I didn’t want to believe he was really gone, but it seems like he was. The man before me was definitely my father, Xinyi’s first teacher… but there was nothing left of the man he once was. I’m sure that when he met Xinyi, he was still somewhat sane, but the corruption was now complete, the heroic Yi Gon was no more.
My mother along with Lei and the others escaped with Meixian’s unconscious body. And then it began.
The three of us danced across the room, our blades clashing at speeds that exceeded the human eye. Such a flurry of deadly moves exploded that it was impossible to even keep up with it all. My body moved on pure instinct, perfectly in sync with Xinyi’s moves.
The cavernous temple collapsed around us, our attacks destroying even the earth at our feet. I slammed my foot into my father so hard he broke through the ceiling, and the fight took to the surface.
Back and forth, we pushed each other up and down the rocky hills we found ourselves on. Deadly techniques rained out every second, the fruits of years of training.
Yi Gon was the strongest Swordsman to ever live, I doubt I could have defeated him alone, but with Xinyi here at my side… we were evenly matched.
But then he managed to land a blow on her, not enough to kill her, but enough to force her out of the fight. She staggered back, falling to one knee as she clutched at her wounded side.
“Impressive, for novices, but you never really stood a chance against me.” Gon gloated, standing a few feet from me atop a small incline. “How long did you train, one year, two? I’ve been training for my entire life, you fool!”
“Yeah, and you still couldn’t reach the summit, could you?” I glared at him, taking a step forward.
“What are you talking about? Trying to stall for time?”
“Every technique you’ve used is perfect, but I’ve seen them before… you mastered the Four Paths sure...” I pointed my sword towards him,the fading sunlight shining off the perfect blade. “So I just have to beat you by using the Fifth Path.”
“You’re bluffing, nobody has achieved the Fifth Path in millenia.”
Of course I was bluffing. But still, he paused, there was a small chance I wasn’t… and if I wasn’t, would he be able to defeat me. And I had another, absurd idea. Sure I didn’t know the Fifth Path now, but what of the next moment in time? I just had to achieve enlightenment in a split second, no big deal.
But when I tried to clear my mind, only Xinyi’s face appeared in my mind. Her big, ruby red eyes had entranced me since day one, and if I fail now, they would lose their light permanently. My eyes were finally opened now, and I raised my sword to strike.
My father dashed forward, his sword cutting towards me with perfect precision. But I stepped through it, like my body was thin air. I was surprised, Xinyi was too, and Yi Gon looked confused.
“Golden Dragon, Shadow Banishment!” I slashed my sword through my father, but the blade passed like a ghost through his body, doing no harm. I then sheathed the blade and turned away from him.
He fell to his knees, a black liquid leaking from his pores. The darkness in his soul was eaten away by the golden light of my blade, and vanished from this world completely.
I don’t know what would remain of my father after the dark spirit was vanquished, but the fight had ended.
“Y-You really did… master the Fifth Path…” he coughed, dropping his sword and clutching at his chest. “I was wrong…”
“Nah, I was bluffing the whole time, I figured it out on the spot.”
“I-Impossible, how could you have learned the ultimate technique in a single moment?”
“Well, I had some help.” I picked up Xinyi and started down the mountain we were on. She blushed when I held her in my arms, but didn’t fight against it. “If you survive that spirit dying and go back to normal, I guess you can come home to mom... maybe then you can figure out the last part of the Path for yourself.”
I left the struggling man behind, not wanting to deal with him anymore. It was up to his original will’s strength, if he could survive after that much corruption to his soul, then he deserves a second chance.
A month passed, and I woke up in my bed with not one, not two, but three women who shouldn’t be there. Well, I guess one of them was allowed to be here now…
“Oi, get the hell out of here, mom!” I kicked my mother out of the crowded bed onto the floor, and she looked up confused, having woken up from her sleepwalking habit.
At the same time, Tatsuko and Xinyi both pulled me back into bed, and I could tell from their movements that they were awake.
“Tatsuko, leave us alone, you can’t have Zen anymore! Our marriage is next month!” Xinyi protested, but the warrior from another country refused to let go, even pressing her body even more into mine.
