Chapter 79 77- Time Heals All Wounds

In his confusion, Fei Yin heard Xi Shen say, “I sealed your cultivation so you wouldn’t try to do something crazy like that again. Now sit back down.”

Fei Yin then felt a rather strong Sea Expansion Realm Soul Sense, pushing down on his shoulders. He wanted to resist it, but realize even his physique was somehow sealed.

The shock of this flooded his heart as his bum slammed unto the ground. He never heard of someone being able to seal someone else’s physique.

Fei Yin was wondering how that even worked. It was his physical strength, not like his cultivation that if his dantian was seal he couldn't use it.

Unbeknownst to Fei Yin, Xi Shen had used a bit of Wood Elemental Laws to seal his Wood Spiritual Qi in his dantian. As for his physique, that was because the Laws of the Wood element was so profound that sealing his dantian and cultivation, also sealed his External Cultivation as well.

Laws weren't just some ordinary thing to wield. One can do wondrous things if they even had the slightest bit of comprehension of them. There was even a possibility of being able to create something out of nothing, but that realm of law manipulation was way out of Xi Shen's reach. For now, he could only do circus tricks like sealing Fei Yin's Internal and External Cultivation.

After the surprise wore off, Fei Yin looked toward Xi Shen that was looking up at the night sky with a melancholic expression. Seeing his expression, Fei Yin was taken aback as he wondered what Xi Shen could be feeling melancholic about, he should be happy since he was the second prince of the Maple Continent after all.

If something was making him feel sad, he can just go to his father and he’ll probably solve it. As for him, he had no such luxury.

This also made a sort of jealousy well up in Fei Yin’s heart. He was jealous that Xi Shen still had his parents. Jealous that he didn’t have to live with the pain of seeing everyone he's ever loved be killed right before his eyes.

He was angry as well. Angry that Xi Shen would stop him when he wanted nothing more than to see his family in the afterlife.

These emotions flashed in Fei Yin’s eyes and even though it looked like Xi Shen didn’t see them, he suddenly asked a question that made one ponder whether he had.

“Do you think me being in my situation and not understanding your pain means I have no right to stop you from killing yourself? If that’s what you think then you’re a bigger idiot than I imagined.”

After saying that, Xi Shen turned around and locked gaze with Fei Yin.

Fei Yin suddenly felt as if Xi Shen’s eyes were boring into his soul, and the feeling made him uncomfortable enough to look away.

Seeing that Fei Yin had lowered his head to avoid his gaze, Xi Shen shook his head before he said, “You didn’t let me finish speaking before you tried to threaten me and blow yourself up. Your solution to take your own life so you could meet your family again is fundamentally flawed, and that’s no way to honor the death of your loved ones. The only way to do that is to keep on living with them in your memories. You're sad that they’re gone, but if you died too, then the only one who knows that they had ever existed will be removed from this world. That’s when they would be truly gone.”

As Xi Shen said that, he heard a faint patter and he saw tears fall from Fei Yin’s cheek onto his lap.

Xi Shen lifted his gaze from him and looked towards the night sky once again.

“If it’s as you said, how can I live remembering them, when the only thing I see and hear when I recall them is them being skinned alive, while their screams echoed in my ears as I watched?”

Xi Shen glance away from the night sky and looked at Fei Yin to see him staring back at him with tears stain cheeks.

Xi Shen didn’t respond to his question and only held out his palms upside, after which his Zither appeared in his hands.

Xi Shen then said to Fei Yin, “Close your eyes and don’t resist.”

Fei Yin’s expression showed slight confusion, but he still complied with Xi Shen’s words and closed his eyes.

Xi Shen then place the Zither on his legs and plucked one of its strings. He was playing a piece called -Never Ending Sorrow-.

It didn’t have any lyrics to add to the Zither music like -Falling White Snow-, and -Lonely Willow Leaf-, but Xi Shen still chose this as his favorite song.

Its instrumental melody alone could draw out a person's deepest emotion of longing and sadness, with its soft-sounding cords. It is especially more emotional for persons who had lost someone they love. The music would pull them deep into their memories and hold them there to reminisce about what they had lost.

