Chapter 108: Life
Truth be told, the question was long overdue. The Alchemy Elder, the Disciplinary Elder, and even Lucy had spotted the shadow of a cruel training behind Liam’s fighting style and murderous mindset. They had simply never asked out of respect for a fellow cultivator’s secrets.
lissa had even seen much more, witnessing Liam chant the Divine Cult’s brainwashing creed. Still, she had also respected his secret upon his request.
However, that wasn’t a cultivation matter now. Everything about the vibe hinted at the opposite, from lissa’s slightly sad face to the worry the fingers on Liam’s hand conveyed.
That wasn’t a cultivator probing another cultivator. lissa was a concerned friend who looked sad at the re idea of what Liam had gone through.
Cruel mories inevitably surged through Liam’s brain. He lowered his gaze, dwelling in scenes that seed to co from a different life.
After the extensive study, Liam now knew that his imprisonnt didn’t necessarily need to be a secret. He honestly would have already told his Master if he had asked.
The issue was with how Liam had gotten to the Divine Cult since it could expose his birthplace and bloodline. The Cult’s enmity with the Dragon Kingdom might be problematic, but his escape more than proved his innocence.
So, it was more a matter of not wanting to relive that dark Chapter, but Liam hesitated with lissa. He had basically already exposed himself to her, and he felt he owed her the truth after her kindness.
Still, lissa saw the grim streak in Liam’s face and spoke before he could. "Y-you don’t have to tell
if y-you don’t want to."
Those reassuring words had the opposite effect. Liam glanced at lissa’s face again, seeing vulnerability but also support. Despite already knowing the truth, she wanted to respect his wishes.
"It’s really not a nice story," Liam warned. "I can tell you, but I’d rather no one else knew."
lissa responded by tightening her grip on Liam’s hand, making a silent promise even he could understand.
"Before coming here," Liam sighed, fighting off the auditory hallucination rising in his ears, "I was kidnapped. They trained and made
do things, but I escaped in the end."
Liam had left much to interpretation, but that was enough to tell lissa how sad his story had been. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what Liam had gone through to beco so detached from physical pain, and his combat achievents hinted at sothing far worse.
Silence followed until the auditory hallucination triggered the itch, making Liam withdraw his hand to scratch his forearm.
The urge to comfort Liam invaded lissa, but she didn’t know how. That wasn’t the ti for her selfish, bold moves. She even felt guilty for having asked in the first place, but Liam’s scratching gave her an idea.
The itch was growing unbearable, but lissa stopped Liam, taking his left hand to bring it to her right sleeve, using his fingers to lift it.
The gesture exposed the burn mark at the center of lissa’s forearm. She and Liam were of similar age, so she had also gone through the Bloodline Screening, which had forever ruined her perfect skin.
lissa’s mark was obviously identical but different from Liam’s. Still, her unexpected, simple smile had a reassuring effect on the itch and auditory hallucination, making them wane until they disappeared altogether.
"M-Mother sold herself," lissa revealed, gulping. "F-Father had left, and we w-were poor."
A flicker ran through Liam’s eyes, but lissa’s smile kept him frozen.
"Many m-n w-wanted ," lissa continued. "I-I was supposed to .... But the G-Guild sent
here f-first."
Liam was no stranger to those topics. He might have spent most of his ti in the mountains, but the village was poor, so he had witnessed so of those cruel realities.
"You are the first man I want to look beautiful for," lissa declared, managing not to stamr at that half-confession.
Liam didn’t know how to react to that story. He heard a hiss in his ears, accompanied by a bottomless hatred for the world that had caused that vulnerable, beautiful face such pain. Still, there was sothing else, too.
An urge Liam couldn’t recognize or explain cursed through him, scorching, but also soft. He knew he wanted to do sothing, but couldn’t find what.
There was a compulsion drawing Liam closer to the soft hand holding his own. Yet, he decided to answer lissa before anything strange took over him. "You do look beautiful."
Despite lissa’s unflattering appearance, that was the honest truth. Liam even believed she had never looked more beautiful. Hairstyles, sweat, and dirt had no value compared to her rare smile.
And lissa just gave in to the temptation, not caring about anything anymore. She began to lean forward, slowly and timidly, wanting Liam to see everything and welco it instead of taking him by surprise again.
Yet, rumblings suddenly resounded from the entrance. Before Liam knew it, lissa was already on her feet, performing a bow at the moving boulder and hurrying away.
Naturally, the Alchemy Elder was in front of the cave, watching the departing woman, until he pointed his glare at the still-sitting Liam.
"I went out of my way to give you my stash!" The Alchemy Elder began to scold as he entered the cave, the entrance closing behind him, but Liam promptly drew the flask and lifted it.
The Elder spotted sothing from a distance, reaching Liam in a hurry and seizing the flask from his hands, inspecting it all over.
That wasn’t a result Liam could have reached with no practice. Actually, it was incredible that he had concocted sothing like that after a single day.
One thing was sure. Liam never slacked off, no matter the distractions around him. He hadn’t relented even after his mandatory seclusion had ended, almost making the Elder consider whether so recreation might benefit him.
"Disciple," The Elder coughed, storing the flask in his sleeve, "Do you need the technique to avoid conception?"
Liam tilted his head in confusion. He knew what that was. He had seen animals do it, but he couldn’t understand why his Master would ntion it now.
Nevertheless, the confusing scene with lissa was still vivid in Liam’s mind. The hiss was also still assaulting his ears, and that strange urge kept filling his chest, diverting his gaze and thoughts.
Liam was changing, undoubtedly so. He talked more, understood more, and even felt more. In many ways, he was unrecognizable from who he was little over half a year ago, when Krosstoen’s mountain was still his whole life.
Life itself had changed for Liam, down to his very definition. Becoming a cultivator had elevated him in ways that mortals couldn’t understand, but that different mindset didn’t only have to do with his personal power.
’The world truly is a big place,’ Liam thought, recalling Cyrus’ words.
Liam hadn’t ant that literally. He hadn’t seen much of the world yet after all. However, he had experienced life in ways that the old him would have never been able to conceive, both good and bad, and there was still a lot left.
’To think I almost gave up when there was so much out here,’ Liam considered.
It sounded impossible that sothing like the Divine Cult or Bloodline Screening could exist in the sa world as the mont Liam had just experienced. Still, that was the duality of life, and it wasn’t nearly as bleak as he had initially thought.
’I don’t know about happy,’ Liam thought, ’But I want more.’
The hiss seed to resonate with that decision, gaining human words that responded to Liam’s reasoning. ’Swallow life whole.’
’You haven’t talked in a while,’ Liam said in his mind, wanting to reply to whatever monster resided in his bloodline.
"Since you must have just finished concocting," The Alchemy Elder eventually announced, reclaiming Liam’s attention by poking at his head with the cane, "We can focus on theory tonight."
"Master, I can concoct," Liam promptly said, snapping back to reality. "I just need to get the pipe."
Liam jumped to his feet and hurried to the shelves, retrieving the poisonous powder. He even seized other ingredients, knowing his Master would want to see how he approached the elixirs’ concoctions.
And the Alchemy Elder scoffed on his own, following Liam around with his chilling glare, not noticing the slight proud smirk that had broadened on his face.
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