[Ahhh---! That---, does not sound good at all!]
[Ehh!?]
[---.]
[Anyway, how long is the boar going to keep circling us, he just goes around in a circle. Is this the way, that boars protect one another----? And Brother Rowen is still with senior Wan, does he not feel the pain from the stab—? Ahhh---, this is going to be boring, if I have to cultivate as when I am in the open since everyone is next to me. Normal, I am normal, small breaths, restrict your absorption---.]
Sitting at the limit of the protective orange shield, Levis was observing the weird movement of the boar, which was behaving as though a protective hound, guarding its territory, whilst Rowen was conversing with senior Wan about something, as he was keeping his head down and its fists clenched.
“I—. Is this my fault!?”
"---."
“It is---. As it is my own blame and responsibility.”
Standing with his feet planted strait, Rowen was facing the seated old man, as his head was lowered and his face confronting the ground, while his fists were clenching, and unclenching continuously. Though, as old Wan seemed to admit his own fault alongside his, his actions stopped, so as to look at the exhausted old man.
“What do you mean—?”
“Sigh” — “I had information on this possible assassination. And I did, and said nothing---. I thought I could protect you all, but as you can see, I was tragically and gravely mistaken, more than thirty men died, because of my decision. As for your own, you are the one that can better understand, rather than being me voicing it.”
“Father---, father had told me not to leave. The head captain had tried to stop me, and I—I did not take the ship---, instead, I chose the road—, and now they are dead—, so many of them, they—they—.”
“Stop it---! You know that blaming is not going to do you or anyone else any good. “Sigh” — Little Rowen, your father and I have already told you, the road you want to walk is beyond just difficult. After all, just living as a human, or a normal cultivator is hard enough. And yet---, you want to become a general! Someone that must look death in its eyes every day, someone that walks over the bodies of its enemies, allies, and friends---. If you truly want to continue the path that you have declared before your father---, well, becoming a general in the army is not the only way. Because if the mere death of thirty people can shake your resolve, you will crumble when hundreds and thousands will perish at your orders.”
“My resolve is still strong! And my hunger for power exists still. Yes, I am down, but not because I mourn the dead, I am down because I am ashamed for falling them.”
“Good—! But still---, if it is the power that you are after, then get out of the Kingdom, the world is big and might have the answers for you.”
“No! I will remain here while doing and becoming what I want to.”
“Tsk" --- "Stubborn like your father, this might be the thing which I dislike most about you two—." --- “Sigh”
But as he was conversing with old Wan, Rowen was taking notice of forewarning signs, as the old man was becoming older and older with every soft sigh, though its life seemed to go away from his body, while something else was filling him.
"Old Wan!"
“---.”
“---Hmm!? You know what it was the first thought in my mind, when I first heard about him, and then when I first saw your father?”
“What?”
"---."
"-------."
“ “The world sure is unfair”, those were the first words on my mind---. But that is the wrong way to go about life because if you start to compare yourself with the monsters, you will only end up crushing your own conviction. Instead, you should just think of him, as a mountain that you need to climb and surpass, nothing more. You believe you have already your destination, but if that is all there is to you, then your dream is small. Cultivation and life do not stop, this is a game that goes forever, and this is why I did not envy your father, for more than just that thought, as he is the one, that had given me a kindling of hope.”
After a long silence, the old man before Rowen moved his head and looked at him, directly into his eyes. As he began to talk about his father and of hisself, intriguing the young man, that begin to listen attentively to his words, for it was an extremely rare occasion, to hear old Wan who had always taken care of him since he was old enough to remember, talking about his own past.
But, at the end of his words, the young man looked in bewilderment at the old man, who was recovering his healthy appearance and vitality, to the one he had possessed just before the attack of the cultivators, at a rate that was discernible right before his eyes, as his back became straight and his tired gaze, came to be reinvigorated once again.
“In that case, what you need to become, is a leader who can not be crushed by the deceased---. Since you need to care for the living, for those that are still are and look at your back, following you. Your eyes need to be on those that are alive, and that you can still help. Although I do not think I am the right person that should say all of this, as this is what I think a great general is---. Nonetheless, maybe I have been too influenced by your father, in this aspect."
