Kind-hearted Grim Reaper

Upon returning to the room, Ah Dai saw that about half of the fruit in the bamboo basket was gone. He turned to the man in white and asked, "Uncle, why didn't you eat more? Don't you like the fruit?"

The man in white smiled faintly, replying, "No, the taste of this fruit is very good. It's the sweetest I've ever eaten. However, I don't eat much; half a basket is enough for me. You should have some." The more he looked at Ah Dai, the more he found the seemingly foolish child in front of him to be endearing. If not for Ah Dai, he would have probably been unable to resist the immense toxicity of the Holy Water of Nothingness and would have been on his way to Hell to meet Hades. He had killed so many people that he dared not say he could go to Heaven.

Ah Dai wasn't shy; he grabbed the basket and began eating. In no time at all, he had polished off the remaining fruit. With food in his stomach, Ah Dai felt much more energetic. Looking at the handsome middle-aged man with a gentle smile on his face in front of him, he couldn't help but ask, "Uncle, why are those people trying to kill you? They even made you drink the Holy Water of Nothingness. My teacher said that it is very valuable. Are the people who are trying to kill you very rich?"

The man in white smiled agreeably and said, "Yes, they are indeed very rich, not just ordinarily so. I just happened to be accidentally poisoned by them. Otherwise, they would not dare to send just a few men after me." As he spoke, he subconsciously touched his chest, a faint glint of sharpness flashing in his eyes.

Ah Dai nodded and said, "They are so bad! They gave you such a poisonous thing to eat, Uncle. If they had poisoned you to death, you wouldn't be able to eat steamed buns anymore. Uncle, you must be careful!"

Looking at Ah Dai's clear and pure gaze, the man in white felt warmth spreading in his heart. For many years, all he had seen were deception and vigilance, always on guard against the people around him. But facing this kind-hearted child, he felt as if everything had eased up, and he could be his true self again. "Kid, your ability to make a silver sphere that can counter the Holy Water of Nothingness implies that your teacher must be someone extraordinary. Can you tell me his name?"

Ah Dai readily answered, "Of course! My teacher's name is Goris."

The man in white was stunned. "Goris? Goris, the Flame Wizard?" He was certainly aware of this man, who was one of the few master alchemists in the Empire of Tian Jing. However, in his perception, Goris was not exactly a virtuous character. Although he had never heard of Goris committing any particularly evil deeds, he practiced dark magic, and those who practiced dark magic generally had a dark nature.

Ah Dai happily said, "Yes, that's Teacher Goris. Uncle, do you know my teacher?"

The man in white shook his head, "I don't know your teacher personally, but I have heard of his name. He is indeed a quite impressive alchemist. Why isn't he here?"

Ah Dai proudly said, "Yes! My teacher is the best." His expression dimmed as he continued, "Unfortunately, he left to look for some special ingredients. Teacher doesn't like strangers. Uncle, you should leave early tomorrow morning. Now that we have the silver sphere to control the toxicity of the Holy Water of Nothingness, as long as you always retain your True Qi, there should be no problems within a few years."

The man in white smiled, "I will leave first thing tomorrow morning. Ah Dai, how long have you been with your teacher, and has he been good to you?"

Ah Dai answered, "Nearly a year now. Teacher saved me from the City of Nino. He's been really good to me. Since I started living with my teacher, I've never been hungry again. I have delicious fruit to eat every day, and when Teacher goes out, he always brings back steamed buns for me."

Seeing Ah Dai's contented face, the man in white asked, "Ah Dai, what have you and your teacher learned?"

Ah Dai answered, "Magic! My teacher has taught me several spells." In line with a child's nature, Ah Dai immediately showed off. He chanted a spell and released a Flame Spell. The cyan flame burned brightly in his palm, instantly illuminating the room.

The man in white nodded, "Not bad, to have achieved this level of proficiency after only a year of studying magic is quite remarkable. You can already be considered a Junior Magician." He thought to himself that if Ah Dai had only been practicing magic, theoretically, he wouldn't have the ability to resist the Evil Aura of the Sword of Hades. Yet, the reality was that the Evil Aura didn't inflict any harm on Ah Dai. The Sword of Hades could be said to be the most evil weapon on the continent. To be unaffected by it, there must be a certain reason. With this thought, he further questioned, "Ah Dai, besides magic, haven't you learned anything else?"

Ah Dai withdrew the flame and thought for a while, then said, "Oh, also, I memorized my teacher's notes on alchemy. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to make the silver sphere for you today, Uncle. I haven't learned much else. Ah Dai is very stupid." As he said this, he lowered his head.

The man in white knew that the child in front of him could never lie, but from Ah Dai's words, he couldn't find any hint of the possibility on resisting the Evil Aura. "Before you met Goris, what did you do?" He continued to ask, undeterred.

Ah Dai lowered his head. Although he was slow-witted, he understood that being a thief was not something to be proud of. After a long hesitation, he finally revealed his previous experiences.

