Things of the Past

The Era of Chaos, Year 1832.

The afternoon sun, carrying a faint warmth, streamed through the glass windows of the reception room, casting slanted patches of light on the floor.

"Aise, this is your Uncle Moke." Xia Lun's voice was gentle, carrying a trace of imperceptible exhaustion. He lightly pressed the shoulder of the boy beside him, signaling him to greet the guest.

"Hello, Uncle," Aise bowed slightly, looking refined and polite.

"Hah... what a polite child," Moke smiled and praised. "I heard long ago that you had a son, Xia Lun. The little guy looks exactly like you."

Aise had the same black hair as Xia Lun, while his red eyes seemed to be inherited from Aina.

"Not as impressive as you. I heard Shila is pregnant again." Xia Lun gave Moke a meaningful look. Sitting on the sofa, he picked up the black tea at hand, the rising steam blurring his expression.

"Cough, cough! You know? That must have been told by Liyana. She's the only one who came to visit me when she was in the Savage Wilderness." Moke seemed to choke a bit, rubbing the back of his head in slight embarrassment.

"How many babies this time?" Xia Lun knew that Moke had had triplets for his firstborn, which was why he asked.

"Twins." Moke scratched his head somewhat bashfully. He quickly added, as if trying to cover up something, his guilty eyes drifting toward the window, "The house is quite big anyway, so I figured having more people around would make it livelier."

It definitely wasn't because Shila was always seducing him and they accidentally failed to take safety precautions.

"Then let me congratulate you first."

Xia Lun's gaze fell back onto Moke.

Compared to their adventuring days, Moke had changed quite a bit. That somewhat messy long hair draped over his back had been shaved off, replaced by a clean and neat ear-length short cut... Perhaps due to the wind and sun in the Savage Wilderness, his face had been weathered and roughened, his skin tone had darkened, and he would no longer be mistaken for a girl at first glance.

"Now that Shila is pregnant, you shouldn't be running around everywhere." Xia Lun's gaze toward Moke carried a hint of brotherly reproach. "Stay by her side and keep her company."

"Yes, Captain Xia Lun! Once I finish handling things here, I'll go back immediately." Moke straightened his back as a conditioned reflex, then relaxed again, grinning.

"Father, I'm going to go play now." Aise tugged at the corner of Xia Lun's clothes from the side.

"Go ahead. Remember to tell your mother to prepare a lavish dinner." Xia Lun patted Aise's head, and Aise trotted away.

"I heard from Liyana..." Moke looked in the direction Aise had left, hesitating to speak.

"Yes, Aise has a minor condition." Xia Lun pursed his lips. "But since we moved to the city, things have gotten a lot better. When he isn't having an episode, he is quite normal."

Moke pondered for a moment and suggested, "Miss Ankula might know something? As a witch, she should possess a lot of strange knowledge. Perhaps this isn't an illness, but some sort of curse..."

Moke observed Xia Lun's expression. Xia Lun looked calm, but deep in his eyes, it was as if a thin layer of ice had formed.

"I've already asked her privately through letters. Ankula is also unclear about what is happening to Aise, though the possibility of it being a curse is quite low." Xia Lun let out a long sigh, and then his expression grew somewhat complicated.

Moke asked weakly, "Uh... did something else happen?"

Xia Lun's tone was mixed with helplessness as he sighed faintly, "Yes, Aina found out about me secretly writing to Ankula."

"Hiss—that sounds truly awful." Moke subconsciously shrank his neck, able to imagine just how terrifying that scene must have been.

"For the first few days, she didn't say a single word to me." Xia Lun rubbed the center of his brows, as if to dispel that terrible memory. "I slept on the living room sofa for... a whole month. After that, it took I don't know how much effort to slowly coax her back."

However, at night, Aina would still occasionally come looking for him.

But she still wouldn't say much to him, making Xia Lun feel as if he were merely a tool to vent her lust.

"If you have something important, absolutely do not hide it from your wife." Xia Lun, speaking in the tone of someone with experience, patted Moke's shoulder firmly, hoping he would take it as a warning.

Moke nodded solemnly.

"What about you guys... aren't you considering having another one?" After hesitating for a moment, Moke finally asked the question.

But as soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it. Wasn't this implying that Xia Lun should prepare to give up on Aise?

Xia Lun did not seem to mind, merely shaking his head. "Forget it, Aina likes peace and quiet... You should just focus on taking care of your own large family first. No need to worry about us.

Let's not talk about this anymore. You came all the way here to see me this time, is there something the matter?"

"It's about your holy sword, Xia Lun." Moke's expression turned serious, and his voice subconsciously lowered.

"Holy sword?"

Xia Lun remembered that after his holy sword was corrupted into a demonic sword by the hatred and resentment of his enemies, he stopped using it. Instead, he handed it over to Musen, letting the Goddess Church help purify the deep-rooted filth within the blade.

After all, the holy sword was originally bestowed upon him by the Goddess.

But the purification process did not seem to be going very smoothly. Xia Lun was told that it might take several years to completely eradicate the taint within the holy sword.

Xia Lun didn't mind and simply left the holy sword at the church. After all, they had already settled down and were no longer adventuring, so he basically had no use for it anymore.

"I heard... a priest responsible for watching over it had his mind eroded by the killing intent within the sword, and he slashed and killed several people."

Xia Lun's gaze gradually grew solemn as he asked, "And then?"

"And then... that priest fled with the sword." Moke's voice dropped even lower. "Until now... there has been no news at all. Musen has been worried sick. He feels guilty towards you and hasn't known how to bring it up to you..."

Xia Lun took a deep breath, the lines of his jaw tightening, before slowly nodding.

"If that holy sword has developed its own consciousness... Xia Lun, although it's just an inference, I think it's very likely to come looking for you." Moke looked earnestly at Xia Lun in front of him. "You are definitely its deepest obsession."

Following that, Moke chuckled lightly, "However, with your and Aina's skills, nothing bad should happen anyway. I might just be meddling. But... keep a close eye on the kid, Aise, and don't let this leave any trauma on him."

Xia Lun's gaze passed over Moke, as if piercing through the walls, looking toward some unknown distance, or perhaps landing on some unseen threat.

He slowly retracted his gaze, letting it fall upon Moke's face, his expression gradually softening again. "I understand... Thank you."