"Hey Big Wan, where are you going?" a rough voice interrupted causing Duncan to turn around and look at the owner of the voice.
The owner of the voice was a man of average height. His face looked to be similar to a rat's which almost caused Duncan to laugh, but he held it in not wanting to offend someone for such a silly reason.
The man swaggered over to them with an arrogant smile etched on his face. Duncan could spy a few rotting teeth in his mouth already. He didn't get a good feeling about the man in general.
Little Wan turned towards the man and scowled. It looked like Little Wan and this man were not on good terms. Duncan wondered why the man was stopping them if they were on bad terms, they surely didn't even notice him until he decided to bring attention to himself.
"Well, look here, Big Wan, the big servant disciple. Do you think you were too good to greet me now that you were assigned to serve the Vice-Sect Master?" the man sneered.
"Rattie," Little Wan grit his teeth and replied. "Mind your own business. And how many times have I told you, my name is Little Wan? Don't call me Big Wan."
"Who would believe you if you told them your name was Little Wan?" Rattie sneered. "Ah, I get it. Is your dick too little? Is that why you go by the name of Little Wan?" Rattie cackled as if he had cracked a huge joke.
Duncan didn't think it was that big a joke. Looking at Little Wan, he too seemed to be of the same mind. Unlike Duncan who was rolling his eyes inwardly, Little Wan seemed almost exasperated with the man.
"Can't you come up with something new to insult me with? It is as if your mind couldn't move past that one insult that is too childish to even make me mad," Little Wan said with irritation clearly present in his eyes.
"Oh, looks like someone grew some balls now, eh? Just because you are now serving the Vice-Sect Master, it doesn't mean you are better than me," Rattie got in Little Wan's face aggressively.
"Your breath stinks," Little Wan said clutching his nose.
Duncan watched Rattie's eyes bulge comically at that. He looked as if he couldn't believe the fact that Little Wan had insulted him. He started breathing heavily as he looked at Little Wan angrily.
"Listen here, you piece of shit, it doesn't matter whom you serve now. If you insult me one more time, I am gonna…"
"Do what?"
Little Wan stepped up to Rattie without any fear and looked down on him menacingly. The obvious height advantage Little Wan had over the fellow looked comical to Duncan. He had to try hard not to laugh at the scene.
It looked as if Rattie had just realized how big Little Wan was actually compared to him. Obviously, he didn't expect Little Wan to act so aggressively toward him. His bravado failed to withhold, and he backed away a few paces.
"Fine, fine, it looks like you have grown too big these days. I will be waiting for you in your dwelling. I will see where you will run off to after talking to me like this," Rattie spat angrily and tried to walk away.
However, Little Wan was having none of that. He reached out and caught Rattie's collar and lifted him up to his height. Rattie tried in vain to get out of Little Wan's grip as he thrashed mid-air.
"Big Wan, don't forget who you are dealing with. If you lay a single hand on me, I will let my big brother take care of you. He will break all your bones and make you beg for my forgiveness," Rattie threatened in fear.
Duncan felt that this was ridiculous. He had never seen anyone make such a threat in such a compromising position. Moreover, this entire incident was something that was initiated by Rattie. If Rattie didn't have the power to bully Little Wan, why in the hell did he insult Little Wan in the first place?
"I hate being called, Big Wan," Little Wan growled and slammed a punch right in Rattie's face unceremoniously.
Rattie flew away from Little Wan and landed a few paces away with a thud. However, Little Wan didn't stop there. He went forward and started to punch a prone Rattie over and over again.
Duncan watched Little Wan's rampage with a strange fascination. Things have escalated far beyond Duncan's expectations. And that too suddenly. Never in million years would he have thought that Little Wan could be so vicious for such a simple matter.
By the time Little Wan was done, Rattie was laying on the floor with blood splashed all over his face and moaning in pain. Duncan was sure that Little Wan had broken at least a few bones in Rattie's body during his rampage.
"Listen up, you little worm. I beat up your big brother just yesterday. So, don't think I would keep quiet like I usually do when you threaten me with him. If you went to the Medicine Hall, you will find your big brother in a bed next to you. Now get lost, before I do something even more drastic," Little Wan said mercilessly and spat on Rattie.
With that done, he turned and beckoned Duncan to follow him.
"Little bastard didn't know that I had my breakthrough earlier in the week. Now, his shit brother is not a match for me," Little Wan said nonchalantly as he led Duncan to the administrative building.
"These shits are used to running roughshod around here. Not that they have the gall to pick a fight with inner disciples, but they pick on us servant disciples the most. Luckily, I had my breakthrough. I had been meaning to teach these shits a lesson for a long time."
"Ummm, wouldn't you get in trouble for beating up someone like that?"
"Where do you think, you are? This is a demonic sect. If anything, fighting is encouraged here. As long as you don't kill someone or permanently cripple someone, anything else is allowed. And I didn't even use any martial arts on him," Little Wan snorted.
"So, fights are common here?" Duncan asked curiously.
"Of course, it is," Little Wan said as if Duncan was an idiot for asking such a question.
"I see."
"So, the best thing you could do here is to keep your head down and get stronger quicker. I don't think you will face too many problems, after all, your master is the Vice-Sect Master. However, there will always be crazy ones who wouldn't care about your status," Little Wan advised as they neared the management building.
"I don't think you are the kind of person who would walk away from a fight or someone who would call upon their senior brothers to take care of their problems," Little Wan said looking at Duncan one last time.
"It is in the eyes, you see. Normally, people would retreat a few steps when a confrontation happens to make it clear that they aren't involved in it. You never stepped back or averted your eyes during my entire run-in with Rattie. I can tell you are not a person to back down."
"But, know this, you have entered a different world. In this world, power is absolute. Unless you have power, either yourself or in the form of some backing, you will be preyed upon by others in this world."
"This is a world where power reigns supreme above all else."
With that final statement, Little Wan entered the administration building causing Duncan to follow him as he mulled over Little Wan's words.
Duncan was sure of one thing. The words uttered by Little Wan weren't some scary warnings. In fact, from Little Wan's eyes, Duncan realized that Little Wan really believed in what he said. Especially, when he said power reigns supreme in this world.
While he had known that the world of cultivators was a different one and one that is based on a strength-based hierarchy before this, the impact of such a change hadn't sunk into his mind yet.
But now, with Little Wan's words, that truth was slowly beginning to sink into Duncan's mind. He realized that while he had not yet seen the ugly side of this world yet, a person who is at the bottom like Little Wan was the ideal one to have experienced it most.
Duncan wondered idly what kind of things Little Wan had seen to have such a viewpoint so firmly entrenched in his mind. It was as if Little Wan would do anything to increase his power.
That thought disturbed Duncan more than anything. The unease he had been feeling around Little Wan when he first met him seemed to have doubled now. While he knew that he wasn't in danger with Little Wan at present, Duncan vowed to keep his distance away from him in the future.
Letting out a huge sigh, Duncan marched up to the counter Little Wan was waiting beside to register himself in the Heavenly Demon Sect. He didn't know what his future held, but he felt as if things have been moving too fast for him to actually digest currently.
He could only wish things slowed down a bit after this.
*****
A/N: Hey folks!
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You can also check out my other book [Booking Glory] and see if it is to your liking.
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