Chapter 87
A World of Hidden Selves
As Yu Minge stepped out of the wooden hall into the open forest, his breath got stuck in his lungs. The forest was alive with things that he'd never seen before in his life--tiny sprites drowning in most breathtaking colors danced across the teeming trails of light, while visible clusters of the purest Qi swayed along the wind's will. Perched atop the trees were forms of nature, embodiments of things that humans have long since forsaken.
Spirits.
He met one, a long time ago. It was an experience unlike any other, one that defined him for over hundred and fifty years since. And yet, he now bore witness to dozens of them. All gazes swiveled toward him but only for a moment; he was immaterial to them, evidently, a passing guest that they would soon forget. He followed their eyes and found the man crouching by the roaring flames, stirring something inside the black pot.
The way they looked at him, on the other hand, was... tender. Almost like a parent would look at a growing child.
He turned toward the two of them and smiled. "You're both up, huh? Lunch should be ready soon. Have a seat."
"Thank you," the two sat down in silence and watched as a tiny kitten crawled onto the man's back while an ordinary dog nudged it upward. In some ways, witnessing two ordinary animals existing here was even more shocking than the innumerable spirits.
"Hm? Ah, where'd you come from? Ha ha, you're hungry, huh? It'll be ready soon. Just a bit of patience." he petted the kitten rather gently, slowly standing up and pouring the contents of the pot onto several plates. He set three smaller ones to the side before pouring the rest of the contents onto a larger one, washing the pot, and starting anew. "Here," he handed them a pair of plates as ten or so Spirits converged larger one. Strangely, they all stayed on one end while the dog and kitten had the other side wholly reserved for themselves.
Yu Minge stopped after the first bite--he felt Qi erupt from within him like a torrential storm, and found himself burning through stages in rapid succession until he was almost at the Peak of Qi Condensation. Even Xiaoling had a shocked expression on her face, her jaw agape. Though he wouldn't have had issues reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm, it would still have taken him at least a couple of days. And yet, he was a few breaths away from being there already. No wonder, he mused, that the Spirits were so protective of the man.
"Hm? Is there something wrong? Is it not to your taste?" he asked when he saw the two of them simply staring blankly instead of eating.
"N-no, the opposite, in fact," Yu Minge quickly said. "I am grateful for your benevolence." the man looked at him oddly for a moment before sighing and shaking his head.
"Did I say something strange...?" Yu Minge turned to Xiaoling who seemed to be holding back laughter.
"It's not us," she shook her head. "Just eat."
**
Xiaoling helped her Master back to the room soon after the meal. It felt like as soon as he closed his eyes, he fell asleep. It was odd, she figured--not just for him, but for her, too. Neither of them had actually slept in decades, especially him. And yet, here in the forest, it seemed as though they were back to being mortals, where they had to sleep every day.
Pulling the blanket over, she left the longhouse and saw that most of the animals had dispersed by now and that Leo was setting aside the tools and cleaning them. Without saying a word, she joined him and helped, though there wasn't much to do.
"Thank you," he said, disappearing for a moment into one of the huts and coming out with two jugs of colorful liquid. "Here," he handed her one. "How's he feeling?"
"He fell asleep," she said as the two sat down. "Thank you. I, I know that at this point it feels like an empty sentiment, words void of meaning, but... it is like a knot in my heart that I somehow have to unravel."
"Considering how annoying everyone I help is, I should have maybe never started doing it." she looked up and toward him; he was smiling, and she smiled too, shaking her head.
"Somehow, that feels wholly incongruous with my image of you."
"And what's that like?" he queried.
"A tree," she said, taking a sip and closing her eyes as the image came to her mind. "Far-reaching, all-encompassing. Like a world-spanning parasol shielding the world and nurturing all those in its shade."
"Hm," he mumbled softly. "That is... rather flattering. And, perhaps, one day I may even become that slightly idealized version that you have of me in your head."
She fell silent for a moment, gathering courage before speaking. "May... may I be honest, for ever a moment?"
