Chapter 63: Section 64: My Name is Cang Xu


    Cang Xu nodded slightly and was silent for a while, as if choosing his words carefully. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Then, he spoke in a desolate tone, “My name is Cang Xu, and I was born into a farming family, originally a farmer’s son.”


    “When I was about five or six years old, I started to work. My main job was cleaning horse dung. Our family had a short-legged nag mainly used for plowing.”


    “Once when I was cleaning the manure, the nag suddenly became angry and kicked me with its hind legs. I fell headfirst into the dung and nearly suffocated to death. Although I was lucky to survive, such a close encounter with death filled my young heart with fear that I could not easily let go of.”


    “I became very timid, afraid of any type of horse, even things that resembled horses in shape. I even dared not go near the stables. My parents assigned me other tasks, but I was still trembling and cautious, hiding at any sign of the ‘Grass Movement.''”


    “Such was I, naturally mocked and alienated by playmates, disliked by my parents, with everyone in the village not optimistic about my future.”


    ...


    “It was only much later that I realized that perhaps my fear was not of horses, but of the life of a farmer itself.”


    “Shame made me lonely, and loneliness made me think. The gifts of fate, bitter before they are sweet, made me afraid of living my entire life as a farmer.”


    “Luck came my way. When I was eight, I saw a ray of hope. A priest from the Horse God sect came to our village to build a church. There was no church in the village, and everyone hoped for a priest’s healing when they were sick. So, the villagers organized themselves, volunteering to build a Horse God church for the priest without compensation. Among all the volunteers, I was the most enthusiastic. I tried my hardest to please the priest, desperately showing my faith in the Horse God to win his favor.”


    “The priest liked children of my age. After a day’s labor, he would gather about a dozen children, including me, and teach us arithmetic and literacy.”


    “As seasons passed, once the church was successfully built, the priest publicly announced some news.”


    “He was going to select a few volunteers to become fellow workers. He even planned to recruit two children to train as trainee priests.”


    “No one is a fool, and the villagers flocked to it. The status of clergy was far higher than that of a farmer. And families with children of the right age were almost frantic.”


    “I desperately wanted to become a trainee priest, knowing it might be my only chance in life to change my fate, for which I would even risk my life!”


    “The competition was fierce.”


    “I managed to stay until the final selection through hard work and previous perseverance. There were four people left, but only two trainee priests were to be recruited. The rest were rich villagers, including the village head. To increase their chances, they used their power and wealth to oppress my family and force my parents to make me concede.”


    “My family was ostracized to the point of barely surviving, and every day was torture. My parents urged me to give up, but I refused, nearly breaking completely with them.”


    “I went to the final assessment with a ‘die before yielding’ attitude. However, I failed.”


    “The shadows of my childhood still clouded my heart; I feared horses. Toward the Horse God, I felt only fear, not reverence.”


    “I couldn’t believe in Him, despite my hardest efforts.”


    “The priests of the Horse God are wise and sagacious, but equally ruthless. Despite my kneeling and pleading, he still dismissed me.”


    “I was extremely depressed, feeling as if my entire life had become bleak and insignificant. That evening, I wandered the streets in a daze, surrounded by the villagers’ scorn. I don’t know how I made it back home; I couldn’t eat anything at all.”


    “In the days that followed, my father beat me while my mother scolded me for harboring unrealistic ambitions. Although my family were free people, due to my father’s serious illness, our financial situation was poor. Out of necessity, we had to farm someone else’s land and then pay rent. This was essentially no different from being serfs. However, because of this incident with me, no villagers would rent their excess land to us.”


    “To punish me, my parents assigned me a heavy load of labor. Every day, I went to sleep on a pile of straw with a body almost falling apart.”


    “Punishment and failure did not make me surrender, nor did mockery and exclusion lead me to despair. I became increasingly resentful, and this resentment gradually transformed into anger. Although I had many days of depression, I soon revived myself. My main effort was reviewing the knowledge I had learned from the priest.”


    “I only had free time at night. During the day, I had to get up very early. If I did not complete the tasks my parents assigned, I would not even have a piece of black bread.”


    “Despite being extremely tired every day, I never gave up my nighttime studies. I memorized everything the priest had taught me thoroughly, deeply imprinting it in my heart. Even now, I remember every bit of that knowledge very clearly. I cherish them, guarding them as the rare hopes of my life. They were my rebellion against my own fate!”


    “One night, the priest of the Horse God quietly came near the straw pile and woke me from my deep sleep.”


    “I was both shocked and overjoyed, thinking perhaps there was a turnaround. I immediately knelt down and loudly swore to the priest that I would devote myself wholly to the Horse God, purging all the fears deep in my heart.”


    “But the priest of the Horse God shook his head, saying, ‘The Horse God does not force faith. He found me because he noticed my state of life and had been observing me secretly for some time. My desperate effort and my thirst for knowledge moved him.''”


    “The priest of the Horse God offered me a new choice. If I became his servant, he would teach me the knowledge I desired, and my future would depend entirely on my own efforts.”


    “I persuaded my parents to sell me.”


    “Of course, primarily because the priest of the Horse God spent a considerable amount of money to buy me.”


    “The priest did not deceive me, and he treated me much better than I had imagined. He even kept the transaction secret, allowing me to serve as a servant in the church. I devotedly served the priest’s daily needs, trying my hardest, and he imparted precious knowledge to me. I learned more about arithmetic, literature, astronomy, geography.”


    “Among all the things I gained, I valued most the priest of the Horse God’s curiosity about knowledge and his diligent attitude in seeking it. This attitude influenced my entire life.”


    As he spoke, Cang Xu paused a moment. The lengthy narration made him a bit breathless.


