Chapitre 3: Ziha

After fleeing the domain of the Sacred Guardians, Lost and Ziha headed for the hidden village. Its inhabitants call it Kongde village. It was the ancestors of the Yoon family who secretly founded it to take refuge there in case of great danger. We had to cross the forest to the north then head for the Stone Mountains. Then you had to find the sign that only the chief and his trusted men knew. From his recollections, Lost remembered a little of the topography of this world. His step father had shown him the map enthusiastically pointing out the key points of the game. He then gave him a bunch of pages to read to get ready when the game launched. But since he had been gone for two years some things could have changed. He hoped not because he wanted the child to grow up safely. It was in this village that Hong Xuè lived until the age of sixteen. He had learned to cultivate and awaken his unique talent. He could have become a great hero if Ziha had not raised him in order to prepare him for revenge. It wasn't just her. In this village, masters lived in harmony cut off from the outside world. Each had his own talent and Hong Xuè was the disciple of several of them. Kongde village was known only to those who had a connection with the sect of the sacred guardians. A seal was placed on their hearts to avoid all betrayal. The ritual was painful but allowed one to enjoy a calm life away from the worries of the cultivation world. So Lost was sure to be safe for a little while. He would leave the baby in someone's care and then he wanted to be gone for a while. He wanted to travel and discover the universe that his step father had created with so much pleasure. The game had taken so long to see the light of day. He remembered what was written at the end of the page block "Live a new life in a world of fantasy and sword". He remembered that the goal was to help the protagonist recover the relic in order to save the world.

- We must feed the baby, young master.

Lost shook his head and snapped out of his thoughts. He lowered his gaze towards the little being in his arms not expecting to fall directly into the child's red eyes. He felt himself sucked in by that gaze not knowing how to look away. He wanted to do it but something stopped him. He then felt a small shock and his blood boiled. It lasted a minute before he could regain freedom of movement. He panicked and handed the child to Ziha pretending he had to go to the little corner. It wasn't glamorous but he really needed to get away from the baby. He hadn't read this kind of situation in the game guide. The moment he thought back to that blue window that had appeared earlier he heard a 'ding' echoing in his head.

"Congratulations you have been chosen by the New life online system What can I do for you?"

Purple eye widened his eyes and stared at the window in front of him. An ounce of hope crossed him. he was logged into the game. He may have had the exit button somewhere.

"There is no exit button."

The voice was direct and really didn't go all four ways.

-Dream breaker !!!

"I only tell the truth. You are no longer in front of a computer but in reality. From the moment you said yes to my request, your soul has crossed from one universe to another."

Lost was silent for a moment, managing the information. He collapsed to the ground completely devastated. He actually remembered having accepted but no one told him that he would remain stuck for life in a world as dangerous as this one!

-Why me ? Is it because I am the first to connect?

The voice remained silent for a moment and responded with a slightly softer voice so as not to rush his partner.

"I do not know. My designer did not insert the necessary answers to this question. Don't ask me who my creator is. I am prohibited from disclosing it. I don't want to end up in mush from the first day."

Lost huffed and stood up, removing the dirt from his clothes with his hands. It shouldn't be too late or Ziha would freak out. He didn't really like leaving this woman near Hong Xue. She had after all transformed this child into a demonic cultivator because of her hatred and her desire for revenge. He planned to give the little one to old Kana in the village of Kongde. He had promised to take care of him. He would do it just long enough for the child to settle in. He would leave with Ziha so that she wouldn't spill her negative waves on him. He would come visit every now and then to see if everything was going well.

"Partner ! do you want to see your status?"

Lost looked in front of him with a slight smile on his lips.

-Of course ! If I am to stay here I might as well prepare as best I can for the years to come.

The system sighed. This boy was childish when it came to play. He didn't know where this thought came from but he felt like he knew Lost well. He didn't linger on it and the window changed. The young man stared intently at what was revealed in front of his eyes. He could see his name and age on the right as well as his level. He was already at level five. He didn't know how it got there but hey so much the better ! His eyes stopped on a totem-shaped icon. He rubbed his eyelids as if he had seen wrong and his breathing stopped. The absence of the life bar above the mana point had surprised him. sure, but he hadn't asked himself any questions.

-I'm not sure if there is a bug but it seems to me to be immortal?

The system was absent for a moment to research and analyze the data and to detect any error which would have occurred but no it would seem that this boy was indeed immortal.

"No, that's it. I did not detect any bugs in my system. You will not grow old according to the guide. All your skills have been created based on your knowledge and your past but I don't know why you are immortal. Your body is special after all so maybe that's because of that."

When the system finished its explanation, he noticed that Lost had itself bugged. It may have been too many disclosures for a single day. He had just endured a wandering and stressful day. Crossing into another world was one thing, but besides, he couldn't age and die like the others. He will have to live by seeing all those he loves die, leaving him alone. In addition, if cultivators were to discover his immortality, some might cut him into pieces and eat him raw in the hope of becoming so too. It was a little late that a phrase from the system came to his mind.

- How is my body special ? Oh my god ! Tell me I'm still human. I don't want to have fox tails growing in my butt !

