Chapter 13

The Sun Always Shines on the Horizon

Jien rode through the city, heading towards the woods on the outskirts of Zhouhei where the Alcove lied. He breathed heavily as a sharp pain spread from his Dantian through his entire body. The previous use of Cultivation had taken its toll. Jien was no longer young, and cultivating became tiring. Even riding was destroying his lower back. Damn infamous backache. Age seemed to have finally caught up with him.

At that moment, the woods carried a dark image; the trees dressed in a black fog, as if even the moonlight couldn’t penetrate the dense foliage. Bugs made funny sounds, laughter aimed at Jien’s ego, at his helplessness and failure. The sky almost looked down on him now, the clouds forming a facial pattern like a smirk and the stars in a suffocating glow. But the moon was still there to soothe him.

Moving away from the city, Jien no longer saw any sign of the Jade Knights’ presence. Previously, dozens of them roamed the outskirts of Zhouhei, but suddenly their presence faded in a passing wind. This brought an odd and uncomfortable feeling to Jien’s heart. The whole invasion was uncomfortable. The number of Jade Knights in the invasion was minimal, just a few dozen. A tiny number when compared to the amount of men available in the Immortal’s army. That probably meant only two things.

First, the invasion was not really important, and the Immortal had different goals besides the destruction of Zhouhei. Which would not be impossible, but it didn’t resemble the method used by the Immortal in other invasions. If this was the correct option, the Immortal was changing his strategies.

Second, this was not an invasion, it was something else. Perhaps a distraction, or simply a power demonstration. Jien created several possibilities that could justify Zhouhei’s current situation. Perhaps the Lakes Region could act as a vantage point between the Immortal’s operations in Hyperia.

Unlikely.

Zhouhei was also close enough to Rarik to be useful, it was even possible to find beasts roaming beyond the limits of the Lakes Region. But from a strategic perspective, that made little sense. Why would the Immortal place himself right in the middle of his two greatest enemies? It would be a terribly disadvantageous position in the long run, and Jien could not believe He would be so careless.

Perhaps Jien was incorrect. Earlier, he assumed that the attack on Zhouhei might be related to himself in some way. However, Jien didn’t have time to be right or wrong. Had his concern been unfounded, he could have sent Hari towards his death. And for that, he would never forgive himself. So, Jien could only beg to the Heavens and the moon that his intuition would still be as sharp as it was a hundred years ago. He quickened his ride, causing the horse to neigh.

Approaching the Alcove, Jien noticed a difference in the surrounding atmosphere. A slight shift in the air, making it heavier, like a suffocating and warm presence. The amount of smoke increased. There, he saw dozens of Jade Knights before the entrance to the Alcove, laughing, gathered like hungry wolves. So he was right. Jien smiled. Damn you. The Immortal was there for him.

As soon as they noticed Jien’s presence, the Jade Knights stopped laughing, turning to him, raising their glaives in a sign of hospitality and greeting. The men made camp in front of the Alcove and seemed to wait for Jien. But Jien didn’t want to wait for them. Jien walked towards the Alcove, heading straight for the Jade Knights. The entrance to the cave was closed, but Jien could see smoke escaping from under the door. The Alcove was on fire.

He was too late.

“What are you doing here?” Jien snapped.

One of the Knights detached himself from the pack. He was helmetless and wore better quality armor with fewer openings, probably made of Cold Iron—Jien assumed from the way the metal and weight didn’t seem to bother him. The knight had a large, braided black beard and short hair. His slightly blue eyes denoted his Nan ancestry.

“A gift for old times’ sake.” The knight spoke in a strong Nan accent, with heavier consonants and squeezed vowels, a way of speaking that was harsh to the ears, but which commanded the respect and presence that those people carried. Jien couldn’t deny the nostalgia that the accent brought him.

“A gift, from whom?” Jien asked, but inside he already knew the answer.

“Him. Our Lord and Savior. The Immortal Himself. He said you would appreciate it.” the Knight said, raising the severed head of one child. It was Norell’s. He had not gone to the Pit, he stayed in the Alcove, sleeping. The little boy’s eyes still had the same look of terror as when the head had been severed from the body, Jien recognized. The Knight threw his head towards Jien, causing it to roll across the floor to his feet.

