Gritting his teeth and pressing down with his elbows, he was finally able to sit up after collapsing several times. A quick glance at the old furniture and the bed next to him said he was at an inn, but it did not look like any of the rooms from his small village's inn. Someone must have brought him here but he could not think of who.

Trying to get an understanding of his situation, he searched his body causing his face to pale. He was the first child born in his village with immortal roots, the hope of everyone there. They all thought he would be able to enter the Warring Crane Sect in the fall and bring glory to the village. Now, he could not find a trace of his past cultivation. His dantian shattered and his immortal roots withered. He was disabled.

All of the resources the village had poured into him were wasted. He thought about the extremely high price the village chief spent for a partial cultivation manual. The expensive qi condensing pills that cost more than three months' worth of his father's salary, everything the village had sacrificed for him was gone.

He wanted to dive deeper into his dantian, however, a tall old man walked into the room with a short white beard and fierce eyebrows. He removed a steamed bun from a brown paper box and stuffed it into his mouth completely as if he was a squirrel preparing for winter.

Before Liang could say anything, the old man raised his arm as if to tell him to wait while he finished chewing his food. Only he had tried to swallow too quickly and ended up choking instead. Liang wanted to help him, but his body was unable to move and he watched as the old man bent over, choking on the bun.

He tried yelling for help but his throat was so dry nothing came out. He wondered if the old man died would the guards believe it was because of a steamed bun. They would reason that a man his age would have eaten countless steamed buns over the course of his life. He would have acquired a technique for such things. Liang doubted they would believe today was the day the old man's luck ran out.

Liang was panicking but finally the old man stood straight after placing the paper box down on the desk. He sprung into the air with grace not fitting his age, leaning backwards and landing on the floor with a loud bang. Somehow, the bun had dislodged from his throat.

He rolled onto his side, coughing violently for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea then finally stood up. With his back facing Liang, he adjusted his light blue robe and fixed the knot in his hair before turning around to look at him with a deadpan face as though nothing had happened.

The old man was breathing quite heavily from the steamed bun ordeal moments ago, but he still handed Liang a gla.s.s of water. After a moment in a serious tone the old man said, "You're probably confused right now and have many questions. Don't rush. Take a few moments and think about what you want to say before you ask."

He did have many questions, but he understood the old man needed a few minutes to regain his composure and was trying to buy time. It was quite embarra.s.sing and he was surprised he was able to act as though the near tragedy had nothing to do with him.

He waited for the old man to steady his breathing before finally asking, "Where am I?" to which the old man replied, "You're lying in an inn" appearing to still be slightly winded. He looked tired, even sad as he stared at the brown box on the desk. Liang did not want to press him, but he had a bad feeling.

Looking down into his lap he asked, "What happened to everyone?" The old man looked at him as if thinking about how he should answer before replying, "Essence draining powder was used on the village, a powerful poison capable of even killing cultivators. However, I was only pa.s.sing; I'm not sure who was responsible. Unfortunately you are the only one who survived."

Liang knew roughly what the old man would say, but it did not make it hurt any less. Everything and everyone he had ever known lived in that village; now he felt he had nowhere to go. The poison destroyed his cultivation; he was just a normal person now. Resting his face in his hands tears began to stream down and he mumbled, "Mom…, Dad…, what am I supposed to do now?"

His whole world came crumbling down and he could not hold it in anymore, his body trembled before he laid back down and tried to regain himself. His father told him it was shameful for a man to cry, and worse was the fact that he was doing it in front of an old man that had almost died just moments ago.

The old man did not speak. He did not try to comfort him nor did he berate him. Liang wondered if maybe he had experienced something similar in his past. He appeared to be a cultivator so most likely he would have seen the deaths of a countless number of people. In any case, he was happy the old man stayed silent and waited for him.

After Liang calmed down the old man asked him, "Your village is gone, will you stay here?" His dream of entering a sect was gone and his village no longer existed. He knew he was not prepared to face the world on his own. "I want to go back, go back and see for myself." The old man expected this and told him, "It's not a pretty sight."

Liang understood, but if he did not go back then he would always wonder if everything really happened. However, when they arrived three days later it was more horrific than he thought. It had become a village of dust with nothing left.

He looked everywhere from the linen shop, the patrol station, the village chiefs house, and the butcher shop but there was n.o.body to find. Only black silhouettes and ash that scattered across the ground with the wind.

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He could not find his parents body and was only able to leave a cenotaph for them, the only proof that they once existed in this world. Kneeling before them he kowtowed three times before saying, "Mother, Father, your son has been unfilial. You sacrificed to raise me and I have become disabled. I was not able to protect you or the village. This will be the last time this worthless son appears before you."

Standing up he wiped his tears and walked over to the old man who waited for him before showing he was ready to leave. Before he could continue the old man said, "No need for words like that boy, this will not be the last time you visit them."

However, without elaborating any further the old man walked down the hill with Liang following shortly after.