The system saw Lost put his hands on his buttocks, his eyes stunned. This young man seemed to have a lot of imagination and looked very stupid in this position. One thing was for sure, the system wasn't going to get bored..

"No you are human a silly human but a human."

Lost relaxed, embarrassed by his reaction. He blushed and coughed on his fist to regain his composure. Since he arrived in this world, his emotions seemed to be released as if we had reopened a faucet. His childhood soul popped up from time to time and it did him a lot of good. Maybe it was because he didn't have to see his family again and could finally be himself ? Anyway, knowing he was still human relieved him.

- young master ! where are you ? you are scaring me ...

He could hear Ziha coming to him with difficulty, frightened by the silence of the forest. He had known he have sink a little too far from the young girl.

" Don't worry she can't see or hear me. I can only speak in your mind. You can speak to me or open the window with the help of your thoughts."

Lost was relieved. He did not see himself talking in a void and pretending to be a madman. He managed to make the window disappear with that in mind and walked back to Ziha. He could hear the baby crying, surely feeling the fear of the young woman. He quickened his pace and quickly found them ashamed of having left them for so long.

- I'm here. Sorry for the wait.

Ziha relaxed, giving him an accusing look. She had believed that something had happened to him and that she would be alone once again. Losing her masters had been a hard blow for her who considered them as her family. She had become attached to the boy and didn't want anything to happen to him. She was at the end of her rope and didn't want to pour out her discomfort on him. The baby was screaming at the top of his lungs and nothing could calm him down. she hugged him, changed his diapers and gave him milk but nothing helped. She was exhausted and no longer had the patience to deal with it. Lost walked over to her and held out his arms. Ziha didn't wait any longer and gave him the baby. No sooner had he been placed in his arms than the child stopped crying. Purple eyes looked at her in the eyes as amazed as she was.

- The little master seems to prefer you to me.

Young Ziha allowed herself a smile thanking Heaven that calm returned. She forgave him intermittently for his long absence and leaned against a tree. The night was rather hot. They won't catch the cold sleeping outside. It was a relief for them. Lost also landed not far from her but not too close either out of respect for her. A woman who was not married would have a bad reputation if she was seen lying next to a man. Lost put the child right next to him and lay down resting his hand on his little tummy tapping every now and then to comfort him. He let himself be lulled by Hong Xue's breath before falling into a deep sleep. He did not see the eyes of the baby shone with a strange light and the black aura of this one caressing his cheeks before disappearing.

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The next morning, Lost woke up well rested and light as a feather. The little child was still sleeping soundly, not realizing the danger around him. Ziha was already up preparing lunch with fruits and berries that she had been able to harvest in the area. The little milk that was left was placed next to her. They must hurry up to find the village if they does not want to endure another session of crying. Ziha handed him a tree leaf on which there was a small handful of fruit. He thanked her with a nod and a small smile of gratitude. She blushed, rubbing her cheek in embarrassment. The tender face became divine with a smile that revealed a small dimple. It was too cute that her heart skipped a beat. But nothing was better than his purple peach blossom shaped eyes which softened when he smiled. This man emanated such sweetness that she wanted to cuddle him. She noticed that his long black hair went all the way around the poorly made bun and looked in the inside pocket of her pink dress for the comb she used for her madam before that fateful day.

- Young master ... Do you want me to comb your hair?

She took one of her white ribbons which was tied on her wrist and motioned for him to come near her. He obeys, appreciating her gesture. He sat down cross-legged removing the piece of wood he had kept from day one. He was the sentimental type and had a pang in his heart before he threw it out. He let Ziha pamper him relaxing his shoulders.

- Young Master. It is true that I would never betray you but I advise you to never let your guard down in the presence of villagers. Some are not children of hearts. Some have killed women and children and others have done much worse. We will have to remain vigilant. Could you promise me to be careful ?

She finished tying the young man's hair in a proud ponytail and waited patiently for his response. Lost already knew all this and was counting on paying attention to its rear. The fact that she gives him advice proves that she appreciates him and that put warm in his heart.

- I can promise you that but you have to promise me something in return.

Ziha thought for a moment before answering. A promise was of great importance to her. To break it went against her principles.

- Don't worry, I won't ask you to do anything dangerous.

Seeing the seriousness of Lost, she acknowledged without flinching.

- Promise me not to talk about anything that connects the sect of sacred guardians and your Masters to Hong Xuè until he is old enough to understand. Can you do it ?

A heavy silence settled. Ziha froze for a moment not dwelling on this. It is true that her hatred and sadness devoured her heart. After all she had lost her home, the only place where she felt safe. Whenever she was, she remembered the cries of her junior and shixiong. She wanted to take her sword that she hadn't touched since having lost all her Qi and to kill all these scoundrels. She had indeed been thinking of training the little master in revenge but in the pure gaze of Lost, she remembered that the baby was innocent and should fall his own way.

- I promise you

- In this case, since we have promised each other something that makes us friends. You are now my Shimei. Call me Lost and not Young Master.

Ziha nodded, turning red peony, and went back to her business. Neither of them saw a black aura breaking the comb into a thousand pieces with force and returning to the baby who seemed to be well awake.