Parting Silence

Chapter 14

Parting Silence

Both Lya and Song were at a loss for words.

As they opened their eyes, they realized that the night had passed. Sunbeams burst through the canopy of the trees, illuminating the world they'd grown to adore. Some twenty yards from them, looming over a pot, was a man who'd changed their destinies in more ways than one. Not only did he save them, he'd also gifted them a future in which they wouldn't just be ordinary disciples any longer.

Thanks to the 'meal' from last night, both had broken through to Core Formation Realm--and, not only that, they'd managed to form second-to-best kind of Core, the Heaven Core. There was only one other person in the entirety of their Sect who'd managed to do that--the Sect Master.

Words of gratitude felt hollow, yet they didn't know what else to do. Nothing they had seemed worthy, even remotely, and yet... they couldn't just ignore it. Even if they knew that the Senior likely didn't care too much as it was a completely ordinary thing to him, it would be against the Oath of their Hearts to simply leave.

"Senior," Lya eventually approached, taking out a few things from her spatial ring. They were ordinary, mundane items that every cultivator brings as they're necessary for survival in the wild--a few pieces of kindlewood used to quickly start fires, a long, durable piece of rope made from mutton hide, and a copper pot used for boiling basic paste and medicine.

"What are these?" the hermit asked.

"Drops of my ocean of gratitude," she said, falling down to her knees suddenly and kowtowing. "There is nothing I have that is of any interest to you. So, please, take these token items as a promise that, for as long as I live, I shall aspire to return the favor." before the hermit could say anything, Song also approached, similarly dropping a few mundane items--a soft prayer mat made of expensive silk from the south, a pillow, and a glowing jade stone.

"As shall I," he, too, fell to his knees, turning the world silent.

**

Leo felt exceptionally awkward--though keeping up the misunderstanding was innocent enough, he'd swindled the poor kids so much that they were prostrating... and the guilt burst out inside of him. For a moment he considered coming clean, but as he liked living just a tiny bit too much, he pushed the guilt down into the depths of his conscience and took it all in stride.

"Get up," he said. Looking at the items, he was rather happy; he'd gotten another pot for cooking, and though it was quite small, it was better than nothing. There was also a strange, multi-colored mat, a pillow, and even a lengthy piece of rope, all things that he would be able to use.

The two kids stood up, reverently looking at him. Beneath those gazes, he hunched, looking away. The weight of expectations was heavy, like a sky pressing against his shoulders, and he had neither the gall nor the strength to withstand them. As such, he did the only thing he could--he looked away.

"I hope you will do well outside," he said. "But should you ever need a place to come to and hide, if only from the eyes of the world, my humble abode will always welcome you."

"Thank you, Senior!" both exclaimed at the same time.

"I'll accompany you, a little while," he said.

He'd prepared three cups of fruit juice, handing the two to the kids as they began moving southward. They weren't alone, naturally--quite a few critters quickly started following them. The owl and the monkey stood perched on his shoulders, the pair of black and white panthers were there and then elsewhere, there was once again the bat hanging loose upside down from his waist, and a newcomer that hadn't followed him before--a rather slender-looking, azure-furred gopher.

It moved with a strange, almost eerie elegance, the coat catching the eye like the sky itself. Occasionally, it would quickly wrap itself around Leo's frame and climb on top of his head where, for a few moments, it would bear out its snout and sniff a few times before descending back to the ground, and burrowing elsewhere for a few moments.

If it didn't go too far or too deep, Leo would catch the glimpse of it wolfing down some blades of grass and stray seeds.

It was a serene walk--with the mild, pleasant temperature and an occasional breeze of the wind, the distance was hardly felt. Leo stopped at the same place where he'd found them, not moving any further.

"This... is where we collapsed," Lya commented.

"And this is where I leave you," Leo said.

"..." the two kids paused and turned toward him, gazing deeply into his eyes for a moment before bowing in unison. "Thank you, Senior!" Leo smiled.

