Chapter 11 - 11: My name?
"Jade Union? I don't know what group you're talking about. I'm an orphan; I've always been alone. The 'chi' thing was something an old blacksmith I worked for used to mention before I started working on the ship. Every day, the old man would say he was going to restore his 'chi' and would start doing some exercises. Oh, and once he mentioned that 'chi' is energy that gathers below the navel, so since I also feel a warm sensation below my navel, I assumed it was 'chi'."
"Were the exercises the old man did the same ones you were doing before the wolves arrived?"
The boy looked a bit surprised at the woman but responded anyway.
"No, they're not. Originally, I did practice imitating the old man, since I was stranded here and didn't have enough strength, so I started practicing them to see if I could improve my strength like the imperial knights. The old man said his strength came from spiritual energy or something like that. But over time, the moves changed; now they're very different."
"Umu, I see..." The beautiful woman analyzed the boy, but noticing that he wasn't lying, she continued speaking. "And what do you plan to do from now on? Will you continue living here, or what will you do?"
"I really don't know. Since I was stranded here, I tried not to think about it, but I suppose I'll try to leave when these guys are old enough to live on their own." The boy looked tenderly at the wolves, who began rubbing their heads against his body, whimpering sadly.
"Do you know those wolves take at least 150 years to mature?" The woman looked at the boy with a mischievous smile, speaking in a sing-song and amused voice.
"What?!!" The boy jumped in shock and looked at the wolves as if they were monsters.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" The woman started laughing loudly at the boy's reaction, who seemed to question his life while the wolves kept rubbing their heads against him, whimpering sadly.
"Haha, don't worry about that, boy. Why don't you become my disciple instead, so you can take the wolves with you?"
"Your disciple? Are you a teacher or something? How much do I have to pay? Although I don't have anything, just a few pelts and some tools. I'm good at hunting and can pay with work."