Yu Di was thankfully secure in his ego, not only because of his age or his time as a Demigod, but knowing that having someone else do the work with him made his life easier. However, watching this dainty former Goddess of Miryana pick him up as if he weighed nothing made him reconsider.

  Either way, he was grateful to be carried. Any more walking and his organs would implode. Even the simple gravity of the world was threatening to destroy him. The only thing he had to do was focus his Qi to stabilize them and carry the lantern.

  “How do you know where to go?” Yu Di asked.

  “The Goddess created these tunnels,” Vimala said. Her breathing was even as if she were taking a stroll. “She feared that should she ever fell, then her people could escape through these tunnels. Of course, her planning and execution were flawless. We never needed to use these tunnels. However, every priestess and new Goddess had to memorize the paths.”

  “I’m sure the tunnels were used to confuse the enemy. There’s no way I would know how to navigate this no matter how long I studied down here.”

  “I shouldn’t be telling you this, but there are special markers within the tunnel that show us where to go. You just need to look for them.” Vimala pointed to a small section of the wall.

  Yu Di focused his eyes. He couldn’t use Qi to examine the wall. Yet there it was, plain as day if you stared long enough. A small silver star-shaped mark with one of its points filled in, pointing the way.

  “Why are you telling me this?” Yu Di asked.

  “In case something happened to me, I wouldn’t want you to die down here,” Vimala said.

  “So you do care.”

  “No. I don’t want your ghost to haunt my sacred space. Knowing you, you would end up gathering all the other ghosts to invade the city. The people of Miryana don’t need that.”

  Yu Di laughed before it became a chortle. He had to physically hold his hands against his chest to prevent anything from exploding.

  “You can joke,” Yu Di said. “I always thought you were a murder-happy innkeeper.”

  “Now that I know you will not endanger my city, it feels like a weight has been lifted.” Vimala frowned.

  Yu Di felt bad. He never thought about how this had affected the na?ve woman all these years. All the other people he stole from weren’t good people. Being a cultivator and reaching certain heights meant you did some shady things. But this woman only wanted to protect her city and did nothing bad. He couldn’t imagine it.

  “I’m sorry,” Yu Di said.

  “Hah!” Vimala shouted. “That’s so funny. You’re not sorry. You’re just like all the other people who want to take advantage of others. I bet even now you’re thinking about how to beg, borrow, or steal for your next advantage.”

  “You’re not wrong. But I’m only looking to do anything to get back to my daughter.”

  “How does someone like you have a kid?” Vimala shook her head. “You’ve hurt and harmed so many children that the heavens deciding to give you a child is a cruel, laughable joke.”

  Yu Di remembered all the starving kids he had seen earlier.

  “But this is good,” Vimala said. “At least it has made you reconsider your actions.”

  “I… am sorry for what happened afterwards,” Yu Di said. “If I could—”

  Vimala came to a jarring stop. She squinted down into the tunnel.

  “Turn off the lamp now,” she hissed.

  Yu Di absorbed the Qi from the lantern, plunging the tunnels into darkness. He felt Vimala shift to lean against the wall. Her grip intensified from where she held him, causing pain in his arm and leg.

  A small tapping echoed in the silent tunnel. It sounded like metal tapping against metal. The clear ping was getting closer and closer.

  “I hope there’s something worth taking back this time,” a man said.

  “The Goddess always provides,” a woman said.

  “You always say that, Arzu,” the man said.

  “Wait, I sense something up ahead,” Arzu said. “Whoever it is, know that we have nothing for you to steal. But if you need help, we can provide that for you for free. Just show yourself.”

  “I recognize that voice,” Vimala said.

  “Are you sure?” Yu Di asked. “I’m in no condition to fight or do anything.”

  Vimala stepped out into the tunnel.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Light the lamp.”

  Yu Di pushed a small amount of Qi into the lamp. He winced as the momentary release loosened the bindings he had made around his organs. Sharp, ragged breaths came in and out until the pain subsided.

  “That can’t be,” Arzu said.

  “Who is it?” the man asked.

  “It’s the Goddess of Miryana.” Arzu bowed at the waist until her back was parallel to the floor.

  The man stood in front of the bowing woman. He was dressed in full leather armor and held a large curved sword in front of him.

  “Are you sure?” the man asked.

  “I was her key keeper. I went with her everywhere.” Arzu pushed past the man. “Goddess, where have you been? We have been looking for you everywhere.”

  Tears splattered against Yu Di’s chest.

  “Arzu, it’s really you,” Vimala said. She took two stuttering steps forward, jostling Yu Di.

  “Please, careful,” Yu Di said. He swallowed whatever was coming up from his throat. “I’m dying here.”

  “Oh! That’s right. Is there anything you can do for him?” Vimala lifted Yu Di up as if he were a prized pet.

  “Tursun, carry him,” Arzu said.

  “But Arzu. Who will protect you if I’m carrying him?” Tursun said.

  “No need, I can carry him,” Vimala said.

  “But Goddess.” Arzu looked at the woman and then looked at Yu Di. “Fine. Let’s head back to our settlement then. He looks like he needs immediate help.”

