Questioning the Heart X The Sun Also Rises

"[Train], willpower; [Ignite], action..."

"People use their will and their thinking to direct their actions, and they can defeat the enemy without even moving."

"Practitioners must first have a strong enough will. If their willpower is insufficient, they are prone to becoming stubborn and unable to correct their wrong ideas in time, leading to qi deviation and, in severe cases, death and the dissipation of their spiritual power."

Therefore, when practicing, one should not remain at the level of "reciting," but rather "Heart Inquiry."

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"Ask yourself what you really want, what direction you want to take in the future, and once you've completely determined your path forward, it's not too late to talk about practicing."

In the dead of night, the Moonlight, like a veil, bathed the father and son...

Kikyo carefully got out of bed, supporting his back, and peered out from under the eaves. He saw two figures, one tall and one short, standing with their hands behind their backs by the window, gazing into the distance and admiring the night view of Kukuroo Mountain. They presented an eerie sense of harmony.

Was it just my imagination? The woman's electronic eyes flickered... Roy sat Silva, listening quietly, a phrase faintly echoing in his mind—

Skill can approach the Tao, and art can reach the divine!

When a skill reaches its peak, it will eventually converge towards the direction of the "Tao".

"What my father meant was that the essence of [training] is not in the material realm of controlling the opening and closing of the body's Aura Nodes, but rather... arming the mind with thought, interpreting responsibility through action, and using willpower as a blade to deliver a mental shock or even kill to the enemy."

Silva paused slightly, turning his head to look at Roy. The Sun-Earring Boy's furrowed brows and thoughtful expression seemed to radiate a subtle glow... It was unclear whether the door had been pushed open and the light shining through the crack onto him, or Moonlight, highlighting his extraordinary presence.

In short, the phrase "Arm your mind with ideas and demonstrate your responsibility with actions" sounds surprisingly fresh.

The man's gaze was deep and thoughtful. "Your grandfather said you always had some ingenious ideas, and now it seems that wasn't just empty talk."

"Kikyo, bring me the notebook from my drawer."

"Squeak~" The door was pushed open a little more, and the woman shoved two notebooks into it.

Silva said, "These are some experiences I compiled in my early years regarding the cultivation of the Four Major Principles. Keep one copy, and give the other to Illumi..."

Roy took it with both hands, flipped through it, and saw it was handwritten. He bowed and said, "Thank you, Father. I won't keep you waiting too long..."

"Hehehe... I hope so!"

A gust of wind blew, whipping Silva's silver hair into a wild, lion-like mane...

The Sun-Earring Boy straightened his back, nodded to Kikyo, and turned to leave, retracing his steps, leaving the couple with his not-so-tall, yet not-so-slender, back view.

He's grown up...

"Hmm," he said, "He's grown up..." "Be careful not to let the child get cold." Silva watched Roy leave, giving him one last, deep look before helping Kikyo back into the house.

The bedroom door closed.

But the bond of Bloodline cannot be severed...

As Roy strolled once more through the Ancient Castle's long corridors, which were permeated with the atmosphere of time, he felt clear-headed and cheerful, a stark contrast to the heavy depression he had felt an hour earlier.

"You seem quite happy... Did you go to see Kastro again?"

The "lethal dose" of neurotoxin was quite potent. Even though he drank the antidote in time, it took Illumi a whole day to recover from the residual toxins in his body. So, on his way to his bedroom, the Sun-Earring Boy met his older brother.

That's fine, it saves Roy the trouble of looking for him, even if he doesn't actually go and just tells Gotoh to pass on his father's notes.

"Yours." He tossed the notebook over.

Illumi reached out, grabbed it, flipped it open, and looked at it...

He glared at Roy with his neck stiff. "You've changed your personality?"

Why should I simply tell myself all this experience?

"It was given to me by my father," Roy said calmly, not even glancing at him, before turning and walking away.

Illumi, holding the notebook, stared blankly at his departing figure, her heart enveloped in deep disappointment.

I thought it was a gift from you...

The Sun-Earring Boy stood frozen in place, like a stone statue, facing the direction Roy had left, gazing into the distance for a long time before turning away from Roy and dejectedly returning to his bedroom...

At that time, the moon was high in the sky, and looking down from above... the Zoldyck brothers stood on the left and right, like two straight thin lines that would never intersect.

"Clang~"

At ten o'clock at night, the clock in the corner struck.

With his thoughts on [training] lingering, Roy bid farewell to Silva and returned to his bedroom. He looked up and saw... Gotoh, unusually, hadn't prepared dinner for him, but was instead waiting at the door with two white gloves tucked inside. He stopped in his tracks.

"Young Master, the Master has instructed us to study, eat, and fulfill our promises," Gotoh said, mimicking Maha. "I'm hungry, I want to eat now!"

Roy:".

For a moment, he was at a loss... Whether he had imitated it perfectly or not, he put away the notes given to Silva, put them together with those given to him by Biscuit and his great-grandfather, closed the drawer, and walked towards the kitchen.

"Let's go, we can't let the old man go hungry."

"Yes."

The young butler followed Roy and soon arrived at the kitchen, peeking inside...

Maha slumped lazily in the chair, one foot propped on the seat, munching on a cucumber. Upon seeing Roy, he grumbled, "No need for the cucumber salad, just stew a chicken."

One wasn't enough; all the "Enhancement were gluttons, each one more voracious than the last, so... Roy had the foresight to have already ordered the kitchen to prepare six.

