Chapter 67: To Court Death

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Nothing happens during the first month.

There are no surprises and no changes. Liu Jin’s routine doesn’t change in the slightest.

Xiao Fang is the first to notice something is wrong, or rather, Xiao Fang is the first to confront Liu Jin about it. This leads nowhere. No matter how much Xiao Fang prods, Liu Jin keeps insisting everything is fine.

At some point, Xiao Fang stops prying.

Unlike his young cousin, Xiao Nan does not say anything. He does, however, make sure to run into Liu Jin more often, always managing to bring some sort of distraction with him. These distractions usually take the form of odd jobs that the Xiao Sect requires of him. Settling disputes. Helping decode some of Doctor Wu’s notes. Working with the Xiao Sect’s alchemists. They all prove to be useful at occupying Liu Jin’s mind.

Much like Xiao Nan, Su An does not say anything. Unlike Xiao Nan, Su An starts hugging him more often.

Liu Jin doesn’t fight these hugs as much as he could. At some point, he stops fighting them entirely.

During the second month, Liu Jin’s training with Old Jiang increases in intensity. During these lessons, Old Jiang does not teach him any new techniques or offer him any new insights into the manipulation of Qi. Instead, these lessons are all about theory.

For hours, Old Jiang drills knowledge into his head. Liu Jin learns about rare Spirit Beasts. He learns about herbs and plants, some of which are wondrous, some of which are utterly disgusting. He keeps learning about the human body. Liu Jin thought he had a good understanding of how Qi moved through the meridians and dantian. Old Jiang shows him how much there is for him to still learn.

Then there are times when Old Jiang speaks to him about the world outside the city.

“If we are talking only about the Crimson Cloud Empire, then the Red Sky Pavilion is the best one in terms of medical and alchemical knowledge and is in possession of many precious resources. Of course, this does not include the Four Great Sects. In the Storm Dragon Empire, the royal palace used to house many rare medical texts.”

“Used to?”

“Your uncle and father made a mess of the place,” Old Jiang tells him bluntly. “Well, moving on to the rest of the continent, the ones that can be said to be halfways capable are…”

His master always finds ways to tie the knowledge he gives him to medicine; Liu Jin is pretty sure he’s being educated in politics instead. Old Jiang probably thinks Liu Jin is less likely to complain if there is some medical knowledge thrown in.

Liu Jin never complains.

Liu Jin understands his master is using his last remaining days to impart as much knowledge to him as possible. There is absolutely no way he can dare to waste his master’s time by doing something as petty as complaining. If this is what his master has chosen to teach him, then Liu Jin will learn.

It is that simple.

By the time the third month arrives, Liu Jin should be in constant panic. His master is never wrong. If he says he has no more than three months left to live, then three months are all he has. Every day that passes is a day in which his master can walk up to him and tell him the time has come. Every day is a day in which his master can die. Liu Jin wakes up every day knowing that, and he goes to sleep knowing that.

By all means, Liu Jin should be a nervous wreck.

He isn’t.

Liu Jin can never stop thinking about it, yet his body and mind are simply too numb for him to panic. The pressure Liu Jin is under is such that his other emotions have been buried under its weight. Liu Jin does not have the luxury to cry like the child he is because he has already given up.

No, from the beginning, there was no fighting this.

All Liu Jin has been able to do from the start is accept it.

So when Old Jiang wakes up early in the morning and tells him they are going to Poison Fang Canyon, Liu Jin doesn’t cry. He doesn’t scream. He doesn’t even sob.

Liu Jin gets up, grabs his things, and follows his master for the last time.

That is a disciple’s job.

His father waves them goodbye. His face looks like he hasn’t slept at all, which is not far from the truth. The night before, he and Old Jiang stayed up late talking about various things. Liu Jin retired to bed early, thinking it was best to give them space. Even so, he managed to overhear a little. Not the words but the emotions with which they were spoken. Tense whispered sentences. Angry shouts. Silence.

Laughter was the last thing Liu Jin heard before sleep claimed him.

The day is bright and sunny, utterly at odds with Liu Jin’s mood. It almost feels like the sun and the skies are mocking him, but there is no point in getting angry. Liu Jin repeats that in his mind again and again, hoping he’ll start believing it.

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If someone waves at them or tries to greet them while they make their way out of the city, Liu Jin doesn’t notice. He only has eyes and ears for his master.

Old Jiang walks slowly, more so than he ever has before. At some point, Liu Jin starts holding his arm to help him walk. His master’s body is warm in a way that has absolutely nothing to do with the sun, but Liu Jin doesn’t care.

He doesn’t let go.

The trip to Poison Fang Canyon takes hours. Throughout it, master and disciple remain silent. When they arrive, Old Jiang flares his Qi once to scare away all the animals around them. Immediately after, he stumbles and starts coughing. If Liu Jin were not holding him, he’d have fallen to the ground.

Liu Jin does not dare to ask his master if he’s okay or if he needs rest. The answers to those questions are something he already knows. Instead, Liu Jin waits until Old Jiang’s coughing fit is over and starts walking the moment his master does

It is the only thing he can do.

They make their way deep inside the poisonous mists of the canyon. By now, purging his body from poison is second-nature to Liu Jin. For a moment, he worries that his master’s condition will cause him to have trouble with this, but no such thing happens. Perhaps, it occurs to him, the poison inside his master is so strong that it burns the poisonous mists the moment they enter his body.

Distantly, Liu Jin notes that the toxicity in Poison Fang Canyon has decreased far more than expected.

All the creatures have been scared away by his master’s Qi. The only sound accompanying their journey is that of dry, fallen leaves crunching under their feet. It makes the total silence that ensues once his master’s footsteps finally come to a stop all the more empty.