Two weeks rolled by and the merchant caravan passed through a few towns and villages. They sold their wares and bought what was needed to be bought. Duncan was beginning to get accustomed to this life on the road.
A week ago, after a few days since the run-in with the wild beasts, Tang De approached him one day and gave him two teeth from the wolf he had helped to kill. He told that it would be a fine souvenir to remember his first kill with. Duncan thanked him profusely and took the souvenir.
He took another day to drill a hole through them with Tang De's help and used thick twine to join them together and made a necklace out of it. Duncan felt that the new necklace made him look more of a man now compared to earlier.
Apart from the skirmish with the wild beasts, they didn't run into any other problems during their journey. And if Tang De is to be believed, they were approaching the Starmist City. Apparently, the city was a mere day's ride at the speed of the caravan.
Duncan could believe that as he looked around. There was very little wilderness in this part of the road now. He could also sight a lot more travelers traveling to and from the city along the road now. He figured that as the city was dozens of times bigger than Starsinger Town, it was only natural to have more traffic going in and out of the city.
As the caravan ambled along the road towards the city, he could feel the guards around him relax. He also noted that the small amount of tension that was always present on Merchant Wang's face was gone now. The amount of chatter among the caravan also rose a bit.
When he enquired about it, Tang De said that as they were nearing the city, the chance of something happening to them was small. Apparently, the city administration made great efforts to make sure the surrounding area of the city was free of any disruptive elements to trade.
While an accident occurring couldn't be completely ruled out, the possibility of it occurring was minimal at this distance from the city. If Tang De was to be believed, the only problem that could occur now would be due to a cultivator. If a cultivator decides to cause an accident, then no matter what they did, it would all amount to nothing.
So, in short, there wasn't anything that the guards could do now. Duncan could only nod at that pragmatic point of view. However, this was the first time Duncan had heard Tang De speak about cultivators. So, he started probing Tang De to know what he knew about them.
Tang De looked around shiftily and started speaking in hushed whispers.
"If you are interested in cultivators lad, I advise you to keep your inquiries down low. They don't like people like us talking about them. Some might just ignore you, but some might take offense. If they indeed took offense, you will end up in a bad way," Tang De warned in a hushed whisper.
"But, I am merely curious about cultivation, you see," Duncan hedged a little. "I could hardly find any information about it in my town. And my town had quite a few cultivators."
"I suppose I can understand your curiosity," Tang De whispered rubbing his chin. "Tell you what, I will tell you what I know about it. And, in turn, you will keep your head down and not ask foolish questions when we enter the city. There are a lot more cultivators in the city. In fact, they would probably occupy one-third of the people in there."
"One-third, huh! How come? Aren't cultivators rare?" Duncan asked in shock.
"Heh, what do you know? It is true that cultivators are rare. But, it is in the towns and villages we come from. Here in the city, they are present in large numbers. For example, take the grassland we crossed example. The Demonic Beasts may seem rare to us. But, if you go deep into the grasslands, they will be much more common."
"I understand, it is kind of like our towns and villages are the outer parts of the grasslands," Duncan replied nodding his head.
"Good, at least you have a quick mind. And also cities are places where a lot of people get together. That includes cultivators. Mind you, that includes both the good and the bad. To us, all of them are the same. If you offend a righteous cultivator, he will simply kill you. If you offend an evil cultivator, he will torture and kill you. That's the only difference between them as far as we are concerned. That is why it is better to stay away from all of them."
"Righteous and evil, huh? What's the difference between them?"
"How would I know?" Tang De shrugged in response. "Anyways, from what I know cultivation is divided into different levels and realms. I know only about two realms – Qi Condensation and Spirit Sea. It is said each realm is further divided into different levels. I know that Qi Condensation has nine levels. As to the Spirit Sea realm, I have no idea."
"Hmm I see," Duncan said as he fell deep into thought. "Anyway, how do you know all of these things?"
"Simple, there is a place called Blue Wind Society Hall in the Starmist City. It is said they have branches in every city. I don't rightly know. They are like the merchants of cultivators. There you can buy a lot of information. If you want to know more about cultivation, it is the best place to find it."
"They say that as long as you have enough money, you will be able to get any information. If you truly want to know more about cultivation and cultivators that is the place to go. But, whether you will be able to purchase the information you need or not is something I don't know."
"Oh, ok, ok. Thanks, Tang De. I owe you one," Duncan said enthusiastically as he began to see some hope regarding the dilemma he was facing for the past few months. "If there is anything I can help you with, let me know."
"Forget about it kid, just make sure you don't offend anyone there. That is a place that is crawling with cultivators. If you visit, be humble and listen to every instruction they give. Don't end up dead," Tang De waved Duncan off.
Duncan nodded his head in return.
As the caravan crossed the city gates close to the night, Duncan was already quivering in his seat with anticipation. His journey with the caravan had come to an end as they had reached the Starmist City. When the caravan reached the destination, Duncan would part ways with the caravan and truly be alone in this city.
With a small smile etched on his face, Duncan hopped off the caravan when they finally reached their destination. He got his pay from Merchant Wang and bid them goodbye after enquiring about an affordable inn in the locality.
Duncan was sure that the Starmist City will bring him towards a new beginning and he was eagerly looking forward to it.
