Big Dipper Energy Part Two

During the short amount of time Sheng Hao recovered from his loss of composure, Flamelle's word didn't stop and she continued her honest charade. "This world isn't an easy one. Danger can lurk everywhere…" a strange glow appeared in her eyes. Giving the impression that her memory was taking to the past.

Her atmosphere changed and it was as though the old witch's mind had fallen back to older times. Days where she had departed from her household, leaving on a long journey to discover the world.

"Be it from the hand of a spiritual beast you've been hunting. Or even backstabbed by allies in the middle of an expedition." She spoke slowly and it seemed like images were appearing in her mind at the same time she spoke about the danger hidden everywhere in the Portalia Continent.

"Everything can turn into your end in this savage world. There isn't any short end for good human being, but sadly the opposite can also be considered true." The tone in her voice shivered from several muted emotions and turned into a shrilling and grating timber that caused the windows of her workshop to tremble and quake.

"All of us old geezers have come to this place to avoid facing the harsh truth of this world. Just like your grandfather Sheng Wang, we all have our reasons for living in this secluded place. Far from the grandiose capitals where we might have been revered like saints." Through the entire sentence, her eyes never darted from the face of the young child sitting across the round table.

Sheng Wang's face changed slightly from his grandson's reaction, he couldn't help but try to reject the ongoing event as he still felt that he wasn't ready to face the current discussion. His lips could be seen trembling from time to time, but the only thing that escaped from his mouth was a long and silent sigh. That showed the intense internal turmoil going on inside of his mind. Despite the struggle he was currently going through, his eyes were different from before. As though this time, he had finally braced himself to share the truth he was hiding from the young boy.

"Sheng Wang. Too was forced to run away. It's just that compared to the rest of us, he didn't run away from the truth of this world but was forced to come here because he needed a safe place for you to grow." When she spoke of her old friend, the emotions she was displaying before disappeared and were replaced by a seriousness that forced Sheng Hao's ears to focus on every single word that escaped from her thin lips.

"It isn't possible for you to live in any of the major cities… It's not a problem that derive from your high intelligence or awareness, but is sadly due to the Sheng Clan's tragic history." She continued but found herself unable to keep up the talk as she concluded the rest of her sentence with the harsh truth.

"Tragic past?" mumbled Sheng Hao in an audible voice. The voice of the reincarnated man escaped the nascent vocal cords of the young boy, he couldn't help but feel that the reason for their arrival to the Toe Village was pointing in a strange direction. It was as though he had somewhat guessed through his years of existence in the village that his past wasn't anything simple. An injured old man and a small baby wouldn't be forced to come live in a secluded area. If there wasn't a major reason behind their sudden arrival.

It was just in the nature of the reincarnated man that he wouldn't push the question to the old man. Opening up wounds that were having difficulty healing. Weren't part of Sheng Hao's mentality. On top of that, he was well aware that some matters simply couldn't be forced. In the end, they were vowed to be resolved when it would be the appropriate moment.

For the first time since the discussion with the young boy began. Flamelle turned toward the old man and added in a succinct tone that couldn't be refuted. "Take care of the rest of the conversation Old Wang. It's definitely not something I should do. He at least deserve to know that from you!" The forceful tone in Flamelle's voice forced a sigh out of the old man's tight lips.

This sigh in particular wasn't silent, it reverberated through the alchemy atelier in the same way a dropping pebble would produce reverberation inside caves.

Sheng Wang stood silent for what felt like a few seconds for the young boy. Seeing that he was preparing himself, Flamelle didn't say anything and only grabbed the cup that was sitting in front of her and silently sipped from it. Strangely, her presence started gradually disappearing. She was now leaving the two family members by themselves, letting them share this necessary moment in peace.

By the time Sheng Wang readied himself to speak, his gaze left the ground and pierced deep in the black iris of his grandson. Determination flashed in his face as the memories he had been avoiding suddenly came back, flooding out of the depth of his subconscious. A mask of pain and horror forced itself on his usually rigid face, but he still opened his mouth in an attempt to speak.

The young boy's heart couldn't help but weep when he saw the amount of pain and emotions that flooded the face of the old man sitting across the table. His mouth opened as he tried saying something. Anything.

Even if he wanted to know the truth. Even if he wanted his grandfather to take that step. He was far from inclined on the idea of reopening his grandfather's wound, it wasn't something he wanted to at all. The reincarnated man preferred staying in the dark, with the thought that as long as it meant that the kind old man—that took care of him—wouldn't be forced to face his traumas. Then everything would be all right.

Sheng Hao opened his lips, a pleading expression flashed on his large watery eyes and he muttered slowly. "You don't need to force yourself…" he didn't even have the time to finish his sentence that Sheng Wang retorted with an explosive answer.

"No!" the rapid answer dropped like a small bomb that awoke the old man from his anchored fears. "No, no, no!" He continued in a successive affirmation that showed he had finally come up to terms with his decision.

"I can escape from that reality, but you don't deserve to face any of my past or future decisions." A heart flutter wobbled out of the reincarnated man's chest when he heard the sentence. He couldn't help but feel a wave of emotion traverse his body, as if thousands of curtains were suddenly running through the inside of his flesh.

This time, a strange expression flashed on the face of the usually calm young boy. The same type of expression that would usually appear on his face when he was just by himself. The kind of expression that was far from befitting his current childish physique, fully revealing the maturity hidden in the soul of the young boy. He didn't speak, silently nodding without breaking his eye contact with the firm-looking old man.

