Old Li's past
At this moment, Li Chen knew he wasn't the sole ruler of this world. The force that sent him here had become one.
'Wait! Am I being drawn right now?!' That thought hit him like a hurricane, threatening to drive Li Chen crazy.
His irises dilated, trembling softly but suddenly he regained his peace. So far, every thought was his and his actions weren't contradictory so his first hypothesis still stood.
He had been transported into another world. His comic had been given life and he was forced to live in it for reasons unknown.
Having heard the name of the beauty from the Wu dynasty, the men couldn't help but nod.
"Her beauty is peerless. Like a celestial phoenix!" The fat man was praised.
"After her appearance five years ago, Princess Xiu Ying entered seclusion. She should have left our realm," the black-robed man said and others nodded.
Li Chen turned to Old Li, who had finished his meal. While munching on the bones, he felt Li Chen's gaze and raised his head.
"Your eyes say it all, but I'll have to crush such thoughts before they sprout and become a heart demon if you refuse to let go. Xiu Ying isn't for beings of this realm. Her beauty transcends it, so stop imagining."
[...! I was only worried about the chicken. You barely showed mercy.]
"You…!" Old Li's cheeks turned red, his wrinkled finger trembling as he pointed at Li Chen.
[Also, stop pretending. You're not this weak.]
"BRAT!"
A waiter approached them with a sweet smile, unfazed by Li Chen's strangeness, as she was used to seeing lots of cultivators with different bearings. She had seen stranger things but Li Chen would still come out among the top ten.
"It's ten white jades, sir."
She faced Li Chen, seeing that Old Li wore old clothes akin to those of street drunkards. Li Chen brought out one jade and placed it on the table. [I don't have white jade.]
The waiter's eyes gleamed when she heard that. Li Chen's nonchalance made her increase his standing in her heart so much that she kneeled close to him and slowly gathered the plates.
[Let's go. I need to rest.]
He stood up, helped the tipsy old man and they left. As they walked into the inn, Old Li's eyes sharpened when he saw the red-headed kid eating noodles beside his adopted sister, who chuckled at his ravenous consumption.
"Big brother, you're back!" the big-eyed girl exclaimed, causing the red-headed kid to halt. He lifted his head, and his eyes quickly locked on Li Chen's sword.
After the little girl called her mother, Li Chen paid from the same pouch that the old man had dropped on the table, and the mature woman led them to a room with two beds.
The wooden beds had white quilts and a lamp on the window sill.
Li Chen dropped the old man on the left bed, sat on the right and removed his boots. Stretching his hands, he fell onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. The boisterous chatter— yells of men and women laughing coquettishly echoed from within the restaurant.
[I have not seen you cultivate. Why?] Li Chen turned to Old Li, who kept silent for a while before turning to him.
"Because I've reached the limit of my potential. I'll die soon enough so I decided to enjoy my remaining time." Old Li's nonchalance stunned Li Chen.
He had just gotten a taste of such great power. The urge to grow had saturated his consciousness but seeing Old Li, who had attained such a high level in the way of the sword, in such a state, puzzled him.
Silence reigned for a while and Old Li cleared his throat.
"I had a wife once. She was a water cultivator and she was the one who created the basins around the mountain. She was both beautiful and caring." Old Li's murky eyes moistened and his tone dropped from nonchalant to melancholic.
[What happened to her?]
"She died. I was so obsessed with how to boost my lifespan so I could one day leave this realm. One morning, I woke up and saw my Mei-er had grown white hair. I don't know how she got a forbidden technique but I could feel her lifespan was gone and she died two years later."
Feeling a strange sensation in his chest, Li Chen rubbed it. [She transferred her lifespan to you?!]
Old Li chuckled sadly, tears rolling down. "A silly girl. I built a hut at the mountain top and waited for her spirit. I had this tiny hope that she would feel a grudge and become a vengeful spirit and 200 years passed. Even now, I'm still waiting."
[She gave you life and you squandered it!] Li Chen hissed.
Here he thought that the old man had struggled till the end and gave up when he actually had an extra 200 years but the loss of his wife made him a drunkard and a hermit.
"What would you have done? She had long become my motivation. I wanted to go to a higher plane to make her illustrious in this one but she had no idea about that or anything else. SHE WOULD NOT HAVE KILLED HERSELF!"
Li Chen was stuck without an answer to the question.
What did he yearn for? He later asked himself.
Like a hungry man, he searched for a reason deep within himself and finally discovered that he yearned for power.
Li Chen did not want to conquer the world but he wanted to experience the thrill of a cultivator—the great joy they get from advancing to a higher level. The feeling of exploring this world was incredulously exciting.
With these thoughts, he slept.
****
The sounds of horses and people chatting woke Li Chen and he sat up. Stretching his arms, he got to his feet, walked to the large round window and looked at the street. 'Another day. The sun is looking beautiful,' he chortled inwardly.
Suddenly, he realized someone wasn't in the room.
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A/N: Five new legit reviews and I'll upload two extra chapters!
Geschenke
-- Geschenk
erhalten Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein