A foreigner's journey

Qifan Street Lower City, this is a more decent name.

Those upper class people prefer to call these lower city areas where the sky is blocked by steel discs "rat nests".

During her stay at Midgar Central Hospital, Tifa often heard people in the hospital mention the slums in the lower city. Whenever these [rat nests] are mentioned, those well-dressed people will always subconsciously express disgust.

But when she really stepped here, Tifa found that the slums were very different from what she had imagined.

Although there are simple bungalows built with wooden boards or discarded metal sheets everywhere, the layout is not as messy as expected. The road surface left between the houses is not like cement roads or grand streets paved with expensive stone bricks like the upper urban areas, but is extremely hard soil that has been stepped on by countless people.

Walking further you can see a small courtyard similar to a kindergarten, with a sandpit for children to play in. A group of children wearing hand-sewn school uniforms are playing happily.

In addition, there were simple basketball courts that were obviously put together by hand, two-story or even three-story single-family buildings, prop shops, weapon shops... Tifa even saw a sizable small market, inside The hustle and bustle was quite lively.

"How is it? Is it very different from the slums you imagined?"

Zangan's voice brought Tifa back to her senses, and the girl nodded sheepishly: "Well...it's very vibrant here, and everyone seems to be working hard to survive."

Although the people living here are dressed simply, and most of them have tired faces caused by overwork, there seems to be something in these people's eyes. Tifa didn't know how to describe the look in these people's eyes. She only knew that she liked this atmosphere.

They are really different from those in the upper-class neighborhoods, the girl thought.

Zangan stroked the beard on his chin and said as he walked: "I came here not only to let you see another side of Midgar, but also to take you to say hello to your old friends. You are such a beautiful little girl. If you want to live in Midgar without the care of others, it will not only be very difficult, but you may also encounter a lot of harassment."

"Master, I am not afraid of hard work. And am I not your proud disciple?"

Tifa bent her arms and tried to look strong: "Ordinary men are no match for me."

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Zangan laughed loudly: "The human heart is sometimes more terrifying than fists and swords. In short, be cautious in everything, don't be foolish and gullible to others, but don't do evil intentionally, so that you can survive in this slum. Survive."

"Yeah!" The girl nodded heavily.

Master would say these words, is it really the time to say goodbye? Girls who have suffered major physical and mental trauma are always particularly sensitive. Looking at the tall and strong figure in front of them, their mood becomes mixed.

The two walked along the streets of the slum, and pedestrians along the way occasionally wondered about the two unfamiliar faces. But there is a very important rule in the slum survival code - don't ask nonsense, don't talk nonsense.

As the two of them were walking on the street, Zangan, who was walking in front, suddenly asked without looking back: "Uh... Tifa, have I mentioned my other disciples to you?"

"I mention it occasionally. After all, you are a world-renowned martial arts instructor with disciples all over the world."

Tifa tilted her head: "Master, why do you suddenly ask about this?"

Zangan slowed down and walked side by side with Tifa. His tone was a little strange: "Then have I ever said that you are the most talented disciple I have ever accepted?"

"Hey, hey, I think you told me, right?"

In fact, the master often praises himself in this way. Although Tifa is not the kind of character who is easily arrogant, she is also quite confident in her talent for practicing martial arts.

"Actually...I lied to you, Tifa."

Zangan scratched the back of his head: "Your talent in practicing Zanganliu martial arts is indeed top-notch, but you are not the most talented among the disciples I have accepted."

The girl tilted her head again. What did the master suddenly mean?

At this time, the two reached the end of the street and saw a slightly empty intersection where three streets met. In the center of the intersection is a dilapidated bar. The bar has no sign and looks very old from the outside. Even the glass has several pieces broken.

Looking beyond the bar to the south, you can see a two-story simple apartment in the distance.

Zangan followed the girl's gaze and looked towards the bar, then shook his head: "This bar has been abandoned for a long time. It is said that the owner had something wrong and no one took over... What a pity. I still wanted to be here when I came last time. Let’s have a drink. Where did you just say that? Oh, yes, I have many disciples, and your talent ranks second among these disciples. You are indeed a good young man who practices martial arts. But there is another kid, he is just He’s the one with the most talent.”

