The Daily Life Of Guo Lian

In a remote village in the Raswatian Empire, Guo Liang set about his usual chores.

That involved fetching water for his family in the morning.

He carried the two heavy buckets with ease back to their small home. Along the way, he couldn't help but admire the rising sun yet again. It was a typical sight as it crested the horizon, rising in the west for yet another day like it had since forever, but he still admired the sight, even now.

His life had carried the same routine for as long as he could remember.

Still, he had always wondered to himself what lay beyond that horizon.

What it might mean to explore the world beyond his village.

He had never stepped more than ten li outside of its boundaries, though he always dreamed of seeing all that the Raswatian Empire had to offer.

He knew it was a pipe dream though. His family did not have the wealth needed to sponsor such an adventure - they could barely make ends meet as it was in their day-to-day lives.

"Ma! Here's the water!" Guo Liang yelled out as he carried the bucket inside.

Their house was small, consisting of a single room which served as the bedroom, kitchen, and dining room all in one. What few animals they had were tied up and arranged behind the house.

Guo Liang was an only child, else they might have had a few more hands to help him and his parents out. He had often wished for a sibling or two, but it looked like fate did not have that in store for them.

He and his parents worked from sunup to sundown, and Guo Liang went to sleep only to repeat the cycle once again.

He wrapped himself in a blanket. For whatever reason, his parents told him when he was little, he liked to tie it around his neck like a cape and run around, as if he were flying.

It was a weird game that none of the other children in the village played, and Guo Liang had grown out of it over a decade ago.

He would occasionally have the strangest dreams when he slept - of chariots that ran without horses, or of strange mirrors that had people inside of them.

When he was younger, he had often regaled the other children with these stories of strange things, though he had eventually stopped as the village elders did not approve.

He did not want to anger them - they controlled nearly everything in the village, and his family's life would be made all the more difficult if he got on their bad side.

One day, while carrying water back to their house, just as he had done so many times before, he saw that they had a guest.

At a glance, one could instantly tell that this man was a cultivator. Guo Liang could not sense any Qi coming from him, but he knew that that was not a reliable indicator at all. Guo Liang was only at the first minor realm of Qi Condensation, just like his mother - his father was at the second minor realm; all of this meant that they could not sense the Qi of anyone who was at Golden Core or higher.

Guo Lian bowed to the man. His mother and father were sitting on the floor, as they had offered this cultivator the only chair in the house.

"No need," he said when he saw Guo Lian bowing. He looked to be middle-aged, and despite his friendly smile, there was an aura of sadness behind those eyes. Naturally, the question arose as to why someone like this would be in a village like theirs, let alone a rundown house in said village.

Guo Lian took a step back. "Pardon me, lord, but have we met before?"

"Perhaps we did," the man said. "In another lifetime." He stepped closer to Guo Lian, and his eyes widened.

"Ah! After all of this searching..." the man said. "Oh, pardon me, I should introduce myself. My name is He Xuan. I used to be an elder of the Rising Phoenix Sect, though I had left that organization..."

It had been eighty years since Tang Ze had sacrificed himself in this world, but it felt like it was only yesterday to He Xuan.

Only yesterday that he had held Tang Ze in his arms as he passed away.

After that, he had been racked with so much guilt (given that the whole incident was basically entirely his fault) that he felt that he could not continue down this path of cultivation - how could he, someone who had led a promising young Initiate to death, guide others?

His own short-sightedness had nearly killed everyone in the Raswatian Empire.

He resigned his position immediately afterwards.

"The Rising Phoenix sect has a new Supreme Elder now," He Xuan continued. "One whose request I could not deny. And I think that you and I, Guo Lian, have met before. Like I said though, in a prior lifetime. I need to be sure…"

He stepped closer to Guo Lian, who fidgeted. He glanced at his parents, who silently told him to obey the cultivator.

After all, with a single blow from a high-ranking cultivator, not only they, but their entire village could be completely annihilated.

"Yes," He Xuan said, tears nearly forming in his eyes. "It seems that I have finally found you at last..."

He then touched a small gem to Guo Lian's forehead which dissolved instantly, and Guo Lian was racked with pain as it felt like his head exploded, and he fell to the ground.

"Please calm down, nothing has happened to your son," He Xuan reassured Guo Lian's parents, who were not completely convinced as they watched this. "The memories of his past life have awakened in him - about eighty or so years of memory all at once. Understandably, it can be somewhat overwhelming."

Basically, Guo Lian was awakening memories from all of those past decades instantly - that was why he had felt like his skull was being split in two at first as his mind was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of memories and information that was returning to him. But the pain subsided within a few minutes, and he stood up.

"Elder He Xuan!"

