Clearing the Fog in his eyes

After Zhu Que accepted Xue Bai's offer, she asked for a small request.

"Can you take me to my village? You said that your sect is really far away, and I would like to say goodbye to the people there before I leave." Zhu Que asked while fidgeting.

She had already wiped away her tears, but her eyes were still red, showing how hard she had been crying earlier. Still, Zhu Que knew that once she left the Barren Lands, they wouldn't be able to return for a long time. So before her village decayed in the long sands of time, she wanted to take one last look.

Xue Bai had no reason to decline her tiny request, so after accepting, he let her onto his flying sword.

"Hold tight. If you let go, Big Wang is going to have to catch you, and I can guarantee you it won't be very comfortable." Xue Bai warned as he left her to get a good stance on the sword and grip on his waist.

Zhu Que flushed with embarrassment at the forced close contact, especially since it was her first time being around a male her age. But seeing Xue Bai look so calm about it, she shook her head to dispel any weird thoughts and let Xue Bai know she was ready.

After Zhu Que was stable, Xue Bai flew out of the city along with the Wang Twins, once again drawing many eyes. However, he didn't care much for their awe and kept a calm face, and remained focused on controlling the flying sword.

Flying using a sword was something he had done in the game, but doing it with his physical body was a lot harder, meaning Xue Bai had to put twice as much effort into it lest he fell from the skies.

Thankfully, he kept his skills, and before long, Xue Bai left the city borders and made it back to his carriage.

"This is my carriage. Tell Little Wang where your village is, and he'll drive us toward it." Xue Bai spoke as he dismounted from the flying sword.

Xue Bai didn't know where her village was, so he had to rely on Zhu Que's navigation to get there.

Zhu Que, whose cheeks were still flushed, nodded softly before giving Little Wang a basic route to where her village was located.

Little Wang nodded in response, then replied, "Miss Zhu, you can rest in the carriage alongside Young Master. The trip won't take long."

Zhu Que, who had shedded away most of her anxious shell, complied with Little Wang's words and entered Xue Bai's carriage.

Inside she found Xue Bai resting on top of a small bed, reading a scroll. And while to Xue Bai, the bed wasn't very comfortable, to Zhu Que, the bed looked to be fit for an emperor.

"Sister Zhu, you can just take a seat anywhere." Xue Bai spoke without looking up.

"But what if I dirty them?" Zhu Que nervously asked.

Zhu Que hadn't showered in more than two days, and if she ruined the luxurious furniture, she didn't think she would be able to compensate Xue Bai even if she sold herself.

Hearing her response, Xue Bai paused for a second before breaking out into a fit of laughter that just further embarrassed Zhu Que.

"Sister Zhu, don't worry. The inside of the carriage cleans itself automatically. So even if I threw a bucket of mud onto the floor, it would be cleaned almost instantly." Xue Bai explained, washing away any hesitations Zhu Que had.

"Are you saying that I'm a bucket of mud?" Zhu Que jokingly asked, as she sat across from Xue Bai.

After Zhu Que's joke, the two would continue speaking about their lives, with Xue Bai mentioning Yue Zifeng and how accepting he would be toward her and Zhu Que dodging his questions about her family.

He knew why she was doing it and didn't push her, but he was slightly confused. They were going to their village currently, and even though Zhu Que most likely buried the bodies, if they arrived at an empty village, even a fool could guess what happened. So why was she hiding it even though?

Xue Bai was curious, but since he would find out the answer soon, he stayed quiet and let her avoid his questions.

"Young Master, Miss Zhu, we've arrived!" Little Wang's voice came from outside.

"Do you want me to follow you or stay here?" Xue Bai asked as he noticed Zhu Que suddenly tense up.

However, instead of answering straightaway, Zhu Que first stood up, albeit robotically, and opened the door before turning around.

"Little Brother, while I don't know how strong you are, I assume you can sense that there is no one there, right?" Zhu Que asked as she stepped out of the carriage.

Following her out, Xue Bai nodded.

Though he didn't have Spiritual Senses, Xue Bai had heightened senses that no normal mortal would have. And while it didn't give him the ability to sense how many people were in a location, it did let him know that there wasn't anybody there.

