《Douluo Dalu - Hammer God Douluo》Chapter 5 - Finis Ejus
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Tang Jun had learned many things in his fifth year, but his most fascinating discovery was that the violet-eyed girl was an anomaly. Unnatural, strange, whatever you may call her could not fully describe her. Anomaly was the perfect word.
After the escapade with the girl, he had paid more attention to her presence in the orphanage. She was a lonely person, talking to virtually no one (like him) and minding her own business. Tang Jun had before never interacted with her before (though he barely interacted with anyone for the matter) as he spent most of his time training. He saw no particular interest in her other than their similarities, but as fate would have it they would meet again the very next midnight.
He had been practicing his martial arts and the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, in the night, around the same tree as always, when he heard a creak of wood, a rustle of grass, then silence. Tang Jun knew someone was there (to his trained ears it was obvious that it was a bad attempt at sneaking) and immediately paused, and turned his head towards the sound. The rustling had stopped, but after using the Purple Demon Eye could still see the peeking head of someone, behind a dark bush near the kitchen.
Tang Jun narrowed his eyes, then unleashed the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, darting from the tree and next to the bush in a second. He heard a surprised shriek, as Tang Jun pushed the bush away, leaving behind a certain violet-eyed girl.
"What" He snapped, "Are you doing here?"
Tang Jun's voice was full of tension, for he was nervous, nervous from her presence. Had he been found out? Or had he left something that exposed his training? Tang Jun did not want anyone to find about his training, not yet anyway.
The violet-eyed girl sat up, paused, pursed her lips, then said:
"I wondered what you had been doing then at midnight, and I saw that that tree," She pointed, "Got split down halfway this morning. It wasn't there yesterday, so I concluded that the only person I knew who was out at night was you."
Her voice was neither nervous or stuttering, in absolute shocking contrast to the trapped, weeping girl yesterday. It was high pitched but bizarrely mature for such a young girl. Tang Jun's eyes narrowed further, as suspicion and distrust filled him.
"That doesn't explain why you're here. In the middle of the night."
The girl cocked her head to the side, her intelligent eyes trained on him as he interrogated her. Strange as the situation might be, he senses no malice from her, just insatiable curiosity and determination. Tang Jun felt his suspicions start to drop.
"I just wanted to know what are you doing here. That's all."
"That's all, huh?"
"Mhmm."
Tang Jun saw the moon, draping from the sky, shine brighter, as everything became clearer to his eyes. He could now see the plain, worn garments she wore, but in contrast, her hair, vermillion red, seemed to glow unearthly. Everything about her seemed strange, from her manner, voice, and eyes.
"Well, I'm not telling." He knew it sounded childish, quite so to be frank, but he really didn't want to tell anything.
"Not telling? Well, humor me with your training then."
Tang Jun's head snapped towards her, mind whirling from her words.
"Training?"
"What else could you be doing?"
"If you knew, then why were you asking then?" Tang Jun was surprised over and over through this conversation, from her voice all the way to her questioning - clearly, she was not a normal girl, and he was missing something, something big.
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"I didn't know at the time."
"I could have been here to stargaze for all you know." He countered. The girl looked decisively unimpressed, snorted, then pressed on.
"Likely story mister hero."
'Hero?' Tang Jun thought. He had never seen himself as anything close to one, a decent person perhaps, but not a hero by any stretch. But since she had started name-calling, then he would participate too.
"Ehh, miss damsel in distress?" The violet-eyed girl grew suddenly flustered at the tease, breaking her composure and scowling at him.
"T-that was j-just a mistake! I was too concentrated on finding my hair clip, and it was late as well, so I didn't realize they had locked the bathroom until..." Her voice trailed off in embarrassment, before composing herself. He smirked, then tried to end the conversation.
"You've found out what you've wanted now, eh? Then I think its time for you to go back to bed."
"Not so fast. Just what are you training in?"
"None of your business, little girl."
"Then I wonder how the caretakers would be interested in your business then?"
Tang Jun slightly recoiled from the statement, before gathering back a response.
"Getting to blackmail now?"
The violet-eyed girl raised her eyebrows in mock surprise.
"I wouldn't necessarily call it that. Forceful persuasion would be better."
"You could call anything violent that."
"Perhaps. But you still haven't told me what your training in."
"Well, I don't want to."
"Isn't that too bad."
He absolutely could not tell her what he was practicing - they were the Tang Sect's treasured techniques! How could he just give them to her? But yet he didn't want her snitching on him, telling the caretakers, and exposing what he was doing. Both consequences were undesirable to the extreme.
They both then stared at each other, a silent battle of determination and willpower, neither really willing to back off or compromise. 10 seconds, 20 seconds, time passed slowly yet they kept staring. Tang Jun's golden eyes against her violet ones. After seemingly an eternity, she sighed and offered him a deal.
"Fine then. You don't have to tell me what you're practicing. But you have to do one thing."
"...What?" Tang Jun reluctantly answered.
"You have to talk to me."
"Huh?" Tang Jun responded confusingly.
"Everyday, just talk to me."
"...Why?"
"Because I find you interesting. You're nothing like the others, boring and barely conscious."
Tang Jun got very uncomfortable with her analysis of him, her notice of him being different hitting a bit too close to home.
"I'm interesting?"
"Of course you are." She answered a bit too cool and easily, "And I know you know that too." She finished that off with a smile, innocent but entirely forced.
He considered his options. Telling her the techniques were out of the question, and her telling the caregivers was too. There was also the unspoken option, killing her. Tang Jun had briefly considered it, but taking in the cleaning up and hiding the body would be too hard. Talking to her it is.
