Chapter 115

  Fading Traces (VII)

  The old woman's expression was rather comedic--eyes widened, lips opened into a circle, jaw hanging, the usual. Light, on the other hand, remained expressionless, taking a sip of water--same as me.

  "... you're lying," she eventually said.

  "Light."

  The young girl extended her hand, palm-side-up, and conjured a withering ball of energy. It was as though there were hundreds of tendrils of shadows coalescing into an orb, writhing and dancing, but all under her control.

  I'd expected that her going into the Antechamber would have erased her Demonic Qi, but she could still actually summon it--it's just that she gained the ability to 'hide' it and make it seem as though she were using completely normal Qi.

  Long Tao had hinted at the fact that there's probably nobody alive who could see through it, so, you know, not a small thing.

  "T-this..." the Madame mumbled, staring at the writhing ball of energy for a long while before exhaling, quickly recovering.

  Her somewhat distant and cold eyes turned rather bright all of a sudden as she looked back at me again.

  "I understand," she said. "Though I may have turned my back on the cult, the Demon God... has always been kind to me. If it had not been for him, I would have been executed that day. He even provided this place and a new start for me."

  "You knew my Father?" Light perked up at last, as she always would when her father was brought up.

  "Hm," the Madame smiled, rather kindly at that. "I've known him since I was no taller than you, in fact. I was brought before him as a Seedling, and he personally inspected me and confirmed my talents."

  "Woah!" It's really times like this that remind me that the coldly apathetic girl traveling with me is precisely just that--a girl. "Was Father strong?"

  "The strongest person I've ever known," the Madame said with a nod. "I've watched him battle hundreds of cultivators at once and come out on top. It is precisely the envy birthed from those losses that caused those vermin to declare a Holy Crusade upon the Demonic Lands. They couldn't live with the reality that there was someone who defied the Holy Lands and made something of himself by himself, and that he was far stronger than they ever would be.

  "Mister Lu... did you rescue the Young Lady?" She turned to me and asked.

  "No," I shook my head. "It was the sect master of the Sword Spirit Sect."

  "Hm? That bloated, ingrate, walking corpse?" she grunted. "Ah. He must have wanted to try using her as a vessel for the Seed. What happened to him?"

  "He's dead."

  "Good," she nodded. "He should have died many eons ago. I presume you were a Sect Elder?"

  "Hm." It may be a bit stupid to divulge so much... but I did so trusting the system--it was never wrong, even if it was occasionally... vague.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "What happened?" she asked. "I understand that the Holy Lands facilitated the invasion--as they oft do--but how did the area turn into ruin?"

  "The Seed exploded," I replied simply, offering my own guess. I wasn't actually sure whether that was true or not, but knowing Hua, he wasn't going to let the Seed fall into anyone's hands, and he couldn't keep his unlocked strength for long. So...

  "... haah. So much suffering over such a demure relic," she said. "What is your plan now?" she added. "Though I'd offer you to stay here, it is... not safe."

  "Because of the chief?" I asked.

  "The chief, his officials, even his servants. They've all gone mad, it feels, the past few years, indulging in every vice under the heavens. They've also grown wary of me recently, I feel. If I press any further... it might be the last time."

  "I wasn't planning on staying, regardless," I said. "I mostly came here so that the kids can recuperate a bit, we can gather some information, and hopefully find a guide."

  "A guide?"

  "To the Spiritwood Grove," I said.

  "Oh. So you know about the ruin?"

  "Yes. We learned it from the bandit group that intercepted us."

  "... I cannot presume to know why you wish to go there," she said. "But I have to warn you: my birds have already confirmed that at least three Holy Lands have arrived, including Immortal Sword Haven. Though, considering how far they travelled... these ruins truly must be something."

  "Regardless," I said. "We have to get there, and preferably quickly."

  "... I can arrange most things for you in two days," she nodded after a brief moment of silence. "Including a guide. However, I have a stipulation."

  "Name it." Of course she had it; just because Light was there to thaw the wall of paranoia didn't mean that the woman's entire approach to life changed.

  "The guide," she said. "I want you to take her in."

  "Uh, take her in...?"

  "As your Disciple."

  "..." Hey. Anything but that, please! I'm already busy trying to feed four monsters, and I heavily doubt that the girl you wanna stiff me with is anything but monstrous, too!

  "She's extremely smart, talented, and beautiful." I don't care about any of that! Just the talented part! I don't want talented kids at the moment; haah, it's all kinds of odd, to be honest.

  I'd much prefer to settle down somewhere as an 'Elder' and take in ordinary disciples for a few years to farm Creation Points through them and create new arts. As it stands right now, I'm kind of... miffed.

  "If it matters, you won't have to provide any resources for her," she said. "Her cultivation method is... a bit unique. As she has inherited my original arts, the reason I want to send her with you is because of the Young Lady--both of them would greatly benefit from being around each other."

  ... it's not one of those... dual cultivation methods, right? No, no way. Light is six! I'd sooner blow up the entire city than let it happen!

  "I am not a monster, Fellow Daoist." As though reading my mind (or just my horrified expression, I suppose), she spoke with a level of offense that caused no small sense of guilt to swell up within me... "I merely mean that the method Lan'er is cultivating requires pure Demonic Qi--and there's no purer than the Young Lady's. Inversely, the Young Lady would passively cultivate by providing the Demonic Qi to Lan'er."

  I mean... is there a choice? Deep down, I always knew I'd have to collect kids like certain kinds of cute and adorable monsters from a popular series that swept the world in the 90s and continued to sweep it until the day I died, but I'd always hoped that would become the case once I had a permanent settlement.

  "Fine," I sighed. "Let me know when everything is ready. We will depart as soon as possible."

  "Young Lady," she turned to Light, who mostly remained silent the whole while. "It has been my last dream of life to meet you at least once." She stood up and suddenly bowed. "Your Father has saved my life numerous times; your Mother has never treated me with anything but kindness; they always spoke of the day they would have their child and how they'd raise them to be the Emperor--or the Empress--of the world. The cruel world thieved you of their love too soon, and I know my words ring hollow; however, I must say them.

  "For all their glory," she said, meeting the young girl's watery gaze. "I know in the depths of my heart that you are their crowning achievement and that they would have traded everything in the world to be here with you today. Everything."

  Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry.

  I mean, Light was weeping openly--I was mostly just telling myself to keep it together.

  It was perhaps the hardest thing I had to do since that drive back home after the funeral.

  No... since the night after the funeral.