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After coming home from Lao Chen’s house, I washed the mud and sweat from my body.
I sat in the center of my room and meditated for an hour, letting my aching muscles rest.
Walking out of my room, I joined my family at the small dining table.
My mother was serving steaming bowls of congee, and my dad was reading a local newspaper.
I picked up my spoon.
“Instructor Chen left the city.”
“I know,” my dad replied, not looking up from his paper.
“Will he return again?” I continued.
My dad finally lowered the newspaper, sighing softly.
“Men like Lao Chen don’t stay in one place for long, Xiaohou,” Zhang Min said quietly.
“He belongs to a different world.
A world that most normal people in Bo City pretend doesn’t exist.
He has duties far beyond these walls.”
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.
“I didn’t think you would last a week, Xiaohou.
I thought he would scare you, and you would come running home crying.
But you stayed for seven months.
You didn’t complain once.
You’re Nine years old, but you endured the training of a hardened veteran.
I don’t know what drives you, kid, but…
I’m proud of you.”
I smiled, feeling a genuine warmth in my chest that had nothing to do with my System skills.
“Thanks, Dad.
He taught me a lot.
But since my weekends are finally free again, I want to take a break today.”
My mother smiled brightly from the kitchen counter.
“Oh, that’s wonderful!
You’ve been working so hard, Xiaohou.
You deserve a rest.
Are you going to go catch up with Mo Fan?”
“Actually, Mo Fan is grounded for accidentally breaking Uncle Mo’s favorite vase yesterday,” I lied smoothly, engaging [Acting: Lv.
16] just for flavor.
“So I promised Xinxia I would take her out instead.
The new Tianlan Shopping Mall opened in the commercial district last week, and she’s been wanting to see it.
I thought I’d take her for a walk.”
My mother’s eyes instantly lit up.
Like most mothers, she had an absolute weak spot for Xinxia’s sweet, quiet demeanor.
“Oh, my goodness!
Taking little Xinxia on a date?
Our Xiaohou is such a gentleman!”
“It’s not a date, Mom,” I groaned, perfectly playing the part of an embarrassed nine-year-old.
“She’s just my friend, and she’s been bored at home.”
My dad chuckled, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet.
He placed a crisp, high-denomination bill on the table and slid it toward me.
“Take this.
Buy the girl something nice.
And make sure she gets something good to eat.
Her legs aren’t very strong, so don’t make her walk too much, understand?”
My family knew about Xinxia’s condition because she had visited our house many times before.
They knew she could only walk for a few minutes before her legs gave out.
We had even taken her to the hospital, but the doctors found nothing.
I knew it was due to the Parthenon Soul dormant within her, but I kept my mouth shut and acted clueless.
“Don’t listen to your father, that’s not nearly enough for the new mall,” my mother scolded playfully, walking over and slapping another bill onto the table.
“Buy her that expensive elemental ice cream they sell on the first floor.
And keep a close eye on her in the crowds!”
“I will.
Thanks, Mom.
Thanks, Dad.”
I grabbed the money, shoved it into my pocket, and headed back into my room to grab some of my own hidden funds.
Taking Xinxia out wasn’t just a friendly gesture.
It was an investment.
The morning sun was shining brightly as I walked toward Uncle Mo’s house.
When I arrived, Xinxia was already waiting on the front porch.
She was wearing a pretty, pale-yellow sundress and a small sunhat to protect her skin.
At seven years old, she was already incredibly beautiful, possessing a quiet, gentle aura that made people naturally want to protect her.
“Xiaohou-gege!” she called out, her eyes lighting up the moment she saw me.
She carefully stood up from the porch step.
Her legs were weak an issue that would plague her for years, so her movements were slow and deliberate, but she managed to walk down the short path to meet me.
“Hey, Xinxia.
Ready to go?” I asked, offering her a warm smile.
“Mhm!” she nodded eagerly.
“Mo Fan is still asleep.
He played video games until three in the morning.”
“Good, then we won’t have to deal with him being loud,” I joked, offering her my hand.
She took it happily, her small fingers wrapping around mine.
Then, I went inside to bring out her wheelchair.
The walk to the Tianlan Shopping Mall took about twenty minutes.
I kept a deliberate, gentle pace as I pushed her wheelchair.
The new mall was a massive, sprawling complex that blended modern architecture with everyday magic.