  Somewhere along the way, Yu Di dozed off. He hated to admit it, but it was the first time he got to rest in a long while. To think it was in the arms of the former Goddess of Miryana made that more pertinent. He didn’t know how her powers worked, but it was the most comforting sleep he’d had in so long.

  When they finally stopped, Vimala laid him down. Yu Di wanted to get up, scope out his surroundings, yet rest and sleep called to him. He took the chance to shut off his mind to the outside world and focused on his injuries. This was the perfect time to repair as much of the damage as he could before something else happened.

  What felt like hours passed by for Yu Di before he opened his eyes. He was in a cavern almost pitch black, except for a minor source of light from the far end. He wasn’t alone. Other people were resting beside him.

  Yu Di wasn’t sure if it was day or night down there. He tried to get up, but his insides threatened to come out. He sat up instead. With his back against a column in the middle of the room, he focused his breath and vision inward.

  The time he was asleep helped a lot. His life-rejuvenation elixir probably saved his life. That was worth the price of a city. He had no more of those elixirs and wouldn’t be able to make any more until he arrived at a major city. Whatever he did next would have to be done carefully.

  Luckily, his dantian was fine despite the major crash. It was a fully formed core now, with a little trickle of Qi floating around. Since he couldn’t move around without disturbing all these sleeping people, Yu Di cultivated.

  The more Qi he could pull from the ambient surroundings, the more he could use it to fix himself. Not only that, he might finally have a little Qi to protect himself. He couldn’t remember when he had been so Qi-starved before.

  Yu Di spent the next few hours cultivating until a soft gong rang through the tunnels. It rang softly at first until it became a loud gong on the third strike.

  All the people sleeping next to him got up. Someone lit the lanterns along the wall until Yu Di could see where he was.

  It was a large sleeping space, with the ceiling for a blanket and the rocky floor for a bed. If Yu Di wasn’t a cultivator, his body would be stiffer than a board. How did these people sleep through this?

  Because they had to.

  Since they were so gracious in helping him, he should repay the favor. Yu Di walked over to the corner of the cavern and reached into his storage ring. A couple of bedrolls and simple blankets wouldn’t cost him anything. In fact, it would help lighten his ring for other things that he would now need.

  Curse unlocked: .3% lifted.

  Yu Di liked the sound of that. If all it took was some items to unlock more of his curse, then maybe he could buy his way. If he survived. He took out his jade tablet.

  Current Power: Realm 1, Stage 3, Level 2 (Core Formation)

  Remaining Lifespan: 15 days.

  Current Status: Cursed (14.5% lifted), Fever from infection

  Overall Power: Fourth Realm, End Stage, Peak level (Demigod)

  That was not good. Despite fixing many of his organs and preventing him from dying, Yu Di was losing lifespan faster than he’d like. He would need medicine to deal with the fever. This was where his ego got the best of him.

  Cultivators don’t get sick he told himself. Any illness could be taken care of through cultivation or Qi techniques or even items he had. But he never expected to get sick from a simple infection. This was the cold he got from Yu Lin all over again.

  Flashes of being an invalid during that week were brutal.

  Yu Di laughed.

  A Demigod brought down by a simple mortal weakness.

  “What’s so funny?” Vimala asked. “You’re not going back on your word are you?”

  Yu Di looked up to see two Vimalas. He blinked as hard as he could, but there were still two. One was the weathered, mature woman that carried him through the tunnels, while the other wore the white robes and white mask. Both had beautiful green eyes looking at him with concern.

  “Vimala?” Yu Di said. “I think I’m dying.”

  “We all are,” Vimala said. “Some faster than others. None of us are truly immortal.”

  Yu Di chuckled. “I could have been if you had shared your secret.”

  Vimala walked up to Yu Di and passed him a water skin. “Drink. That’s the water from the waterfall.”

  Yu Di couldn’t grab the waterskin as he couldn’t see it clearly.

  Vimala uncorked it and fed it to Yu Di’s mouth.

  “You know, the secret isn’t what you think it is. It wouldn’t help you, anyway.”

  Yu Di swallowed the water in large gulps. The fresh water was exactly what his burning body needed.

  “You could have told me that in the first place,” he said.

  “Would it have mattered?” Vimala corked the waterskin. “All you cultivators only know is to take what you want. You think small minor cities like ours are nothing compared to your big Celestial Jade Empire. Even Ying Fusu thinks that. You wouldn’t have stopped if I told you the secret you’re looking for would only kill you.”

  Yu Di laughed. He wiped the sweat from his brow.

  “You’re right. I would have taken that as a challenge to try harder.”

  “Now we’re in this lovely predicament.” Vimala sat beside Yu Di. “I just want to go back to my inn, feed the camels, and live the rest of my life in peace. Is that so much to ask?”

  “All I want is to spend the rest of my life with my daughter, but I don’t think I’ll have that chance anymore.” Yu Di took out a small piece of canvas with Yu Lin’s portrait on there. It pictured her flying off the rooftop of a building with a staff in hand.

  “What? You’ll make it back to see her,” Vimala said. “This siege will end. With your skills and guile, I’m sure you’ll make it out.”

  “No, I’m dying. A fever is eating through my body and I can’t fight it.” Yu Di felt a sudden chill as he said those words. “If only I had a few more years to prepare, I might have…”

  Yu Di fell over onto Vimala.