In the morning, birds chirped in the guava tree. Eating caterpillars on its leaves. Last night, bats ate some ripe guavas.
"Everyone becomes strong for a reason. I didn't train for fifty years alone for no reason, Long Yi."
I remembered my conversation with the perverted old man last night in front of the sect's Buddha statue.
"Fifty years ago. I lived in the era when the Han dynasty still ruled the inner continent. At that time, I was 40. I served Emperor Ling directly and became one of his favorite swords.
"In those days, taxes burdened the people. Officials were corrupt. Palace eunuchs controlled politics. And the gap between common people and Cultivators was too wide. At that time, common people seemed like livestock in the eyes of the powerful. I didn't think much about political and imperial matters as long as they still provided me and my family with a decent life. They said everyone in the empire opened one eye and closed the other, and that was true. Until the Yellow Turban Rebellion happened."
Last night, I sat listening to Wu Tian tell stories, accompanied by a bottle of cheap wine, in front of the moss-covered Buddha statue. The guava tree beside me bore abundant fruit. But unfortunately, the fruit had become a favorite food for bats foraging at night.
"Led by the Zhang brothers. A family that adhered to Taoism. Founders of the Taiping Dao sect (the Way of Great Peace). Wise and righteous people, if I must say. They led a million people from every city in the inner continent, both poor and rich, and then rebelled against the empire, which was then located in Luoyang. Everyone wearing yellow turbans, both cultivators and common people, began to kill corrupt officials in their areas on the orders of the Zhang brothers, citing disgust with the corrupt government.
"Wars broke out in various cities. Jingzhou, Yuzhou, Qingzhou, Xuzhou, and not least, my family's home, Jizhou."
Wu Tian smiled when he mentioned the name Zhang. He seemed to remember something pleasant.
"As the famous proverb among cultivators goes; if you don't fight, you won't get to know each other. I met the Zhang brothers right at the beginning of the Yellow Turban Rebellion in the first week. Emperor Ling ordered me to kill them because the rebellion was considered dangerous to the government.
"Dong Wen and I, who was then still a captain of a small force, went to Jizhou with the aim of secretly killing the Zhang brothers to end the rebellion.
"However, I couldn't complete my mission. My only son, who lived in the same city as the rebellion leader, became a member of the rebellion. Through my son, we managed to meet the Zhang brothers face to face.
"Dong Wen and I could have killed the Zhang brothers, who welcomed us as guests even though they knew we were from the empire at that time. However, after exchanging words and the clanging of swords, Dong Wen and I came to understand them."
Wu Tian took a sip of wine from his small plate before continuing his story, stroking his long beard.
"Dong Wen immediately unleashed his signature technique to kill Zhang Jiao, the general of heaven from the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Haha, when I remember it, it's quite amusing. Zhang Jiao was actually a master Dao cultivator, already skilled and one level above us. He sent Dong Wen flying into the sky with one slap, and he fainted on the spot.
"I fought evenly with his two younger brothers, inside their simple house. Or rather, it wasn't a house but a small, pathetic-looking hut. Three clangs of swords, and after that, I put my sword back in its sheath, seeing Dong Wen fly into the sky."
Wu Tian chuckled softly at the memory.
"Zhang Jiao was two years older than me. His face was gentle, but his demeanor was firm. A charismatic aura always accompanied him wherever he went. Even after we attacked them, they still welcomed us like long-lost friends.
"He and I exchanged words. I asked, 'Why are you doing all this?' The man answered in a soothing tone, 'For balance.'"
Wu Tian gazed at the face of the Buddha statue, whose smile was already cracked and on the verge of crumbling with time.
"Long Yi. In this world, there are always two sides. The dark side, the light side. Yin and yang. Day and night. They are two things that always exist and cannot consume each other or unite. Balance is always separate and keeps each side intact. So that nature continues to live.
"'Someone must maintain balance in this world. Evil must be balanced with good. Without it, the world will lose its harmony and crumble like stone into dust. I do this not in the name of justice in my heart, I do it solely for balance.' That's what the man continued to say. When I heard him, I began to understand that balance is something important. Balance taught me the true meaning of life."
"So?" I sipped the wine from my small plate. "Did you join him?"
Wu Tian laughed heartily. "Hahahhaah! Unfortunately not. I returned to the empire to report, but thanks to that report, a great war broke out to eradicate the Yellow Turban rebels.
