Chapter 22: Father

Forest, Jade Empire

-Woosh-

Water vehemently roared around Kai as it forced him to an uncontrollable free-fall; Wind wildly assaulted him from all angles.

No! I can’t give up yet!

Thoughts of Teresa and the rest flashed through his mind; the horrible living conditions, the inhumane treatment. With those thoughts in mind, his desire to live exploded and he immediately channeled all of the Essence he could muster to his entire body. White light consumed his figure, camouflaging him into the waterfall.

The surface of the impending river became dangerously visible as he braced himself for impact.

-Splash-

Kai instantly sank into the dark depths of the river as he opened his eyes in astonishment.

What? Why don’t I feel any pain?

Disregarding the miraculous lack of injuries for the time being, he quickly swam for the surface before the momentum could drag him deeper. The swimming caused his broken arms to throb with greater pain as he noticed the splinters were no longer attached. He easily ignored the pain and soon saw the sky blue surface of the water.

“Ha.. Ha..”

Breaking through the surface, the rain instantly greeted him as he hastily took in deep breaths of air. The current continued to direct him, force him, across the river as he resumed swimming, aiming for the nearest land. When he was within reach, he grabbed the mushy dirt, anchored himself into the earth, and gradually climbed out of the river.

Upon safely stepping onto solid ground, Kai immediately trudged into the forest. Being in an extremely weakened state, he knew he would be dangerously vulnerable if he chose to rest in the open. Walking with vigilance, his eyes attentively flittered about, analyzing the environment in search for a comfortable and secure location.

A while later, he came upon a tree with a thick sturdy branch extending from a great height. The crown of the tree widely shielded the area below as lower branches were perfectly spaced from adjacent trees.

I can rest there.

Sights set on the branch, he leaped to the lowest nearby branch and carefully made his way to the intended branch. As he arrived, he steadily balanced himself, leaned against the tree, and slowly slid down until he was sitting. Finally permitting a peace of mind, he heaved a deep sigh of relief and pulled over his unbelievable survival.

How the hell did I survive that fall? With my recent luck I thought I would’ve at least collided with several rocks if not a large boulder. And what about the bubbles, turbulence, and cold? The waters were surprisingly warm and way too easy to swim through. Could it be because of Essence? No, that couldn’t be it. But what else could it have been?

Questions rattled Kai’s mind as the answers continued to elude him. He delicately waved his arms and examined their conditions.

Still broken, but not any worse. It’s like I never even fell off a massive waterfall… Whatever the case is, at least I am alive.

Spending a moment to be grateful for his miracle, he eventually transitioned his thoughts to the items on his body. He lightly brushed his fingers along his clothes, carefully avoiding any unnecessary exertion of strength. He slowly affirmed the existences of the paper, knife, and beast core.

They’re all still here, this fortune is too surreal.

Slowly lifting his shirt, he removed the paper from between his waist and pants. It’s contents were still cryptic and incomprehensible but its condition was as pristine as when he first received it.

What exactly is this paper made of…

Wasting no more time on the paper, he stored it back its original position. The sound of heavy rain filled the vast forest. After the roaring bear, raging river, and torrential waterfall, he greatly welcomed the peaceful melody of the rain. As he closed his eyes, calmness washed over him and threatened to softly carry him into a deep sleep. Resisting the strong temptation of complacency, he immediately snapped opened his eyes and straightened his back.

No. I should use this time to cultivate. That way, my arms will be fully mended and I will be in less danger.

He slowly closed his eyes once more and used his Sixth. Qi and Ki entered his body as they churned into Essence. The comfortable feeling of cultivating flowed throughout his body as his sense of time slipped away. Midnight flew by as the rain clouds parted, revealing countless dazzling stars across the night sky.

More time elapsed and his arms were fully recovered, but he ignored them as he mindlessly continued to cultivate. Nothing existed besides the floating energies in air and him.

-Stomp- -Stomp- -Stomp-

Kai snapped his eyes open as a horde of footsteps invaded his ears and disrupted his peaceful cultivating. Staring at the ground below, a group of people entered his range of vision. They were dressed in plain clothes and all wielded similar longswords with the exception of a little girl. Distress was plainly obvious on their faces.

As he began to wonder what their complication was, another group of people appeared, madly trailing behind them. The second group of people wielded a varying assortment of knives and swords. They were all wore an expression of crazed excitement.

One of the people from the second group reached a person from the first group and they clashed weapons.

-Clang-

The first group halted to assist the person that was caught. After the first exchange, the two people repelled back to their respective groups. A man with the an authoritative look stepped forth from the first group of people.

“Do you know who you’re dealing with?”

The people from the second group waded apart, exposing a single man. Dressed in a fancy attire that reminded Kai of Boss, the man wore an ugly and arrogant smile.

“Am I supposed to care? I’m a bandit and all that I can see are a weak group of people that are basically asking themselves to be plundered.”

The authoritative man from the first group scrunched his eyebrows and angrily grasped his sword.

“You will regret this. Just wait until our captain returns.”

“Ohh, I’m shivering in my boots”, he sneered. His eyes wandered to the little girl in the group as he creepily licked his lips. “That girl will make a fine slave… kill them!”

On his command, the group of people behind him cheered and wildy charged at the first group of people.

-Clang- -Clang- -Clang-

A fierce battle ensued as the authoritative man and the bandits leader began their own intense fight. After a quick exchange of weapons, Red light protruded from the man as the bandit leader released brown light.

