Everything Is Up to Me

"Mm!"

Bai Lin let go of Na'er, nodded vigorously, and took her little hand to lead her toward the bathroom.

"Bai Lin."

Hei Lin's icy voice instantly tore through the warm atmosphere, reminding him,

"Are you planning to hold that book in your arms while you wash your hands and eat?"

Bai Lin abruptly froze in place!

His heart skipped a beat!

Only then did he remember the thick, dark brown book he had hastily tucked inside his school uniform jacket, pressed tightly against his chest!

He had been so immersed in the immense warmth and determination Na'er had given him that he had completely forgotten about it!

"Na'er, wait for me a moment!"

Bai Lin hurriedly told Na'er, with a trace of barely perceptible nervousness in his voice.

He released Na'er's hand and, like a startled little rabbit, dashed into his small room and shut the door behind him.

He carefully took the heavy book from his clothes.

Its dark brown cover looked even more aged in the dim light. It was cold and rough to the touch, as if silently recounting the years it had spent buried away.

The dark patterns on its cover appeared even blurrier up close, yet they carried an indescribable weight.

He did not dare look at it further. Quickly, he stuffed it into the innermost part of his small bed and covered it tightly with the bedding before finally letting out a long breath.

"Done!"

He opened the door again, forcing a casual smile onto his face. Taking Na'er's cold little hand again as she waited outside,

"Let's go wash our hands!"

By dinnertime, his father, Tang Ziran, returned home, carrying the weariness of a day's work.

At the small dining table sat four sets of bowls and chopsticks, while the fragrant, steaming dishes filled the room with warmth.

Na'er ate in small but earnest bites. Bai Lin seemed preoccupied, yet his appetite was surprisingly good.

After dinner, Lang Yue cleared the dishes while Tang Ziran motioned for Bai Lin to sit with him on the living room sofa.

Under the dim yellow light, a trace of barely noticeable gravity rested on his father's gentle face.

"Son."

Tang Ziran's voice was low and gentle, carrying a consultative tone.

"Dad..."

"Wants to discuss something with you."

"You know our family..."

"Isn't well-off."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Na'er, who sat quietly on a little stool beside them with a cup of warm water in her hands.

"Now that Na'er has become a member of our family too, that's a good thing. Dad is very happy."

"But..."

"Our household expenses really are greater than before."

Bai Lin's heart sank slightly. His little hands, resting on his knees, unconsciously clenched.

He vaguely guessed what his father was about to say.

"About your soul spirit..."

Tang Ziran's voice carried a hint of helplessness.

"There are mainly two ways to obtain a soul spirit from the Spirit Pagoda."

"The first is for children with especially outstanding martial soul talents and tremendous potential. The Spirit Pagoda will provide one for free, and may even actively recruit and train them."

Seeing his son's eyes dim at once, Tang Ziran could not bear it, but he continued nonetheless.

"Your martial soul..."

"Blue Silver Grass, and your innate soul power is also..."

"So this path is closed to us."

The living room fell silent.

Holding her cup, Na'er quietly watched Bai Lin. Even her purple eyes seemed touched by a trace of concern.

"The second way..."

Tang Ziran's voice grew even lower.

"Is..."

"To buy one with money."

"...Thirty thousand Federation coins."

For a family that relied on the father's meager salary and had just gained another member, that number was no different from a heavy mountain.

Thirty thousand Federation coins!

Bai Lin's little face instantly turned pale. Enormous disappointment and helplessness washed over him like an icy tide, drowning him in an instant.

He lowered his head and looked at his open palm. There was nothing in it. Even his thread of soul power was so weak.

His oath to protect his family still echoed in his ears, yet the cold reality had already come crashing down upon him.

He could almost see the road leading to becoming a Soul Master, completely blocked by that enormous number.

In the depths of his sea of consciousness, immense disappointment pressed down like leaden clouds.

Bai Lin's core consciousness was seized by icy helplessness, nearly frozen solid.

Just then, a cool presence approached, though it was not entirely cold.

Hei Lin, who had always lurked in a dark corner, silently came to Bai Lin's consciousness form.

He no longer wore that lofty, mocking expression.

He stretched out his arms and, in an extremely rare gesture that even seemed somewhat unfamiliar to him, gently embraced the "self" trembling faintly from disappointment.

"Bai Lin."

Hei Lin's voice rang through his consciousness. It no longer held its usual icy mockery, but an unusual calm with a metallic texture, like a cold spring flowing over solid rock.

"The future..."

"Has never had only one choice."

Bai Lin's consciousness jolted. He could hardly believe the embrace he was "feeling."

Hei Lin's voice was low and clear, carrying a power that could pierce through the fog.

"Our choices never have to..."

"Be bound by the difficulties before us!"

He tightened the mental embrace slightly. That cold touch now strangely carried a supporting strength.

"If you feel this road is too heavy, too cold..."

"If you cannot bear this..."

"The humiliation of having your future measured by money..."

Hei Lin paused, his voice filled with unquestionable resolve.

"Then let me walk it!"

"Let me bear the weight of this choice. Let me face that stench of money and all those calculations. Let me seize the power you need!"

His words were like an oath tempered in fire.

"When all the dust has settled, when I have trampled flat the thorns ahead..."

"You can come back and take over this body, living happily and protecting everything you want to protect..."

"That will be enough."

This sudden promise, one carrying the meaning of absolute sacrifice, split apart the haze in Bai Lin's heart like a bolt of thunder!

The immense impact made his consciousness form tremble violently, and a powerful sourness surged straight into his "eyes."

He suddenly hugged Hei Lin tightly in return. His small consciousness form nearly embedded itself in the other's cold embrace, his voice thick with tears and indescribable gratitude.

"Thank you..."

"Thank you..."

"Hei Lin!"

That "thank you" came from the depths of his soul, carrying an unprecedented reliance and trust.

Hei Lin's body seemed to stiffen ever so slightly before returning to its cold, rigid posture.

The overwhelming emotion and the heavy sense of responsibility Hei Lin had conveyed burned away Bai Lin's weakness and disappointment in an instant, like flames in a furnace!

An unprecedented sense of strength surged forth from the depths of their intertwined souls!

He abruptly raised his head, and the faint tears in his eyes were replaced by a rock-solid determination!

"No!"

Bai Lin's voice was resolute, carrying the courage of one ready to stake everything.

"Hei Lin, we'll do it together!"

"No matter how difficult the road ahead is, no matter how many thorns or mountains stand in our way..."

"I will definitely keep moving forward!"

"With you!"