CK 2:5 Three years
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A soft voice from his left broke through his hesitation.

"Sit! Your tea is getting cold."

He whirled to the left to find a veiled woman watering what looked like a dead tree. He hoped his shock didn't show on his face because he hadn't noticed her a moment ago when he stepped into the courtyard. His eyes had passed over the tree but there had been no one near it. Were his eyes playing tricks on him? 

Not knowing what to make of the situation, he did as she said. The tea revived his taste buds. The sweet aftertaste came as a pleasant surprise.He stole a few glances at the house while he waited for her to join him at the table. It was a simple house from what he could see; built in a style he wasn't conversant with: full of dark wood floors and pillars and high beams. 

The woman before him on the other hand looked young. Very young as a matter of fact despite the veil covering her lower face. His gaze returned again and again to where she stood, growing more and more dumbfounded by the care she gave the tree. She was whispering to it as if it could hear her. Was she hoping to bring the dead tree back to life? He spread his senses to the tree and confirmed his suspicion. There was no sign of life coming from the tree. It had been dead for a long time.

"Young lady, this tree's life energy has run out. It is long dead."

He said. 

Bai li yue only smiled and patted the tree. 

"Do you believe that sincerity can create miracles?"

"Not enough to return the dead to life."

He countered.

"I don't believe the tree is dead so I'm hoping my hard work will yield results."

"Your dedication is admirable."

Bai li yue chuckled under her breath. It was time to see her guest. She poured herself a cup of tea when she sat.

"So, what brings your august self all the way from the cultivation city to my little abode? The painting was bought and paid for. There is no reason for you to look for me."

"Are you really the artist?"

"Do you see anyone else in front of you?"

"Forgive me. I just didn't expect one so young as yourself to possess such an incredible talent."

"Since you've found me, why don't you tell me what it is you want?"

She asked without beating around the bush. Sovereign Three leaf unfurled the painting of the wild geese as he explained his coming.

"The young man who bought this painting gave it as a present to my disciple. It has benefited him greatly in the short time he's had it. The most we've been able to clarify is that the painting is a treasure of some sort, but we haven't been able to identify it."

Bai li yue looked at the familiar painting. She hadn't seen it ever since she gave it away. 

"I see. You wish to know what it does."

"If it's not too much trouble, yes."

"It's a painting of the heart and the mind. The heart beats like the wings of the geese and the mind sways like the reeds in the wind. Bending but not breaking. If a person takes time to contemplate the elements of the painting, it focuses the mind and weakens inner demons."

"Incredible! I have never heard of a treasure like that."

"This world is enormous. It is normal to not know everything."

He nodded when he heard the truth behind her words. 

"I don't know how I should thank you. The painting will be a great boon for my disciple. He might even open the door to the immortal realm!"

"If he does, it won't be because of the painting. The effects of the painting aren't permanent. He can reap its benefits for at most a couple of years or three."

She'd made the painting for Song wan: a mortal. Now that it's new owner was a cultivator, it's longevity would be greatly reduced.

"It is still a great boon. One that fell into his lap without effort. I not only came to ask about the painting, but also to thank you."

"Don't thank me. Song wan was the one who sold the painting."

"Nevertheless! My gratitude is yours."

"I don't want your gratitude."

She said firmly. Her words were curt; even rude but she had her reasons. Gratitude always forced her into the mystical abode. The last time she'd gone there, she'd been ambushed in her weak state by that mad woman. Her soul had merged with hers before she could even resist. Even now, she could still hear those curselike words 

I am your future! your fate! I am what you will become!

And that cruel laughter.

She shuddered again thinking of what happened afterwards. The fake monk killed the void lizard and took her away. She hadn't been able to escape him. From the day she was thrown into the metal vat of mysterious liquid and shackled, she no longer lived. She only existed in perpetual agony. Death would have been a relief, but relief never came. Pain. Pain. Pain. Only pain. Nothing but pain. It never became familiar. The closer she got to death, the more death energy could be siphoned. Those long years of miserable existence. Unable to live yet incapable of dying. It was so real.

Bai li yue took a deep breath and cleared her trembling mind. She didn't know if that mad woman was still inside her but she didn't wish to go back in there. The woman was stronger than her. If she couldn't fight, she'd rather avoid it. So she didn't want anyone's gratitude. 

Sovereign Three leaf looked at her trembling hand. His words most likely touched her weak spot. She got a hold of herself after a while and poured herself a cup of tea without explaining or excusing the incident. 

"I'll repeat what i said: I don't want gratitude."

"Then how about repayment?"

He placed three chunks of green resin on the table. The brilliant green of the shards caught her eye.

