Returning to the room, Ah Dai saw that the fruits in the basket had decreased by half. He faced the white-robed man, asking, “Uncle, why don’t you eat more? Is the fruit not nice?”
The man smiled, “No, the fruits are delicious, but I don’t really have a large appetite. Half a basket of fruits is enough for me, you should eat some too.” The more he looked at Ah Dai, the more he felt that the silly kid was lovable. If not for that kid, he would not have been able to restrain the Matchless Holy Water’s poison, and would really have gone to Hell to meet the King of Hell. After killing so many people, he did not dare to think that he could enter Heaven.
Ah Dai did not hold back either, lifting the basket and starting to eat the fruits. In just the blink of an eye, he had finished the remaining fruits. With his stomach full, Ah Dai became much more spirited. Looking at the handsome middle-aged man who was smiling gently at him, he could not help but ask, “Uncle, why did those people want to kill you, and even made you consume the Matchless Holy Water? According to teacher, the Matchless Holy Water is very valuable. The people chasing you must be very rich, right?”
With a smile, the man replied, “Yes, they are indeed very rich, and not simply just rich. Uncle was careless in being poisoned. If not, they wouldn’t dare to send so little people after me.” As he spoke, he subconsciously touched his chest with a cold glare in his eyes.
Ah Dai nodded in agreement, “They are so bad! Giving Uncle such a toxic poison, if Uncle died, then Uncle can’t eat steamed buns anymore. Uncle, you have to take care!”
The white-robed man looked at Ah Dai’s gaze, his heart felt warm. For so many years, all he saw were people going at each other’s throats. For every moment of his life, he had to be on guard against the people around him. However, when facing the kind-hearted kid in front of him, he truly felt as though he could relax, and be the person he originally was. “Little kid, since you can refine a silver bead that suppresses the Matchless Holy Water, then your teacher must be an incredible person, can you tell me his name?”
Ah Dai readily replied, “Of course! My teacher’s name is Gliss.”
The white-robed man was stunned, “Gliss? The alchemist Gliss?” He naturally knew this person, Gliss was one of the few Grand Alchemists in the Heaven’s Gold Empire. However, in his memory, Gliss could not be considered as a good person. Although he had never committed any evil wrongdoings, he practised dark magic. Generally the people who practised dark magic had their minds and emotions negatively affected.
“Yes! That is Teacher Gliss. Uncle, do you know Teacher?” Ah Dai exclaimed in delight.
Shaking his head, the man said, “I don’t know your teacher, but I have heard of his name. He is indeed a praiseworthy alchemist. Why isn’t he here though?”
Ah Dai proudly declared, ”Yes! Teacher is the best.” But his expression soon darkened, and he continued, “But Teacher went out to find some special materials for his experiment. He doesn’t like strangers, Uncle, you should leave tomorrow morning. The poison has been restrained by the silver bead, as long as you continue providing it Qi, there should be no problems within a few years.”
The man smiled and said, “I will leave tomorrow, early in the morning. Ah Dai, how long have you been staying with your teacher, and does he treat you well?”
“It’s been almost a year, Teacher rescued me and brought me out from Ninuo City and he treats me so well. After following Teacher, Ah Dai has never gone hungry. There are delicious fruits to eat every day and when Teacher returns he will always buy back steamed buns for me.”
Looking at Ah Dai’s face filled with content, the white-robed man asked, “Right, Ah Dai, what did you learn from your teacher?”
“Magic! Teacher taught me so many magic spells!” Ah Dai replied enthusiastically. With the heart of a child, Ah Dai wanted to show off his skills. He chanted some incantations and a green-blue flame appeared in his palm, instantly lighting up the whole room.
“Not bad! Getting to this standard after only practising for a year is no easy feat. I think you have already reached the standards of a Junior Sorcerer.” The white-robed man was secretly trying to probe into Ah Dai’s background. Logically Ah Dai should not have the ability to resist the evil energy of the Hell’s Sword. But the evidence was right in front of his eyes, Ah Dai was unscathed even after being exposed to the evil energy. The Hell’s Sword is said to be the evillest weapon in the whole continent, so there must be a reason to why Ah Dai was not affected by it. Thinking about this, he asked hurriedly, “Ah Dai, apart from magic, did you learn anything else?”
Ah Dai kept his flame and pondered for a moment. “Oh, there is something else. I have memorised all of Teacher’s alchemy notes. If not, I would not have been able to refine the silver bead for you uncle. Other than that, I did not learn anything else. Because Ah Dai is very stupid,” said Ah Dai, as he lowered his head.
The white-robed man knew that Ah Dai was not the type to lie, but from his words it was impossible to find any information as to how he managed to resist the evil energy. “What were you doing before meeting Gliss?” The man continued probing, refusing to give up.
Ah Dai lowered his head, although he might be dumb, he still knew that there was nothing honorable about being a thief. He hesitated for a long while before finally revealing his past.
