The sunlight began to pierce through the gaps in the leaves, shining down on the ground to create spots of light on the grass carpet. Thuong Sinh used his hand to press one last timber stake firmly into the earth; a "thud" rang out, indicating the fence had been planted deep and securely. He stood up straight, dusting off a thin layer of wood debris clinging to his shirt, then looked toward the shade beneath the large tree.
Lam Thanh Moc was still sitting there, holding a small, thin wooden fan, gently waving it for Thuong An. The little one, after a period of shouting, had now begun to doze off, his small head resting against his mother's chest, his tiny mouth occasionally smacking as if dreaming of something delicious.
Thuong Sinh approached; his footsteps, even on the bed of dry leaves, made no sound. He leaned down, gazing at his son's peaceful face, then asked in a low voice:
"Is he asleep?"
Lam Thanh Moc looked up, smiling and nodding slightly: "He must be tired. He's been watching you work since morning without blinking."
She looked at Thuong Sinh and reached for a water-soaked towel placed nearby to hand to him. Thuong Sinh took the towel from her hand to wipe away the wood dust on his person.
"Finished the fence?" she asked.
"Mm," Thuong Sinh replied, his voice—already deep—now even softer so as not to wake the little one.
He sat down on the grass right at Lam Thanh Moc's feet, reached for a wooden water bottle, and took a large gulp. The cool taste of stream water seeped into his throat, making him fully alert. After putting the water bottle down, he stared fixedly at his two hands.
Lam Thanh Moc placed her hand over his; her slender fingers intertwined with Thuong Sinh's rough ones. She understood what he was thinking. For one who had passed through too much blood and fire like him, this simplicity sometimes brought a sense of unreality.
Thuong Sinh looked at her; naturally, Thuong An in Lam Thanh Moc's arms squirmed slightly, his jet-black eyes opening wide. Seeing his father sitting nearby, he bared his teeth in a smile, two tiny hands reaching out demanding to be held.
Thuong Sinh received his son, lifting the boy high into the air. Thuong An giggled heartily, the crisp laughter echoing throughout the small yard, dispelling the forest's silence. Thuong Sinh held the child close to his chest, sensing the warmth and the rapid heartbeat of the tiny life.
"Let's go," Thuong Sinh said suddenly.
"Go where?" Lam Thanh Moc was surprised.
"To the stream. I promised the other day to take him to see the fish jump."
As he spoke, he turned back into the house, carrying a woven fabric basket made by Lam Thanh Moc in her spare time and the Marsh-Blood Sword wrapped at his hip.
They walked together along the small trail Thuong Sinh had cleared previously. The underground stream was located not far from the house, where the water flowed out from a large rock crevice, crystal clear and cool year-round. As they neared, the sound of splashing water blended with the characteristic bird calls of the forest.
Thuong Sinh placed Thuong An on a flat stone slab right at the water's edge, his hand still firmly holding the child's back. Lam Thanh Moc sat beside him, letting her bare feet drop into the water. Beneath the clear water, small fish with shimmering silver scales were frolicking. Occasionally, larger fish from beneath the rock hollows lunged up to the surface for air, creating ripples of water.
Thuong An watched with wide eyes; every time a fish jumped high, the boy clapped his hands with a "thwack thwack," his mouth incessantly calling "Ah... ah...".
Thuong Sinh watched his excited son, then looked at Lam Thanh Moc, who was using her hands to splash tiny jets of water toward the child, laughing merrily; his eyes gradually softened.
He sat there, his eyes no longer looking at the mother and child, but lightly scanning the opposite bank of the stream, where wild bushes bearing a faint purple hue were vibrating. He didn't look out of alertness, but because he was concentrating on sensing.
His ears twitched slightly, catching a very small clicking sound beneath the pebbles.
"Stay still with mother," he released Thuong An, his voice gentle.
Lam Thanh Moc stopped her hands, looking at him with a curious gaze. Thuong Sinh did not unwrap his sword; he simply stood up silently, taking extremely light steps on the stream's surface. The ripples beneath his feet spread out very thinly, as if he possessed no weight at all.
He walked to the middle of the flow, where the current was a bit swifter. Suddenly, his hand lunged into the water as fast as lightning.
Slash—!
When he pulled his hand up, a large silver-scaled fish, nearly as long as a forearm, was thrashing frantically between his fingers which were as hard as iron pliers. Thuong Sinh turned, walking back toward the stone slab.
