Chương 391: A Vow (IV)

"MASTER!!!" The banshee scream that nearly tore my ears off came courtesy of Long Tao, who bolted like thunder in front of me, the look in his eyes frantic as he drew his sword, ready to behead somebody.

"That's adorable," I said.

"But you're a bit late, I'm afraid."

"What?" he kept huffing and puffing for a little while after, his widened eyes looking around like a hawk's... but the big bad wolf wasn't there, no matter how hard he looked.

"What... what happened? I could have sworn there was... something there..."

"Master!!"

"Master, are you alright?!!"

"Hoii!!" There's nothing quite like having several children slam you in the back as they all rush to hug you to reaffirm your love of solitude, I swear. Light just straight-up climbed onto my shoulder, and little Feng followed her and climbed onto the other. Both leaned forward and started 'examining my face for wounds', and I just... well, I just stood there, like a statue, taking it all on.... it's nice, in the abstract way, I suppose.

"Fellow Daoist, are you alright?" Okay, what the hell is this?!! Do people just have this motherly need to take care of me?! Do I give off such pathetic vibes that even a random woman I met like a month ago is feeling the need to check in on me?

"... I'm fine," I squeezed through gritted teeth.

"Really. In the meantime, we should probably start stripping the stones from the walls..."

"Ah, yes, of course."

"Let's go, everyone," Wan Lan ordered.

"Master is tired. He needs to rest."

"..." I mean, she's not wrong, technically. But still. Doesn't that just make me sound even worse? They dispersed really quickly, with only Long Tao staying behind, eyeing me with a level of curiosity that I never saw in him before. I sat down and ignored him, pulling out the old bottle of wine I grabbed somewhere and guzzling straight from it, no glass or anything. I'm pretty sure I've earned it, at least this once.

There's just so damn much to unpack, but I won't be able to unpack anything with this old gremlin staring at me.

"... what?" I relented eventually and asked.

"Who was it?"

"Who was what?"

"That demonic--no, it was already a Demon," he said.

"It saw through me."

"Yeah, so?" Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author." Nobody has seen through me," he sounded one part arrogant and ten parts confident.

"I believe you," I said.

"Always some room for the first, though."

"And then... it was gone. Like an illusion."

"..."

"Did he stop time?"

"You can't stop time," I don't think? I mean, what the hell do I know? Apparently, none of the other fundamental laws of physics apply here, so...

"You can stop the perception of time, however. And yes. He did stop the perception of time."

"..."

"Why? You're surprised by the feeling of helplessness?"

"... a little bit." I didn't actually expect an honest reply, truth be told.

"Well, welcome to my life, then," he chuckled lightly, as did I, taking another swig of wine.

"Don't be too alarmed, though. He was a nice Demon. I think."

"He didn't threaten to rip your soul apart and feast on it?"

"Not even once, actually."

"He really was a nice demon, huh?"

"Low bar to meet."

"And so, why did this nice Demon want to talk to you and only you?" I deliberated on telling him. Honestly, the right choice is to tell him, I think. Not only does he know about the creatures 'of the Void', as the 'nice' Demon said, but he also probably had knowledge of many a thing that would be very useful... in the future.

"To warn me. Well, us."

"Warn you? Well, us?"

"Hm. The place we're headed, the secret realm," I said.

"Is actually an elaborate trap set up by someone trying to ascend, and anyone who enters it will die as a sacrifice for that goal."

"... just that?"

"Just that."

"I've never known Demons to say anything of value, let alone say helpful things."

"You met other Demons?"

"Uh, through stories. My father and grandfather did." aha.

"And they never mentioned anything about demons warning humans."

"He did praise you, though," I said.

"Said you were my most talented fledgling."

"..." his eyebrows twitched while I smiled inwardly.

"I was touched," I added.

"That you were so worried for me."

"... I think I'll go help with the stones."

"Ha ha," he walked off under my laughter as I took another swig of the wine. It was not good. But, this time around, we're heading for a proper city, from bush league nonsense to the Big Apple. Or something like that. And we finally have the budget to splurge a bit. Even on the lower estimate, there were about a hundred thousand mid-grade stones here, and even ten or so thousand of the ever-elusive type that I hadn't even seen thus far: high-grade Stones.

Which led me to recognizing that the Spirit Stone Augmentation Art probably wouldn't do. To be fair, it lasted longer than even the Heart-Stitching Art in its original form, so there's no shame; I've points to spare now, especially after completing the Ghosts of the Mine quest. I couldn't quite focus on it just yet, however, my mind still overcome with the visage of the future.

Though vague, I still managed to pick up on the few realities from what that 'King' said; one, it's likely that Dao itself is corrupted in some form. He quite heavily implied that Dao cannot be destroyed, as, without it, there'd be nothing else, either. I've developed a few theories, the likeliest one of which is that somebody, somehow, managed to gain 'access' to Dao beyond the surface level.

Sort of like having the most powerful technological singularity AI that is tapped into everything and everyone and then having the admin access to it to do whatever you want. There's a good chance it's somehow connected to the 'Heavenly Court', or perhaps some other, secret entity. There's also a good chance that Long Tao's ultimate demise came partially because he became a 'threat' to the order or came close to unveiling the truth. Regardless, it's all speculation. Every bit of it.

All I know is that I have a few months to figure out how to save not just my kids, but a whole slew of other kids from dying in that secret realm. And to also find whoever's behind it and give them a good kick in the 'nards. One bit of information that stirred my heart perhaps more than anything else was that Tortoise Mirror's information box still held firm at '???' So, it can literally block and reflect an attack from an Emperor. Sheesh. What a putrid waste it was to use it. Oh well.

It's time to upgrade some of the older arts, starting with Spirit Stone Augmentation.