Chapter 86

A World Slightly Kinder

Darkness was like an ocean--calm waters extending into distant horizon, yet with the capacity to turn into a storm that would consume everything in a flash. It was everywhere, extending as far as he could see.

And it hurt.

Yu Minge didn't know precisely when he collapsed, but he felt it incoming and, despite trying his best to hold himself awake, failed. The force that took over was... irresistible. Rather than a giant wave crashing into his soul, it felt as though the weight of the entire cosmos was compressed into a singular point which was then detonated in his innermost self.

He was certain that he would die, torn asunder in his last moment with mounting regrets. There were so many things that he hadn't managed to do.

Appoint and train a successor, pass on the Holy Blade Art's teachings, stabilize the Sect's position after the battle, investigate who attacked them and avenge that day... as difficult as the explosion in his soul was to breathe through, in some ways regrets were even worse.

But... he was alive.

Opening his eyes, he faced a ceiling he'd never seen before in his life, and soft, tender scent of herbs and flowers that caused Qi within him to churn. Looking inwardly, his heart momentarily stopped--his cultivation... was gone. Well, rather than gone, it reverted all the way to the beginning: he was an ordinary practitioner at the First Stage of Qi Condensation Realm.

Nausea assailed him and felt like tossing the skin off himself, yet couldn't even muster enough strength to move. The feeling of weakness was overabundant, as though somebody sapped all his strength and broke his bones all at once, and then told him to walk a hundred miles.

He just barely managed to gather enough strength to sit up and take in his surroundings. It was some sort of unfamiliar room. Besides a rather simple straw bed and a pair of chairs beside a table, there was nothing else. Looking over to the other side, he finally saw the slumped figure sprawled at the side of the bed.

Xiaoling was fast asleep, her expression rather relaxed. It must have been her, he realized. She must have found him and took him... somewhere. An idea immediately came to his mind, but before he could process it fully, doors to the room opened and a rather tall man walked through.

A combination of wild, long, and unkempt hair and beard made him seem rather dangerous, yet the aura around him was... oddly calming. He seemed surprised that Yu Minge was up, pausing for a moment before smiling faintly.

"You're awake," he said rather softly, as though not to wake up the sleeping beauty resting on the bed. He carried a plate of fruits with him and walked over to the other side of the bed, setting it down. "That's good."

"Uhm," Yu Minge paused, his mind slowly piecing together the history of it all. There was a high degree of chance that the man in front of him was the same phantom who saved Song and Lya as well as Xiaoling and other kids later on. "Y-yes," he replied rather awkwardly, uncertain. He couldn't read the man at all, but that wasn't strange; for all intents and purposes, he was now a complete beginner at cultivation. Even if he had a wealth of past experiences, it did not matter if he could not utilize any of the tools at his disposal.

"I tried tearing her away," he said. "But she seemed most at ease torturing herself in here."

"..." Yu Minge smiled faintly, glancing over at her. "That sounds like Xiao'er. The coldest facade with the warmest heart."

"She hadn't eaten anything today so I brought her some fruits, but since she's finally resting, and since you're awake, take them," the man said.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Uh, thank you."

"No problem."

"For... for saving me, as well," Yu Minge quickly said. "I, though I don't know all the circumstances, I imagine that the kid came running to you in tears when she found me collapsed."

"..." considering the man's silence, it seemed he was on point.

"I, I know you had no reason to save me," Yu Minge said, clasping his hands in front of his chest and bowing. "And even if I spend a lifetime trying, I will be unable to repay your grace. But I will--"

"Who said I had no reason to save you?"

"H-huh?"

"You were hurt and dying," the man said. "Is that not enough of a reason?"

"Uhm, I, I suppose..."

"I've turned my back to people before and lived to experience the abject horror of the reality thereafter," he said, his voice rather somber. "But, if you need a selfish reason... then let us say it was so that I didn't want to see a heartful young woman have her soul shattered into uncountable pieces."

"... forgive me," Yu Minge said. "You have already saved the kids so many times. Perhaps the best way to thank you is to simply pay it forward," he looked up, facing the pair of inscrutable eyes.

"We can't change the world," the man said, smiling faintly as he turned around and began leaving. "But we can always make it ever so slightly kinder."

The doors closed and the silence fell.

Yu Minge sighed, leaning back against the wall. It was... impossible. It could not be. There were no selfless heroes in this world. Anyone with strength earned it by paving the dirt roads with blood and corpses and stacking mountains with aggrieved souls.

However, no matter how holy the exterior, the ghouls attached to the soul could never be hidden. They were like weed and vines and moss and grass--always finding a way. He had them, Xiaoling had them, even the kids had them. It was an inescapable part of chasing after the elusive Immortality on the path of cultivation.

But the man... didn't.

Rather, Yu Minge felt as though he was staring at a newborn child bereft of sins.

"Ugh," a low tone tore him from his thoughts as he looked to the side where, just then, Xiaoling looked up and met his gaze. Her eyes were bloodshot and her lips quickly parted; she remained frozen for only a moment before shooting to her feet. "Xiao'er--"

She tossed herself against his chest and threw her arms around him, squeezing tightly. He could feel her tears wet his shirt, and could only smile as he hugged her back gently. For a moment, he was reminded of the young girl in the troves of a loss, the girl who built up walls around herself to shield the tender heart from the cruel world.

Over the years, she'd earned her reputation well enough, but beneath it all, she cared about the Sect and all kids in it as much as he did, if not more.

She pulled back after a little while, wiping her eyes.

"... how weak are you to have been done in like that?" she said as he stifled a laugh.

"Pretty weak, it turns out."

"What happened?"

"... I don't know," he replied with a sigh. "I... got corrupted, somehow. That's how it felt, at least."

"When I found you," she said. "You had this... strange Qi pouring out of you. It didn't last long, though. It felt as soon as it left your body, it disappeared."

"How'd he heal me?" Yu Minge asked, curious.

"I don't know," she said. "He fed you something. It's entirely possible it wasn't him, though." Yu Minge understood. Though there were none present in the room at the moment, he felt them when the man entered, gazes pouring from beyond the walls, waiting to tear him limb for limb should he try anything.

"He's a rather strange man, isn't he?"

"The strangest," she said. "I thought I had a decent read on him the last time I was here. But... I don't know. There is no way anyone is this kind for no reason, right?"

"He just might be," Yu Minge sighed, causing her seemingly a decent amount of shock. She was well aware of his ability to 'discern character', which was merely an extension of his cultivation technique (though he never quite let her in on that, liking the fact she thought he had a good read on people). "If you didn't believe it yourself deep within your heart, you would have never brought me here. Despite how it would have been if I died, exposing the Sect to potential threat isn't something you would have ever done."

"..." she fell silent for a moment as he smiled. "You--huh? Your... your cultivation!" she exclaimed, seemingly finally caught up.

"Ah, yes," he said. "The price for living, it seems."

"... it's fine," she said, her expression one of determination. "I'll hold down the fort until you become stronger even if I have to die. It's already been spread that you've entered the seclusion, so it won't be strange if you don't show up publicly for a few years."

"Hm," he took a deep breath, glancing over at the fruits on the plate. He recognized most of them, and deeply understood why all Disciples underwent such monumental changes, and even why Xiaoling managed to extract herself from the abyss that was her fate. "For now, how about we go out and thank him together?"

She helped him up for a moment before he stabilized himself. In the meantime, she grabbed the plate of fruits and the two left.