"Ah! Ah!" Thuong An shouted in excitement, his tiny feet tapping repeatedly against the stone surface upon seeing the huge fish right before him.
Thuong Sinh dropped the fish into a small natural water hollow right on the stone slab so it couldn't escape but remained alive. Thuong An immediately crawled closer, curiously reaching out a chubby hand intending to touch the fish's tail, which was thrashing hard.
"Careful, it's very slippery," Lam Thanh Moc chuckled, one hand holding the child's waist, the other hand teasing the small fish with him.
Thuong Sinh watched the two play, then he waded into the stream once more. This time, he didn't catch fish immediately. He stood motionless in the knee-deep water, closing his eyes. The surge of toxic internal force within him was completely retracted, replaced by a communion with the breath of nature. He was using his senses to search for something more special.
A moment later, he leaned down, overturning a large stone covered in green moss. Beneath it were large stone shrimp, with deep blue shells, flicking their tails to flee.
"There will be grilled shrimp as an extra dish this evening," Thuong Sinh spoke.
And so, a peaceful afternoon by the stream passed. Thuong Sinh not only caught fish; he also walked along the stream's edge picking a few more types of wild vegetables that Lam Thanh Moc had shown him before—succulent varieties with a refreshing sweet taste that the child could eat.
Thuong An, after playing in the water for a while, grew tired; the boy began to rub his eyes, his head slumping onto Lam Thanh Moc's shoulder. She gently soothed the child, then looked up at Thuong Sinh standing amidst the afternoon sun, his shadow stretching long across the shimmering stream.
"Let's go back, Thuong Sinh."
Thuong Sinh gathered the basket of fish and shrimp, walking back to her side. He said not a word, automatically picking up her sandals left on the bank; one hand carried the basket, the other reached out for her to lean on as she stepped down from the slippery stone.
The trail on the way back seemed shorter than on the way there. The sound of insects began to spread in the mutated thickets, but wherever Thuong Sinh went, the invisible pressure from his body caused those creatures to keep their distance.
Back at the wooden house, Thuong Sinh did not rest. He placed the basket of fish and shrimp beside the water well, then began picking up dry branches that had been stored previously. He stacked them into a small pile in the middle of the yard, where there was a stone ring used for lighting fires for warmth and cooking every afternoon.
Lam Thanh Moc placed Thuong An in the cradle inside the house, then stepped out into the yard. She saw Thuong Sinh using a flint stone, his movements decisive.
Scrape... Scrape... Flare.
The brilliant orange flames rose, dispelling the chill beginning to seep into the forest. The firelight danced on Thuong Sinh's face, making his features look less sharp and more warm.
"Let me do the fish," she offered.
"Sit there," Thuong Sinh shook his head. Thuong Sinh, holding a small knife, began to prepare the stone shrimp. "Your hands just touched cold water; go warm yourself by the fire."
Hearing this, Lam Thanh Moc did not argue; she smiled and sat on the stone slab beside the fire, arms crossed as she watched him work.
Thuong Sinh skewered each shrimp onto bamboo sticks, placing them on the grill. The aroma of the cooking shrimp meat gradually wafted out, blending with the smell of burning wood, creating a flavor of abundance amidst the cruel heart of the apocalypse.
Thuong Sinh lightly rotated the bamboo sticks, letting the heat from the red embers permeate the shrimp shells evenly. When the shells turned red and began to emit their characteristic aroma, he used his bare hand to lift a skewer, peeling the scorched shell. White smoke rose from the firm block of shrimp meat. He blew lightly to cool it then brought it to Lam Thanh Moc's mouth.
"Taste it."
Lam Thanh Moc tilted her head slightly, taking a small bite. The sweet taste of the fresh stone shrimp combined with the natural saltiness of the headwaters made her eyes narrow slightly in satisfaction.
"Very sweet. You eat too."
"Mm."
Thuong Sinh replied, but his hand continued to peel another one. His movements were very focused. After removing all the intestinal tracts and hard shells, he placed the shrimp meat into a clean small wooden bowl, then used a wooden spoon to mash it into a paste.
Right at this moment, an "eh-eh" sound echoed from within the wooden house, followed by the crisp cry of Thuong An demanding to eat.
Lam Thanh Moc intended to stand up but Thuong Sinh was faster. He set the bowl of shrimp down, wiped his hands on a towel, then walked quickly into the house. Only a moment later, he had carried Thuong An out; the little one, upon seeing the flickering firelight and smelling the aroma of food, immediately stopped crying, his jet-black eyes staring fixedly at the grilled shrimp skewers on the rack.
