Ch. 11 - Worthless

"You sure are an interesting one…"

"Hmm?"

"Oh, it is nothing."

"If you say so."

"So… How much do you remember?"

"Not much. Feelings… words… promises…"

"What feelings?"

"I-I… I do not want to talk about it…"

"It is okay, I understand. Then do you want to tell me about 'words' and 'promises'?"

"… I remember hearing someone say, 'Promise me', 'Take care', 'You are special', 'He is waiting for you…', and other things that I have yet to understand."

"Hmm… Do you remember who said it?"

"No, it is just words… and promises…"

"Okay."

"Did my father tell you anything else? Something that would be good to know?"

"… Now that you mention it… He wrote something about you feeling extreme pain in your head if someone tried to intrude into your mind."

"Just that?"

"According to his words, you get panicked when you feel that kind of pain and then when you panic, you turn violent."

"How did he know?"

"Hahaha, because on your first meeting, you almost killed him by accident."

"How do you almost kill someone by 'accident'?"

"According to his words, you were not yourself. He triggered you by trying to intrude into your mind."

"Even if that is the case--"

"I know that you might blame yourself for it even though you don't remember it, but you were not yourself. He said it was like you turned into a completely different person."

"…"

"Well… Let us change the topic! How about attending school, meet some kids around your age and maybe make some friends?"

"It sounds… fun…"

"Great! You will have to go through your awakening first, but that should not be a problem. According to my brother, you are already stronger than him and you are only five years old! You do not even know any techniques yet! This makes you a genius within geniuses!"

"Am I really that strong?"

"Yes, you are. My brother said that even he could not measure strength, and he was The Golden Dragon! He was the second strongest person on this continent!"

"… Was…"

"Do not worry about that. He had very high expectations of you."

"... I can imagine."

"Well, let us get back quickly! I am truly curious about your spirit essence! To be able to make both of my brother's spirit essences tremble, your spirit essence must also be in the top fifteen, right?"

"I… can not remember."

"Oh, right! Sorry!"

"It is fine."

They flew the rest of the way in silence. Xiao Huoyan really felt that he had to remember his past. He knew that he was more intelligent than even most adults. He behaved properly, yet he also knew how to say sharp words and insult other people he despised. He knew that he was different, but he was not sure in what way.

"We have arrived!"

"Okay."

"Do you feel tired or do you want to start right now?"

"... I would like to just get it over with."

"That is not really the answer I had expected, but we can work on your enthusiasm later!"

"Okay."

"I like how obedient you are! Finding a good kid with decent manners nowadays, is like finding a needle in a haystack! Let us get started now!"

"Okay. What shall I do?"

"You do not really need to do much. Just stand right where you are and wait for me to finish."

"Okay."

Just as his uncle had began to do some weird handseals, Xiao Huoyan felt as if he was being observed from all directions. He felt as if someone was staring deep into his soul.

Xiao Huoyan's uncle suddenly stopped and everything went back to normal.

He fell to the floor and spit out a mouthful of blood.

"W-what happened?! Are you okay?!"

"My spirit essence is gone! It feels as if a part of me is now missing! What the hell happened?!"

"I do not know."

"Did you do as I told you to?"

"Yes, I did."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Very."

"Then I guess I will have to investigate this later."

"I am very sorry to interrupt you while thinking about your loss, but would you mind telling me about my results?"

"… Nothing…"

"What do you mean 'nothing'?"

"I felt nothing! I saw nothing! You have… nothing!"

"I do not understand..."

"Me neither! My brother praised you to no end in the letter he sent me, yet you have no spirit essence, no talent and no spirit power!"

"Am I really just… ordinary?"

"Yes, you are! You are as ordinary as one can be! You have absolutely nothing!"

"But do you think that I will still be able to attend school?"

"… Yes, you should be able to. Since your intelligence exceeds even most adults, the school would probably love to welcome you there, but you will not be able to take the classes about cultivation."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Then I suppose that is positive."

"... I just do not understand! How come you have absolutely nothing?! Did you hide it from me on purpose?"

"No, of course not!"

"Really?"

"Yes, I promise. There might be a possibility though…"

"What possibility?!"

"Maybe my spirit essence were sealed together with my memories?"

"… Maybe… Then, do you have an explanation to what happened with my spirit essence?"

"No. I truly do not know what happened."

"My brother said that you could even incurable poisons and diseases as well as treat any injuries however severe they were! That your knowledge were something that people would not even dare to dream about! What a joke! You are just a worthless child!"

"Well, excuse me for losing my memories! Excuse me for not even being able to remember my own name! For not even remembering my father who thought so highly of me and even gave up his own life in order to protect me!

Instead of scolding me, how about talking like a normal person? So what if you lost your spirit essence?! Do not take it out on me just because of your own incompetence!"

"So you really had it in you the whole time, huh…"

"Had what?!"

"Some temper! You were so quiet, I thought you had no emotions."

"I am just a child who just lost my father along with all of my memories! You even said that I am worthless, so please tell me, how did you expect me to react?!"

"Yeah, but… It was just an honest mistake, sorry!"

"… Fine. So everything you said was a lie?"

"No. I really did lose my spirit essence and you really do have absolutely nothing… for now."

"For now?"

"Yeah, for now. I will try to get to the bottom of what the hell happened with my spirit essence, and in half a year maybe you will not have nothing anymore."

"Wow... That was very... positive."

"I know, right? I mean, why be negative when you can be positive?"

"I must say, that is a really nice way of thinking."

"Yeah! I know, right?"

"Hahahaha!"

"Finally! Some emotions!"

"Why do you sound so shocked?"

"Well, that is because I am shocked. Shocked… and happy."

"Why do you care for me?"

"First it was just because of my brother. Then I just liked your personality and decided to take care of you more seriously."

"... So, now what?"