13

Looking at the walls in the distance, Han Ji seemed to be lost in his train of thought as he opened his mouth and slowly began to speak. 

"Those walls were built a long time ago. No one knows when or by whom. No one knows how high those walls are or if they truly do end somewhere. 

We only know that even if we keep on climbing those walls for hundreds of years, we won't be able to reach the top. 

And the purpose of those walls is to keep us safe from what's outside."

"Huh!" As soon as Han Ji finished speaking, Lin Kai suddenly exclaimed in surprise. Since he wasn't able to see the top of the walls, he was expecting them to be tall. But what didn't expect was them to be this tall. But soon he thought about the other half of Han Ji's sentence.

"What's outside these walls?" Lin Kai asked with some expectations. He was still having a hard time imagining what it was that needed walls this tall to keep it from entering the city. 

Han Ji didn't reply immediately but just nodded his head. "You will find out soon enough."

Both of them sat there in silence for a while. 

"What about the city? Tell me more about the place we are living in." Since Han Ji wasn't going to answer this question, Lin Kai had no other choice but to ask his next question. He would have plenty of time later to find out more about the world outside the walls.

"Before I give you an answer. Let me ask you.

How big do you think the city inside the wall is? I mean any rough idea?"

Han Ji asked Lin Kai before explaining about the city. 

"Err..." Lin Kai thought for a moment but couldn't come up with an answer. The memories in his mind were just about the personal life of the previous body owner. Other than that, any information about the world he was living in was missing. 

"I guess it is big... Like four hundred miles?" Lin Kai just made up a number.

But to his surprise, Han Ji suddenly chuckled with a laugh while shaking his head. It was then that he spoke something that truly flipped the worldview of Lin Kai. 

"You know, if a normal person decided to walk from one end of the wall to the other end in a straight line without any rest, then it would take him around three years to reach the other end.

The distance is almost ten thousand miles."

Pausing, he stopped and looked at Lin Kai. "That's how big the place we are living in is."

Lin Kai didn't immediately reply but was still processing what Han Ji had just told him. It took him a while to understand but the moment he did, his eyes went wide with disbelief.

If what Han Ji told him was true, then the area inside of these walls was beyond his imagination. If he were to put it in the modern world, he could fit almost thirty Australia here.

'How the hell is this a city? This is a damn continent.

No... this place is even bigger than the continent.'

The more Lin Kai thought about it, the more he wanted to scratch his head. This was truly a mind-boggling size. And this was just the size of the place inside the walls. 

He didn't dare to imagine how big the outside world is. The more he thought about it, the more he found himself at a loss.

"This entire place is known by the name of Qingyun City." After a long silence, Han Ji spoke. 

"The Qingyun City is further divided into four parts, each one controlled by a powerful noble family. 

We are in the southern part. And the place where we are right now is known as Xiaofeng town."

Lin Kai was still having a hard time following it. Till now, he was still bound by the previous world's common sense, so he was trying to make sense of things that way.

But after hearing that such a large place exists, he still didn't know what to say. 

It was now that many things began to make sense to him. No wonder the Cai family has such large fields just for the servants. 

The more Lin Kai understood it, the more he realized the wonders of this new world. 

"Now... Do you have any other questions?" 

Even though Han Ji promised to answer his questions, he was getting a bit impatient. After all, he still has a lot of things to do. 

Perhaps, sensing it, Lin Kai thought for a moment before shaking his head. "When do we begin?"

Lin Kai was still having a hard time. Today his worldview was shattered. So much so, that he even forgot that he wanted to ask for more benefits from Han Ji.

"We will begin in a day or two at most." Since there were no more questions, Han Ji stood up while telling Lin Kai about the day they would begin. "You don't have to worry about it. I will come here to pick you up.

And till I come here, please don't go anywhere. Not even the market."

Lin Kai just nodded in response while looking at the wall in the distance. 

Han Ji shook his head with a smile before walking away, leaving behind the figure of Lin Kai sitting under the shade of the tree, lost in the scenery in front of him.

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"Truly magnificent." By the time Lin Kai came back to his senses, it was almost evening. Looking around, he didn't see Han Ji. 

"Sure enough." Standing up with a yawn, Lin Kai took off his old robe before wearing the new robe of the Deacon. After carefully hanging the identity token on his waist, he took a deep breath before walking inside the house taking a handful of meal tickets, and walking towards the fields.

During the entire time, he was still thinking about the things that Han Ji told him.

"No wonder I didn't see anyone flying." Thinking about how big this place was, it was no wonder that he never saw a person flying in the air. 

"And not only did I forget to ask him for more benefits, but I also forgot to ask him about the power structure of this place." Shaking his head in disappointment, Lin Kai walked for a while before standing in front of the fields where he used to work.

Looking into the distance, he could still see the figure of three servants working with their backs bent down. There was still some time before their work was done. So, Lin Kai stood in front of the storage while looking at the amount stored today.

"Meh..." He didn't know what amount was good, so he shook his head and began to wander around aimlessly for a while. 

Only when it was evening and the three servants were done with their work did he come back in front of the storage and stand there in silence.

"You..." The moment the three servants reached there to receive their meal tickets, their eyes almost popped out of their sockets as they saw the young boy in front of them with disbelief. 

"I... I heard the rumors, but I didn't think it would be true." One of them spoke while swallowing a mouthful of saliva. 

A few days ago, rumors began to spread that one of the servants might be promoted to the position of Deacon. The rumors spread like wildfire as everyone was thinking of the lucky person to be promoted. 

It wasn't that there was no one before who was promoted from a servant to the position of a deacon. There were some cases, but those were years ago. It's been almost two decades since the last servant was promoted.

