"There was once a young boy who was raised in a small family of warriors in a mortal country. He was picked up by the previous family patriarch on some distant battlefield when he was alive and raised there as one of the retainers. But once the previous patriarch died, his standing and status plummeted to the ground, and ever since, at the age of 12 he was sent on nearly every battlefield the family was ever sent to for years on end.
The country recently changed the generation of rulers and the new emperor was young and ambitious, a mere 16 years old youngster to be exact. He waged wars of conquest on nearly all of his neighbors. Military families such as the boy's were welcoming their golden age of prosperity where their status elevated to new heights.
They quickly realized that he was unusual though, as he survived even the most brutal slaughters at such a young age. So they sent him to take on more and more dangerous tasks that important family members were not sent to and others did not wish to go. They made sure to make as much benefit from his existence and perseverance as they could while he still lasted."
Wu Long started narrating the story and a distant look appeared on his face as he was looking at the rain, and the rain that was reflecting in his eyes was bloody instead. At first, Hua Ziyan thought that maybe he was telling his own story but she gradually dropped that possibility, as none of the three empires changed generations of rulers or waged wars in recent hundred years. Her excitement that sprung from that possibility died down a little, but she still listened to the story intently.
"There was one person who still cared about him though, it was the young lady of the family, his first love. They were close as kids, as they were the only ones close in age to each other. The young lady of the family was a prodigy warrior, who was expected to elevate their family's standing. While the young boy was somehow surviving every battle, she was trained by the family's experts, and when he returned from time to time for short periods, she would teach him the sword so that he would have better chances of surviving. "
A tender light appeared in his eyes, as his face was still as expressionless as before. Hua Ziyan seemed to be fascinated with the story and did not notice it as it quickly disappeared.
"Once he got older, he realized his own feelings, but was afraid of admitting them both to her and to himself. And then, she confessed her feelings first. It happened after he returned from the most dangerous battle yet, and in a half-dead state. In that battle, a practitioner at the Core Formation Realm with several people at Revolving Qi Realm and an army of disciples in Qi Manifestation, Qi Condensation and Qi Gathering Realms laid waste to their army, and they suffered a crushing defeat. The boy was at the Body Transformation Realm, as were most of the army, it was a normal mortal army after all. It was a pure miracle he had survived. The enemy asked for cooperation from a sect, no doubt paying an exorbitant price for that one battle."
Hua Ziyan could almost feel how miserable the battle was, as it was no different than a bunch of kids armed with sticks going up against a fully trained heavily equipped army.
"They relished in the happiness of their feelings for some time, meeting as usual and spending time talking and dreaming. A few years have passed. The boy turned into a youth and the young lady turned into a young woman. They now went to most battlefields together, and sometimes got to fight shoulder to shoulder. Though he still was sent on the most dangerous assignments by the family, he did not mind that, since he always returned alive. And then, after some more years, …"
Wu Long's expression hardened as he got to this point.
"They won, the empire had reached an unprecedented glory, and there was a grand celebration. The young emperor, who was now a young man in his prime, noticed a beautiful and valiant woman who was praised as a great warrior from a once small warrior family…"
Hua Ziyan clenched her fists as she could imagine what happened next. She wanted him to stop telling the story, but at the same time she wanted to hear what happened next. The fact he told her beforehand that it was a tragic story with an unpleasant end already weighed heavily on her.
"He first tried courting her, but she refused, respectfully telling him that she already had a loved one. The emperor was fresh from his conquest, he felt all powerful and unstoppable, so he decided that she would be his woman, one way or the other. He took another approach, and summoned her father, the family head, and proposed an official wedding, which the latter immediately and delightfully accepted. To become in-laws with the imperial family was something he could not even dream of, as he instantly got on cloud nine. Since it was a mortal country with rather traditional customs, the final say on a woman's marriage was from her father, and she had no way to reject it."
