The Collapse, Kaslana's Way of Survival

Chapter 26: A Heart for Revenge

Li Sushang opened her eyes in a haze, and then saw Kaino sitting silently by her bed, peeling an apple.

"Yo, you're awake."

Kaino raised the apple in his hand and greeted Li Sushang.

After chatting with the two for a while longer, Kaino chose to leave first and return to his room to keep an eye on Li Sushang.

All he could say was that the Tai Xu Sword Qi was truly profound—Kaino hadn't even finished peeling the apple before Li Sushang woke up.

Li Sushang said nothing, slowly sitting up. She curled her legs up, buried her head in them, and her body began to tremble, shaking uncontrollably.

"Wah... wuwuwu..."

After hearing the news of her mother's death and being knocked unconscious by Kaino, the impulse to rush back to her mother's side had passed. In its place came a grief rooted deep in her heart.

Kaino set down the fruit knife, scratched his cheek with his finger, and felt at a loss.

He had no experience dealing with this kind of thing. Aside from his own family, the peers he'd interacted with either had both parents alive or were outright orphans.

None of them had even cried in front of him.

Kaino hesitated, reaching a hand toward Li Sushang, then abruptly changed course mid-motion, picking up the fruit knife again and listlessly peeling the apple.

Maybe crying for a while at a time like this would help ease her mood?

By the time Kaino had finished eating the apple, Li Sushang had finally stopped crying.

"Why."

Li Sushang, having stopped crying, suddenly spoke.

"Hm?"

Because her voice was muffled against her legs, Kaino didn't catch it.

"Raiken, why did Mother die? Why did the Immortal kill Mother?"

Li Sushang lifted her head, red-rimmed eyes fixed on Kaino, still hiccupping from time to time. The tears in her eyes hadn't fully dried yet, leaving them glistening.

"...Your mother, along with Master and the others, killed the Immortal together. But the Immortal came back to life and has now returned for revenge."

"As for why she killed your mother first... I don't know that. Maybe the Immortal was just closer to her."

Kaino looked at the stunned Li Sushang and sighed inwardly.

Having spent a few days with her, Kaino clearly understood that her moral compass was quite sound—otherwise, he wouldn't have casually revealed some of his abilities to her.

This kid was too straightforward.

And precisely because of that, if she learned the truth, she'd probably be completely dumbfounded.

But he couldn't not tell her either. Her mother being killed by the Red Sparrow Immortal was a fact, and she already knew about it. If he didn't tell her the truth, she'd eventually seek out the Immortal on her own, only to either be killed by the Immortal or, upon learning the truth, have her heart shattered again.

Like some villains in Houmu comics who get redeemed midway.

So rather than letting her suffer two blows, it was better to give her one harsh cut right now.

"Mother... and Master and the others killed the Immortal together?"

As if unable to believe it, Li Sushang repeated it cautiously.

"Yes, they killed the Immortal together back then. It wasn't that the Immortal tried to kill them first—they ambushed and killed the Immortal."

"As for the reasons, each of them had their own. But in the end, it boils down to things like revenge, self-preservation, survival, reluctance to let go, and so on."

After receiving the reply, Li Sushang's gaze went vacant, staring blankly ahead.

Kaino wisely kept quiet.

"Raiken, what should I do?"

Li Sushang slowly rested her head on her knees, her voice faint and lost.

"Master killed Master's own master... no matter the reason, it's wrong, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Kaino nodded.

"The Grandmaster was killed and came back for revenge—that's only right too, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Then Mother was killed by the Grandmaster, and everyone in Yi Xin Mountain Villa died because of it... I should take revenge on the Grandmaster too, shouldn't I?"

"...Emotionally speaking, that's fine."

Kaino nodded helplessly.

If it were him in this situation, he'd want revenge too.

"But to keep you from getting carried away, I'll give you a heads-up. Back then, Master and the other seven ambushed the Immortal and barely won. You alone definitely can't beat her."

"...Does Master want to wait to be killed by the Grandmaster, or does she want to kill the Grandmaster again?"

After a brief silence, Li Sushang shifted her gaze to Kaino and spoke in a low, heavy voice.

"Master means she regrets it now—she's willing to be killed by the Immortal. But that Ma Fei Ma doesn't think the same way, or else he wouldn't have come all the way to Mobei for this. By the way, I'll be going back with him to find the Immortal, and Master will come too."

Kaino explained.

After he healed Ma Fei Ma's injuries, the latter told him the reason for coming to Mobei—to inform Cheng Lingshuang about resurrecting the Immortal.

According to Ma Fei Ma, it was Su Mei who told him Cheng Lingshuang was here.

Hmph, that woman again.

But what was interesting was that Su Mei only asked Ma Fei Ma to tell Cheng Lingshuang about the Immortal's resurrection, not to bring her along.

In the end, it was Kaino who said he'd tag along and dragged Cheng Lingshuang with him.

After all, Kaino needed to find the Immortal, so he absolutely had to go back with Ma Fei Ma. Leaving Cheng Lingshuang here alone, he worried the Immortal might pass by and kill her—that would be a real mess.

And bringing Cheng Lingshuang along meant an extra pair of hands if something happened. She couldn't just ignore her own disciple, could she?

"In that case, I'm coming too."

A sharp glint flashed in Li Sushang's eyes.

She knew her strength was far from the Immortal's, so she wanted to join up with the main force against the Immortal and take revenge together.

