Destiny in Cinders

The demonic cult’s secret art was called Hundred-Lives Transference while Madam Huai’s was Hundred-Tribulations Reception. An Jing didn’t know the precise difference between the two, but he understood that this was probably a method to alter how one used the lifearc that the cult had discovered after experimenting with different lifearcs to the fullest extent.

Perhaps the Heavenly Divine Cult had started off as a cryptic mystic sect that eventually transformed into one that ate humans due to overusing secret arts like those. Either that, or it was due to no longer being bound by the Heavenly Dao.

Madam Huai was different in that regard. An Jing could tell that she had truly never harmed anyone despite practicing the secret art. She had never transferred her tribulations onto the lives of others. Instead, she helped as many people as she could to resolve their tribulations, cultivating her own magnanimous nature in the process. This way, she would be able to offer it all up at a fateful moment to stave off an even larger tribulation, perhaps her own, or even You Ruhui’s. This event was a key part of her fate.

”No no no!” You Ruhui shook her head fervently. ”I don’t care what kind of secret art it is! I’ve been in your debt this whole time. I can’t let you die for me either!”

”Oh?” Madam Huai sounded nonchalant. ”Then would you have me waste my life away? I have been dying for a while now. I no longer have much longer to live. Would you rather that I squander the power to nudge fate that I had been amassing all my life? Would you rather not receive help and deny me my final wish of wanting children like you to live a good life?”

Such was the nature of destiny. An Jing let out a long sigh, not having anything to add to that. All he felt was a deep sense of absurdity and a feeling of inevitably that he found hard to voice. He could tell that Madam Huai no longer had much to live. Anyone of the martial path that could sense vigor knew as much.

When she had been rescued by the Lord Inspector of the North many years ago, she was already half-dead. Her life only got extended due to the terrestrial veins of Keensight. As her lifearc also nurtured the terrestrial veins in turn, it was a mutually beneficial relationship, which resulted in her turning into an earthbound spirit that wasn’t allowed to leave the terrestrial veins or go into the sun.

The character ”Huai” was made up of component parts that meant ”wood” and ”ghost”, after all. In essence, she was a spirit that was rooted deeply and not allowed to leave.[1] This was not the surname of her birth, but she had gone her whole life referring to herself as such.

It was true that You Ruhui’s treasure would be able to grant Madam Huai her freedom, but what did it matter? She was already so old that she would have passed on eventually. Being so sensitively attuned to the terrestrial veins in Keensight was akin to being exposed to days of extreme heat and cold. She could already feel herself approaching her ultimate limit, so she wanted to use whatever lease on life she still had to help You Ruhui.

Not to mention, the people she was close to like the manor lord and Majesty Yang Fist had already gone to the next life before her. There was no longer any attachment that anchored her to this world. In fact, she couldn’t wait to move on. Even if what waited for her on the other side was hell, she would accept it without complaint.

Had I not been here, Madam Huai would’ve helped You Ruhui escape capture in Keensight, perhaps much sooner too, An Jing thought. Madam Huai would have used all her power to send the girl out of the city before the True Fiend Cult made their move. Then, Keensight would have been destroyed by the True Fiend Cult while the rampaging heavenly fiend would scramble all traces of You Ruhui’s escape. You Ruhui would have been able to escape to Dustdawn without using her ability and reach out to her appointed guardian.

Things fell into place in An Jing’s mind. These were the workings of fate and destiny. Screw this fucking destiny! He understood why things unfolded the way they did, yet the fire in him still blazed brightly.

He was the one who had made a cut in this so-called destiny. Keensight didn’t end up destroyed while You Ruhui’s life path had drastically changed due to his involvement. The question now was whether he could also shift Madam Huai’s fate in the same fashion as a massive star that influenced the orbit of the planets in its system.

”Madam Huai, don’t you think you’re being too eager about this?” An Jing said. ”Even if things were always meant to unfold this way, are you just going to go along with it?”

