Legend of The Young Master

Chapter 63: Death II

The statue of Valor communicated with Wuyi. It told him that Boluo was dead. The statue had decided to take Boluo's soul and make the soul part of itself. Now, Boluo existed in the statue. The Statue understood how much Wuyi cared about Boluo. So, it had made the decision to take Boluo's persona.

Adding Boluo's soul, it seemed that now, just like the statue of harmony, the statue of valor was able to communicate with him.

The statue sent him a strange message. The message was, "Quidquid vivit est cibus et quilibet cibus est energia." Wuyi's eyes went wide.

After considering what the statue meant, he left the chamber and came back to reality from the dream. He sat there, shocked Boluo was gone just like that. The man who cared and watched over him. The man who would tell him what is right and what is wrong in this despicable world was gone. The man who would feel proud of his achievements and ache on his suffering.

His first guardian and his first friend in this world was dead. What transpired was too much for him to come to terms with the reality.

Before Wuyi could calm himself after what he had seen, he felt the pull again; the Statue of Harmony spun once more and pointed, and within its ethereal vision, Wuyi found himself in a hidden chamber in the fort.

Chao was in front of him. He was facing the same man that had attacked Boluo. Chao wore an unsettling grin tinged with disappointment. The confrontation unfolded in that chamber, a fierce battle between Chao and the assailant. The intensity of the fight was palpable as they exchanged stabs and blows. The assailant overpowered Chao like Boluo, so Chao was no match for him.

Despite his valiant efforts, Chao eventually succumbed, going down in the midst of the struggle. Chao was only a Qi initiate level three while the assailant was a Qi initiate level nine.

Before the assailant departed, he confirmed Chao's demise with a few more vicious stabs. After confirming Chao's death, the assailant retreated.

As it happened with Boluo's soul, when Chao's soul left its body, the soul was intercepted again, but this time the hands that intercepted it were two black hands. Before the soul could depart this world, it was brought back to the chamber. Wuyi wasn't ready to let them go. His statues understood this.

Back in the chamber, the Statue of Shadows now appeared just as real as the Statue of Valor; it had made Chao's soul part of it. From it, Wuyi sensed guidance, thoughts, and the care that Chao had once provided. The glow on both statues had diminished a bit, which was a clear indicator that the statues had spent a large amount of energy.

The glow on the Statue of Harmony had diminished too, and just like the statue of shadow and Valor, the statue of Harmony had become real somehow, not ethereal anymore. The only Ethereal statue that remained was the statue of knowledge.

Wuyi understood that the statue of Harmony was like a nucleus that connected every statue to him. His most powerful statue, without any doubt, was the statue of harmony. The harmony statue could take or give energies to any of the statues. All statues did its bidding. To enhance his other statues, this statue had to enhance itself first.

A sorrowful expression seemed to hang on the statue of Harmony's face as if it understood Wuyi's pain. He felt the same message that the Statue of Valor had sent him from the statue of Shadow, "Quidquid vivit est cibus et quilibet cibus est energia." and then the statue of Harmony said the same to Wuyi very gently.

They had overspent energy while intercepting the souls and showing him what transpired to merge with souls; all three statues had to spend a large amount of energy saved over the years and now they were in urgent need of it.

Wuyi understood what it meant and what he had to do.

But he was having a hard time coping with the fact that his two guardians were killed. So, this was why Gao was so calm. He had planned their deaths.

When Wuyi finally came back to reality on the dark hillside, he clutched his hands so tightly that they almost went numb. He didn't consider it a mere dream. He knew what the statue had shown him had happened, and it happened tonight, either while he was breaking through or the statues showed him while it happened.

They spent a lot of energy to show him what he saw. The memories of Boluo's fatal encounter and Chao's struggle haunted him like a haunting nightmare. The chilling drafts of cold air, the glint of the knife, and the ominous assailant were etched vividly in his mind. It was clear that both Boluo and Chao were dead.

Wuyi gathered his belongings and stood. He didn't question his course of action anymore; this world had made decisions for him and decided his path. With determination, he descended from the hill toward the dirt road. This was a modest trade route, frequented by peddlers, but Wuyi knew that if he followed it, it would eventually intersect with the coast road.

His goal was clear: he would follow the road, find the coast road, and make his way home. And, if fate smiled upon him, he would do everything in his power to take revenge for Boluo and Chao.

Utilizing the power of the Statue of Harmony, Wuyi extended his perception to its limits, searching for any sign of horses in the vicinity. However, there were none to be found. Instead, his senses led him to a large wild hog, busy feasting near a massive tree.

The hog was not normal. It was demonic, a lower beast but still demonic. It was the first time he was seeing a demonic beast. Wuyi was thinking if he should fight the hog or escape but then he received feedback of emotions from the hog.

Wuyi was surprised for a minute then he understood something. He did not even need the Statue of Knowledge to figure it out. The feedback of emotions told him everything. Before meeting a demonic, he considered them crazy beings with tainted Qi. But the feedback from the statue of harmony showed him the hog was not really demonic in the true sense.