"Come if you want, I'm not stopping you."

Kaino shrugged.

"But Raiken, don't you need something from the Immortal? And we've only known each other for a few days... you won't stop me, will you?"

"...No, at worst I'll just slink back home. Of course, if I judge that the Immortal really knows how to send me home, I won't help you kill her—at most, I'll stop her from killing you and Master."

"Is that so... Thank you."

Li Sushang lowered her head.

Kaino looked at Li Sushang, silent inside.

No one has the right to tell others to let go of their grudges. The hatred of having family killed is enough to turn a person into a vengeful demon.

The Red Sparrow Immortal was betrayed and ambushed to death by disciples she'd raised for at least a decade, some for decades. Though she didn't die completely, no one has the right to tell the Immortal to let go of her hatred.

Likewise, Li Sushang's mother, whom she hadn't seen for years, was directly killed by the Immortal. There was the reason that she struck first against the Immortal, but who can stop Li Sushang from seeking revenge because of that?

After all, many of the Seven Disciples also had parents killed by the Immortal... Sure, those people had gone mad, but that doesn't matter to their children.

When the only reason left for two sides to kill each other is hatred, no one can persuade them to let it go—if you want to try, let them have their family die first and see if you can let it go yourself.

At least Kaino couldn't. So even if Otto's existence was significant to his world, given the chance, Kaino would absolutely stab him to death.

So now, things had reached a point where there was no right or wrong. What lay before Kaino was either helping his cheap master and the friend he'd known for a few days, or helping the Immortal who might help him get home.

And for a Kaslana, which path to choose was obvious, wasn't it?

Unless he could find a third path.

Chapter 27: Tai Xu Sword Sect

At the foot of Sky Vault Peak.

After nearly half a month of travel, Kaino and his group had finally reached their destination.

As soon as he got off the carriage, Kaino couldn't help stretching his limbs and taking a deep breath.

"Half a month in the carriage nearly killed me... How come you guys aren't tired at all?"

The three behind him got off one by one, but none showed the fatigue Kaino felt.

Wasn't his physical fitness supposed to be on par with theirs?

"This is nothing, Raiken. Try doing some horse stance training—daily martial practice is way more exhausting than this."

It was Li Sushang who spoke.

After half a month's time, her complexion had clearly improved a lot. At least now she could chat and laugh, instead of wearing a deadpan face all the time.

Of course, her resolve to kill the Red Sparrow was still alive and well.

"No thanks, I'm fine with practicing sword forms, but horse stance... not for me."

Kaino quickly shook his head.

On the road from Mobei to Sky Vault Peak, Cheng Lingshuang and the others hadn't let him idle. Under their joint instruction, Kaino's mastery of the Tai Xu Sword Form had rapidly peaked.

Ma Fei Ma was almost jealous seeing that speed.

At the same time, Kaino had smoothly grasped the so-called Tai Xu Sword Soul.

In Kaino's view, the Tai Xu Sword Soul was a kind of summary and formula for applying force in the Tai Xu Sword Form. Once fully mastered, he could use the Tai Xu Sword Form with any weapon.

Good news—though Kaino hadn't systematically studied the Kaslana gun-fu, he'd developed his own unique Kaino-brand gun-fu.

As for the Tai Xu Sword God... according to Cheng Lingshuang, while he couldn't practice the Sword Heart Sutra, his control over Honkai energy was enough to train in the Sword God.

But on one hand, half a month wasn't enough for Kaino to master the Sword God. On the other... Kaino didn't have enough energy.

Kaino found that pretty frustrating too. Though the Sword God was said to be immensely powerful, its energy consumption was absurd. Kaino's current Honkai energy reserves were enough to draw Heavenly Fire with side effects, but not even half of what the Sword God required.

No wonder cultivating the Sword God required the sword heart to reach the Tai Xu Realm.

"So this is the Tai Xu Sword Sect?"

Kaino stretched his body, sizing up the towering peak before him as he spoke.

At the foot of Sky Vault Peak stood several rows of buildings, disciples in white robes bustling back and forth in an endless stream. A long stone staircase connected the base to the summit, where a large hall perched atop the mountain.

To be honest, the Tai Xu Sword Sect did look rather impressive. Ignoring city walls, it was even more prosperous than the largest towns they'd passed on their journey.

Though, to be fair, they hadn't lingered in any major towns either.

Still, it was nothing special. The twenty-first century had far more prosperity than this, so Kaino wouldn't lose his composure like some people.

"Wow, this sect is even more bustling than our hometown!"

Li Sushang's eyes widened as she stared ahead, unable to stop gawking.

And there went the one losing composure.

"Show some dignity."

Cheng Lingshuang tapped Li Sushang on the head, speaking coolly:

"Tai Xu Sword Sect... didn't even bother changing the name. But to climb into the top six righteous sects in just over a decade, Senior Sister must have put in real effort."

"Just into the top six, not first?"

Li Sushang asked curiously.

Kaino said, "By general logic, making it into the top six in over a decade is pretty impressive. But she's still the immortal's senior disciple—if she couldn't manage that with that title, that would be the real shock."

"The Tai Xu Sword Sect hasn't been this lively before... Someone's coming."

Ma Fei Ma frowned.

A woman who looked about twenty years old walked down from the Tai Xu Sword Sect toward the group.

"Deputy Sect Leader."

The woman casually swept her gaze over the group, then fixed her eyes on Ma Fei Ma, clasping her hands in greeting.