The silence that followed Lost's statement had been heavy and long. You could easily notice several emotions running through Elder Shu's gaze. You could read shock, incomprehension, denial and ultimately sadness and acceptance. The spiritual energy of several elders had escaped and the air seemed to weigh tons. Lost had never been good at comforting someone because he himself had been neglected for a long time. So he remained silent waiting for everyone to come to their senses. Elder Shu was the first to come out of his torpor and sit down again.
" - What happened ? Explain to me in detail."
Elder Shu's gaze gleamed dangerously, his gentle temper giving way to a murderous presence. You could hear a restrained anger in his voice.
"- Some sects attacked us. Madame Yoon had no more strength after giving birth ... She did not want to leave without Leader Yoon. I'm sorry I couldn't help them."
Lost felt really bad that he hadn't been more helpful to the couple. He fixed his gaze on the toddler who had fallen asleep despite the tension in the air.
"- You saved this child. This is already a great thing. We are eternally grateful to you. Child, do you know who attacked? and why ?"
Lost was not stupid and could see that this man was testing him. he didn't make the ritual of silence before coming to this village. Only Ziha had the seal and had been for a long time. Without this seal, nobody left the village alive to avoid some leaks to the outside world. Lost was not fooled and had noticed a few suspicious looks from some of the Elders.
" - I do not know. My only mission was to bring this child here to be protected. I do not know the reasons for this attack and even if I did, I would not dilute it to you. Hong Taiyang trusted me to give me his only child. I would never betray him. If you don't trust me, trust Lord Yoon's judgment at least."
He knew very well why the sect had been destroyed and by whom but he didn't want blood to be spilled again when Hong Xue was not even a year old. He would rather keep the relic safe in his dimensional box until the baby gets older.
He heard Ziha breath, relieved at his answer and realized that he had passed the test.
"- We indeed have faith in Yoon Taiyang. He wouldn't give his child to just anyone but I needed to know if you knew how to keep your tongue. I have known a lot of people pretending to be nice, but as soon as your back is turned, they stick a knife in you.,We know, in fact, the cause of all this. Thank you for your loyalty but you must understand that you will not go outside without the seal."
Purple eyes had expected it and was ready to do this ritual but his love for freedom instilled in him to not put on chains on himself. He respected Elder Shu and the villagers. Only here, nobody knew his immortal status. The seal would disappear when the summoner died. What was the use of marking his body when it was unnecessary. He knew by his nature that he would never confess to anything even under torture.
"Partner, if I may allow myself a piece of advice, let the ritual take place. All you have to do is activate the active mode on your Absorption skill and there it is. It will be neither seen nor known!"
Really this system only acted as it sees fit. Sysy let him spin his brains for a while before delivering the most important thing to him. Lost had forgotten for a moment that he had other skills. He had let himself to ruminate on his problems as before, once again forgetting the things around him. A normal person would not react the same way but Lost was Lost. He brought up the blue screen in front of him and activated the Absorption skill. This skill allowed him to absorb the external spiritual energy and make it his own. He could also absorb curse or others. The only downside were the inconvenience that went with it. He would have a high fever for three days to finally become totally his. however, he would escape the village chains without raising any suspicion.
"- I was not against the ritual. Do what you have to do but before that could we have something to refresh ourselves? We will die of thirst.
- Oh sure ! Forgive our lack of courtesy. Xiang'er serves their some tea and some pastry. Also bring something to feed the little master."
A man in his thirties who was standing behind Elder Shu lowered his head and quickly ran towards the kitchens of the residence. This man wore an old outfit of serving, the hair tied up in a bun. He looked naive at first, but you could see the harshness hiding in his eyes. Lost realized that despite his status as a servant, he had probably already killed before. Xiang 'er was not an innocent person. Purple eyes had no doubts. He had promised Ziha that he would protect his back. He intended to stick to it. The people around them also took leave and dispersed leaving them alone in this large hall. The two young people stared at each other and a smile of relief appeared on their faces. They had finally arrived in safety and could finally cool off.
An old woman wearing an old pale pink dress led them to their rooms and motioned for servant Xiang to drop off their refreshments inside. Lost's room was next to Ziha's which reassured them. You never know what might happen. After the servants left, everyone went about their business. Lost took advantage of his time washing his face and body with the basin of water that had been prepared for him and put on the light blue robe that had been placed neatly on his bed. Hong Xue was lying on the small cradle that had been placed for him next to his bed. He was wide awake and wriggled from time to time. Lost undid his ponytail and combed his long black hair. Sitting in front of a fuzzy mirror, he didn't notice the black aura under his feet. she seemed to assimilate to his shadow. He didn't feel anything abnormal and even the system didn't detect him.
