I flew on a sword at the magic academy

Chapter 34 Left Behind

"Little sister, don't cry. I'm not a bad person. Although I don't have any money on me, I have some things that should be enough to cover this meal." Shi Daohan took off a jade pendant from her belt.

This is an ordinary piece of jade, but it has been carved into the shape of a Qilin stepping on clouds. It is very exquisite, and there are also Daoist marks of Shi Daohan engraved inside. Wearing it can help people calm their mind and soothe their spirit.

"This jade is too exquisite, it must be very expensive, I can't accept it." The old man shook his head: "Everyone has difficult times, I believe you are just in a temporary predicament, you can make up the money when you pass by again."

Shi Daohan sighed inwardly. The old man was already living in dire poverty, yet he was still so kind to people, which made her feel even more ashamed.

"Just accept it. This jade pendant is nothing to me; it's not worth much money."

"It's too valuable, I really can't accept it."

The old man's hands were covered in calluses as he pushed the jade pendant back.

Seeing his refusal, Shi Daohan stopped insisting and said, "Since you won't accept it, then I'll stay here and work for you, and use my wages to cover my food expenses."

She didn't have anywhere else to go, and seeing how simple and kind the old man was, she decided to stay and help him run the tavern for the time being.

"We can't even afford to eat..." The five- or six-year-old girl looked down at her toes, her big eyes red, and muttered softly.

Hearing her say that, Shi Daohan felt a pang of sadness. She knelt down and tenderly patted the little girl's head: "I won't cause you any trouble. On the contrary, I'll improve your lives, make sure you have enough to eat and wear new clothes. Trust me, okay?"

Then she looked at the old man and said, "Grandpa, I'm homeless now and have nowhere else to go. Please let me stay. I won't be a burden to you."

"Big sister, don't you have a home?"

The little girl's tears had not yet dried. She tilted her head back, and a look of sympathy appeared on her tender face.

"I have a home, but due to some things, I can't go back for the time being." Shi Daohan couldn't explain his situation too clearly, otherwise it might implicate the old man and the young man.

In the end, the old man agreed to let Shi Daohan stay temporarily, and tidied up a separate room for her in the already cramped inner room.

The old man noticed that Shi Daohan's clothes didn't seem to belong to a poor family. He thought she might have just had a fight with her family and run away from home in a fit of anger. He figured she would leave on her own once she calmed down.

At night, Shi Daohan came to the roof of the tavern and looked into the distance thoughtfully.

The heavy snow was still falling, covering everything in white. Every household in the town had a kerosene lamp hanging in front of their door, its warm light shining on the snow and giving people a sense of comfort.

Shi Daohan had never seen such an environment before in the East China, and she was so captivated by it that she didn't come back to her senses until the old man's voice came the next morning.

"Child, why did you get up on the roof? Be careful, don't fall."

The little girl, still half-asleep, came out of the room and saw Shi Daohan sitting on the roof. Her eyes widened in surprise: "Big sister, what are you doing on the roof?"

"The environment here is beautiful and has a great artistic conception. I was so engrossed in looking at it that I was completely captivated."

Shi Daohan smiled gently, brushed her hair back, and swept the snow off her head and robes.

After washing up, the old man called her to eat. Four or five loaves of bread made from wheat flour, along with a small dish of dried salted fish, constituted their breakfast. It was very simple because their living conditions were truly very difficult.

"Child, aren't you cold?" the old man asked with concern.

Although Shi Daohan's clothes were luxurious, they were not warm enough. The old man could not imagine how she managed to sit on the roof all night in the freezing cold.

Shi Daohan simply smiled gently and said, "Old man, you don't need to worry. This kind of climate won't have any effect on me."

"Grandpa, will those bad guys come again today?"

The little girl suddenly spoke, her eyes filled with fear and worry.

"They've already stolen our castle, why won't they leave us alone?"

"It's alright, Grandpa won't let them hurt you." The old man patted her head.

Shi Daohan sat beside him without saying a word and silently finished her simple breakfast.

