickets became silent and the wind seemed to stop, even though it was still there rustling the leaves and birds were not tweeting, in fact, there was no bird song

The people who were walking slowly now were only standing their ground they weren't scared and they weren't running away.

Some of them were actually smiling.

With an icy breeze, they just moved along

soon they had climbed up the steep and narrow stairs to the platform through a very arduous journey that took a huge amount of time and effort as they moved from one side of the hill to the next

There was an enormous crowd of around twenty-thousand refugees.

Although they were almost a quarter now of the original number,

the number of refugees who had remained here was very desolate looking men now

by the time Xu lin reached the platform his legs were shivering uncontrollably

he had the worst time reaching the podium,

he was so scared his legs couldn't hold his weight and he fell on his behind and had to climb back up to stand on his feet

on more than one occasion he had nearly fallen down to his death

On the podium, the crowd was forming a square as they neatly stood in the position

Xu lin barely made it to his position and

even before he even had time to catch his breath

a white light flashed

and his whole world became disoriented

it was as if all the world was upside down,

his head began to spin then a sharp pain arose from his legs

then the pain spread all over his body as he fell down on the floor

as soon as he came to his sense

a wave of nausea attacked him and he began to vomit the steam bun he had eaten for breakfast this morning

it was a long while before he was able to get up

But when he did he was one of the first few to do so.

Xu Lin was a leader and he was determined if nothing else

Xu lin began stretching out to his full extent,

his fave seemed to shine even more in the light of his new surrounding

he was a handsome beautiful boy by any standard the only thing was he was too thin

Xiao shi was still on the ground clutching his head and moaning loudly.

But Xiao shi was also slowly recovering, he began to move his arms and legs a little

and because he was still afraid of putting pressure on his head he began to stay still

Xu Lin looked around he was on a platform but gone was the white colour floor

gone was the clear blue sky the tall hill

the thatched huts instead,

he was now standing on a different black platform

surrounded by a very magical scenery there were giant red coloured buildings

all around him, beautiful red mountains rising into the skies from the high hills of the mountain

there was not a trace of green grass nor a single tree.

Everything was red and gloomy,

no trees or plants were seen anywhere in sight.

But that didn't stop people from enjoying the sight.

Xu Lin's legs began to shake and he tried to stand up but failed miserably.

He then looked around and saw that the platform was surrounded by a circle of red stones.

The stones were all very large and were all red.

There were many red stones scattered around the platform.

They were all very big and were all red. soon he heard a rough gruff voice

" come along now quickly form a line we don't have much time"

Xu lin once again tried to get this time he was successful

but his legs were still trembling

as he made his way toward his friend and helped him stand up as well

He reached out and grabbed Xiao shi shoulders and whispered to him

"let's go"

Xiao shi nodded, immediately stood up and the two of them went in the direction of the sound,

there were a lot of red stones in front of them and they were all very large and red.

Xu lin didn't like the way the ground seemed to curve in and out beneath his feet like he was moving down a staircase but without a handrail.

And yet he could still see the two of them making their way through the red stones Xiao shi wasn't moving faster than normal it almost seemed like he was slow and he was beginning to feel tired

but Xu lin noticed the crowd was moving in a certain direction

so the boys joined the flow

soon they found themselves standing in front of a fat jolly man sitting on a table with a dozen paper scrolls spread out in front of him

as he wrote in them with gusto he raised his head and glanced at the children before going back to his work

Xu Lin and Xiao Shi stood still not sure what to do

"Age," the man asked sternly

"We both are 13," Xiao shi said before Xu lin could think or do anything

the man looked up and pointed at Xiao Shi

"you place your hand on the table"

Xiao shi was stared but nodded timidly and placed his hand on the table

as he sod so gold red, brown and green colours began to appear from Xiao Shi's hands in a blink of an eye,

soon Xiao shi's entire hands were emitting the colours

" a 4 elements spirit root low grade, from now on you are a handyman here is your identity token to go to the right side," he said in a business-like voice

