Chapter 25
I had gone at least an entire day without eating. My stomach kept growling over and over and I felt faint in the beginning, but the body adjusts. It didn’t feel like this was worth it. Elder Liu was annoying me, and I hope she’s ready to give up because mom is the one who has to talk to me.
I heard a knock on the door.
“Dong Chen, it’s Elder Liu,” she said. “The Sect Master has agreed to me telling you some information, but you must open the door in order for me to give it to you.”
“How do I know you’re not lying?” I asked. “You’ve been lying or not acknowledging anything before this, so how do I know you’re not just trying to make me open the door? You know I’m a mortal, right? You know that as a cultivator even the weakest of the disciples in your sect could take advantage of me and I wouldn’t be able to do anything. I wouldn’t even be able to walk to the entrance of your gate if it weren’t for my blood relations with my mother.”
“You do indeed have a concern,” Elder Liu said. “I swear on the heavens I will tell you about the problems with the curse but I will not tell you the solution to it, only that there is a solution will be acknowledged.”
“Why can’t you tell me the solution?”
“It is something your mother has to tell you herself and she is not willing to because she is horrified by it,” Elder Liu said. “With that said she has no intention of going through with the solution because it defies the order of the heavens and she believes would not have a good result for you.”
“It’s that bad?” I’m a bit surprised. “I suppose that’s reasonable, that she’s afraid to tell me then, but tell me first. Am I truly her weakness to the point where the Sect has to keep me alive for her?”
“Yes,” Elder Liu said. “I will explain it to you if you open the door and eat a meal. The Sect Master will also put in more effort to talk with you about what you want as well, and she won’t use that involuntary control technique on you anymore.”
From what I can guess, she wouldn’t be able to use the involuntary control technique on me through this room either, so I can always hold out if there is the problem of that evil spirit. Unless they decide to give up on and me and let the evil spirit consume me, they’re at least learning that they have no choice but to win over my cooperation.
“Okay, I’m trusting you this one time,” I said. “I’ll open the door and eat, but this is in exchange for information.”
I felt weak after not eating for a day and a half. Apparently my mother is very sensitive to me not wanting to live. I can always use that card to get her to do what I want, like a manipulative child. I won’t do that, but what I want most is the truth and if I can’t have the truth, then I have to use other means to get it, especially when it concerns my life.
The door opened, and I had expected Elder Liu would try to grab the key from me, but she stood there and asked me.
“May I keep the key safe for you?”
I handed her the key. I didn’t see the point in fighting when they could easily control me and take it now that the room is open. They set food in front of me on a small table, so I ate since I was hungry.
The food was better tasting with more flavor now.
“I invited some specialists who are chefs for mortals to prepare food,” Elder Liu said. “I understand you feel as though this is a cage you’re in and you wish to leave or at least know the truth behind it.”
“Yes,” I said in between mouthfuls. “I want to know the truth behind what’s going on here. I don’t want to be forced to stay if it serves no purpose except being a pet, and I don’t mind dying if that’s the case.”
“Your mother will go mad if you die,” Elder Liu. “She will lose her mind as the Yang energy implanted in seeding you would run rampant and the Yin will force itself out making her go man hungry. She will sleep with every man around because of that imbalance.”
“You’re just telling it to me without having me probe?”
“I respect your intelligence,” Elder Liu said. “You’re not a fool and you seem to figure things out quickly. Even things we try to hide and you know how to manipulate us to get what you want. If it hadn’t been for the situation, you’re in and you could cultivate, you would have become a great cultivator with that cunning and attitude.”
“Well, thanks for the compliments.”
Elder Liu watched me eat. I could feel her spiritual sense envelope the room. I hadn’t been able to have a sense like that before, but somehow I’m able to sense it more now. It’s still amazing that the people of this world could cultivate and grow extremely powerful. The science people’s back home wouldn’t be able to understand the use of energy here.
“The reason you need to remain alive is to keep the Sect Master from going mad,” she said. “The solution is still an option in the future, but it’s something she has to be willing to talk to you about.”
“How would I go about doing that?”
“Make her comfortable with you,” Elder Liu said. “If you want to know it. The Sect Master is your mother, and she is afraid of you hating her. She wants to have a relationship with you but doesn’t know how to go about it with everything that’s been done.”
I guess so. It probably hasn’t been easy for her either. I should continue to be angry at her for thrusting me into this, but I can’t just keep on this path with nowhere to go. I need to talk to her and find the solution.
“I understand,” I say. “If it’s like that, then have her come and talk to me. If she wants to have a relationship with me, then she needs to put in the effort to get to know me and stop pushing all her own wants and desires onto me. If I had got married, I wouldn’t be stuck here right now, I’d be enjoying life as a mortal. At the very least, I understand she needs me and it’s not just her being sad.”
Elder Liu seemed a bit surprised.
“Is there something wrong?” I wondered why she was staring at me quietly.
“I didn’t expect for you to be so reasonable,” she said. “I thought you would throw a tantrum like you’ve been doing. I thought you would try to manipulate.”
“If you’re being honest with me and I believe you like I do now, there is no need to manipulate,” I said. “If my mother had just told me from the beginning that the solution was one she wasn’t willing to share because she was fearful of it, I’d have been fine with that answer. What I don’t like is people manipulating me, telling me lies or denying something. Even if you can’t tell me, at least acknowledging that I have a point goes a long way. As you said, I’m not an idiot.”
“I see…” Elder Liu was now contemplating. “Perhaps you finding out the solution wouldn’t be that bad after all.”
Perhaps not. At least I’m making some headway here.
“There is one thing I want to know,” I said. “Why is it that all this happened because my father died? Is there also an unseen spiritual link my dad has?”
“Yes,” Elder Liu said. “Your father was a conduit that prevented the direct link between you and the Sect Master. If you had married and consummated the marriage, as long as you made vows under heaven there would have been no issue with her living her cultivation life and you would have no issue living out your mortal life and she would have visited and made sure your life was comfortable and your family for the duration she would serve as the Sect Master.”
I see, so they planned everything out for me to live a nice comfortable life. Mom really looked out for me and wanted me to enjoy myself despite not really amounting to everything. I still felt sad for my father in this world though, since he had fallen in love with a woman who wanted nothing to do with him except to conceive me. There were so many things messed up about it.
“There are still a few things I want to explain,” Elder Liu said.
Previous Chapter l Next Chapter