“And I told you before, I’ll settle for being his mistress or concubine… I never had any intention of being his wife.”
“You… you… you slut!” Xinyi tackled the other girl, and they began to wrestle while still in my bed.
Why… Why were all of the women in my life like this? Except Bai Cai, what a good girl, she only did this kind of thing to Lei, leaving me out of it.
Another woman burst through the door, an angry looking Meixian. She grabbed Xinyi and Tatsuko and easily tossed them aside. Both girls were about to protest, but their train of thought was likely stopped by her next action.
That action being to climb into bed on top of me, grab me by the shirt collar, and steal a kiss from me. I was helpless to resist her, even without her using any Skills… why are the women in my bloodline so strong… and incestuous!
“M-Meixian, what are you doing to your brother!” our mother cried on the sidelines, trying to drag her off of me. “I know I said family members kissing is alright, but not that kind of kissing!”
It seemed my sister had a serious father complex growing up, and because I looked so much like him, those feelings had resurfaced, aimed at me.
“Help me, God.” I begged the heaven’s for relief, but got no response.
After a hellish struggle, I finally managed to escape these four overbearing women who constantly invaded my peaceful ordinary life, every single day.
“Looks like you got your old man’s second Skill, the secret hidden ability of the Yi bloodline.” my father slapped me on the back as I entered the hallway. “Before your mother beat them all up and made them leave, I had dozens of women trying to get my pants off every day!”
“I didn’t really need to hear that, thanks dad.”
About a week after the fight, he had shown up in a nearby village with amnesia. Not of his entire life, but just the last few years, when the spirit had fully taken over his body.
Jin Chun, despite dying in an unfortunate Meixian accident, had been revived by my mother’s Skill, and she had somehow convinced the Emperor to drop any charges against her for her attempted assassination, and because the dark spirit was the cause, my father was technically innocent, and so everyone… went back to their normal lives.
It felt strange to say, but things were finally normal again.
It was a beautiful wedding ceremony, and I finally did what I should have done years ago. I joined Xinyi completely, and became inseparable from her. She wasn’t exactly the regular, peaceful girl I had once pictured myself with, but honestly… that kind of girl seems a bit boring now that I think about it.
I kissed her in front of all of our guests, and I could feel the pained but still happy stare from my mother, as another woman succeeded in stealing me away from her.
There was a gust of wind through the area as soon as I separated from our kiss, despite us being indoors. Tatsuko the Flash Knight appeared before me, lightly shoving Xinyi out of the way. She forced her lips against mine, and the crowd gasped. Xinyi’s bloodlust was steadily growing, when Tatsuko was forcibly removed by a third woman. I was kissed against my will again, by my overbearing, crazy older sister.
Of all of the times to pull a stunt like this, could they not have waited until after the ceremony was over? In front of the gods, of the Emperor, right in the middle of it all.
“Well, whoever you kiss at the end of the ceremony is your wife, right?” Meixian smirked.
“Indeed, I thoroughly read the laws of the land at the royal library. The woman or women kissed at the end are legally your wives, as there are no specific rulings against polygamy...” Tatsuko continued, dodging a punch from the angered Xinyi.
“You…” Xinyi fumed at my side.
“Woo! Ya did it son!” my father shouted from his seat, clapping. Suddenly, the entire crowd began to clap, caught up in his bizarre energy.
The Unbreakable Sword God stood up from her seat and walked slowly towards us. Xuan Yan looked like she was either about to cry, or murder someone, I wasn’t sure which.
“Zen, don’t leave me behind! Mommy wants to join too!” She launched herself at me in a very inappropriate manner, but she passed through my body harmlessly, unable to land a kiss on me thanks to the powers I had unlocked from the Golden Dragon Path.
“I’ll sort you two out later.” I pointed at Tatsuko and Meixian, then grabbed Xinyi’s hand and ran out of the building with her, ending the wedding ceremony.
My two additional surprise wives chased after us, and my mother was quick to join in.
Yep, this was my normal life all right.
She got her husband back... and THEN tried to marry her son? Crrraaaaaaazzzzyyyy.
To happy-go-lucky