A few days ago, Daoist Huang Zhu fought with me. At that time, I thought there was something wrong with his head, but I didn't find anything wrong with him. How could he die just like that?
Seeing my doubtful face, Wang Can lowered his voice and told me, "Daoist Huang Zhu was seriously injured that year. He had been relying on a Daoist sword in his body to support himself. That day, when he fought with the Sage, he lost his mind and directly broke the Daoist sword. That's why he couldn't support himself anymore …"
After listening to Wang Can, my heart sank.
In other words, the old Daoist's death was because of me!
I was also wronged. It was an accident that I met Ah Mo on the road that day. Who would have thought that the old Daoist would be so unyielding? He didn't even give me a chance to explain and directly chose to die.
His action of breaking the Daoist sword that day was unbelievable, and I didn't expect that the Daoist sword was related to his life. After it was broken, he died …
My heart felt heavy. Although it was all a misunderstanding, the old Daoist had died because of me.
Seeing my strange expression, Wang Can hurried to say, "That old Daoist Huang Zhu wanted to die. If the Sage doesn't want to pay attention to him, we can go back.
After the old Daoist dies, I will ask someone to bury him and take Ah Mo back to Wangwu Cave to raise him. "
I sighed and shook my head. I pointed at the dilapidated temple in front of us and said to Wang Can, "Lead the way."
"This …" Wang Can hesitated for a while but didn't say anything. He nodded and took me to the dilapidated temple.
After entering the temple, we walked through the hall where I had fought with Daoist Huang Zhu that day and came to a shabby bedroom in the back.
Before we entered the room, I heard Ah Mo's stifled sobs. My gloomy mood became even more depressed. I followed Wang Can and pushed the door open to enter the room.
After entering the room, I lifted my eyes and saw that the bedroom was even more dilapidated than the hall outside. There wasn't even a bed in the narrow room. There were several pieces of plastic sheets on the floor, and two layers of colorful mattresses were placed on top of them. Daoist Huang Zhu was lying on the mattress. His face was sallow, and his body was thin. From a distance, he looked like a real yellow bamboo.
Ah Mo was kneeling by the bed, constantly wiping Huang Zhu's forehead and wiping his own tears.
I looked at the decorations in the room and couldn't help but feel sad.
I have been in the world of Metaphysics for a few years. Huang Zhu and Little Ah Mo's place is the poorest I have ever seen.
As for the other people in the metaphysics world, not to mention Huang Zhu who had the Glorious Consciousness cultivation base, even if it was Little Ah Mo who was in the Dragon Seeking Realm who could just activate Dao Qi, they would no longer have to worry about money in their lives. Just by doing something, they would be treated as a distinguished guest by the wealthy merchants in the secular world.
Unfortunately, Old Taoist Huang Zhu was here. In order to avoid being hunted down by the Xuande Grotto, he concealed his identity and hid here. It was difficult for him to even guarantee his livelihood. It was really unknown how they managed to survive all these years.
This old Taoist Huang Zhu was truly respectable. Relying on his obsession to stay here for more than ten years, he raised a baby in swaddling clothes into a young man.
He could easily imagine the hardships he had gone through.
I can't blame him for losing his composure when he saw me that day and choosing to fight to the death.
It had been too hard for him all these years.
Thinking about this, I couldn't help but hate the Xuande Grotto more. As the leader of the thirty-six Small Paradises, they had to do such shady things.
When the old Taoist heard the sound of my arrival, he squinted his eyes. When he saw me, he seemed a little excited. He opened his eyes, revealing his cloudy eyes.
I walked forward and held his wrist. I gently placed my finger on his pulse. After a long time, I sighed and slowly put his hand down.
The old Taoist was like a lamp without oil. I couldn't feel his pulse at all. Wang Can had poured a wisp of spiritual energy into his body to keep him alive.
The old Taoist seemed to have seen through life and death. When he saw me, he looked happy. His mouth mumbled weakly, "I knew … I knew you would come …"
He was struggling to talk. After every few words, he would cough violently, which made his body convulse like a shrimp in a frying pan.
I didn't feel good. I sighed and asked, "Now you know that I'm not a member of the Xuande Grotto, right?"
"I know …" The old Taoist smiled miserably. The two tufts of white hair on his mouth quivered. After a long time, he said, "I don't have much time left. Everything in this world is bitter. If I die earlier, I won't have to suffer so much …"
He smiled miserably and put his hand on his chest. His eyes turned to Ah Mo with a kind smile.
"His parents and I are good friends.
When he was young, his parents saved my life. I swore to protect them for the rest of their lives.
Unfortunately, my cultivation base is too low, and I can't repay them … That year, I couldn't save his parents, and now, I can't protect Ah Mo! "
The old Taoist panted. His eyes were full of resentment and self-blame. It seemed he had taken the responsibility for what the Xuande Grotto had done.
Apparently, Huang Zhu was a man who kept his promises. Because of the oath he had made, he had sacrificed the rest of his life, and he still blamed himself.
I felt emotional. I didn't know what kind of good karma Ah Mo's parents had practiced in their previous lives that they could have such a friend in this life.
Speaking of Ah Mo's parents, I couldn't help but think of the two sword slaves.
The two sword slaves looked to be in their twenties or thirties, while the old Taoist Huang Zhu didn't look like he was from the same era.
I sighed and said, "You … You're much younger than them."
"Them?" The old Taoist was stunned when he heard what I said. He couldn't believe it.
"You … You saw them?"
The old Taoist's voice trembled. He slowly extended his hand to point at me, but he didn't even have the strength to lift it. His hand hovered in the air.
I nodded and said, "Before I came here, I had a conflict with the people of Xuande Grotto. They used … sword slaves."
The old Taoist opened his mouth wide, revealing the few yellow teeth he had left. Half of his body hovered in the air for a long time before he asked, "Are they … Okay?"
I grinned unnaturally, but my smile was full of bitterness.
"Yes, they've become like that. What's the point of being okay …" The old Taoist understood what I meant. He seemed to have no strength to support himself, and he slumped on the mattress.
Then, there was a long silence. The old Taoist coughed violently and sighed with a hoarse voice.
Parting with death was the most tragic thing. Although the old Taoist and I had just met by chance, I couldn't escape the responsibility of his death.
However, I didn't understand why he had called me here before he died.
As I was about to ask, the old Taoist seemed to know what I was thinking. He spoke first, "Take the child away."
"What?" I was bewildered and frowned.
I know very well how important Ah Mo is to this old Taoist. Logically speaking, this old Taoist should hand over his orphan to a reliable person before he dies. As for me, I have only met him twice. I would never have thought that he would actually choose me.
After a moment of silence, I asked uncertainly, "What did you say?"
The old Taoist's voice was slow but firm as he spoke again, "I want to give Ah Mo to you … Don't reject me. His talent … You should already know. In time, he will definitely become the strongest sword cultivator!
If you don't trust me, I can make him swear now … "
The old Taoist seemed to be afraid that I would reject him, so he kept emphasizing Ah Mo's potential.
I smiled wryly and interrupted him. I explained softly, "It's fine for him to follow me, but … I'm not even a sword cultivator. It would be a waste of his talent to follow me."
"You … You're not a sword cultivator?" The old Taoist's murky eyes opened wide, and his face was filled with surprise.
"I'm really not a sword cultivator," I shook my head and continued.
I shook my head and continued, "Before I met you and Ah Mo, I had never even seen a sword cultivator."
"It shouldn't be, it shouldn't be …" The old Taoist's eyes were confused. He muttered to himself, and his gaze became erratic.
"I … When I first saw you, I felt an intense sword aura from you," the old Taoist suddenly said after a long silence.
"If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have treated you as someone from Xuande Wonderland. Almost all the sword cultivators in the world are gathered in Xuande Wonderland."
The old Taoist swallowed his saliva with great effort. He stared at me and said slowly, "If you're not a sword cultivator, where did the sword aura come from?"
Sword aura?
My first reaction was that the old Taoist had felt the aura of the Armor Removing Sword. However, I immediately realized that I hadn't gotten the sword then. Could it be … Xuanyuan Sword?