บท 2: Gu Yue Qin
In the desolate solitude of the roadside ditch of the Gu Yue village, a lone figure lay battered and bruised, yet strangely content. His body, pressed against the cold, muddy ground, bore the marks of hardship, while the relentless rain poured down from the heavens above, soaking him to the bone.
His tattered clothes hung loosely from his frame, frayed edges fluttering in the wind like tattered flags of a defeated army. Ripped seams and gaping holes exposed patches of bruised skin beneath, a stark contrast to the once vibrant fabric now stained with dirt and grime.
His face bore large, dark bruises, marring his features with patches of deep purple and angry red. His eyes were swollen, the skin around them puffy and discolored, hinting at the pain he had endured, and yet...
Despite his apparent suffering, his eyes sparkled with an unexpected joy as he gazed upon the twinkling stars above, oblivious to the discomfort of his surroundings.
This bruised and battered body used to belong to a simple mortal boy bearing the name of Gu Yue Qin.
Qin had once lived a simple life as a farmer, contentedly nestled under the protective embrace of his clan, dreaming of becoming a strong Gu Master once he grew up.
Despite their mortal status, Qin's parents enjoyed a higher status among the farmers, courtesy of a distant relative who held the esteemed rank of a rank 2 Gu master. This relationship allowed Qin to bear the name of Gu Yue, a fact he was extremely proud of.
Life was good...until it wasn't anymore.
Due to the extremely high mortality rate for weak mortals in the world of Gu, both his parents were slaughtered in the last beast tide from 2 years ago.
After all, in a world where the weak mortals are mere playthings for the strong, it's no surprise they met such a fate, now, is it?
Qin could still hear the haunting echoes of his parents' desperate cries every time he tried to sleep, imploring him to flee, as they were mercilessly devoured by a pack of ravenous wolves.
Surviving the harrowing ordeal, Qin found himself engulfed by profound despair as his once steadfast worldview crumbled into ruins. To compound his anguish, the absence of his esteemed Rank 2 Gu Master relative at the funeral of his parents deepened his sense of betrayal and abandonment, plunging him even deeper into the abyss of sorrow and disillusionment.
Consumed by an all-consuming thirst for vengeance, Qin became fixated on the idea of retribution against the wolves. Night after night, he found himself ensnared in feverish fantasies, envisioning a world where he single-handedly eradicated every last wolf from the mountain, ensuring they could never again inflict harm upon another soul.
Alas, these were mere daydreams. Qin had to work all day to barely keep himself from starving. Most of the goods his parents had were lost when the beast tide struck, leaving him nothing but a few things he salvaged from the ruins of his home.
With his parents gone, so too vanished the once-high prestige of his family. Left alone, Qin faced the bitter sting of harsh treatment from the other mortal farmers and their offspring. It seemed that envy, long repressed, now bubbled to the surface, casting him as the target of their resentment.
Alas, despite their harsh treatment, Qin was allowed to work among the other farmers, earning his keep with the sweat of his brow. For Qin, this was sufficient, as he silently nurtured his plans for revenge. His singular focus remained unwavering: to ascend as a formidable Gu Master and vanquish every last wolf on Qing Mao Mountain. Simple though it may be, this was his sole purpose, his driving force.
Approaching his fifteenth birthday, Qin scraped together what little he had and bought himself new clothes for the awakening ceremony. Along with the other youngsters from his farming village, he set off for the true Gu Yue Village, where the important Gu Masters resided and the ceremony would take place.
They were escorted by a rank 2 Gu Master, and Qin watched in awe as the Gu Master effortlessly dispatched any beasts that dared to challenge them. With each strike of his moonlight slashes, the creatures fell to pieces, a testament to the prowess of his clan's renowned technique...
Qin could hardly contain his excitement as they arrived at a village larger than any he had ever seen. Towering buildings loomed overhead, while throngs of people bustled about the streets, their movements a blur of activity. The air hummed with the energy, each corner teeming with life and vitality.
Having never beheld such grandeur before, it was no surprise that Qin felt compelled to explore the bustling village. After committing the location of the designated sleeping quarters for the youths from his village to memory, he set off to wander the vibrant streets, his curiosity piqued by the sights and sounds of this new world.
"What's the worst that can happen?" he pondered silently as he strolled through the lively streets, his eyes drinking in the sights of gleaming trinkets offered by street vendors and the ornaments of the surrounding houses.
As many experienced cultivators could have instantly realized, what Qin did by thinking those words was a self-cursing immortal killer move called "Tempting Fate"....and Qin had no means to resist it, as he was no Fang Yuan.
