36 – Truth, then Vacation

The moment the vision ended, the wolves exploded with rage.

“Monster!” The Foundation Establishment alpha wolf roared, its fur bristling with killing intent. “You ate our mother! You devoured our siblings! You are no different from that gray-robed butcher!”

The other wolves joined in, snarling and howling with pure hatred.

“Traitor!”

“Corpse desecrator!”

“You wear our mother’s bones and dare show yourself to us?!”

I raised my hands slowly, trying to keep my voice steady. “Listen to me. I am not the one who killed your mother. That cultivator in gray robes is the real enemy. I only… absorbed what was already dead.” I throw the blame away from me

“Lies!” one of the Qi Refining wolves snapped, foam dripping from its jaws. “You’re wearing her flesh! Her power! Her children’s bones are part of your claws! How dare you speak as if you are innocent?!”

I glanced at the deer, who were watching silently with wide, fearful eyes, then back at the wolves. “I’m telling the truth. We don’t have to do this.”

But the wolves were beyond reasoning. Their eyes burned with grief and fury as they lowered their bodies into fighting stances, flames flickering at the edges of their mouths. The alpha wolf took one menacing step forward, its killing intent pressing down on everyone present.

I gently set the fawn down, letting her run back to her mothers. Fumo stood ready beside me. I spread my divine sense across the entire battlefield.

“Is there really no way for us to just… walk away and live?” I ask for the last time

The alpha wolf stared at me for a long moment, eyes burning with hatred. “Never.”

BOOOM!

The ground and air trembled violently. Before any of them could react, all three Ashen Wolves collapsed lifelessly to the ground, clean holes punched through their skulls. Above their bodies are three railguns that disappear after they are fired. 

I sat down after that. Stretching my legs straight as I watch the blood flow from the small holes on the wolves’ skulls. Waiting. To feel something. Guilt. Regret. Anything. But there’s none. Was I always like this? Or is it after I change into this? I don’t even know for certain. I think I have had a cat before. I certainly felt something hard to describe when he died. Yet these wolves, whose flesh and bones were now part of me, stirred nothing. Maybe it was because I didn’t know them.

I looked at the dead wolves once again. Then flinched. From a vision that I died the same way as them. But it is Fumo that blocks the sun. Offering his hand to help me up. Aight, that’s enough moping around. I take his hands and stand.

‘Are you alright?’ Fumo respectfully asks through telepathy

‘I am fine.’ I replied. ‘This is… like a chore. Like filling a barrel with sand.’

I turned toward the three white deer. The fawn was huddled between her mothers’ legs, ears pressed flat against her head, trembling. All four of them stared at me with pure terror.

The First Mother, voice shaking, finally spoke.

“…Are you going to kill us too?”

I flinched slightly at her question. I never imagined I would one day be feared like this.

“No,” I said gently, trying to sound as non-threatening as possible. “I won’t kill you. However, if you’ll allow it, I’d like to see the last place you saw your husband. It might help me understand how I ended up like this.”

The First Mother stared at me warily for a long moment.

“Do we even have a choice?” she asked, her voice laced with bitterness and exhaustion.

“Of course you have.”

The First Mother lowered her head slightly, glancing at her daughters and the trembling fawn huddled between them. After a heavy silence, she let out a quiet sigh. “Very well… We will show you. But if you harm any of us, I will fight you with everything I have left, even if it means my death.”

As for the dead wolves…. I put them in my storage ring for now.

We followed the three white deer in my truck, driving slowly along the wide trail of destruction the past me left behind. a straight line of uprooted trees and broken earth cutting through the forest.

“Fumo,” I said after a long silence. “Was killing the wolves justified?”

Fumo thought carefully before answering. “You tried to reason with them. You gave them a chance. In the end, yes. It was justified.”

He turned to me. “Why do you ask?”

