Chapter 38 - Elle Firsonia Cal

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“Did you say… A pebble?”

Li Qu asked in seriousness, by now he was firm in his thinking that this was no coincidence.

‘If I am the only one sent here by a pebble, fine. But this little elf too? System, care to explain that? A pebble from primordial times, huh?’

[Host, I do not have any answer to that.]

[Host just needs to know that I will never harm Host.]

‘Just like that? ...Never mind, I will uncover the truth by myself.’

Li Qu had already expected that the System would not give him any explanations.

“Yes, a pebble. It was camouflaged among the rubbles on the floor, weird right? I wonder how Royal Mother and my siblings are doing, I miss them…”

Cal Cal was extremely close to her family and missed them dearly, it was hard for a young elf to be apart from their family, she had tried to find ways to contact them but each attempt led to her growing more and more despondent.

The elves were extremely united and cherished their relationships and friendships, that was why Cal Cal was saddened by the death of her guards too.

“I was brought here by a pebble too.”

Li Qu dropped a bomb nonchalantly and Cal Cal’s eyes opened wide.

“What?! Your Excellency too?!”

Cal Cal was shocked.

Li Qu then explained how he got here and what happened.

Melian Aelfis dropped her cup in astonishment as the other two looked over to her.

“I-I apologize, I cannot imagine how long 10,000 years would feel like…”

She was embarrassed of her blunder, she heaved a sigh of relief for not being rash and offending Li Qu. She quickly picked up her cup and quietly listened on.

Cal Cal dismissed her embarrassment and she exclaimed while examining Li Qu,

“10,000 years unconscious… That’s insane! Royal Mother would be happy to hear of the news that you are alive, and young again!”

“Elle Firsonia Cal, that little lass that I coincidentally saved on a whim…”

Li Qu was nostalgic, the world of cultivation was cruel and unfeeling. There were not many people that Li Qu would save and Cal Cal’s mother happened to be one of them.

Was it truly a coincidence?

“Your Excellency, you were infamous for being heartless and a mass murderer, but why do I feel like you’re not as scary as the others describe you to be?”

Cal Cal was curious, the man in front of her was a stark contrast from the rumors that she heard from others about him.

“In a world of the strong preying on the weak, you would do anything to survive and can only choose to be unfeeling. It is your attitude that determines whether you live or die there.”

He was only known for being such a horrifying existence solely because that was all he could do to survive the cruel world, and when he had killed enough people, his reputation started to spread.

Those that would truly know Li Qu would think that his reputation was just a facade of his true nature, a total lazy bum. However, those who knew were too few and far between.

“I understand… On the other hand, Your Excellency, I want to know how you and my Royal Mother met!”

She sulked at being given a life lesson, but her interest in the potential gossip led her brain to filter out the first part as being nagged by an old man.

“Your mother… When I was just an Origin Immortal, I received orders from Karmic Palace to obliterate an evil organization called the ‘Eternal Demon Sect’. They were secretly hidden in some corner of Black Heaven. I banished them into the Karmic Void as per usual, but when I went to the underground cell to discover any remaining members, I saw countless corpses that were decaying and had marks that looked like they were being used for evil rituals and other disgusting things.

Li Qu thought back to the time when he was covered in the filthy blood of the demon path sect members from head to toe as he walked into the underground cell,

“There was basically nobody left alive, except a few that were just about to die, I put them out of their misery. There was still a last door left to be searched, I opened it and that was when I saw her. Eyes devoid of emotion and hands tied up to the ceiling while dangling in mid-air. She looked at me emotionlessly when I entered the room, that look in her eyes was as if she was pleading for me to end her life.”

Cal Cal covered her mouth with her hands as she tried not to scream, her tears were flowing, she was not mentally prepared for what she had just heard.

Melian Aelfis was emotional as well, the elves’ feelings could resonate with one another, she could sense the sadness of Cal Cal and her eyes were rapidly filled with salty liquid.

Cal Cal completely did not expect the story to progress like that and had regretted being curious. At the same time, she was relieved at the fact that her mother was alive and well right now.

Li Qu went ahead with the story without any regards to their feelings.

“When she looked at me, I could see the dried tears on her face. She was held as a slave there, you know what they do to elf slaves. The repeated assaults on her had left permanent scars on her body. I wanted to end her life to put her out of misery, but those eyes… She reminded me of someone. So, I cut the rope that was tying her and gave her a choice. To live, or to die.”

“S-Slave… Oh, my Royal Mother! She never told me about it before!”

Cal Cal was horrified and expressed that she did not have any inkling of having heard of this story before. She was bawling and inwardly cursed at the fact that the demon path sects were too inhumane, although she clearly knew about the evilness of those people.

Li Qu looked at Cal Cal and he continued on as he closed his eyes and thought back to that moment.

“She just stared at me soullessly, but the corner of her eyes were starting to get wet. I would not know what she would have chosen at that time, but I did what I felt like was the right choice.”

Li Qu opened his eyes and stared at the crying Cal Cal as he declared.

“I sealed her memories.”

…