50 – Home

There’s that music again. 

It had been listening to it for a long time now. The sound came from an instrument it had never encountered before. Something like a guqin, yet with shorter, softer notes. This time, it was joined by two others, flowing and rich, similar to an erhu but far broader in range and emotion.

The usual somber, melancholic melody that always played in the background was gone. In its place was something brighter. Upbeat. The not-guqin and not-erhu danced in joyful high tones, each instrument taking turns at the forefront. One would lead with a lively melody, then gracefully yield to another, like children racing through sunlit fields, each eager to share their own happiness.

It turned its attention toward the sleeping figure with the deer skull for a head.

The heavy, grim aura of someone quietly waiting to die had faded. Something about him felt… brighter. It couldn’t quite pinpoint what. Was his skull glossier? Had his night-black fur and mane gained a new luster? Or was it his scales? Perhaps even his eyes, he had three different pairs, after all.

Then it recoiled in surprise, confusion, and a sharp jolt of fear. Emotions it had never felt before.

Their eyes had met.

Would he stop playing? Would he fear it?

“Did I startle you?” he asked gently.

It wondered why he wasn’t afraid. People had always feared it. Now that it had tasted fear itself, even briefly, the feeling was deeply uncomfortable. It didn’t like it at all.

It tried to respond, but no voice emerged. It never had one. Still, he seemed to understand through pure intent, as if some invisible connection linked them.

He nodded. “Don’t worry about it.” 

A gentle warmth washed over it. The reassurance felt nice. Gathering its courage, it asked if it could continue listening to his music.

“Music?” He sounded genuinely confused.

How could he not know? He played it every time he slept.

“I did? Must be an old habit,” he realized. “I’ve been projecting music in my sleep… and you’ve been listening this whole time?”

Of course it had. It didn’t exactly have a choice in the matter. Not that it minded.

“I have been serenading you every time I slept then.” He chuckles.

Serenading. A new word.

“Well, it means a musical performance to express love,”

Love? LOVE!? He loves it? A storm of unfamiliar emotions surged through it. overwhelming, chaotic, and strangely warm. It quickly hid its intent. Embarrassment. Yes, that was the word.

“Or it can just mean a light, complimentary performance,” he added quickly. “At least from what I’ve read. I’ve never actually done it myself.”

Backtracking. Bad. Bad. Bad. it much preferred the first meaning. It felt more special that way. 

So it… apologized… for the… intrusion. Then asking if it could keep listening. It was awkward in intent, as it never once did so. Can’t be helped either as it always hears everything.

“Sure.” He answers confidently and without hesitation. “Music is always for others to hear.”

It felt a quiet surge of happiness.

Then, hesitantly, it asked if he liked it.

“Well… I don’t know you enough to dislike you.”

What does it mean? Does it mean he likes it? Certainly means he doesn’t dislike it. So he likes it! For now… But then he said he doesn’t know enough to dislike. So it means he likes everyone until he knows better? Bad. Bad. He is kind. This is not a kind world.

The connection began to fade. He was waking up.

Would he remember this? Maybe not. The link had never been stable. Even if he forgot, it wouldn’t blame him. He had promised to keep playing music.

So it must reward him.

Not too much. 

It MUST be fair. 

—

I woke up feeling surprisingly well rested.

“Fuck!” I bolted upright as I realized I had been drooling all over my father’s lap. He simply waved his hand, and the mess vanished instantly.

“How long was I out?” I asked.

“Not too long. We’ll be home soon,” he replied.

I tasted the sweet little lie immediately. “Did you take a detour just so I could sleep longer?” He didn’t answer. “How long?”

“Two days.”

“Oh my God!” I gripped my antlers in embarrassment. “You let me drool on you for two whole days? You should’ve woken me up!”

“Children do it all the time. It’s no big deal,” he said calmly.

“I’m twenty nine!”

“And I’m five hundred and seventy four,” he shot back without missing a beat.

“Well…” I faltered. “I’m still not comfortable being treated like a child.”

“Whatever you say,” he replied, a hint of amusement in his voice.

The five majestic peaks of Tianhe Sect finally appeared on the horizon. Once we got home, I planned to sleep for an entire month. I had come far too close to dying multiple times on this single outing.

“Danxing,” my father said, his tone turning serious. “You took the storage rings from the five you killed, correct?”

“Of course. They’re my loot.” I pulled out the five distinct rings. I hadn’t checked their contents yet, but children of powerful families were bound to be rich.

“Would you mind if I borrow the artifacts first?” My father asks. “It’s just for appraisal.”

“Sure.” I retrieved the items and handed them over.

A sword from Ouyang Jianxin. A pair of gauntlets from Dongfang Pojun. A giant pear-shaped fan from Nangong Yaoguang. A mirror from Dugu Juechen that he never got the chance to use. And finally, the thin, razor sharp dagger Gongsun Fendao had used to kill my clone.

