Fifteen years have passed. And then one day…
"Father, I'd like to explore the world," Lin Fu says to me.
"Where would you like to go, son?"
"I want to see the place you grew up," Lin Fu replies.
I shake my head. "Where I lived is now a wasteland. There's nothing special left there. How about we visit a few beautiful places first—and go there last?"
"That sounds fun, Father," Lin Fu says with a smile.
"Alright. I'll go tell your mother."
I walk over to her. "Honey, our son and I will be gone for a few weeks. Are you going to be okay while we're away?"
"Yes, dear," Mang Lu replies softly.
"Okay, then. Let's set off. Come on, son."
We travel 218,736,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles per millisecond and arrive at the Heavenly Palace Capital.
"Let's stop here for the night," I say. "We've been traveling for over two days now."
"Okay, Father," Lin Fu responds.
"One room for the night, please," I tell the man at the front desk.
"Will do," he replies.
The Next Day…
"Let's shop a bit—maybe find something nice for your mother."
The two weeks pass like hours. After visiting several cities, we finally reach my old hometown—now just a barren wasteland.
As we begin our journey home, a heavy feeling builds in my chest.
"I feel like something's wrong," I tell Lin Fu. "This might be hard, son, but we need to hurry."
We travel 437,472,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles in an instant.
When we arrive…
"Honey? Are you okay?"
The door creaks open.
"…Honey?"
Mang Lu lies motionless on the floor, her body covered in cuts. But that's not what breaks me.
It's her eyes.
They don't look at me.
They don't look at anything.
It's like her soul has gone somewhere far away and left her body behind.
I drop to my knees beside her. I already know what's happened. Someone has done the unthinkable—something that flips a switch in me.
I ask her, "Who did this?"
With tears slowly falling, she whispers:
"The Jade Viper Sect."
Something shifts inside me.
I'm not angry.
I'm not sad.
I'm not furious.
I'm… calm. Too calm.
I leave the house and arrive at the Jade Viper Sect alone.
"Come out," I say.
The world trembles at my voice.
"Who is there?" an elder calls out.
"Who? Who?" I echo.
"You dare to ask me who I am?"
Golden light radiates from my body. In the next second, a golden palm descends from the sky, obliterating the souls of everyone below—everyone except the elder.
The elder falls to his knees, weeping. "Why… why are you doing this?"
I say nothing.
I bring him to my home and show him my wife—still broken, silent, distant.
And I look him in the eye.
"I will make you wish you had died with the rest of your sect."
To be continued…