Chapter 37 Future Plans

After his conversation with the city lord, Xuan made his way back to Open Sky Alchemist Guild. Right after receiving the city's secret art, a notification had popped up in front of him, detailing how the Public Event had formally concluded now that everyone has received their due rewards, and it was time for the System to distribute the virtual Credits.

<Public Event: Hunting Party — Quest Complete!>

<You killed a total of:>

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294 Beasts (1 Seventh Order, 4 Sixth Orders, 50 Fifth Orders, 124 Fourth Orders, 98 Third Orders, 10 Second Orders, 7 First Orders)

Total Credits Awarded: 7 + 20 + 294 + 496 + 250 + 24 + 7 = 1,098

<Obtained Spirit Crystals x>

<The funds have been automatically added to your profile, and the Beast Cores/Parts can be found in your inventory.>

<Current Credits: 73,598>

'Hm…? No Hidden Artifact?' He frowned. He'd been expecting to receive the 'hidden artifact' possible reward as well since he 'contributed' the most during th event, but… he supposed the criteria for obtaining that reward was different. Besides—it wasn't good to be greedy. He'd already obtained enough rewards from this endeavor, and also progressed a good amount on his Divine Asura Eye—it should be ready to ascend to the next Refinement level soon.

When Xuan at last arrived before the familiar building of Open Sky Alchemist Guild, he was surprised to find the place's doors open. It was already roughly 2 in the morning by now, yet on the stone-cold front porch of the building, a beautiful girl sat, staring up at the moon. She appeared to be waiting for someone, and when she heard the sound of Xuan's footsteps, she gave a light wave.

"You're finally back. Good, not on the verge of death this time."

She attempted to smile and crack a playful joke, but immediately, Xuan could tell something was wrong—her heart wasn't in it. Instead, her voice carried a hint of melancholy sadness despite the lighthearted tone, and it was clear to any experienced person that her spirits were quite low.

"… Senior sister? What are you doing out here?"

"Waiting for you to come back," she replied, standing up and brushing the dust off of her clothes. "Follow me. Master wants to speak with us before he leaves."

'… Leaves?' Xuan did not miss this slightly odd choice of word to use in her sentence. 'Don't tell me…'

He already had a good guess as to what had happened, but still, he didn't question it, and merely gave a nod before following her into the building.

Once inside, she closed the door behind her, and headed upstairs without a word. Xuan trailed after, similarly silent, and before long, an unsettling mood fell upon the atmosphere. Luckily, it didn't last, as the two soon reached their destination—Grandmaster Zong's office.

When Zhi Ruo opened the door, however, Xuan saw something he hadn't been expecting.

There, ridden in bed, was Grandmaster Zong, who appeared barely hanging onto life.

It hit like a truck.

"… So, this is what you meant by 'leave,'" Xuan muttered, letting out a breath.

He didn't particularly feel sad—he had not spent nearly enough time with the old man to become attached to him. However, Grandmaster Zong had provided Xuan with not just Spirit Crystals but also opportunities, and the gift of the key. The alchemist token he received was also globally recognized, so it would become handy in the future as well.

Needless to say, Grandmaster Zong was a good man. His impending death felt… too sudden.

"Master, I've brought him here," Zhi Ruo said, crouching down beside the bed and taking Grandmaster Zong's hand in hers. "You can tell us now."

"En… good…" The old man croaked, voice weak and muffled. "Listen… closely, boy… I cannot hold on for much longer. The legacy and secret technique I left behind… cough, cough… is stored within a cave… twenty kilometers north of here. The map… is in the bottom-most compartment… of my drawer."

"… What's the technique about?" Xuan asked, voice quiet but calm.

"You'll… understand… when you obtain it. You already have the key… but whether or not you choose to use it… that… is up to you."

Hearing this, Xuan took out the light blue jade token Grandmaster Zong had given him a few days ago, and stared at it in his hand for a good while. He didn't know why he wouldn't want to use the key and obtain the Grandmaster's inheritance, but seeing as how the bedridden man was hanging onto life by his final breaths, it didn't exactly feel like a good time to ask.

"… I see."

In the end, Xuan simply settled on those two brief words, acknowledging that he understood, but not directly giving an answer as to whether he would use the key or not.