"I'm going outside for a walk." Shi Daohan got up and walked outside.

The old man nodded and advised, "Be careful, don't go too far."

The town is not large, with only a little over a hundred households. It is surrounded by the sea on three sides. Through various inquiries, Shi Daohan learned that the old man in the tavern was named Robert. He was not a native of the town but had moved there more than fifty years ago.

The sensible and beautiful little girl is named Alice. Her parents passed away three years ago, leaving her and her elderly relative to depend on each other.

Shi Daohan arrived at the seaside. The cold wind cut like a knife across her cheeks and skin, but as a cultivator, the cold weather had no effect on her and she could ignore it completely.

Due to climate change, a thick layer of ice and rock has formed on the sea surface, reaching a thickness of five or six meters.

Most of the town's residents make a living by fishing, but now that the sea is frozen and the harbor is closed, many people are struggling financially and have to go hunting in the deep mountains.

Shi Daohan broke through the thick ice on the sea surface and used his magic to weave a large net, instantly catching many large fish, shrimp, and crabs.

"That should be enough to last for a while."

Shi Daohan returned with a full load, exchanging the seafood he caught for some money and food with the wealthy families in the town. He didn't return to the tavern until almost noon.

At this moment, a large crowd had gathered at the tavern. Shi Daohan heard Alice's helpless cries and his heart skipped a beat. He rushed over quickly.

Among the crowd, the old man, with his white hair disheveled and his weathered face stained with blood, slumped helplessly on the ground.

The little girl Alice cried helplessly, wiping the blood from the old man's face with her sleeve.

"You bad people! You robbed our home, and now my grandfather and I have no food to eat, and you still won't leave us alone!"

A middle-aged man with a scarred face and a menacing expression kicked Alice to the ground: "How dare you talk to us like that?!"

"If you have a problem, come at me! Why are you hitting a child!" The old man shielded Alice behind him, glaring angrily at the middle-aged man. "What exactly do you want?"

"We came here to drink and eat, and you old geezer tell us there's no more wine, no more meat, nothing at all! What's the point of keeping this shabby tavern open? Just close it down!"

"You come here every day to freeload, we can't even feed ourselves, where would we get anything to give you!" Alice cried out helplessly behind the old man, hating these people to the core.

Many people in the crowd couldn't bear to watch any longer, but no one dared to step forward to stop him. They could only kindly advise the old man, "Robert, you should close this tavern and leave with your granddaughter."

"Yes, their family has alchemists; how could we ordinary people possibly afford to offend them?"

"If you can't afford to offend them, can't you at least avoid them? You should take your granddaughter and leave."

"Do you even have the right to speak?!" The middle-aged man with a scar on his face glared fiercely at the people around him, and the voices immediately fell silent. No one dared to say anything more, for fear of getting into trouble.

In the distance, Shi Daohan felt a surge of anger, but he did not immediately make a move, as the other party's family seemed to have quite a background.

She wouldn't stay in this town for long; she would leave sooner or later and return to Horagaka Academy. Taking action now would indeed vent her anger, and she was fully capable of protecting herself, unafraid of retaliation from the other family.

But after she leaves, the family behind the other party will definitely bully the old man and the young man even more.

"If you haven't prepared wine and meat by the time I come back tomorrow, I'll break your legs!"

After uttering such harsh words, the middle-aged man with the scar on his face strode away. The onlookers all tried to persuade the old man to leave the town as soon as possible, amidst the cries and sobs of the little girl Alice.

It wasn't until much later that the crowd gradually dispersed, and the little girl, her eyes red and her small body supporting the old man, walked into the tavern.

Seeing such a kind old man in his twilight years and a well-behaved little girl named Alice being bullied like this, Shi Daohan stared at the figure that disappeared at the end of the street, his eyes icy cold.

She stood outside for quite a while before dragging a net full of fish, shrimp, crabs, rice, and noodles into the tavern.

