Chapter 11 – The Great Objective
Meditation was not a difficult skill to learn, but it was not exactly “easy” either. Anyone could do it, however there was a clear difference between the levels of meditation. People at the lowest level could meditate for an hour, which was more or less equivalent to an hour of normal sleep. Each level of meditation had a different method for entering the meditation state. The higher the level, the higher the quality of rest and the faster your recovery becomes.
Suo Jia had never learned meditation before. Although he was learning magic, his spirit currently was still too weak, so weak to the point where he could not even satisfy the minimum requirements for meditation. In general, once you understood how to meditate, you became an official mage apprentice and started your education to become a professional mage.
Suo Jia had only said that he was going to rest, but the the word ‘meditation’ had spread throughout the crowd. Even though only one word had changed, it certainly made Suo Jia’s image a lot more imposing. At this moment, he did not appear to be a mage apprentice, but rather a professional mage!
After resting for a whole hour Suo Jia finally recovered his spirit energy and once again began to use the Moisture Technique. Just like that, the whole day passed; Suo Jia would use [the Moisture Technique] for a bit, rest for a bit, and continue in a cycle until the sun set. It was only then that the people unwillingly dispersed, going back to their own homes.
Exhausted, Suo Jia tied his chairs together, balanced them on his shoulders and carried his bundle of white cloth while heading home. Even though he was exhausted, nothing could compare to how satisfied he felt when he listened to the gold coins jingling against his chest.
From the beginning of his business all the way until the sun had set, Suo Jia had used the Moisture Technique on a total of 176 people. While earning the large amounts of gold, Suo Jia had also pleasantly discovered that his spiritual power had been growing bit by bit. After his last break, Suo Jia had actually managed to use the Moisture Technique 25 times in one breath. Such a large improvement was not normal!
His gains did not just end there. After a whole day had passed, Suo Jia had successfully used the Moisture Technique 176 times. This type of successful experience was a mage’s most precious gain. Historically, many mages died because they had not been able to successfully use the Moisture Technique during critical moments. Thus, this accomplishment could not be considered ordinary.
If a mage wants to master a magic, the most important thing to do was to cast the magic over and over again. After accumulating the experiences of successes and failures, it becomes an instinct. Once it reaches the realm where it can move “with one’s heartbeat and follow one’s will”, the spell would never fail.
Also, the more times you succeeded in casting the magic, the deeper your understanding of it became. After reaching a certain level, creating your own spells was possible. Historically, the amount of original magic spells recorded was more than a thousand. Unfortunately, original magic spells all shared a common trait of being unreproducible! Other than [the magic’s] original creator, no one could recreate that magic for their own uses. This meant that each mage’s understanding and familiarity with magic was unique to themselves.
Carrying the table, Suo Jia arrived back at his home. However, since both his hands were full, he had no way of opening the door. Helplessly, he could only use his foot to lightly kick open the door. Hearing the sound, his mother quickly opened the door, her face in shock after seeing Suo Jia carry so many things.
Staring blankly for a bit, the woman quickly returned to her senses and hurriedly took the white cloth from Suo Jia. “You really are a naughty child; where did you go with the chairs? You made me think that a thief had broken into the house.”
Although she said things this way, the woman’s expression showed that she did not blame him at all; rather, she was laughing at his actions. Towards her son, the woman always held deep feelings of remorse. Because she had been sick for three years, her son had gave up going on playdates with friends. In reality, she had wished dearly for her son to be like other children, playing freely without restraint and returning home exhausted afterwards from playing. This was how a normal child should act.
Casually placing the white cloth on the bed, the woman wetted a towel and lovingly washed Suo Jia’s small face. Tenderly, she asked: “Where did you go play today? Did you play with your classmates?”
Seeing the loving expression on his mother’s face, Suo Jia happily smiled. All the suffering he went through today was worth it. As long as his mother was happy every day, he was willing to endure any suffering without regrets.
Lightly reaching into his clothes, Suo Jia brought out the heavy, jingling leather pouch. “Mother, do you see what this is?”