They simply set up a large pot and used the strong fire of the earthen stove to stir-fry the food... The earthen stove was built by the cook using bricks and stones, specifically for cooking large batches of food to supply the steward. Now that Roy wanted to use it, it was naturally cleared out beforehand.

Next, Roy swung his shovel, adding fuel to the Gotoh, while Maha sat lazily waiting for dinner, occasionally glancing over and tapping his fingers on the armrest, content with himself...

Soon, the stir-fry was done, water was added, the lid was put on, and the chicken stew was ready. Roy finally had some free time and took the opportunity to tell Maha about all the questions he had about [training].

The old man, his eyes half-open, glanced at him sideways and teased, "Your dad isn't enough for you, you want to take advantage of the old man too, kid! You're too greedy!"

"This isn't about taking advantage, it's about asking for advice," Roy said seriously. "You're the one who told me that the squeaky wheel gets the grease."

Hey... the boomerang he just threw has returned in the blink of an eye. Maha looked at the Sun-Earring Boy, Sun-Earring Boy smiled back at him. They stared at each other for a moment, and finally... he said, "Never mind."

The old man sighed irritably, "' Heart Inquiry ' isn't about teaching you to spout empty, pretentious nonsense."

"Ideas must be put into practice in order to become weapons."

Roy listened quietly, "What is 'real substance'? It's tangible 'insight,' 'knowledge,' both tangible and intangible, lurking deep within your heart, the most unforgettable 'reference point' in your memory."

Maha tapped the armrest with his fingers together, speaking with an air of composure, "Humans cannot imagine things beyond their own understanding. A knife, an event, a blow, a gain, a moment of Visualization —all can become objects of 'reference.'"

"After that, one should 'learn from' and 'imitate', and finally 'create' to make it the most suitable for oneself."

"So anchoring your heart to the most memorable 'reference point' becomes the key to ' Heart Inquiry '?" Roy frowned in deep thought.

Maha didn't answer, but took a bite of cucumber. "The pot's boiling."

The Sun-Earring Boy suddenly woke up, turned off the stove, served the food, and ate with his great-grandfather. He kept glancing at him, as if he wanted to ask something again, but alas... the old man only had eyes for the chicken and no longer saw him. He ate heartily, put down his chopsticks, and disappeared in a flash.

"It's too fast. Every time I see Mr. Maha dining, I wonder if my eyes are playing tricks on me."

You can't see the chopsticks being used at all...

Gotoh tidied up the messy dining table. The old man had eaten almost five of the six chickens, and the remaining one went into Roy's stomach. The Sun-Earring Boy took out a tissue and slowly wiped his mouth before leaving the kitchen and standing in the garden.

Looking up at the sky...

As midnight approached, the bright moon hung like a plate...

He stretched out a hand, pinched a sliver of moonlight, and gazed at it intently, while the Gotoh stood silently behind him, keeping him company.

The young butler suddenly asked, "What do you mean by 'unchanging through the ages'?"

Gotoh paused for a moment, then, noticing him looking at the sky, tentatively asked, "Stars?"

The Sun-Earring Boy chuckled dismissively, "How dare the light of a firefly compete with the brilliance of the moon?"

"That's the moon," Gotoh said confidently. "It rises in the east and sets in the west. No matter how the world changes, the moon will rise every day."

Yeah?

Roy scattered the sliver of Moonlight, letting it drift and merge into the moonlight. Turning to look at the Gotoh, two divine flames ignited in his deep pupils, growing brighter and brighter. "It's the sun, you idiot."

"Above and below heaven, I alone am supreme; wherever my light reaches, that is where my eyes can see!"

The Sun-Earring Boy spoke in a deep voice, patted his shoulder, and walked towards his bedroom with his hands behind his back.

Gotoh watched him leave, gradually disappearing into the distance... The conversation between him and Master Maha echoed in her mind. She stood there, stunned, for a long time, unable to recover...

The next day, when Roy saw him again, the young butler had dark circles under his eyes, clearly indicating he hadn't slept well.

"As per the master's instructions, the Young Master is entitled to two days off to ' Heart Inquiry '," Gotoh relayed Silva's words.

"No need." Roy took a bite of his beef burger. "Training continues, as for ' Heart Inquiry '..."

The Sun-Earring Boy chuckled softly, suppressing his anger, "Go tell him I've found my direction."

Gotoh recalled the Sun-Earring Boy's bright eyes from last night and carefully asked, "If the master asks..."

"Let's talk about... the sun."

"Yes."

Gotoh gave Roy Yi a deep look, served him breakfast, and then pushed the food cart downstairs.

Just as he was about to leave, a soft call stopped him. The butler turned around and saw the Sun-Earring Boy looking at him earnestly, saying:

You must work hard, Gotoh.

"Pick up the [practice] again and practice. I don't want to only be able to find you in the dust in the future."

Hisoka... playing cards... that encounter in the woods... wasn't so pleasant...

"Don't worry, Young Master." Gotoh adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and blinked. "Even the sun needs the stars to protect it..."

"I will show the Young Master how I've grown."

"You rascal..." Roy shook his head and chuckled, opened a drawer, took Silva's notebook, and spread it on the table. "I can't give you the original. You'll just copy it here. You can leave when you're done copying."

"That belongs to the master..."

"What master? If it's given to me, it's mine!"