"Fine."
"We have a deal then." This time she smiled again, a small one, but he could tell that it was genuine. Did she find this fun? Talking in circles to him?
"Then hurry up and get to bed. Every minute out here is a minute we could get caught."
She got up, dusting off the dirt from her garments. She had never taken her eyes off him throughout the whole conversation, her violet eyes taking in everything.
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"I don't suppose you would like my name?"
"I suppose I do."
"Xian. Xian Yue"
"Moon Fairy?"
"Yes."
"Aren't you a strange one, little girl?" Yue Xian combed her hair to the side, looking at the sky, the moon, then at him. Her eyes sparkled with brilliance, but yet inside, he could catch a glimpse of profound wisdom, wisdom she should not have.
"So are you. So are you."
-
The rest of the year was spent training, as he hit a crucial point of The Mysterious Heaven Technique. He could feel the bottleneck to the first level of it. There were nine levels in total to the technique, each stage drastically improving his cultivation and bodily strength.
Tang Jun didn't know exactly when he would be able to break through, but he knew it would be around the time of his Spirit Awakening. He had already planned a concise strategy of his cultivation after it, which required him to leave the orphanage after the Spirit Awakening as soon as possible! Tang Jun's plan, if it worked, would skyrocket both his Spirit Cultivation and future potential. The only variable is his Spirit; what he would do would greatly vary according to it.
The only variable is his Spirit; what he would do would greatly vary according to it. He was, in all honesty, quite anxious about it. If he got a Trash Spirit, it may not completely block his cultivation, but it would certainly crush any aspiration of following his current plan.
His main other activity, other than training, was talking to Xian Yue. Though he would not admit it out loud, talking to Xian Yue was refreshing to him. He had very little social interaction in this life, and this gave time for him to readjust to actually being a child again.
Tang Jun realized he acted too mature, too lofty and cold, so her presence released the tension in his mind, relaxing himself and turning more of his mentality to be child-like. He learnt more and more about her too - she told him that she was found by herself on the outskirts of the city, not remembering much, and was brought here when no one came for her. It sounded odd - very odd, and was convenient because it could not be traced back anywhere.
If it was anyone else he would have just chalked it down to coincidence and circumstances, but this was Xian Yue! Everything about her was off, especially, now he noted, her usage of vocabulary. Tang Jun had used rather extensive and complicated language because that was how he talked in his previous life! He had no idea how to talk like a child, so he had no other way of doing so. But she, supposedly a young child, could answer just as fluently and with such confidence - this obviously was unnatural!
He had asked her why she spoke like this, but she answered with only:
"I don't know. I just have always talked like this."
He heard genuine curiosity and confusion, unlike the sarcastic remarks before. Even she didn't really know why, but it allowed them to communicate extremely effectively. He talked to her like talking to someone quadruple her age, and so did she. Anyone who heard them talk like this would think that they were geniuses!
Tang Jun this year had also gained crucial information towards when he was and the general situation he was in. He deemed himself old enough to go to the library, and so with the permission of the caretakers, grabbed Xian Yue to find out more information.
He arrived at the other side of the city, the shiny gates of the library greeting them. Xian Yue loved information just as much as Tang Jun, and promptly sprinted in to find books. They both devoured chapters after chapter, both totally engrossed within the book, intrest and curiosity gripping them.
It was not until he arrived at a particular history book did he stop in shock.
'Chapter 4: Continental Collison
4000 years ago, during the shifting of the continental plates, the Sun-Moon continent collided with the Doulou continent, bringing new discoveries and technological advancements, but it also had massive tensions between the two continents. War was inevitable, and it broke out during a time where the Douluo Continent was still divided, but Shrek Academy managed to unite the continent and eventually defeat the Sun-Moon continent and uniting the two continents...'
Tang Jun breathed a sigh of relief at this new information. So it had been 4000 years since his death, and the Douluo continent had managed to win. He had very little sympathy for the Sun-Moon continent and their Spirit Guidance weapons, and was delighted at his sides victory.
He continued to read on, but again at another chapter, he was in shock at the information gained.
'Chapter 14: Fall of Tang Sect'
Tang Jun stared blankly at the title. How could Tang Sect have fallen? It was a mighty and enoumous force when he commanded it, so how could it deteriorate so devastatingly?
'It is of undisputed fact for between 10,000 and 4000 years ago, Tang Sect was the absolute power in the continent, in which no force could even begin to stand up against it. However, beginning with the Continental war, in which their famed Hidden Weapons shattered against the Sun-Moon continents Spirit Guidance Weapons, their status started to collapse. With the death of many of their finest warriors in the war, their dominant position fell and would never rise up again. Internal conflicts plagued Tang Sect, in which they refused to adopt the Spirit Guidance Weapons, deteriorating their influence, arriving at their inevitable collapse. The mighty dragon had truly fallen...'
Tang Jun's mind was swirling with intense emotions, fury at its collapse, disappointment at his successors, and ultimately sadness. He had been raised there as an orphan, and so he had loved it like a mother. How could he not be angry at its fall? Tang Jun's arm was shaking in anger.
Xian Yue was sitting beside him, and very clearly saw his anger. Her violet eyes looked worryingly at him, silently asking about it.
"Don't worry. It's nothing big."
Though he may have said that, both his eyes and manner told the complete opposite tale. In his mind, clouded with anger, he made himself calm down, and then, he saw an idea. Tang Jun saw his goal, his purpose, and it was so clear in his mind. It was what he wanted to do, what he needed to do, in order to be able to feel accomplished in this life.
'Revive Tang Sect!'
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