5.12 Purity of heart; greatest regrets

For the next few days Shu XinYi was buzy handling the mundane council affairs. Saye had already said that he would leave for his kingdom in a few days. Shu XinYi had told him to delay the matter until the princes left for the western valley.

"You don't have to follow them all the way, but just make sure that nothing harms them on the way. You are not allowed to let them know this though." Shu XinYi was inside Saye's little shack at this time. The restaurant provided accommodation for it's workers but obviously Saye got a run down shack. Shu XinYi was angry but Sate convinced his Ilseu that it was fine.

Saye said, "It's okay. You see them as little brothers, it's enough reason for me to protect them. Don't worry, they are capable enough."

Shu XinYi was sitting on a rugged mat beside Saye, "Yeah I know. It's just. I am worried. You will go away too, so I am just.."

Saye held Ilseu's hand to ask, "Will you wait for me?"

Shu XinYi joked, "Hmm. That's a difficult question. That depends on whether it'll be worth the wait."

Saye very seriously replied, "No. Please. You have to wait for me. I'll be back. Master Ilseu, Please wait for me."

Shu XinYi took a long breath, he tightened his grip on their conjoined hands as he said, "I will wait. Don't be worried, Saye. Can I ask what did you really plan to do when you came here, and how you knew me? I really.. I want you Saye. I don't care what happened in the past, but I want answers to some questions. I don't want you to be sad, though. Do you understand?"

Saye thought about it and sighed as he said, "I came here to search for my brother's killer. My brother's son is also lost, but I had no intention of finding him. Honestly, I don't even know if that's it. At the back of my mind, I thought that this journey is for my brother but now that I think about it, I never actually cared. It seems so .. insignificant. Is something wrong with me?"

Shu XinYi was worried too, why was that unidentifiable so aimless when he met him in every world? Li Feng, Leo, Xiang Li, Xuval; each of them had been aimlessly following the storyline. If this was the real Saye, would his life feel meaningful to himself? But he is just an Npc, so it wouldn't matter. Will you just live like an aimless Npc until you meet me? Shu XinYi wanted to question. But Saye wouldn't be able to answer this even if he wanted to.

"Then, is there something that is significant to you?" Shu XinYi asked.

"Yeah. There is. Something of utmost significance. But I don't want to say it. You will laugh at me. It's difficult to believe, so I am not telling." Saye said, looking at Shu XinYi like he wanted to peirce his image in his mind. He continued, "As for how I know you.. Master Ilseu. It's about time you really know your mother."

Saye was calm as he recounted the events of the past. The night was cold; Shu XinYi listened carefully to everything.

28 years ago 7 Dào pearls were sent down to the 7 kingdoms. The dragon kingdom had one pearl, but 2 princes; yet none of them were recognized by the Dào pearl. The king was the father of the 2 princes. He was disappointed in his sons and the Gods. Yet he couldn't do anything. A year later, an elven lady entered the land of the dragons. This lady was Ilseu's mother.

"Your mother had a reason to come to our kingdom. I only found later that she was looking to steal the Dào pearl of the dragon kingdom. It seemed that the Elven prince was also not recognized by the Dào pearl. But your mom seemed determined that Levay becomes the king." Saye said.

The lady spend time in the dragon kingdom using all her survival techniques. She decided to seduce the second prince and even did so successfully, so she could acquire the Dào pearl. But little did she know the purity of her own heart would become her greatest regrets.

The second prince showed her love and kindness like no other. The lady was slowly losing the view of her finishing line. The second prince was ofcourse trying to get her to do the same as the Elven kingdom had wanted her to do, as he didn't want to disappoint his father.

"It was my brother. Master Ilseu. Please. I beg of you to not make me face the consequences of my brother's intentions." Saye said in a weak tone. This is why he didn't want to say anything. But he didn't want to hide anything from Ilseu any longer either.

