Chapter [B3] 43 — Old Man's Past

Chapter [B3] 43 — Old Man's Past

I sat in the carriage as we made our way back to the Lords manner. That has certainly been one hell of a meeting, with despite the rough nature of it the practice had gotten with a Divinitys domain had certainly been useful. But I no longer had an excuse left to not talk about the things that I had been meaning to talk about with the old man. I sat there for a long moment hesitating over how I should ask about his past, the really was just trying to delay having to bring it up as much as I could. Taking a breath, I looked up at him and decided to just go for it.

How do you know the Shie matriarch? I asked the old man, who looked back at me with mild surprise.

I used to know her mother, the old man replied.

The previous matriarch and Divinity? I asked, raising my eyebrow. Wasnt she super important and also really really old?

She was, this old man was much younger back then when he had first met the woman. She had been amused by my youthful arrogance and had tested me. I had passed her test, and so she had come to know of me. She had been one of the people who had helped me at the time as well, and would continue to help me many times in the future. At first it hadnt been out of kindness but because she had seen some benefit in me, but eventually, I think she had come to like my presence. Zhuihu, her daughter, had been young back then and we had known each other, and we spent some time together in our youth, although not for long. She was the daughter of a Divinity. I was barely the first son of a branch family of the Huo clan. But despite that, our acquaintanceship has survived the years.

It was hard for me to picture him as anything but an old kind man but if I tried I could vaguely see a young youthful version of him with far more confidence and arrogance going about dreams were Divinities test of all things.

You were quite adventurous back in your youth, huh?

The old man laughed at my words. I was a fool, but I was also strong enough to not die. So yes, I was quite adventurous, emboldened by my use and strength I had done many things that could have ended my life. Challenged the wrong people, and made for stronger than I, but fate had other plans and I came out stronger beyond those challenges.

Is that why they call you the Flame Dragon? I asked.

The old mans expression shifted as a thinking about a particularly nostalgic memory. Ah, that nickname, the curse that has not faded even now. We got that name because one time a fire dragon had arrived at the first peak, but disguised in human form. And we had ended up in a drinking match, of course I was losing, instead of graciously accepting my defeat, I had tried to challenge the dragon. Amused, the dragon had agreed, but instead of sparring normally, in my drunken stupor and with the alcohol burning in my throat I ended up breathing fire against the dragon without warning, burning his clothes, the old man said, shaking his head. The dragon was forced to change her form back, and had laughed and declared me as one of his kin, which is how I gained the nickname. At first as a joke, but eventually as my strength and name grew, so did the nickname.

I struggled to imagine the old man getting drunk, much less behaving like that, but the thought still made me smile.

That was how things had been, until we started a family. And especially after we had a grandson, the old man said. His expression shifted through a multitude of emotions, joy, nostalgia, and a whole lot of grief and loss.

I looked at him in silence for a moment. What had happened in the past? What truly happened? With you and your grandson.

The carriage shuddered to a stop at my words. I looked outside, realizing wed arrived back at the Lords manor.

Perhaps its time we told you everything, the old man said, looking at me before he stepped outside. I followed him out, walking behind him with a curiosity and worry fighting against one another.

Ultimately, the curiosity won out and I walked to the old mans chambers.

The old man walked in his chamber, moving around the place as he picked up a cup from nearby, flames dancing around his hands as he quickly heated up some tea.

I took a seat and the old man followed, putting a cup of tea in front of me while keeping another that he nursed in his hands. I sat there for a few moments, giving him time as silence persisted for roughly a minute or so, before the old man spoke up at last.

We wont repeat this, so listen carefully, the old man said, and the pain in his voice felt like knives stabbing me, but it was too late to regret, and I did want to know.

I nodded to him in reply.

Yuan watched the girl and his child die in his arms, after being refused by the emperor. I was powerless to help. All I knew how to do was to kill, to fight, to burn. I could not heal. But even then, I had tried to let the boy grieve, let him recover. I thought it would take time, but he would move on. But I had been wrong, the old man said. A torrent of emotions swirled in his eyes.

