Chapter 9: The last wish of the pine tree
Year 0189 of the MunYu empire, day 12 of six Moons.
Several days had passed since Lee Yenshu had arrived at the village, he had already made a routine for himself, the kids would come wake him up, one hour before the sunrise, and would train until the sun was at it's peak.
Once the kids training was over, he would eat the food one of Tiaowen's wives had brought over, and start his own training.
After a few hours, Lee Yenshu would go to the village, and help out anywhere he could, sometimes with tending gardens, sometimes helping the butcher, but what the boy most loved to do, was helping the librarian.
Other than Lee Yenshu himself, the librarian was the only other villager who was not a tiger. He wasn't human either, he was a bull demon, bigger than the tigers, and also kinder than anyone. He taught Lee Yenshu about alchemy, and about the legends of the realm.
After that, he would return home, and talk with the wisp of the pine tree about his day, and about all that he had done, and they would talk for hours.
But today was different.
There was no wake up roar from Tiaowen, no kid came to wake him up.
Something was wrong, he could feel a sense of dread, like the world was getting darker, as he woke up by himself, feeling cold, a dark though crossed his mind.
Something had happened to Tiaowen.
Once he thought of that, he rushed to the village, he knew the way well, he was used to taking that route, but now, no mater how fast he rushed, or how much he tried, he could not find the village, in fact, every time he tried to run trough the stone path, he would return to were he started, as if something changed the route just as he walked out.
Lee Yenshu began to think about all of the villagers, all of his friends, his students, Tiaowen, his grandmas, and everyone else...
Would he lose everything again?
Was his life, one that should never see any light? Was he born to be bound to pain, suffering, and to be forever left out?
The skies began to turn red, and a small laugh began to echo in the air.
-Why run little Lee? You know they don't actually like you, don't you? They all think of you as a waste of space, a burden, an intruder.
The ground began to grow darker, the sky more and more tainted with red.
-They are just using you, once the kids learn how to move like you, what use is there for you? The children can teach the next generation, and so on... Why would they feed a useless lump of meat like you?
Lee Yenshu began to feel cold, like all life was being sucked out of him, and the voice grew stronger.
-In fact, I don't even think you have enough meat on you to be used as an appetizer. Your own father sold you for tea leaves. Do you honestly think someone will ever care for you?
As the voice grew stronger, Lee Yenshu grew weaker, and weaker. The world around him was crumbling, and he could feel his life fading.
He realized what was happening, but there was nothing he could do... He was facing his inner demon...and he was losing.
Since Lee Yenshu had yet to awaken all his meridians, and his dantians were not fully matured, he never though a inner demon would attack him, but, the amount of pain he had endured, and the emotional scars his life had given him, contrasted too much with the life we was living in the village, and thus, his inner demon was awaken, from his insecurity, from his disbelieve that he deserved to be that happy. From the guilt he had, from feeling like that. All of those led his inner demon to grow strong enough to attack his mind.
He was still asleep, but the inner demon was trying to take over his body, and he was almost done with that.
On the awaken world, Tiaowen had just broken the door to the house, and found Lee Yenshu laying in bed, sweating, and his Qi was surging in and out of his body.
Above Lee Yenshu, was the Lifebound Life Chronicle, it was trying to regulate the boy's Qi, and trying to reach his inner mind, to help him with the inner demon, but the wisp of the Pine Tree's soul was just too weak to do so.
"Tiaowen, please, this may be the last thing I can do for this kid, I'll use all my remaining soul to reach his inner mind. Please, help him by defeating his inner demon. Help him grow, keep him safe. This is my last wish, to see the one who inherit the soul of the Sage, have a great and happy life. I'll bring his inner demon outside of his inner mind, if you defeat it, it wont erase the demon, but it will give the boy some time, to prepare to defeat him, himself."
The voice of the book reached Tiaowen, who clenched his fists. The last fragment of his old friend was ready to give it all she had, to save that boy, how could he say no. And, that boy, who had suffered so much, that his inner demon was this strong, was in front of him. He wanted to save the boy, with or without the wisp's request.
-I will hear your wish, but I would save this boy nevertheless, you can ask me something else as a last wish. This one does not count.
"Thank you old friend, if so, I ask you to also look after my son, he's still alive, inside the remains of the immortal cave. His roots are strong, in about 10 years, he should be able to sprout again. Make sure no one harm him, and when he's free from his roots, make sure he does not choose the same path as me."
Tiaowen looked at the book, and the smell of the pine tree filled the room. For a moment, it was like the spirit of the pine tree was there, smiling, but that was a short moment. Just as the book started to drag the inner demon out of Lee Yenshu, the only scent that could be sensed, was that of sulfur, death, and decay.
The inner demon took the form of a younger Lee Yenshu, but, it was filled with scars, bruises, and open wounds, festered with worms. The demon laughed as he was out in the world.
-So this is the village this trash has been living in? Nice place, I wonder if you guys were just trying to fat him up before eating. Let me guess? The last training the children would do, was a hunt? They would try to hunt this piece of shit down?
The demon laughed again.
