Chapter 338: Father Figure
338 Father Figure
"You prepare first and come to my house tomorrow," Alex said to Evelyn.
"Yes." Evelyn nodded her head as she came back to Song Yu"s house.
"Well, it is not night yet, but should we drink? We can drink in my house." Charya asked.
"Sure."
They went together to the fourth house in the mountain. It seemed she had been living there for a while. And from the look of it, it was right after Song Yu and Putri left the sect.
And it turned out he was right. When he came to the house, she did not come back to the peak of the mountain to grab a wine. It was because she already had it in this house.
Considering both of her disciples had left for their own journey, of course, Charya would be the one who got hit by it the most.
"We are going to drink this wine first since yours would be too much, and we can"t enjoy it," Charya said while bringing her favorite wine jar. She poured the wine for him and gave it to him.
"Alright." Alex nodded as he received the wine. They toasted with each other and drank the wine before Charya started reminiscing.
"You know what, Song Yu was not like that when I met her for the first time. She felt like she was giving up on life and only did something because it was her duty.
"She was only a 3-Star Martial Grandmaster back then. But with her age, that talent was really abnormal. I did not know whether it was normal or not on the other continent. But on this continent, it was not normal.
"Looking at her was like looking the me back when I was a brat. Back then, the previous sect master had taken me in and taught me how to cultivate. Well, you could say that he was like a father to me… for me, who was only an orphan.
"He taught me to get stronger and to get another purpose in my life. He took care of my mess and everything. I think this is what he felt back then.
"When I made trouble in some places, he would worry about my well-being. And when I got some achievement, he would be overjoyed. It was true when someone said, "you never know how important a person is until you lose them."
"I truly felt it when he died because of old age. I was so devastated at that time and did not know what to do with my life. I realized I had been relying on him, and he… he was my everything. I was wandering around without any direction until I met Song Yu.
"At that time, I felt I wanted to be someone like him. I offered Song Yu a place, and she became my disciple. Watching her growth truly made me proud, and whenever she went somewhere for a mission, my heart was full of worry.
"I thought it must be that way for my old man. Not long after, the current sect master offered me to become a sect elder. And I accepted since my old man was the previous sect master and he loved the sect so much. So, I thought I should also protect this sect.
"Then, one year later, Song Yu brought Putri. Although Putri did not have any noteworthy talent at that time, with Song Yu there, she slowly showed her talent. Finally, at that time, I decided to ask her to become my disciple too.
"Long story short, teaching them, and watching them grow up really a good thing. It was a bit sad to see them fly away, but I know I should not impose my will for them and cage them here. This is for the best, and I am sure the old man is smiling too."
Alex looked at her. He remembered his teacher back in the lower world. He was sure that his master also felt this way.
"I also have a teacher…" Alex paused a little bit as he sipped the wine. "I was a very… very rock bottom, my strength aside, my personality is a mess.
"I had a family, but… it… was a bad family. Anyway, because of my living condition, I did not have any confidence in myself, and with just a little kindness from others, I became too dependent on them.
"At that time, I finally got a teacher who became the father figure that I lost for a long time. He knew that if he took a wrong step, I might become too dependent on him.
"So, he did not protect me. He wanted me to deal with the problem I could solve myself. He wanted me to mature and break the cage that trapped me for many years. He must have felt pain when he did that, but for me, he also chose to bear that pain together with me.
"Although he did not protect me from the front, he was a father that continuously supported me from the back. He did everything to ensure I could continuously progress without stopping. He used everything he had to support me.
"And because he knew he needed an unreasonable amount of money to raise the abnormal me, he worked to the bone to get every single money he needed to raise me. I never thought about it back then, but when I slowly matured up, I knew he did it just for me.
"Without him, I might never become the way I am now. I truly could not thank him enough. If I had another chance to meet him again, I want to say how grateful I am and how much I love him." Alex said.
He remembered every scene with Dean Marco, his teacher. He knew that his teacher was making pills every day just to get money in case he needed it.
"Haha… It seems we are truly indebted to them." Charya said.
"Yeah."
They continued to talk until night. Having a chat like this might be good from time to time. And when they drank Alex"s wine, Charya did not use her Spiritual Energy to refine the energy. She just let herself drunk through the night.