"Well, it's no longer 'Elder', Tang Ze, at least not officially again as of yet, because that'll depend on what your wife says," He Xuan said, smiling brightly as he hugged Guo Lian. "And here I thought I'd never see you again."

Guo Lian looked at his parents. "Ah, this is hard to explain." He had both Tang Ze's memories, and Guo Lian's as well. But Tang Ze had lived for far longer, so when the two merged, it was as if Guo Lian' was completely gone and only Tang Ze who remained in terms of personality.

But, Guo Lian's memories still lingered in his head.

"I don't understand what's happening," his father said.

"What's happening is that your son is a reincarnation of a great man in his last life," He Xuan explained simply. "Someone who saved not only my life, but everyone in the Raswatian Empire."

Not that they would know this.

Although Tang Ze had saved the Raswatian Empire, very few people knew about it. After all, the Asura E mperor had not actually spread any amount of significant destruction.

So what if it had been powerful? Few had witnessed its power firsthand or had the knowledge to comprehend how close the entire Empire had come to annihilation.

As such, the incident had long since been forgotten aside from some written records which were considered 'classified' by the Imperial Family.

In He Xuan's opinion, there should be statues of Tang Ze erected throughout the Raswatian Empire - but in reality, there was not even a single plaque celebrating his name.

He Xuan knew that Tang Ze had not sacrificed himself for fame or glory, but he still felt that people should know what he had done for them!

There was likely a political reason behind this decision as well - why would the Imperial Family want to advertise that they had nearly been wiped out? After all, it would make them look excessively weak and incompetent. Better to suppress the whole incident entirely

They had still wanted to punish He Xuan obviously, though in his defense - that secret realm would've eventually broken down as time went on. No secret realm lasted forever, and when that happened, the Asura Emperor would be released as it was an entity powerful enough to survive the collapse of a secret realm.

Still, He Xuan had to flee and hide in the wilderness like a demonic cultivator for many years to escape from their wrath.

Those had been dark days, and a part of him had hoped at the time that he would've encountered something like a wild celestial beast that would put him out of his misery during those first few lonely, morose decades.

But those days were past him, as he had later discovered a new purpose in life.

He Xuan turned to Guo Lian's parents. "Ah, I will be taking Guo Lian to the Rising Phoenix sect, where he will be trained as a cultivator."

His parents were still in shock at his earlier words, but his father spoke up now. "We don't have the money to pay for him to join." The entrance fees alone were something that no one in the village, not even the village chief, could afford to pay.

"That won't be a problem," He Xuan said. "After all, his wife is the Supreme Elder of the Rising Phoenix sect."

"Wait - Shen Hui is alive!" Guo Lian said, a wide smile blossoming on his face. He had not fully registered the 'your wife' comment earlier, but he did now.

"Not just alive," He Xuan said, "but a Hinayana realm cultivator as well. She basically walked into the Rising Phoenix sect and demanded to become its Supreme Elder after she reached the Hinayana realm. Ah - it was a bit hard to refuse her given there's no one in the Raswatian Empire who can currently rival her strength - and she's been looking for you ever since." The Rising Phoenix sect did not even have an Eternal Soul cultivator in its ranks when Tang Ze had been a part of it - forget about having a Hinayana realm cultivator.

Now that the sect was under her umbrella, the Empire had canceled all arrest warrants for He Xuan as she had wanted his help. She needed those who had known Tang Ze to assist in her search for him.

He Xuan then frowned as he suddenly remembered something important. "You're not married, are you?"

"Uh, no," Guo Lian said. It was a bit hard to find a wife when you were dirt-poor like their family was.

"Good! I can't imagine how Xian Yue - or Shen Hui, would react if she knew that you had married before she was able to find you," He Xuan said with a chuckle.

"Oh right," Guo Lian said, a chill creeping down his spine at the thought. "Yes, thank Heaven that didn't happen."

The two of them did not leave immediately, but stayed in the house overnight, as Guo Lian told his parents in more detail what was going on. These were not the same parents that Tang Ze had, but he was still as attached to them as Guo Lian had been. They watched with awestruck eyes, not believing much of what he was telling them, but with He Xuan there, they could not deny its veracity.

He Xuan filled him in on how things had gone after he had left, or died to be more precise.

The sect janitor, much like He Xuan, had also felt that he had failed by not dealing with Tang Ze's heart demon in time. Turns out that unassuming man was an expert in these things!

The sect janitor mentioned he had tried a softer approach, though he realized his approach had been too indirect and he should've confronted Tang Ze directly. He said this before retiring and leaving the sect, which Guo Lian felt was a bit of an overreaction. There were other people in the sect who could still benefit from his guidance, and Tang Ze could understand his reasons for being less overt.

They had tried to find the sect janitor to recruit him into the 'finding the reincarnated Tang Ze' effort, but no traces seemed to remain of where the sect janitor had vanished off to.