But it isn’t all gloom and doom, for the song brought out peaceful and fond memories of that loved one instead of sadness for their departure.

While playing this song, Xi Shen used the Soul Illusion Art and sent out his undisguised Divine Will towards Fei Yin.

“Don’t resist.”

Xi Shen said again as he sent his Divine Will into Fei Yin's consciousness. Fei Yin didn’t resist so he easily entered.

Xi Shen then began to search Fei Yin’s memories in his subconscious and when he found happy memories Fei Yin shared with his family, he used the Soul Illusion Art to manifest them within his active consciousness.

Like this, Fei Yin fell into a dream-like Illusion where he was experiencing being with his family once again. Even memories he had long forgotten about he was starting to experience.

Without knowing it, a warm smile had appeared on his lips, one that hadn’t shone itself since his family’s death four years ago.

However, this wasn’t the only thing Xi Shen did. If it was, as soon as he stop casting his illusions all the pain of watching his family be murdered in front of Fei Yin would return.

What Xi Shen also did was find the memory of Fei Yin’s family being killed, and sent out a bit of his Time Qi. For the first time, he was using his Time Qi with his Soul Arts

Xi Shen then wrapped it around the memory, causing it to age. It was rather difficult to explain what Xi Shen did, but to put it simply, everyone has memories that would eventually become hazy and hard to remember over time. It had only been four years since Fei Yin had witnessed his family’s death, so that memory was extremely detailed and clear in his mind.

What Xi Shen did with his Time Qi was make that memory appear as if it had happened a long time ago. All the pain and hurt Fei Yin was feeling about that memory would feel like it happened a lifetime ago.

Xi Shen couldn’t erase it with his current power, and even if he could he wouldn’t have. That memory was a necessary piece in Fei Yin’s character development, and how he would behave in the future. But what he did was brought the happy memories he had with his family forward, and faded out that scarring memory.

As Xi Shen played his Zither, he looked at Fei Yin’s and softly answered his question from before.

“Time heals all wounds. Though it may leave a lasting scar, that scar can be covered with a bandage made from the memories worth remembering about your loved ones.”

Xi Shen then used his Divine Will to lay Fei Yin flat on his back and continued to play his Zither that was echoing out in the night sky.

Fei Yin, for the first time in four years, didn’t see his mother, his father, his older brother, as well as his older and younger sister's fear-filled expressions as they died.

But between his peaceful memories, one was shown to him of the day his family was killed and had paused during a specific scene.

In that scene, Bai Shin was hovering his hand over his little sister’s face ready to slice into her flesh, but even then the look in her eyes as she looked at Fei Yin wasn’t one of hatred and blame, but rather worry and pleading for him to be safe.

The scene then fasts forward and paused each time on his family members, and he realized all of them held that same expression when they were being killed.

The final one was of his mother, and just before Bai Shin plunged the knife into her neck and brought it around, she mouthed the words, “I love you.”

Seeing this scene, which he had completely missed due to him screaming at Bai Shin, Fei Yin shed tears, but not from regret or self-blaming, but rather from seeing even in death his family had hope for him to survive.

The feeling of wanting to die slowly faded from Fei Yin’s heart, and was replaced with warmth as he experience his family’s love in his memories.

Xi Shen felt happy upon sensing such a change, however, he was completely disgusted at seeing Bai Shin’s actions.

He was starting to think Fei Yin had let that deranged bastard off too easy by only cutting off his hands and beheading him. If it were him, he would have waited until he was strong enough and wiped away his bloodline from the Bai Clan and have him watch as it happened, knowing he was the cause.

Xi Shen was no Saint, he had a bottom line like everyone else does, and that was his family and soon-to-be close friends in this life. As cliché as it may sound, watching everyone you ever cared about being burnt alive can leave you with attachment issues. Xi Shen was an example of that scenario.

If something ever happened to them, and yes even that emotional wreck Fu Wei since their relationship might still be salvageable, he would murder whoever was responsible in cold blood.

*******

~Fun Fact~

My new book, Road To Immortality: How I Became The Greatest B.O.S Streamer, is out now! It's my horrendous attempt to dive into the VRMMORPG novel genre, so check it out if you like those novels.

See ya!! ~waves gb~

Word Count: 1728