Eternal Gate [ Special Edition ]: The way of the Sword

by William Bill

  The girl found his pestering annoying and thought why he can't just mind his own business.

  But the boy didn't give up, "But this fruit is not stupid. It is called the 'Blissful Fruit' because it's said that it will cleanse your heart of all worries and make you happy again." The boy innocently said.

  "And what do you know about my worries or problems? You don't even know me. Stop being nosy and just mind your business and go away before I teach you a lesson." The girl got pissed off at his obstinate meddlesomeness.

  She even decided to throw him off with her strength if he continued his pestering. After all, she was quite confident that no one of her same age group could be a match for her.

  But the boy didn't get afraid hearing her threat and still continued, "Then I will just keep the fruit here in front of you. You can eat it whenever you want. I will sit and wait here for you."

  The girl finally got fully pissed off seeing his annoying behavior. She had come here for some fresh air with her father. Her mother had just recently died and she was having a hard time coping with it. All she wanted was some alone time to herself but didn't expect to get pestered by a kid. And seeing his innocent smile only made her more angry.

  Losing her loving and caring mother at such a young age, she wasn't able to take it. She felt as if a huge void was left in her heart. She came here to reminisce her memories with her mother, how she played with her, how she never got angry despite all her naughty antics, how she took care of her every single day no matter what and most of all, the love she showered on her every second of her life.

  She regretted that she did not spend more time with her mother during all these years as she understood that one wouldn't know the value of what they have unless they lose it.

  "You just won't learn do you?" She scowled at the boy as she started circulating her ethereal energy within her body to push the boy away.

  But when her senses spread she was shocked to find out that the boy had practically no ethereal energy at all! In other words, she realized that he was a cripple!

  She instantly stopped circulating her ethereal energy and got scared realizing that she would have almost dealt a deadly blow to the boy had she not known about this fact.

  The boy was just a seven year old crippled boy. His body was basically mortal. So how would he be able to handle a blow from someone who has ethereal strength?

  If she didn't stop her casual attack, the boy wouldn't die but at the same time he would end up in a miserable state.

  Her anger and irritation was instantly snuffed out just as she realized this. She suddenly felt pity and sympathy for the boy. She wondered how he could keep such a smile when he himself was cursed with such a cruel fate.

  Even though she was just an eight year old kid, she knew how the cultivation world basically worked. Forget about being crippled, if one did not even have an elemental talent or have an elemental seed, they would be ostracized and treated as trash.

  She had never seen a cripple before and the boy was the first person.

  So she mused how much the boy would have suffered or will suffer in the future because of his condition. No one would accept him anywhere, no one would marry him, no one would care about him.

  When she calmed down, she realized that she was being silly by being angry at someone who only wanted to help her.

  She was amazed how the boy wasn't fazed by his condition and instead was trying to help others. She felt that she was inferior to him in that aspect.

  "I-I am...s-sorry." She said in a low mosquito voice.

  The boy was puzzled seeing the 180 degree change in her expression. First she got angry at him but now she was apologizing to him?

  But he still gave a cute smile and said, "You don't have to apologize for taking this fruit. I don't mind giving it away to someone who needs it. You need it more than me anyway."

  She didn't know whether to laugh or cry seeing the boy misunderstand her apology. But she was impressed by his generous and compassionate behavior.

  She wiped her snot with her cute hands and finally took the fruit placed beside her. But she paused for a moment and turned her head to look at the boy.

  She knew how much this fruit was worth and for her it may be as cheap as well. But seeing the boy's clothes and bearing, she knew that he must not be coming from a well off family.

  "I...don't need it. I am fine now. You can take it back. I have plenty of these back at my home."

  "No, no, I can't take back something I have given away. Even if you have some at your home, you have to eat it now. My father said that if one stays sad for a long time, their heart would turn black...and I don't want to see your heart turn black. It should stay as red as an apple."

  The girl didn't know whether to believe it or not. She had never heard of someone's heart turning black just because they were sad for too long. But seeing the seriousness in the boy's words, she started worrying if her heart was already turning black.

  Seeing her hesitation, the boy said, "Go on...eat it. It must be very tasty. People wouldn't spread lies about it's effects." He said with a pure smile.

  Chapter 44: The Boy and The Girl (2/2)

  By his words, she realized that the boy has not even tried eating this fruit before. This was probably the first time he got this fruit and he still wants to give it away to some stranger?

  Knowing that the boy wouldn't let her give the fruit back, she started nibbling on the fruit slowly as she relished its taste.

  The boy's eyes sparkled and smiled seeing that the girl finally started eating the fruit.

  "How is it? Isn't it tasty? Aren't you feeling better now?" The boy asked earnestly.

  The fruit wasn't named as the 'Blissful Fruit' for nothing. When she started eating it, the taste of the fruit was so good that she momentarily even got distracted from her sadness as she immersed in its taste.

  The taste made her happy and blissful and soon enough she gobbled up the whole fruit within seconds.