“[Art of Fire: Fire Sword]”, the man shouted as the blade of his sword burst into flames. The flames rapidly calmed down and took the shape of a blade that rose slightly above the blade of his sword.

“[Art of Earth: Earth Spear]”, the bandit leader yelled as he pointed an open palm at the ground. A rough, yet sturdy, spear erected from where his hand was facing. He sheathed the sword he was holding and grabbed the spear with both hands.

Kai’s eyes shone with great interest

A fight between two Barons! This is something I have to see.

Placing the entire battle aside, he solely concentrated on the particular fight between the two Barons. The man charged at the bandit leader then jumped, slashing down with his blazing sword. The bandit leader scoffed as he thrust forward with his spear.

-Bang-

The blade clashed with the spearhead, resulting in a small ripple in the air as they both slid back an equal amount of space. The man immediately reengaged, dashing towards the bandit leader. The bandit leader drew his spear back with one hand, before swinging with his entire might at the incoming man. Its range far exceeded the range of a sword so the man inevitably halted and slashed at the spear to defend himself.

-Bang-

Another ripple appeared in the air and the resulting force propelled him to the side, further away from the bandit leader. The bandit leader smirked as he held the spear in an alternate position.

He’s throwing it?

Just as Kai predicted, the bandit leader leaned back before hurling the spear towards the man. As soon as the spear left his hands, he pointed both open palms at the ground.

“[Art of Earth: Earth Spear]”, he quickly called out.

His brown light glowed more brightly than before as four spears erected from the ground. Grabbing a spear with each hand, he violently hurled them as the man just deflected the first spear. As the spears flew through the air, he grabbed the remaining two spears and hurled one as he charged forward with the other.

A sense of urgency flashed in the man’s eyes as he frantically deflected the incoming spears. Deflecting the first of the four spears, he dodged to the side and avoided the second spear. Unfortunately, his resulting position placed him in the path of the third spear as it impaled straight through his shoulder.

“Arghh!”

He faltered as his face scrunched in pain. Before he could attend to his wound, the bandit leader smugly neared him and thrusted with a spear in hand. Blocking with the side of his blade, he was forcibly knocked back and slid across the ground. The lodged spear skidded the ground along with him which greatly amplified the pain he was in.

Swallowing his desire to scream again, he struggled to crawl to his feet but the bandit leader immediately appeared before him. He sluggishly attempted to bring his sword up but the bandit leader mercilessly speared him through his throat, into the ground. His eyes bulged as his last words were stuck in his throat, then he lifelessly plopped to the ground, elevated slightly by two lodged spears.

“Hmph”, the bandit leader smirked in triumph as he kicked the corpse.

The remaining people from the first group glanced devastatingly at their companions dead body while the lackeys from the second group cheered. With their morals dropped, the people from the first group faltered and were gradually killed one by one.

Unfortunately it’s over for them…

After a short period of time, the only people that lingered was a young girl and a frail looking man. Standing with the assistance of a sheathed sword, the man was clearly powerless yet he emitted an imposing aura. The girl was shaking in fright as the man gave a protective push to place her behind him.

The second group also lost a large portion of their people but they were still grinning with excitement as blood-lust shone in their eyes. They, however, did not make a move and obediently parted ways for the bandit leader to approach the man and girl. When the bandit leader was considerably close, the man spoke in a crisp deep voice.

“If you allow us to depart, I will give you everything in my disposal.”

The bandit leader raised an eyebrow then laughed hysterically.

“What kind of peace talk is that? It’s too late isn’t it? Everything you have is already mine, all I have to do is take it.”

“You speak the truth, so why not set us free?”

“Ha! With such a fine little girl like that? Not a chance old man”, he smirked with evil intentions.

The man’s eyes gleamed with resilience but Kai could tell from the state of the man’s body, he was in no condition to resist anyone. His stern and calm demeanor slowly deteriorated as he shakingly dropped to one knee, then the other, tossing his sword aside. Placing his head on the ground, he betrayed his former imposing stature as he kowtowed to the man.

“Please. Please let my daughter go”, the man begged.

The bandit leader was slightly startled from the extreme change of the man’s image but quickly began to laughed.

“And here I thought you were a tough man.”

“Please”, the man continued to beg as he lifted his head and met the bandit leader’s eyes.

Staring back, the bandit leader appeared to be lost in his thoughts. A calm smile then formed from the corners of his mouth as he softly announced his answer.

“No.”

Without another word, he withdrew the sword from its sheath and thrust forward. The blade cleanly pierced the man’s heart before swiftly retreating. The man feebly fell on his back with a hand over his gaping wound. Finally moving, the young girl ran to his side and helped placed her hand over the wound.

“No!”, she cried, her tears pouring like rain.

The man trembled as he placed his free hand against the girl’s cheek and her tears streamed down his fingers. His eyes shone with indescribable love and regret as he spoke his last words.

“I’m sorry…”

Then he was gone. His hand gracefully dropped to the ground as death stole the rest of his vitality.

“Heh, don’t worry little girl. I’ll take care of you now.”

The world is truly unfair.

Kai heaved a slight sigh as he glanced away, preparing to quietly resume cultivating. This was not his first encounter with a horrible tragedy and he did not believe in sharing another person’s problems.

“No!...”, the girl continued to cry with a pause. Conveying all of her sorrow, her shame, and pure grief into her voice, she cried one word in such a heart-wrenching tone that it resonated throughout the hearts of everyone present.

“Father!”