    Cang Xu continued, “The competition of faith can sometimes be more intense than war. The Horse God originated from the Wilderness Continent and was worshipped by the Beast Race. On the Holy Bright Continent, His influence was too little. Thus, when the Life Sect spread here, the faith in the Horse God immediately faltered and rapidly collapsed, without any competitive power.”


    “The priest of the Horse God was forced to leave. Before leaving, he freed me from servitude and advised me to continue my studies.”


    “I went to Silver Bridge Academy and took the examinations. The teachings of the priest of the Horse God gave me a solid academic foundation, allowing me to pass the exams successfully and become an extremely impoverished student at the academy. Three years later, I graduated smoothly from the academy and became a scholar.”


    “I taught at Silver Bridge Academy for three years, and afterward, relying on the academy’s connections, I became the steward of a minor noble.”


    “Later, I went through several nobles, holding minor positions in the management of their lands.”


    “I am not a noble, nor a servant nurtured by nobles from a young age, and most importantly, I lack the aptitude for training. These reasons subjected me to constant disdain and exclusion, leaving me in lower ranks.”


    “Five years passed like this until an opportunity emerged before me.”


    “A village erupted in rebellion, and the officials sent to collect taxes were killed. The chief tax collector, fearing discovery by the Lord, offered a hefty reward to anyone who could successfully levy the taxes.”


    “I was familiar with the villagers, so I saw this as an opportunity and volunteered.”


    “I was hanged up, imprisoned, and continuously tortured.”


    “Just when they were about to kill me, they asked if I had any last words.”


    “I laughed aloud, simply shaking my head without speaking.”


    “This puzzled the villagers.”


    “I told them that I was their friend, never their enemy. I had come to save them. If they complied and paid the taxes, the tax collector would act as though nothing had happened. If they refused, knights would come to annihilate them.”


    “The villagers, fearful, knew they couldn’t withstand the knights, but paying the taxes would deplete their food reserves, leading to starvation.”


    “I falsely claimed the tax collector had secretly reduced the tax. If they paid, the villagers would still preserve some food and survive. However, they were to keep this strictly confidential or it would inspire other villages to follow suit.”


    “After deliberation, the villagers agreed. I secretly made up the shortfall in tax and reported back.”


    “Thus, I gained the chief collector’s favor and was finally promoted.”


    “Originally occupying an important position, no one had high expectations for me. They saw me as a weak scholar, vulnerable to an easy assassination. Yet, I held that position for more than thirty years.”


    “In that position, I had the opportunity to showcase my talents. My knowledge impressed the Lord gradually.”


    “Throughout this journey, I never abandoned my quest for knowledge. Continuously acquiring new information only increased my value.”


    “Though the Horse God Priest had left me early on, his passion for knowledge had fused into my blood.”


    “I had thought I would serve the Lord until my death, but fate had other plans for me.”


    “As time passed and I grew older, many saw it as an opportunity. My devotion to knowledge over power, and my avoidance of internal strife among the noble factions, displeased those in power.”


    “They instigated a young man.”


    “His name was Lan Tu, who daydreamed of becoming a knight and was my most trusted deputy. Seduced by the love of the Lord’s third daughter, the young man decided to betray.”


    “He accused me, claiming I was a dangerous criminal who had been hiding for years, harboring devious intentions and conspiring against the Lord and his lands.”


    “To save my life, I had no choice but to flee. The young man smoothly took over my position, endorsed by the Third Lady.”


    “My flight seemingly confirmed the young man’s accusations. At the beginning of my escape, I was overwhelmed with grief and anger, drowning in negativity.”


    “After a long time, I came to terms with it.”


    “It was a new path set by fate.”


    “I asked myself, at my age, with little time left, how should I spend the rest of my life? Ultimately, I decided to pursue what I truly desired—knowledge. Among all fields, biology intrigued me the most. I aimed to make academic achievements and write a book explaining the mysteries of life to the best of my abilities.”


    “Before long, news of a warrant for my arrest spread. This wasn’t a surprise. Having served the Lord and been privy to many secrets, the noble family wouldn’t easily let me go.”


    “I couldn’t stay in the Holy Bright Continent any longer, so I had to take a boat to the Beast Race Continent. Fortunately, the Wilderness Continent’s unique ecology would greatly aid in completing my academic writings.”


    “Lord Zhenjin, I am an old man with an outstanding warrant. If you decide to recruit me, you will undoubtedly make enemies with the Shata family. That’s why I previously declined your recruitment.”


    “The techniques for taming the explosive hooved ferocious horses mostly come from the Horse God Priest. The remaining part of the technique I developed myself over more than thirty years.”


    “That is my story.”


    “How fascinating,” Zhenjin admired.


    Cang Xu smiled slightly, “Thank you for your compliment, my lord. It’s an honor of my lifetime to have you listen to me. I have already completed half of my academic works. They are hidden in my mind, but I’ve also secretly stashed a copy in Shata territory.”


    “This half of the work is hidden in the ruins’ prison of a certain village—where I was once tortured severely. It’s in the bricks beneath my shackles.”


    “My last wish is—if I die here, please hand over the half-completed work to Lan Tu. Of course, my lord, you are free to review it. If it can be of use to you, it would be my immense honor.”


    Zhenjin frowned, understandably puzzled.


    “LAN TU?” Zi Di suddenly woke up, “Unless I heard wrong, isn’t Lan Tu the young man who betrayed you?”


    “Yes, Miss Zi Di, you heard correctly.”


    Cang Xu’s face revealed a complex mix of desolation, sadness, and a hint of pain mixed with hope.


    He continued, “This young man is my son.”