Simon whistled without a care in the world as he walked in a seemingly random direction with his hands inside his robe.
He would sometimes look to the left, then look to the right, greet some clan members he encounters, then continue on his journey.
He would turn to the left, then to the right, walk across a causeway, and he kept on doing this for nearly thirty minutes, completely ignoring the fact that no matter where he went to, two individuals would always be behind him, not too far away from him.
The two individuals were not always the same, they always changed at some point, the masks they wore would be different, but there were always two conversing individuals behind Simon no matter where he went and turned to.
But if one was perceptive enough, they would notice that after some time, the same individuals who were behind Simon in the beginning, would appear again.
Though, the mix-up would be different.
Simon was seemingly ignorant to this, but at some point, he suddenly stopped walking, looked around, frowned behind his mask, then he turned and looked around while scratching his head.
"Damn it. I’ve lost my way. What do I do now?"
He kicked a stone away in anger, then his eyes landed on the two conversing Initiates who were about to pass his side.
There were other clan members around them, but only about seven clan members.
He stretched out his hand, but didn’t touch the two conversing Initiates.
"Uhm. Sorry guys, but can you please direct me to where a liquor store is? I’m a good lover of fine wine, and well... I want to drown my sorrows in wine."
The two Initiates looked at one another, then one nodded and the other nonchalantly shrugged.
"We can take you there if you want. A liquor store is in the path of our destination."
Simon’s eyes widened in joy and relief, then he bowed slightly.
"Thank you so much."
The Initiate who spoke nonchalantly waved his hand. "Don’t mention it. Let’s go."
Simon nodded, then he followed, walking directly beside the duo.
There was a seemingly tense silence at first, but three minutes later, one of them decided to speak.
"So, what’s your name? And what sorrows do you have that you want to drown yourself in?"
Simon shook his head and released a regretful and exhausted sigh.
"I’m Broken Halo, and to be honest, I’m just sad because I have very little money left. I’m so poor and I’m worried it would severely affect my cultivation."
One of the Initiates chuckled softly, and with a kind voice he said. "Oh, if it’s because of that, then it’s not unusual. Earning merits, hell stones, and even other currencies is not an easy feat at all, especially when our lives are constantly in danger to earn those merits."
The other Initiate nodded. "As a fellow Initiate, I’ll advise you to work hard. If you put in thrice the effort compared to your peers, then you’ll definitely become rich."
Simon nodded with enlightened and grateful eyes.
"Thank you seniors. I’ll be sure to take your advice to heart."
The two Initiates laughed, then one of them turned and his eyes widened slightly.
"Oh wow. Time goes by when we talk. This is the liquor store you were talking about."
Simon looked at the building, and his eyes narrowed when he saw an old building in front of him. It was not carved into the cliff wall like some other buildings, but Simon could see how some windows were broken, the floor, tables, and chairs outside the building were dusty, cobwebs could also be seen on the building walls, and the surroundings were empty.
He could hear the voices of people talking, throwing jeers at one another, laughing, and the sound of what seemed to be rock music could be heard from inside by him.
It was obvious that people were inside and these people were having fun, but Simon noticed that the surroundings were empty.
Pat
One of the Initiates close to him patted him on the back.
"Hey. What are you standing here for? Let’s go inside. Since you brought us here, we’ve decided to get ourselves some drinks."
The other Initiate nodded.
"Yeah, and as your senior in the academy, I’ve decided to pay for your drinks. So, let’s go and get drunk."
Simon glanced at the duo, then he smiled and nodded.
"Alright. Thank you, seniors."
The duo chuckled, then they gently shoved Simon to the front, urging him to enter the building.
Simon did not resist, and he even chuckled and laughed a few times with the duo as he entered the liquor store.
The moment he entered, a few gazes were thrown at him, but they vanished as quickly as they came.
Simon and the duo sat down, and Simon took subtle glances around him, memorizing the position and bodies of everybody he could see.
"Hey! Waitress! Get me your best wine!"
The Initiate who offered to pay for Simon’s drinks shouted for a waitress even with the loud music, and a waitress wearing a mask approached them.
"What can I get for you?" She asked sweetly and with a charming voice.
"Three jars of passion monkey wine. Make it quick!"
The waitress nodded with a smile, giving Simon a subtle glance before walking away.
"Have you tasted passion monkey wine before?"
The Initiate asked him, and Simon shook his head.
"You’re missing out. It’s a great wine, and it’s one you’ll never forget."
He then looked around and whispered close to his ears.
"I heard that it even makes one to last longer in bed."
Simon glanced at him and gave him a strange expression, but before he could say anything, the waitress came back with three jars of wine on a tray.
"Perfect!"
The two Initiates said at the same time, then they took a jar each and downed their wine with ecstatic expressions.
Simon merely looked at his drink without picking it up.
The Initiate close to him noticed this and had a weird expression behind his mask.
"You’re not drinking?"
Simon shook his head while still staring at his jar of wine.
"Nah. I’m just wondering how long you guys plan on playing this clownish charade."
The moment Simon said these words, the entire building went silent, and only the sound of music could be heard.
Simon looked up from his drink, then he shrugged with a light smile behind his mask.
"This is what I’m talking about. Stop acting like clowns and show yourselves, Iron Fangs."