Yet, with clenched fists, Rowen’s body involuntarily strait every single time his father was brought up, while even he himself was unaware of his own behavior, despite making a mental note, to change his view of him, after old Wan’s words towards him. But as he was taking a mental note of all that the old man was saying, the same old man, that he himself was regarding him, to be akin to a grandfather to himself, as what was least worried about right now, was the crud behavior that he was showing from time to time.
“Well---, you already know that what you decide will affect you, but your decision will affect others too, and at the same time, someone else's decision will affect you and those that surround you. That is why, if you truly want to protect others, you better first be able to protect yourself, and sometimes, consider and anticipate how your adversaries will think and act.”
“Thank you for the lesson! I---, I will remember this lesson, till the moment that I will die!”
“---.”
At the end of his words, in his most formal manner, Rowen gave a bow to the old man with his utmost sincerity.
Where in contrast, old Wan was a bit surprised, by the action of the stubborn boy, whom he had seen growing up, actually showing true respect from his heart.
"---?"
“Haaaa—, you brats sure are not making things easier for the old me here. You here, and now that one there, the wicked truly have no rest, when little children are around. And you should prepare yourself, as we have esteemed guests heading our way.”
“Eh!”
But, at the sudden words and flat face that the old man made, Rowen became shocked for a moment, as he himself turn around to look, where old Wan was looking, only to have his eyelid twitch at the location and situation of the boar.
[Ahhhhh---, I can not do it anymore---, this is too slow, and too little progress is done. The breaths I take are too weak, when I compare them with what I can really do, were it not for this place and this situation. If we do not move, then let me---.]
Turning back in time as Rowen had just arrived at senior Wan, and while Levis had merely sat down to cultivate for a few moments.
It was problematic to say it out loud. Still, the annoyance at his cultivation speed was rapidly rising up to his head, as he felt himself being restricted under the eyes of everybody, ultimately becoming unable to continue.
[Using the energy shard is good, but restraining myself is already becoming irksome, as I know I can start to deplete it extremely fast now. However, it will be arriving rather soon, the day that I will be able to deplete it in a single night session.]
[First, reach an amount of energy on par with a rank 5 cultivator, then we can talk of completely using those soybeans. For now utilize the ground for more energy, now just bury your hand in the ground, too bad about the energy in the surrounding, as it is just dissipating, but good things always happen late. So now, do not complain and go.]
[Yes, I will go.]
[Good kid---. Wait! Where are you going!?]
“Levis!”
“Levis where are you going!?”
“Kid turn back!”
“Do not worry, the boar is a friend, and he is strong enough to protect me from any danger, I have only forgotten something with him, after which I will be coming back?”
At his unexpected rise and stroll out of the protective area, the guards became flustered, as they immediately called to the boy, that simply walked to intercept the boar.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Alright, but be careful.”
“Adrian! What are you doing, letting him go, call the captain!?”
“Stop this commotion, you have already seen him came with the board, and senior Wan had given his approval of his presence, not to say that this boar, is most likely one of the strong tamed beasts of some powerful cultivator, what is there to say or do?”
But following the logical train of thought by Adrian’s words, he successfully put at rest the worries of Hubert and of the guards, that were still on the edge, having yet to truly calm down.
As for Levis. His small steps brought him closer to the circle that the boar had made with his hooves, as he seemed to enjoy going in a circle around them.
“Cub Levis!?”
“I am no cub. And did you forget something?”
“Board—agrrr— forgot something—agrrr?”
“Yes! You do not remember? The monsters and evil mountains? Tell me about those, what were you---, what are you referring to?”
“---Agrrr— true, true—, boar forgot to tell—agrrr. Cub Levis—, walk with boar—, as boar will tell.”
“Alright.”
“---? Cub Levis—, are---you tired?”
“Yes.”
“Boar understand—, then let boar tell—agrrr— you, about the cursed, and evil mountains, as well of the monsters that exist within them.”
Reaching the edge of the circle from within it, the boar stopped and looked at the small human, whom he was considering to be a small cub, but as he was reminded of the agreement made earlier, the boar agreed, to restart their conversation.