Jien didn’t look away this time. Instead, he took Norell’s head in his arms. “Forgive me, I failed as your Master.” Jien didn’t cry. That kind of scene was so usual in his eyes that it had left deep scars, but they didn’t hurt anymore. However, the anger still existed. An old rage, like fire, that for long desired to be released. And Jien was a step away from igniting it. “I promise you at least a decent burial, Norell.” he concluded, placing Norell’s head carefully on the floor. Jien gripped his makeshift sword tightly.

Moon, I’m about to do something terrible. But I cannot stain your cultivation with their blood. Jien thought. What would happen next called for something more destructive.

“There are more gifts like that in there.” The Knight pointed to the Alcove and laughed.

Jien didn’t react. He stood firm and resolute. Inside, there was already enough anger. “Did he send you here to kill me as well?” Jien didn’t know how much of it was His revenge, or just His flexing. Maybe both.

“Ha! Be my guest. What do you think?” one knight shouted, and they all armed themselves with their glaives, positioning themselves like a trained battalion. It was impressive. Jien could tell how used those men were to fight, just by the way they held their glaives. But it still was not enough.

Jien laughed, laughing so loudly that tears welled up in his eyes. The knights looked at each other in confusion.

“I think you all got it wrong.” Jien walked, circling the knights.” He would not be stupid to believe that just only ten measly of you could be enough to bring me to death." Jien paused, taking a deep breath, causing an absurd amount of chi to flow from his Dantian to his meridians at an astonishing speed.

This time, the Chi was not cold and calm, but hot and volatile, powerful. A long-abandoned nostalgic feeling. A sensation he had promised never to feel again. Jien thought of the Sun, touching the Dao of its meaning, breathing in its energy and breathing out its form. Then, Jien felt his muscles burn and his veins light up as ordinary chi took on a distinct character, aspecting to the Solar pattern, rushing through his lungs, causing him to exhale hot smoke and steam.

The aura around him glowed a vivid yellow-orange, forming bubbles, small condensed packets of energy that erupted around him, driving out into the night and shadows that clouded Jien’s mind. The surrounding forest glowed with the brightness of Jien’s aura. His heart pumped blood faster, pulsing with the force of a star. His body temperature rose, causing the sweat that leaked through his pores to evaporate instantly. Then Jien spat out blood, feeling his stomach churn and his Dantian contract, denying him more access to chi. His Dantian bubbled, a searing sensation that sent spikes of stinging burn through all his meridians. Using this method was still too dangerous, and the severity of the wounds on his Dantian was getting worse.

Not now.

Jien didn’t stop cultivating, forcing himself through the pain, completing the Inner Opening Patterns that gave rise to this method.

“You didn’t understand, did you?” Jien said. “His gift to me is you.”

Forgive me Dacheng, I promised you I would never use this again. But I cannot stop myself now.

The Sun King Cultivation Method activated. Night turned to day for an instant. Jien lunged forward like a ray of sunlight, raising his makeshift sword for a vertical slash at the first knight. Jien’s blade now glowed as bright as he did, emitting a boiling yellow heat. The knight raised his glaive to block Jien’s attack, but it was in vain.

First Form of Sun King Cultivation. Sanzang. Sunlight always rises in the East.

Jien changed the shape of his Chi, drawing within himself the internal patterns that fueled the method. Solar chi moved at his command, taking the form of Sanzang.

Jien slashed, his fiery blade cutting through glaive, armor, flesh, blood and bones as if they were all made of paper, leaving a huge burn in the way, in a terrible stench of burning flesh. The sound of the fiery blade boiling the knight’s blood was like minor explosions contained in an even smaller space.

There was not even time for the knight to scream. Death overtook him like morning sunlight. Fast. Jien’s solar blade only stopped when it hit the ground, splitting the first knight’s body in half.

Two other knights attacked at the same time, from Jien’s sides. Jien dodged the first, but the second reached his left arm, making a deep cut. The blood evaporated along with the sweat, closing the wound, for now. Despite being strong, Jien needed to prevent the knights from attacking simultaneously, or circling him—or he would be left with no escape. The Jade Knights well-positioned themselves, and they used the glaive with precision, moving as one body. If Jien was careless, he would die. He needed to control the battlefield.

