Ch. 8 - Die Without Regret

"I-I promise!"

"… Good…"

"But why would I need to absorb your memories?"

"All the knowledge I have gathered outside, the techniques I have collected, as well as the place where I want you to go to when your memories reawaken… All of that resides inside of my memories. I want to pass down everything I know down to you before I die."

"… How come you seem so sure that those bad guys will attack you on our way out?"

"They and I are of the same clan and we have known each other for years. I simply just know that they will show up!"

"Hmm… Should they not think that you are already dead or something? They poisoned you with a poison for which there exist no cure, and on top of that, that poison should be able to kill you within five to six hours, right?"

"You are indeed right."

"So then why? Why would they keep looking for you, knowing that you should already be dead?"

"There are rumours about this fores--"

"--What rumours??"

As his son once again interrupted him, he decided to give up. Getting worked up over something like that would not help in his current situation. 'Better say what I want to… while I still have the chance to speak with this son of mine', Jin Long thought and heaved a deep sigh.

"Rumours about a hidden expert with the ability to heal any injury and cure any disease. They say that it depends on the heart of the person who is passing through the forest. If the heart of the person who si passing is not pure enough, he will kill that person without even blinking, but if the heart of that person is pure enough, he will reward that person with an elixir that can heal even the most severe injuries as well as cure any disease under heaven. It is said that this elixir can heal someone, even at the brink of death!

All the Alchemists' Association's headquarters in the neighbouring cities are trying to find out what is inside that miraculous elixir, and the young man who brought it back from the forest is now famous."

"Hmm… I did indeed lose a small jade bottle with a few drops of my blood to someone who came by… May I ask for his identity?"

"Feng Xingyun, third son of the Lord of the Xingyun Clan."

"Hmm… As I thought, it is indeed him. To think that he actually came up with such a convincing story as an excuse!"

"What? That miraculous elixir was just your blood? And what excuse??"

"Hmph! He is just a thief who found it while wandering around in the forest! If he has a pure heart then I am the Emperor of this continent!"

"I am sorry, but I do not understand. Since you are stronger than him, why did you not stop him or just take it back?"

"I did not know if anyone around was observing, so I did not want to just walk out, kill somebody and take it back."

"Why would there be anyone in the forest just quietly observing?"

"To be able to venture that deep into the forest, he could not have done it alone. There may have been some experts hiding nearby for all I knew."

"…You are right."

"I figured it would be fine to let him take the bottle--"

"--So you just gave it to him?!"

"I took something in exchange."

"What did you take?"

"I absorbed both his spirit essences and quite a big part of his memories. That is how I knew his name."

"That guy has dual spirit essences too?!"

"Yes... he HAD."

"Did you--?"

"--Yes, I absorbed both of his spirit essences completely. He is now a commoner without any spirit essence."

"Is that not too high of a price? I mean, he did not know it belonged to you and besides, you have plenty. So why did he have to pay such a high price for an honest mistake?"

"But it was not an honest mistake. He did it on purpose!"

"How do you know?"

"Because I already warned him!"

"But did you not say that you stayed hidden?"

"I did indeed stay hidden, and I also did not speak with him face to face. I just sent a mental message, warning him about the consequences of stealing from me!"

"… Then I guess he really did it on purpose…"

"He even dared to threaten me, saying that his clan was going to give me a painful death!"

"Since he did all that, why did you let him go? I am pretty sure that you would have been able to kill those so-called hidden experts, right?"

"You are indeed right. I had a purpose of letting him go."

"What purpose?"

"He would be able to spread the news about him venturing into the forest, being threatened by me and in the end, losing both of his spirit essences. Then, hopefully people would give up on coming here."

"To think that you actually managed to predict so much with just the little time and information you had. Very amazing indeed!"

For every word that Xiao Huoyan spoke, Jin Long realised more and more that his dear son was way more mature than even most adults. And not only was he mature, he was also extremely clever and quick-witted.

To be able to predict another person's future actions as well as the response of the world, that was something that Jin Long himself was unable to do.

"You sure are extraordinary!"

"Thank you, father!"

Hearing how happy his dear son got after just a few words of praise, Jin Long felt his chest getting warm and his heart melting once again.

"Haha, shall we start packing now then?"

"I have already packed our stuff!"

"Oh… then shall we get going?"

"…"

This time Xiao Huoyan did not answer. He just stared out the window, in silence. Then he suddenly turned his head to Jin Long again.

"Sure!"

Xiao Huoyan seemed to have made his final decision… and he had decided to go. That made Jin Long feel relieved.

As they now had begun walking, they also began talking. Jin Long wanted to present some 'rules' that he wanted his son to follow no matter what.

"You are not allowed to speak about any of your abilities to anyone, expose them by using them in front of other people recklessly, lose control in front of too many people unless you plan to kill them too, and last but not least, you have to keep this letter! You are not allowed to read it until after the effects of the orb wears off. It is written on the back of the letter, since you are going to forget about this conversation. The rules are written at the back of the letter as well as some other necessary things to know."

"…"

"What is it? Was something unclear?"

"… No, I understand, but it is just… How can you be so sure that your going to die somewhere in here? Maybe they have already gone back to your clan and reported you as dead?"

"They would not do that unless they had personally witnessed my corpse."

"Well, that does make sense… But why will you not just let me kill them?"

"Because you are a good kid. I do not want you to use your powers just for the sake of killing them. If anyone of them manages to escape, then you will be in trouble. I do not dare to risk anything. Besides, I have already lived for long enough. To be able to save my dear son's life, well what is my life in comparison to that?"

"How can you say you have 'lived for long enough'?! You are only in your early thirties!"

"Hahaha, no I am not!"

"Then are you only in your late twenties?"

"Haha, I am certainly not that young!"

"Then, how old are you really?"

"Do you not know that it is rude to ask someone else's age?"

"Cut the crap already and just answer!"

"Geez, how impatient you are! Haha, I am almost two hundred years old. If I have yet to live long enough, then who has?"

"T-t-two h-hundred?!?!"

"Yeah, almost."

"Why did you not tell me you were an old geezer before?!"

"Who the hell are you calling an old geezer?!"

"You, obviously!"

"What do you mean 'obviously'?! I probably look younger than your parents!"

"You are my parent, haha!"

"Oh… right, hahaha!"

"Shh, quiet! I think I sensed something!"

"What?!"

"Is it 'them'?!"

"I-I think so…"

"Then, what do we do?!"

"Did you prepare the orb?"

"Yes, I prepared it this morning, how so?"

"Good! For now, I just want you to be quiet, go invisible, hide your aura like I taught you, take this map and continue to walk beside me until they arrive. When they do, you just have to hide somewhere close by, and use the orb as soon as I die."

"Do you really have to die?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"I will miss you!"

Back then he already knew that he did not have much time left, and that he would very possibly die in the forest as soon as they got out of the array, but he did not regret anything.

"I will miss you too, my dear son! Having been able to find such an extraordinary and kindhearted son as you, I, Jin Long, truly feel that I can die without regret!"