Stepping out of the carriage, Zhu Que looked at the village entrance that had stood tall for her entire life. But now, instead of a bastion that she thought would protect her forever, it now only looked like a ruin.

"Little Brother, I know you said that I'm extremely talented and someone who is destined to be a powerhouse that stands at the top of this world," Zhu Que spoke, as her voice started to choke up, "But I didn't want any of that. I had a peaceful life. Living with my mother and father at home and playing with all of the aunties and uncles in the village. Everything was good."

As she spoke, she walked through the village, caressing various buildings and structures, smiling every now and again as if she were reminiscing about the past.

"Certainly, at times, life was rough. Like during the cold winters or when a stray demonic beast would terrorize us. But who doesn't have any troubles in their life." Zhu Que joked.

Xue Bai followed her the entire way through and let Zhu Que speak out the words weighing down her consciousness.

"And then one day, the day that was supposed to be my most memorable today, everything changed." Zhu Que continued, as she let the tears that she had been holding back break through, "My Martial Veins killed everyone. Just froze them all like we do the fish we catch!"

"Little Brother, I don't want to be a genius or a powerhouse. I just want to be Little Que from Blue Stone Village again!" Zhu Que cried out as she squatted down in an emotional wreck.

Xue Bai maintained his silence, but as she collapsed, he went over and hugged her as she cried her heart out.

This was something he didn't expect from how strong-hearted Zhu Que's character was in the game, but it wasn't something unreasonable.

He had interfered with her story too early, and there were bound to be things out of his calculations.

Zhu Que was a 15-year-old girl who had accidentally killed not only her entire family but also everyone she had ever known. So her breaking down was nothing excessive.

But this also reminded Xue Bai of something he had stupidly ignored.

He wasn't in a game or a book.

This was a real world, and people weren't pieces of code following their programming. But instead, real, living, breathing people with emotions, goals, and motivation.

If he continued trying to only adhere to the plot and ignoring everything else, Xue Bai would eventually face a calamity. There were many things Xue Bai didn't remember from the plot and more things that were going to change thanks to the butterfly effect he created.

Nothing was set in stone, especially with his interference. Continuing to base his life around the plot of 'Children of the Plane' would only bind his mentality and narrow his vision.

Xiao Mo wasn't an undefeatable devil, Huo Long wasn't a man who would trample all of his peers, and Zhu Que wasn't an Empress. Instead, they were all people starting their cultivation journey, hoping to make their mark in the cruel cultivation world.

What did it matter that they were blessed by the plane or had unimaginably high luck? Was he any worse?

Xue Bai knew the course of history for the next 200 years and had a special view of the world no one born in the Baishen Plane had.

'So what if they were 'Children of the Plane.' So what if they were destined to be Gods? Am I any worse? Am I supposed to keel over and become a stepping stone? No! I'm unresigned! I want to be my own protagonist!'

As Xue Bai became more and more enlightened, around him, his aura started to change more and more.

The Sword Law, which had been stuck at Entry Level 9% for so long, finally started to increase!

Entry Level 10%

Entry Level 13%

Entry Level 15%

Entry Level 20%!

Small Success Level 21%

And while changes were happening on the inside of Xue Bai, the changes on the outside were just as stunning.

The usual childish and playful look in his eyes faded away quickly, being replaced by a colder, sharper look. It was like a turbid cloud that constantly impaired his vision was blown away, giving him an undisturbed and clear view of the world in front of him.

And as his eyes became sharper, the air around him also subtly changed, and he seemed like an unsheathed sword.

The sudden change was dramatic, but instead of focusing on his Sword Law that had advanced so far, Xue Bai withdrew the overwhelming pressure that was scaring Zhu Que and instead started patting her back.

"Sister Zhu, the world is cruel, and the heavens are indifferent. However, we are cultivators who don't accept heaven's will. So what if the heavens took away your family? One day you'll be strong enough to take them back." Xue Bai consoled, "I know you're broken. I know you're angry. And I know you're resentful. But I have one thing to say for that."

"Be strong. Strong enough to never feel this way again. Strong enough to never be angry again. And be strong enough to never lose anyone once again."

"You have the talent and the fate to become someone strong. Don't waste it in this manner."

