Chapter 198 A Promise

Hajime is only two arms' length away from Kaizen. Due to the close distance between Kaizen and him, he could see the contentment in Kaizen's expression. Hajime's heart skipped a beat as he realized that Kaizen could see through him, and his big secret was no longer a secret. He wondered if Kaizen would use his secret to blackmail him into doing something against his will.

Hajime's lips trembled when he spoke. "Kaizen...you said breaking the immortal curse by finding my true love was just a joke. What on earth do you mean?"

Kaizen smiled and said, "That's exactly what I meant."

Hajime was a little upset and said, "From the way you talked about my host, it seems that the two of you have a good relationship, so I don't understand why you actually regard his will to break the immortal curse as a joke."

Kaizen looked at Hajime coldly and said, "Because I sealed his true memory, so if one day his body falls into the hands of bad people, they won't know where to find me. As long as his true memory is sealed, even if his body is stolen by someone like you, you will never know where his true soul is hidden." He looked at Hajime, with a mocking smile on his face. "Have you found true love? Have you ever noticed that the more you love the man who got you pregnant, the slower your healing ability becomes?" 

"Yes, I did notice it," Hajime said in shock. He always thought that he was broken and not as good as before. Now that he knew the real reason for his weakened abilities, he felt a cold sweat break out on his back.

Seeing Hajime's shocked expression, Kaizen suddenly felt a sense of happiness welling up in his heart. Kaizen smile and said happily, "Then don't get hurt, otherwise you will be killed one day, because you will not be able to resurrect yourself." 

Hajime looked at Kaizen in horror. He asked, "So the memories I experienced were not his original memories, but memories you created to fool those who took over his body?" 

 Kaizen said with a smile, "Yes indeed. The memories you experienced are memories I want you to believe that it was his. If you fall deeply in love with someone, all the abilities remaining in your body will disappear. As time goes by, one day, when you wake up, you will become an ordinary mortal who can bleed, get sick, age, and die." 

Hajime asked shockingly, "Why? As a monk, why do you have such evil thoughts?" 

Kaizen said, "I am not a monk to begin with. Moreover, I do this to protect Xian's original soul."

Hajime asked, "So you created the Phoenix Chamber in order to protect his body?"

Kaizen said angrily, "Even after death, Xian's body cannot escape from Peace Valley. Although he is no longer breathing, his body continues to stay as a prisoner inside Peace Valley. Therefore, in order to ensure that no one steals him, with the help of Master Jikai, we created the Phoenix Chamber to protect Peace Valley and not let anyone disturb him." He glared at Hajime. "But who knew that after so many years, the five of you would be able to enter Peace Valley, when others who are more powerful than you were unable to enter."

After learning the truth about the memory fragments remaining in his host's memory, Hajime found that he was not as angry as he thought he would be. He continued to speak to Kaizen in a calm tone. "Although I don't know what the relationship between you two is, I can feel that you and my host have a good relationship," Hajime said as he was feeling happy and guilty at the same time. Hajime looked at Kaizen. "A true friend is someone who is always there for you, during the good times and the bad times. Even if I were reborn a thousand times, I would never experience a friendship like you and my host."

Kaizen sighed and let the memory take him back to the past. His eyes moistened when he said with a smile, "Although Xian was young, he was a very proud man. He refused to surrender and become anyone's slave, but all this changed when we met monk Jikai. At that time, Xian and I were both nameless individuals. When I met Xian, I was a wounded lonely red fox on the verge of death. It was he who saved me. Afraid of returning to the outside world of the so-called Peace Valley, I decided to stay with Xian and accompany him in his dark cave. At that time, there was nothing in Peace Valley except a small pond, and Peace Valley was nothing more than just a large dark cave. Even so, to me at the time, spending time with Xian was better than walking out of the cave and being hunted by humans and other fairies. Although my space was limited, I was safe. I don't have to be afraid." He sighed. Although his eyes were full of sadness when he talked about Xian, there was a smile on his face. "But one rainy night, a young monk suddenly went into the cave to take shelter from the rain. That monk was monk Jikai. He stayed with us for many days, and out of compassion, he decided to live with us for the next five years. Even after knowing our identities, monk Jikai did not look down on us, but slowly cultivated us to see the world through the eyes of buddha." 

Hajime asked, "Monk Jikai is the one who named you?" 

Kaizen said, "Yes, our name was given to us by monk Jikai. We have established a good relationship with monk Jikai, but the relationship between Xian and monk Jikai is that of father and son." He scoffed. "Xian's heart was broken when one day we woke up and found monk Jikai missing. The father figure he hoped would always be by his side suddenly disappeared, and the dark world he once had suddenly appeared." 

"Day after day, Xian doesn't eat or drink. He has given up the will to live because he knew he could never escape the prison valley created by a goddess. He starves himself to death, but after experiencing death, he woke up again and the cycle continue. Then one day, he told me that he could help me become the strongest fairy with great power among any living fairy, but I had to promise him one thing." 

Hajime asked, "What promise?" 

Kaizen said, "I must promise him that I will find monk Jinkai and use my life to protect him and obey his orders." 

Hajime asked, "So, you promised him?" 

Kaizen said, "I agreed to him because I regard him as a family member, even though he reminded me repeatedly that he has no family. I was saved by him and trained by monk Jinkai. No matter how I looked at it, I have nothing to lose. So, after consuming his soul, I waited for him to die peacefully. As he took his last breath, he closed his eyes with a smile and whispered, 'You stupid goddess, in the end I won'. Finally, we all get what we've always wanted." 

Hajime said, "He gave his soul to you, breaking the immortal curse, and you became a very powerful mage." 

Kaizen smiled at Hajime, "Yes that's right, but if you were that lonely kid locked away from the world, imprisoned in a dark cave for years for a crime you didn't commit, suddenly you'd be loved and cared for by someone. You will do what he did." 

Hajime said, "I now understand why he wanted to break the immortal curse. If I were him, I would do the same. I would not let myself be imprisoned for anyone's entertainment. I also know the feeling of having someone to rely on. And the feeling of being left behind by those who were supposed to love and give me protection. A fragile broken person who wished for a hero to appear in his dark world day and night, and one day, that hero suddenly appeared. Then this fragile broken person suddenly wants to keep this hero forever, but realizes that this hero doesn't belong to him, so he does everything he can to keep this hero with him as long as possible." 

Hearing Hajime's words, Kaizen was surprised, "How do you know this?" 

Hajime said, "I was that kid once, so I understand him. Back then, I did have a silly wish." 

Kaizen asked, "What silly wish?" 

Hajime said, "Some nights when I close my eyes, I pray, 'Dear Heavenly Father, please give me a sweet dream and let me stay in this sweet dream forever. I do not wish to see tomorrow's sunrise'." Hajime shook his head and smiled at his childhood silly wish. "It was a silly wish I had as a kid, but as I grew up, I realized that if I didn't fight for myself, no one would. So, I understand why my host refused to give up his pride." He turned to look at Kaizen. "Follow me to see master Budi and Master Yuuto. I promised I would tell you everything about myself and why I came to this world." He smiled at Kaizen. "But if you want to know my secret, you must promise to keep it secret." 

Kaizen looked at Hajime and said, "Fine, I promise."