"Good, good… now… Zhi Ruo, will you leave the two of us alone… for a brief moment?"

With a cough, Grandmaster Zong rasped those words with his strained vocal cords, and Zhi Ruo gave a firm nod.

"Understood, Master. Zhi Ruo… will never forget everything you've done for me."

"… En. Good girl."

She had no tears in her eyes, only bittersweet melancholy. Her lips turned up into a slight smile, but she could not hide the way they were quivering. Squeezing her master's hands one final time, she got up and turned around, brushing past Xuan without a word, as if eager to escape.

Once she was gone and there were only the two men left in the room, Grandmaster Zong spoke again.

"… Don't worry… she's not eavesdropping this time."

Xuan nodded. "I know."

His Divine Sense had grown stronger now that he was in the Core Formation stage—he could feel Zhi Ruo's presence outside the building, not anywhere close.

"… You've already become… a Core Formation stage?" Grandmaster Zong let out a soft chuckle.

"… Yes."

"Haha… good. My eyes… were not wrong, in the end."

A brief silence. Then:

"Sorry, but… they were."

"… Oh?"

Since he was about to die anyway, there was no harm in telling him. Xuan shook his head.

"You called me good-hearted, the first time we met. That is far from the truth—much too far. I've killed more people than rice you've eaten in your entire life, destroyed cities thousands of times bigger than this one, and tortured countless souls both old and young—all for my own benefit. Can you call that good-hearted?"

But contrary to what Xuan expected, Grandmaster Zong only smiled weakly.

"That may be so… but you aren't evil."

"…"

At this, Xuan fell into silence, unsure of what to make of the older man's words.

"Listen, boy… you hands may be stained with blood, your eyes filled with the aura of death, and your shoulders carrying the lives of thousands. But if there is one thing I know for real… it is that at the very least, you have not hurt me or Ruo'er. And to me… that is all that matters."

"… Heh." Xuan scoffed, a light smile appearing on his face. "You're not afraid that's going to change down the line?"

"Not at all… I believe in my vision. I have, after all, lived for hundreds of years… and gained quite a bit of experience in that time. So… tell me, boy. Who are you… really?"

This time, it was Xuan's turn to chuckle.

"Just someone looking for his old self. That's all."

"I see…"

Turning his head slightly, Grandmaster Zong glanced out the window at the beautiful night sky, painted with stars and the moon. Xuan fell into silence for a brief moment, then spoke quietly.

"… You poisoned yourself, didn't you?"

"… Heh. I knew you'd discover it. How many secrets… are you still hiding from me, boy?"

"Woah, now. It's my turn to ask the questions now."

"Not even showing a dying old man any mercy… you truly are ruthless, eh?" He coughed while laughing faintly.

"If you still have the energy to crack jokes, then you'll hang on for a bit longer," Xuan replied. "Now then… why don't you tell me why? Why did you do this?"

"My goal has been fulfilled, with you here," Grandmaster Zong answered. "And so, it is time for me to go… and reunite with my wife."

"You don't care about Zhi Ruo's feelings? She's not the type to break down crying, but it's pretty obvious she's quite sad."

"That girl… she has a good heart," the old man sighed. "Too good… she needs to learn. How to become independent, cough, cough… without me. And besides… you'll be teaching her in my place… won't you?"

At this, Xuan chuckled. "Alchemy? Definitely not."

"Don't be humble, now… I saw what happened in that room several days ago. And no, it was not Zhi Ruo who told me. I merely have eyes everywhere in this building. I won't ask you how you accomplished it, but… you have a talent for alchemy, boy. A powerful master once taught you, perhaps. If you continue to pursue the art, your achievements will not be short of Zhi Ruo's…"

'Hm… I guess Ling'er counts as a powerful master,' Xuan thought. 'So he's not wrong there. But…'

"I am a cultivator, Grandmaster Zong," he replied. "Not an alchemist."

Understanding the meaning behind those words, the dying man chuckled.

"Yes… of course. I won't force you. Now then… why don't you tell me a story?"

Xuan raised an eyebrow. "A story?"

"Yes. A story… before I go."