Alex was different though. He did not even need to use his Spiritual Energy to refine it as his Pure Fire immediately came out and refined it themselves. With his current speed and the wine, he should be able to reach 2-Star Martial Lord before going to the Thiveapia Kingdom.
He also needed to refine the Crystal Skin Pills to raise some money again. Sherry and Kyle did not want his wine since they thought Alex should be the one who drank it. They were satisfied with Spirit Stones and Alex"s gathering array.
He would make a rank 5 Gathering Array as soon as he could. Well, it was still a long way though.
Anyway, his target was 2-Star Martial Lord and refined a thousand sets of Crystal Skin Pill. He would not have a shortage of Spirit Stones for a while.
After taking care of the drunken Charya, he went back to his house.
"Mmm…" Charya was dreaming about her disciples.
She was dreaming about the scene from a few days ago where Putri told her she wanted to leave.
Putri suddenly came to her when she was wondering how her progress.
But when Putri came, she said, "Master. I am sorry, but I want to leave the sect and go on my own journey."
"…" Charya was obviously startled when she heard that. She would never expect that Putri suddenly wanted to leave for her own journey just two months after the incident. "Why do you want to leave?"
"I… I basically force Al- I mean, Master Alex, to receive me as his disciple. I took advantage of the situation and his kindness. I will be too ashamed to say or even use the technique he taught me openly. I want to go on my own journey so I can get stronger faster."
Charya looked at her serious expression. She knew that she should not prevent her from going. It was time for her to soar in the sky. "Alright. I won"t prevent you from doing so. Just remember, this will always be your home, and I am not going anywhere. So, if you are tired, you can come back to this place to rest."
Putri"s eyes glazed a bit as tears slowly appeared on the corner of her eyes. She knew how important Charya and Song Yu were in her heart. She could not bring herself to tell Song Yu about this, so she only told Charya.
"Master, I am truly thankful to you… thank you for what you have done for me this whole time." Putri kneeled in front of her.
Charya helped her up and hugged her. "It is alright. I know you will be fine. You would easily trust someone before. But now you have matured a bit so I won"t need to worry about you. Take everything you have learned in this place and make your name out there."
"Yes." Putri cried in Charya"s embrace. Charya also let out tears in the parting. After saying goodbye to her, Putri finally left.
The dream then changed to a few days later when Song Yu came to her.
It was the same as Putri. She was also planning to leave.
"Master, I want to pa.s.s you something." Song Yu came with a s.p.a.ce ring in her hand. She gave it to Charya.
"What is this?" Charya was obviously confused.
"This is the thing I promised Alex a few days ago. I wish Master could give this to Alex when he comes back."
"Why? You should be able to give it to him yourself. Why… Don"t tell me you are going too?"
"Too?"
"Putri left a few days ago for her own journey," Charya said with a bit sadness. "So, you are going too?"
"I…" Song Yu paused a bit while looking down. After a while, she raised her head and nodded. "Yes. I think I should go back to the Northern Continent. I thought I could make it until the tournament before I left.
"This Junior Brother of mine truly surprised me. I decided to go back early so I can make better preparations. And by his talent, I am sure he will go to the Northern Continent in a few years. So, I need to go back earlier than I expected. After all, I will still be his reliable Senior Sister."
Charya knew there must be another reason. Song Yu was her first disciple, and they shared almost everything. She knew Song Yu came from a pretty well-known family in the Northern Continent.
But in her eyes, she was just a little girl. Charya only closed her eyes, "Go, change your fate. You are not a little brat like back then. I believe you can do what you want."
Song Yu smiled as she heard that. "Master, do you remember when we first met? Whether I face a good thing or a sad thing, I should laugh it off. It truly changed me for the better.
"I am glad you were the one who I met back then. Thank you… Hehe…hehehe…hehehu…huhuhu…" Song Yu tried to laugh it off as she did not want to have a sad goodbye. But she just controlled herself as her tears started coming out.
"Idiot. You are really still a little brat." Charya hugged her and stroked her hair. "You can come back to this place whenever you want. Don"t worry about Alex in this continent. I will be sure to watch him. If he comes to the Northern Continent, you will be the one who watches him for me."
"Of course, I am his Senior Sister after all."
"I don"t know where Putri is, but if she comes to the Northern Continent. Make sure to take care of her for me, okay?"
"Yes. I will visit you every now and then after I finish my business." Song Yu said.
Charya only closed her eyes and smiled. "Yeah. I will always wait for you."