Chapter 34

  Days Mundane (I)

  Master didn't lie!

  That was Dai Xiu's first thought as her eyes sprang open, her entire body faintly aglow with a hazy mist of vanishing Qi. She felt her whole body churn with energy, the likes of which she never experienced, even when she originally cultivated.

  She felt capable of anything--though was still smart enough to know it was just a feeling. Clenching her fingers into a fist, her eyes shimmered with wonder; the art she was cultivating... she couldn't explain it, not with her knowledge.

  In a way, she felt radiant and vibrant while guiding strands of Qi throughout her entire body. Refreshed, as though she'd just had the best sleep of her life. And in just three days... she'd recovered her previous strength.

  She did consume all the Spirit Stones that Master gave her, so she felt both jubilant and bad at the same time. But--Master promised that she could just ask for more! And if he didn't lie about her talent...

  "Xiu'er?" A voice startled her awake as she glanced over and saw her Brother Hua leaning against the doorframe.

  "Big Brother...?" she asked quizzically. For some reason, her Brother pretended to be mute in front of Master. Though she didn't understand why, she trusted him... so she remained silent. "What's wrong?"

  "Nothing. Just felt some fluctuations and came to check you out. You've restored your strength?"

  "Hm," she nodded. "Isn't Master amazing?!" she exclaimed, her eyes shining.

  "... he really is."

  "Big Brother? Do you not like Master?"

  "He's just... different." The expression on his face was fairly inscrutable, and Dai Xiu didn't probe any further.

  "Is he?" Dai Xiu did hear a few strange things about her Master but by now had realized those were all slanderous rumors.

  Her Master was kind, gentle, and not at all a fiend! Once she became stronger, she promised herself she'd descend the mountain and beat up all those who've slandered her loving Master until they've apologized!

  "Never mind. It's almost lunch. Go wash."

  "Ah, okay!"

  **

  Long Tao sat in silence, deep in thought; he'd reached the peak of Qi Condensation already, but breaking through at the moment was... inconvenient. While he was somewhat confident in being able to hide his tracks, he wasn't entirely assured, and though the strange master of his was a bit of a coward and a paranoid, he didn't want to get entangled with the sect's inner politics any more than this.

  Which was to say he wanted to avoid them at all costs.

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  Plus, there was the matter of the 'mute' boy that he'd healed; he woke up too quickly. While the young girl and master likely didn't think too much of it, as over a month spent in a coma for them likely seemed to be 'enough' time, Long Tao knew precisely the state of the boy's body--and short of having miraculous methods like Long Tao himself, it was impossible.

  He already had a theory of sorts--it was evident that the girl wasn't just any ordinary kid to be found on the street. How many tales were there of young kids escaping noble circumstances because their existence threatened the structure of power? Of course, he didn't know the ins and outs of those circumstances, but the broad strokes? He could guess.

  It was entirely possible that the 'mute' boy was her Oathsworn--someone whose sole purpose in life was to protect her. How he ended up in that state, however... even Long Tao wasn't certain.

  There were simply too many variables to account for, so he decided against breaking through. That left him with little else to do, however; he meditated upon both Heart-Stitching Art and Spirit Stone Augmentation, making some progress, but, ultimately, he'd reached the limits of what he could do at his current realm. Any more would do more harm than good.

  He wanted to go and pester his master a little bit but felt bad; there was a small, nestled space at the back of the mountain that his master thought others were unaware of, and it seemed he'd run there any time he felt... overwhelmed.

  There was more than met the eye about the man, and even Long Tao was... uncertain. It gnawed at him, the sudden change; he'd lived for nearly 2,000 years and hadn't been uncertain of much in 1,990 of them, and yet, in his first year reborn, there were so many things he just... couldn't understand.

  He left the house and went to the slope leading downward. Of course, he'd thought about leaving the sect and having his breakthrough on the outside, but there was a chain holding him back that he really didn't see coming: his Master.

  While he could sneak out and sneak back in unnoticed, he didn't actually know how long it would take him to break through. His current method wasn't exactly made for smooth sailing; it could be an hour or two, or it could be a week, or even a month. Though people hardly swung by this place, they still did occasionally come. If, in his absence, an 'inspection' of sorts appeared, and they realized he was gone... what would they do to his Master?

  It was... scary.

  He'd sworn off attachments while choking on his own blood, watching his guts spill out, surrounded by a red inferno. And yet he'd already developed one, one strong enough to dissuade him from pursuing the optimal path. If he went out now, he'd break through the Foundation Establishment at a pace he set out for himself; if he stayed, it would be at least four or five more months before he even started trying.

  And yet, he felt compelled to stay. Not for nothing, his current pace was actually vastly greater than he originally thought; as he woke up in the body of this boy and inspected it, he thought it would be at least a year before he could even start cultivating. Were it not for the Master's Heart-Stitching Art, he would still be trying to bury the Heart-Poison Curse deeper and deeper within himself.

  Glancing back, he saw the man's figure emerge from the back; he seemed rather... melancholy. The haggard, aging figure was incongruous with who he heard the person was.

  He wanted to fight it... but it was impossible.

  He'd started caring for him.

  At first, he merely wanted to take him away because of curiosity--anyone capable of taking out methods like Heart-Stitching Art had indiscernible means. But in such a short time, he'd evolved past it. As for how... it was mighty difficult to say. Perhaps it was the man's nonchalance and broader acceptance of everything, or perhaps it was the abject lack of arrogance and bone-bearing apathy; throughout his life, Long Tao had met thousands of unique people, yet none of them were quite like the man who seemed rather jubilant to have returned just in time for lunch.

  He smiled, shaking his head and heading over; in pursuit of immortality, he refused to abandon his heart... and it cost him dearly. No, it cost him everything. That was precisely why the Heart-Poison Curse managed to burrow so deeply and even follow him through reincarnation of all things. At the moment of death, he rejected everything that he was, all the things that allowed him to become the very person standing at the almost-zenith.

  But the heavens spun a tale mythical and cloaked; his heart, even if scarred and burned, still yearned... perhaps, in this lifetime, he hoped it would heal.