Admission

"I have news."

Rain lay on the bed with his mother and sister wrapped around him, both unwilling to let go or yield and space to the other. However, when he spoke these words, they sat up, bringing him with them. Rain never told them useless things, so it was best to pay attention.

They had slept together the night before, no restrictions.

Rain braced for impact.

"I've made a decision. I will leave the palace for two years in order to get stronger."

Hui and Jing froze.

"I find it necessary in order to continue cultivating, to search for greater experiences. I won't advance if I just stay here."

They started to shake.

Seeing this, Rain decided it would be best to stand up, but when he attempted too their grips only tightened on him.

*Sigh*

"An."

An walked in and detached the two, who were still frozen. Both looked at her like she was a villain.

"I've made a deal. An will train Hui while I am gone and look over the two of you. I plan to return in two years due to an event that I cannot disclose to the two of you, that I will need to be back for."

Mom POV

'You're out of your fucking mind if you think I'm going to let him go.'

Jing stood, being the first one to unfreeze. She didn't care about An or whoever stood in her way. Two years was too long. Far too long. She could barely manage a day. Much less two years.

Jing started to move, but she was stopped.

Not by An, who one might expect to be the real power here. No, she saw her son look at her... really look at her.

For context, Jing had come to know her son better than anyone. Most of the time, his eyes and gaze carried no weight. Even if his words said differently, his eyes said that he wouldn't force any issue. However, there were times when he looked at her. Really looked at her. He had done so once before when she started planning to confine him to the palace.

'You are welcome to believe whatever you want. In the end, I am me and you are you. Nobody controls me, but me. You're welcome to pretend to own me, but don't you dare start to believe it. I won't lead you on thinking that you do. Nobody owns anybody. Be very careful that you remember this or I'll stop pretending as well. I don't think you'll like that.'

When Rain said those words to her, she felt an unimaginable depth to him, one that she might feel from powerful cultivators who have comprehended the world. She couldn't do anything.

She wasn't the only one. Hui saw his eyes too and they terrified her. It wasn't about power, but about presence and state of mind. Who really was Rain? She knew she saw part of him, but did she know? Did she know what he really wanted? No. She didn't.

As such, they both calmed down. There was no way they could do anything. They might have tried regardless, but An was here so they stopped themselves. Internally, both decided to get stronger... preferably strong enough to ignore Rain's opinion. They loved him, but it had become a bit twisted.

"I won't lie. Whether or not I return is not exactly up to me. I might die.-"

The two tensed, but Rain just smiled. It was a smile unlike anything they had ever seen on his face. It was a smile of pure joy, as if he was looking forward to the uncertainty. Rain was a peculiar soul. He had his likes and dislikes, and to be honest he was worried about his own survival, but, you know, fuck it.

"Such is death. Such is life.-"

Rain's smile began to twist. It wasn't joy, but something darker, more unstable.

"I will enjoy it to the fullest. The world is lucky I desire very little.-"

An turned to look at her friend, realizing that perhaps they weren't as similar as she once thought.

Rain looked up, putting his hat on his head so that only his fading smile was showing.

"Well... whatever. I'll figure it out. I have plans to return, though I know not of the outcome. That's all the reassurance I will offer. I refuse to make promises."

With that, his smile faded completely, returning to the empty expression people were used to seeing on his face. Rain turned and nodded at An, acknowledging her role and thanking her. An simply nodded back. She wasn't one to abandon a friend just because they trusted her enough to show another side of themselves.

"Well, I'm off."

Rain pulled his hat down even further, and set off. He would only meet one more person on his way out, before he would set out towards Heaven's Asylum.

'What wonderful weather.'

Rain erased the bereaved expressions of his family from his mind. They would get stronger, he was sure of it. He also knew their plans should they get stronger than him.

'Yup, it's time.'

He had to find it. The one thing that was an absolute for starting his cultivation journey. He hoped that the prison could help him.