“I will return them to you after it is done.” my father said, storing them away. His cultivation should be even higher than the five Golden Core whose nuts he cracked. There was no way he actually wanted these for himself… right? Is it really just an appraisal? He didn’t lie. 

“It’s not just for appraisal… isn’t it?” I asked to confirm.

“It is not.” He admitted quickly. Not bothering to hide it much. “Since this concerns you, you may watch. But don’t speak unnecessarily. Besides, you better get ready.”

“Ready for what?” I asked as I noticed we passed Shengyuan (Healer’s Peak) and went straight to Taiheng (Grand Equilibrium Peak).

—

I stood alone on the raised dais before Taiheng’s main hall. Thousands of eyes all bore into my back. Not all of them were friendly. Waves of jealousy, resentment, and outright hostility radiated from certain sections of the crowd. I resisted the urge to look or extend my divine sense, just as my father had instructed. Apparently, learning to endure such gazes was part of my “education.”

An old man stood before me, his entire being radiating sharpness. Even his appearance. His long, sword-like eyebrows pointed straight to the sides, his lashes were equally sharp, and his beard formed a perfectly triangular point. Even his robes were adorned with angular, blade-like patterns. He regarded me with a neutral expression, revealing no emotion.

“Xuan Danxing.” The elder intoned, unrolling a golden scroll.

I braced myself for accusations.

Instead, his voice rang out across the entire peak, clear and resonant with profound Qi,

“In recognition of your outstanding contributions to the sect and the mortal realm, for rendering great assistance in the defense of the Kingdom of Jin and discovering a new spiritual vein, the Tianhe Sect hereby bestows upon you one thousand sect merit points and one hundred medium-grade spirit stones.”

A murmur rippled through the crowd.

Huh?

The elder continued, his tone growing more solemn. “Furthermore, for the discovery of the spiritual vein, which shall greatly benefit our sect’s future prosperity, you are granted a share of its fortune. Once the branch sect is established at the site, you shall receive five percent of all spirit stones mined there, to be collected for the next twenty-five years. Additionally, you are granted unrestricted priority access and free use of all cultivation facilities, pavilions, and arrays at the new branch for the same period.”

The elder rolled the scroll with a sharp snap and looked directly at me, his sharp eyes gleaming.

“Xuan Danxing, your deeds have brought glory and fortune to Tianhe Sect. May you continue to walk the path of cultivation with diligence and virtue. Let this be both reward and encouragement. The Heavens bear witness. Go forth and bring greater honor to our sect!”

“The heaven bears witness. Go forth and bring greater honor to our sect!” The crowd below repeats in unison.

—

“What’s a spiritual vein? When did I discover one?” I asked, genuinely baffled.

“It’s the map you found and entrusted to Hanhua,” my father answered smoothly, as if he had anticipated the question.

So that was what the map was for. No wonder Fumo had warned me to guard it so carefully, and why Senior Sister Hanhua had reacted so strongly. Still, she had reported it without claiming any credit for herself. There was at least some integrity in her after all.

“So… it’s basically a gold mine?” I asked as I walked beside him into Taiheng’s main hall.

“Far more valuable than any gold mine,” he replied. “A single spiritual vein is worth the ransom of dozens of mortal kingdoms. It blesses the land and its people. Making fields fertile, granting greater health, prosperity, and longevity to mortals. Most importantly, it greatly increases the chance of children being born with spiritual roots capable of cultivation.”

That finally made sense. Wasn’t just economic but also manpower in the future.

My father stopped before a set of massive, intricately carved doors.

“After we enter, speak only when necessary and when directly addressed,” he warned. “If in doubt, remain silent. You may use voice transmission, but sparingly.” Also learning that Telepathy is called Voice Transmission here.

The grand doors swung open on their own. We stepped into the vast hall, its walls adorned with ancient tapestries, soaring engravings, and glowing spiritual arrays. Powerful presences pressed down from every direction.

At the center of the hall, upon an elevated dais, sat the Sect Leader. He appeared shockingly young, no older than eighteen, with flawless white skin, long ink-black hair bound by a simple silver crown, and eyes that seemed to contain the quiet depth of still waters. His presence was calm yet vast, like an ancient mountain shrouded in mist.

Flanking the central aisle in two neat rows were the elders.

To the right sat the sharp elder who had announced my rewards. His presence was keen and piercing, as though a single glance from him could cut through steel.

Beside him sat a petite young girl who looked no older than fourteen. Despite her delicate, doll-like appearance and innocent features, her eyes were sharp and authoritative. She looks similar to the sharp elder, his granddaughter perhaps?

