De Ming departed from the boat port. The sun set behind him, casting the silhouette of a troubled young man. He walked dejectedly as he thought about what to do going forward. The chaotic structure syndrome was a significant handicap, but he was willing to overcome it by any means necessary.
He walked against the crowd, he didn't have a set destination in mind. It just felt right to him, like a salmon climbing a waterfall; he knew not what lay ahead, but it felt natural
"You bastard! Return it!"
A roar cried out from an alleyway, followed by loud grunting and impact noises
De Ming jolted in surprise and looked around him. No one seemed to care; did they not notice the commotion? That couldn't be, but whatever the reason was, De Ming didn't care.
All he knew was: someone needed help
De Ming quickly turned his feet and ran into the dark alley
"Give it up, Bu Li, even the Jade Emperor can't save your dog life today!"
De Ming saw a ragged man with a ripped tunic, an unkempt beard, and a face that screamed of aggression.
He was shouting curses as he beat a lad, all roughed up and dirty, curled up in a fetal position, begging him to stop
Wasting no time at all, De Ming opened his dantian, chaotic Qi rushed to his feet as he used Flowing Reed Steps to approach the man from behind, the technique's flowy and harmonious nature muted his travel
When he was behind him, De Ming changed stance, focused Qi to his palm, and struck true. De Ming's Crimson Flame Palm blasted the man a few feet away, the flame and impact throwing him against a pile of boxes
"Tch, he had reinforcement," said the now tumbled man
"You're lucky this time fucker, don't show me your dog face next time"
He stood up and limped away hastily, leaving the scene with no resistance. De Ming watched him leaved and shut off his dantian, relieving his strain before he turned to the lad
"That was great, you helped me big time."
The lad remarked as he slowly helped himself up
"The name's Bu Li, a Beggar Sect informant. What's yours, benefactor?"
"I'm De Ming, a wandering martial artist?"
Bu Li tilted his head at De Ming's hesitant answer, but brushed it off, it didn't mean much to him anyway
"Why was he so angry with you?" De Ming calmly asked, genuinely curious about what he did to make someone that mad
"Oh–I stole his money."
The lad chuckled, acting as if he had just told a lighthearted joke
"You–what?!"
De Ming exclaimed, he had just helped a thief chase away his victim
"C'mon man–If you were in my position, you'd have done the same, so cut that pretentious crap already."
Bu Li spoke matter-of-factly while dusting off his clothing, if it could even be called that, he was wearing rags, what kind of life could've led him to such extremes, De Ming pondered
" –Speaking of which, aren't you a strange fella? Normal people would've just left me to die there, who'd care about the loss of a beggar's life anyway–"
"Don't talk like that," De Ming interjected, cutting him off
"You sound like you have given up, you don't plan to stay a beggar forever, do you?"
De Ming scolded, Bu Li's defeatist attitude reminded him of himself a while back, which frustrated him
"Giving a beggar hope, now, are we?" He said, smiling cheekily, "Aren't you a specimen?"
Bu Li chuckled and then rubbed his bruised chin, contemplating De Ming's words
"Tell ya what–I'll do as you say, I'll strive for more," he said
"But ya gotta help me, you's an early third-rate martial artist, right?"
"Yeah? But what does that have to do with you changing your ways, and why do I have to help you?" De Ming frowned
"Well, it was your idea, was it not?" Bu Li replied in a cheeky tone
"Tch, fine … that dude's anger earlier was justified." The latter part he muttered under his breath
De Ming grudgingly agreed to help, he 'did' tell him to change after all, not helping would be hypocritical of him
"What do you need my help w–"
" –Beating up people, of course."
" What?!?" De Ming jolted in surprise, his patience was running low
"Let me explain–"
" –You better"
"Aight, so," Bu Li paused dramatically, "We, the beggar Sect, have a little monthly fighting arena coming up. We call it Gu, ya know, like the insects in a jar thing the Tang clan famously do to make a potent poison, yeh. The thing we do is somewhat similar, either we ourselves or a representative gets in there and just duke it out, the last one standing wins. The only catch is that ya gotta be an early third-rate to even participate. Simple, eh?"
"Why would I want to do that?"
De Ming asked suspiciously. This "Gu" thing seemed too shady for his comfort
"Let me get to that. If you win, I'll get promoted to a higher position within the Sect, and you, my benefactor, will receive a random High-Bronze Grade art."
De Ming, at this point, was still weighing his options. The rewards were promising, but he wasn't so sure about their credibility.
"That sounds tempting, but how can I trust them to give me my rewards?"
"Don't trust beggars, aye? Sounds about right."
"N-no, that's not what I meant–"
"How bout this, even if they don't give you the prize, I'll figure something out," he shrugged. "Plus, you'll get some fighting experience."
Bu Li's latter remark struck a chord in De Ming. Fighting experience, that's exactly what he needed right now. He only got injured by the thug back at the Drifting Cloud Pavilion because he was careless. And he only won against Zhu Feng because he was underestimated
Had Zhu Feng taken their bout seriously from the start, De Ming would still be doing laundry back at the manor. The thought alone sent shivers down his spine
"Fine. I'll participate in that 'Gu' whatever it is, let's do it."
De Ming sighed as he shook Bu Li's dirty right hand
"Heh, now that's the spirit!" Bu Li snickered
"I can already tell, this partnership is gonna be awesome!"
"It won't," De Ming murmured to himself dejectedly
"Let's get ya some training, yeh?" he said as he started to move deeper into the alleyway
"Follow me, I know a guy."
Bu Li skipped forward without a care as the deflated De Ming trailed behind him, cursing the heavens for leading him to this mischievous fellow.