Lin Feng hurriedly started running back, forgetting the basket. He rubbed his palm as he limped as fast as he could, he rubbed his palm hard, desperate for the tattoo to go away.
It would only make his life even more difficult when the orphanage home found out about it, it was abominable there.
Shortly, he had escaped the forest and he was now trudging back to the orphanage home. The tattoo was now radiating a faint heat and a faint cool, it was alternating between the both at a steady pace, as if trying to unleash something.
Lin Feng was even more scared than ever, he just wanted to get back to the orphanage.
But be wasn't thinking straight, he was empty handed, he would be beaten up pretty badly. That would make it the third time he was receiving a serious beating already, just in the space of a few hours.
An hour later, he had arrived in front of the orphanage. He quickly pushed the gate open and ran into it, trying to get to the bathroom as quickly as possible.
"Where are you hurrying off to?" The Matron's voice rang out. Lin Feng froze. He hadn't thought about it all this while. He wasn't with the basket, his hand was empty. How was he ever going to explain his predicament to her?
Lin Feng slowly turned around, he faced the Matron, trembling slightly.
Her eyes narrowed as she stared at Lin Feng, he wasn't with anything.
The Matron suddenly smiled. "What? You were attacked again? And I suppose my basket was lost in the attack?"
Lin Feng swallowed. He didn't even understand why they treated him so badly. It wasn't his fault that his spirit vein was crippled, he never did anything to deserve all these. What? It was just a simple basket, would she kill him because of it?
The two enforcers came closer, walking towards Lin Feng. Lin Feng's body was aching already, he couldn't bear another round of these beatings. He took a deep breath, stepping backwards.
"Don't move." The Matron said to him. However, he wasn't in for that, at least he knew that he couldn't get sent away from the orphanage home, they didn't have the power to do that.
He turned around and sped off, running as fast as he could.
But how fast could he run in such a situation? The enforcers closed the distance in a heartbeat and grabbed him, doing the norms.
His hand was pinned behind him and shortly, the first blow came. Then the second one came. Then the third one came. The kicks and blows were even more painful than usual, his body had accumulated the pain, he couldn't bear it anymore.
"Get away from me!" Lin Feng yelled, he struggled with them, trying to get his hand and legs free from their grip, but he was too weak.
Lin Feng pulled his right hand forcefully, where the tattoo was embedded, a force that he didn't know he possessed was suddenly let out and the enforcer was no match for power that he released.
Lin Feng pulled his hand away without much resistance, then he pushed the enforcer with the same hand, the effect was unbelievable.
Everyone went silent as one of the enforcers was sent flying, ramming into the wall over five feet away. Lin Feng was stunned, his mouth dropped open as he slowly brought his hand to his eyes, staring at it with a horror-stricken expression.
The tattoo glowed faintly again.
The Matron was annoyed, the shock on her face evident. "Y-you! What type of trick was that!?" She yelled, pointing at Lin Feng.
"You bastard!" The other enforcer shouts, then he quickly picks a chair and flings it at Lin Feng. The impact was very painful, Lin Feng staggered to the floor, curling and rolling on the floor. The other enforcer gets up and charges at Lin Feng, they quickly assault him, beating him up with whatever they could find, sticks, chairs, anything in sight.
Lin Feng felt the tattoo start searing hot in his skin again, but he was too scared to react. He just stayed there, rolled and curled up, not fighting back in any way.
"That's enough." The Matron said, as Lin Feng is already at the brink of unconsciousness. Lock him in the shed, no food this night, you would work twice as hard tomorrow."
The enforcers yanked him up forcefully, dragging him across the hard floor, towards the shed. Lin Feng didn't move, he was too weak to move.
***
Lin Feng turned around slightly, feeling very uncomfortable. Slowly, he opened his eyes to the darkness around him, where was this?
As he racked his brain, trying hard to remember where he was, his efforts started showing signs. The tattoo on his hand let out a warm sensation, very endearing and soothing. With it, his memories started flooding in.
The tattoo glowed warmly, Lin Feng was suddenly interested in it, he had not taken a good look at it all this while.
His eyes start to adjust to the dim light coming from the moon, it was the only source of light in the room.
The tattoo glowed when he focused on it, and if he loosened his concentration a bit, the light would dim.
He suddenly heard a voice whisper in the room;
"Pain is power."
Lin Feng started up, startled. Now, this was something totally new. Was someone playing a prank on him?
"What the hell is this?" Lin Feng spoke to himself, feeling unsure of his current situation.
He pressed a bruise on his hand slightly, while still concentrating on the tattoo on his hand. It had an unbelievable effect.
A dark mist seemed to gather from the tattoo, then it took form and started billowing around, covering him up.
No, it wasn't covering him up, instead, it was healing him. This dark mist was unmistakable.
Lin Feng's pupils constricted as he stared at it, his mind ran wild with thoughts overflowing in his mind.
"T-this! This is Forbidden Arts...!"
The door squeaked and it was flung open, someone walked in, apparently sent to check up on him.