Fourth Form of Sun King Cultivation. Huagou. The sun shines as it wishes to.

Jien’s aura exploded, generating an intense glow that blinded the Knights for a short time. Jien took advantage of the opening to sever two more of the nearest knights, sending their heads rolling across the lit woods. Before the other knights could attack, Jien cultivated more.

Third Form of Sun King Cultivation. Bajiè. Sunlight travels without restrictions.

The solar aura focused on Jien’s legs, making his movements quicken. In the blink of an eye, he advanced behind the Knights, gaining an extremely advantageous position. One knight reacted in time, escaping the brief blindness, turning to Jien with a diagonal slash that almost hit his collarbone, but Jien blocked it with his makeshift sword. The heavy blow could still touch Jien, leaving a gash near his neck. The temperature of his blade made the knight’s glaive melt and Jien took the moment to pierce through it, circling the First Form, Sanzang, once more.

Four down, six to go. Jien thought, feeling his body dry up and his blood wanting to boil. This was getting too dangerous, blood already leaking from his eyes and ears. If he held that form any longer, he might wither to death. So he had to get this over with quickly.

The knights advanced together. Jien wouldn’t be able to dodge them all. Then he accepted one blow, charging toward a glaive that pierced his leg. A fair exchange. He lost movement, but kept his head. At the same instant, Jien prepared a counterattack.

Fifth Form of Sun King Cultivation. Wujing. At noon, the sun shines with impunity.

Jien projected his solar aura, focusing on his blade, emanating an even more intense glow than before. The rest of the aura disappeared from his body, converging to the edge of the blade in his hands. With a precise swing of the sword, the hot aura traveled through the air, cutting everything in its path, splitting the bodies of three of the Knights in half. The blow broke the remaining formation, destabilizing the position they held.

Shit, I thought I could hit the six of them with this.

Despite the overwhelming strength of the Fifth Form, his Wujing was shorter than he had expected. The Sun King’s cultivation was never quite compatible with Jien’s style. However, he didn’t think that using it would be so stunted and weakened. Jien dropped to his knees, sweat reappearing on his skin as the cultivation ceased. Jien panted heavily, trying to suppress the pain of breathing in the hot, harsh air.

The closest remaining knight took advantage of the moment of candor to lunge at Jien. Tired, Jien only reacted at the last moment and the glaive cut into his chest, sending blood into the air.

I cannot stop now.

Jien accessed his Dantian again and the solar aura returned, but less intensely. With luck, that would be enough. He grabbed the knight’s glaive by the blade and pulled it toward him. The force threw the knight off balance and Jien leapt at him, circling First Form, and opening a large gash in his stomach.

Two more.

Jien reactivated Third Form, increasing his speed and cutting yet another of the knights before he could react. The only knight left was the one who had presented Norell’s dead head. For this one, Jien had left a special Form.

The knight charged Jien fiercely. His glaive proficiency was remarkable, however, there was no worse enemy for a glaive user than Jien. Circling First Form, Jien dodged to the side and launched a horizontal slash that ripped the knight’s arm, causing him to drop the glaive.

The man screamed in pain, but there was no blood, as the fiery blade sealed the wound. Slowly, Jien approached the Jade Knight, holding him by the neck.

“I didn’t know… I didn’t know you were a cultivator.” the knight said, trying to gasp for air under Jien’s heavy hand.

“I said. You are my gift.” Jien said, drawing his solar chi to achieve a specific internal pattern.

Second Form of Sun King Cultivation. Diyu. Sunlight is consuming fire and destruction.

Jien transferred all of his aura to the Jade Knight, causing his skin to burst, flesh to burn and bones to break. Pure fire consumed his existence. Amidst the Knight’s agonized cries of pain, Jien’s mind drifted away, thinking about the choices that had brought him here. Wondering how much of it was his fault. Jien had no answer.

