Chapter 125: Don’t Grieve for Me

Chapter 125: Don’t Grieve for Me Stunned by the revelation of a possible cornea transplant in this demonic cultivation world, Lordi Payne’s mind raced. "Anyway, why didn’t Yunny receive the surgery?" he wondered, his gaze fixed on the goatskin scroll detailing Cain and Soraya Hanzwart’s final wish. Drawing on memories from his previous life—a thirty-year existence in a world of science—he recalled that a cornea, once removed, remained viable for only six weeks in a nutrient vial. In this medieval, demon-haunted Abyss Pit Sect, preservation techniques would be even less reliable. The healers at Stronghold Clinic likely urged an immediate transplant after Yunny’s parents’ deaths, but the decision rested with her temporary guardians—the family of three. For reasons unknown, they chose to delay, or worse, to deny her the surgery. "Was it the cost?" Lordi muttered, his voice hoarse. He glanced around Pond House, its ornate furniture and intricate decor betraying the wealth Yunny’s parents had left behind. "No, money wasn’t the issue. They inherited a fortune." A chilling realization struck him, twisting his gut. The family hadn’t just delayed the surgery—they had sabotaged it. The nutrient vial containing Cain and Soraya’s corneas, meant to restore Yunny’s sight, had been poured into the stone fish tank, where the goldfish now swam. The act was a deliberate, monstrous betrayal. "Damn these monsters!" Lordi cursed inwardly, rage and sorrow warring within him. He turned to Yunny’s spirit, her small form in the tattered red dress trembling beside the fish tank. "Yunny, your mommy and daddy wanted to be your eyes," he said softly, his voice breaking. "They wanted to stay with you forever." Gently, he helped her lower the stone fish tank to the floor, kneeling opposite her. "I’m Lordi Payne, a disciple of the Abyss Pit Sect, a friend of your parents’ clan. Do you know their final wish?" The girl, her eyeless sockets closed, lifted her head, her innocent features a stark contrast to the horrors she’d endured. "Your parents wished for you to grow up safe and healthy," Lordi continued, his body trembling under the poison’s relentless agony, each word a struggle. "They dreamed of your boundless happiness, hoping you’d see the wonders of this world through their eyes." His voice faltered, the weight of his failing body pressing down. "I’m sorry, Yunny. I wanted to keep my promise—to hunt down those who hurt you, to see them punished, and then to explore this world’s wonders together. But I’m dying. I can’t..." Their hands gripped the fish tank tightly, the two goldfish wiggling their tails, sending gentle ripples across the water’s surface. Lordi sighed in relief, a faint smile breaking through his pain. With a trembling hand, he smoothed Yunny’s spectral hair. "Little one, though I’m dying, I’ll be your family now. Don’t grieve for me." The poison’s torment surged, clawing at his gut and heart, his vision blurring as he reeled. As he collapsed, he noticed the leaf doll he’d crafted—pierced with the bone nail and marked with Mollie’s name—clutched tightly at Yunny’s waist. "You kept it," he thought, a silent smile forming as his voice failed. The numbing itch in Lordi Payne’s mouth swelled, his tongue growing heavy and dropsical. As his vision blurred and his body swayed, certain he’d collapse to the cold floor, the expected thud never came. Instead, frail arms—impossibly strong—caught him. Yunny, the small girl in the tattered red dress, held him upright, her ghostly aura radiating a relentless chill that seeped into his skin. Lordi’s blood capillaries turned an eerie dark green, his body heavy and reeling under the weight of her Ninth Layer Qi Refinement stage presence. Yet, miraculously, the poison’s agony and itch began to fade, replaced by a strange, cool relief. Lordi’s hearing grew faint, the poison creeping into his ears, muffling Yunny’s voice. He caught only fragments of her words, but her tone was unmistakably cute, thin, and childlike. "You’re poisoned, mister," she chirped, her voice trembling with concern. "I tried to clear the moldy Gworm stuff that’s making it worse, but I dunno how to fix it all. My shifu would know, though!" Minutes later, Lordi felt his body lighten, his mind sharpening as the poison’s grip loosened. Yunny crouched beside him, her pale face delicate and oddly adorable despite her ghostly pallor. "Your body’s super strong!" she giggled, her voice bubbling with a childish lilt. "I found the moldy Gworm that kept spittin’ out poison, but you were really sick. I didn’t think you could heal yourself all by yourself!" Lordi blinked, startled. Had he truly recovered? He realized the First Dominator, who’d struck him with the strange fist art, must have underestimated him, a mere Seventh Layer Qi Refinement cultivator, and held back. Whatever the reason, Yunny’s act of kindness—her humanity resurfacing—was a small miracle in this cursed house. "Thank you, Yunny," Lordi said warmly, gently puffing her spectral hair. "You said your shifu’s here? Is he a vengeful wraith like the others?" Gratitude and curiosity burned in his chest. According to his sect comrades, the entire Hanz Clan had been annihilated in a single night. Only ghostly beings should remain in this forsaken mountain estate. "Nuh-uh, Shifu’s different!" Yunny piped up, her voice bright but tinged with a childish pout. "He’s not like us." "Us?" Lordi’s mind chilled, recalling the horde of vengeful wraiths in the Hanz Clan Ancestral Shrine. "What do you mean, ’Shifu’s different’?" "Shifu’s just... Shifu!" Yunny tilted her head, thinking hard, her voice soft and squeaky. "He found me wanderin’ on the hill and kept me from goin’ poof. But my head’s all fuzzy after I... um, died. I can’t ’member much. Shifu’s nice, though! He says I’m strong and got lotsa potential. Maybe ’cause I’m a ghost, I hate all livin’ people... ’cept Shifu. He’s special." Lordi pressed gently, feeling his spiritual energy surge vividly through his veins and meridians, revitalized. "Did the Hanz Clan keep you as a wraith after you died? Do you know why the clan was annihilated?" "Anni-hi-lated?" Yunny’s nose scrunched, her voice curious and confused. "I dunno what that means. My head’s all cloudy after I died. I don’t even know when Shifu went into seclusion. If you got questions, we can go find him! He’ll know everything!" Lordi’s mind grew heavy. "Whoever this Shifu is, he likely perished in the annihilation," he thought, unease creeping in. As Lordi Payne felt his strength return, the seductive pull of the Cosmic Path Establishment Technique flickered in his mind, its promise of power tempting his weary soul. The technique, an epic myth whispered among the Abyss Pit Sect’s elite, could elevate his cultivation beyond imagination, granting dominion over the demonic forces of this world. But the fleeting greed was snuffed out by a bone-deep chill, as pain memories of Donovan Valdez’s eerie, lethal fist surged to the forefront. The suffocating battle in the Hanz Clan Ancestral Shrine followed, where countless vengeful wraiths, their hollow eyes brimming with malice, had nearly overwhelmed him. The air grew heavy, the room’s lingering frost a stark reminder of the dangers lurking in his ambition.