Chapter 29: An Admission of Guilt

Chapter 29: An Admission of Guilt

Ai continues speaking.

While I was here, I was looking for alternative ways for Lin and I to grow or even heal ourselves. What I found is that, while rare in this area, there are some loose cultivators.

She turns to me, Oh, right. Loose cultivators are people who are practicing cultivation without the backing of a sect. To my knowledge, it is a double-edged sword. Everything they collect, do, or work on is solely their property and decision to make. However, there is no one to protect them, help them financially, and it is much more difficult to achieve gains. If Lin wasnt accepted by the sect

Ai walks over to her room and with her back turned to us, suddenly begins pulling apart a bag she had previously brought in.

Lin, for her part, looks confused and doesnt seem to understand what is going on.

After a minute of this, Lin gasps. Shes clearly figured something out that we havent.

It is not until Ai turns around, that I can see what she had realized.

In Ais cupped hand are 10 Big Silver coins.

Altogether, this is comparatively worth $10,000. With this, she could outright buy a small house and enough to allow them to live for a very long time.

If she wasnt accepted by the sect, I wanted to her to buy a home for herself and possibly learn cultivation at her own pace. This would be enough for her to live comfortably.

Tears are filling Lins eyes.

Jiejie, how did you?

Even Ai seems to get emotional. Lin I did what I had to, especially for my precious little sister. They look at each other and quickly grasp each others hands.

After that touching moment, still with their hands clasped together, she speaks with strength.

However, it looks like that will no longer be the case. We now are in a good place, maybe even safer than if we had bought something out there.

Turning to me, You may not know this, but those who dont have power are frequently torn down and trampled underfoot. It takes a lot of time, effort, and careful connections to make sure you can live safely. Even if you have your own home, there are still different factions that can walk in and take everything from you.

Being able to live here, in such a large space, with essentially no enemies and people we can trust, allows us to plan and move easier.

She pauses, holding a breath. She turns to the side, her arms crossed under her chest.

It would be easy to imagine her as a portrait. A proud woman, holding much more than herself together.

Her head raises to Gong, their eyes meeting and holding in place.

She looks over to me, You wouldnt know, but Old Rong was actually pretty decent at fighting, even while being as drunk as he was. You were likely only able to win, because of luck Lins eyes are distant and unfocused.

Ai seems to be nonchalant about it, but I can see her clenching her fist. I see her glance down at her hand, after seeing where I was looking. She unclenched it.

Giving a sigh, Unfortunately, there was no way we could have done that normally. No matter how deserved it was.

She looks to be moving on, before giving it a bit of thought.

Actually, you showed a bit of skill, from what Lin told me. She wouldnt have had the opening to stab his neck, if you hadnt played that fake attack trick. After that, he must have been in a panic from having a piece of pottery in his neck.

She pauses.

Knowing it was Lin must have caused him not to try to hurt her as badly either.

Lins eyes look down at that. Ai still looks steadfast, but even I can see the slight bit of pain in her eyes.

Damn I guess not everything is as clear cut as it seems.

Interrupting my thoughts, Lin speaks up, I can speak for the both of us dont feel bad about the way things ended. It was for the best. There was no way he was going to let us go that day, if you hadnt had stepped in.

She pauses for a moment. If not you, it would have been me, one day. Especially, after what he did to Ai that day.

Silence.

Theres not much you can say after something like that. When they feel comfortable, theyll continue on.

Surprisingly, Lin is the one to break the silence this time. Ai is still staring off into the distance, seemingly lost in her thoughts.

Back to what we were discussing, though. For the past few days, Ai and I have been thinking about what could benefit you the most, until we can actually get you a cultivation manual.

As you can probably guess, it is extremely expensive to get a cultivation manual. Not even with twice the amount we have here, could we buy a poor quality one. What we came up with for the interim, is getting you an alchemy manual. Gong gasps.

This is exactly what she was talking about before. And if Im not wrong, I believe using real alchemy requires having qi so this is perfect for where she is now.

What will allow you to buy this, will be this guy here. They point over at me.

Wait, what?