"Listen young man!" Sheng Wang's voice reverberated once again, only this time his voice was no longer trembling. "We are part of the Sheng Clan, one of the royal families that govern the Jianshen Empire. A few moons following your birth. The other two clans of the imperial family decided to turn their back on us…"

"I am not aware of the exact reasons for that decision…" the pause he took gave the impression to the young boy that time was slowing down, turning into a crawl.

"But the outcome of that treason ended up with the horrible death of more than a thousand members of your family members." The truth escaped his lips one word after another, each bolstering the determination of the old man to relieve his heart from that weight. It was as if he finally understood that the young boy sitting in front of him was far from being the weak and cursed newborn he had escaped with. During the night of the unfaithful nightmarish massacre of the Sheng clan.

"Your parents were good people… Very good people." The voice of the old man turned emotional. Once again trembling, the tone in his words showed that the event he was recounting was slashing gashes through his heart. "Sadly, your mother was weakened after your birth and the vicious curse our enemies placed on the Sheng Household took her life the moment it was set in place." The vivid mask of horror that appeared on the old man caused a sudden spike of anger to flood out of the heart of the young man.

Sheng Hao clenched his hands, turning them into dense fists that showed he was having trouble containing himself. He still managed to stay silent and continued listening.

"Otherwise… She would have been able to fight right by the side of your father…" his eyes glowed with a strange hallow hue that dimmed as he couldn't help but once again pause in the middle of the narration of the event.

His mind couldn't help but paint the heroic figure that stood proudly the night their clan was decimated.

"He did his best! Even injured, he fought for hours. In the end, he even succeeded in giving me the precious opportunity to flee from the horrors that tainted the capital of the Jianshen Empire."

"Without him, both of us wouldn't be here today. And his spirit will forever exist in my heart…"

"You should forever engrave them in your heart! Never forget about them!" the sentence that escaped from the old man made the young boy nearly jump from his seat. A strange sensation appeared inside of his heart as he couldn't help but pity his luck for being unable to meet the two individuals that had conceived his current life.

"A pity my old bones weren't able to shoulder the responsibility he was forced into that night. Otherwise… You would have been blessed with his presence through your childhood." Massive regrets flooded out of the heart of the old man. Guilt and other repressed feeling that Sheng Wang had forcefully stored. And bottled through the past years of his life made him feel as though his old body had turned into a corrosive coffin that was gnawing at his flesh and bones with every second that moved forward in time.

"Listen to me, young man!" He added after recovering some clarity. His mind constantly shifting from the emotional turmoil flooding his distressed but awoken being.

"Promise me that you will live a good life. Do it for them! Don't live your life for a fleeting and unattainable revenge that will end up tainting your shiny soul."

"Don't nourish your heart with our dark past!" It was only then the old man released a final sigh that made him feel as though the heavy weight he was holding on top of his shoulder had lessened by a large degree. Hiding the truth from the intelligent young boy was something he didn't enjoy doing. It was the kind of deceptive type of thought his corroded mind had forced himself to accept after he managed to escape with the baby Sheng Hao. Simply because he didn't want to impart his negative heart and will on Sheng Hao's blooming life.

Anger flashed in the depth of Sheng Hao's eyes, his teeth nearly breaking from the intense teeth grinding caused by his jaw. Before suddenly relaxing.

He couldn't help but feel as though his blood temperature had risen by dozens of degree, he couldn't understand the reactions his body was currently having. Although he felt somewhat close to the blood kin of the body, he had inhabited when he transmigrated to this world. He had always thought that there would be some kind of distance from his other kin. Now. He learned the truth about that thought, but ended up receiving a flood of emotions he had trouble managing.

Thankfully, he quickly managed to kill that sensation before nodding several times in a row as he knew that he was following the will of the old man sitting across the table was a must.

Sheng Hao released a forced smile in the direction of his grandfather. A strange silence basked their surroundings, forcing the reincarnated man to gaze at the wooden tiles inlaid on the ground of the alchemy atelier. Part of him couldn't help but feel ashamed by the sudden anger that appeared in his heart; further nurtured by the fact that the anger in question was forcefully calmed down and was simply pushed further down in the depth of his mind.

The speed at which he avoided the sudden surge of anger didn't leave the eyes of his grandfather. Sheng Wang released a small smile in the direction of the young boy. His heart far from relieved as he could sign of forced acceptance in Sheng Hao, he knew that the young boy had also followed his will purely due to his filial piety. The only other thing he could do would be to make sure that the young boy wouldn't stray too far on the path of vengeance in the future.

"What a good boy… Maybe too much of a good child," he silently muttered with his eyes glinting in the dim lighted before finally looking around him. His eyebrow rose in a surprised arc. Noticing that his senses didn't catch on the disappearance of the old witch Flamelle.

"Where did she go?" the old man mumbled in a barely audible voice that still managed to awake the senses of the now-silent Sheng Hao.

"Not like I didn't mind her giving us some privacy." He added. Still fully aware that Flamelle was capable of monitoring all and any discussion that happened in the Toe Village. The only way one would be able to avoid her sharp senses would be through the usage of sound barriers. Even those would be rendered ineffective when the old witch used the Formation that surrounded the village to further enhance her mental capacities.

"Uh?" blurted Sheng Hao in surprise as he couldn't help but be impressed by the discreet withdrawal of the old woman.

"I really need to make sure to never offend her!" He sighed and marked those words in his heart.