Chapter 64

  A Boy's Struggles (II)

  Xi Zhao was actually rather skillful, as it turned out, at making tea. In fact, he was even better than Dai Xiu.

  However, there was still only so much he could do with so few utensils and the cheap-ish Mildew Qi Tea we've still been drinking. Even as we sat down, however, and as I started taking sips, he remained silent. It was as though he was battling something inside of himself, resolving it only after almost ten minutes.

  "Master," he said. "I beseech you: could you please send someone to check on my family?" Hm? Honestly, I expected something a whole lot worse, like, 'Hey, Master, I offended an Elder, and he's on his way to kick your ass'.

  "Are you worried about them?"

  "I was born in the small town south of the Sect," he said. "Called Sunlight Town. My great-grandfather arrived at the city and established a small tailoring shop, and it survives to this day. Rather, thanks largely to my mother, we have managed to even make a name for ourselves--the official Outer Disciple robes of our Sect were actually commissioned to my family."

  "Oh? Really?" Does that mean he's got a rich family? Rather than being happy, I'm actually starting to worry...

  "Just before I left for the Sect, we bought a small plot on the nearby hillside where Mother wanted to move the workshop, making it bigger in the process. She told me she'd send a letter once the workshop was complete and that, at the time, I should invite my Master for the grand opening.

  "This was, uh, while I was still... struggling. We exchanged letters twice a month or so the first few years I spent in the Sect. I, uhm... I may have told them things that weren't true. I just didn't want to disappoint them." He hung his head low and clenched his fingers into a fist. "When they learned I just barely qualified to enter the Sect, they were all so happy for me. Even Uncle Ran came down from the mountains to celebrate with us."

  "..." I listened patiently, sipping tea.

  "However, in the past year, something has been... off. I only received two letters, neither of which were sent by my mother but rather our steward. He mostly just wrote that everyone still has high hopes for me and can't wait to see me, but when I pressed for details in my letter, he never answered. I'm... worried about them, but I'm not allowed to leave the mountain just yet."

  "... what do you imagine could have happened if it did?"

  "I'm not sure. Father took great care in establishing good relationships with other owners in the town and even the traveling merchants. All I know is that my mother would not stop writing me for no reason. I know that it's too much to ask, and that I'd only become your Disciple recently, and that I should be doing everything in my power to live up to your expectations, but..."

  "I'll send someone," I said. Ultimately, so long as it wasn't me needing to descend the mountain and fix the problem, it could probably be arranged through Elder Qin.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  "R-really?!" He finally looked up, his eyes teary. Sometimes--not often, but sometimes, I... forget. I forget that they are all just kids at the end of the day. Sure, they may be capable of lifting boulders and tossing them at each other, but save for the couple of old monsters living among them, the rest are just children caught in the winding winds of reality.

  "Of course," I smiled gently. "You should write them another letter, too. If you'd like, we can also include some Spirit Stones."

  "N-no, a letter is enough," he quickly said. "Nobody else in my family has any talent for cultivation. I fear that if it is learned they are in possession of Spirit Stones, some rogue cultivators might disregard the morality of an Immortal and attack them. Thank you, Master! I swear that I will pay the favor back a hundredfold!"

  He quickly got up and left before I could stop him, leaving me only to sigh in silence and solace. I glanced sideways, where I saw Light peeking from the rear, her expression curious and eyes wide. She'd become a bit of my... shadow, you could say, in the recent few days. She followed me practically everywhere, though I actually didn't know whether she reported it to the Sect Master or not.

  "It's not polite to eavesdrop on others' conversations," I said as she slowly stepped out and faced me; her face was guilt-addled, shoulders slouched, and eyes darting all around--all telltale signs of someone 'caught' doing a bad thing. It's not a nice thing to think, but she reminded me of Loki, this golden retriever I had as a boy. He'd occasionally dig around mom's garden, and she would catch him, and he'd do the exact same pose as she did--except, you know, with his canine limbs.

  "I'm sorry," she said.

  "It's okay. I'm sure Xi Zhao wouldn't get mad."

  "... are you?"

  "Hm?"

  "Mad."

  "Me? Ha ha, no, not at all. Rather, if you're going to be mischievous, I'd rather you do it here rather than elsewhere."

  "... will his mom and dad be okay?" She scurried over and sat opposite me, seeming worried--more so than even Xi Zhao.

  "Of course," I lied--I didn't know whether they were okay or not, but what was I to say? She was six, and even if she was some super-duper inheritor of Demonic this or that, none of it truly mattered. She was only a girl just barely tipping her toes in the sea of life. "Are you worried?"

  "Hm. I don't want him to lose his mom and dad."

  "... what was your dad like?" I asked. In part it was because I was curious what a 'Demonic God' was like, but in part it was because it felt like she wanted to talk about it.

  "Silly." she said, her dour expression shifting over into a loving smile.

  "Yeah?"

  "We played together a lot. Mom would yell at him because he'd let me stay up late. And he would make these silly faces, he he, and she would forgive him."

  I took a sip of tea, mostly trying to buy myself some time. God, what am I even supposed to say here? Tell her that he sounds like a swell guy? Tell her how sorry I am? Tell her that everything's gonna be a-okay?

  "You miss him," I ultimately stated the most obvious thing in the universe, not knowing what else to say.

  "Yes," she fought back a cry, biting her lips and lowering her head. Maybe... that's it? Maybe she just needed to cry?

  "It's alright to cry, you know?"

  "N-no," she shook her head. "I'm a Dem--I'm a big girl, and big girls don't cry!"

  "Who told you that?"

  "E-eh?"

  "I've known plenty of big girls who cried," I said. "And you know what else?"

  "W-what?"

  "Plenty of big boys, too."

  "R-really?!"

  "Really. We all cry occasionally."

  "... e-even, even you?"

  "Oh God, especially me, ha ha," I said. "This one time, I was watching a mov--khm, I mean, I was reading this book. It was about this dog and an old man and their life together. The dog used to, uh, he used to run out to the edge of the village to welcome the man from work every day. Sun, rain, snow—it didn't matter. But then, one day, the old man died. Despite that, the dog kept showing up at the village's entrance every day, all the same. Always just... waiting. And waiting. And waiting."

  "..."

  "Bawled my eyes out at that one," I said, smiling lightly and glancing down at her. Tears were already streaming down her cheeks; maybe my story was that moving? No, it can't be that. "So, if you want to cry, cry. And if anyone ever makes fun of you? Just tell me. I may not be able to beat them up, but I'll cry right by your side so they make fun of me instead, okay?"