After listening to Ah Dai's story, the man in white was confused. Given Goris, the Flame Wizard's personality, there was no way he would kindly take in Ah Dai, let alone give him the invaluable Nine Generation Marrow Pill to eat. Goris must have had a special purpose. The effects of the Nine Generation Marrow Pill were merely to rid the body's meridians of impurities and solidify the channels. It didn't have the potential to resist the Evil Aura. Even ordinary monks from the Holy Church had difficulty resisting the Evil Aura that emanated from the Sword of Hades. Considering Ah Dai's young age, this didn't make sense at all!

"Ah Dai, come here, let Uncle take a look at you."

Oh, not thinking much, Ah Dai took a few steps forward, walking up to the man in the white robe. The white-robed man extended three fingers and held onto Ah Dai's pulse. Ah Dai instantly felt a harmonious and warm energy entering his body, warming him up wholesomely, giving him an inexpressible feeling of comfort.

"Ah! How is this possible, Ah Dai, how can you possess such powerful life energy within your body?" Even the "Sword of Hades" who wouldn't be disturbed by anything, was shocked and stunned by the sheer and pure righteousness within Ah Dai. The vigorous life energy contained within Ah Dai was not something a child his age should possess.

Ah Dai scratched his head and said, "Life energy? What is life energy? I don't know!"

The man in the white robe urgently asked, "Ah Dai, tell Uncle quickly. Did you eat something like a treasure from heaven and earth? Did Goris feed you something special?"

Ah Dai thought for a while, "No! I just eat fruits every day. My teacher brought me back some steamed buns. I haven't eaten anything else."

The white robed man was struck by a thought, "Ah Dai, take me to see the orchard, OK?" At this moment his heart was filled with immense excitement. The immense life energy contained within Ah Dai was too important to him. Although his life was preserved, he wasn't sure whether he could even win against his enemy during his prime, let alone being able to utilise only half of his power now! Revenge couldn't be forsaken. He had hatred that was engraved deeply in the marrow of his bones, a kind of hatred that could only be washed away with the blood of his enemies. Having lost his power of vengeance, just when he was filled with despair, an such unspoiled and pure jade appeared before him. He believed that if the sheer righteousness within Ah Dai did not disappear, with his ability, after some time of tutoring, Ah Dai will certainly become the next "Sword of Hades", and accomplish his heart's desire instead. He wasn't worried at all about Ah Dai's nature, as the child before him was the kindest person he had ever met. What he needed to do was to find out the source of the vigorous life energy within Ah Dai.

Ah Dai hesitated, "But Uncle, it's already night now. Can I take you there tomorrow morning?"

The white-robed man shook his head, insisting, "No, take me there now. This is extremely important to Uncle. Didn't you say that tomorrow morning you'll let Uncle go?"

Ah Dai thought about it and said, "OK, let's go now."

The two left the wooden house and under Ah Dai's lead, they came directly to the fruit orchard. It was entirely enveloped by fog, and the moonlight couldn't penetrate through. The surroundings were pitch black, they could only see one or two metres ahead. Carefully, Ah Dai cast a flame spell. In order to sustain it for a longer duration, he kept the flame red. With his current magic power, he could maintain it for a considerable amount of time. "Uncle, the fruit orchard lies within the mist. You must stick close to me, it's easy to get lost inside."

Once inside the fruit orchard, the white-robed man kept enquiring about the effects of each type of fruit. After over an hour of exploring, he didn't find what he was hoping for, leaving him somewhat disappointed.

"Never mind, Ah Dai, let's go back." They had already reached deep into the orchard and even with the white-robed man's sense of direction, it would be difficult to ascertain their way.

Ah Dai nodded, yawned and said, "I'm so tired! Let's go back and sleep. Uncle, don't randomly pick and eat the fruits. Many of them are poisonous. Once, I accidentally ate two fruits, my stomach hurt for a long time, I would feel cold then hot. It was only after a long time that I recovered."

The white-robed man's mind stirred, asking, "Ah Dai, do you know what fruit you ate?"

Ah Dai shook his head, "I don't know. That day I just wanted to come in and pick food for the day. But as soon as I entered the forest, I smelt a really strong fragrance. I was very hungry in the early morning, so I followed the scent and found..." Ah Dai narrated his encounter that day. Although his ability to express was not strong, what he described was enough for the white-robed man to comprehend.

The white-robed man listened to Ah Dai's narration in astonishment, sighed and said, "Destiny, this is destiny! I never imagined the Fruit of Past Life, which I've been searching for many years, had ended up in your stomach."

Ah Dai was startled, "Uncle, so the fruit I ate is called the Fruit of Past Life? It is not recorded in Master Goris's notes. So, you knew about it. Is the Fruit of Past Life very good? But why did my stomach hurt after eating it?"

The white-robed man forced a bitter smile, "That explanation wouldn't be enough with mere words of 'good'. Let's go, let's head back." The Fruit of Past Life, the Fruit of Past Life, if I had found you before I was poisoned, perhaps I could've overcome the bottleneck mentioned by my master. Then who would I be afraid of? Sigh, I didn't expect that the Fruit of Past Life, which could defy the laws of nature, would actually grow here.