A torn feeling weighed heavily in Liu Ming's heart as he stared at the people he hated the most in the world now helpless before him. How many days and nights he had wished for such a day?
How many times he had wanted to fight back when they poured cold water on him and forced him to sleep outside in the winter? His hatred ran as deep as the purest spiritual veins.
Yet now that that dream had become a reality, he didn't know what exactly he had to do to them.
All he ever wanted was to find a warm family. Why did they take him in if all they would do to him was treat him worse than a slave?
Tears full of anger left his eyes and were quickly absorbed by the bandages. He lowered his blade and eased his body.
"That's it?" Ren asked, his tone heavily hinting at his disappointment. "They almost killed you. Are you just going to forgive them?"
Liu Ming dropped the sword before facing Ren. He knelt on the good knee, offering a fist-palm salute bowing his head. "I have nothing. No family background. No wealth to my name and my meridians are blocked. But if you still wish to take me in as your disciple, I will accept you as my Master from now onwards."
He placed his palms on the floor, his forehead following shortly. And in three respectful kowtows, the ritual was complete.
Grinning, Ren got off the chair that was already making his butt ache.
He signaled to the hired protectors standing behind the Liu family members and they nodded in understanding.
"If you want to walk out of here alive, leave behind an arm to appease the young master!" The leader boomed.
"Come on. We should get going now that you're free of any emotional baggage." Ren pulled him to his feet and guided him out of the room. Groans shrouded in terror followed behind them as the punishment was immediately imposed.
##############
"...so similar," Liuyue marveled comparing the two runes side by side as the carriage proceeded. "I never had the chance to see other runes because I was always with Master... Liu Ming?" She called excitedly moving back to create distance between them.
"Yes?"
"I'm your elder sister now. If you disobey me, I'll beat you until Master can't recognize you."
"I'm older than-"
Liuyue flicked his bandaged nose. "Ow! Okay, I'm sorry, elder sister."
"Liu Ming." Ren opened his eyes, his feet tucked beneath his thighs in a lotus position.
"Yes, Master."
"Tell me more about the night market. Why was everyone wearing a mask?"
"It started ten years ago. Three days a week, strange sellers would bring in high-quality items in the market. But they only sold at night and wore masks to conceal their identities. The origin of these items is suspicious, but since they were selling them at a low price compared to auctions, nobody alerted the Town Lord.
Most of the buyers are disciples from different sects who sneak there to get quality goods for a cheap price, or servants from auction houses."
"Hmm..." Ren got lost in thoughts as he took in the information. While he didn't know if the items were cheap, they were certainly good seeing how a single pill had fixed Liu Ming's body.
He took note of the market at the back of his mind for future reference.
##########
Nothing eventful happened in the next two days and nights. And on the third day, Ren had the caravan stop near a lake.
He had felt an odd aura coming from the water and it seemed to draw him.
"Master, what is it?" Liuyue asked staring at the water next to Liu Ming. The bandages on his face were gone, and he could walk properly thanks to other pills offered by Liuyue.
Ren didn't answer, he continued meditating, his eyes closed and his legs crossed. He felt a warmth in his core that was starting to spread outward and into his body.
From his arms and legs, golden roots appeared and immediately dug into the ground.
Liuyue smiled while Liu Ming took a step back out of fear of what he was witnessing.
"Sit," Liuyue whispered to Liu Ming while she lowered herself to sit behind Ren.
"Why? What is happening?"
"Master is about to give us his blessings," she answered with pure adoration closing her eyes.
As the minutes passed by, Liu Ming felt the marking on his wrist begin to throb. But not in a painful way as the last time.
There was warmth, comfort, peace.
He rolled his sleeve and saw it glowing golden just like the roots that had come out of his Master's body. He also noticed that Liuyue's sleeve had a faint golden glow beneath it.
Following her initial instruction, Liu Ming sat next to her and copied her posture.
He had never cultivated his whole life because of the marking. His uncle had said that his meridians were blocked and the only way he could survive was by working hard and making money.
As he always said: If you can't be a cultivator, you can hire a cultivator.