”I know what you want to do and say.” She turned around and looked calmly at the promising young hero who rose up using the vice apothecary and Shu Zheng as stepping stones. ”All that you have done along your journey, from the fall of Direlife Manor to the destruction of Honor Pavilion, isn’t anything you’ll regret. This is just what your personality is like. I am not unlike you, child. I have never regretted my own actions. I am able to perceive some of the workings of fate, but that doesn’t mean I’ll do whatever fate has in store for me. I will only do what I believe is right.”

Doing what one believes is right, without regard for fate or destiny. Doing what should be done. ”I have indeed learned much.”

Both An Jing and You Ruhui completely understood what the madam was talking about. You Ruhui no longer hesitated and used her ability to the fullest extent with the intent of warping hundreds of li away in an instant. Had Madam Huai been there alone, she might’ve accepted her goodwill. But An Jing was there too, and You Ruhui didn’t want to drag an ”innocent” into her troubles.

An Jing, on the other hand, drew the broken sword. You think you’re the one dragging me into your affairs? I’ll show you what being pulled in by destiny looks like!

At the same time, the terrestrial veins began to shudder. A massive terrestrial-vein pattern that didn’t exist in reality but rather in the nether realm appeared, centered around Keensight’s administrative building. It swept past vast distances faster than the speed of sound, shaking all kinds of animals in hibernation awake. They felt their nonexistent souls tremble in its wake. This was the ultimate scanning ability in action: Heaven’s Sight, Earth’s Hearing! The power of the terrestrial veins coupled with that of the sages made it so that every corner of Keensight was within perception.

”Something was detected!”

Overseer Cao’s eyes brightened when he sensed traces of Princess Mingjing’s interference at the terrestrial veins near Honor Pavilion as well as traces of a heavenly fiend manifestation. All that had been obscured from the debris and the collapse of the arcane domain. However, the overseer was finally certain that Princess Mingjing had fought the heavenly fiend at that location!

Without hesitating, the overseer immediately had Zheng Mo unleash the ability once more, sending yet another powerful wave out to the hundred-li radius around Keensight. Yet, nothing was detected apart from faint signs of Princess Mingjing’s presence.

”Darn it!” Overseer Cao’s hand gripped the corner of the table so hard that it snapped. ”Did she really end up captured by the fiend fanatics? Or was she scared away by them? I knew those insects couldn’t be trusted!”

Sage Mystic Mirror’s eyes shone with a hint of silver and green as he pondered. ”Interesting... This sensation reminds me of Endmost Sky’s void-travel art...”

***

On the other side of the Grandvoid Pathway, An Jing, Madam Huai and You Ruhui emerged in the badlands of Skysource. ℴ

”Where is... this place?” Both You Ruhui and Madam Huai were sensitive to terrestrial veins and immediately felt that they had been transported to a completely foreign land that they didn’t recognize.

”You... An Jing... We just traveled through the void! Is this your true ability?!” Madam Huai had somehow discovered An Jing’s true name. She looked around the vast badlands, seeming troubled. ”Child, you know that I won’t be able to live for much longer. Yet, you refused to let me do what I wanted and instead revealed your true trump card?!”

”Where in Void Embrace is this?” You Ruhui could see the silhouette of Deepnight City in the distance. ”Is that the divine capital? Or a major city of some other world? Wait, the terrestrial veins seem to have a familiar flavor... But... but then...”

The confusion settled in her and turned into awe.

An Jing wasn’t moved in the slightest bit by their reaction. ”Madam, any normal person would’ve immediately told me about the pros and cons of my actions or similar nonsense. But you’re different. I believe you are right when it comes to doing what we think is right, even in the face of destiny. I have merely done what I believe to be right. If others tell me that I’ve made a mistake, I will fight them to the end even if the world itself would punish me for it.”

He paused and smiled brightly like never before. ”Not to mention, even if you die tomorrow, you at least get to live one more day. All that is time that you can potentially use to sway the workings of fate, right?”

He turned to look at You Ruhui, who was hugging the madam tightly, and nodded. ”At the very least, that’s what I believe. I have completely changed the trajectory of your fates.”

1. Huai ”槐” is made up of the radicals 木 (wood) and 鬼 (ghost). ☜