Overthrowing Fate

Chapter 4 - The Hunt

Within the forest, Xu Min was rushing forward, his feet moving on a familiar track that he usually played on. His head was clear, with only one thought floating through it -- survival.

The most important thing for Xu Min was to survive, so that he could return one day. Return to ensure that both the young and old master of the Zhong family died by his hands. But right now, he knew that his chances of survival were slim, since a horde of guards was hot on his trail.

Had this happened just a few days earlier, Xu Min would have been caught already; however, after breaking into the Student Warrior rank, Xu Min was now much faster than he would have ever believed to have become, and he also became able to store Qi within his body.

What assisted him in his escape was not only the small amount of Qi he had been able to gather in the last few days, but also his familiarity with the forest, and the physical strength he had trained to improve.

The guards never needed to enter the forest, and although it was considered safe, it was not a place people would venture into, unless they were poor and tried to harvest edible plants or hunt small critters.

Another thing that slowed the guards down was the elaborate metal armour they were wearing to show off the magnificence of the Zhong family. Unfortunately for them, it was far from helpful while chasing someone in a dense forest. After a few hours of chasing after Xu Min, the final guard gave up and returned to the mansion.

....

"What do you mean, you can't find him?!" Master Zhong's voice roared throughout the entire hall, as everyone present cowered in fear from what their family leader might do as punishment for failing to complete their mission.

"That boy is not ordinary," Master Zhong said with a low and intimidating voice, "His talent is far above average, so we can't afford to let him go. If we do, it will come back to haunt us. Have someone who knew him sketch up a drawing, issue a bounty of one hundred gold coins, and give it to whomever manages to provide me with his severed head."

Having said this, Master Zhong took a small break to consider what he should do with the ones who failed to capture the boy. With a sigh, he waved his hand, ready to dismiss them.

In the middle of the motion, Master Zhong seemed to have changed his mind, since he opened his eyes once more and said, "Every day, send a team into the forest to see whether or not you can capture him. The same bounty holds true for my guards as well as anyone else. You have to kill him."

Seated beside Master Zhong was the young master. At first, his face had been rigid from fear and regret; however, as the night progressed and he was congratulated on his actions, excitement grew in him and he felt as though he had finally succeeded. Murder was truly the way to becoming stronger.

He was also thrilled that Xu Min left. It didn't matter much to Zhong Ji whether Xu Min was alive or dead anymore. As long as he was gone, it meant that there was no longer anyone of similar age who could overtake him while training or be more skilled than him. Thus, the young boy had a broad smile on his face.

Young master Zhong was not aware why his father was so intent on killing Xu Min, because he saw Xu Min as nothing more than a pest. Although his talent was astonishing, he was nothing but a small boy who was now all alone in the world. He could hardly be called a threat by anyone.

Master Zhong disagreed with him on this point. Allowing for the boy to live would result in a potential thorn in his side, because he had seen the sheer hate and anger burning in the boy's eyes when he escaped into the forest.

Master Zhong felt rather uncomfortable as he mulled over the entire situation, but after shaking his head a little, he decided to return to the banquet he was hosting. With a polite smile on his face, he greeted the family members that were present once more.