Xuan frowned. 'What's with people and asking me to tell stories to them? Ruo Xi I understand, but even a dying old man…?'

He sighed. Refusing Grandmaster Zong's wish here wasn't going to reflect well on him in the Heavenly Way's eyes. And so, with a deep breath and a distant tone, Xuan began weaving yet another story.

*****

Some time later, Grandmaster Zong passed away. After retrieving the map from his drawer, Xuan headed outside in search of Zhi Ruo, and found her on the front porch staring up at the moon just like before, when she had been waiting for him.

"… He's gone?" She asked as she heard Xuan's footsteps approaching, not turning around.

"… Yes." Xuan sat down next to her. "You don't seem sad at all."

"Mm. I'm happy for Master, actually," she replied with a soft smile on her face. "He's always wanted to see his wife again, and now he finally can. In fact, the only reason he stayed here for this long was to find a suitable male successor to unlock his inheritance cave, so now that he's found you, there's no reason to linger in this world any longer."

"… You've made peace with it a long time ago, huh."

Zhi Ruo nodded, and the two fell into silence for a good few minutes, just sitting there, neither of them looking at the other. After a while, Xuan spoke up.

"What are your next plans? Do you want to unlock Grandmaster Zong's inheritance?"

"I personally don't mind. If you want to, I'll join you. But if not, I won't complain either. His inheritance doesn't really matter to me, after all. I already obtained something very valuable from him—experience and memories. Though now that I think about it, there may be some secret alchemy technique there that he wanted me to learn… what about you?"

Suddenly, she turned to Xuan, shifting the conversation over to him. "What are your next plans? Do you want to unlock the inheritance?"

Xuan nodded in reply. "Yes. Since he left it for us, why not? But as for afterwards… I'll probably slowly make my way to the Central Capital. As for what experiences and side events I'll partake in on the way there, I can't say for sure."

"Hm… I see. In that case, can I go with you?"

At this, Xuan paused.

"… You want to go with me to the Central Capital?"

She shook her head. "No, not that far. You probably don't want me hanging around and slowing you down anyway, given my cultivation. I may be three stages ahead of you right now, but I know you'll surpass me in no time."

"Then…?"

"Here. Take a look."

Saying that, she took out what looked like a sealed envelope from her Space Ring and handed it to Xuan, who tried to open it to no avail—it was locked with a simple but effective Qi seal, and only the designated individual could open it. Of course, Xuan could crack the array if he wanted to, but it wasn't his position to do so in front of Zhi Ruo. So, instead, he chose to inquire about it directly from the person herself.

"… What's this?" He asked, observing the envelope up and down.

"Master gave me that letter out of the blue one day, saying that once he passed, I should go to a place called Jade Commerce City and seek out a person named Yuan Wenzhou, Grandmaster Yuan for short. He never gave any further details, and told me not to try and open the envelope since it was sealed so that only Grandmaster Yuan could unlock it. As you can see, he hadn't been lying."

"Jade Commerce City… the second-biggest city in the Xianxia Continent? Famous hub for commerce, auctions, and general trade? The one nicknamed the Capital of Money?"

Zhi Ruo nodded. "From here to the Central Capital is quite a long distance, but Jade Commerce City isn't very far. The direction is the same, so you'll be passing by it anyway, no?"

"Hm… alright. I'll accompany you there, then," Xuan said after some deliberation. "As for afterwards… whether or not you choose to continue staying with me will be up to you."

Zhi Ruo giggled softly—but more importantly, genuinely.

"Hehe~ as long as junior brother doesn't push me away, senior sister here isn't going anywhere."

It would seem she truly had already made peace with Grandmaster Zong's eventual death a long time ago, and didn't appear to be particularly bothered by it. When she said she was actually happy for her Master, she clearly had not been lying.

As for Xuan, he was more concerned about what to do with Zhi Ruo in the future. It wasn't that he disliked her—she was a great beauty in anyone's eyes, and had a kind and caring personality as well. It was just… Xuan already had four women in his heart, and he had yet to spend enough time with her to feel anything close to love.

Perhaps that would change by the time they reached Jade Commerce City, though—who knew what the future held in store?

At the very least, Xuan could say he didn't dislike her company, and could call her a good friend.