Chapter 10: What does it amount?

The tournament continued. Many people fought and won; the other half lost. Some people fought with their fists, others with their swords, while others with their wits.

The majority of the matches weren't intense; they were First Realm cultivators after all. They were the weakest of the weakest of cultivators: kids and rookies.

Mei Zheng was lying in bed after being carried away by the nursing team. He could see many beds with people resting on them, sorted in rows that extended many meters. There seemed to be many injured people, but there were also many helping out.

Ming Daiyu was among them. She had long black hair that reached her waist, thick but neat eyebrows and pink, beautiful eyes. She was very pretty; but that was all. Her silver robe reached her heels, but one could still make out the contour of her figure; it wasn't anything spectacular.

She was moving from one place to the other, checking people's conditions, attending needs and asking questions. When she realized Mei Zheng was awake, she quickly made her way towards him.

"Does anything hurt?"

"Uh, huh? Oh, yes."

"Where does it hurt?"

"Ummm… Everywhere."

"Alright… Take this pill; it will help you with the external wounds. Rest for a bit and tell me later how you feel, okay?"

"Sure!"

Mei Zheng took the pill in Ming Daiyu's hand and sniffed it before putting it in his mouth. He tried at first to use his right arm, but, realizing he couldn't move it, gave up and used his left one. He gulped the pill down and closed his eyes.

'It's a shame this sister is watching me. If she wasn't, I wouldn't have eaten the pill. It's a waste. I could've sniffed that pill for more than a month!'

"Sister, may I know your name?"

"My name is Ming Daiyu, you can call me Sister Ming."

"Thank you for your help Sister Ming!"

"Don't worry. We're all from the same sect after all. It's normal to help each other."

"I'll be resting then, please go away."

"Ah? Okay I'll leave you alone. Don't hesitate to call me if anything's wrong."

"Yeah, yeah. I got it."

Mei Zheng impatiently waved his left hand in the air, waiting for Ming Daiyu to leave. She was a bit startled, but didn't stop smiling and directly left.

'I'm the Stick-boy. How can anything go wrong with me? Just because I lost doesn't mean I'm weak! I've now seen the shortcomings of my stick; this defeat will only make me many times stronger!'

…

The night had already fallen on the Gray Grass Sect. The gray, irregular buildings that resembled giant strands of grass now appeared to be a field of golden giant herbs, shining dazzlingly, confronting the stars with their light. The wind caressed these peculiar structures; however, they remained unmoved, making one doubt the flow of time.

Below one of these golden leaves of grass, a secret conversation was taking place.

"Brother Yi, are you sure about this? We might get into real trouble if we're mistaken."

"It's our only choice, Plummy Fang. I have a bad feeling, that's why I called the triple seven code. If we aren't prepared it will end up bad."

"I trust you, Brother Yi. Even if it's a false alarm, we will have the chance to escape when leaving for the expedition. We might live the rest of our life running away, but my pickles aren't afraid of persecution."

The light breeze passed through the pores inside Yi Ren's cubical hairstyle, making a barely perceptible whistling sound. He was more serious than normal; his lime eyes were fixed on the faraway horizon.

The Pickle Lord was looking in the same direction with a solemn expression. Plummy Fang was looking at the sky, sighing. His short hair barely moved with the air. The three were rarely quiet, but this was such an occasion. Whatever the truth was, if they made their move, they would have to leave the sect forever.

"What is your evidence of this?" Plummy Fang was still unconvinced, so he inquired.

"Elder Yue, before going to the battle of Flaming Charcoal Mountain, told me this would happen one day. All the clues are here now…"

…

In another corner of the Gray Grass sect, Ling Zhou was sitting in a corner of his room with his eyes closed. He suddenly opened his eyes, appearing confused and panicked.

"What? I've been here for only one month, am I really that unlucky?" He whispered.

He took a pill out of his pocket. It was emitting a green light this time, but it was still transparent.

"This might not be enough to escape, but it's enough to hide…" He put the pill in his mouth and swallowed it. After a few seconds, his body started disappearing little by little, until he couldn't be seen anymore.

…

The next day, the tournament continued.