Though the boar was surprised, as the young cub next to him did not walk with him, instead climbed on his back, and seated himself as though he was the ruler of boars, on his own back.
Although to his behavior, the boar said nothing, as he began to walk in a circle again. Yet, as he was recalling his own thoughts and memories, to explain well to the young cub, the horrors that plagued the beast and human world, Levis stood on his back, looking grandly at the men that were alive, and as well of those that had died, in this place that one could mistake as being a part of hell that had escaped into the mortal world.
“Cub Levis, do you think these snakes are true snakes?”
“Ahhh—! Are they not? — [Fluent again, does he play with me, or is he always doing so?]
“No, these snakes, are not true beasts. They look like they are, but they are not. How can you tell? Look for their crystal---! As a true Immortal beast, just like a human, has a cloud-like dantian, not a crystal one, look.”
“Cloudy dantian, crystal?” — [What does he mean by a “cloud-like dantian”?]
[Wait and hear him, I will either explain it to you, or you can ask the white hair boy later.]
“Cub Levis, look. This is the crystal. Do you see it?”
“Hmm, yes.”
As they did half of the circle, the boar stopped to nudge a large piece of flesh, that not a long time ago was part of a large black snake. But now, was only a charred piece of meat, that was giving off a bad smell. However as the boar continued to nudge it, a strange dark-violet stone popped out of the chunk of chard flesh, as the bore used its hoove to force it out while trying to stay as far away from it, as seemingly scared to even touch it.
“This is the stone, boar was talking about. The source of madness, the curse, and the center of power, that the monsters use.”
“Hmmm, wait a moment.”
“Cub Levis!!! Do not touch the crystal.”
But at the sight of the crystal, Levis’s interest went thru the roof, as almost immediately he jumped off, from the back of the boar, and took the strange rock in his hand to examine it.
[What is this? I feel a lot of energy in it!]
[Listen to the boar and throw it away if you still want to maintain your sanity! Now!! You damn brat!!!]
“Thud” — “Bam”
“Ahh!” — [What was that?]
But in the short time, that Levis had the crystal in its hand, Urger’s voice seemed to be filled with a kind of urgency that he had never heard from him. As his body began to move on its own, whilst his hand threw the crystal far away from him, with quite considerable strength.
[You should not touch these stones, as they contain a kind of toxic intent that is meant to poison one's consciousness, it does not have any effect on lower cultivators, for it is meant for high-level ones akin to a parasite that needs a strong host. But the problem with you is that your consciousness it is of a high quality per se, though it is quite small and weak. In any case, this thing will try to infect you, and you will have to lose a lot of your own mind as a price when trying to clean yourself.]
[This crystal is so dangerous?]
[Yes, until you know what you are dealing with, do not go and pick up anything you see, you stupid brat!]
[ [Do we eliminate this threat?] ]
[ [No, it is a good thing, actually. This might be a good way for him to train his consciousness and to further strengthen his mind.] ]
[So---, do you have a way to deal with this? I can feel a lot of energy inside of this crystal.]
[I have, but you should focus on your surroundings right now.]
[What?]
“Levis!”
“Ehh! Brother Rowen, senior Wan?”
But as he was in midst of his usual talk with Urger, the two men outside of the protective barrier came towards him in concern, as Rowen looked at him to find anything that might not be in order with him at the moment.
“Young Levis, are you alright? You seemed to have been quite frantic a moment ago?”
“No—, no, I just felt this cristal to be dangerous and throw it away?”
“Hmmm---!! Maybe your consciousness is more receptive toward danger that any normal cultivator. Do you know what this is?”
“Boar— was just explaining—, when cub Levis—, moved fast— to touch, the cursed crystal. Cub Levis— was too rash.”
“I was just intrigued, not rash!”
“Same—. But boar had not ended his story, about the cursed and evil mountains, humans usually call them---, Border Mountain.”
“That is the short version, the long version is, Border of Sanity Mountains, for obvious reasons.”
“Agrrr—, old human—, boar— is telling the story—, not you.”
“I am sorry, I am sorry, please continue, I did not want to take your place, continue.”
“Old human—, silence! Let—, boar speak.”
“Stump”
With slight irritation the boar, stomped his hoof on the ground, to silence old Wan, who was on the verge of taking control of the discourse.