The sliding glass doors weren’t powered by electricity, but by faint Wind-element runes.
Instead of standard air conditioning, the massive atrium was cooled by large, glowing Ice-element crystals suspended from the high ceiling, casting a beautiful, fractured blue light across the marble floors.
Xinxia starred in absolute awe, her head on a swivel as we walked through the bustling crowds.
For a reincarnated adult like me, a shopping mall was mundane.
But watching it through the eyes of a child who rarely got to leave her quiet neighborhood was refreshing.
It was a stark contrast to the brutal, mud-soaked, blood-scented training I had endured for the past seven months.
“Where do you want to go first?” I asked, looking down at her.
“Can we look at the bookstore?” she asked shyly, pointing a small finger toward a massive, three-story bookshop near the center of the atrium.
“Okay.” I pushed her wheelchair toward the bookstore.
We spent the first hour wandering through the towering shelves.
Xinxia loved reading.
Since her physical mobility was limited, she devoured books to explore the world.
I followed patiently behind her, passively monitoring the crowds to ensure no one accidentally bumped into her.
She eventually settled in the mythology section, running her fingers over a large, leather-bound book about the Parthenon.
‘If only you knew,’ I thought to myself, suppressing a smirk.
After buying her the book with my money, we headed to the first floor.
True to my mom’s recommendation, there was a massive artisan dessert shop utilizing Ice magic to freeze their treats instantly.
We sat at a small iron table near the indoor fountain, sharing a massive bowl of shaved ice topped with fresh strawberries and sweet condensed milk.
Xinxia took a small bite, her eyes curving into happy crescents.
“It’s so sweet!”
“Eat it slowly, or you’ll get a brain freeze,” I warned, taking a bite of my own.
As we ate, I noticed Xinxia staring at me intensely.
She wasn’t looking at my face, but rather at my shoulders and my hands.
“Is there something on my face?” I asked, wiping my mouth with a napkin.
Xinxia shook her head slowly.
Her dark eyes, usually so innocent, held a surprising depth of perception.
“You feel different, Xiaohou-gege.”
I paused.
“Different how?”
“You’ve been gone every weekend for months,” she said softly, setting her spoon down.
“When you hold my hand now, your hands feel rough.
Like sandpaper.
And when you walk…
You don’t make any sound anymore.
You feel…
mm…
heavier.”
She was seven years old, unawakened, yet her natural spiritual sensitivity was utterly terrifying.
She was picking up on the lingering aura of my [Instinct] and [Stealth] skills.
She couldn’t feel what it was, but she could inherently sense the killer instinct Lao Chen had violently hammered into me.
“I’ve just been exercising a lot, Xinxia,” I said gently, reaching across the table to pat her head.
“The world is a big place.
I want to make sure I’m strong enough to protect the people I care about.
That includes you.”
A faint blush dusted her pale cheeks, and she smiled brightly, the momentary concern vanishing from her eyes.
“You don’t have to protect me all the time.
When I grow up, I’m going to awaken the Healing Element.
Then I can take care of you and Mo Fan when you get hurt.”
Ever since learning about Healing Element, she is obsessed with it, I guessed it is due to Parthenon soul.
“I’ll hold you to that,” I laughed softly.
After some time wandering around, we finally left the mall.
As we passed a small street vendor on the way back to her neighborhood, I stopped.
The vendor was selling cheap, handmade jewelry.
My eyes landed on a simple, beautiful silver hairpin adorned with a small, faux-sapphire butterfly.
I bought it with the last of my money and handed it over to her.
“For you,” I said.
Xinxia took it, her eyes widening in awe at the shiny trinket.
“It’s beautiful…
Thank you, Xiaohou-gege.”
“Keep it safe.
When you become a famous Healing Mage, you can wear it,” I teased.
“I will,” she whispered, clutching the hairpin tightly to her chest muttering, “I’ll keep it forever.”
By the time we reached Uncle Mo’s house, it had started getting dark, and Xinxia was showing signs of exhaustion.
After I dropped her safely inside, we said our farewells.
As I walked alone toward home, I thought about whether what I was doing was right or wrong becoming close to Xinxia just because she would be the future Goddess.
But the cold reality of the future quickly bypassed those thoughts, strengthening my resolve to keep her close.
I looked up at the sky over Bo City, my eyes narrowing.
Whatever the future holds, I will definitely reach the top of this world.
To be continued…