"These are agarwood shards. You are nursing a tree back to life and they contain a lot of wood energy. It just might be the miracle your tree needs."

He said.

She picked up one of the shards and studied it. The tree had squeaked in excitement when he brought out the shards. They must be materials important to its recuperation. 

"I accept your payment."

"Thank you for accepting this small gift." 

He rose to his feet. 

'My name is Yu Chao by the way: Sovereign Three leaf. If you are ever in the Holy cultivation city, come by the Three leaf plaza. You'll always be welcome."

"I'll remember." 

She said even though she had no intention of taking him up on the offer. 

Sovereign Three leaf saw himself off. He remained in a good mood for the rest of the day. He didn't bother to return to the town and instead made a leisurely trip back to his plaza after sending Jiang weizhe a message to return. He still didn't know what to make of her. Normally, mortals and even cultivators became awestruck by the aura of a half emperor like him. It was a natural grace that couldn't be controlled, but she had not been affected by it. If he was being hounded by those busybodies, he wouldn't have minded staying in the town for a few more days and paying her several visits. She was a fascinating mystery.

Bai li yue reactivated the arrays around the tree and threw in the agarwood shards that it was clamouring for. 

"More? You saw me throw everything he gave me into the array."

Creak...

"Are you trying to guilt trip me into giving you what you want?"

...

"First of all i'm not her. I don't owe you anything. Secondly, if you had given her what she wanted, you wouldn't be in this situation."

She snorted and turned away.

"I'm leaving now. I'll be gone for the rest of the day. Take care of yourself."

Bai li yue left the creaking tree behind and walked out with a basket under her arm. She was spending the day again by the pond feeding the birds and fishes and working on another array experiment. The small rowing boat waited on the bank where she'd left it the day before. The birds and fishes crowded around the boat when they recognised the familiar sound of oars in the water. She fed them bits of grains and dried fruits in between painting sessions and experimenting with arrays. She was currently working on a series of portraits, like the painting of the geese at the pond, that had hidden arrays within them. This new painting was of a young woman looking at the blue sky.

She worked on and off on the painting throughout the day. When the sun reached its zenith, she pulled a sealed jar out of the pond by a rope and had a leisurely drink, occasionally sipping on the cold fruity pond brewed wine. 

This was the routine of her new life. The idyllic seclusion had been a haven after the events three years ago. She'd been severely traumatised from the fake monk's torture when she'd come across the dead tree. Though the landscape had changed over the centuries, she recognised it as the tree from her dream. It was charred beyond recognition and retained only a flicker of life force on the verge of extinguishing. She hadn't known what possessed her, but she'd plopped down the house from the necklace pendant and stayed ever since.

"Is it kinship or compensation?"

She still didn't have an answer to her question. Maybe it was both. Both she and the tree were injured and scarred. The tree bore the evidence on its bark and though recovered, she still bore scars in her heart. She still didn't like to think about the past, but her mind sometimes took her back without her knowing. She went back to what had happened to her with  Shen duyi and how she had responded. Asking herself the same question over and over again. 

Did i overreact? Could i have punished them without resorting to murder?

But she always reached the same conclusion. She would always choose to kill them. Maybe not Hu qi and Feng jia lin, because they were strangers. But Tang meixiu had been closer to her than most and Shen duyi had threatened her basic rights as a person: her right to freedom and her right to love. 

She sighed and dried her moist eyes. The pain was still present so, no, she felt no guilt for their deaths.

"What a messed up world we live in!"

She sighed and swallowed wine straight from the jug. 

When teacher Chu introduced her to the world of cultivation, she'd been like a child entering a whole new world. He'd told her of the dark side to cultivation, but in her mind, the good outweighed the bad. Cultivation was supposed to be the means by which human beings could overcome the limits of mortality. A way for mankind to become better versions of themselves. But the Sword river sect had taught her differently. She'd never intended to become a killer, but here she was. The blood of others on her hands. Was that the ideal cultivators were striving for? To climb a mountain by walking on the bodies of those sacrificed for their immortality? 

The questions had flooded her mind from sunrise to sunset. All those people killed for what? Hadn't the woman in red tasted bitter defeat? The tree had refused to yield even when its life was threatened? For what? For the sake of what? 

There was no end to the questions. She had lost her conviction but she was at peace with it. The house provided her shelter and the wilderness provided what she needed with regards to nourishment. She had decades left before the seal placed on her by teacher Chu broke down. Sad as she was to break her promise to her dead teacher, when that time arrives, she would accept her fate calmly, without fear. She won't chase after the castle built on pain and suffering. Instead, she'll live nurturing the tree until it no longer needed her.

"This is a good life."

She toasted to no one in particular and drank the rest of the day away.

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