"next, you boy come place your hand on the table"

Xu Lin excitedly placed his hands on the table

he had heard from the man called Liu dali

that if they were chosen to be handymen they could learn the martial skills and gain

strength

with that type of strength, he would be able to protect his father

but as he placed his hand on the table no light came out nothing happened

the longer nothing happens further Xu lin heart sank

"no spiritual roots you are not qualified to become a handyman you are too thin for the forest or the fields to the mines then here is your token leave to the left"

Xu Lin wanted to speak

he wanted to question the man

about the why he was here

he wanted to ask so many questions

about why he was not qualified

about the mines

about his future

and most important of all when he could go back to his father

he wanted to ask about the light

but as soon as he opened his mouth he felt his head hurting like hell.

Xu Lin's headache was overwhelming him and he could only mumble a very weak

"Please master let me be a handyman I am strong and sturdy"

The man saw this and smiled at him in a friendly manner as he went on writing in his scrolls

Not bothering to answer the trembling boy

After a while, he raised his head and saw everyone looking around at each other in confusion and the boy still standing there He gave out a heavy sigh and smiled at the boy

"forget about everything and leave to your left,"

the man said in a cold voice that did not match his smile

something in the words of the man made Xu Lin lose all his strength and feeling.

With a feeling that he had always dreamt of,

to gain strength which was now washing far away

Xu Lin turned to leave,

he quietly and timidly walked to the left

as soon as he went a few steps

another white light flashed and he felt himself being transported

this time it lasted a few seconds longer

when he came to his sense he was lying on a red platform

The world was spinning around him there were white with red streaks and sparks flying in the air

and he could feel his stomaching churning once again

He started feeling really sick as if he was about to vomit

He did what he could sit on his knees he vomited out all his blood then his body went still and slack

Xu Lin heard ruffling of footsteps as some came and stood beside him

He felt as if An ominous figure had come and raised his arm and slashed the air sucking up all the joy in the world

" another fresh beautiful face"

a voice sounded out the voice was so creepy and disgusting that Xu Lin felt as if his soul was going to be ripped from his body

he slowly opened his eyes

But his head was throbbing badly that he was seeing things that were there, to begin with

and what he saw almost made him wet his pants

the scene was very familiar everything was the same

but it was more horrifying than the last time

the bright red blood was everywhere

as all, he could do was watch helplessly as his friends got killed right in front of his eyes.

All of them were dead

his friends were all dead

he couldn't move

he couldn't cry

he couldn't scream

he was back at his village where Su kingdom's soldiers rampaged and looted everything

but soon the memory faded away as Xu Lin shook his head to clear his mind and when he looked again he was shocked by what he saw

there was a giant tall man with ghostly pale white skin with deep blue eyes and fluffy brilliant pink hair

He was dressed in a satin robe like a priest and he stood with a huge stick that he was using to probe the ground

Xu Lin watched as the man searched and poked the ground

"You are a little too old for my taste but oh well mergers can't be choosers," he said in a low voice

and stretched out his hand to pet the boy When Xu Lin realized this, he jumped off the platform and stood tall

"Oh really? What are you going to do to me now little boy?" the man said

Xu Lin backed away even with his condition he was trying to escape

the pink-haired man gave a creepy smile and stretched out his hand as if asking for candy

" your token"

"my what?" Xu Lin panicked

"What is it?" The man said mockingly

"you don't have a token"

."tsk, tsk that is not good"

"you cannot hide your face can you little boy? You really are a little too old for this trade but oh well traders can't be choosers"

the man gave a soft chuckle while messaging his temples

"I will repeat again your token and if you don't have one then you will have to spend the nights with me," he said

And then the man lewdly began scratching his crotch

as he made eye contact with Xu Lin

Xu lin who had backed away nervously watching the scene fell on his back

"So boy did they give you token or not "

The words of the man quickly registered in Xu Lin's mind as Xu lin hurriedly took out the token he was given

"Oh, no" the man made a sad face

He reluctantly took the token from the trembling hands of the boy

" ah, and here I thought I would get to have some fun"

Xu Lin looked up to see a close-up of the man's crotch.

