38 – A Promise

“My work here is done,” Elder Bàojī declared the moment we stepped into the residence grounds.

“You’re leaving already?” I asked, surprised.

“I cannot meddle too much,” he replied with a shrug. “I came to fix certain things. Showing too much favoritism would defeat the purpose.”

He flashed me a wide grin. “So make yourself at home. And prepare yourself.”

I raised a finger. “What do I need to prepare?”

“I thought you didn’t want to hear your fortune?” he interrupted with a mischievous grin.

I slowly lowered my hand. Fuck. The consequences of my own stubbornness.

“So,” he leaned in closer, still smiling, “do you want to hear your fortune, young man?”

“I think I’ll pass,” I said firmly, holding my ground.

“That’s the spirit!” he roared, slapping my shoulder so hard I nearly stumbled. “Now then. I must go! My people need me!”

He suddenly dropped into a deep squat, then launched himself into the sky with explosive force and disappear

—

Jianglong slammed his palm against the temple floor. “Why are we wasting time? Just kill him and be done with it!”

“Senior Brother,” Chánshèng said gently, “you are speaking out of turn.”

Both direct disciples turned toward their master. Abbot Zhàoshì remained silent, allowing them to settle themselves. Jianglong took a deep breath and began chanting the Tranquil Heart Sutra under his breath.

“I am still lacking. Please forgive me,” he said once he calmed down.

Only then did the Abbot slowly open his eyes, his gaze settling on Fumo.

“Tell me,” he said calmly, “why did you bring the adopted son of Xuan here?”

Fumo took a deep breath. Danxing’s life now rested on his next words.

“I brought Brother Danxing here hoping that Master and my senior brothers could enlighten and guide him along the Arhat Path,” Fumo answered steadily.

“While hiding who he truly is?” Jianglong accused sharply. In Lingshan Temple, deliberate omission was considered a form of lying — and therefore a sin.

“My intentions were pure,” Fumo replied. “I only wished to help guide him.”

Chánshèng tilted his head. “Why do you believe he requires our guidance? As the adopted son of Xuan, he should not lack resources or instruction.”

Fumo looked directly at his master before answering.

“Brother Danxing claims to be not of this world. Just over a month ago, he was a mortal who was somehow transported here, not through the World Gate. His lack of common knowledge might attest to this. I did not know the further details of this circumstance, however, somewhere after that, he lost his human body. Reconstructing his body using corpses of dead spiritual beasts.” Fumo recounts

Jianglong raised an eyebrow. “The same mission where you were sent to deal with the rampaging demonic deer?”

“Correct. However, all of this stems from an unknown cultivator. He slain the Venerable White Deer, an alpha of Ashen Wolves, and a semi Golden Core Golden Serpent. Brother Danxing doesn’t seem to remember, but he follows the trails of this cultivator. Taking what he left behind. After his rampage in a village, he is suddenly gone without a trace. It seems like this is where he is found by Elder Luochen of Tianhe sect and adopted.”

This recounting results in raised or furrowed eyebrows. News of Luochen activity is closely scrutinized. He did take seemingly random people to be his disciples. This much is well known. But nothing warrant him to suddenly adopt this Danxing.

“Why did he choose the Arhat Path?” Abbot Zhàoshì asked.

“I have not pried too deeply, but I don’t believe it was entirely his own choice. It may have been chosen for him.”

“Chosen for him? By whom? Luochen?” Jianglong cannot grasp the logic behind this possibility

“Did he not use a sword?” Changsheng asks, Luochen is notorious with his ability with the sword

Fumo shakes his head. “Brother Danxing uses a hammer and some kind of powerful thunder cannon.”

Once again, this does not make sense. The Xuan clan was known for inheriting sword techniques. Choosing a hammer and cannon instead suggested a seemingly rebellious choice that might give ground that he chose the Arhat path personally.

“What kind of guidance do you hope he receives here?” the Abbot asked.

Fumo paused, carefully gathering his thoughts.

“Brother Danxing rebuilt his body using spiritual beast corpses. He may not realize it yet, but their instincts are influencing him. Back in the capital of Jin, he was the first to step forward despite being outnumbered. He claims to only care about those within arm’s reach, yet he showed clear distress when he learned the Ashen Wolf pups were killed and a young mortal that was killed. At the same time, he has shown genuine kindness to the orphaned fawn of the White Deer he absorbed.”

Fumo looked at his master earnestly.

“His heart is currently torn between the cold-blooded nature of the serpent, the self-interest of the wolves, and the compassion of the white deer. I hoped… we could bestow upon him the Tranquil Heart Sutra, so he may find balance.”

Jianglong slams his palm to the floor once more. “You want us to give him our foundational Sutra!?”

“Brother Danxing has shown exceptional firmness of belief,” Fumo replied. “He destroyed the Nether Bone Banner without hesitation.”

