Destiny in Cinders

An Jing was absolutely flabbergasted that Huo Qing opened up about his entire past just like that. Then again, Huo Qing didn’t keep anything from him when they first met either and honestly answered any question thrown his way.

”This world is a harsh place to live. It lacks resources and is filled with fiends and feys, making life tough for the average person,” Madam Huai said. ”I can tell that you’ve struggled, but it’s always good to have a friend with you so that you can help each other out.”

”Indeed.” An Jing agreed with a sigh. ”I was just thinking about how to console you. Looks like it wasn’t necessary after all.”

”I’ve lived many decades in a foolish daze, so I can accept my fate. Even though I wouldn’t be dying the way I wanted to, I suppose it wouldn’t be quite appropriate for a member of the divine cult like me to sacrifice the remainder of my life to Ruhui. Thanks to the two of you, I have been made aware of paths I hadn’t even considered. I understand now that I shouldn’t be giving my life away that lightly.”

As she spoke, she took out the knuckle shard; all that remained of it was a single finger hole, so it looked more like a ring. This was part of the knuckles that Shu Zheng had used. The dark-gold ”ring” let out a warm glow. It didn’t carry the will of Majesty Yang. Instead, it gave off the sensation that one would feel from a...

”Lifevessel!” You Ruhui widened her eyes at the sight of the ring. Staring at the madam, she said, ”Are you going to...”

”That’s right,” Madam Huai said frankly. ”Last night, I reminisced about the life I have lived helping others. I don’t think I did that out of the kindness of my own heart. I am not a kind person. If I were, I wouldn’t have watched the divine cult commit atrocities without doing anything about it. Instead, I was probably just defying death in my own way. The reason I helped others was to leave my mark on the world, not for their sake, but my own.” ℯℯ𝑙.

She looked at the ring calmly and continued, ”But since Little Shu’s death, I came to understand one thing. Even the young folks that I placed my hopes in will die one day. In our world, the more one wants to achieve grand ambitions or leave some kind of mark on the world, the faster death comes.

”I could have advised them to stay behind in Keensight, but I didn’t. My advice could’ve changed Little Shu’s fate. It could’ve changed mine and you two’s. But I didn’t do it. I didn’t help him.

”I can’t just keep waiting around like this. I need to help others through their tribulations so that they’re able to progress toward the next phase of their lives. Only then can I feel like my help counts for something. That is what Qi Soul Lending is truly about.”

Madam Huai looked at You Ruhui and said, ”Even if I can’t change your destinies completely, I can still help by keeping my power around in a more permanent form. Only then can I leave a longer lasting mark on the world through the two of you. Don’t refuse me. I’m not just helping you, I’m also helping myself.”

How many people in this world could truly claim to understand their deepest desires and lifearc? At the very least, Madam Huai was among that rare few. She had used the power of her lifearc that she had amassed over the years, not to extend her lifespan, but to nurture a lifevessel! She was already too old to begin with, so she wouldn’t be able to spend much time with You Ruhui anyway. Given that, Madam Huai would rather infuse a lifevessel with her being itself to protect her.

Neither An Jing nor You Ruhui had anything to say in response. They couldn’t even refuse her kindness. If the madam had truly infused all her essence into a lifevessel, even the Heavenly Demon Cult wouldn’t be able to trace them through her lifearc. Madam Huai would finally be able to do what she truly wished: helping others on her own accord rather than being swept along by the current.

”Let this dying old woman worry about her own business. An Jing, I’m sure you’re busy and have other things to tend to, right?” She put away the lifevessel-turned knuckle shard and closed her eyes. ”Leave me to my rest and go do what you have to do.”

Right then, Huo Qing outside shouted excitedly. ”An Jing, found it! I found a good lot! I need you to come here to check it out!”

An Jing stood up, but before he left, he had to make his thoughts clear. ”Madam, I know you want to use your death to sever our karmic ties so that trouble doesn’t come for us. But there are times when you are allowed to be more selfish, to desire more. Even though I won’t need an elderly figure like yourself around, You Ruhui does. She’s far too young. Someone has to be there for her.”

Then, he left the room, giving the two women some privacy.

Huo Qing came over to hand him a waterscreen. While a terminal device wasn’t necessary to gather information or make purchases on the net thanks to chip technology, such devices were still commonplace. They were convenient for people who didn’t want to personally interface with the net through their chips and risk contracting malware, some of which could even fry the brain.

The waterscreen showed rows of property listings. Like Huo Qing said, they were rather affordable. The cheapest among them were usually abandoned warehouses or empty plots of land that were fenced up.

An Jing scanned the listings with some shock. ”This building has three floors and even a basement and is even defended by Hilltwixt’s garrison. You’re telling me it only costs ten thousand merits? I mean, it’s not like I would get something like this, but even I can tell that it’s way too cheap.”

Ten thousand merits might sound like a lot, but it simply wasn’t so. It was definitely a far larger amount than Nian Qin managed to save up across years of embezzlement, but the sum was only worth as much as three complete grade-one spirit stones, the equivalent of ten liang of jadeslice steel. A decent flying sword could be forged if one added a few more materials to the mix, but there was also the labor cost to be considered.

An Jing couldn’t believe that the material cost of a flying sword alone was enough to afford a whole building. ”Shouldn’t the construction and renovation labor cost more than this?”

”What’s manpower worth these days anyway? We have puppets to do all the grunt work,” Huo Qing said nonchalantly. ”I already told you that Hilltwixt doesn’t have restaurants or that many convenience stores. Living there is far from ideal. There are only a few shops and canteens for the miners that work there. The property prices might be low, but the cost of living is actually quite high. This is just how corporations operate. They give you a cheap or free trial to get you hooked and raise prices afterwards.

”Not to mention, curfews are mandated there from time to time when feys attack. It’s still safe since it’s a properly defended town, but the mere fact that the place comes under occasional attack still weighs quite heavily on peace of mind. Then again, if all you want is a place to rest from time to time and use it as a warehouse or safehouse, it should more than suffice.”