  But after finishing the fruit, she realized her behavior and manners were totally that of a glutton.

  Her face turned red with embarrassment and didn't try to meet the boy's gaze.

  But the boy was happy that she liked the fruit seeing her expression and how fast she ate it.

  "It...was good...thank you." The girl said shyly.

  "You are welcome hehe. If only I had more of those, I could have given you more." The boy seemed sad that he only had one of those fruits. Otherwise, he thought he could have made her more happy by giving her more Blissful Fruits.

  "No, no. I don't need any more now. I am already happy thanks to you." The girl said as she showed a sweet smile as radiant as the moonlight.

  She realized that her mood had gotten way better after this boy came to her with the fruit. She then completely understood that the boy only genuinely wanted to help her.

  "I am sorry for my harsh words earlier. It was just that I—"

  The boy waved his hands as he interrupted, "Don't apologize. All that matters is that you are feeling better hehe. My name's Damien, what's yours?" The boy asked curiously.

  The girl hesitated for a bit before saying, "My name is...Flora."

  The boy smiled, "Flora? That's a very nice name. No wonder your smile is as elegant and beautiful as the flowers."

  ——-

  Flora and Damien played together thereafter for a whole month of their stay. They got very close and Flora also came to know that Damien grew up without a mother. Her sympathy only increased for him when she realized that he also had to grow up without a mother's love.

  Damien didn't know anything about Flora's real background as she was under the pretense of being a merchant's daughter.

  Flora's father was none other than the Emperor of the Rong Empire, Roland Rong in disguise!

  He had come here to let his daughter wash away her grief and sadness by getting some fresh country air. But he did not expect her mood to get better this fast. He noticed Damien approaching h
is daughter but he wanted to see if Damien could achieve some kind of miracle and he did!

  He also saw a man standing some distance away from the kids. He had seen before that this man had come here with Damien, probably his father.

  Just as Flora and Damien got comfortable and friendly with each other, their fathers also striked a conversation amongst them and soon enough even they became friends.

  Damien's father had no idea of Roland Rong's identity since Roland Rong only introduced himself as a passing by merchant traveling with his daughter.

  Roland Rong decided to stay for at least a month in an nearby inn so that his daughter can completely return to her normal self.

  Damien's father also decided to stay for a month seeing how Damien also finally had a nice playmate who didn't judge or bully him. Damien's father brought Damien outside since he didn't want Damien to always stay cooped up inside his own family estate.

  Flora genuinely wanted to help Damien with his condition. So she asked her father if there was any way to fix Damien's condition.

  But being a powerhouse himself, he had already scanned Damien's ethereal system from top to bottom and only could shake his head helplessly. He told Flora about Damien's exact crippled condition and that it was beyond any repair.

  Flora was crestfallen hearing that it was impossible to fix Damien's ethereal core points. But she didn't give up and wanted to help him in certain other ways.

  Seeing his daughter's expression, Roland Rong knew what she was thinking and said, "Don't worry. After we return to the capital, I will help the Ward Family and also make sure that Damien gets the best teachings from a true alchemy expert."

  Flora's crestfallen expression turned into a happy one hearing her father's promise.

  'My father is the best.' Flora now knew why she always felt that she could depend on her father.

  But soon one month passed and Roland Rong had to return back to the Imperial Capital since there were many affairs and things to manage as an Emperor.

  Flora was very reluctant in leaving and even pleaded to her father to stay for a bit longer. Roland Rong almost gave in seeing his daughter reluctant to leave. But he somehow made Flora understand about the urgency to return since even the one month he decided to stay was too long after all.

  "Damien, would you ever come by the Imperial Capital?" Flora earnestly asked before saying goodbye to Damien.

  Damien also was not happy to leave since he had finally found a true friend he enjoyed being with. He has never had such fun and enjoyment with any other kids in his life. Flora was his first true friend, just as Damien was Flora's.

  He had a low-spirited expression as he said, "I...don't think my father would ever visit the Imperial Capital. It's too expensive for us to even stay there for a single day." But suddenly his eyes flashed and said, "But I will grow up to be a great alchemist teacher and join the Alchemist Society in the Imperial Capital. That way I can come see you again." He beamed.

  Flora was dejected hearing Damien's first half of his sentence but when she heard how he aspired to be a great teacher in alchemy, she didn't know what to think.

  As far as she knows, the Alchemist Society was an exalted organization that only accepts the best of the best. She couldn't imagine them even hiring a cripple to clean their doorsteps.

  But she didn't want to discourage Damien and said, "Then I will wait for you." She said with a smile. "I will try to come to Moonstone City if I can. But you should still remember your promise, okay? Let's do a pinkie promise."

  Damien smiled till his ears, "Of course. I won't go back on my words. One day I will definitely come see you again. Pinkie promise." Damien twisted his little finger around Flora's as they sealed their promise.

  She didn't tell Damien anything about her father planning to help them since she doesn't want Damien to think that he owes her.