The Nether Bone Banner is a widely known artifact. A Nascent Soul artifact of the Yougu sect. The sect that Luochen also destroyed during the last war. Among many others.

“Fumo,” Changsheng said gently, “You should know that firmness does not necessarily mean a good thing. Senior Brother Jianglong should be a good example.”

Jianglong nodded along before he caught the unexpected jab. “Hey! That is uncalled for!”

“It's a joke.” Changsheng grins.

Jianglong pointed at his palm, “When this lands on your face, it will be a joke too.”

“Haha!” Changsheng laughed in advance, deliberately fanning the flames. “The palm? Or my face?”

“Why don’t we find out?” Jianglong give a scary smile

Before they could continue, a thick, suffocating aura of death suddenly erupted in the distance. An unnatural storm gathered over the guest residence. Lightning cracked wildly through the sky as thunder roared. It is a Qi deviation. From Heart Demon and Soul Deviation.

Fumo knows that it is from Danxing. He wants to stand, to go and help. But his master’s overwhelming aura pressed him back down. Moments later, the violent storm subsided. The hall returned to tense silence.

“Well, that settles it,” Jianglong said, standing up eagerly. “Let’s go kill him.”

“I am against it,” Chánshèng objected calmly.

Jianglong grit his teeth, but Chánshèng raised a hand.

“Senior Brother, we are not hired killers. It is true we are tipped about his real name but it's obvious that they want to use us to eliminate him in their stead. Besides,” Changsheng looked towards Fumo, “He arrived as a guest.”

The reminder cooled Jianglong’s fury. Should he kill Danxing here, it will be a well known fact that the monks of Lingshan temple killed a guest in their grounds. They may reason that it is to kill a great evil before it can grow. But the stain that comes from it will never be gone. This is also the same reason the monks have refused the group of cultivators camping directly at their door.

“There is another way.” Abbot Zhaoshi finally said

Everyone present understood what he meant. Jianglong and Chánshèng exchanged glances, then nodded in agreement. Even Fumo could find no reasonable grounds to object.

—

I looked up and squinted. Sending my divine sense to see if I can track him. Nope. Came like a meteor and gone like the wind.

“Not papa…”

“Call me Danxing,” I corrected the fawn gently.

“Da… Danxing, are all human cultivators that weird?” she asked, tilting her head curiously.

“I think he’s an outlier,” I replied. “Definitely an outlier.”

“What’s an outlier?”

“Someone who’s… different from everyone else.”

“Oh!” The fawn’s eyes lit up. “Then I’m an outlier too!”

I walked slowly around the courtyard. “How so?”

“How so?” I checked the fawn one more time. She looks normal to me

“I was born from my Third Mother. She’s human. They said it shouldn’t be possible.” The fawn recounts matter of factly

I blink once. Then twice. Did I hear that correctly? Alright. Let’s chalk it up as a quirk of the world I am in. better not think too deeply.

Now then, moving on to prepare myself. Pacing around as I think

I can project railguns, conventional cannons, cruise missiles, and a truck. Railguns perform best against cultivators so far. But to increase power, I need to scale up the size or barrel length which is bad in close range. Conventional cannons seem to be also moderately effective. Though I don’t think it will be effective against those in the same realm and level as me. But definitely cheaper to project. The cruise missile is very effective. But it takes too much Qi. Then there’s the truck.

I stop my pace as an idea is forming. If I can project a railgun that is already primed to fire above someone, what’s stopping me from projecting a truck with a certain speed above someone? Then again, it doesn’t need to be a truck either. I can do American Public Transports, buses and bullet trains. As for the latter, what stops me from projecting a bullet train on a railgun barrel? Oh yeah, it's coming together. This might be too difficult to project on a moving enemy. But I can certainly ride one and shoot myself away. 

Then, there’s Great Thundergod Steps. Its Qi consumption is equal to projecting a railgun. Specialized in offensive movement too based on my experience and the Second Step that I have yet to master. Can’t master as I need to temper my body apparently and I don’t know how. Doubt random self flagellation works.

Those are my current arsenals. As for what to use against these monks. I think I won’t be using railguns. They are still Fumo’s brothers. But if I am forced then…

I sigh. What happened man? Why do they suddenly become hostile? Is it because of the Xuan surname again? But what did the old man do to a buddhist temple though? Then, there’s the fact that only few people know. Did Fumo betray me? Let’s… let’s hope not. Elder Baoji said that he is in some kind of a discussion. Is it to kill me or not?

The more I thought about it, the heavier my chest felt. My life and death being discussed by people I barely knew, for crimes I didn’t commit and don’t even know… it left a bitter taste. I sat on the ground within the courtyard. There’s no chair that fits my size.

Assuming Fumo betrays me, guess I'll… kill anyone standing in my way? I come to the conclusion. I shake the dangerous thought away. Why does it have to be me, man? If their problem is with the old man then take it to him. But them taking it on me means that they can’t. Then, even if I kill anyone in my way and get out, there’s no guarantee this temple is the only one that knows my surname. Other sects might be in the know too.