-If so, I don't mind letting you do that, it should be fun, I can even join the hunt! Don't try to eat me tough, I'm pretty sure I'm made of rotten meat!
Something was wrong, Tiaowen could not move, and neither could any of the tigers that were there. Something on that inner demon was keeping everyone at bay, the energy it held, it was way too strong for a mere inner demon.
-I think that stupid tree made a mistake. You all think I'm JUST a inner demon? Lets try it again. Is this kid from this realm? Is he actually human? You saw his life, you read it, would a normal human survive the type of torture he was submitted to, ever since the day he was born?
The air around the inner demon was growing fiercer, and so was the hold he had on the tigers.
-Every single bone of his body was broken at some point, more than once at that. He had several ruptured organs, was left to starve for weeks, and still, he did not die...And all of that, in a world without Qi, without cultivation. People feared him, and for that reason, they treated him worse than any slave, and yet, here he is...Did no one found it odd?
The demon looked at everyone, the smile turning into a bored look.
-You know...I expected more of one of the 4 lords of the forsaken forest...This kid, It's best if you just hand him over to me, let me kill him, it would save a lot of trouble to everyone.
The demon began to jump up and down, with his hands held together, as a child, begging for a new toy.
-You are all too boring. I'll just kill this waste of meat, don't even want his body anymore, I'll just wait for the sage to be reborn again.
Then, the demon turned to kill Lee Yenshu, but, a light shone from the book, more bright than ever before. Piercing the demon forehead, were a third eye was hidden by the messed up hair. With that, the hold the demon had over the tigers was gone, and with a swift move, Tiaowen's claws were covered in a deep red, almost black, blood, and the demon's head laid on the floor, looking at Tiaowen.
-Very good. But all you guys did was save some time. I'll stay inside that little piece of shit, no matter what you all do, he will fall to me, and I will kill him, it's my desti...
Before he could finish anymore sentences, he was crushed by Tiaowen's feet.
It wasn't until a few hours have passed, that Lee Yenshu managed to wake up. The tiger's had already cleaned everything up, but, the feeling around all of them, was still dark.
-What...what happened? I... This one is not a burden is it?
-Again with the "This one" talk. Look, you just faced your inner demon, that's something all of us do, yours is just a bit stronger than usual. You know what you have to do when you fight your inner demons? Kill them before they can open their mouth. For the more they make you doubt, the weaker you get, and the stronger they get.
Tiaowen reached out to Lee Yenshu, and for the first time, hugged him.
-Dont ever call yourself "This one" again, you are Lee Yenshu, and from now on, you are my son, so be proud of that. You are a tiger, that happened to be born as a human. I'm sure we can fix that some day.
Lee Yenshu stayed in Tiaowen's embrace for some time, this time, he did not cry, not because he wasn't happy, but because he didn't want his tears reaching Tiaowen's fur.
After a while, they explained to Lee Yenshu what had happen, they did not talk about what the demon said, Tiaowen made sure to tell everyone that was there to keep it a secret, but they did told him that the wisp of the pine tree's soul had used the last of its power, to save him from the demon.
The book was still active, but, for some reason, had written nothing of what the demon said on his pages. Instead, there was a single message in a otherwise blank page.
"Lee Yenshu, this will be my final gift for you, my final message, and my final wish. I know you want to find ways to restore my soul, and I wont stop you, so, instead of saying good bye, I'll say, see you soon. I wish for you to have a great life, so that you can tell me all about, once you restore my soul. Even if I could just read it myself, I still want to hear it from you. So my last wish is this.
Find a way to restore my soul, and live a happy, great life"
The book had more written after that, about how the demon said he was still inside Lee Yenshu, how Tiaowen told everyone to not discuss what the demon had said, but thankfully, the boy thought he meant only the part of the demon being inside him.
-Tiaowen...Can th...Can I defeat this thing inside me?
Tiaowen crossed his arms and stayed silent.
-Tiaowen?
The silent remained.
-I'm your father, not Tiaowen, ask me the right way.
Lee Yenshu laughed a bit.
-Okay, father, do you think I can defeat this demon?
-Of course you can, I've never seen anyone stronger than you Lee Yenshu. We just have to work on your self esteem, now that you are a tiger, we cant have you having weak thoughts now can we?
Tiaowen was trying to lighten up the mood, but felt, that the barriers and walls that Lee Yenshu had built, would take long to come down. And for once, he was glad that the boy was still a long way from entering the Qi Condensation stage.
-Now, grab your stuff, you're gonna move in to the cave with me. Can't have my son living so far from the village. We will build you a new house, but you'll stay with us until it's finished.
Lee Yenshu followed Tiaowen, he grabbed as much as he could, and began to move to the village, but, he couldn't help but feel that some of the tigers that were with him, were giving him a weird look.
Tiaowen realized that, and glanced at the tigers, the message was clear to all. Today never happened, and should be forgotten. Lee Yenshu was now the new son of the Leader, what meant that he had a lot of siblings now.
-Now that I think about it, if you are now my son, you have a loooottttt of nephews...About 130 if I'm not mistaken... Better start thinking of gifts really fast.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone