Alfir
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018 Delayed Destiny
🕑 Added 2025-02-21 10:05:12 +0000 UTCA walk after lunch.
The further we went, the quieter the city became. While the festival’s main streets still bustled with energy, this forested part of Yellow Dragon City had a more subdued air. Guards patrolled the paths, their armor gleaming in the afternoon sun. Families picnicked beneath the trees, enjoying the festival in their own way. Vendors had set up along the road, selling roasted snacks, carved talismans, and fragrant teas brewed from local herbs.
Gu Jie walked beside me, carrying the fishbowl as if it were a rare treasure. Within, Ren Jingyi swam in slow, lazy circles—either appreciating the scenery or entirely indifferent to it.
I glanced around and let out a low whistle. “Quite the celebration.”
Eventually, we arrived at a secluded waterfall. Water cascaded over smooth stone, pooling into a shallow basin before flowing downstream. The air was crisp, carrying the scent of damp earth and moss. A peaceful retreat—exactly what I needed.
I settled onto a broad, flat rock. Gu Jie, however, remained standing, watching me carefully.
“Master, is something amiss?” she finally asked. “Why have we come here?”
I rested my elbows on my knees and exhaled. “We need to talk.”
Gu Jie nodded. “I understand.”
I studied her for a moment before getting to the point. “Tell me about the cultivation methods your old master taught you.”
She hesitated for only a heartbeat. “There were two. Aside from Delayed Destiny of the Demonic Path, he also passed down the Demonic Worshipping Mantra.”
I frowned. “And what does that do?”
“It forces the disciple to revere the one who bestowed the technique upon them. And then… If the disciple practicing the technique is… consumed—”
I blinked. “Wait. Consumed?”
Gu Jie’s expression remained placid. “Yes. If the disciple is devoured, the effect multiplies tenfold. If they are refined into a pill, it multiplies twentyfold.”
I stared at her. Then I leaned back on my hands. “That escalated quickly.”
She continued, unperturbed. “Once one begins cultivating it, they cannot stop. If they do, they will suffer hallucinations.”
I inhaled sharply. A technique like that wasn’t merely a method of control—it was a trap. A leash that turned the disciple into a resource. The longer they cultivated, the more valuable they became. And when their master deemed it time, they would be harvested—worth more as an elixir than as a person.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Gu Jie.”
“Yes, Master?”
“Did you ever practice it?”
She met my gaze without a flicker of hesitation. “Not anymore. I am… luckier than most….”
I held her stare, searching for any sign of uncertainty. There was none.
I exhaled. “Good.”
If she had, she would have been shackled in more ways than one.
Gu Jie stepped to the water’s edge, gazing down at her reflection. The rippling surface distorted her image, but she paid it no mind.
“I ceased practicing the Demonic Worshipping Mantra the moment I escaped my former master’s grasp,” she said calmly.
I tilted my head. “Is he dead?”
“Yes. He self-destructed in battle against the righteous sects that hunted him.”
I nodded, relieved. At least there would be no old demon master lurking in the shadows, seeking vengeance. The last thing I needed was some lunatic trying to reclaim his wayward disciple—or worse, deciding I’d make a fine addition to the menu.
Gu Jie continued, “Since then, I have lived as a beggar and a bandit—until I met you, Master.”
Her voice was steady, but beneath that calm exterior lay years of hardship and struggle. I didn’t press. If she wished to share more, she would do so in her own time.
Instead, I asked, “Why do you wish to follow me?”
She turned, blinking as if the answer should have been obvious. “To repay you with my gratitude.”
Still not honest with herself. Fine. If she wanted to keep up the act, I wouldn’t call her out—yet.
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “Did you have any plans for dealing with your condition?”
Gu Jie’s cultivation technique, Delayed Destiny of the Demonic Path, was as fascinating as it was horrifying. It allowed her to redirect misfortune, but at the cost of her own vitality. There was no way someone cultivating such a method hadn’t considered an alternative.
She was silent for a moment before answering, “I intended to endure it until my death.”
I frowned. “And now?”
Gu Jie met my gaze.
“I have hope.”
For the first time since I met her, I saw something different in her expression. It wasn’t just obedience or quiet resignation. It was fragile but determined—like an ember refusing to be snuffed out.
I let out a slow breath. “Then let’s make sure you don’t waste it.”
Gu Jie stood by the water’s edge, her grip tightening on the fishbowl’s handle. The waterfall roared softly behind us, mist cooling the air. She stared at the rushing water as if gathering her thoughts.
“I heard rumors that the Isolation Path Sect would be coming to Yellow Dragon City,” she finally said. “So I traveled here. As a last resort, I had hoped they might accept me as a disciple, that they could refine my Delayed Destiny of the Demonic Path to a level I could properly wield.”
She let out a quiet, humorless laugh. “More likely, they would have killed me for being a demonic cultivator. Their reputation for exterminating demons is… absolute.”
I hummed in thought, picking up a smooth stone from the riverbank. With a flick of my wrist, I sent it skipping across the water—one, two, three, four times before it sank.
