Chapter 71: Ashes

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Awareness returns to Liu Jin gradually. He does not know where he is or how much time has passed. His mind is sluggish, so much that he can barely remember his own name. Someone is carrying him, yet it takes a while for Liu Jin to grasp this simple fact. It is as if his mind is far away from his body. For a brief moment, Liu Jin even manages to fool himself into thinking his father is carrying him home.

Then he remembers what happened to his father. Memories of fire and blood hit him all at once.

“Careful. If you make sudden movements, you might fall.”

That voice.

That is not his father’s voice.

This is not his father’s back.

Red eyes snap into focus, the haze blown away from his mind. Liu Jin kicks away the arms holding his legs and leaps back. He expects some sort of resistance from his captor, yet there is none. Even so, Liu Jin assumes a fighting stance the moment his feet touch the ground, eyes darting in all directions.

He is in the middle of a grassy plain, and there are no people in sight. None other than the man who had been carrying him.

“You!”

Liu Jin knows him. He knows his eyes and his face. And the armor! How could Liu Jin ever fail to recognize that black armor after that dreadful night? The image is already burned into his retina, never to fade away.

More importantly, Liu Jin knows this man’s name.

Liu Jin knows him to be Lei Kong, the dying soldier from the Storm Dragon Empire he encountered in Poison Fang Canyon.

The man whose life he saved the day his master passed away.

A most curious sense of peace takes hold of Liu Jin, almost as if he has taken a step outside himself. Liu Jin watches, like a stranger, as his mind pieces everything together with mechanical efficiency.

Liu Jin had suspected. Of course, he had. He hadn’t failed to recognize the armor the invaders were wearing. However, his mind had been far too busy with far more immediate concerns to focus on the implications.

No.

That is a lie.

Liu Jin hadn’t been too busy. He just hadn’t wanted to think about the implications.

He hadn’t wanted to acknowledge the truth.

“It was you,” Liu Jin says, his voice as lifeless, his eyes devoid of any warmth. “You led those men to Eastern Port City, didn’t you?”

Lei Kong lowers his eyes, then his head. Shame radiates from his every pore, yet Liu Jin is unmoved.

“I asked you a question.”

Lei Kong’s knees hit the ground. His hands and forehead follow as the man kowtows before Liu Jin.

“It is as you say. There are no words to express the depths of my shame. Nothing I say can explain away my ingratitude. Even if I were to live a thousand years, I could not repay this debt. Even if my descendants were to dedicate themselves to removing this stain for up to five generations, it wouldn’t be enough.”

“Spare me the theatrics.”

Despite the situation, Liu Jin doesn’t raise his voice. He should be raging, yet Liu Jin can only feel detached. Numb.

It is not that he is not angry. Liu Jin can feel the rage swirling within him.

Yet it all feels so far away.

“Purple-Veined Empyrean Crystals. You saw the deposit inside Poison Fang Canyon, didn’t you?”

Lei Kong says nothing. He does not dare raise his head.

“Once again, I have asked a question of you. Once again, you remain silent. Is there no end to your rudeness?”

Normally, it would be unthinkable for Liu Jin to address someone like Lei Kong this way. While Liu Jin is stronger than his level of cultivation would suggest, he is still far below someone in the True Realm. If he wanted to, Lei Kong could easily kill Liu Jin.

Yet Lei Kong does not dare challenge the boy before him.

“It is as you say,” Lei Kong says, his voice the very definition of remorse. “The day we met, I was able to reach the center of the canyon. There, I found a large deposit of Purple-Veined Empyrean Crystal, the likes of which I had never seen before.”

“How?” Liu Jin asks. Before Lei Kong can reply, Liu Jin elaborates. “How could you possibly have made it all the way there? I have felt your Qi. I have healed your wounds and taken in the state of your meridians. You are only in the True Realm. Of that, there is no doubt.”

Certainly, the toxicity of Poison Fang Canyon has decreased ever since Nine-Headed Snake God passed away. In fact, the last time he was there, Liu Jin noticed that the canyon’s toxicity was declining at a much faster pace than he and his master had anticipated. However, that does not mean the toxicity of Poison Fang Canyon still isn’t lethal.

At the very least, it should not be on the level where it could be endured by a cultivator in the True Realm!

“This one used his clan’s movement technique, Thousand Steps of the Thunder God. Thanks to it, this Lei Kong was able to reach the center of the canyon before the poison took hold of me. However, my steps were not fast enough to retreat in time.”

A clan technique. Lei Kong just happened to have a technique that allowed him to perform a feat a cultivator of his level shouldn’t be capable of.

Liu Jin snorts.

“So that’s it? You just happened to be uniquely suited to surviving the canyon? Tell me, among those who attacked the city, how many can use that technique?”

“Only one other.”

Liu Jin’s laughing now. He tries to cover his mouth as his shoulders shake, yet he cannot seem to stop himself.

And really, why should he?

What should he call this if not hilarious?

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

What is this if not a joke?

“So…” Liu Jin says, struggling to breathe. “Only two people out of so many… and you’re the one who happened to be there. And I just… I just happened to be a big enough fool to save you!”

“No!” Lei Kong finally raises his head. “Your actions… they were not wrong!”

The laughter stops, gone as if it had been never there to begin with.

“I healed you, and you brought your army to my home,” Liu Jin explains. He speaks slowly as if addressing someone incapable of understanding proper speech. “The only reason you were even in danger is because you were scouting your next target. Will you deny that?”

“That’s not it!” Lei Kong shouts with startling vehemence, still kneeling before Liu Jin. “It was never like that! Our encounter was completely accidental. I did not lie to you when I said I was flung there.”

Liu Jin remains silent but motions him to continue.