Not an hour later, Qin found himself battered and bruised, the victim of a bored Gu Master's wrath for inadvertently bumping into him on the street. His fascination with his surroundings had left him oblivious to the man's presence, a mistake that now bore painful consequences.
Aware of the potential consequences of challenging the Gu Master's authority, Qin refrained from voicing any complaint or daring to talk back. With gritted teeth, he stoically endured the punishment, knowing all too well that others might have meted out far harsher retribution for such perceived disrespect...but he memorized the man's face.
Nursing his myriad bruises, Qin managed to drag himself to the sheltered edge of the street, finding solace in the cool touch of the rain that began to cascade from the sky. As the downpour intensified, enveloping the streets in a shroud of silence as people sought refuge from the weather, Qin closed his eyes, allowing the soothing sensation of the rain to wash over him.
Allowing himself a moment of respite, Qin let his muscles loosen, attempting to release the tension that gripped him, even as the fiery tendrils of hatred churned within his chest toward the Gu Master who had inflicted such brutal punishment upon him, the pain still causing his vision to swim.
'I always knew this world was cruel' Qin mused to himself, his gaze drifting upward to the starry expanse above. 'But such brutality, even among our kind... Does having power truly corrupt one so easily?'
With a heavy sigh, Qin felt his eyelids grow heavier, the weariness of his body and soul weighing him down. His thoughts drifted inevitably toward the parents he had lost, a pang of longing piercing his heart as he yearned for a time when the world had not seemed so bleak and unforgiving. If only he could turn back the hands of time...
Alas, he could not.
Gu Yue Qin passed away, alone and burdened by unfulfilled dreams, his departure leaving no one to mourn his loss. He departed this world powerless, leaving behind no legacy, nothing but a few fading footsteps in the mud, washed away by the relentless deluge of raindrops.
'It's that Gu master's fault.' One might think.
'He attacked a powerless mortal out of boredom, shattering his life and dreams on a whim, and the boy perished from his injuries...' That same person might believe....
But that would only be partially correct...because Qin's injuries were not life-threatening...they were actually quite mild.
'Then why did he die' A slow in the head person might wonder.
If only one were to unravel the enigmatic threads of fate, they might discover that Qin's story was not meant to end so abruptly. He should have awakened from his injuries after a few hours, made his way to his lodging, rested, and then attended the Awakening Ceremony as planned. There, he would have awakened his aperture as a D-grade talent with 33% primeval capacity, before embarking on a journey to the Gu Yue Academy. For years, he would have immersed himself in rigorous training and study, his unwavering determination to vanquish the wolves driving him forward—until that is, he crossed paths with a mortal girl, and everything changed.
He was scheduled to die shortly after, on the front lines of the next Beast Tide, Qin was destined to serve as mere fodder in a desperate bid to stem the advance of the wolves. His fleeting moment of glory was to come in the form of a self-destructive technique he had acquired from a passing caravan at a bargain price. In a final act of defiance, he would have unleashed this technique, managing to slay a Rank 2 wolf before succumbing to the inevitable...
...
..
.
"Alas, it was not meant to be..." muttered the smooth, eerie voice of the Otherworldly Demon, its presence cloaked within the guise of Gu Yue Qin's flesh.
With a penetrating gaze, its eyes seemed to pierce the very fabric of reality itself. He could almost make out the damaged threads of fate attempting to entangle him, to force him along the path that was predestined...but they failed to find purchase on his body, recoiling as they brushed against his flesh and soul as if repelled by some unseen force.
Seeing this, the demon allowed a smile to surface on the face it had stolen.
His bloody lips parted to reveal chipped teeth, and slowly, the Demon's words echoed in the night, carried away by the wind, unheard by any but the shadows that danced in its whispering embrace.
"In the dance of time, where worlds entwine,
A tale unfolds of victory divine.
Through valleys deep and peaks untamed,
The unyielding spirit, unashamed.
With each step taken, a journey begun,
Underneath the radiant sun.
No obstacle too great to bear,
For hearts ablaze with fervent care.
Through storms that rage and skies that weep,
The steadfast soul its vigil keeps.
Never faltering, never lost,
Amidst the tempest, paying any cost.
For in the heart of every stride,
Resides the fire, burning wide.
A quest for conquest, ever bright,
Guiding souls through darkest night.
And so they march, with heads held high,
Beneath the ever-watchful sky.
Their anthem rings, a song of might,
Echoing through the endless night."
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