The changes in the starfield were influencing more than the future, but an existence that observed it all—the Heavenly Daos. With the inclusion of certain events, those plans of the Heavenly Daos had also been affected. And such, it began to silently take action as it always has, bestowing those favored with its support.
—–
The Elven Sanctuary wasn't a domain. It existed within the Everlore Association's Everlore Domain, a territory bestowed and protected by the Everlore Association. However, over the years, the level of protection might have remained the same, but the level of support had dwindled considerably. The elves were considered lesser, and top-tier resources by those who ran the Everlore Association deemed it a waste to use any of them.
They even decided to use their habitable lunar satellites and planet as a farm for a variety of different types of resources. The Aquatic Moon used for its mystical waters; the Woodland Moon used for its medicinal herbs; the Blazing Moon for its earthy minerals; the Grey Moon for its metallic ores.
These materials became a blessing in disguise for the common elf as they had a constant source of revenue and work for their inhabitants. They were not poor, even richer than some other less Silver-tier forces, and overall, could rival some minor Gold-tier forces amongst the human race. This provided the elven race with a lifestyle that was self-sufficient.
The Woodland Moon was divided into four regions, further divided into nine prefectures, and each of which had dozens of towns, villages, and some developed cities. The civilization was thriving, much akin to the state of a mortal world in its golden age.
In one of these regions, within one of these nine prefectures, there was a small village by the name of Oakfall Village. It was given this name due to the unique astral-grade Oak Trees that were often used for lesser vehicles such as Skyships and Seaships. These two brands of ships soared across the sky, zipping through the open seas, and providing the common people with a reliable form of transportation.
While the supply wasn't much, with other areas being more abundant in its development, the village had been founded on the idea of harvesting these Oak Trees, and so was given its name. While small, only housing a million or so individuals, it was brimming with life and activity.
Within Oakfall was a harvesting field, large and expansive. It grew a special crop called the Effervescent Potatoes. They had a bubbling liquid within them that was extremely nutritious for the body. From the clear-cut and flat fields, one could see that the field had been harvested a short while ago. Yet if one looked closely the harvesting method had left some undersized potatoes, if lucky, one could find oversized ones. Alongside these forgotten crops, there were numerous individuals dressed in simple attires moving across the fields with baskets on their backs.
A young boy, just shy of sixteen years old, with a baby face and bright, youthfully blue eyes. He had a healthy and natural tan that exuded an earthy glow, and his hands were rough, clearly a sign of working diligently with his hands. The solar rays reflected off his short black hair with uniquely natural platinum highlights.
"Hu! Hu! Oh! You're a big one!" With an excited tone, he found an oversized potato that had survived the harvesting process. Feeling lucky, he gave it a slight sniff before tossing it to his basket. "That makes three, got enough for dinner."
With a bright smile, he kept moving along.
The young man's name was Yi Yun. He worked as a herbal caretaker mostly, but when he was off, on days where the harvest of crops occurred, he gleaned alongside the others. Not just for himself, but for his mother and sister that stayed at home to rest.
"Another one!" His luck seemed to be good today. With a hearty chuckle, he tossed it into his basket. Since he wasn't the only one, his fellow gleaners typically only worked a set area, finding what they can based on their own fortune. After that last one, he couldn't find any others in his area, but he was quite satisfied.
"Little Yun!" A soft, mellow voice called out to him.
Walking out of the fields, that familiar voice caught him. He turned and noticed it belonged to a middle-aged woman. With a smile, he waved cheerfully. "Auntie Pan!"
The one named Auntie Pan wasn't a relative to him, but she was nice to his sister and mother, so he addressed her in such an intimate manner. But her expression changed slightly, seemingly pausing after receiving that address. In the end, she still walked over with her eyes shifting about.
In his heart Yi Yin sneered, but he kept a bright, amicable smile. "Is there something you need?" He asked, but he felt that in his heart, it was rhetorical. This Auntie Pan had nothing in her basket, clearly her search in her designated area was fruitless. Even gleaning wasn't without its misfortunes.
"Little Yun," she quietly said as she spotted the four potatoes in his basket, notably the oversized one. The desire in her eyes was clear. "You've had some success, I see. That's good."
"Mhm. I just got a little bit lucky," Yi Yun kept smiling, looking a little embarrassed from receiving such praise. It was just luck of the draw for some, but to him, it wasn't really. Before others could glean these fields, they would pick a number from afar, but Yi Yun had a keen sense towards life, so even from afar, he could sense the areas that still had crops and those who've been swept clean.
"I…" Auntie Pan was also embarrassed as she began to tell Yi Yun a sob story about her living situation, a little bit of struggles she had as a housewife, and tried to even inquire about the state of Yi Yun's mother and sister. It was clear that she wanted what he had.