"What you want to tell me is this number one... senior brother?" Tifa asked tentatively.

"right."

Zangan slowly walked towards the two-story apartment with Tifa, saying as he walked:

"This senior brother of yours is a... weirdo, weird in every sense of the word. But there is no doubt about one thing, and that is his [talent]."

"Talent?"

"That's right, unparalleled [talent]. Let me ask you, how long did it take you to get started with [Fighting Qi Magic Light Ball]?"

"Hmm...about four months?" Tifa still remembers this move because she is only a beginner and is far from being proficient.

"Do you know how long it took this senior brother of yours?" Zangan asked mysteriously.

The girl shook her head, expressing curiosity.

Zangan raised a finger towards her, and Tifa asked curiously: "A month? It can't be a week, right?"

"One hour."

Zangan said in a serious tone: "This does not count the time I spent demonstrating this move to him."

Tifa didn't know what to say for a moment. It is precisely because she has truly and systematically practiced Zanganliu martial arts that she clearly understands how difficult it is to practice [Fighting Qi Magic Light Ball]. One hour...is this true genius?

She finally got rid of her inexplicable depression and asked Zangan: "Master, you suddenly mentioned this senior brother. Could it be that he also lives in Midgar?"

"In fact, he lives in that second-floor apartment. Oh, by the way, this apartment is called [Tianwangzhuang]. The landlady is an old acquaintance of mine. Although she is a bit rude, she is definitely a good person. If you can live here I’ll also feel a little more at ease.”

With that said, the two walked to the apartment.

The apartment is a two-story structure. The metal staircase is on the outside of the apartment. There are three rooms on the second floor. The first floor seems to be the landlord's own residence.

Following the sound of a dog barking, an old lady with long white hair tied tightly back slowly walked out of the door, followed by an old dog with white fur wagging its tail vigorously.

"Ma Lei! Hahaha! How are you doing recently?"

Zangan opened his arms and laughed and walked over, wanting to hug the old lady named Ma Lei, but the latter blocked her body with her hands in disgust, sighed and said, "Zangan, You are definitely not here to repay the money...Tell me, how much do you need to borrow?"

Zangan touched his head in embarrassment and stammered: "No, no, I just want to come... uh, say hello. So what, come, Tifa, this beauty is Ma Lei, the landlady of Tianwang Village ."

Tifa moved over slightly awkwardly and bowed deeply to Mare: "Hello, my name is Tifa. I'm very happy to meet you... The money that Master borrowed from you was used by me. I will definitely work hard to make money and return the money to you as soon as possible!”

She wanted to say something else, but she was hugged by Marley, patted her back gently and comforted: "Don't worry, don't worry, you kid takes it seriously. I know your master very well, the way we get along is That’s it, sorry for scaring you.”

While comforting Tifa, Mare looked at Zangan: "Is the money borrowed to treat this child?"

She was well-informed and could tell at a glance that something was wrong with Tifa's face. She was obviously recovering from a serious illness and needed to continue to recuperate.

Zangan rubbed the back of his head: "She is my disciple, and everyone in her family has died... plus she was seriously injured, so I can only bring her to Midgar. That hospital charges very high fees, Mare, you know."

Marley snorted: "If you had said that you were borrowing money to treat such a good child, then I would do anything to help you raise the medical expenses. However, the price of Midgar Central Hospital is not low, at least it has to be There are tens of thousands of GIL, where did you get the money?”

Zangan pointed towards the second floor with a strange expression.

Ma Lei understood immediately: "You want him to help take care of this child? Stop dreaming, you know how weird that kid is much better than I do."

"That's why I want to visit him. After all, the money I borrowed from him is not a small amount. I can't pay it back in a short time."

Zangan spread his hands and smiled bitterly: "Although he has the title of master and disciple, I didn't actually teach him much. On the contrary, he helped me a lot. That kid is actually quite kind-hearted, but he is more towards strangers... …”

"【indifferent】."