After hearing Ah Dai’s recount, the white-robed man was puzzled. The alchemist Gliss’ personality was definitely not the type to kindly take Ah Dai under his charge, and not to mention, giving Ah Dai an incredibly precious Nine Metamorphosis Essence Pill. Gliss must have some ulterior motives for doing so. However, the Nine Metamorphosis Essence Pill could only help to remove the impurities in the body and strengthen the meridians, but it did not have any effect in resisting evil energies. Even the ordinary priests of the Holy Church would find it difficult to defend against the evil energy from the Hell’s Sword. And Ah Dai was still so young, it was impossible!
“Ah Dai, come here, let Uncle have a close look at you”
“En.” Ah Dai did not think much and readily walked towards the white-robed man. The man stretched out three fingers and held Ah Dai’s veins. Instantly, Ah Dai felt a warm and peaceful energy surging through his body. The feeling was so comfortable.
“Ah! How, how can this be? Ah Dai, why does your body have such a powerful life force?” Even the usually impassive “King of Hell” could not help but be astounded by the pure and righteous aura inside Ah Dai. The bountiful life force within Ah Dai was not what someone of his age would possess.
Ah Dai scratched his head, and asked in puzzlement, “Life force? What is life force? I don’t know anything about it!”
The white-robed man hurriedly questioned, “Ah Dai, faster tell Uncle, did you consume any heavenly treasures or anything of that sort? Or did Gliss give you anything special to eat?”
Ah Dai thought for a while and replied, “Nope! I’ve been eating these fruits every day. Teacher also brought back some steamed buns for me. Other than that, I didn’t eat anything else.”
The man’s heart was moved, “Ah Dai, bring me to the fruit forest, okay?” He was full of excitement, the vast amount of life force in Ah Dai’s body, was simply too important to him. Although his life was saved, even when he was at his prime, he did not have a definite chance of defeating his enemies, not to mention now when he could only muster half of his energy! Revenge must be taken. To him, the hate was deeply etched in his heart. Only by spilling the blood of his enemies would his revenge be complete. However, with his current strength he had no way of doing so. But as he was about to fall into despair, a miracle appeared in front of his eyes. He believed that if the righteous Qi within Ah Dai did not disperse then with his capabilities he could definitely cultivate Ah Dai to be the second “King of Hell” and Ah Dai could help him to fulfill his wish. He was not worried about Ah Dai’s character. The child in front of him, was the kindest person that he had ever met. What he needed to do now was to find out where the bountiful life force within Ah Dai came from.
“But Uncle, it is already very late, why don’t I bring you there tomorrow?” Ah Dai spoke with hesitation.
Shaking his head, the white-robed man insisted, “No, bring me there now. This matter is very important to Uncle. Didn’t you say that you wanted me to leave tomorrow?”
Ah Dai thought for a moment, replying, “Okay then, let’s go now.”
The two people left the wooden hut, and under Ah Dai’s guidance they reached the outer parts of the fruit forest. Dense mist covered the whole area making it hard for the moonlight to penetrate through causing the surrounding to be pitch black, thus their vision was limited to two metres. Ah Dai carefully created a flame, controlling it to be a red-colored flame. This way, he would be able to sustain the flame for a longer period of time with his current magic force. “Uncle, the fruit forest is inside the mist. You have to follow me closely, it is very easy to get lost inside.”
After entering the fruit forest, the white-robed man continuously inquired about the properties of each fruit. After an hour long of queries, he still did not find the thing he was looking for, and could not help but be disappointed.
“Nevermind, Ah Dai let’s go back.” They had already reached the depths of the fruit forest, and even the white-robed man was unable to determine his bearings with his capability.
Ah Dai nodded, yawning as he spoke, “Ah I’m so sleepy! Let’s go back and sleep. Uncle, you must be careful to not pick the fruits casually, many of the fruits here are poisonous. Last time, I accidentally ate two fruits, causing my stomach to be in constant pain. My body was cold one moment, and hot the other… It took me such a long time before I recovered.”
The white-robed man’s heart was moved, “Ah Dai, do you know what fruit you ate?”
Ah Dai shook his head and replied, “I don’t know. That day I was planning to pick some fruits for breakfast, but once I entered the forest, I smelled a strong fragrance. It was early in the morning and I was already hungry, so I just followed the smell, ……” Ah Dai recounted his experience of that morning. Although he was not able to express it very well, but his descriptions were enough for the white-robed man to understand.
Staring blankly in shock as he listened to Ah Dai, the white-robed man could not help but exclaim, “Fate, this is fate! Who knew that the Fruit of Rebirth that I have been searching for so long would actually be eaten by you.”
Stunned, Ah Dai asked, “Uncle, are the fruits that I ate called the Fruit of Rebirth? Even Teacher Gliss’ journals did not mention it. But the Fruit of Rebirth isn’t all that good! My stomach hurts so much after I ate it.”
The white-robed man let out a bitter smile, “That is not something that I can explain with a few words. Let’s go back first.” Ah, the Fruit of Rebirth, why didn’t you appear before I got poisoned? Perhaps I would be able to break through the bottleneck that First Master was talking about. If so, I wouldn’t have to be afraid of anyone. Hais—, who would have thought, the miraculous Fruit of Rebirth actually grew in this sort of place.