  As Flora was leaving, she saw Damien's figure getting farther and farther and muttered to herself, "Damien, don't worry, I will help you achieve your dreams."

  Chapter 45: You Can Take Them All

  Damien and Lily talked and reminisced about their childhood memories as time passed swiftly.

  "Do you know how badly I wanted to ask you how you ended up at that wretched place? How you are feeling now? How much you had to go through or what happened to your father?" Lily's voice softened at the end.

  Damien sighed, "My father is dead. He was poisoned by my uncle. Then my cousin and my uncle tried to kill me by throwing me away in some remote area where no one would even know who I was. But as luck would have it, my cousin got killed by some bandits who then sold me off to the slave market. But trust me, I am fine now."

  The way Damien said it was as if he was talking about somebody else.

  But in truth, Damien actually didn't feel much sadness or anger for his adopted father's death since he wasn't the one who actually experienced those memories. He just felt it a pity that such a good man had to die like that. But if his adopted father was still alive, he would have at least tried to save him.

  Nor did he feel indignant or angry for being abandoned by his real parents since he was always an orphan even in his previous life. He was beyond that phase and had gotten used to this life where he learned not to expect things from others. But that did not mean he was not curious about his real family. He wanted to seek some answers from them after all.

  But Lily was so shocked and sad that Damien had to face this all alone without anyone to help him. She regretted for not being there for Damien when he needed her. Damien was there for her in the lowest point of her life during her childhood. She didn't know whether Damien really meant when he said he's fine.

  But due to her father's untimely death and all the problems that came after it, she never got the time to go look for Damien. However, she would still think about Damien whenever she was sad or dejected, remembering his innocent and cheerful smile felt like a ray of light within all the darkness surrounding her.

  "I am sorry I wasn't there for you…" Lily said as her eyes grew moist again.

  She continued, "Who is your uncle? I will see to it that he gets punished and make sure you get your rightful place back." Lily said while gritting her teeth.

  Damien felt heartened seeing how much Lily cared for him. It has been a long time since somebody genuinely cared for his well being. This is why he wanted to find out what troubles Lily was facing. For some reason he didn't want her to suffer alone while enjoying her care and concern.

  But now it all made sense to him. Before, he did not understand why he wanted to know about Lily's troubles when he saw her depressed expression. After all, her troubles weren't his concern. He already had his own personal problems to deal with.

  Damien thought that only a business kind of relationship existed between them where each party needed something from the other. But other than that, they have no need to care about each other's personal matters.

  But seeing her sad with a despondent expression, Damien felt that he had to at least ask something. He thought that maybe it was because Lily was treating him well, he felt like being nice to her.

  Still he didn't expect such a reveal. A childhood friend? Intense emotions flashed through his eyes as he remembered memories about Sofie from his past life.

  Sofie was his childhood friend in his previous life...his only true friend during his most helpless times...when there was no one to care about him...when nobody cared whether he lived or died.But she was the only one who picked him up from the streets and saved him from dying because of hunger and starvation.

  He knew that Lily was not Sofie and the only thing these two girls were related to him were by being his childhood friends, but just not at the same place and at the same time.

  He wondered how he would have ended up in his previous life had Sofie ignored him.

  Seeing Lily cry before, he knew her troubles weren't simple. Maybe it was even too dangerous and troublesome for him to handle now.

  But he still di
dn't want to let anything bad happen to Lily. His heart was screaming from within to help her. He couldn't remember the last time he felt such a feeling. A feeling to help someone this badly.

  Damien knew that it was not because he was in love with Lily that he felt such feelings. But especially after learning that Lily is his childhood friend, he knew that he had already started seeing her as his true friend.

  Even though he did not experience his childhood in this life, it was still him, in soul and body. And now Lily was right in front of him. So how could he ignore her?

  Damien shook his head and smiled, "It's not your fight. Besides, my uncle's son is dead. I want him to suffer for a while learning about that fact. Anything that comes after that, I will take care of myself."

  "But, as your friend I can't bear to see you being abandoned by your own family. I can even easily make you the young patriarch of your Ward family. They wouldn't dare disobey me." Lily said in a scathing tone.

  "I am happy that you want to help me but I don't really care about them since there is no one I care about left in that family. Let them rot on their own. Moreover, being here is really helping me increase my chances of getting into the Alchemist Society. If I go back to the Ward family, don't you think I would just be going further away from my dreams?" Damien asked rhetorically.

  Actually Damien planned to pay a visit to his so-called uncle and especially the slave market once he had raised his cultivation to a certain extent. How could he let them off easily when they almost killed him?

  But he didn't want Lily to know about all that stuff. He probably thought that Lily still thinks of him as a nice guy. Only he knew how much different he was from the first time Lily met him.

  Lily had a pondering expression as she felt that what Damien said makes sense. She also realized that she could help him more since Damien was within her sight.

  Lily sighed, "Fine. But you have to tell me if you need any help. Also, you can take any medicinal ingredients you want from my inner courtyard. You can take them all. I can easily replace them."