It Can’t Be Real

"You're familiar with using a sword?" Han Sen looked at the green-clothed woman in the painting.

"Seeing your sword skills, I understand enough." The voice sounded from the stone again.

"If you would like to learn this, I can teach you." Han Sen eyed the woman in the painting.

"I have already learned it," the woman in the drawing said.

"You learned this skill by watching me?" Han Sen said, with an intonation that suggested he did not believe her.

The woman on the painting reverted back to silence, but Han Sen noticed that she started to move across the canvas of the painting.

The rock had become something like a television, and in the rainy scene depicted, the woman closed her umbrella. Then, she showcased Heart Sword to him, using the closed umbrella as a weapon.

Han Sen was frozen. She used Heart Sword perfectly, in a complete 1:1 recreation of his own performance of it. Her re-enactment of his talent with Heart Sword captured every emotion.

"Ah, but you're just copying what I did. That doesn't mean you've properly learned it." Han Sen didn't look that surprised, though, when her showcase of the skillset came to a close.

Heart Sword was powerful because of one's faith and mind. It changed depending on the user. What the woman had done was copy Han Sen, and she seemed happy enough with that performance to declare it was something she had learned.

The woman in the painting was not Han Sen, though. She didn't have his personality. After seeing his Heart Sword once, and then being able to re-enact the performance with pinpoint accuracy, she had only displayed that she had an incredible knack for copying others and not much else.

"What's the difference?" the woman in the painting asked coldly.

Han Sen thought about the answer he could give, and then told her, "It doesn't matter how well you copy someone, because at the end of the day, it isn't of your own doing. The path to learning Heart Sword depends on your actual heart. Right now, there's no element of you in the skill. Even if you can cast it, it doesn't mean you have actually learned it."

"And what does learning it constitute?" the woman asked.

"If you can use your own faith to cast it; that is what constitutes learning it," Han Sen explained.

The woman stopped talking, then. Han Sen waited for a response, and eventually asked a question of his own. She did not answer this, either. She had gone back to being a silent, motionless object.

"Does that mean only powerful skills can snare her attention?" Han Sen thought to himself.

As Han Sen was mulling this, someone entered the garden.

Han Sen was shocked. He had been there for half a month, and this was the first time a spirit had approached him. He thought it was a woman, due to the shape of her body, but he couldn't be one hundred percent certain. She was wearing a grey cloak that obscured her face.

"You are the new priest?" the spirit asked, looking right at Han Sen. Only her eyes could be seen, and they gleamed with a mean streak.

"Yes," Han Sen answered.

"How were you able to achieve this position?" the female spirit asked.

"It's not something I wanted. Your mistress has forced me into this position, and I had no choice but to abide." Han Sen had experienced a lot, and he could immediately tell she was upset that he had become the priest. She was probably here to cause trouble.

"Three months. If you can't make the holy child revive and speak a single word in three months, I, Ghost Moon, will replace you. Not even the master can stop this." The female spirit said this to Han Sen with absolute sincerity. It was a threat, and there was no way to interpret her words differently.

Han Sen looked at Ghost Moon as she walked away, and then asked, "Is it difficult to make the drawing speak?"

"Ever since the last priest, Ghost Sword from six thousand years ago, none have been able to make the holy child speak. I will be the next one. I will be the next priest to make the holy child talk." After Ghost Moon said this, she left. Han Sen didn't even have the chance to respond.

"Getting her to speak a few words is not that difficult. The holy child might not be very talkative, but there's no way she didn't say a single word in six thousand years. She's already spoken a few sentences to me," Han Sen thought to himself.

Han Sen hadn't shown her any other skills in case she might steal them. He didn't think showing her new moves was necessary, either. It would actually be a good thing if Ghost Moon replaced him in three months. Perhaps then he could leave.

Han Sen was worrying a lot about Ling Mei'er. He asked Moment Queen to seek her out in the Underworld, and help her out in any way she could.

Moment Queen was still fairly weak, however. She only had a bronze geno core, but it was good that at heart, Moment Queen was a completely different person than Ling Mei'er. Moment Queen was sneaky, conniving, and always trying to trick people. She could definitely sniff out any conspiracies that were working against Ling Mei'er.

Ling Mei'er also had the black and white Snake King for protection. All she really needed was some experience and a half-working brain.

A day later, Moment Queen used her mind to reply. She had already found her Ling Mei'er and earned her trust. The two were staying in Mask Shelter.

Bao'er was initially curious and enjoyed playing in the garden, but after a few days, she didn't like being there. Han Sen wanted to take her back to the Alliance, and since Ji Yanran was going on vacation with Littleflower, Han Sen decided to accompany them. It was a family trip, with Bao'er, Zero, and Ji Yanran.

Littleflower was able to walk by now, but he was a rather quiet child. Still, he sat on the air cushion while he played with Bao'er.

Han Sen, Ji Yanran, and Zero sat beneath a tree. They were chatting merrily while eating food and watching the leaves fall.

They were on Rainflower Planet. This was the season where all the flowers bloomed, and it was not uncommon for many visitors to come and observe the flowers and watch them blossom.

Han Sen had heard about this before, but it was only now, being there, that he was able to truly understand and appreciate the beauty of that place.

There was a cheerful mood in the family, and Han Sen and Ji Yanran found themselves getting nostalgic in remembrance of their past in the academy. But suddenly, a man in a suit seemed to be approaching them.

They looked at him. Most people there wore casual clothing and sat beneath individual trees to mind their own business. But this man was walking straight their way. He was obviously going to them.

"Hi. I am Wang Gukai. I work for demi-god Qiuming. Mister Qiuming will come here soon, and he is very fond of this spot. Give me a price and I will buy this spot." While the man sounded polite, there was an undercurrent of intimidation in his words.