"It's time," Thuong Sinh sat down beside Lam Thanh Moc, letting Thuong An sit securely in his lap.
He scooped a bit of the finely mashed shrimp meat, blew on it carefully, then brought it to the child's lips. Thuong An opened his tiny mouth, snapping up the morsel excitedly. Watching the way his son chewed with a satisfied expression, Thuong Sinh's lips quirked into a very small curve.
This scene was truly strange. A man carrying toxic internal force, whose hands had once been stained red with the blood of a hundred corpses, was now meticulously spoon-feeding a baby.
The night descended deeper. Outside the forest edge, mutated plant species began to emit a blurred phosphorescent light, but inside this small yard, there was only the warmth of the fire and the crackling of burning wood. Lam Thanh Moc looked at him, then at the child, then lightly rested her head on Thuong Sinh's shoulder. She could feel his firm muscles beneath the cloth shirt, sensing the warmth and the absolute stillness radiating from him.
"Thuong Sinh," she called softly.
"Mm?"
"Do you regret it?" "I mean... leaving the world out there, living a reclusive life like this."
Thuong Sinh stopped his hand, looking at Thuong An who was leaning against his chest, having fallen asleep after filling his stomach.
"There is nothing in the world out there for me to regret." "Everything I need to protect is already here."
He finished speaking, then leaned down to look at Lam Thanh Moc. Under the flickering firelight, her face became gentler and more beautiful than ever. He lightly placed a kiss on her hair; the surge of toxic internal force within him at this moment seemed to have completely settled, giving way to an incredibly peaceful sensation.
The fire gradually died down; Thuong Sinh stood up carrying the child, the other hand leading Lam Thanh Moc into the house. He carefully closed the wooden door bolt, separating all dangers and the darkness of the apocalypse outside. Tonight, as with every other night in the past three months, the small wooden house was still filled with the warmth of life and love.
One afternoon on a certain day, high up on a mountain peak, Thuong Sinh was sitting cross-legged on a carpet of grass. Before him was the vast mountain scenery beneath his feet; he was circulating the "Marsh Blood Corrupting Heart Manual", attracting the sources of poison from around this mutated forest.
After he had been here for a considerable time, his cultivation was mostly thanks to the toxins of the mutated plants, which possessed lethal poisons in this place. With all that time spent traveling through nearly the entire surrounding area to absorb toxins, he had absorbed almost all the poisonous plants around the forest.
Now in his dantian, the surge of toxic internal force after months of accumulation from mutated plants had reached its ultimate limit. It was no longer in a gaseous state but began to condense as thick as tar, swirling powerfully into a purple-black vortex.
Boom—!
A world-shaking surge of pressure took him as the center, exploding outward. The green grass beneath where he sat immediately withered, died dry, and then turned to black ash in an instant. From Thuong Sinh's pores, a mist of deep crimson blood sprayed out, but it did not fall to the ground, instead hovering around his body, forming a giant blood cocoon.
The sky above the mountain peak, which had been clear blue, suddenly drew in pitch-black clouds. It wasn't rain, but layers of clouds carrying a gloomy aura of death. Within the cocoon, Thuong Sinh's bones groaned like claps of thunder. Every strand of his meridians was cleansed with toxic fluid, becoming twice as resilient and vast. The blood poison around him at this moment was no longer chaotic; it carried the majesty of the one who stands above all poisons.
A "Crack" sounded in his consciousness.
The droplet of liquid in his dantian shattered, turning into a small deep purple lake, steady and profound.
Thuong Sinh snapped his eyes open; his pupils were no longer the fiery red of madness but had shifted to a purple-black as deep as an eternal abyss. With just one glance, anyone he looked at seemed to be suffocated.
He stood up slowly. At this moment, he didn't need to circulate his technique; just natural breathing was enough to make the surrounding air frantically emit the sound of being corroded. The surge of deep crimson demonic aura surrounding him gradually retracted, soaking back into his skin, leaving faint purple blood-vein patterns running along his wrists, then vanished.
He reached out his hand; the Marsh-Blood Sword stabbed nearby immediately flew into his hand. The sword hissed with excitement; the pitch-black blade now emitted small sparks of lightning.
Thuong Sinh looked down at his hands. He felt his own life force increase markedly, and the power within him now—with just a thought, he could turn this entire forest into dead earth. He looked toward the forest below, where the tiny wooden house sat amidst the mist. Thuong Sinh retracted his entire aura. The surge of deep crimson demonic aura and purple-black toxic mist coiling around seemed to be pulled back inside by a massive suction force, vanishing without a trace.