I rest my head on my palm

So even if I kill my way out, I will keep killing. Then killing. And so on. Never expected my life to be moving in this direction. After that, when will it end? It’s just… endlessly filling the barrel with sand. It's exhausting to even think about it.

Maybe I should just… let them kill me? Another conclusion arrived on its own. I never wanted this to happen anyway. I can’t exactly kill myself too. So letting myself be killed will be less of a sin. So maybe I can go home? That sounds tempting. But… Can I even go home from here? Is my soul still purely mine too if all my memories are changed to fit my body? Would I even meet God and be judged too? But dying right now would be impolite to the ones back at Tianhe. Maybe I could write a letter first and…

Something soft hit my chin. I looked down, the fawn stumbled up.

“Papa will die!? PAPA WILL DIE!?” the fawn shouted, headbutting my thigh desperately.

“No! Papa can’t die again!” The fawn keep shouting and kicking

“I am not your father.” I muttered wearily. Then there’s this little one. One I can’t possibly be responsible for.

“I know! I know! But you can’t die again!” The fawn screaming turned into a loud shrieking of a cat. 

I blinked. I am back in my cramped apartment. The old white cat continued its shrieking. Demanding attention as usual. If I die, no one will take care of her. Someone needs to be responsible for something. The noose on my neck loses its appeal.

I pull my head away from the noose and pet the cat’’s head.

“Alright-alright. I won’t be dying anytime soon.”

“Really!? Papa will not die!?”

I raise my hand, and it is not my cat. She died long ago.

“Yes.” I answer softly

“Promise?”

“I promise I will try not to die.”

The fawn jumps and headbut my chin again. Like a gesture for me to keep my promise. Like a pinky finger. This time, I caught her in my arms as she stumbled down.

“Don’t break it.” The fawn snuggling into my lap.

I gently stroked her soft white fur. Feeling grateful and… relief. That I am not alone with my thoughts.

I looked around once more. Looking for something to do in the meantime. Only to see that some kind of typhoon just swept the entire residence. Torn walls, broken roofs, and destroyed windows everywhere.

What the hell happened?

—

Hanhua arrived at her master’s private gazebo. Luòchén sat calmly, sipping tea, while Elder Tianjiāo lounged opposite him with his feet propped rudely on the table, showing his toes and chewing snacks. On the table is the map and the red token.

Tianjia swallows, then pushes his mouth forward in a mocking manner, “I told you. Dogshit.”

Luòchén offered no reply. Hanhua had no idea what they were referring to. Both men turned their gazes toward her at the same time. The silence was heavy. Luòchén slowly set his teacup down, the soft clink somehow sounding deafening.

“Did you tell him about them?” Luòchén asked, his voice level.

“No,” Hanhua answered truthfully.

In the blink of an eye, Elder Tianjiāo was already gone along with the map and the token. Leaving the master and disciple alone.

“Why not?” Luòchén asked, pouring himself another cup.

Hanhua doesn’t answer.

“Because you think he’s unworthy?” Luochen said what she is afraid to say

Immediately, Hanhua dropped to her knees and pressed her forehead to the ground.

“Please forgive me, master. Please punish…”

“Be quiet.” Luochen interrupts and drinks his tea. 

Luòchén took a slow sip of tea. The silence stretched on for what felt like hours. Hanhua remained perfectly still, her mind racing with thoughts of what punishment awaited her.

“You have a question,” Luòchén finally said.

Hanhua nearly looked up in shock. She had expected punishment, not an invitation to speak. Keeping her face pressed to the ground, she carefully chose her words.

“Does he have an extraordinary talent?” she asked. Surely her master wouldn’t adopt someone completely ordinary. There must be something she cannot see.

“Hmm.” Luòchén’s tone made her shudder. She had asked the wrong question.

“That’s the wrong question. But I'll answer. No, not particularly. His spiritual roots are high-mortal grade. He’s not exceptionally intelligent either.”

“Roots?” Hanhua couldn’t hide her disbelief.

“Earth, Metal, and Fire,” Luòchén said calmly, taking another sip.

Beneath her mask, Hanhua’s expression shifts. This is unbelievable. Usually for cultivators, it is ideal to have only one Spiritual Roots that is higher than the rest. For purity and focus. At most dual spirit roots that don't clash if both have higher than Earth Grade. So not only her newest junior brother has three spiritual roots! Their grade is only one above the worst! And he is not exactly smart either!

“Why did you adopt him?” she finally asked the right question.

“Because of a promise,” Luòchén answered simply.

Hanhua waited for more, but none came. After a long pause, she dared to ask, “That’s it?”

“Hmmm.” Luòchén stood up without a word. He walked to the edge of the garden, overlooking the vast world below from the mountain peak.

“Get out of my sight.”

Hanhua’s mind spun with confusion and shame. She rose silently, retrieved her sword, and left with heavy steps.