Phoenix Rise: XieRong

XieRong hadn’t known that she could make such a huge impact on two lives she’d decided to save on a whim.

"Nuo Jie, how did Jie save you?" Fei Hong asked, while chomping on her rabbit leg.

XieRong started to sweat nervously. She hadn’t told her master the entire story because she was afraid her master would be disappointed in her for having taken such a risk.

"Young miss was wonderful! She cheated the auction master of his money and he gladly let her do it!"

And so, Hui Nuo narrated the entire story to FeiHong and Master while XieRong waited for her master’s scoldings. Soon, the story was over and her master was eating her food and listening like she would a bedtime story.

"Master, aren’t you going to scold me?" XieRong asked looking at her master’s face, trying to figure out her master’s feelings.

"XieRong, you knew what you were doing. You knew the risks and the benefits and you acted upon your decision made after considering everything. Why would I scold you for it?"

XieRong felt happy that her master trusted her judgement.

"Master, can I open the bond now?"

"No. Tomorrow I’ll teach you how to see a person’s presence, then you can open the bond. Now, go finish washing the bowls and then go to sleep. The rest of you, what are you idling about by the fire for?"

XieRong had a hard time sleeping. She was so excited that she would finally be able to be cured tomorrow.

"Jie, what if we don’t have good enough spiritual roots?" Fei Hong, who was huddled next to XieRong, whispered.

"Then even if we get cured, we won’t be able to become stronger."

XieRong hugged her sister even closer to her. She hadn’t even wanted to think about what would happen if she didn’t have good enough spiritual roots, but she knew she had to. She had to be prepared for any obstacle life threw her way.

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"FeiHong, believe in yourself and believe in Jie. Even if we don’t have good spirit roots there will always, always be other ways to get stronger and get our revenge. So let’s sleep, okay?"

XieRong looked at her sister’s figure next to her and was slowly lulled to sleep.

Soon, it was morning and the hour for the final treatment was fast approaching. XieRong didn’t think about all the things that could go wrong, instead she thought of what all she had to do after the treatment was complete in order to leave for her journey tomorrow.

"Master, I’ll have to go to the capital tomorrow, first. I need provisions for before we leave."

"Do what you want, child. You needn’t inform me of your plans before hand. I trust your decisions."

The old master stuffed cloth in XieRong’s mouth.

"Your eight extraordinary and twelve principle meridians have all been cured. As I told you, today I will be curing your Dantian where all your Qi is stored."

This time XieRong was lying on the cold bare floor of her master’s cave. The old master began the treatment as XieRong flinched from the pain. It was as though her master had put a sword through her abdomen from the very beginning, unlike the previous treatments where the pain escalated from a pinch to a stab.

XieRong had retreated to the recesses of her mind to meditate. She had learned to do this during the course of her treatment when she couldn’t bear the pain any longer but refused to pass out. This made her forget the pain she was suffering.

XieRong looked around at the pitch black darkness in her mind. It was peaceful and comforting. She’d already found the doors to her bonds yesterday when she was asleep. Today, she’d go around exploring the things in her spatial ring.

The spatial ring was easy to access.

XieRong just had to think that she wanted to see what was in it and she found her consciousness inside the ring.

Inside the ring was a huge room filled with shelves and cupboards of all sizes with things arranged neatly in them, not at all like the mess she was expecting.

"Not what you were expecting?"

XieRong turned around, startled.

"Who are you? Show yourself!"

XieRong thought about who could be in the ring her grandfather had left for her. She came up with nothing.

"I was wondering when I would meet you," a old man said, materialising before her. He wore simple, but expensive robes and stroked his white beard.

"Who are you, elder? What are you doing inside my grandfather’s gift?"

"Serves me right that my own granddaughter doesn’t recognise me. I didn’t tell Fa Hua anything before I left."

"Grandfather? You’re my grandfather? How? Didn’t you pass away before I was born?"

"Child, first tell this old man your name. Then we’ll talk. I know I have a lot to hear about the things that have happened after I was gone."

"XieRong."

"It’s a beautiful name. Come let’s sit," he said, leading XieRong to a small table with two chairs.

"Now tell me, what changes have happened in the Fa family while I was gone."

XieRong told her grandfather everything. He should know what kind of bastards he’d raised, XieRong thought as she told him about her mother’s demotion to the Shu wife, her mother’s dowry being stolen by Fa LiHua, the treatment received by her mother, FeiHong and she, the reputation and dealings of their shops, how Fa MeiLien had broken her sister’s fingers and finally how Fa Lihua set the servants on her mother as she and her little sister watched.

"By the Gods," her grandfather sighed, his head in his hands. He got up and hugged XieRong who was seated in a chair opposite to his.

XieRong was shocked at her grandfather’s sudden display of affection.

"It must have been hard for you," he said as he pat her back and sat back down in his chair.

XieRong’s eyes softened when she felt that the old man in front of her had meant every word he’d said.

"This old man is sorry that he couldn’t be there to prevent those things."

The old man had started to like this little girl before him in the short conversation they’d had. It hadn’t escaped his notice that she had not complained or asked for pity.

She’d just told him the things as they were.

"Don’t worry grandfather. Mother told me you had tried to protect her by warning her about the poison. There wasn’t anything else you could have done."

"XieRong, grandfather has a favour to ask."

"What is it grandfather?"

"I want you to revive the Fa family."

XieRong hesitated.

She had expected something like this.

"Grandfather, I’m sorry. I can’t accept this request," she said looking straight at her grandfather.

"My mother suffered greatly at the hands of the Fa family. It will be unfilial to my mother if I help revive the same thing that destroyed her. Forgive this unfilial granddaughter for not being able to carry out your last wish."

XieRong got up and bowed deeply before her grandfather, the only person in the entire Fa Family who had stood up for her mother.

"However, if grandfather has any other request from this granddaughter, I promise to try my best to fulfil it."

"Then, grandfather will make another request," the old man said looking at his granddaughter with pride,"please eliminate the Fa Family."

XieRong jerked back up to look at her grandfather dumbfounded.

"I would have been disappointed in you had you chosen to comply with my first request," Fa Yongnian said, sipping tea from the one of the cups that had appeared on the table.

"The Fa family ancestors will turn in their graves if they knew how far down the Fa family has fallen. I know they would want the world to remember the Fa family for the good it had contributed to the Northern continent in its initial days than see the younger generation disgrace the Fa family name. The first request I made was to see whether you were worthy of the treasures that the Fa Family holds, and you, my dear granddaughter, have not disappointed me. Boqin is a fool to not see what a pearl he tossed away while going after the fisheye."

XieRong sat down once more in her chair and started to sip her tea, more to see how tea inside the spatial ring tasted than anything else.

"The ring your mother passed down to your younger sister is the Phoenix ruby ring, a godly treasure passed down for generations in the Guo family. What I wanted to pass down to you was the Dragon Sapphire ring, a godly treasure passed down in the Fa Family. I didn’t tell your mother the location because if she knew, she would be in more danger than she already was. Your father and uncles have been searching for the treasures for a long time. It is a tradition of the Fa family to pass down the treasures only to those who have a just, kind heart. I failed to notice both these qualities in my children. They grew more spoilt and greedy with time, however you have the qualities my children failed to learned, so I will tell you the location of the treasures.

"Granddaughter, even if I tell you the location, the path to the treasures is full of trials. I, a sky realm cultivator, was not able to find the treasures despite knowing the location. Do you still wish to know?"