"I was still on the side of the empire until my own son died at the hands of one of the imperial soldiers. Zhang Jiao and his two brothers died in battle. Dong Wen and I were severely wounded, both in spirit and body. Dong Wen lost his wife and became obsessed with war. Meanwhile, I lost my only son.
"However, a miracle happened and the Yellow Turban rebels managed to win. The Emperor was forced to comply with their wishes and now each region has its own generals and armies to deal with the corruption of local officials. But that would be the cause of Emperor Ling's death. He was assassinated by Dong Zhao, one of the generals who betrayed the empire and caused the inner continent empire to split into three kingdoms."
I fell silent. "You became strong because of the loss of your son?" I asked.
But Wu Tian shook his head.
"No. I was indeed very sad and angry. But that's not why I chose to leave everything behind and pursue power."
I was a little confused. "Then? What was the real reason you secluded yourself from the world for 50 years? Even abandoning your sect and your own wife?"
Wu Tian fell silent and stared at the face of the Buddha statue as if looking directly into its face.
"Balance. Currently, we have three beliefs. Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. These three then mixed and provided guidance for every human matter. Maturity of thought, harmony of the soul with nature, and high morality oriented towards nirvana.
"When Zhang Jiao was killed, I knew the killer was not one of us. Because the imperial order did not come from the emperor's mouth. Rather, it came from the palace eunuchs who secretly controlled from behind the scenes.
"I realized that among those eunuchs, someone or some group was planning something bigger than war. Bigger than the great war on the inner continent. Bigger than the division of the empire. For that reason, I had to become strong. To maintain balance as Zhang Jiao said."
I nodded slightly. Ah, so that's how it was. All of this happened because of the devil cult's mastermind. I only realized it when Wu Tian mentioned the palace eunuchs. Because Ye Jing and I once killed one of the old palace eunuchs who happened to be a high-ranking member of the devil cult.
"Something great is coming. Buddha told me so. And he pointed to you."
Wu Tian turned to me and looked at me seriously. I looked back at him, my eyebrows raised.
"That sword, it's not from this world. You bring great calamity, Long Yi, the crazy demon." Wu Tian said in a tone I had never heard from him before. A threatening tone.
I shrugged. "I know. But don't worry. As long as I still breathe, this sword won't be able to do anything to our world."
Wu Tian then laughed heartily.
"Hahahhaha! That's right. However..." his laughter suddenly died down. "If 'our' world is no longer 'our' world. I will cut off your head, Long Yi. You must prevent it as your friend did. Prevent this world for balance."
I nodded. Tonight, I understood why Ye Jing immediately cut off my head, even though he failed, on the day I became a demon. It was for balance. He did it for that reason.
"Of course. I might be doing this because Ye Jing told me to."
"You have a good friend." Wu Tian said with a smile. He extended a small plate with his wine to me.
"For balance."
I accepted the invitation to clink plates.
"For Ye Jing."
***
"Finally we're leaving that dilapidated sect and that perverted old man." Shun Jin stretched as she walked beside me. She seemed to have slept soundly last night.
"Didn't you quite like that perverted old man, Shun Jin?" I said mischievously as I continued playing the flute. Shun Jin immediately puffed out her cheeks and turned her face away. Complete with crossing her arms over her chest.
"On the contrary! You and that perverted old man are both the same! Why do all the men I meet have lecherous tendencies. Hmph." Shun Jin seemed angry. Even so, she seemed used to it.
"Have you ever seen a sturdy horse, Shun Jin?"
Shun Jin nodded. "What about a sturdy horse?"
Then I replied. "To men, you look like the sturdiest and most beautiful horse in their eyes. There's no man who doesn't like a sturdy horse. They like to stroke sturdy horses."
Shun Jin wanted to pull my flute but I dodged, making her even more annoyed.
"I am not a sturdy horse!"
"Ahh! Stop it!"
A woman's scream was heard from ahead. In the middle of the road, about a hundred steps away. A overturned horse carriage and several corpses were clearly visible. It still early morning. Really.
"Show me the results of your training with the Eleventh Dragon Cultivator, Shun Jin."
Shun Jin nodded and immediately drew a slender sword from its scabbard. She then darted forward. Intending to help whoever was being attacked by a group of people.
***