When Jien finished, only the armor remained. The Knight’s entire body was ash and dust. Dejected, Jien walked into the alcove, where smoke and fire still reigned. But he didn’t mind the heat or the pain. Upon arriving at the dormitory, he saw all his children dead, torn apart, and burned. None had survived the massacre. The Immortal had left his message. He had destroyed Jien.

Jien might have killed some Knights, but that meant nothing. The biggest loss had been his. Everything he had built for all these years had crumbled. He had tried to run away from his past; he had tried to run away from his sins, but they returned to him and his new life. Jien felt lonely, like a single leaf on a tree that lost its life.

In the old days, he could count on the Fortunate Cultivator’s Treasure to help him. He could count on his dysfunctional family. But today, he had no one. Not even he was strong enough to fight the Jade Immortal. He was nothing but a poor abandoned man, carrying a past as heavy as a mountain.

Jien lost, the Immortal won.

As the fire faded and the temperature dropped, so did the smoke and Jien’s will to fight.

When Hari found the pile of burned bodies in the Pit, she couldn’t believe it. It was a lie. It had to be. For an almost infinite time, Hari had convinced herself that she was living a damn nightmare, in which she could never be truly happy. But the more time passed, the more reality sank into her mind. The reality that everyone in the Pit died, with no sign of any Jade Knights present. As in Guinam, they appeared, killed and disappeared without explanation, leaving behind only chaos, grief, and doom.

The first bodies Hari found were those of Lin and Kara. The girls were together, hugging and holding hands. Hari screamed so much, cursed Heaven and Hell in as many ways as possible, that there was no strength left even to speak. Her voice had disappeared, along with the lives of those she loved so deeply.

Yet, she kept looking, picking up the children she could identify. They deserved a dignified funeral. Upon meeting Yaozu’s corpse, Hari’s body gave way to sadness, shedding all the tears that could fit inside her and even more. Hari cried an ocean of pain and suffering, a waterfall of lamentation, as she held tight to the corpses of her beloved ones. Kara didn’t have her first fight in the Pit. Lin would never trouble her again with her nosy personality. Yaozu would not continue with his insect collection, nor would he ask her to read stories from the Cultivator’s Treasure.

When even crying didn’t help, Hari punched the floor until her hands bled. She thought that maybe physical pain could ease the broken heart she carried in her chest. Hari wondered if all the wars and battles witnessed by the Cultivator’s Treasure were the same. If they all ended in sadness and hopelessness.

During her time in the Pit, Hari looked for Captain Fushi, but did not find him. She assumed he ran away when he had the chance. It made her wonder, if Fushi was up to his promises, could he save anyone in the end? But she felt she would never have her answer. Hari even thought about hunting Fushi, but decided it wasn’t worth it. There were more things in Zhouhei now that needed her. Revenge could wait.

At dawn, Hari’s hands still had the traces of dried blood from the punches she had thrown. Her face and eyes bore the marks of someone who had burst into tears, crumbling like a shallow puddle on stormy days. With a horse and cart, Hari retrieved the corpses from the Pit and took them to the nearest woods. She spent the day digging graves, silent, no thoughts, no ideas, no plans, nothing. There was an emptiness in Hari so deep that no action could express it. So, she did nothing, just resolved to honor the lost lives of those she loved.

Zhouhei was not in such an unfamiliar state. The city had disappeared in just one night, and the ruins were still emitting the smoke of the raging disaster. Occasionally, Hari would find survivors among the rubble, or wandering the streets. She did her best to help them, and they returned the favor by helping with the children’s funeral. Hari did the same. Everyone had lost something that night. Zhouhei died.

In the evening, when everyone was buried, Hari raised a prayer to the gods, asking them to welcome the innocent souls into Heaven so that they could live together with their ancestors in the spiritual world. Hari also apologized for what she was about to do.

The invasion had ignited something in Hari. A desire for fight, blood and revenge that she had never felt before. Hari knew she would never rest as long as the Immortal was alive. And if it was necessary for her to kill him herself, she would. Neither Heaven nor Hell would stop Hari from finding the Immortal.

Hari clenched her fists. Facing the dying glow of the sun shining on the horizon, she uttered whispering words, which carried a will of fire.

“Death to the Immortal and destruction to those who follow him.”

End of Act I

The Orphan Who Loved to Fight