"... you mean to say you don't see me as a beautiful parasol?" his rather childish grin relaxed her heart, prompting her to laugh for a moment.
"My cultivation method," she said. "Is called Soul Blade Art. Unlike most everyone else, I do not have a dantian--at least not a conventional one. Ordinarily, people draw in Qi from nature, purify it through their meridians, and store it inside their dantians. One of the first things I experienced when I began cultivating Soul Blade Art was my dantian... shattering. For a moment, I believed I crippled myself. However, from the broken, floating shards within me, a tiny little blade was formed. Every time I attack, or defend, or do anything with Qi, I have to draw it out completely. Meaning, if someone was quick enough to trap it on the outside... I would become a mortal."
"..." she felt her heart thumping like a drum. After all, she was revealing herself wholly, detailing something that not even her Master knew. It was her deepest secret, something that she thought she would take to her grave.
"Luckily, I haven't met a cultivator yet with the ability to do so. That isn't to say that one doesn't exist--so, I tried discovering ways to prevent that from happening. In my pursuit of that, I learned... other applications of the art. If I pierce my eyes with the blade," she said, pointing toward her face; she knew that her usual, twilight-hue was drained of color and that her eyes became milky white. However, even so, he showed no reaction. "I catch a glimpse of a world otherwise invisible. This allows me to take a peek at other people's... hidden selves." he winced, and she quickly retreated the blade from her eyes. "It was unintentional. Had I known of your kindness, I never would have taken a look.
"I haven't divulged it to anyone, and I have no intention of doing so. Even my Master is under the impression that you are either an Immortal or a human manifestation of a Spirit. That... is all." she looked away, fearful. Even if he wasn't able to kill her, any one of the Spirits very much could so. She gambled, something she seldom did in her life, that his kindness overran the fear of him being exposed.
"Ah. That's why you told me your weakness," he chuckled suddenly, prompting her to look up. "Contrary to what I imagined, you are rather honest."
"You are... not angry?"
"Hm? Did you think I'd try to kill you or something to keep my secret?"
"..."
"Oh, wow. That hurt. It legitimately felt like someone shoved a spear into my heart."
"I didn't, I mean--"
"--I was taken in by this place," he interrupted. "A soul adrift in a limbo. Whether the world learns that I'm just an old, weak man with nothing to his name or not... it hardly matters to me. The thing that matters is what that would do to this place. To them," his gaze softened as his eyes drifted over to the longhouse. "You may laugh at me, but I want to build a paradise of this place."
"I would never laugh," she said.
"I know," he looked back at her, the stirring abyss of his eyes seeming depthless. "Everyone I meet, you included, keeps telling me that my kindness is... odd. And yet, there you are."
"Me?"
"At no point was I ever in harm's way when helping," he said. "You, however, were. It takes little courage to offer water to a beggar, but it takes boundless amounts to jump into the flames and pull people out of them. Even when you were on your last breath," she felt blood rush to her head and swiftly looked away, embarrassment creeping in. "You stepped in front of those kids without hesitation. Over and over and over again. That's why I know you would have never said anything."
"That was... rather embarrassing to hear," she laughed faintly, curling the stray bundle of hair behind her ear.
"Hm, tell me about it."
"No wonder you get peeved."
"I was about to go on a hunt," his words seemed to change the tone, the mood, and even the makeup of Xiaoling's brain for a moment; after all, who simply (and casually) exclaims that they would hunt in the Nameless Forest? "Want to join me?"
"Uh, are you sure?"
"Hm," he nodded. "Don't worry about getting lost. Usually, Howly or Blackie or the Bigger Blackie accompany me. Whenever I forget where I am, they bring me back home." That's not the part I have issues with, though?
"If you're offering."
"I haven't hunted in a while," he added, seeming to perk up slightly. "But since I'm having guests, making meat stew instead of just a vegetable one is par for the course." Ah, Xiaoling's expression turned strange for a moment as she marinated on whether to comment on it or not, eventually deciding to not. He's just using us as an excuse to make a meat stew...