He poured himself into learning more, into forbidden books, into life, death, and into immortality. The boy cultivated an immortal twin, secretly mastering Gu and demonic arts, trying to reach past the point anyone had. To reach for Ascendance. He managed to even find a lost Divine Beast and receive their blessing. If there was anyone in the world who couldve done it, it was him.

But at the very end, at the pinnacle his technique failed. When the boy had attempted transcendence the demonic half of him betrayed him. I sensed the shift and had found him and tried to kill the demon but it was too late. I watched my grandson be consumed by hatred of the world, of the empire, as Sheng Yuan died, consumed by his twin, and the demon Yang Shen was born.

The divine beast tried to stop him. I tried as well, desperate to bring my grandson, to save him, should any of him had remained inside the demon. But hed achieved power we had never even dreamt of. I failed, and Yang Shen fled. I spent three years searching for him before I gave up. He was gone.

But then almost a decade later, all of a sudden he returned and he had become a true monster. Hed managed to fight and capture not just one but two divine beasts for himself and control them at his command. With the power of two divine beasts in his hands, hed fought hard and he killed two Divinities, and injured two more heavily, before finally being pushed back.

It was when hed mercilessly started killing even those weaker than him when I realized that Id long lost my grandson, and what stood in front of me was merely a demon wearing his likeness. Enraged and grief took me over as I fought the demon to a standstill, before I had grabbed his heart and tore it out of his body. I thought that was it. I killed the demon that had taken my grandson away from me. But I had no peace. I lost all meaning in life, and so I abandoned my position as lord and left. I wandered the empire aimlessly, simply looking for a place to spend the last of my days till death took me, but Xiaorong found me in this state.

She picked me back up, and gave me a new path. To not kill, but to heal. To save lives. Xiaorong herself had lived a difficult life and had failed in her endeavor, though she had done much good in her time. So we departed together. I abandoned my name, abandoned my past and settled around the seventh peak. The lord at the time welcomed the two of us, and eventually we ended up working for the sect. But then when the thing with your brother Zhang occurred, she lost all hope in the sect and left. I chose to stay because we believed we could still do good there, the old man said, looking down at the cup of tea in his hand, before he looked up at me.

And that was when I found you, the old man said.

I simply sat in silence, taking all of that in. That was a lot. With the nature of the empire in my mind and with everything that had happened, I felt a lot of complicated emotions. Yet, a thought remained in my mind. What if Shen Yuan is still there? Inside of Yang Shen. Back when I had been lost to Xuanwu, was what I saw just a lie? Was I just being tricked?

I put an arm on my chest, feeling the spirit rings in my soul. My two halves and the harmony they carried. What if Shen Yuan had never managed that?

I let the thoughts dissipate, letting out a tired sigh. Looking at the old man, I gave him a small bow. Thank you for telling me.

The old man nodded, before looking at me. I had told you that you are like a grandson to me. That was not a lie, but in truth, I saw you as a reflection of my younger self. The ambition, the desire, and the despair. When youd come to me, this old man had felt like he was looking at his own reflection.

But youre not like me. You have managed to carve your own path ahead, Lu Jie. I have no doubt that you will go far, the old man said, smiling at me.

I couldnt smile back. I always felt like a fake, after all, most of my gift was just having the knowledge of a modern world. Did I truly have what it took?

A lot of what I have done it has been borrowed. The memories of my past life, they have guided me, given me a cheat. Im not as great as people seem to think, I replied.

Perhaps so, but the one to do it was still you. The one to stand in the face of danger was still you. The one to see the path and pave the way was still you, my boy. And there is no one else who has found the paths you have, your cultivation is unique to you and you should be proud.

I looked up, before nodding my head. Thank you.

The old man rose from his seat. Get some rest, Lu Jie. We will be resting as well. We have to leave for the jade court tomorrow.

I got up at that as well, nodding. Feeling exhaustion and a swirling mix of emotions bubbling in my chest I walked out of the chamber with heavy shoulders.

I had a lot of things on my mind, thoughts and feelings that I needed to process, but I put them aside for now. Tomorrow would be the day I met the emperor.