Sonny stared intensely at the other man despite the half-mask on his face. The strange urge to learn to cultivate is in his blood, just like his father. For demons and all cultivators crave strength and power.
Sonny saw that the man looked at him with a faint intrigue in his gaze. "I can tell you truly crave strength, but why should I help you without any price?"
Sonny frowned, "What do you want?"
The man laughed, the half-smile nearly twisting into a deranged smile, "Silly child, you can never fulfill my wishes, but I'm willing to help you one time."
Sonny felt suspicious of the man. Why would the man help him when he has nothing to offer? Nothing to give.
Would the man truly help him in turn without expecting anything?
Sonny pursed his lips, not knowing his expression looked confused and awkward to the other man.
"You can call me Riven. I'll teach you how to use your powers in secrets so others can't detect your demonic cultivation."
Sonny raised his brow in surprise, "How did you—"
The man who called himself Riven curved his lips into a wicked smile on one side while the half mask hid his face. "How did I know? It's simple to figure it out. They wouldn't let you live if they knew who you were."
"Lastly, your demonic cultivation is sealed, which I can sense."
Sonny felt his heart pound with all the information being peeled away like layer upon layer.
"Although I don't know why your cultivation is sealed, it's none of my business."
"Do you accept my offer, child?"
Sonny knew he had no choice. At the end of the day, he carries the blood of a demon, and he has no family or friends in the world that will tie him to his humanity.
All that keeps him surviving is strength and power.
Sonny sighed, feeling as if the world was on his shoulders, and his gaze turned steely and sharp toward Riven, his new friend and mentor.
"Yes."
Riven smiled, his smile turning friendlier, but his eyes glinted with excitement.
"Alright, meet me tonight past midnight."
Sonny nodded, and there was no hesitation on his face.
He turned around and carried the basket in his hand till he reached his master's place. His heart pounded with fear and dread, for he knew a punishment was coming.
His master can be a strict man, but can be even stricter when things don't go his way.
Sonny took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
"Come in." A stern, cold voice speaks in an elderly voice that would trick others into assuming he's a gentleman.
Sonny walked in with his back straightened like he was preparing for battle and his lashes curved, "Master, I brought the fresh herbs like you asked for."
Then a sharp slap came out of nowhere, hitting Sonny's cheeks, and he fell to the ground, where the herbs fell scattered all over the floor.
Sonny should've been used to it, but the violence and the cruelty made his heart pound with dread.
Sonny lifted his head and stared at his master, who had taken care of him for the last six years, unlike someone who had abandoned him. "Master, I apologize for arriving late."
Then another slap arrived on the same cheeks, and Sonny kept his mouth shut; otherwise, he might receive another slap. Sonny kept his head bowed in submission and waited for his master to speak, "Insolent, don't speak unless I ask you to."
Sonny bit his tongue hard so he wouldn't cry.
"Where have you been? It's been nearly an hour. You should have been back by then."
Sonny kept his head down, waiting for permission so he could speak.
Then he received a kick from his side, and he spoke in a pained, raspy voice, "Master, forgive me, I went to gather the herbs in the forest like you requested, but I was ambushed by my classmates—"
His master looked like an old man with a righteous face in a white robe, but with his high cultivation, Sonny couldn't even defend himself.
"Useless."
His master's face remained cold.
"You're so useless you can even defend yourself from a group of pathetic boys."
Sonny kept his lips shut and waited for his master to finish taunting him. His master gave him a contemptuous glance, "Go wash the herbs and go clean yourself, for you stink like a rotting skunk."
Sonny didn't feel the stings in the words; he just rose to his feet, walked to the sink, cleaned the herbs that took nearly 30 minutes, and took a quick bath.
In the bathroom, he stares at the water above his neck where the thin scars are imprinted on his skin, which came from the bullying from his classmates and peers. But most of them came from his master.
Sonny felt a deep relief when night came. He was excited and nervous to meet Rivan; it was the first time he had met someone who hadn't mocked him for being poor or weak.
But Rivsn didn't look down on him or shun him just because he was a demon.
Sonny waited for his master to fall asleep in his bedroom, and he walked out quietly like a mouse, then he ran deep into the forest with excitement running through his veins.
Riven was lying on a tree with a tall branch, and Sonny slowed down when he approached.
"Why did you stop?"
Sonny felt his heart pounding from running, then slowing down. He thought of the question, then replied, "I thought you were sleeping."
Riven lifted his head, his long black hair ruffled with movement. "I'm not, I was just resting my eyes."
"Are you ready for your training?"
Sonny nodded with excitement in his eyes, then replied, "Yes!"
Riven curved his lips into a smile, "That's good, I don't have time for slackers!"
Riven jumped down from the tree, which awed Sonny, and Riven calmly walked to Sonny with his hands behind his back. "Alright, first things first—never complain, if you do, I'll make you train harder till your limbs drop."
Sonny swallowed nervously and nodded in understanding with determination in his eyes.