Lost tied part of his hair with a silver clip on top and let the rest of his hair loose. He put on his boots in silver filaments which stood out with his headdress and then decided to give the infant a bath. He took the small basin and put it on the table in the middle of the room. He took the baby and began to undress. It was when he removed the last piece of tissue that he noticed a small tattoo on one of his small shoulders. It was shaped like an hourglass. This tattoo could not be drawn by a man's hand because he was just born. Hon Xue was therefore born with it. It was unexpected for Purple Eyes. His stepfather had never told him about it and the guide he had read had no illusions about it.
He washed the baby delicately asking himself a ton of questions and dressed him again in a lighter, softer clothing before put him to bed again. Hong Xue made no noise and looked at him without flickering. Decidedly, he would never get used to that strange look he was giving him.
"- Sysy, can you do an appraisal on this tattoo ?
- No, the tattoo is too complicated to be inspected so easily, especially with your level. You need to reach at least level 20."
Lost mumbled into his mustache cursing his level for being so low. He lay down on his bed and resting his arm on his forehead. The fact of being comfortably stretched out on these sheets brought up the events of the last three days. His meeting with Yoon Taiyang had been strange. No one knew it yet, but this man was half human half beast. His mother was part of the snake race and after years of assimilating spiritual energy, had succeeded in taking human form and met her future husband. She gave birth to Taiyang without ever revealing her true nature to her husband for fear of losing him. Unfortunately, fate had wanted otherwise. The Yoon family found out the truth when Taiyang fell ill. It was found that this disease was in fact the body of the child who accepted the sacred inheritance of snakes.
The rest went like a movie. The step parents refused to let her stay in their sect. They did everything to turn their son against his wife passing her off as a seductress. The couple argued tirelessly, forgetting that they had genuinely loved each other. Taiyang was bullied and rejected by others until an event came to end this internal war. Taiyang lost control of his Qi and made a derivation at the age of twelve, inadvertently killing his cousin. His grandparents loved the victim very much and wanted to destroy his meridians. His mother wouldn't let them and tried to run away with her son. It was hopeless. Her husband begged them to take her with them insisting that they were his whole life. She had hesitated and he sounded so sincere that she accepted him. Taiyang lost his mother at the hands of his father. Taiyang took revenge at the age of twenty and became the leader of The Sect of Sacred Guardians. Lost had a firm belief that his friend was still alive and hoped one day to drink together under a bright moonlight. Come to think of it, he hadn't read the letter he'd given him yet. He sat down on the edge of the bed and opened his inventory. The screen lit up in front of him and he insert his hand into the letter box. He took it and opened the envelope.
"Child, I know you must be wondering why I am writing this letter to you when we have just met. To be honest, I also wonder why I trust you so much, a strange young man. What I just remember is that you gave us a little happiness in such a short time and that my son was born the moment my wife met you. It was like this your presence was the missing piece for my son to come into the world. I know I might be wrong but anyway i'm grateful to you I felt hat you are one of the only people I would trust Hong Xue's life to. I am writing this letter to you in advance because I knew very well that time was running out for us. Lost, I beg you to keep my son as stable as possible. I would have liked to see him grow up and teach him everything I know as a father and see every step of his life. Take care of him and teach him loyalty, compassion and that we can love without barriers. To thank you and show you how much I trust, I left a small gift with the relic. You will understand what it is when you see it."
Lost felt the tears fall on his cheeks for the first time. Her hands holding the letter were shaking, her emotions being too strong. His nerves had finally let go. This letter had been the click to allow him to empty his too full of emotions. He slid to the floor to hide his face on his knees and squeezed his lips so that Ziha wouldn't hear his moans. He didn't like showing his fragility to others. He didn't know how long this seizure had lasted but, he only remembers waking up in this position.
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He was finally here. He had waited so long that he had gone mad about it. His old life had been nothing but blood and violence. He had let the beast get the upper hand decimating everything in its path. He killed those he didn't like and looked for something without knowing what. When he died, he had lived a second life and finally found it, but he had not been able to satisfy his desires because of a damn situation. He was once again dead without having what was his. The divinities must have loved him because this time he was reborn in his first life. He had felt a magnificent aura and when he had opened his eyes shortly after his birth he saw the one he was waiting for. His treasure. the only one that allowed him to keep his sanity. This time he won't let him go. He would tie him up if necessary but he would never let him disappear before his eyes. not like the last time. He was his forever. He had already marked him as his and had no escape. Hong Xue vowed to grow up as fast as possible and regain his status as a demi-immortal. Then he will do anything to evolve and become invincible. Lost deserved the best and he was ready to destroy anyone who stood in his way.
Hong Xue had just forgotten one thing. He was still just an infant unable to move as he saw fit. He also didn't know that Lost had an asset in his pocket and that no one could stop him from leaving as he saw fit not even with the powerful spiritual energy of a newborn child.
Lost also had no idea that Hong Xue was not what he seemed to be and that this reincarnated soul's obsession was insatiable and impossible to avoid.