“You’ve been permitted to learn the Frozen Heart cultivation method from warrior Jiansu. Now go on, I have matters to attend to in the inner sanctum.” Xue Bing Lie said and waved him off at the gate.
Dejiu clasped his hands—hand and bowed. “Before I leave, can I ask where to go to get my hand back?”
“Ask Warrior Jiansu.” Xue Bing Lie said bluntly and returned a quick bow.
Dejiu kept his head low and his back straight until the massive stone gate shut before him. Then his face twitched and he scowled. Yep. Let’s just send the young monk back without addressing his missing hand. He’ll be fine! He’ll be busy learning the cultivation method he should have already known!
“Don’t forget the soul injury. It would serve you well not to curry ire at your weakest. You may have reached the Advanced Stage, but you’re still no more than a pile of dog shit. A little shinier, but shit nonetheless.” Bing Xin said after a short absence.
He was almost happy to hear his personal daimon return. Actually, no, he did feel little happy. It was better than that Arhat disciple. However, the fact that she talked the moment the gate to the inner sanctum closed didn't go unnoticed by him.
“Back?”
“Indeed. I can’t risk that Abbott and his fingers from discovering me.” She said as she manifested herself. Shadows swirled from behind him and he saw a hand clutch his shoulders.
“Fingers?” He asked and puzzledly narrowed his eyes at the black-veiled woman. He needed to remind himself that others couldn’t see her like this. It was still strange, this presence only he could see.
“The ten Arhats.” She answered.
“I see. I’m just going to assume that I should not enter the inner sanctum any time soon.”
“Not soon.” She echoed.
He nodded, a mistake because his headache rose again. “Agh! How much longer until this soul injury is over?”
“About a week if you consistently sleep. Ah, but we’ll do this again next week. And the following week.”
“...Until I can sense my soul.” He muttered a curse and headed for his shared sleeping chamber. Even after sleeping which she said was pacifying his agitated and injured soul, he didn’t feel all too great. Especially with how Xue Bing Lie decided to travel faster using his ice.
“Hey, what do I do about not being able to learn the Frozen Heart cultivation method?”
“It'll do nothing more than bring conflict to what you've already learned. You have two choices if you are ever confronted about it. One, you can feign ignorance, even weakness. Two, you can be so boisterous and adamant that you’re capable of creating your own Path to enlightenment.”
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Dejiu frowned. “Feign ignorance or audacious declare my own Path to enlightenment, huh?”
“Yes,” She replied. “Both are shields. The former deflects suspicion. The latter commands it to retreat entirely. Your choice depends on how much trouble you wish to invite.”
A smirk curled on his lips. “I’ll keep that in mind. But don’t expect me to play meek for long.”
His frown dissolved into a quiet resolve. It wasn’t about the Frozen Heart cultivation method, boisterous declarations, or even subtle lies. It was about him. No matter the conflict or path chosen, Dejiu knew one truth — his strength would make the words of others meaningless. It's the entire reason he cultivated in the first place.
“The choice is yours. Though, do take heed of how soon you’ll be forced to decide.”
He raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“If you’re permitted to learn the Frozen Heart cultivation method, you’ll be joining the others your age in the training halls.”
“...”
Sadly, this should’ve been something he realized when Xue Bing Lie mentioned it. Shifting his gaze past the haze of falling snow, he spotted the distant training hall for junior monks. Inside, there was a majority of his misgivings of the temple. Training. Cultivating. Bickering. All without Dejiu. It’s been about six years since he was driven away from regular classes because of how slow he was. How much he held back the class as a Low Initiate without a cultivation method against Mid or even High Initiates.
Yep. Not fun. Not one bit. However, he's already caught up to most of them. Probably. It's been a while since he's got a feel for how strong they are. Morning prayers alone weren’t enough for him to gauge their strength. His senses simply weren't on that level. He didn’t even stay in their vicinity because he’d long grown tired of having to listen to obnoxious ramblings about their advancements or how many treasures their teachers and mentors obtained for them. Pah! Some monks they were. Flaunting everything and anything.
“A while since you got a feel? A feel?” Bing Xin laughed. “Don't you mean the beatings they would give you?”
“Not my fault! Most of them were 12 or 13 while I was 7!” His expression turned flustered. “While you were hiding from the Abbott, I could’ve used a little help!”
“Should've succeeded in stealing those hell shards when you were a wee boy. Had you absorbed them, I would've been able to form words. To teach you earlier and make you strong enough to slap them helplessly across the face.”
He huffed and went down the outer monastery’s corridors. “Not that it matters now. They stopped beating me up ever since Teacher Jiansu brought the matter up to the Senior Monks.”
Dejiu looked up as he reminisced. “Well, if they were proper monks, they would not have gone against the temple’s magnanimous teachings in the first place. Perhaps they’ll grovel at my feet to show their remorse.”
“...Not all people are like that. Even in this temple.”
He opened the door to his shared room. Expecting to find Teacher Jiansu inside, he frowned when he found the room empty. No matter. Welp, straight to the training hall it is then.
Spotting his spare kasaya robe, he undressed and finally changed into a fresh pair. He also changed the bandages around his stump of a right hand.
“In due time.” He said with a nod. “With my soul injury and missing hand, I’ll feign incompetence. Can’t get into a fight here.”