Marley said angrily:

"This is the only thing I can say about him. Okay, okay, he probably didn't go out, room 202."

Compared to being rude to Zangan, Mare was much gentler to Tifa and comforted her softly: "If you want to survive in Midgar, sometimes you need to be a little thick-skinned. That kid upstairs has real skills. , but he has a bad mouth and is very weird. If he says something weird... don't take it to heart, he is relatively reliable with acquaintances, well, probably."

Mare's comfort had the opposite effect, and Tifa became even more frightened. If it were normal, she would probably run away directly, but the master risked his face for her, how could she hold him back?

Encouraging herself repeatedly in her heart, the girl followed Zangan up the metal stairs outside the apartment. The thin and slightly rusty metal steps made a sour creaking sound every time she stepped on them.

"201...202, this is it."

Zangan stood in front of the door and took several deep breaths. As a master, he was obviously a little nervous. I wonder if it was because of the psychological pressure caused by facing a big creditor.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Knocking on the door three times rhythmically, Zangan stood in front of the door with a serious expression, and Tifa stood beside him with an uneasy look on his face.

Creak——

The door was slowly opened a crack, and the light in the room was extremely dim. Tifa could only see half of her head through the crack of the door - messy black slightly curly ear-length hair like a bird's nest, old-fashioned glasses, and plain He has an unremarkable face and half-drooped fish eyes. Overall, he looks very young, no more than eighteen years old.

Is this the genius brother that Master calls? Well, it’s so different from what I imagined!

The head behind the door looked at Zangan through the crack of the door, without saying a word.

"Heather! Hahaha! How have you been lately?" Zangan spread his arms as if to resolve the embarrassing silence.

"Zangan."

The black-haired young man named Heather seemed to confirm himself as he read out Zangan's name, nodded slightly, and then slammed the door shut with a 'bang'.

"..."

Tifa looked worriedly at Zangan, who was frozen. She had never encountered such an embarrassing scene in her entire life.

Zangan had long been familiar with Heather's temper and continued to knock on the door without any discouragement, still following the rhythmic three-knock rule.

There was silence behind the door for a while, and then a gap opened again.

Heather's voice had no fluctuations: "I have lent you a total of 26,460 GIL. You don't have to pay it back. Just treat it as my filial piety to you."

"Really? That's great...ah, no, that's not what I came here to talk about this time."

Zangan looked happy at first, then suddenly woke up when he saw Tifa beside him, and quickly blocked the door to prevent Heather from closing it: "Don't close it, Heather, you don't want to know why I borrowed so much money. why?"

"I don't want to, let go."

"Heather, let's just chat for a few words, okay? At least let's have a master-disciple relationship... Okay, I admit that I tricked you that time in Wutai, but that wasn't an accident!"

Feeling that the force behind the door was getting stronger and stronger, Zangan decisively admitted his mistake.

"...We will settle the accounts of Wutai later."

Heather no longer tried to close the door, but turned her attention to Tifa who was standing awkwardly outside the door: "Zanganliu martial arts is good, but he was seriously injured...Midgar Central Hospital?"

Zangan nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, only Midgar Central Hospital can treat Tifa's injuries. I came here specifically to bring Tifa to thank you. Without your support, I'm afraid this child will really die." "

Tifa hurriedly bowed and said: "Thank you very much, Brother Heather!"

The black eyes behind the glasses shifted from Zangan to Tifa, looking back and forth a few times before Heather opened the door completely: "Come in and talk."

After saying that, he walked towards the back room, and the door was left open.

Tifa straightened up and looked at Zangan with doubtful eyes. The latter breathed a long sigh of relief and nodded towards Tifa: "It's okay, it's okay. If they didn't drive us away directly, it means there's something going on. Let's go in."

No matter how hard-hearted Heather is, she won't make a bad face to such a lovely junior sister, right? Zangan felt a little unsure this time and hurriedly took Tifa into room 202.

Thanks to book friend 101023140631918 for the 10,000 reward!

PS: 4K words, it was originally two chapters, but after thinking about it, it was combined into one chapter.