North of the Skeleton manor's facility, near the edge of scavenger plains, stood a single city. When Han Bei saw it in the distance he felt extremely surprised. He had expected the city to be a particularly large hole in the ground or some desolate, long-abandoned ruin, but instead, holy rays of golden light entered his sight. Han Bei's expectations of the city rose up for a moment, but they plummeted right back down to the bottom once he got closer.

Han Bei expected to find a sturdy wall that surrounded the city. Garrisoned with hawk-like sentinels in golden armor that cast their gazes in search of distant enemies that dared to approach. Once Han Bei got closer and the glare of the golden receded he found neither. In place of sturdy walls, there were flimsy tents and rotten wooden huts, while the brave sentinels in his mind were replaced by miserable and malnourished beggars.

" Well, what do you think, little corpse? " the old monk asked as the pair entered the city. Han Bei answered with a frown, " The golden light burns my eyes and it smells like everyone here is dead. " The old monk released as short laugh. " Ha, at least your skills of observation haven't been damaged. "

The ground near the city laid black and bare. It almost looked like all plant life near the city was outlawed by the heavens themselves. " Either that or the locals are very thorough when picking up their meals, " Han Bei thought to himself.

As Han Bei and the old monk walked through the outer part of the city the poor wretches that lived there left their dwellings and kneeled by the side of the pair's path. In total silence the beggars stretched out their hands while they stared at the ground, Han Bei guessed that the people that usually frequented this road weren't too kind to the less fortunate. Humans, demi-humans, mutants all of them miserable in their own unique way, but Han Bei noticed that all these brothers and sisters of misfortune had something in common.

The old monk elbowed Han Bei, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically, " See their teeth little corpse? " Han Bei nodded, " Cows. " It was hard to miss the unnatural green shine that radiated from their mouths. He neither particularly hated nor pitied them, but he could see how such a life could lead a person to desperation, and a desperate man will take any path no matter how twisted or crooked.

When the pair entered the city proper Han Bei squinted his eyes. The glare of the golden light intensified and irritated his eyes. The old monk looked over and quietly murmured to himself. " Interesting." From what Han Bei could see he didn't feel like he missed all that much. The inner city was a mess and its inhabitants looked miserable, just not quite the same way as the ones from the outer city.

The modest population 5 000, as said by the old monk, seemed to prefer indoor activities since the broken up jagged streets were almost abandoned. Any person, human or otherwise, that walked by did so with a hunched back and eyes full of suspicion. None who crossed their path would be free from their inquisitive glare, and openly displayed weapons spoke of an unsaid threat.

Han Bei could somewhat sympathize with the mindset. The streets either sharply changed directions or abruptly ended and with all that bright light it would be easy to get ambushed. Yet the old monk simply shook his head at the observation and warned him. " I wouldn't start any trouble here if I were you, for more reasons than one."

Han Bei shrugged while the old monk acted as a guide through this maze of a city. Each building was made different and placed with no care for any pedestrians. Wooden houses, stone pavilions, giant leather tents, the closest thing to order this place had, was the further you went the bigger the houses got. Han Bei might have been interested in a tour if there wasn't a light there that constantly tried to blind him.

Thankfully their destination wasn't too far into the city and Han Bei found himself inside a dark but cozy inn that offered him respite from the glaring light outside. A waiter came forward and after a respectful bow quickly guided Corpse and the old monk to a room, that was suspiciously already prepared to receive guests with a sizable feast.

The old monk sat down and beckoned Han Bei to do the same, " Now I imagine you have a few questions to ask, and I feel this is an appropriate time for some of them. " Han Bei sighed and his black tattered cloak pooled underneath him as he sank to the floor. " So what exactly is up with my body? "

The old monk smiled ready to share his vast reserves of knowledge, while Han Bei suspected the old thing was happy that someone was there to listen as he blabbered on. " I believe that you acquired a martial physique. If the body is put under large amounts of stress and particular conditions have been met, there is a chance of the body adapting to the stressful environment causing a mutation. The chance may wary depending on willpower, cultivation level, or just dumb luck, but what's particularly interesting, is the mutation itself. The change happens on a fundamental level changing one's body, mind, and soul. In essence, it allows one access to arts that would cripple or kill your average cultivator."

Han Bei sat in front of the table that was filled with obscene amounts of meat. Beef, mutton, pork, chicken but despite what he tasted he still seemed dissatisfied. " So what makes me different from your run of the mill powder sniffing, pill eating mutant? "

The old monk answered with scholarly delight, " Indeed it's possible to achieve similar results with certain supplements, but overuse of said supplements will leave behind defects. One's that close off your path to cultivation all together while in theory, a martial physique will be an immense aid. Hey, are you listening? "

While the old monk graciously shared his knowledge, Han Bei chewed on a chicken wing with a bitter expression on his face. Suddenly the pale man passed a full plate of chicken to the old monk. " Tell me how does it taste like."

The old man was surprised and after a moment of hesitation gracefully accepted. " Hmm, tastes like chicken I've heard it can be fairly heard to raise them in this climate, but the establishment is fairly reputable, there should be no problem with their food."

Han Bei nodded to himself and passed over another delicacy, pork cutlets. Again, the old monk ate and gave his opinion. " Tastes fine to me. " Han Bei saw the old monk's reaction and passed over one food after another until the old monk had tasted a bit of everything on the table. The old monk remained patient and only asked questions afterward. " Are you trying to prove something, or do you wish to see me become a fat old man? "

Han Bei seemed a bit out of it. " Grey mush. No matter what meal I tried it all felt like gray tasteless mush. " The old monk asked. "Was there anything, anything that you could taste? " Han Bei looked the old monk in the eye. " The wine. Although I couldn't get a buzz, I still felt it's burning taste, and there was...." He hesitated for several seconds and the old monk finished the thought. " ... fresh meat? " Han Bei locked eyes with the old man and all humor was gone from the latter's face. He didn't even question how the old monk knew he only looked away in shame. Quickly he changed the subject. " In theory. You said it should be an immense aid in theory. "

The old monk sighed but didn't pursue the topic " Yes, despite my wealth of experience I haven't actually seen a martial; physique. Heavens, I haven't even heard about one like yours. " Han Bei gave a hollow laugh. " Well, that's damn reassuring." The old monk shrugged. " I wanted to give you some breathing room before we start any practice but thank's to your new friends that are probably already aware of your heroic deeds. We'll have to move with haste. Sleep for tonight, tomorrow we move to a secluded location. "

Han Bei didn't talk back this time, and he obediently followed when a servant guided him to his room. It was serviceable if a little simple. A single bed, a single table, and a mat for meditation in the corner. There were no sources of light in the room as they weren't necessary. The single window in the room was covered by a paper screen that filtered the bright glow from the outside.

Han Bei moved the screen a bit and made a small gap. He frowned as the golden light hit his face, he squinted and tried to look at the sky. " Damn, can't even see the stars." He closed the gap and slumped down against a wall. He wasn't all that sleepy despite the last time he slept was around 4 days ago.

Still, he sleeplessly dreamed. He dreamt of what he could remember from the past and what he imagined the future will be like. Of his martial siblings and those that were connected to him by blood and of the familiar sky of his homeworld. " A dark star traveled from the foreign sky and turned my life into mud. I wonder how it fell when I pull that star down from the heavens. "