A Nascent stage had appeared…
*Gulp*
'Stay calm… The best way to deal with this is by showing respect.' A worried Xin Feng thought. He knew that there won't be any way out If the man in front of him goes mad as well.
"Master!" He shouted full of respect as he knelt down.
"I'm deeply sorry for disturbing your slumber, for I am the one who caused such noise. If I accepted my death with full devotion to my master and senior sister, none of this mess would've happened.
"Please forgive me father, for I didn't want to die after all that I've gone through to survive."
*Sigh* 'This kid… Is the reason why he's this powerful? They say one becomes stronger through hardships after all.'
The man flew down in front of Xin Feng and diffused his flames before he patted Xin Feng's shoulder. "It's okay… What I want to know is what happened to cause Liu Lue to throw such a tantrum." He said sympathetically as he looked at the unconscious Liu Lue.
"It can't be that she simply wanted to kill you for no reason, right? After all, she was quite passionate for you…"
"Hmm… She kept insisting that I was taken over by a person from an evil sect. I think it was red moon sect or something. It happened right as she was guiding me through cultivation… She couldn't believe that I was already able to cultivate, and threw a tantrum."
"I have a theory for such attitude actually. You see… Having a strong loving character might also mean having an unstable and unbalanced character. She might've gotten jealous of her own junior, hence why she wanted to kill me by throwing claims so it seems justified."
This was of course all a lie. He knew exactly why she acted like that after all the information she spit out. He could probably guess the entire plot, and make an accurate story about her past. She wasn't jealous, she was simply afraid and clouded by her past.
"Hm… Your cultivation stage isn't showing even though you're strong enough to defeat someone from the profound realm. Show me the back of your arm, let me check."
The man held Xin Feng's arm to check his realm, and was quite surprised. "No wonder she reacted like that. You're already at the lower stage of the advanced realm, and you even went on par against someone an entire realm higher than you. Even I question your capabilities. Your dantians… So that's why I can't read your cultivation level. It feels empty, as if nothing special, but upon looking at it, one will realize how much of an understatement they were making."
"Hold on, I'm not finished yet." He continued, as he took a brush that was already covered with a red thick liquid.
"Remove your robe" He commanded.
Xin Feng did as told, and removed his robe. After the robe was removed, the old man began to draw an inscription on Xin Feng's back. When he had finished his last stroke, the inscription disappeared as Xin Feng's body began to form an aura. The aura was transparent; difficult to notice.
"Strange… Your soul is definitely not tainted as those from the Crimson Lunar Cult. It feels like your soul is not here but also here at the same time… Is it because your memory loss? Strange… Strange indeed. Maybe someone amongst the higher ups might understand."
"It's good that you're not an imposter. You're my son after all, and I wouldn't bare to lose the last precious thing my lover had left behind." The man continued with his words, as he stroked Xin Feng's hair with a proud look on his face.
"You should go to a pharmacy to check if your fine. I'll go first to take care of her."
*Fwoo* The old man flew away.
…
*Sigh* 'I finally made it out of the life and dead scenario!'
'Aight! Time to head to the pharmacy, maybe there are some good stuffs there.'
'Hehe… That old man's gonna be surprised when he sees me flying.'
Xin Feng used fire magic with little mana to create a bit of fire, before he flew to the pharmacy using his wind summoning skill.
'This aura of fire should be able to disguise my ability to control air. It seems the people from this kingdom can't sense mana, since they don't accept foreign knowledge… that's good. I don't want to know what would happen if those two came to know that I can control air as well when cultivators of this sect are only supposed to control one element.'
The pharmacy was only a few dozen meters far, so it took only a minute to find the location through the help of the residents. There were many types of buildings in the mountain of Liu Lue.
Mountains were owned by many sect masters or through privileges. Inner disciples are examined by different elders each year. This meant that an inner disciple would live on a different mountain compared to another batch.
Everyone was quite friendly over there and they all treated him with mutual respect. When Xin Feng stepped inside the pharmacy, a young man that was standing behind a counter greeted him with a bright smile, before he recited a poem. "The mellow crack of dawn brings a soothing fragrance, signifying the start of something stupendous…"
"My fellow brother, you are quite fortunate by coming here at this time. Fresh products of many varieties have just arrived from the association of alchemists. I can tell very well that you're looking for fine products after a brave battle. Lucky you, I have just the right product that would heal you and temper your body for only three middle grade spirit stones."
'I know that I don't have a single spirit stone with me, but it would be stupid for me to say that I don't have anything with me. Oh right! The token should work.'
"Oh, right!"
Xin Feng handed the token that was tied to his belt before he continued. "Here's the token my master told me to give you whenever I needed something."
"Oh! My apologies for not noticing a senior brother. I should've realized it after seeing the state of your body. After all, Sect master Xin Fan left only recently after fetching some healing ointments."