I exhaled slowly. “Well, remember that ‘thou shall not kill’ is part of the ten commandments of my faith? The previous interpretation is that ‘thou shall not murder’. Meaning unjustified killing. The latter is like a new interpretation that was pushed quite recently. I’m just wondering…”

“Brother,” Fumo said gently but firmly. “You cannot simply choose whichever interpretation is most convenient at the moment.”

I nodded. “Yeah… you’re right.”

“However,” he continued, “As you said, you weren’t particularly devout before arriving in this world, perhaps you never had to face such questions seriously. Even so, it’s better to choose one path and remain consistent. The road ahead is long. This will not be your final test of faith.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” It felt good to have someone I could actually talk to about these things.

“But if it is any consolation,” Fumo added gently, “there was no way the wolves would have simply walked away.”

“What do you mean?”

“Spiritual beasts are extremely prideful. Many would rather die than suffer humiliation. Besides… all three of the remaining wolves were males.”

“I see.”

It still felt foreign to me. Choosing death over survival. I had seen it in games and stories, but experiencing it in reality was entirely different. Jinlian had chosen to self-destruct rather than surrender. The wolves… perhaps with their alpha and most of their pack gone, and no females left to continue their bloodline, they simply chose to die fighting.

The drive continued in heavy silence. Eventually, the dense forest gave way to the familiar highway.

“This is where the West General of Jin died,” Fumo said quietly.

I slowed the truck. “Can we stop for a moment?”

The three deer reluctantly came to a halt. I stepped out and focused, pulling forth the memories of this place. I projected the scene for everyone to see.

It was a bright afternoon. Two elegant carriages moved along the road. Suddenly, the ground shook as the past version of me, a monstrous black furred deer with a skull head, burst violently out of the forest, smashing through trees like they were twigs. The creature crashed straight into one of the carriages, sending it tumbling.

A terrified scream rang out. Princess Qiuhua. Protecting her was a gallant young man, the West General. I watched as my past self rampaged blindly, goring soldiers with sharp antlers and trampling bodies underhoof. Then how it tramples…. No, dances, almost gleefully, at the corpse of the young man. Destroying the body until nothing but mangled meat remains.

I did this.

I look away and return to the truck. We return back on track without a word. 

We reached the mountainside by evening. From the top of the cliff where the trail of destruction began, the five great peaks of Tianhe Sect stood proudly in the distance, barely two days’ drive away.

I glanced at the fawn. She no longer looked at me with the eyes of a daughter, but with pure fear. The same fear was reflected in her mothers’ expressions. None of them objected to her watching. I took a deep breath and focused. Once again, I pulled forth the memory of this place and projected it for everyone to see.

The familiar gray robed cultivator sat atop the white deer’s corpse, casually spinning a four petaled red lotus between his fingers while holding the deer’s still beating heart in his other hand. The deer’s head had been burned down to the skull, a gaping hole torn through its chest.

“Yes, let the corpse rot here. Who knows, it might help someone or something.” He said before leaving

Once again, I look at the direction of the Tianhe sect. This is before I obtain the deer’s body. It is clear that the young cultivator has killed Jinlian, the pack of ashen wolves, and the white deer. But there’s still no explanation on what happened to me. So I waited. And I shudder as I see what is coming.

“Was that… me?”

A miserable, formless red sludge. Like a slime that struggles to maintain its form. Slowly oozed across the ground toward the deer’s corpse. It crawled into the empty cavity in the chest, replacing the stolen heart. The white deer’s body jerked violently. Its beautiful white fur rapidly lost its luster, turning into a sickly pitch black. The now black deer struggles to stand, moving at the direction the young cultivator departed to. Falling from the cliff then slowly but unsteadily moving faster. Galloping and making the trail of destruction.

“I’m fine,” I blurted out, even though no one had asked.

I sat inside the truck with the windows heavily tinted so the others couldn’t see me. Projecting a paper bag into my hands, I pressed it against my mouth and breathed in and out rapidly, trying to steady myself.

Alright… I’m calm. I’m calm.

WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!

I was a fucking red sludge? Some disgusting, formless blob? Did that mean… nothing of my original body remained? Only my heart?

A knock came from the truck door.

