Chapter 123

  Choices in Life (V)

  I found myself... drifting. Kind of a half-asleep and half-lucid state.

  I know I've passed out and that I'm lying somewhere in the forest, possibly snoring, and yet, I can't pull myself away from... well, this. I'm back home, pressed against the soft, cushioned sofa that has my ass print embedded so deep it may as well be one of its features.

  Then, right over in the left corner was a snake plant that Yas bought for me on our third anniversary because she knew that it was the only kind of plant that had any hopes of surviving with me. I kept that bastard alive for over ten years, right up until I had to move out.

  In the opposite corner was a stacked set of shelves that we divided up--top half was reserved for books, and the bottom half for movies, TV shows, and albums. Right by it was another shelf, entirely owned by her, where she kept all her vinyls. She never listened to them, mind you; she just used to scour old record shops and buy the ones that she didn't have, growing her collection.

  Her babies, she called them, which was intended to be self-deprecating humor, but she often just looked to be on the verge of bawling her eyes out whenever she mentioned it.

  Next to the sofa was a three-person-wide couch with a low back and blanketed surface, gray in color, and in front of it was a beautiful mahogany table that her grandparents gifted us when we moved in together. We had, haah, hundreds? Thousands? I-don't-even-know how many meals on that thing, and it just never stained. No matter what we spilled on it, she'd wipe it, and it would be gone.

  It was a cheap apartment, but it was home.

  There were no scary monsters capable of ripping mountains asunder anywhere nearby, and there was no need to go on the run, or to hide, or to tap around what I say when with the kids. There were just the two of us... until there was just me.

  As comfortingly homely as it feels to sit in this damned thing and to stare at the drab, whitish walls and expect the shower water to suddenly start running, as she was obsessed with showering at least thrice a day... it's, perhaps, even more painful.

  Time has diluted it, admittedly.

  Even back on Earth, before I came here, I was beginning to... forget. Not her, no, but the pain--it was beginning to dull.

  Sitting here, however, is a reminder, and a stark one at that, that this life is just gone. I am elsewhere, enveloped in circumstances that I cannot even begin to fathom, and yet I must.

  I've found my new lease on life, and drifting in the distant, painful past seems... spiteful, as in she would spit on me if she could see me. One of the last things she did, actually, was hire a prostitute for me.

  No joke.

  I was taking a midday nap when the doorbell rang suddenly. I went out to see who it was, and it turned out to be 'Candy,' who was specially requested to 'take care' of me. Paid for and all. For a moment I thought it was Josh's prank, but even he wasn't insane enough to waste like $600 on a prank.

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  Nothing happened, of course, but when I learned it was her, I was just so angry, and all she did was laugh. God, I hated that laugh of hers, as though she didn't know it would continue to ring inside my head for years to come.

  ... I need to wake up.

  As soon as I did, I felt the back of my throat burn a bit. Well, 'burn' is a strong word--I was just thirsty as all hell, and drowsy on top of it. Oh, and exhausted. So, so, so exhausted.

  I just barely managed to open my eyes only to see a rather comical sight--everyone was hovering over me, like a strange freakin' committee overseeing some odd exhibit.

  Even the new girl, Wan Lan, had a strangely worried expression.

  "... I need some water." My voice was rather hoarse as I spoke.

  "Yes! Here you go, Master!" Dai Xiu was the fastest to fetch it, though Xi Zhao, Light, and even Wan Lan were about to do it as well.

  As I tried to sit up, several pairs of arms wrapped around me and pulled me up, gently leaning me against the tree.

  "Anything else you need, Master? Anything at all?"

  "..." Okay, even for them, this is a bit weird.

  Ah.

  There it is.

  The explanation.

  Long Tao was just barely holding back from laughter, his shoulders all but tap dancing. I took a sip of water, refreshing myself, before addressing the cult of the worried.

  "I'm fine, Xiu. Are you alright?"

  "We're perfectly fine, Master! No need to worry about us!"

  "Yes, no need to worry about us! Let us worry about you, Master. Are you cold? We have a few spare blankets. Or are these insects bothering you? Do you want me to exterminate their entire populace?" Dai Xiu and Xi Zhao were particularly charged, though, by this point, Light and Wan Lan had cooled off and retreated a bit.

  Those two... yeah.

  They'll be the death of me, I'm certain.

  "Instead of doing all that, how about you sit down while I cook us a meal?"

  "No need, Master. Please, let us do it!"

  "Do any of you know how to actually cook?"

  "..."

  "Then shut up, sit down, and stop... hovering over me. You're not moths, and I'm not a fire."

  Under their beady, enlarged, and rather worried eyes, I stood up, fetched a few dry branches that were lying around, cleaned up a small area, and started a bit of a blaze through the magnificent invention of Qi.

  Before long, we each had a plateful of rather dull rice, but it was a meal, at least.

  "How long has he been bothering you?" I turned to the newcomer and asked. There was no going back now, after all--she's here with us, and she's here to stay. May as well start integrating her into this weird... aah, goddammit, it's a cult by now, isn't it?

  "A-ah? For a year or so," she said. "Did... did you really kill him?"

  "Why? Would you not have wanted me to?"

  "No, no, not at all! I'm glad that he's dead! It's... it's just surreal," she sighed, putting down the plate. "When I saw him standing there... I was certain that my life was over. He would never let me go. And then I woke up here, and... that wasn't the case. I was free. It's strange."

  "Hah! That's our Master, after all!" Xi Zhao said. "He makes the impossible truly possible! Did you know that, before meeting Master, I was an utter waste? Couldn't even be called a cultivator. But because of him, here I am now... my fate completely redone!"

  "R-really?"

  "Yes," Dai Xiu joined from the side. "I too, before meeting Master, was a nobody. I was even dying. But he saved my life, and he even--"

  "--okay, that's enough, you two." I quickly interrupted them. Seriously. These two and their mouths will be the death of me. "The important bit is that you're now with us, for better or worse. Regardless of all else, I've promised Madame to take care of you--and I stand by my words. I won't treat you any differently than any of them. Though, a bit of a warning is in order."

  "A warning?"

  "We're going to the heart of the Grove," I said. "To the ruin. Madame said you knew the way?"

  "A-ah, yes, yes, I do."

  "Very well." I took out an art from the ring and handed it over. "Before we get there, I need you to reach at least initial mastery in this and become... well, whoever you want to be."