Curiously looking at the leather pouch, the woman laughed thinking that there were definitely some type of marbles inside it. After all, kids enjoyed these types of things. As long as her own son was finally gradually returning to a normal lifestyle as a child, any feelings of suffering and tiredness she felt did not matter.
Although she was not interested in a child’s playthings, the woman opened the pouch for the sake of playing along with her son to not ruin his happy mood. She had already planned previously to gasp in admiration at the marbles, but she had never thought in a million years that as soon as she opened the pouch, a bright golden glow would radiate out from it and actually render her speechless!
After a long time, the woman abruptly closed the pouch, asking in a strained voice, “Dear God! Where did you get this money? Don’t tell me you stole it, otherwise mother will be very disappointed!”
“What! Stolen?” Suo Jia shouted, stunned at his mother’s words.
Seeing her son’s shocked expression, the mother understood her son and quickly went silent. As a mother who knows her child better than anyone else, how could she not understand her own son? No matter what, he would never go steal. However, if he hadn’t stolen the money then where had this money come from?
In doubt, the woman said cautiously: “Okay, Mother knows that Suo Jia would never steal. Now tell me, where exactly did this money come from? You cannot lie to me.”
Hearing his mother’s words, Suo Jia could not help but proudly lift his chest, replying excitedly: “I earned this money using my own skills.”
“What! Using…using skills to earn it? How is that possible?” Hearing her son’s words, the woman shouted in disbelief.
Suo Jia nodded his head with certainty, and continued: “Yes, I moved these chairs to the main street, pulled a piece of cloth over it, and used the Moisture Technique on the skin of older sisters and aunts. I got 1 gold per person, so I earned this much money.”
Hearing her son’s words, the woman’s whole body began to shake, as tears began to quickly blur her vision. It turned out….that everything was like that; all the money was really earned through his own skills. But heavens, he was only an 8 years-old child. He was supposed to be playing carefreely and without worry. Now however, he had taken up the heavy responsibilities of the household.
Holding Suo Jia against her, the woman cried: “My child, Mother has let you down.”
Seeing his mother painfully crying, Suo Jia stubbornly shook his head: “No Mother, you have already given me the best things in the world. I am already a grown man. From today onwards, I will look after Mother. You won’t ever have to work again!”
“This…” Hearing Suo Jia’s words, the woman could not help but hesitate. Even though she didn’t want to admit it, her son really did have the skills to look after her now. However, it was impossible for her to accept the fact that a 24-25 years-old woman had to rely on an 8 years-old child to look after herself.
Seeing his mother’s hesitating expression, Suo Jia hurriedly said: “Just promise me this Mother. Every day I see you so exhausted and you suffer so much, I feel very miserable. Now, I can earn money. In the future, I will continue to study diligently, and eventually I will buy a large house for Mother to live in, as well as many many other good things for mother.”
“Haha…”
Hearing her son’s words, the woman happily laughed. Even though… …God had not given her a responsible and diligent husband, he had not ignored her, because God had gifted her such a wonderful son.
While she was thinking this, Suo Jia snuggled up to her, and said longingly: “Mother has to rest well and take good care of herself. You must first heal your body. After that, if you still want to do things like work, Suo Jia will not object.”
Speaking up to this point, Suo Jia raised his head and looked at his mother pleadingly: “But promise me Mother; seeing you spend all day and night working so hard, I feel too miserable. Mother has already done enough, everything else should be left to me!”
Hearing her son’s fervent words, the woman felt her son’s genuine care for her. What else could she say? When a woman marries, she had to listen to her husband. When her husband dies, she has to listen to her son. It has been this way since ancient times. Even though her son was still young, a poor household’s child becomes the head of the household early. Just as Suo Jia had said, he was already a young man. If that was the case, as a mother, she had nothing else to say.
The woman holding back her tears nodded. Accompanying this gentle movement, her hot tears finally poured down. Having such a wonderful son made her life truly worthwhile.