Chapter 52 - 49 - Memories Like a Rushing Tide

"Mhm... even though what Stelle did was way out of line... this is a critical moment! Do you really have to do this now!" March cried out, hugging a terrified Stelle as she tried to reason with Wende. "Don't worry. I'm just helping the child unblock her Ren and Du meridians. She will soon become a one-in-a-million martial arts master!" Wende said with a "benevolent" smile. Behind him, hundreds of lightning needles shimmered with a sharp light, hovering silently in front of Stelle. "Err... unblocking the Ren and Du meridians? Isn't that a bit... unhygienic?" Dan Heng, who had a passing knowledge of Xianzhou medical arts, muttered from the side. "Sigh... honestly, I'm envious of their sincere bond, but we really don't have time to keep fooling around," Serval said, palming her forehead in exasperation. The nearby Fragmentum creatures were about to surround them like dumplings! If they didn't make a move soon, they wouldn't be able to advance another step. "I'll deal with you when we get back to the Express." Wende shot a sharp glare at the frightened Stelle, then waved his hand. "Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!" Hundreds of lightning needles instantly flew toward the surrounding Fragmentum creatures like a torrential storm. "Puchi-chi-chi!" The hundreds of creatures around them fell like reaped rice, each one's head pierced by one of Wende's needles. "Hiss... Okay, an angry Wende is terrifying..." Stelle shivered as she looked at Wende's smiling face, then recalled the sensation of her hand from a moment ago. Mhm, very firm, very warm. This life was worth it! At that thought, a look of serene acceptance washed over Stelle's face... "..." Seeing Stelle's expression, as if she were heading to her own execution, Wende's face darkened even further... But... what could he do... She was his kid, in a manner of speaking. He couldn't actually beat her up, could he? Gently ruffling Stelle's gray hair, Wende turned and walked to the front of the group. "Wende..." Stelle looked at Wende's back, deeply moved. Wiping the "tears" from the corner of her mouth, she secretly made another resolution: she would never make Wende worry about her again! "So... your relationship is... really good?" Serval tilted her head, her eyes full of question marks as she watched this scene of "deep father-daughter affection." "Err... well, it's like that... but... err... how do I put it..." March stammered, unable to find the words. She could only helplessly tug on Dan Heng's sleeve. "Dan Heng, you're the archives guard. You explain it!" "..." Dan Heng simply turned his head away. Could he admit that he didn't understand the situation either? Where did this bizarre relationship web even come from? The snow plains outside Belobog were filled with a cold, deathly stillness. There was no life here, only endless Fragmentum creatures and the frozen remains of the Antimatter Legion. Perhaps within those "ice coffins," the Legion's foot soldiers were merely in a temporary slumber. The day the eternal freeze thawed, they might just rise again... The group pressed on through the wind and snow. Following the trail of Cocolia and Bronya's Fragmentum phantoms, which they had first discovered in the old city district's Fragmentum, they had tracked them all the way here. "This aura... what is it..." The closer they got to the north, the more they could feel an oppressive aura of [Destruction] weighing on their nerves. Stelle, however, was unaffected, as she had a Stellaron within her own body. But Wende, walking at the front of the group, found his brow furrowing deeper and deeper... The further he walked, the more violently the memories in his mind churned... New memories, ones that had never appeared in his dreams, now surfaced in his mind. "Little one, your Master did me a great favor. Since he asked me to teach you martial arts, I will certainly not refuse." The "Bad Person," her eyes covered by a black veil, spoke coolly to the still-youthful Wende. She had already had one disciple, but it was clear she now had another. Though he was reluctant in a hundred different ways, the young Wende could only obey his Master's words and learn swordsmanship from this "Bad Person." And so, the young Wende's days were split in two. In the morning, he learned swordsmanship under the tutelage of the "Bad Person." In the afternoon, he studied medicine under his Master's supervision. For some reason, despite also being his teacher, the "Bad Person" never let Wende call her "Master" or "Teacher." Perhaps she had a peculiar preference, or perhaps her most lasting impression of him was that first meeting when he called her a "bad person." Throughout the days she taught him swordsmanship, Wende's name for her was simply "Bad Person." To this, Wende's Master only chuckled and stroked his white beard, saying nothing more. On the green mountain, in the shade of the trees. Under the "Bad Person's" guidance, Wende's martial skills grew more and more refined, and he mastered her swordsmanship to a state of perfection. At first, he could only learn the "form" of her swordsmanship, but soon after, he came to understand his own "intent." This brought great relief to both his Master and the "Bad Person." His Master praised him for finding his own path, while the "Bad Person's" evaluation was that Wende had broken the very meaning of the sword itself. A sword was a weapon, and the only thing a weapon could do was kill. But the sword that Wende had comprehended could not only "kill," but also "save." "Master? Why is my sword different from Bad Person's sword?" Sitting at the foot of a pine tree, Wende looked at his meditating Master with a face full of confusion. "Haha, Master can't tell you that just yet. That is something the future you will need to see with your own eyes." Little Wende nodded, only half-understanding. From then on, while teaching him swordsmanship, the "Bad Person" would also use a "medicine" provided by his Master to give him medicinal baths, intended to strengthen his physique. But every time he bathed, Wende would blush crimson and protest against the "Bad Person," whose hands were all over him. He would say things like how men and women should not be so close, and that he was still just a child, but his protests were always blocked by the "Bad Person's" single line: "I'm older than your grandmother. What's wrong with a little touching?" It was from that point on that Wende's body grew stronger, his physical constitution far surpassing others who walked a Path. But... all good things must come to an end. On the day Wende's swordsmanship was perfected, the "Bad Person" left. Wende watched her departing figure in the rain, his heart filled with reluctance. Although this "bad auntie" often had her hands all over him and constantly teased him, Wende had genuinely come to see her as his "other Master." "Goodbye, Bad Person! Remember to come back and visit often!" Wende shouted after her retreating figure in the downpour. Hearing the childish voice behind her, the corners of the "Bad Person's" mouth couldn't help but lift a few degrees.