Wu Long continued in a rather monotonous voice, not even a hint of emotion escaping his face that seemed to turn to stone. However, there was something extremely terrifying hidden deep in his eyes.
"Long story short, they ran. The young man thought that they could try to run to the one country they did not conquer, the one he suffered that defeat in, and from there go further away. They were both in Qi Gathering Realm by now, so they had some confidence in getting away.
But in an empire riddled with people pursuing them, with their own family advising the enemy on their habits and how they might think, with hired experts from sects, as well as a high bounty that was widely announced, they could not run in a straight line, in fact, there were multiple times they were caught and had to break through blockades hand in hand with their two swords. They also had to avoid people from sects who were asked for cooperation, and rogue cultivators who were after the bounty.
They continued this life of fugitives for two whole long… excruciatingly long years, barely getting any decent rest in all this time, until they just could not go on any longer. After all, sleep and sustenance was still too important for them as their cultivation was not high enough to make do without them, and their bodies started to give in, they made more mistakes, which got them more trouble and more fatigue. Injuries accumulated.
And then, finally, one day after they broke through a blockade, they had to hide as the patrols were searching for them everywhere. And while they waited without food or water, without proper sleep, her body gave in and she became seriously ill. He tried to keep her alive, risking it all to get some sustenance… and maybe medicine… but it was already too far gone, he knew nothing of medicine or healing someone, only how to fight… she died in his arms, saying that he must live on, and find happiness again, for her too."
As his voice stopped, the heavy silence welcomed in the sound of the rain that seemed to become even more intense in response. Hua Ziyan was looking at the rain with red eyes, already regretting having asked to listen to the story.
"This story is actually quite famous in some far away lands, as it does not end here" he suddenly said, with a rueful smile, that even looked somewhat self-mocking.
"Since the young man survived, saved, to be exact, by a wandering mysterious practitioner who was fascinated by his swordplay as he was making his suicidal attack in rage"
She looked at him, seemingly trying to figure out the ending.
"That person saved him, but only a husk of him in some sense. Finding no means to motivate him, the one word that got him to react was 'revenge'. He trained with that person like a madman, making tremendous progress. And in the end, he became powerful enough to do what he wanted to do. He found and killed each and every person who hunted them down or helped hunt them, whether the help was big or small. He killed exactly 5 877 646 115 people over the course of several years, including the emperor, his generals, the family that raised him, any army soldier participating in the blockades or searches, any government official who commanded the troops and organized them and so on. In the process, the empire collapsed and five sects that cooperated with the hunt also disappeared, most of the influential noble families were nearly exterminated and the land was since never claimed by any government, with no one ruling it for countless years."
As he monotonously narrated the end of the story, Hua Ziyan looked at him with wide eyes and a jade hand covering her mouth, as she did expect a tragic ending, but in no way she could have expected what came after.
"And he?"
"Hm?" Wu Long looked at her after a reluctant voice asked.
"What happened to the young man?"
"Hmm, hard to say, he was lost for some time, and then he was saved by the same person but in a different way, not from physical death but from the death of his soul. That person… made him whole again, though it took a tremendous amount of time and effort. So much in fact, that when she finally managed to piece together his shattered heart it broke again as she used up the lifespan that could be used on improving cultivation to heal him, and died of old age in his hands as he tried everything in his powers to prevent it. He spent too much time in his soulless state, so he did not have enough power, knowledge and means. He survived the death of love again, this time not bothering with the shattered heart, focusing on cultivating and gaining knowledge and skill that could save someone dear to him. And eventually there appeared people who gradually healed him again. And he embarked on a new journey, one there is still no ending to, since it continues, though this journey have recently gotten a new chapter, which could be hopeful..."
He said after pondering for some time.
"Anyway, you now know why I am helping them, right?"
"... Yes. Because you hate the ending of the story… I see"
Wu Long stood up and left to go cultivate, and then sleep, while Hua Ziyan remained for some time, looking at the rain in a daze.