“As I was saying—, the Border Mountains, are the mountains where the monsters are born and live. They are very strange creatures, they do not possess the intellect to speak, regardless of how high their cultivations may be, as they only possess, the immense drive to kill all beasts and humans that they found, targetting the ones with cultivation first, in a relentless assault, disregarding their lives to achieve as much slaughter as possible.”
“Is it true?”
“Yes.”
With slight doubt over the words of the boar, Levis turned his head to look at the old man next to him, to get a confirmation of the mentions made by the boar, as he was a little skeptical of what he was hearing.
“Then why have I never heard of them?”
“Because, the ones to deal with them, are the powerful cultivators, that do not have much contact with normal humans. Furthermore, the incursion by the “monsters”, on the Kingdom and the other powers that border the Boarder Mountains, does not happen all that often---, every few dozen years, in the places where strong cultivators are grouped together. Plus the low-energy region, it is obviously a place that both cultivators and the "monsters", avoid, so you can understand that this is a piece of limited knowledge, but you should already know that, as you are not allowed to go deep inside the mountain range, right?”
“Granpa, and old Village Chief, had once told me that I should not go deep into the mountains because I will never get out, I think they were referring to this!?”
“Most likely, it was for this."
“Old— Human!”
“Sorry, sorry.”
But again, as Levis looked for old Wan for answers, the boar got irritated, as his time and words had been stolen again.
“The monsters, attack the places where many strong humans live, as for the beasts, we stay far away from the mountains, as we are very susceptible to the danger that is arriving from them, as though something or someone desires for us to be dead, that is why no beast, at the king stage, will stay on the continent.”
“Can it not be found the reason and—, eliminated?”
“No, Cub Levis—, Humans have tried. Beasts have tried. But no one could arrive at the center of this problem, not to mention the high number of monsters, that exists inside the mountains. Moreover, the energy within them is bad for anyone to absorb. Madness will ensue for anyone that tries to cultivate with the energy from the mountains, or with the energy from the crystals taken from the killed monsters.”
“You can go mad from this?”
“Yes—, that is why boar— does not want to— touch the crystal. Cub Levis — should stay away from it too.”
“Alright.” — [Then how can I use this? Am I going to go mad, if I am to use the energy from it?]
[You can always adapt, countering the corruption of the consciousness is not a big problem, it is plausible to achieve it, as it does not require anything else than fighting and grinding against it. You can use this as a way to train your mind’s power, but it will not be possible if you can not take even one of these crystals.]
[This—, they will collect everything and take them away.]
[Yes, if they consider them dangerous, they will do that.]
[Then do I steal one?]
[No, you can not hide it, on yourself. You already have problems trying to hide the one flask in your possession, how are you going to explain the crystal of one of these monsters, if you are to be found? Just wait, in time you will get your hands on some of these, till then, just have to be content with what you have.]
[Hmmm.]
“Still, why have these damn abominations, come here? We are days from the Boarder Mountains not to mention the distance where the Immortal-ranked ones are located.”
“Young master, I suspect to be from the fluctuation up north, that I sensed, prior to the moment when we were attacked.”
“Agrrr—, boar— and boar's pack—, felt the undulations of energy—, before— they were crushed— by the ones— from old humans’ battle—agrrr.”
“Then sir Baron had felt it too?”
“Yes—, agrrr. Boar felt— as well.”
“Well, this requires an investigation, to find what happened north of here, but before that, it seems that the esteemed guests are here.”
“Old Wan, what guests?”
“Rooowen!!!”
“---? What? What are you—, what is she doing here!? Old Wan, why have you not told me, that she was going to come here!?”
“Young master? I believe sir’s Boar presence had already let enough clues.”
“The boar—. The East Province King has asked lord Baron to escort her here?!”
“It seems to be the case.”
“Damn, why have you!?”
“I believe it to be a good thing, as a reasonable way to solve the problem of the attempt. But as it seems, the situation has already developed to this present, at least now this old man can be sure we are no longer in any danger.
“Rowen!!!!!”
“Luise, why are you here!”
“You are the one to question me---? I am the one with the questions here—! You!!! You are hurt!!!? What happened!?!”