"How is it even remotely your fault? Your brother did what my mother intended to do. It's just a matter of who lost to whom. Either way, continue." Shu XinYi comforted.

The lady was so in love with the second prince that she decided to heed his request; It was more so an agreed exchange. The second prince had requested that if the lady bought the Dào pearl of the Elven kingdom, he would give them their own Dào pearl. The lady was happy. She thought that she could fix it all with this exchange.

With much enthusiasm she went back to the Elven kingdom, but they wouldn't agree. So she stole their pearl; using God knows what methods but she had become pregnant with Ilseu around that time. Thinking that she would bring the other pearl back, the lady traveled guilt free to the dragon kingdom. Little did she know that the second prince had suddenly been chosen by the Dào pearl that the dragon kingdom held, that very day. There was no pearl to exchange yet she bought the stolen pearl to him.

The rest was easy to figure out for Shu XinYi. The dragons wouldn't let go of something like the Dào pearl for a fake promise. How heartbroken that lady must have been. So stealing the Dào pearl was her grave sin huh.

"So the Dào pearl that my mother-" Shu XinYi wanted to ask if Saye had been chosen by it but Saye interjected, "Your mother took the pearl and escaped. It wasn't seen in neither the Elven nor the dragon kingdom. Not even now. I don't say it to excuse myself from the blame, but I helped your mom escape. Well, we helped each other escape. That day I left my family."

Shu XinYi asked the 2 most important questions, "The Dào pearl is not with me. My mom left me nothing. Can it be destroyed? If not then, what happens if someone gets their hands on them?"

Saye opened his mouth to answer but his calm face suddenly changed as he stood up in vigilance as if he felt some danger. He said with disbelief, "Just now I felt it. Master Ilseu, please go with me. Just now I felt the Dào pearl act up. If I felt it then the other powerful beings must have felt it too."

Shu XinYi got up without questioning and both of them wrapped a clock around themselves and walked out in the cold; quiet night. They went from rooftop to rooftop, their footsteps barely making a noise. Shu XinYi questioned Snow instead of Saye.

"Master, when the Dào pearl has chosen the destined king, it makes all the other potential kings know through it's power. Then for 3 days, the Dào pearl waits for it's chosen king to stay alive. After 3 days if the chosen king is alive then the Dào pearl becomes theirs, but if the chosen king dies then the one who killed them becomes the king." Snow explained.

Shu XinYi's mind instantly started racing, If Saye was one of the potential kings that the pearl informed, then it must mean that the position of the pearl determines everything, not which kingdom the pearl was sent to by the Gods. But who else could have been informed? Can the chosen king even fight against people like them and stay alive? Who even was the chosen king?

The only way to find out was to follow Saye. Shu XinYi did this very thing. The shack that Saye lived in was nearer to the palace, yet they just went further away from the palace; every passing second.

Who can be chosen by the Dào pearl? Shu XinYi thought again. "Snow, can you change the PoV settings from Zither to the baby dragon? I want to see what's happening with him."

Snow obliged as he said, "But master. haven't we already done that multiple times? Everytime it just shows darkness and the sound of soft breathing can be heard. What can we even determine from that?"

Shu XinYi had to pause his words as he followed behind Saye into a forest near the edges of the capital. Obviously there were no lights here so Shu XinYi had to focus on keeping up with Saye. "I can only think of that baby dragon becoming the chosen king. I also thought about Yuè but my instinct says that it must be the baby dragon. If that's the case then we should reach there quickly. Or else I don't think Bane is willing to protect him, even if he would benefit the most from the baby dragon becoming the king. Did something like this happen in the original storyline?"

It takes about 3 minutes to shift the PoV from one person to another, so Shu XinYi was distracting himself by asking these questions.

"Master, this event did occur in the original storyline. But much later. The Dào pearl had been found by the young dragon by accident and at that time the baby dragon had grown and was loyal to only Bane. But it was so much later in the story that I didn't find it worth mentioning. How come it happened so early?"