No one knows how the promotion works or what the requirements are. So the only thing they could do was to work hard. Hoping that they might be noticed and perhaps become the lucky ones.

There were lots of speculations about the person who was being promoted. Many of the servants were already betting on the identity of the man. The three of them were no different. They too spent the last two days thinking about the identity of the man.

But now that the results were in front of them, they were still in disbelief. In their minds, the promoted person must be an old man... one who has been working for decades and made a significant contribution to the family.

Who would have guessed that a sixteen-year-old brat was the one being promoted? 

For a moment, the three servants were filled with intense jealousy and hatred. Why was a brat like him promoted but not them? 

They lamented their fate and even wanted to question the boy in front of them. But the moment they saw the identity token flashing on his waist, they swallowed their grievances. 

No matter how unwilling they were... they couldn't change the outcome. They were just servants... They were in no position to question the Cai family unless they wanted to disappear forever. 

While the three of them were going through an emotional rollercoaster, Lin Kai was silently observing their expressions. 

He saw them go from surprise to disbelief, to jealousy, to hatred before finally ending up in helplessness.

"Sigh..." Lin Kai just let out a sigh. Just like the servants in front of him, he too wasn't happy about his current position. 

In his eyes, this was just a carrot placed in front of a donkey to make him work. 

He wanted to be free, to get out of his family and explore this place by himself. But unfortunately, neither he nor the servants would have their wishes fulfilled.

Under the envious gaze of the three servants, Lin Kai handed them the meal tickets before heading back to his new home.

It wasn't until an hour late that a man arrived there. From their conversation, Lin Kai knew his identity... He was the man responsible for handling the harvest.

He didn't talk too much. After handing Lin Kai a few more meal tickets, he went back.

One hour after this event, Lin Kai saw a servant coming to his house with a plate covered by a cloth.

"Your meal." Placing the plate down, the servant bowed to Lin Kai "After finishing your meal, please place it outside. I will collect it from here."

"Is it the pottage again?" Looking at the servant's departing back, Lin Kai muttered before taking off the cloth.

"Finally..." As soon as Lin Kai removed the cloth, he was greeted by the sight of bowls filled with different food items. 

Grabbing one of the bowls, Lin Kai gulped it down before devouring the others. After days of eating the same slimy mixture again and again, eating the proper food for once was something that he desperately needed. 

After finishing his meal, Lin Kai walked inside before lying on his new soft bed.

Even though he didn't do any manual work today, this was the most stressful day he had. 

From changing his position to changing his house and then gaining new information. Today was a day full of ups and downs. 

As he lay on his bed, listening to the chirping of insects, Lin Kai slowly drifted into sleep.

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Waking up the next day, Lin Kai stayed inside his house. Since he didn't need to do any work now, he was free to do as he pleased. 

He wanted to roam in the city and learn more about this world, but he didn't due to Han Ji's warning. So, the only thing he could do was to stay there silently.

The day passed in the blink of an eye as Lin Kai did his duties.

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It was the knock on the door the next door that changed things for Lin Kai.

It was the third day after Lin Kai became a deacon of the Cai family that Han Ji arrived again. But this time, the smile on his face was gone, replaced by a solemn expression.

Standing in front of Lin Kai, he just nodded as a greeting.

"Let's go."

He didn't say anything else, but Lin Kai already knew what he was talking about.

With a nod, Lin Kai wore the robe before walking out of the house and following Han Ji. In his mind, he was a bit surprised. Although he was expecting Han Ji to come back, he wasn't expecting him to be back so soon.

Just like the time when they walked out of the Cai family as servants, this time they followed the same route too. Except, this time, the guard sitting near the entrance, stood up in greeting.

Han Ji didn't even look at him before walking out. 

Following the same path, it didn't take long before the two of them were standing in front of the Beast Hall.

At this moment, the inside of the Beast hall was somewhat filled with people. However, Han Ji kept on walking before reaching the end of the hall. 

"Senior." A man was already standing there, waiting for them. 

Opening the door, he signaled the two of them to go inside.

The moment Lin Kai stepped inside the door, he was greeted by the sight of a small hall. However, compared to the hall that they just came through, not only was this one almost one-fourth of its size, but this one had a solemn atmosphere too. 

And at the corner of the hall was a stairway, leading to the second floor of the Beast Hall.

Following Han Ji, Lin Kai soon stepped on the second floor. 

However, compared to the ground floor, this one was a narrow pathway with rooms on both sides. It was like a hotel where one would stay for the night.

Soon the two of them were standing in front of one of the rooms at the end of the hall.

"This is the place." Signaling towards the room, Han Ji spoke in a soft voice. "I can only accompany you till here.

Inside, you will only have to follow the instructions of the other party. It would be best if you don't ask any questions." 

Without waiting for Lin Kai to respond, Han Ji opened the door before pushing Lin Kai in.

"Ugh..." Lin Kai wasn't expecting Han Ji to push him inside. Looking around, he saw the room was dimly lit up and there was a scent of flowers inside the room.

Observing further, Lin Kai's eyes finally stopped in the corner of the room where a person seemed to be sitting.

Noticing Lin Kai's arrival, the other person slowly stood up before stepping forward.

The dim lights of the room were now slowly illuminating the person in front of Lin Kai.

Lin Kai saw the long exquisite robe along with free-floating hair which was like a waterfall. With doe-shaped eyes, lips as red as a rose, and a face that seemed to have come out of a painting, the figure slowly stood in front of Lin Kai.

"....."

"....."

"Heh..." It was now that Lin Kai suddenly understood what was going on. With an expression of understanding, he let out a mouthful of air before nodding his head.

"Hello there again...

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...

My dearest Elder Sister."