Alice was wiping the old man's wounds with a hot towel. She felt extremely distressed and couldn't help but cry as she carefully wiped his face.

The old man's wrinkled face was marked with bruises and broken finger marks.

"Big sister!"

When Alice saw Shi Daohan return, she burst into tears of grievance.

"Don't cry, sweet girl, Grandpa's alright," the old man comforted her softly, wiping away her tears with his calloused hands.

"Child, these fish..." The old man noticed the large net of sea fish, shrimp, and crabs behind Shi Daohan, as well as the rice and noodles she was carrying, and his face showed surprise.

"I caught these myself at sea, and on the way back I traded some of them with a wealthy family in town for rice and flour."

Shi Daohan put these things down, then took out a small jade bottle from his storage ring, poured the medicine into his hand, and carefully applied it to the wounds on the old man's face. In just a moment, all the wounds healed without leaving a single scar.

"Child, you only ate one meal with us, there's no need for this."

The old man knew that this medicine was definitely not an ordinary thing, and its price must be very expensive. He really didn't know how to thank Shi Daohan enough.

"A meal may not seem like much, but your kindness and affection are more precious than gold. I am a very simple person. If others are good to me, I will be good to them in return. If others want to harm me, I will not show any mercy."

At this point, Shi Daohan knelt down and wiped away the tears on the little girl Alice's face, saying gently, "From now on, with your older sister here, I won't let anyone bully you anymore."

"Big sister." Alice's eyes reddened again, and tears welled up in her eyes uncontrollably.

"Don't be afraid, with your big sister here, no one can hurt you." Shi Daohan affectionately patted Alice's head. Such a cute and sensible little girl was being bullied like this, which really made her angry.

"Child, don't do anything reckless." The old man had already guessed that Shi Daohan was no ordinary person, but he didn't want to involve her. He said, "The Norman family has alchemists who serve the empire. They are not people like us to mess with."

At this point, the old man sighed deeply: "They say the older people get, the more nostalgic they become. I've lived in this small town for most of my life, and I have an inseparable bond with its mountains and sea. I really don't want to leave."

But I've just thought it through. Alice is still so young; I can't let her suffer any more from those beasts. Tomorrow, I'll take her away from this town and let her live somewhere else."

"Grandpa..." Upon hearing the old man say this, Alice's face immediately filled with tears again.

"Don't worry, I'll resolve these matters as soon as possible. Tell me about the background of the Norman family."

"Child, don't do anything reckless. We'll pack our things and leave tomorrow, and never come back. You only ate one meal with us; there's no need to offend the Norman family because of us."

"You don't need to worry about me. If we can't afford to offend them openly, I have ways to deal with them behind the scenes and won't put myself in danger."

Finally, under Shi Daohan's persistent questioning, the old man revealed some things.

The Norman family is the most prominent family in this town, and it is said that three or four members of their family are alchemists.

Alchemists, like magicians, are very mysterious beings who possess powers unimaginable to ordinary people. They are rarely seen in daily life, so the people in the town are terrified of the Norman family and will avoid them even if they see them on the street.

Shi Daohan felt that the old man had something he hadn't said. As far as she knew, the old man's family used to be very well-off. They even had an old castle in the town and could be considered a wealthy family. Why had they fallen to such a state?

He also had a son and a daughter, but the old man never mentioned why they suddenly passed away.

"Old man, don't you trust me at all?"

Shi Daohan began by saying this.

"Alice, go and warm the towel with hot water." The old man dismissed the little girl, sighed softly, and said, "Child, I know you are no ordinary person, unafraid of the cold, and now that the sea is frozen, you can still catch fish, shrimp, and crabs. You are probably either an alchemist or a magician, right? But I still advise you not to provoke the Norman family. We can't afford to mess with them."

The old man continued his story, revealing that his two children were also magicians. A few years ago, they were noticed and invited to enroll by the Rotwar Magic Academy, making them a prominent family in the town. No one dared to offend them easily, and even the Norman family had to be on good terms with them.

(End of this chapter)