“Fumo, I’m having a moment here,” I complained.

“Someone is looking for you,” he replied.

I groaned and slammed my forehead against the steering wheel. Goddamit, what now? Is it more trouble? God, I hope not. My head is a mess as it is right now.

Sighing, I stepped out of the truck. I immediately saw a short woman in Tianhe sect’s black and white robe. But modified with a cloak and wearing a mask that covers everything. In fact, there’s no distinctive feature I can point out from all the clothes. Cradling a sheathed sword in her arms. Do I know her? We both stare at each other for a while.

“Is this how you greet your senior sister?” She finally asks

“Oh!” I quickly straightened. “Greetings, Senior Sister Hanhua.”

“So… why are you looking for me?” I asked, feeling uneasy. The old man said that it is better that I have minimal interaction with her but now she is looking for me.

“You are, hmm…. Disappointing.” She said monotonely

“I’ve heard worse.”

Hanhua tilted her head, “You are a waste of space.”

“Okay.”

“Your very presence taints the air around you.” She continue to mock with the same monotone voice

“Mhmm.”

Then a pause

“So… you are here specifically to insult me?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

Even though her mask covered her eyes, I could feel the heavy judgment radiating from her. After another pause, she scoffed.

“It doesn’t matter now.”

What the hell is her problem? Whatever. I wasn’t in the mood for this. I turned to Fumo.

“Sorry about that. Anyway, do you know why that gray-robed cultivator killed the white deer, the ashen wolves, and the golden serpent?”

—

I looked at the cultivator with a deer skull in front of me. He is… weak. So weak. I don’t even need to draw my sword to kill him. Yet… why did master adopt him over me!? I have trained and cultivated for decades! He has never trained me personally despite my effort and achievement! And now! He adopted this filthy animal instead! Over me!

“To form a Golden Core, in addition to the Golden Core Formation Elixir, Beast Cores that are within the spiritual beast’s heart can be used to increase the chance of success and to amplify cultivation further. Usually, just one in specific Qi a cultivator specializes in is enough.

“However, it looks like the grey robed cultivator is seeking to aim Five Elements Golden Core (五行金丹). It will help in creating flawless or even legendary golden cores and will provide an even stronger foundation for future realms.”

The monk from Lingshan temple explains what should be common knowledge. Of course this idiot doesn’t know something so basic. So not only is he weak, he is also a dunce. Completely undeserving of the Xuan name. I regretted scaring away that group of rats earlier. They should have been able to kill him without issue.

“Brother Danxing,” the monk continued, “if you wish, you are welcome to visit Lingshan Temple. Since you have stepped onto the Arhat Path, a short visit might prove beneficial.”

I look at the monk. He looks honest and upright but it seems like he has guile too. Danxing would be a fool if he…

“Hmmm. Will it take too long to get there though?”

He’s actually thinking about it?! Even Lingshan temple has a grudge against our master.

“Don’t worry,” the monk said with a gentle smile. “I have a teleportation talisman that can bring us back quickly.”

“Well alright then. Just a moment though.”

I saw as this Danxing went to the deer. Offering a bowl of some kind of food as an apology. Then, he went straight to me.

“I don’t know how long I will be out. So uh,” He pulls out some kind of map and giving it to me

Opening it, it took all my strength to not crumple the map. I look back at the idiot, to see if he knows the value of what he has given me. Of course, he did not. Marked within the map is a spiraling symbol. A symbol that is only used to mark Spiritual Vein. Not Spirit Stones mine, but a Spiritual Vein. A place of which sects will kill over to have. Then he took out a red token and gave it to me too.

“Tell the old man I have done the mission as he asked and now I will be taking a short vacation.”

“Of course.” I answer politely

I put the two items into my storage ring. It would be impossible to fool master, so I will report everything as he asked. 

“I hope you enjoy your vacation.” I said sincerely

Then I return to the sect

I mean what I say

If the monks of Lingshan temple doesn’t provide a good hospitality,

Everyone else between Lingshan and Tianhe will