He flicked his hand once. The Marsh-Blood Sword left his hand, hovering before him; the sword radiated a surge of deep black blade-light. Thuong Sinh stepped onto the sword body.
Slash—!
No more forcing, no more depletion of internal force to the point of exhaustion as in the Energy Refining era. Now, Sword Kinesis Flight for him was as effortless as breathing. He transformed into a black streak of light, tearing through the mountain peak's mist, gliding among the ancient trees at a terrifying speed. In just ten seconds, the familiar wooden roof appeared before his eyes.
The Marsh-Blood Sword landed in a thicket about a hundred meters from the house. Thuong Sinh stepped down; the sword circled once in the air then landed in his hand. While walking toward the wooden house, he wrapped the sword in white cloth and placed it at his hip.
Thuong Sinh was moving in the shadows of the canopy; if an ordinary person could see, they would be astonished—one of his steps was as fast as someone else running at full speed to catch up. Every step he took left a black afterimage; he was circulating "Phantom Steps" at its lowest level, training his footwork to discover the truth of its Grand Accomplishment realm.
He stepped out from the shadow of a large tree, his movements gentle. The black afterimages that had just appeared behind his heels immediately vanished, returning to him an appearance as still as a lake. Thuong Sinh took a deep breath, pressing his surging internal force into his dantian, making his breathing stable—no different from a normal person yet carrying a faint kind of pressure.
Lam Thanh Moc was sitting by the wooden steps, holding a thin basket picking through some wild fruits. Hearing the rustle of dry leaves, she raised her head and saw Thuong Sinh approaching. She paused for a moment, her eyes narrowing slightly to observe the man before her. Thuong Sinh was still Thuong Sinh; the white-cloth-wrapped sword still sat at his hip, his coarse cloth garment still just as simple. But somehow, she felt that from this trip he had just taken, something had changed.
"You're back?" Lam Thanh Moc stood up, lightly dusting her clothes.
She walked close to him, the distance only a few steps. She tilted her head slightly, looking straight into his purple-black eyes—which at this moment had returned to their normal pitch-black color.
"It seems... you've grown a bit taller? Or am I seeing things?" She raised her hand, intending to compare his height to the last time.
Thuong Sinh stood still, letting her observe him. He said nothing, nor did he speak of the blood-poison pillar of light that had torn the mountain peak's sky earlier. To him, the secrets of a cultivator were something he would keep from her—or at least it wasn't the time yet to let her worry about things beyond her understanding.
"Perhaps the mountain wind blew too hard," Thuong Sinh replied gently, his tone still possessing that coldness.
Lam Thanh Moc laughed; she asked no more. She was a sophisticated person; she realized his aura at this moment no longer seemed the same as before.
"Thuong An just fell asleep. He was very naughty today, kept demanding to crawl toward the woodpile." As she spoke, she naturally looped her arm through his, leading him into the house.
Thuong Sinh felt the warmth from her hand transmitting through the cloth. The Foundation Establishment internal force in his body, which had been seething to find a vent, now touched this gentleness and suddenly settled, as obedient as a tamed fierce beast.
He glanced back at where the forest's shadows were still hiding the black afterimages he had just left. The Grand Accomplishment realm of "Phantom Steps" seemed to be right before his eyes.
He entered the house with her. Thuong An, who had awakened at some point, was lying in the wooden cradle, looking at him and Lam Thanh Moc with crisp laughter, reaching toward him. Thuong Sinh quickly stepped before the boy, picking Thuong An up; the hands that had just surged with the power of a Foundation Establishment cultivator were now soft. The boy clung tightly to his thumb, which was wearing a black star glove, his black eyes reflecting his father's silhouette.
He felt the tiny yet vibrant life force thumping in his arms. The purple-black internal force in his dantian, which carried extreme poison, suddenly turned so gentle it was astonishing upon facing the boy's smile. It must be known that many times before, whenever killing intent rose, the blood poison in his body would seethe, demanding to come out, nearly causing him to lose his reason. But miraculously, right now, touching the skin and looking into the eyes of the boy before him, that power had no intention of doing harm, as if it knew before it was kin and not an enemy.
Thuong An seemed to sense his mood; the boy grinned widely, his chubby legs kicking at his chest. Thuong Sinh lightly lifted Thuong An high, looking straight into the boy's black eyes.
"You will never have to see the things your father has seen."