"Say what?"
Ling was confused upon hearing this. "A god?"
"Yes… a God," Qiqi replied. "And I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have said that I couldn't see your aura… I was too weak to see it."
Ling was scratching his head. "Well, I asked a few more cultivators before I asked you and all of them had the same answer as you did. So I guess… my aura is invisible or something?"
Then, she remembered what the nurse told her at the hospital.
"Oh, and – you! You told the nurse that I defeated the evil spirit, didn't you??"
Ling awkwardly laughed. "Ahaha… Well, you're already popular. I'm living this normal life, and I couldn't just throw this beautiful peace away, can I? I didn't wanna be – idolized."
Qiqi sighed. "I just – I am sorry. You had an impact on your life because of something I said when I was a mere grade schooler, Ling. I'm sorry."
Ling sighed too.
"Didn't I tell you already? Because you told me how to really enjoy life, I could live like this now. Free as a bird. Not limited with my choices. I can play games and be a regular kid… And the Cultivators can't really do that. Thank God my Mom ain't forcing me to join a goddamn sect because of my powers, or I'll be a runaway right now."
Qiqi stared at the boy when he said this.
At that moment, she realized that the way she and the boy understood the world was entirely different.
'He… thinks like this because I told him that way back, isn't he?' she asked herself, feeling pity.
This was not because of the same reasoning Qiqi had. In reality, their minds just worked in different ways. They grew up in two different ways.
Since Shinro Qiqi was a child, she had the idea of a 'Cultivator' etched into her soft little brain. Why? Because her entire family was cultivators spanning generations and generations in the Shinro family tree.
When Qiqi first awoke her powers, it was because she was drinking the water of the Mong Tree which blessed her, according to her father. Truly, there was no such blessing, but at least the old man believed in it.
She awakened her abilities because Qiqi herself was determined to do the training of a cultivator since she was 4 years old. At the age of 6, after Qiqi had a nice bath and drank that bitter-tasting proclaimed spiritual water, she focused her mind and imagined a sword forming in her hand just like her father's. And that moment, she unlocked her [Soul Sword Cultivation].
At this moment when Qiqi observed Ling, the only thing that echoed down her mind was her father's words.
"Great power comes with great responsibility… So, if you're a cultivator like me, Qiqi, you should be determined to contribute part of your life to save our race from evil. Evil is born every day, and we are the divine wall that protects them.
The Heavenly Gods and Goddesses blessed us with this magic for a reason. Do you understand, Qiqi?"
"Ling…" she spoke.
"Yes, Qiqi?"
Shinro Qiqi stood up before Ling Tao. Ling looked up at the girl. He looked at Qiqi's purple eyes, her bangs falling over her forehead, her gorgeous complexion… Ling felt like he needed more time to simply gaze at her.
"Will you become a cultivator…?"
"What?" Ling chuckled. 'Damn… didn't she hear me the last time?'
"Will you be a cultivator?" She repeated her words.
Ling was silent this time. With that serious look on Qiqi's face, Ling could tell she was not joking.
"No…" He answered honestly. "I want to live a normal life, Qiqi."
Qiqi's eyes were almost about to tear up. 'Because of me… we had lost a Godly human being,' she thought.
"Ling… I'm sorry. But I… I can't let you do this over a simple thing I said to you when I was merely in grade 4! No…. I can't! Cultivators are blessed with the power of these Gods for a reason. You should be determined to contribute part of your life to save our race from evil."
Ling was serious too now. His awkward smile was also gone.
"Grade 4 was ages ago, Qiqi. I have lived a long time enjoying the benefits of this free life while you were away training in your cultivation and stuff. Well, can't you decide what to do with your own life in a society like this? I'm pretty sure I'll stick with this life rather than join the Heavenly Sword sect or Aura Flower sect or something…"
Qiqi frowned, and her shoulders dropped. Her bangs were covering her eyes, and her eyes utterly dark.
"I see," she murmured.
Ling felt sad upon seeing her like this. "I…."
Then, Lu Tao's voice disturbed their argument. "Guys… Tea is ready! Drink before it gets cold!"
Qiqi turned around and stepped out of the room. And when she noticed that Ling wasn't coming along with her, she stopped in her tracks.
"Ling? Your mom made tea… Come out."
Ling gulped. There was something wrong with her voice now. Her persona changed entirely.
"What –" Then, he felt it. What cultivators feel especially when a certain emotion passes a limit. When someone is… outraged. To put it more simply. He felt killing intent in that low mumble.
"I'm coming…"
///
It was 11.00 pm and Ling Tao was lying on his bed, gazing at the rotating fan hanging on the ceiling. The day was not very ordinary for him. It was not that *peaceful.*
And he was sleeping this early because the thought bugged him every second after she left his apartment. He couldn't focus on a game.
"Ha… why?" he sighed.
Why did it have to happen to him on a Sunday like this? Every time he closed his eyes, he could see a crying Qiqi. Then, he remembered the killing intent she held against him when she left his room. And how she simply said nothing when they sat down and had the tea. Lu Tao kept glancing at the girl every once in a while, but Qiqi's blank expression made her confused.
"So, you guys… How did you meet?"
And Shinro Qiqi's reply to that was, "At the superstore."
"Oh… I see. So, any particular reason why you came to visit Ling?"
"To talk with him. And to apologize," Qiqi answered.
'Ah… so you're at that level,' was Lu Tao's thought when she heard her confession.
For the very first time in his life, Ling was… frightened?
"What is this feeling, God? What a pain in the ass!" Ling covered his face with his pillow and dug deeper into his bed.
Then, he screamed into the pillow.
///Author's Note///
[Arc 1: PAIN IN THE ASS]
Arc one, chapter six is finished folks! Hope you enjoy it!! Give up your goddamn power stones if you need more daily content! And leave a review and a comment, thank you. Makes my day.