He had to patiently listen to her drone on. The heart of elves was not without its selfishness. Still, he didn't want to make things worse for his sister and mother towards the community, "Auntie Pan! Here, I have more than enough for us, and it's my pleasure to give this to you."
In the end, he gave her the three undersized potatoes and left with a bright smile. With that, he skipped off quickly to return home.
Auntie Pan was left holding the undersized potatoes and frowned, staring at the direction Yi Yun left in. The light in her eyes slowly became more and more displeased, until eventually she spat out beneath her breath: "You filthy half-breed. To waste my breath on you, pah!"
Yi Yun's footsteps halted a distance away, but he resumed his steps as if it was just a natural pacing step. While others might be out of earshot, he's always had keen senses, so he clearly heard her words. Still, it was better than the alternative of being targeted for being stingy.
Yi Yun was a half-breed, a mixture of a human and an elf. Unlike in other areas of the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, such as the Everlore Starfield, the concept of interbreeding with humans has distorted over the thousands of years. With elves been considered an 'inferior' race by the inhabitants of the Aeternal Sky Starfield, those humans, how could they not have any hatred towards them?
This hatred was interwoven deeply, spreading from the top experts to the minor figures that gleaned the fields due to their poor status. It permeated the society. And it likely wasn't better outside of here. Since being half-elf meant being a part of an 'inferior' race, their treatment was likely even worse there.
Yi Yun sighed in his heart, but had long since gotten used to it. Furthermore, he had to accept such abuse daily, in the whispers of his neighbors and their disparaging looks from afar. Others could be blissfully unaware, but his senses prevented him from being so.
Despite it all, he still had a home and a loving family. With a pip in his step, he saw the small wooden house from afar. "Mom! Little sis! I'm back!" His excitement was palpable.
"Big Bro!" A delicate, lovely voice resounded from within. The door was pushed open to reveal a young girl roughly twelve years old, looking cute like a freshly made doll. Her platinum blonde hair was dazzling alongside her large, limpid blue eyes.
"Missed me?" With a swift rush, he grabbed the little waist of that little girl and lifted her up, spinning around. She was momentarily shook before laughing, enjoying the ride. This girl was named Yi Meimei, his half-blood sister. She was a full-blooded elf, unlike himself.
After a while, Yi Yun put her down carefully.
"Did you find something?" Her cute eyes brightened as she tried to look into the basket, but there was a cloth hidden over it as if purposely keeping it as a surprise.
"I did!" Holding her hand, they walked into the house.
The first sight he saw was a gorgeous middle-aged woman, with dry platinum blonde hair, and turbid blue eyes. She seemed like an older version of Yi Meimei, and could've been dazzlingly radiant if she wasn't currently in bed, cold sweat dripping from her forehead. Her body exuded a fragile weakness, and when she saw them enter, her eyes brightened before she let loose a series of hefty coughs into her hand
"Mother!" Yi Meimei rushed over, grabbing a cloth to slowly and thoroughly wipe the blood that covered her mother's hand and mouth. Afterwards, Yi Meimei carefully placed a blanket over her mother.
Yi Yun walked over, his eyes smiling, trying to hide his true emotions. With a low tone, he said: "The effervescent potato harvest was today. I got lucky, so we got one very big oversized potato! Guess something is looking out for us today, I'll make you something."
Yi Meimei's eyes brightened. Those potatoes had special properties that were known for handling easing symptoms for illnesses. A happy glint emerged in her eyes. It was always her brother who was most reliable.
The middle-aged woman, Yi Jingyi, gave off a slight, weak smile. "You've worked hard," she hoarsely said before her breathing became a little labored. It seemed even speaking exhausted too much of her energy.
Yi Yun smiled, moving to bring out some other ingredients to mix with. While doing so, his mind was endlessly circulating with all sorts of thoughts. 'Tomorrow, if I can get that herb…until then, just stay strong mother. Stay strong.'
—–
Yi Yun in his past life wasn't much, just a thief who died while trying to steal. But he accrued enough Karmic Sin in his lifetime to warrant being cleansed by the Second Calamity of Hell, the Calamity of Endless Regret. His soul, despite its lowly life, had survived all 108,000 years of its horrific experience of isolation and regret. His perseverance came alongside the special laws that balanced punishment with reward, and he was thus blessed by the Heavenly Daos.
While his soul was thoroughly cleansed in the third trial, sending him off to the river of souls to be reincarnated, the blessing followed him into this life. At that moment, as he sliced the potato, he experienced the first Karmic Luck surge of his lifetime.
And it was a massive one.
