SK 4

(4: Grandfather)

Dai Jin's quarters descended into chaos after he recklessly confronted Dai Feng. Dai Jin was lying down on the ground beside his bed and some shelves around him were broken with clutter spread around.

It goes without saying that the incident from a while ago caused the nearby servants to be alerted for the situation and of course, Dai Feng had long since slipped away. When Dai Jin was found like this, the servants of his grandfather ran out and informed Dai Mo, Xi Ming and Xiao Yuyan. The three came running towards Dai Jin's courtyard and found the boy placed back on his bed by the servants.

Xi Ming quickly checked on his pulse and pressure points but froze over all of a sudden. The beautiful eyes barely seen beyond her veil showed both surprise and distress.

"How… how could this be?"

"Doctor Xi, what happened? Who did this to my child?" Dai Mo pleaded.

"Senior sister, quickly tell us."

Pressured by the impatient pair behind her, Xi Ming wanted to lash at them but she was already done with her diagnosis multiple times at that. She turned to them and spoke.

"He… he has 1 year worth of Spirit Qi in his Dantian." She declared.

These words felt like a stun bomb to everyone in the room. "1 Year of Spirit Qi" means only one thing.

"A Martial Novice!"

For someone with crippled Meridians, there was no way for him to ever achieve such rank but who would've known, fortuitous moments like this are God-given and must be utilized right away without question the will of heavens.

"Quickly, Doctor Xi, you can heal him, right?" Old Man Dai Mo felt like he was turning back in age as his face brightened all of a sudden.

"Yes, Senior Sister. Hurry up!"

"Fine fine." Xi Ming quickly took out a small pill and stuffed it in Dai Jin's mouth then used her Qi to make it dissolve and channeled it through the crippled Meridians to the Dantian. From there on, Dai Jin's body color started to improve drastically and his condition became much better.

"I can't believe it… I truly can't believe it… after all these years, the Heavens are merciful on this Old Man after all. The Heaven's didn't take the last descendant of this old fool. I am thankful. Doctor Xi Ming, you are this Old Man's benefactor." Dai Mo was so happy he almost knelt to Xi Ming.

"Yeah, whatever."

Xi Ming still dismissed him coldly but the old man didn't mind her attitude one bit. He was even more respectful to her afterward.

"Senior Sister, I am thankful to you as well. Grandpa Mo, I think Little Jin will wake up in no time. He hasn't eaten anything in three days."

"That's right, that's right, how clumsy of me! I'll go right away." Dai Mo rounded up the servants and stormed his way out to the kitchens in order to make food himself for his grandson.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yuyan and Xi Ming looked at each other firmly.

"How?" Xiao Yuyan asked, implying how Dai Jin managed to break from the mortal shackles into the first realm of Cultivation.

"I don't know…" Xi Ming answered but under the pressuring gaze of Xiao Yuyan, she added, "I think it may be related to all the medicines he was given. We can basically revive a Bull with all those herbs you spent on him. It may be so their mystical effect may have started accumulating around his Dantian and broke him through the first bottleneck."

"Is that even natural?" Xiao Yuyan asked.

"How do I know? The boy is a Half Demon, there is nothing natural about Half Demons." Xi Ming dismissed the expected barrage of questions by framing it on the nature of Dai Jin.

A Half Demon may be a good excuse to shut up anyone but Xi Ming was still curious. Why would a Half Demon child from the countryside achieve something no one managed to do in years? All the noble families from the Eastern Continent have tried to nurture Half Demons after the last Demon War in order to get their hands on the Demonic Sorcery.

It proved to be useless but that didn't stop even the country pumpkins of the Dai Clan from trying.

On the other hand, Xiao Yuyan was more concerned with the incident where Dai Jin was found out of bed on the ground. She looked around and tried to figure out why or how it happened.

"Forget it, the kid may have tried to walk out and ended up bringing the shelves down." Xi Ming said.

"Hmmm…" Xiao Yuyan hummed and decided to let it go knowing how frequent it is for Dai Jin to get himself into trouble and injure himself.

In that time she turned out and looked for him, she sensed his fingers twitching. Looking at his face, it seemed he was finally waking up before he would hold his head all of a sudden and violently jump up as if he was having a nightmare.

The moment he opened his eyes he could see a hand holding his arm from swinging recklessly and pressuring him down to bed.

"Calm down, young man." Xi Ming spoke in a calm but annoyed tone.

Dai Jin saw a face he didn't recognize at all but the next instant, he was hugged from the other side.

"Little Jin."

The soft embrace which took him by surprise was clearly Xiao Yuyan whose worry was finally overseeing him move around energetically. On the other hand, Dai Jin was left in an awkward situation where he knows no one around him and they all are acting in a non-hostile and friendly way.

Thankfully, Xi Ming had to interfere once again and pull away Xiao Yuyan from Dai Jin.

"Have some shame!" Xi Ming seemed mindful of Xiao Yuyan's behavior, who ignored her status and courtesy.

"Little Jin, how are you feeling?" Xiao Yuyan held Dai Jin from his face making him look at her, "You had us worried for three days. You shouldn't do naughty things again."

"Hm?"

Dai Jin met Xiao Yuyan face to face for his first time and… it felt strange… it felt familiar… it felt happy… he knows her, somehow he knows her and seeing her makes him very happy. Her name is on the tip of his tongue. She clearly is a person that his version from this world knew very closely.

"Yuyan…"

The name he muttered from his clouded memories proved to be correct. Xiao Yuyan looked at him and blinked twice.