Further along sat Tianjiao. fat, with a receding hairline and a perpetually dismissive expression. Feeling as if he doesn’t belong here more than the little girl.

Next was the one-armed elder from Xianhui Peak (Immortal Forge peak). I forgot his name. He looked visibly tense, almost afraid, doing his best to hide it.

Then came an elder whose presence felt strangely familiar. A vicious scar from what looked like a beast’s mauling ran across his neck. He glared at both me and my father with open hostility. Ah. The one whose divine sense I mauled when I first arrived.

Beside him is elder Yinyue, the elder of the Education hall and the one that taught me in class once. Her presence is gentle and welcoming. Looks like she is genuinely proud of my accomplishment.

The final elder was a woman radiating a cold, aloof presence. Her beauty was icy and distant, like moonlight on fresh snow. She seemed less hostile and more disinterested, as though she would rather be anywhere else than here.

Behind each elder stood their personal disciples. With so many people present, there was no way I’d remember them all.

“So, Luochen,” the Sect Leader began, his youthful face calm and unreadable, “why have you called this gathering? I hope it is not merely to boast about your newly adopted son.”

In response, my father calmly placed the five artifacts on the central table. The atmosphere in the hall shifted instantly. Every elder’s gaze locked onto the items with recognition and varying degrees of unease. The one-armed elder from Xianhui Peak looked particularly pale.

“You already know who my son has slain,” my father said, his voice steady and heavy. “These are the artifacts they wielded in battle. Strangely, I do not recall any of their families ever commissioning Elder Baiduan to forge such treasures.”

The Sect Leader’s lips curved into a faint smile. “What is your point?”

“They were never made for those families,” the elder with the mauled neck interjected. He flicked a glance at his disciple, who immediately stepped forward.

It was the same arrogant little shit who had provoked Qingfeng and me back then. The one who called us carnival freaks and farm animals.

The disciple knelt respectfully, cupping his hands. “Honored Elders, this disciple must confess. Elder Baiduan has resumed forging after many years of seclusion. Overcome with greed, I requested several test pieces. Unfortunately, they were stolen by the notorious thief Jíyǐng (疾影|Swift Shadow). He has grown increasingly brazen of late. We believed we could apprehend him, but… Brother Danxing should have encountered this thief during the defense of Jinchuan.”

“He stole all of them?” the Sect Leader asked mildly.

The disciple slammed his forehead against the floor. “This disciple has brought shame upon the sect!”

I sent a quick voice transmission to my father. ‘May I speak?’

‘He broke decorum first. Go ahead.’

“May I ask one thing?” I said aloud.

The Sect Leader nodded.

“Did you encounter this thief before or after my battle at Jinchuan?” I asked. “And how exactly did he steal the artifacts? Did he pick them up one by one with each hand?”

The disciple answered swiftly, “It happened too fast to track clearly, but I saw him seize each artifact with his hands and sever our spiritual connection at the same time.”

Gotcha, bitch.

“Each hand? Well that can’t be.” I pulled out a severed right arm, still partially wrapped in the thief’s sleeve. “I have his right arm over here and if you met him after the battle, he wouldn’t have had ‘each hand’ anymore.”

Elder Baiduan stood drenched in cold sweat. So does the mauled elder’s disgraced disciple, still prostrated on the floor, trembling visibly. The young man glanced desperately at his master who simply stood.

“My disciple’s greed has brought shame upon the sect.” He immediately announced without hesitation. “From this moment onward, I sever our master-disciple bond and exile him from Tianhe Sect. I hope this suffices as atonement.”

A heavy silence fell over the hall. The discarded disciple looked utterly crushed, as though his world had collapsed. Even several elders showed faint surprise at how swiftly and ruthlessly the elder had cast him aside.

The Sect Leader glanced toward my father. “If there are no further complaints or demands…?”

My father simply shrugged.

“Very well. This meeting is dismissed.”

—

Once we were back on the small flying boat, I finally spoke.

“Was that… normal?”

“What?” my father asked. “Did you want to kill his disciple?”

“Is that how things are usually handled here?” I pressed.

He nodded.

“Damn.”

I thought about it for a long moment. “I guess exile is enough for now.”

“Danxing,” my father said seriously, “kindness is a luxury. Do not indulge in it too freely, or it will lose all value.”

I stayed quiet for a beat, then replied, “He’s already been punished. I don’t need to pile on more.”

My father sighed. “Remember what I told you?”

I nodded.

“If you choose to be kind and merciful with one hand,” he continued, “then so be it. But…”

“I’ll keep the other hand ready,” I finished.

He gave a satisfied nod. “Good. Let’s put this matter behind us.”

Then he gestured ahead.

“Look, son.”

We slowly flew towards Shengyuan peak, bathed in soft golden light.

“Home.”