Then, without looking at her, I asked, “What do you truly want, Gu Jie?”
Silence stretched between us.
Then, with a deep bow, she said, “Please take me in as your disciple.”
I dusted off my hands and stood. “Let’s go to the Isolation Path Sect and have them refine your technique.”
Gu Jie’s breath hitched. “M-Master…”
Disciple? Nah… That was a rather flimsy solution…
What was I even supposed to teach her? How to troll others in PvP? How to complete the main quest in the shortest time possible without the need for any lore knowledge? Just what? Yeah, I thought so… It wasn’t like I could ordain her as a paladin here and there.
I glanced at Gu Jie. “Does it have to be the Isolation Path Sect? What about the City Governor? From how people speak of him, he seems to possess profound wisdom. Sounds like a chill dude too…”
Gu Jie blinked, as if I had just suggested we defy the heavens. “S-Surely, you jest, Master.”
I knew I was being naive. But after spending the past few days with Gu Jie, I had come to understand what kind of person she truly was.
She disliked greens but still forced herself to eat them. She enjoyed soup, savoring the warmth that spread through her stomach. She never complained about errands, believing that being useful was in both our best interests.
She had been a bandit, yet she was painfully naive.
If she ever attempted scheming, she’d likely think herself cunning—when in reality, she’d just be adorably foolish.
I sighed. I never thought I’d meet someone more naive than myself.
The only reason she had survived this long was her Sixth Sense Misfortune ability. Otherwise, at First Realm, First Star—the lowest of the low—she should have perished long ago.
I stretched my arms, rolled my shoulders, and turned toward her.
“Let’s go.”
Calling Gu Jie naive was like the pot calling the kettle black.
Still, I was far better off than her. At least I had a plan.
Persevering until death? That wasn’t a plan—it was surrender.
Sure, she could gamble on the Isolation Path Sect taking her in, but that was just blind hope. A proper plan required more than deciding and waiting for a result—it required forethought, strategy.
And not to boast about my maxed-out Paladin intelligence, but surely, I could come up with something better.
So, naturally, we went back to the goldfish stall.
The same one where I had fished out Ren Jingyi.
The old man running the stall looked up from his seat, squinting at me. His wrinkled face bore the weight of countless regretful business decisions. I leaned on the counter, flashing him my most winning smile.
“Hey, old man,” I said, “can you introduce us to the City Governor? Or better yet, the Isolation Path Sect?”
Gu Jie stiffened, looking like a fish out of water.
The old man looked like he had just swallowed a fishbone.
“Please, do your customer a favor. Come on, old man.”
The goldfish stall owner flinched. “Wu-wu-wu-what?”
He was playing dumb. A classic move for someone of his caliber.
“Stop pretending, I knew for some time already,” I sighed, shaking my head with exaggerated disappointment. “Was it fun, old man? Toying with my heart, only to suddenly pretend you don’t know me after all the time we spent together?”
The old man gawked at me. “What nonsense is this brat spouting?!”
Ignoring Gu Jie’s bewildered stare, I leaned in, lowering my voice just enough to make him think I knew more than I actually did. “I get it. Mingling with common folk must be amusing. It keeps you grounded.”
The old man tensed—just for a fraction of a second. Then he scowled. “What in the forsaken, goddamned heavens are you talking about? You know what? You’re interfering with my business.”
And just like that, he started packing up.
Ah. Retreating.
I had to press harder.
“Come on, old man,” I said, stepping closer. “After rigging the game for so long, now that you’re about to be exposed, you’re running away?”
The old man stiffened. “Rigged? I am an honest businessman!”
“Oh yeah? Tell that to my eighty-seven losses. And the eighty-seven times you sabotaged me with qi.”
Gu Jie choked on air.
The old man froze.
I couldn’t see qi. But with my Perception, Wisdom, and Intelligence maxed out, I could brute-force my way into deducing its existence.
And this old man?
Definitely not some random villager running a goldfish stall.
No, this guy was a big shot.
And he could help us.
The old man regained his composure and huffed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
People were starting to gather. I could hear the whispers.
“What’s happening?”
“That’s the weird goldfish guy, right?”
“Is he picking a fight with Old Man Jiang?”
Gu Jie tugged at my sleeve, her face flushing red. “Master, let’s go… This is… embarrassing.”
I ignored her. The old man had already taken the bait.
Realizing the growing audience, he doubled down—and oh, did he go on a mean streak.
“Ah, if anything, this was a skill issue!” he sneered, throwing his hands up dramatically. “You failed eighty-seven times? Are you an idiot? What are you going to do about it? Hit me? Pretend you’re a cultivator?”
I exhaled through my nose.
“Come on, come on, try me!” The old man slammed his palm on the stall. “I’ll put you in your place, you good-for-nothing! Come on! Hit me!”
The crowd gasped.
Gu Jie’s grip on my sleeve tightened.
I just stared at the old man.
He grinned triumphantly. “Hah! Don’t blame me if you can’t win a simple game! It’s your fault, kid! A skill issue! Eh? Eh? What now? Gonna hit me?”
…
Ugh.
This vindictive old man.