Wang Fan was walking alongside Yi Ren. They moved throughout the cement paths, silently gazing at the sky as they heard the peaceful morning sounds. The cold wind blew softly on their bodies. Yi Ren's hair didn't move; it was stuck in place because it was a solid cube. Wang Fan's long sleeves fluttered behind him, along with his long, black hair.

"Tomorrow's the day we leave, Brother Yi. Do you know what that means?"

"I know what that means, Brother Wang. It means freedom."

"That's what I wish for too, Brother Yi. For my pickles to be free, unrestrained; for them to be able to shock the world and show their might; for their power to be seen… I want people to know that plants are living beings too. Don't you want something like that?"

Yi Ren kept looking at the sky. His demeanor was unusually calm. He thought for some time, his gaze was still fixed upwards.

"I… Don't Brother Wang. I don't need to rule over anything, nor do I seek anyone's approval. I don't mind having an ordinary life. I could live in a house deep in the forest, hunt for my own food and do my own things. Maybe have a wife or whatever… to live. I must live, Brother Wang."

"…"

"I have to live forever. I have to understand the meaning of everything. Isn't that the purpose of life? Isn't beating death the innate goal of every living being?"

"I don't get it, Brother Yi. But I hope you get what you want. Desires are endless, but desire itself is universal. Isn't that something Plummy Fang would say?"

"It is."

"Unfortunately he didn't want to come. He said he was busy with his newly found inspiration. It makes sense, since he no longer has the need to participate…"

"Brother Fang is Brother Fang, after all."

The duo kept walking for some time. They kept silent for the rest of the journey, contemplating the surroundings.

It was fall; the temperature was going down with each passing day. The contradictory contrast between the serious gray leaf-like enormous buildings and the liveliness of the green grass led to a scene of contemplation. The structures were carved as if the lack of colors was to be replaced by pure texture, maintaining a balance between plainness and extravagance.

Few birds sat on the soft curves that pointed to the sky, chirping loudly as they tried to fill the silence with the acute sounds of their songs.

"This is what I mean, Brother Wang. Don't you feel it?"

"Feel what?"

"Everything around us. This idea… the idea that the world will continue being the same no matter what happens. It won't change. The birds will continue chirping and the grass growing. The sun will shine upon the people and the air will blow upon the plants. What can be more peaceful than knowing the weight of your problems to the world?"

"…"

"For a tree, so what if we get freedom or get trapped? For a bird, does it matter if the species that claim to be ruling suddenly disappears? Even if we become the kings of the world, after enough time, what would it amount to?

Every organism will continue living as it ever did, pursuing whatever immaterial goal justifying their existence, unconsciously, like rock falling off a cliff. Why should we worry, then, if the only difference between slavery and freedom is how we feel about it?"

"It's indeed comforting. But my pickles need me, Brother Yi. That is my purpose and I can't have shakles around me if I want to fulfill it. We can't give up just yet."

"I know that too, Brother Wang, I'm just blabbering. Wait, now that I remember, what happened to the medal of the thirteenth competition?"

"It was sent to us a week ago along with the spirit stones, Brother Yi. Plummy Fang said he gave it to Junior Brother Yang so that he could give it to the winner. He was the judge, after all."

"He's going with us, is he not?"

"I think he is. Look, we have arrived."

The pair of boys arrived at the tournament area. The amount of people present was almost the same, but they were distributed very differently. The majority of the disciples were now at the spectating area; half were eliminated the day before and a lot of the winners were still waiting to be called to stage.

There was still little time for the first matches to start, so the only people on top of the platforms were the inner disciple's waiting to call the fighters. It was the second day, so there were going to be two rounds of the tournament; 192 people were going to be eliminated today.

As Yi Ren and Wang Fan were looking around, two people had already approached and were walking towards them. Both of them were pretty girls, one had brown hair made into a ponytail; the other had pink eyes and black hair that reached her waist. They were Ming Daiyu and her friend that was also present in the 13th ODTCOGGS, Feng Mai.

"Hello there, can we join in?" Ming Daiyu got closer in a friendly manner, while Feng Mai followed behind her, annoyed.

"No."