Why Not Make Things Fun?

Hong Zhao soaked in the warm water, sighing with delight. It had been since the inn within Naje that he had the pleasure of a bath. The warm water was mixed with a fragrant aroma that he could not place, yet it had a soothing scent, making both his body and mind relax. Though he was only eleven years old, he gave off the presence of an old man with weariness in his soul as his arms held the rim of the bath tub. Looking up, he dropped his head further into the water, sending his long black hair waving slowly as if they were snakes trying to slither away.

He put the back of his hand to his forehead as he was completely relaxed, his eyes focused on his ring. "Going forward, I will not use the qi suppressor." He decided to himself as he stared off into nothing. "Since I will already be seen as Zheng Guo's dog the moment I step out of the estate, it wouldn't be smart to handicap myself." He hadn't shown his full power out in the open for so long, it was as if he were truly a ninth star student ranked cultivator.

Taking himself from the bath, Hong Zhao dried himself and took his black and gold robe from his storage ring and got dressed. He looked at the suite that Zheng Guo had prepared for him and smiled slyly. "That old fox doesn't pull his punches, does he?" The city lord had given him the suite that was across the hall from his own. The apartment had a living room, kitchen, two bedrooms and a bath. He felt as if he were in a home on earth for how grand it was. For an eleven year old boy to sleep in a four poster bed had to be a joke somewhere. When he tried it out, he felt like an ant compared to the vastness of it. The bed itself had to be the softest thing he had felt since coming to this world.

"Zheng Guo probably thought it would be worth it to have his dog where he could control it." He chuckled slightly. "Little did he know that he would become my good little boy when all was said and done." When he was finally dressed, Hong Zhao tied his hair up with a red tie and left the room. As he did, the guard was waiting for him.

"The master wishes you would change your mind and stay within the estate." He said with a friendly tone.

"I have business out in the city." Hong Zhao said. The guard waited for him to elaborate for several minutes while walking towards the entrance, yet all he was met with was uncomfortable silence.

"Whatever business you have, can you not just tell me so I can run the errands for you?" The guard pressed the issue. In truth, Zheng Guo had told him to stop at nothing to ensure that Hong Zhao stayed within the compound. Even if it meant forcibly keeping the boy from leaving. He was of the same mind as the city lord. It seemed as though this boy had done one thing for Zheng Guo, and now he felt as if he was superior. The guard was not adverse to using his strength to show this boy that they were not to be controlled by him, but rather that he was a tool to help the city lord in any capacity he saw fit.

"Whatever business I have, it is my own." Hong Zhao said shortly as he narrowed his eyes at the guard. "I don't have any bad blood with you, my friend. But if you try to stop me from leaving, don't blame me for being harsh." He let a smile creep upon his lips. He wanted to show this guard that he was not afraid of him. He was at the second star of the warrior rank, as was the guard. Part of him wished that the man would try to stop him. He hadn't had an opportunity to test out his strength since the old man Liang He.

"The city lord insists that you stay. It is night out right now, which means most of the city will be asleep anyway. Why not get some sleep and we can talk about leaving tomorrow morning?" He tried reasoning with the boy, which made him stop in his tracks.

"If you want me to stay, why not make things more fun?" Hong Zhao raised an eyebrow. "Does this place have a training arena?" His face broke out in a grin. He of course knew that there was a training arena, since he had already scoped the grounds out the previous night.

"Yes of course." The guard nodded emphatically. It is just past the lake behind the garden. We have a rather large training field, why?" He was curious now. Why would the boy wish for a training field?

"I will stay, if you can win in a sparring match against me." His grin widened slightly as he saw the confused expression upon the guard's face. To this guard, Hong Zhao was only at the ninth star student rank. If this were the case, even raising a hand to him could be fatal. What the guard didn't know was that Hong Zhao was more than a match for him. It was the perfect chance to test his strength.

"Fine." The guard said after a moment of thought. All he had to do is let the boy expend all of his energy and then when he blacked out from overusing his qi, he would just bring him back to his suite. That is, if he didn't give up on trying to hit him first. The city lord had told him to do anything he could to keep the boy within the estate. If he could keep Hong Zhao in willingly, it was all the better, right?

"Then lead the way." Hong Zhao waved a hand in front of him, allowing the guard to take the lead. Though this was wasting his time slightly, he couldn't help but feel excited at the same time. Who would have thought that there would be another warrior ranked expert within a continent of students? This was probably his only chance to test his strength against someone of equal strength. With all of the qi that he had absorbed from the men in the dungeon, it had propelled him to the second star of the warrior rank. Yet he hadn't yet had the chance to test his abilities aside from qi shot, though, those battles were way too one sided.

Hong Zhao followed the guard from the main estate building and into the garden, where his training match would soon begin.