He saw something disgusting and sickly looking It was blood and slime,

he started feeling queasy as if he was about to throw up.

The man then sneered as he tossed back the token to the fallen Xu lin

"Come on now get up, good now come with me"

Xu Lin quietly got on his quivering legs and followed the giant man

As the man with pink hair led

Xu Lin noticed a few things

They were in a canyon of sorts

"This must be the mines" Xu Lin murdered to himself softly

The man stopped and walked over to Xu Lin and began examining him

"oh cute you are talking to yourself how cute"

.a shiver ran down Xu Lin's back

"Now, you must say something,"

he said while twirling his pink hair

"But what can you say"

"oh, I know,"

"Just say whatever comes to your mind."

Xu Lin watched the man with distrust

"Oh never mind if you don't want to"

He rebegan leading Xu lin

Xu lin divided to ignore the man

and focus on his new surroundings

he quickly noticed his surroundings

the sound of the tunnel seemed to echo off the walls as they walked.

He heard a sound of breaking stone and when he turned around to see what was making the noise

he saw two goons with a giant sickle beating down on the biggest red rock he had ever seen

And all around there was nothing except red sand everywhere

There hills made of sand and some distance was a giant mountain with hundreds of holes all around,

they seemed to have been dug out the holes

He could hear the two men conversing and they seemed to be asking another giant man with green hair about some operation

As he got he saw more of the mines

hundreds of thousands of people diligently

working to carry out sand bricks and another object that Xu Lin did not recognise

Most of the people were young and strong he also my other kind of people he had never seen before most of them barely covered their body with clothes most were working naked

He saw a worker carrying a bag of sand

He saw another worker sitting on the floor of a cave eating something

then blanched as he saw a man with a red scarf walking down with a coin in his hand

Xu Lin noticed the man with a red scarf was bleeding he was heavily injured But no one was coming forward to help

then He saw various giant pale white men with different hair colours ratling and smashing their wips at the workers

Xu lin felt his heart become heavy

He thought he was going to be the next one to be crushed in that pit

Xu lin was silently observing the scene

Suddenly he sensed the man had stopped walking in front of him

He turned around to look forward they were standing in front of a black dark cave entrance

"This is your room good luck" the man simply smiled and then turned around and left Xu Lin

Xu Lin walked inside the cave

it was surprisingly well lit up

there were two-bed rolls sprawled on the floor

with a giant orb of light floating around illuminating the entire cave

Xu Lin was mesmerised by the beautiful orb

then he began to look around and suddenly froze

in the far corner of the cave, there sat a young boy

no older than him at least that was the way Xu lin felt about the boy's age

the boy was sitting crosslegged with his eyes closed shut

and his hand joined in prayer

Xu Lin could hear a faint chanting coming from the boy's mouth

at first, Xu Lin thought that the boy was a girl because of his beautiful black long lustrous hair swaying around him

but then he noticed that the boy was shirtless and his flat chest and strong muscles Xu lin decided this was a boy

Xu Lin decided to approach the and went towards him when he came to the distance of 2 feet he stopped

Xu Lin began to feel uneasy as he further noticed the scars on the boy's body

the boy was riddled with thousands of them

the scares were all different types of scars

ranging from small ones to big ones they were all over his body

and most of them were old scars some of the cuts were so shallow and tiny that they almost disappeared into the skin

others had been torn open recently leaving behind deep seeded scars

the boy did not look like a normal boy

his nails were extremely long

the boy's fingers were long and thick there were also scared ridden

each finger was painted red as if with dried blood

the finger joints were red

there were also many scars all over his arms, legs, stomach and face

Xu Lin couldn't take it anymore he had to look away from the boy

so he did so

after some time the chants stopped Xu Lin turned around only to find the boy staring at him

he could feel a heavy weight in his heart as he felt anxiety and fear rise within him

he felt his blood run cold

the boy had no eyes