Chapter 58

Slowly waking up, Jihu tries to move but discovers that he can't. He looks down and sees his body covered by vines and weird tree branches. It was sturdy enough to hold him in place as even with all of his energy, he never managed to even tear it.

Exhausted, he takes a breather and looks at the setting sun. Suddenly, out of nowhere, he hears a loud crunch. He looks to his far right and sees Hisashi eating his apple while watching the same sun. His straw hat was by his side and there was a small paper beside him. "Why didn't you kill me?" Jihu sighs. His bloodlust has already calmed down and he was not blinded by rage to try and attack him before losing once again.

"Aime," Hisashi said.

"She's not human, is she?" Jihu wasn't surprised by the teen's question.

"She was." "Was?" Hisashi looks at him.

"Would you mind? I wouldn't try anything." Jihu jerks his head, pertaining to the plants holding him. With his request, the teen snaps his finger and he felt the plants let go of him. He just stretches his body before walking and sitting beside Hisashi.

He checks his clothes for a cigarette expecting to not feel anything but was shocked. Not only are his cigarettes still there, but his smaller, more secretive weapons were also still there. Then, he realized, that Hisashi probably didn't mind it and takes out the cigarettes.

Lighting up one, as if his mind became clearer, started to tell the whole story to Hisashi.

"I used to be a soldier, a warrior for the country. Not at the top, but at least above average. As for before that, it was nothing more than a teenage angst of an aspiring dollmaker. However, years after I saw the love of my life. With that, I settled down in a village near Angdong. There, I did dollmaking for a living and abandoned my past job as if it didn't happen. Why? Because my wife's brother was killed as one.

There, we had Aime. She wasn't the same as the one you met, but they look the same. We were living peacefully and happily until one day, as I was delivering a handful of custom-made dolls, the village was ransacked and attacked by a big group of bandits. The women were r*ped while the men were tortured. With the remoteness of the village, no one was able to help and I was only able to watch the last breath of my daughter and wife as the rain fall from the dark night sky."

Hisashi just listens as he throws the stem of the apple off the far end of a cliff. "What happened next?" He asks.

"That same night, I don't know how, nor why, but a miracle was born. As if the Gods gave me another chance, my scroll lit up and a doll was constructed. It was Aime, but not as a human. But like a human, she also has her own soul and mana. She doesn't remember who I am, but it didn't matter to me as I was only grateful to have a daughter again.

I left the village after burying my wife and real daughter and lived my life only dedicated to making Aime happy. But then, weeks later, I heard some news. Apparently, the same incident occurred once again in another village and according to them, the only survivor was a man with a background of a soldier. Like me, they lured him into taking orders from another village and when he delivers them, they attack the village.

That revelation broke me and rage consumed me. For days, I sought out the bandit group and when I finally did, I broke into more tears. I was reminded once again, that my daughter and wife… are gone. With that, I lived my life with Aime and I settled in Angdong. It was three years ago when that happened."

"Then… what happened to Aime? The Aime that I taught? Did she successfully paint you? Did you appreciate her work?"

Jihu was silent after Hisashi's question. He just puffs a big cloud of smoke before answering.

"No. Before she painted me, she painted all of her friends. You also knew that didn't you?" Hisashi was surprised once again about how Jihu knew but didn't say anything.

"However, one kid didn't like it, and when Aime tried to ask for it back, ashamed that they didn't like it. This causes them to push her and when they did, her arm is torn and removed. Seeing that she was a doll, they freaked out even more. She didn't tell me this until one day, all the kids collaborated to attack and…" Jihu stopped his sentence.

He wanted to continue but remembering the painful memories he obtained from Aime's destroyed body, he just closes his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm… sorry that I tried to kill you. I don't even know why you didn't kill me after all I've done. I… I've murdered children. Despite what they did, they were merely children scared of what they saw but I still killed them. Not only that, but I killed their whole family too. I'm no better… I'm no better than those bandits that killed my family!" Realizing his mistakes, Jihu let out his tears.

He notices that he has finished his cigarette and was about to take one when a hand grabs it. It was Hisashi taking one before throwing the box to him again, leaving him speechless. The teen just snaps and a fire appears, lighting the cigarette.

"That's just revenge? What's wrong with that?" He said as he smokes the cigarette.

"I would've done the same thing and for me, that's no different from justice." Jihu was disturbed by Hisashi's calm emotion after saying such things. After waking up, he was sober from the rage of Aime's loss so he knew how terrible his actions were. He was even thinking about killing himself to atone for his sins.

The kid in front of him was telling him that it was nothing as honest as he was. There's no need to detect the teen's emotions with his Qi when he can see the calm expression on his face. It felt like, he was the calmest he has ever been.