Xue Bai's words weren't very consoling or heartwarming, but to Zhu Que in his arms, they were the thing she needed most.

She wasn't just a small village girl from the sticks but also a 'Child of the Plane.' If Xue Bai hadn't been with her today, most likely, she would've kept her emotions bottled up until she died. So when she heard Xue Bai's words, her adaptive nature quickly showed itself.

Wiping away the tears that refused to stop, Zhu Que, with Xue Bai's help, stood up once again. But this time, instead of the teary broken face that could land someone a role in a soap opera, she carried the face that Xue Bai knew.

The Ice Dragon Empress who terrorized every single female genius on the Central Continent!

"Thank you, Little Brother. I'm sorry for how I was acting just now." Zhu Que awkwardly apologized.

Xue Bai's robe was now damp from all of her tears, and his pants were dirtied from the mud he stood on when he knelt down to comfort her.

"No, Sister Zhu, thank you." Xue Bai shook his head.

What just happened to her was something that Xue Bai needed more than her. If he kept his same attitude, not even facing Xiao Mo, most likely, Xue Bai wouldn't even have one against Wang Yu.

His previous point of view of the world was mediocre at best and self-destructive at worst.

And thanks to the weakness Zhu Que just showed, not only did it allow Xue Bai to become enlightened, but it also allowed his Sword Law to increase by 11% and into a new stage.

He also figured out why his Sword Law's progress was halted at 9%.

Sword Law wasn't something a physical thing that people could control with their hands. Instead, it was something spiritual and closer to a will.

And Xue Bai's previous mentality was not only dampening his Sword Law's strength but even going so far as to dull it. For a Sword Law to be powerful, not only did one's comprehension have to be deep, but their mentality had to match!

Sword Cultivators were powerful because of their mentality. No matter what was in front of them, they'd still slash out their sword. But Xue Bai's previous attitude had set limiters on himself.

He subconsciously thought that he was a level worse than the 'Children of the Plane.' Thinking that he had to befriend them in order to survive.

While that might not be too bad a thing to any normal cultivator, to a Sword Cultivator, however, that was almost a crippling mentality.

Thankfully Zhu Que had woken him up, although unknowingly.

This was also most likely the reason the dreams had stopped, as even if he gained the entire inheritance of the Soaring Sword Sect Founder instantly, his Sword Law would stay at 9%.

Without a sharp mindset to match, having a deeply comprehended Sword Law was nothing,

It was laughable. He was comprehending a Sword Law based on severance, where if even the heavens themselves stood in front of him, Xue Bai would still sever it in two, but yet he had such a cowardly and cautious mindset.

That was also why he was so grateful to Zhu Que, as without her, Xue Bai may have never cleared the fog that blocked his vision. And even if he did, Xue Bai would either do it too late or have to lose something dear to him.

But either outcome wasn't something he wanted. And while Zhu Que didn't know what she did or even what happened to Xue Bai, it was still a life-saving favor that he would remember. And to that, he was grateful.

Xue Bai didn't know how much stronger the Small Success stage was compared to the Entry Level, but the Soaring Sword Sect Founder did mention many times that for every level one advanced, their Sword Law would enter an entirely different realm of power.

So even if Xue Bai didn't get any cultivation increase from this trip, just recruiting Zhu Que and the Sword Law advancement made the trip more than worth it.

On the other hand, Zhu Que didn't know what Xue Bai meant when he thanked her, but instead of questioning, she only nodded somewhat mindlessly in response.

"Are you ready for your new life, Sister Zhu?" Xue Bai asked with an outstretched hand

"Yes!" And without any hesitation, she grabbed it.

'Mother, Father, aunties, and uncles, Little Que is going to bring you all back! No matter how long it takes!'

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As you all can tell, because of webnovel's less-than-helpful customer service, I have yet to get this work contracted. Meaning, I haven't earned a dime on this. So to help this, I made a ko-fi. I also plan to make a Patreon soon, but since my stockpile of chapters isn't as ahead as I'd like, I have to hold off on that.

If anyone really likes the work or maybe wants to put an idea of theirs inside of it, you can donate, and I'll most likely do it.historical

Anything would be helpful.

/slarbi123