Seeing such a beautiful girl so close to him would make any young man feel excited and Xiao Yuyan was beyond the word beautiful by many leagues. Still, Dai Jin kept a level head and firm eyes trying to recall more.

"I can't… remember things. My thoughts are so clouded." He groaned while holding his head as pulling memories from this world's version of him felt very painful.

On the other hand, both Xi Ming and Xiao Yuyan felt the oddity about his behavior.

"Wasn't he supposed to…"

"It can't be…"

They felt that Dai Jin was somehow more stable and talked carefully without stuttering. Actually, he was talking more than he usually would.

"Little Jin, it is me, big sister Yuyan. Are you still confused?"

"… No…" He tried to calm his thoughts, "What happened to me? How did I come from there to here?"

The way he transfers from the Game World to this World must be something that caused a commotion. The fact that these women around him seemed calm about it confused him more.

"Here and there? What are you talking about, young man?" Xi Ming felt curious enough about Dai Jin's condition to finally ask.

"The place where I was training. This old man and the… the…" Dai Jin finally stopped to think but it didn't seem right for him to ask. Should he put on some idiot act and avoid being suspicious?

"Training? So you were training even with your Crippled Meridians?" Xi Ming asked.

"Sister, please." Xiao Yuyan wanted Xi Ming to avoid the mention of Crippled Meridians in front of Dai Jin.

"What's that… Meridians?" Dai Jin innocently asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about, Little Jin. Moreover, you should focus on…" Xiao Yuyan wanted to avoid the subject but Xi Ming interrupted her.

"I am talking with my patient. Step back, junior sister." Xi Ming said then turned to Dai Jin, "You were born with Crippled Meridians. It is nothing to be ashamed of since you can live your life like a normal person. Now, tell me about this training and the old man you mentioned."

Dai Jin felt that the cat is already out of the box but who would believe him if he says he can move to a Temple in a different… wait a minute! It took him a while to realize but when he lost his consciousness when he saw Dai Feng earlier, he was sent to the Temple because he "lost his consciousness".

So this Temple and that Game World… they must be in his Consciousness. The thought should have arrived at him earlier but now he feels safer that he is not teleporting between worlds. But as mentioned before, the cat is out of the box and he must answer the question somehow.

"Well… the training was crazy. I had to run in the forest and fight some strong guy who follows that old man. Then I have to hit some dummies and stand in specific ways. That's all I learned." He said.

Xi Ming furrowed her brows and hummed.

"I see. Just the Basics. But the training sounds physical. I guess that Old Man is an External Martial Artist." Xi Ming judged.

"No! External Martial Arts are too harsh! Little Jin, did that man push you off the mountain?" Xiao Yuyan asked.

Dai Jin tilted his head feeling something weird.

"Pushed off a mountain? Was this how I ended up here?" He asked.

"Yes, don't you remember?"

It seemed that things are not just complicated but way more complicated than he ever thought. A Game World in his Consciousness, a Dai Feng whose hands can light on fire and now he discovers that the owner of this body was also killed by being pushed off a high place.

There is some pattern here, a pattern he must find. He already knows who might have done that if it is about being pushed off a high place.

"No." Dai Jin denied Xiao Yuyan's first question, "It was my stupidity that made me fall off that mountain. Sorry, I get a little… clueless sometimes."

Xi Ming nodded.

"Training External Martial Arts is dangerous and difficult but it doesn't involve the Meridians. It will be a difficult path." She said.

"No way. Little Jin can't do such a thing. It will harm him badly." Xiao Yuyan protested.

"That's not your business." Xi Ming scolded her, "But this explains how you broke through to the first realm of Martial Arts. Your training saved your life, young man."

Xi Ming praised Dai Jin before continuing.

"My final evaluation is that the fall clouded some of his memories but the treatment assisted him enough to break through the First Layer of the Martial Novice realm. Fortune may come in misfortune indeed."

Xi Ming's evaluation was somehow not wrong and caused Dai Jin to be relieved. Xiao Yuyan was about to nag Dai Jin into quitting this dangerous practice of External Martial Arts but just as she was about to do so, the door to Dai Jin's quarters opened and an old man walked in followed by a few servants.

"Doctor Xi, I have brought some soup for… for…"

It goes without saying that Dai Mo froze still once he saw his grandchild sitting straight on the bed looking in his direction.

That aside, Dai Jin was on the other end of this encounter which is going to change him forever.

He saw Dai Mo and recognized him.

Not only so but he also recognized him well… very well on top of that.

Remove the beard, the long hair, the hair ornament and the pin, remove the traditional clothing and the ancient vibe. It would be this man whom he missed above all else.

The man who raised him.

The man who took care of him when nobody else did.

The man who saved him and taught him everything.

"Ha…" Dai Jin wanted to speak but he ended up inhaling without any words coming out.

His eyes turned moisty and tears started to flow uncontrollably. He missed this man, he missed everything about this old man so so terribly.

How can it be? How can he be here?

What in the world is happening?

"Grandpa!"

He pushed his being out of bed and staggered forward risking to fall at every step but all was just to get close and realize that this old man in front of him was genuine… was the real thing.

"Jin'er, I…"

"Grandpa!"

The moment his grandfather spoke to him was the moment he crumbled on his knees and wept like never before. He held to the robes of his grandfather and his frustration was translated into a long cry.

"Why? Why did you leave me? You left me alone… why?"

Dai Mo was having a hard time to react. What is wrong with his grandson? He didn't know it but he felt the pain, the suffering, the years of torment his grandson spent without him.

He went down in front of his grandson and hugged him close.

No words were said. Everyone else left the place for them and went out. It was time for Dai Jin to hold back to everything he lost.