Chapter 71 – The Tales Woven (I)

Chapter 71

The Tales Woven (I)

“Uh… what happened?”

Light’s first words shook me up a bit too, as, well, I didn’t really have an answer either. What did happen? She flew up and out to the center, ate up a bunch of rather painful reminders of my past life, reversed her 80,000-year-old curse into a boon, and now she was awake, asking what happened.

“Do you feel any different?” I asked.

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Try circulating Qi.”

“… ah!” She briefly closed her eyes and exclaimed quickly after, her expression tightening into a rather odd one. It was as though she was suppressing excitement and horror all at once.

“Don’t mention it to anyone,” I warned. “When Elder Qin asks, just say that when you tried cultivating, your mind was five times clearer than before.”

“A-ah, okay,” she nodded somewhat hesitatingly.

“Come on, let’s go.” She grabbed my finger yet again as I pulled her up and led her outside.

Right at the edge, I glanced back one last time at the place, bidding farewell to it as I simply wasn’t coming back, no matter what. Were it not for Light, I’m afraid those memories… might have caused some damage.

As the two of us emerged, we first noticed the panicked Elder Qin pacing back and forth right on the opposite side of the bridge. Just as we saw him, he also saw us, and his rather worried expression alighted, and an aged, weathered smile came up.

“Is everything alright, you two?” he asked us as soon as we crossed the bridge.

“Everything is fine. How long have we been inside?” I queried.

“Almost an hour…”

“Wow.” It didn’t really feel like an hour, but then again… what the hell even is time?

“So, you really are alright?”

“Yeah,” I nodded, smiling as well. “Don’t worry; neither of us has gone mad. I mostly just observed while our precious little one here underwent a bit of a Nirvana.”

“…” Though he seemed tempted to ask, he paused and stopped himself. I really did want to spill my guts out and tell him everything, but… couldn’t. No matter how much I trusted him, there was the pre-written ‘arrangement’, almost, that we’d soon part ways. “Very well. All is good if you two are alright. Come on; let’s go back. It’s time for the sect to wake up.”

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He led us out through the same tunnel we came in, though at a more accelerated pace. At some point I even had to pick Light up as she was unable to keep up. We went our separate ways as soon as we emerged at the valley, with him pulling me to the side and offering a single sentence of advice: “Tell no one, even unto death.”

Well, that wasn’t ominous, not at all.

As we watched him leave, Light grabbed my finger yet again and squeezed against my leg, her eyes worriedly looking at the fading figure of the old man. I sighed and pulled her with me up the mountain, returning right as the morning bell hawked throughout the sect.

Halfway up the mountain, I had to pull the girl up to my shoulder, where she promptly fell asleep and was still far off in dreamland even throughout the ringing of the bell.

I gently carried her over to the bed under the questioning gazes of Dai Xiu and Hua before walking back to my home, going upstairs into my bedroom, opening it, and bearing witness to something that caused my heart to nearly leap out of my chest.