Flower Sect, Outer SectA portion of the Outer Sect"s territory had been designated as the residence for the numerous spirit beasts that lived there. Thanks to the young beast tamer Hei, as well as the number one of the Flower Sect"s younger generation, the sect was able to secure a new source of protection.
With the absence of the sect leader and the seven elders, the members of the sect should have been anxious and agitated. However, apart from a slight nervousness due to the absence of their big shots, there wasn"t much agitation. It was due to the presence of the spirit beasts, in particular of the two second-level spirit beast elephants. Thus, the sect members were sufficiently rea.s.sured in case something happened to the sect.
And since these spirit beasts were protecting the sect in place of the sect leader and the elders, the outer and inner members began to bring them leftovers from time to time as a kind of appreciation.
The spirit beasts, given their turbulent past, were wary of humans. However, out of grat.i.tude to the one who had saved them, they decided to make an effort. Therefore, they decided to give humans a chance.
Therefore, the climate of tension between the spirit beasts and humans residing in the Flower Sect was appeased for the time being. Indeed, some spirit beasts began to lend themselves to help humans for manual labor that required brute force. It soon became common to see them grazing the fields.
And yet, that day was different. No matter how hard the sect members tried, none of the spirit beasts could be seen around. It was as if they had all disappeared.
But they weren"t gone. Instead, the spirit beasts had all gathered at a particular point - the heart of their territory. In that place, laid the treasure they were guarding - a dome made of silver-white silk.
Yes, the owners of the spiderweb house had finally returned home. However, what should have been a moment of celebration became a moment of mourning instead.
The mother of their savior, the last specimen of the divine beasts, had died.
A large and deep hole had indeed been dug in front of the spiderweb house. Inside there was the corpse of Bao Bei covered with a myriad of different colored flowers.
Each of the spirit beasts had in fact picked a flower from the various fields around it. Then, they threw it into the hole, paying their respects to the beautiful spider that now was sleeping for eternity.
In front of the hole, with a hard expression on his face, was Hei. Beside him, there was Lian, who was watching Bao Bei being submerged in flowers and holding Ye and Xing, still in pain for losing their mother.
The spirit beasts, once the hole was covered with flowers, began to express themselves in a symphony of verses of pain while they bent their bodies to the ground, giving a last salute to the buried divine beast.
At that point, Hei took a shovel and started to fill the hole with the soil they had moved. Little by little, the flowers and the body of Bao Bei began to be submerged by the soil.
The burial process lasted a long time. Hei wasn"t using his spirit power, nor was he getting help from anyone. He wanted to bury his mother himself, without any kind of help.
Ye and Xing were gripped by grief and despair. Therefore, Hei decided to leave them quiet to cry their mother while Lian took care of them. And apart from them, he wouldn"t have allowed anyone else to help him with his mother"s burial.
When the hole was finally covered, the spirit beasts present began to stand up one by one and then move away. Inside them, they felt that at this moment, the family that lived in the spiderweb house wanted to remain alone in front of the tomb of their lost family member.
And so, before the tomb of Bao Bei, Hei knelt down with his hands outstretched and his head touching the ground. At his side, Lian a.s.sumed his position, as did the little spider and the little snake, despite their different bodies.
A whole day pa.s.sed, and the four were still there before the tomb. They hadn"t even risen from their position for a moment. Whether it was for eating, drinking, or doing their needs, Hei, Lian, Xing, and Ye hadn"t moved, ignoring everything.
The spirit beasts that dwelt there checked on them from time to time, worried by their behavior. In particular, it was Shui and Mi who were the most anxious about them. After all, they were the ones who were more familiar with Hei and his family. Moreover, the death of Bao Bei had hit them hard as well. However, they decided to stay aside with the others, letting Hei and his family metabolize the pain in their own was and according to their times.
In the end, though, Hei got up. His face was ashen and had two large dark circles. It wasn"t just that day that he didn"t sleep. To get home as quickly as possible, he had through the Forest Kingdom day and night without ever stopping, except to let his little sisters eat and take a short break.
"Ye, Xing, Lian. Let"s go home, get some rest."Hei exclaimed, looking at his family with wet eyes.
The three replied with a nod, and together they returned to the spiderweb house. For the first time in Hei and his little sisters" life, they would have slept without their mother, without being able to feel her warmth and her heartbeat.
And indeed, even if they tried to force themselves, they couldn"t sleep.
"Are you awake?" Hei asked as he lay on the floor as he watched the ceiling of the spiderweb house. Through the resealable hole at the top, he could, in fact, observe the starry night sky. It was really an incredible sight. And yet, that sight only made him more melancholy.
"Yes, big brother." Xing and Ye answered together. Lian, on the other hand, remained silent, but she was awake as well. Although she was sad about the death of Bao Bei, Lian knew that the pain she was experiencing wasn"t comparable to what Hei, Ye, and Xing were experiencing. For that reason, she decided to remain at their side in silence.