For a moment, he forgot that they were cultivators, beings of such power that they could rip him limb for limb in seconds. For a moment, they were just kids, a pair of teens. And beyond all else, he'd saved them--that was the only thing that ultimately mattered. Not their gratitude, not the good deed of it all, not the bond formed for some future potential... no, he was simply happy that he was able to save two kids from dying in the middle of nowhere, far away from everyone and anyone who cared for them.

"What for?" he said as he turned around and began walking away. "You've survived all on your own. What luck."

"..." he glanced back back and saw the two of them smiling.

By the time Leo returned to his little camp, the sun had passed the zenith. Most of the animals were fast asleep, with a few leisurely lying by the side of the pond, occasionally taking a sip.

He quickly disrobed and went for a quick swim before fixing himself a salad for a meal. It was all rather... anti-climactic, the way they left. A thousand words were spoken in-between the lines, as well as the ones of farewell.

Leo sighed as he sat down, lamenting that he was back to solitude yet again. Though he was never alone--what with the army of animals always being there--it wasn't the same. After experiencing his first human contact... he began to desire it. He didn't even question how he knew the language because that was how important the bond was to him. Most of his life, after all, he was a social butterfly; even toward the end, where he'd spend days holed up in his room, he would still have to go to at least one party a week at a minimum.

"Ah, whatever," he shrugged, dismissing the thoughts. "I can just throw it down with the furry friends. Right--booze. Can't I make booze myself?" he stroked his chin contemplatively, recalling those mindbogglingly boring lessons from high school chemistry or something else. "Fermentation, right?"

He knew the word, for certain, for Leo knew many words--for instance, he knew the word 'gubbins', and the reason he knew it was because his first high school crush, Amelia, called him that. He was happy, for ever a second, before being told that it meant 'rubbish'. And then... he was wee bit heartbroken.

It was the same with fermentation--he knew the word, for sure. However, the process behind the word was a blur. Though it was about the fruit rotting and what not, he didn't know how to take that and make alcohol out of it. He heard stories of animals nibbling at the rotten fruit that had fallen from a branch and getting drunk off it, but he wasn't really comfortable kneeling down and licking rotten bits of fruit off the ground.

He could only lament the lack of it and move on.

Just then, a screech billowed out through the forest, startling him; a moment later, senseless winds blew and whipped up a small storm around him. The cause wasn't natural--rather, it was the descending beast that cast a long, looming shadow over everything, leaving Leo aghast.

Upon a closer inspection, he realized that it was kind of, sort of, in some small ways a hawk--it had massive wings spanning over thirty feet across, and were it not for some ethereal magic allowing them to clip through the trees undisturbed, there was no way it could have landed through them.

Its feathers were all dyed in ruby red with golden highlights at the edges, while a pair of dazzlingly scarlet eyes starred at him at the perfect eye level. That was right--the hawk, standing on the ground, was about the same height as Leo, while being twice as wide at least. At its rear were three diverging tails, two of which were perfectly aflame, bursting in colorful composition of colors and light, while the third was dull-dyed in a way, lacking the life the rest of the hawk had.

The hawk parted its beak, and yet another screech bellowed out. Leo shook and shuddered, once again realizing that if he weren't a cultivator, he would have been turned deaf by this world already. At the same time, a familiar 'quest' window appeared in front of him.

[New Quest: '?????' Hawk is in dire need of your assistance! One of its glorious tails has been wounded in its fight with the '??????' Phoenix, and if it is not fixed soon, its cultivation level will drop considerably, making it difficult for the Hawk to survive in the Nameless Forest! '?????' Hawk pleads with you to help it gather the materials and concoct the medicine to fix its tail!]

[Time Limit: 2 Days]

[Reward: '?????' Hawk becomes your friend; '?????' Hawk Feather; '?????' Hawk's true name]

[Failure: '?????' Hawk's tail dies as its cultivation drops by 4 major Realms. High chance of the Hawk dying]

[New Medicine Recipe Unlocked: Origin Restoration Gel]

[Origin Restoration Gel: 1x Moondew Flower, 10x Petals of Dawn Lotus Flower, a piece of Lucen Tree Bark; instructions will be provided once all the ingredients are gathered]

[Even a numdumb like you can do something so simple... right?]