This was because a cultivator's journey required resources. And if one was unlucky to join a sect, they could only rely on themselves.
He felt an odd warmth flow through his veins originating from the rune. Bit by bit, his senses started sharpening and his blood began moving faster and smoother.
*Ding*
Name; Renshen
Form; human
Ability; the Void
Cultivation level; 1579
Cultivation stage;---
Life; ----
Another notification came, followed by a third, and then a fourth one. By the end of it, his level had risen to a firm two thousand, three hundred and forty-six.
This triggered something within his mind.
Suddenly, he found himself standing above what looked like a black hole with golden light swirling around it.
He moved down towards it until the tip of his fingers touched the golden light.
Distorted images flashed through his mind of a place that looked breathtakingly heavenly. Like an island floating in the sky full of life. But the next second, the island was shattered into pieces.
Gasping, Ren took back his hand and moved away from the black hole that was twice his height.
He opted to look around and spotted two dum stars shining and nothing else all around the black hole.
He approached them and reached out his hands to touch them. More images filled his mind, though they were clearer than the island one. These were flashes of what Ren concluded were Liuyue's and Liu Ming's pasts.
He saw and felt everything they had experienced before meeting. For Liuyue, hers was mostly a happy life until two years ago. Her world had darkened and Ren felt her despair back then, ultimately forgiving her for being late. She had tried her best to search for him.
On the other hand, Liu Ming's pain from back when he was a child to an adult bruised Ren's heart which he had sworn not to let it feel again.
"Those bastards. They deserved death. Why did you go easy on them?" He roared letting go of the stars.
In conclusion, Ren was the black hole and his disciples were the stars. He realized they were connected and could now feel their thoughts. Was it because of the runes? It had to be that.
He opened his eyes to see how dark it had become.
The moon's reflection on the water was simply, beautiful. A scene that would be immortalized in his mind.
As balls of fire popped up in the air to get rid of the darkness, the faint golden root crawling on the ground from his palm and into the pot close to him caught his attention.
He frowned picking up the plant.
"Are you trying to eat my body you sly plant?" Ren scolded looking inside the pot with the aid of the light from a fireball.
It wasn't Han eating his root, but the small azure snake he had bought nights ago. He had almost forgotten its existence.
"So it's you, you little lazy snake!" He hissed taking it out of the pot.
The root was stuck between its closed mouth no matter how hard Ren tried pulling it out. "Dammit!"
He dropped the snake on his lap and severed the root from his body. It hurt a little and that was it. "You'll pay for that in the future you tiny serpent. Don't you forget!"
The caravan had already set up a few tents by the roadside which was a short distance from where Ren and his disciples were.
Liu Ming's eyelids parted and he could see clearly as if it was still daytime. He could hear Liuyue's breath and even the beating of her heart. He could hear conversations from the men they were traveling with. He could feel the tiny insects under the grassy ground they sat on. Could hear the wind blowing from a mile away. And even feel the other party camping deep in the forest.
Other than that, he could feel his own body and pinpoint exactly which spot in his lungs was damaged or functioning correctly. Every sense had heightened a hundredfold.
And yet, he could feel nothing coming from Ren who stood close to the water.
Not his heartbeats, not his breath, not even his aura. It was as if a thick wall was enveloping his entire existence.
"Master!" Liu Ming called, his voice overflowing with gratitude.
Ren turned around only to find Liu Ming on the ground, his forehead against the grass. "I apologize for my past behavior. I swear on my life to stay by your side with this new life you've given me. I'm not saying this because of the rune but because you've given me the hope I had been yearning for all my life. No, it's not hope. You've created a path for me. So please accept me fully and use me as you please."
Ren sighed. "Get up, Liu Ming. Don't kneel at every turn from now on. You've done that enough in your old life. Following me means that there will be danger, a lot of it. Are you-"
"I will fight and die for you. I feel like that is my purpose. I didn't believe what Liuyue said that we had done this before. But I can feel our connection and wish to follow you to the ends of life and death."
"Get up."
Ren had to pull him to his feet since he was so engrossed in devotion mode.