The Failed Deal

"Isn't this just magic?"

Meimu looked at the energy in her hand. Following Li Ke's instructions, she had successfully cultivated a force of energy using the method he described.

But before she could feel happy, she realized that this was just magic, completely different from the power Li Ke had demonstrated, the one he called "ki." They were fundamentally two different things.

Compared with magic, ki wasn't very versatile, but it always gave Meimu a terrifying feeling. This was especially true when Li Ke imbued his sword with it, producing a level of destructive power she found utterly incomprehensible.

Whether it was visible matter or invisible magic, ki could destroy it all. She had only ever seen this kind of power described in scrolls about certain Demon Kings.

Yet Li Ke's ki was steady and peaceful, and seemed to blend faintly with nature. It certainly wasn't an evil force.

But it still wasn't magic, and she couldn't make sense of it.

The proportions of life force and spiritual energy were exactly as Li Ke had described, yet it still hadn't worked.

"So, is it because of your unique constitution?"

Seeing that there wasn't a trace of magic inside Li Ke, Meimu asked about his situation and then couldn't help covering her face.

She realized she'd done something foolish.

Clearly, this power belonged to Li Ke alone. It was a kind of mutated "magic."

"No, it's sword ki!"

Li Ke cut off her lament with a serious expression. Meimu rolled her eyes at him.

"That's obviously mutated magic!"

"It's sword ki!"

"Magic!"

"Sword ki!"

Meimu punched Li Ke in the chest, striking his not-yet-healed ribs and knocking him to the ground.

"Magic!"

Li Ke fell silent. He looked at the red and green sickles glowing in Meimu's hands, and a tear of humiliation slid down his cheek.

"Magic!"

His swordsmanship had been tainted.

Meimu took a deep breath. She felt that she could never maintain her usual composure around this young swordsman. She figured it was because Li Ke reminded her so much of her daughter, Akali, so after a few deep breaths, she returned to her usual self.

Looking at Li Ke lying on the ground, speechless with grief, Meimu felt a headache coming on. Her own impatience had played a part in this, but she had to admit she'd made a bad deal.

If even she could barely learn this power Li Ke called ki, then others probably wouldn't fare any better. They could only hope to find someone like Li Ke, someone born without magic inside them, and see if they could replicate his miracle.

"Don't worry. We signed a contract, so I won't go back on my word. My family has a fair amount of assets, and you'll get the full payment we agreed on. Here's the recipe for the pills you took earlier. They're very effective at increasing spiritual energy, and they're not harmful drugs that stimulate the mind, but you should still avoid relying on medication to increase your spiritual energy."

She didn't want Li Ke, whose temperament was so much like her daughter's, to turn into a pill addict, so she gave him a warning.

"No problem. I know that. I only took them to be safe."

Li Ke waved a hand. Ionia had no shortage of drugs that could make people feel more alert, but most of them... stimulated the nerves. Legitimate drugs that increased spiritual energy were mixed in among them, making them hard to distinguish.

Yes, there were people selling counterfeit goods in Ionia, too!

And plenty of them!

Meimu was about to say something else when a birdcall reached her ears. She immediately turned to look, and when she faced Li Ke again, her demeanor had returned to the way it had been when they first met.

She casually tossed Li Ke a copy of the contract and prepared to leave.

"Take this contract, and you can collect the money at any Kinkou Order outpost. But be careful not to die. I may bring people to ask you about how to use this ki. Leave quickly. What happens next is nothing you should be watching."

Li Ke nodded. The person paying was always right, and he truly didn't want to get mixed up in this any further. He waved to Meimu, then limped toward a distant village.

"Goodbye!"

Meimu didn't answer. She watched him leave, then turned around to face the two people who had appeared behind her in a flash of purple light.

Kusho, and his son, Shen.

"Eavesdropping is a bad habit, Eye of Twilight."

Kusho, his hair white with age, smiled. He had arrived long ago and witnessed the deal between Li Ke and Meimu. He had also accepted that it was a rather poor bargain.

After all, if the Kinkou disciples could really learn this power, it would be a good thing.

Unfortunately, he and his son Shen had tried it, too, and just like Meimu, they had failed.

"Sorry. That spirit-beast was too wild, and Shen and I took a long time to subdue it... But if we'd arrived earlier, you wouldn't have gotten this much out of the deal, would you?"

Meimu felt a little embarrassed. She thought Kusho was making fun of her failure.

"Ha, it was just a failed deal. In all these years, I've only seen one person in the First Lands without a trace of magic inside him, as if magic went out of its way to avoid him."

"But you've gained a friend, haven't you?"

Kusho merely smiled. He drew the spirit blade from his back, but instead of wielding it as usual, he handed it to his son, Shen.

Seeing his son's confused gaze, he said nothing. He simply told him to go collect the remaining spirit essence of the Yazakana and seal it away.

Meimu frowned. If she remembered correctly, the one meant to inherit the Spirit Realm Blade was Kusho's most prized disciple, Zed. Why was he letting Shen use it?

But the choice was still the Eye of Twilight's to make. As the Fist of Shadow, she had no right to interfere. So she looked in the direction Shen had gone and watched Kusho's son at work.

Meanwhile, things were different for Li Ke.

"I think I need to simulate whether anything will go wrong with the rest of my journey!"

Sitting on a rock by the road, Li Ke rubbed his still-aching arm. He decided he really ought to "foretell" whether he'd run into any more trouble on his way.

So, looking at the overflowing spiritual energy and life force he'd gained from the pills, Li Ke gritted his teeth and began a simulation.

"Would you like to simulate your memories vaguely?"

Without hesitation, Li Ke chose yes and began the simulation.

Day one.

You dragged your badly wounded body to a small town and were wrapped up like a mummy.

Day two.

You recuperated.

Day three.

You recuperated.

Day seven.

You set out again and reached your destination safely.

Day twenty-seven.

You easily slew the beast required for your mission, but after hearing a tale about a fox demon, you decided to rid the people of this menace.

Day twenty-eight.

You found the fox demon and became friends with her.

Day forty-three.

You had the fox demon help you cultivate.

Day seventy-two.

You died, your body reduced to a skeleton.

Li Ke: "??"