"You and probably senior sister must've fought an unexpected dire beast. Since I haven't heard about you before, you must be new. Must've been a field experience that went wrong…"
Xin Feng looked at him talking as he thought, 'He sure likes to talk, huh… A good source of information for me in the future.'
"Oh, my apologies. This must be a sensitive subject to you."
"It's okay. Can I have the thing you were talking about before."
"Sure thing."
The young man wrote a receipt, stamped it with spirit energy on the token, and gave it to Xin Feng before pointing towards a bottle with purple pills on a shelf. "Those are the pills you'll be needing."
"By the way… Can you tell me what the function is of this receipt is?"
"Oh, you don't know? Well, it's to show the amount of spirit stones the Sect master will have to add to my monthly allowance."
"This is one of the reasons why there are special tokens." He continued as he gave the token back to Xin Feng.
…
Xin Feng went back to Liu Lue's manor, since that was his temporary place of stay. When he arrived, he asked a guide around the mansion after the servants told him the request of his master for Xin Feng to look after Liu Lue. Xin Feng simply agreed, as he didn't mind repaying her for taking care of him last time.
Eight hours soon passed by. Liu Lue woke up at that time, and fortunately for Xin Feng, she didn't cause a ruckus. Xin Feng was still absorbing the pills when Liu Lue had woken up.
At first when she woke up, she was in a state of worry and cautiousness. But when she saw the familiar ceiling, and that she wasn't dead, she calmed down. She knew that her master had come after the battle.
Since she was okay, and Xin Feng was beside her, she knew that the fight was indeed all because of a misunderstanding. After all, she was confident that her master wouldn't get fooled by a lowly scum of the Crimson Moon cult. Knowing that it was all a misunderstanding, she realized how hot-headed she was for not listening to Xin Feng. She began to feel guilty and awful for trying to kill someone innocent who she had built a good relation with.
Xin Feng who had already felt that she was awake through "sense", slowly stood up, before looking at her for a second and walking away in silence. Liu Lue was staring at his back before he stood up, and when he stood up, she panicked, not knowing what to say.
When Xin Feng looked backed at her, she was hoping to see his regular expression but saw a gloomy look instead. Her heart broke, as she had realized what she had taken away from someone she cared for. She stared at the location where Xin Feng was, wanting to shout to wait, but her mouth couldn't release a single sound.
Tears began rolling from her eyes, as she felt guiltier as time went. She stepped out of the bed, but fell on her knees, unable to move any further. She held her heart with both hands, as she wailed oceans of tears that were tainted with fear, guilt, depression, and loss.
It was difficult for Xin Feng to ignore someone who deeply cared for him, but what he did was for her own good. It was all a plan of Xin Feng, who wanted Liu Lue not to linger too much on her past. He knew it would destroy her one day, like it did to many people he knew. He will ignore her for a few days, but not too much, so she can build new nightmares that cautions her to not linger on the old one. When he forgives her in time and shows her happiness, the new nightmare would only be a warning that will make her cool headed and careful of her actions in the future.
Two days passed by with Xin Feng absorbing the pills and increasing his mana capacity at the same time. In those two days he was left undisturbed, as he would only go out of his room for nourishment and privy, and because he requested for no one to disturb him unless necessary.
In those two days Liu Lue's situation got worse. She stopped eating, and she lay on her bed numb to her surroundings all day. For some reason their master didn't come visit even once, which made Xin Feng quite suspicious of him. He didn't worry too much about it though, since his plans were still going how he wants it to.
Xin Feng felt that Lue Lue's symptoms were already bad enough for him, so he decided to visit her room. When he entered her room, a horrible stench assaulted him. He knew the reason for this, and he knew that if the servants didn't take care of her and the room it would've been worse.
The moment Liu Lue saw Xin Feng, her eyes gained a bit of life as she ran towards his legs. As she stood on her knees, she sobbed, begging for forgiveness. In the midst of her words, he crouched down and held a finger in front of her lips, with a smile she was eager to see.
"It's okay…" He muttered before hugging her.
"I understand why you've done what you did, and I sympathize with you."
"Remember my words carefully… The past brings pain, but through pain you become stronger once you accept the present and strive for a bright future. Ignore and release the pain, and accept what the pain has given, for the pain has made you into who you are."
"Remember… We all make mistakes because of the one thing called fear. It's something normal, but it's something you should control. Know that, no matter what mistakes, there will always be someone who will accept you and care for you as long as you realize your mistakes and overcome it."
"I'm here now, and I forgive you. So, stand up, be happy, and strive to be better. For live is a beautiful cycle of time that can't be ignored."
After his last words of motivation and wisdom, he released his hug to hold her arms while looking her deeply in the eyes with a loving smile. As Liu Lue stared back at his eyes, she began to show a strong confidence again, and she seemed happier than she ever was. She released a smile with a few tears left in her eyes, before she grabbed Xin Feng, and embraced him with a tight hug full of care and love.
"Thank you."