7

"Well... It's a rare visitor." As soon as old Xu saw Lin Kai walking towards him, he couldn't help but let out a smile.

"I thought you had forgotten about this old man."

With a chuckle, he brought one more bamboo chair from the inside before signaling Lin Kai to take a seat.

"Umm..." Though Lin Kai didn't say anything, the smile on his face was enough to express his emotions.

"How was your harvest?" When Lin Kai took the seat, old Xu couldn't help but ask. He wanted to know how the young boy whom he saved was doing so far in the sect.

"Ugh..." Shaking his head, Lin Kai told him everything from paying taxes to selling them and then buying seeds at a credit. And the more Old Xu listened, the weirder his expression got. It was as if he was looking at an idiot. 

By the time Lin Kai finished telling him everything, Old Xu couldn't help but shake his head.

"You were too hasty." There was a hint of dissatisfaction in Old Xu's voice as he spoke further. "You should have saved some spirit shards instead of wasting them on that useless technique. You could have saved at least two spirit shards"

The more he spoke, the more his disappointment grew. 

"Meh... Who cares." Lin Kai just shrugged in response as if what he did was something insignificant. From his expressions it was clear that he didn't regret it, nor did he care about the potential profit and savings.

"YOU..." Looking at Lin Kai's nonchalant expression, Old Xu was about to scold him, but managed to swallow his anger. 

"Sigh..." With a long sigh, he looked into the distance as he thought about something. It wasn't until a few minutes passed that he opened his mouth to speak. 

"I have decided to enter the ruin."

"HUH!?" This sudden announcement seemingly came out of nowhere, surprising Lin Kai who was thinking about his next course of action. 

"I know... I know the dangers and I know I might not come back. But I still want to give it a try." His voice was firm, leaving no room for discussion. 

"Then why?" Lin Kai couldn't help but ask. Since the old man knew that there were so many dangers, then why was he going there in the first place? The more he thought about it, the more it didn't make any sense to him. He could only look at the old man beside him for the answer.

"I don't have much time left. Five years... if I get extremely lucky. And there are still a lot of things I need to do before that. Things...that I can only do after making breakthroughs to the next realm." With every word that he spoke, Lin Kai could feel his determination. He didn't know what to say. He wanted to stop the old man from taking such a risk, but he was conflicted. On one hand, he wanted him to be safe and spend the rest of his days in peace, while on the other hand, he was willing to respect his decisions. 

"You don't have to worry about an old man like me." Old Xu could sense Lin Kai's worry and for that, he was thankful. Just how many years has it been since someone worried about him? For a moment, Old Xu was overcome with emotions. He let out a hollow laugh and took out a gouard full of wine before taking a sip. 

With hazy eyes that were still looking at the horizon, he began to speak.

"I never told you about myself did I?" He didn't know whether it was the wine or the fact that this might be his last time here; at the moment, Old Xu just wanted to let out his suppressed emotions. 

"I wasn't much different from anyone else. When I first joined the sect, I too was full of hopes and dreams. I wanted to make rapid progress and write my name in the panels of history. I wanted to challenge the most talented individuals and wander all around the world."

As he began to speak, his eyes got hazy. It was as if he was looking back at his life. 

"Just like everyone, I had high hopes and dreams and just like everyone else, I too realize the cruel reality of this world and the limitation of my talents." 

"No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make any progress."

With a brief pause, Old Xu took another sip of wine.

"Once I reached the age of forty, I realized that my path wasn't going to bring much result. Hence I decided to head back to my old town and get married."

Raising his hand, Old Xu waved it in front of his face as if trying to touch the scenery of the past.

"It wasn't long before I got married and a few years later, I even had a son." 

"But good times don't last long do they?"

"I needed to report back to the sect... I wanted to have a proper future for my family. And that is when everything went to shit."

Gulping down mouthful after mouthful of wine, Old Xu wanted to drown himself in it. It wasn't until the gourd was empty did he let out a burp. It was as if what he was drinking wasn't wine, but his sorrows.

"When I reached back home, nothing was the same. The entire town was massacred by a madman. My parents, my siblings, my wife... everyone that I cared about was dead."

There was a long silence. Neither Lin Kai nor old Xu spoke for the moment. While Old Xu was overwhelmed with sorrow, Lin Kai on the other hand didn't know how to console him. He was trying to find words, but unfortunately, he couldn't. 

"Everything that I ever cared about was gone. Except.... except my son. He was still missing."

"So I searched and searched and searched for him and finally managed to find his lifeless body in the middle of a forest."

"If only I was there a day early... If only I was there a day early." His voice full of grief echoed throughout the farm. Old Xu tried to take another sip of the wine, but upon realizing that he had run out of it, smashed the gourd on the ground, shattering it into countless pieces. 

Amidst the shattered pieces and a few drops of wine, he saw the reflection of his own figure as he began to laugh hysterically. 

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA."

It took him a while to calm down. And when he was finally back to his senses, he was greeted by Lin Kai's question.

"So, when you rescued me, was it because I reminded of your son?"

Old Xu didn't answer, but the bitter smile on his face was enough.

"...."

"....."

"..."

After a long uncomforting silence, Old Xu who had finally managed to control his emotions looked at Lin Kai before asking him, "Do you know why I told you about the story of my life?"

"Is it because you want someone to remember about you and your life?" This was the only explanation Lin Kai had. Perhaps the old man knew that his end was near, hence he was telling Lin Kai in hopes that at least one person would remember him. But the next words from the old man shattered this misconception of Lin Kai.

"NO." It was a brief but direct answer. 

"You know, I might have lived for a long time and had countless adventures. Yet my most fond memories are from the times when I lived with my family and friends."

With a sigh, he looked at Lin Kai with a smile and spoke further. 

"Even now, I can still vividly remember the time that I spent with them."

"I am telling you not because I want you to remember my story but because I want you to understand the essence of this story."

With a brief pause, he let out a sigh.

"From the day I rescued you from the forest, you have been living a rather isolated life. I could see that you aren't exactly a fan of making friends. But I still want you to."

Lin Kai didn't reply but just sat there in silence. He was wondering why the old man was suddenly so chatty... It turned out to be for him.

"At first I thought you were just shaken by the events before meeting me and over time would grow out of it.

It wasn't until you chose that farm in solitary that I noticed it."

"Three months have passed and the only acquaintance you have made is me." There was a forced smile on Old Xu's face as he shook his head. He knew this was the last discussion that the two of them were going to have. Thus, he wanted to talk properly with the young boy in front of him.

The young boy reminded him of his deceased son. Old Xu knew he was unnecessarily poking his nose into another person's life, but he just couldn't help himself. When he sees the young boy, he doesn't see Lin Kai... Instead, he sees his own son.

He wanted to talk to him... Wanted to have a father and son chat one last time that he never had the chance to. It was unruly... It was morally questionable... But for the old man, it was everything. He knew doing this wouldn't bring back his son, but he still wanted to make some amends.

In a sense, he wanted Lin Kai to live a life that his son would have.

"Our path like a woman's heart, is fickle. No one knows when we will fall in its pursuit."

"I just don't want you to regret it later. I just hope that if one day you face a situation with no way out, a friend could help you out."

"Heh."

After hearing everything, Lin Kai looked into the distance before he suddenly let out a chuckle.

"Since you told me your story, then how about I tell you mine?"