But even if her pain wasn"t as big as theirs, she could easily understand their moods. After all, she, too, had lost her parents. So she knew the feeling of loss that one felt and how the world completely lost its color.
"Now that Mother isn"t here, I"m afraid. A crazy fear of living and moving forward. Even though I know what I have to do, at the same time, I don"t know. No, it is more correct to say that I am afraid of doing it. Inside of me, I wish I could stay here forever. Sleep and wake up, finding mom next to us. However, it isn"t what she would like. She would like us to go ahead. But I can"t do it alone. This is why I need you. I need you, Ye. I need you, Xing. I need you, Lian. I need the three of you. So don"t leave me, okay? For no reason, please."
At that point, hot tears came down from Hei"s eyes, wetting his cheeks. His plea contained his most sincere emotions. He didn"t want to lose anyone else anymore. But above all, he didn"t want to be alone. He couldn"t imagine losing another member of his family. No, perhaps it was likely he wouldn"t be able to recover if he suffered the same wound again.
Lian then stood up. She picked up delicately Ye and Xing from the ground and then approached Hei. Laying the two little spirit beasts on Hei"s chest, Lian sat next to him and took Hei"s head to place it over her legs. Then she began to rub the hair of the young boy in despair gently.
"I promised I would protect you. That I would protect all of you. That I would take care of you. Therefore, don"t be sad. I, Ye, and Xing, we will never leave you. We will always be with you until the end."
The young girl said in a confident voice as she slowly lowered herself to kiss Hei on the forehead.
Feeling the warmth of Lian"s soft lips on his forehead, Hei closed his eyes as his pounding heart began to calm down. At the same time, he could feel his little sisters approaching his face.
"Yes, the three of us will always be together." (Ye)
"Whatever happens. We will never leave each other until the end of our days." (Xing)
Thus, feeling on himself the warmth of the three dearest beings he had, Hei began to feel asleep and let himself be abandoned to the embrace of Lian and his two little sisters.
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The next day, Hei woke up when it was around noon. When he opened his eyes, last night"s memories began to cross his mind. Even if he didn"t wish to reveal his weak and pathetic side, he couldn"t do otherwise. Fear and pain had overwhelmed him to that point.
And yet, even though only several hours had pa.s.sed, his mood was completely different. He still felt pain and fear for tomorrow, but now he had something he could rely on. No, that wasn"t right. He had always had it; only he hadn"t noticed.
Looking around, he noticed that his little sisters were still above his chest, sleeping peacefully. Lian also slept but remained in her sitting position. Although it wasn"t a comfortable position to sleep, she didn"t flinch and remained in that position to avoid disturbing his sleep and those of his two little sisters.
"Thanks, Lian," Hei whispered, touching her hair gently.
After that, he carefully took his two little sisters and laid them on the ground, letting them sleep. Then he got up and slowly moved Lian"s body to the ground, making her sleep next to Ye and Xing.
Watching the three of them sleeping so peacefully, Hei smiled. Then, he came out of the spiderweb house.
Since it was already midday, the rays of the sun reached his face violently, blinding him for a few seconds. Once he got used to the sunlight, Hei opened his eyes, taking a big mouthful of air. Strangely, the air he breathed had a different taste than he usually felt. It was as if he had become a different person, but nothing had changed outside. Only his emotions had changed. Yet they were enough to make him different from how he was yesterday.
With firm steps, Hei went to his mother"s grave and sat down in front of her.
"Good morning, mom. How are you? We aren"t well. We miss you. But we are moving forward. Lian is supporting us to the best of her ability, and little by little, I, Ye, and Xing are accepting the reality of things. Nevertheless, as Gaiya said, as long as we carry your memory with us, you won"t disappear.
So don"t worry. We"ll be okay, I promise. Now I know how to proceed. First of all, we need to understand how we can reach the Continent and prepare for the journey. When we are there, I will begin to study the history and customs of the place. Surely, it will be difficult at the beginning, but somehow we will do. We will become stronger and stronger to protect each other and, at the same time, try to find information on Dad.
If Dad falls in the same case as Gaiya, then perhaps he is also hidden on a Secret Dimension. And in that case, we still have to be strong enough to get inside. But even so, we"ll make it. You built the foundations of our strength in a way that couldn"t be better. Now it"s up to us to erect the ladder that will take us to the pinnacle of this world.
I"ll succeed. I will find Father, I will get revenge for both of you, and I will put an end to all this conflict, and I will save the world. And when I"m done, I"ll come back to you. With Ye, Xing, and Lian. And we can finally live together forever.
I don"t think I"ve ever told you, mother. But I want to thank you for saving me that night. For letting me come into the world. For making me be your son and giving me a family. Thank you for everything, Mom."
Hei laid his hand on the ground. Somehow, he seemed to be touching the body of Bao Bei and to feel her smile and her hug. Yes, his mother was inside him.
At that point, Hei stood up. By now, he had decided, and no longer, he would be hesitant and unsure. It was now time to start preparing themselves and saying goodbye to the place where he had spent 14 years of his life.