1700 In a Cave
Alex saw shimmering light above him, rippling through the water he was submerged in. It all moved so very slowly.
He reached out for the light, hoping to grab it, but he continued sinking deeper. Deeper and deeper he went as the light faded and darkness overtook him.
Alex gasped awake. He opened his eyes wide and breathed in deeply to leave the terrifying feeling of death behind. It had only been a dream, nothing else.
He breathed in and out a few more times before calming down. He wasn't dying. He was safe.
He was… safe?
Memories poured in of everything that had happened. From his sister and the others leaving, to Yao Ning's death, to finally his…
The last memory haunted Alex the most. The memory of the spear stabbing through his Dantian. The memory of his crippling.
He couldn't believe it at all. He was crippled.
He stared at the rocky ceiling above him, trying to process his feelings and thoughts. What was he to even think? Everything he had worked toward for the past half a century had been for naught in just one moment.
Alex sighed with dejection.
"Are you awake?" a voice asked.
Alex's eyes went alert all of a sudden. He tried to turn to look, but a sharp pain in his stomach made him stop.
He grimaced. So he was still wounded it seemed.
'Is the wound from my stomach not healed?' he thought. It was a surprising prospect to think about. He had gotten so used to healing within seconds that feeling a lingering pain from a wound made it feel weird.
Alex laid back down so that he didn't agitate his wounds any further. "Where am I?" he asked, in a rather hoarse voice.
"Where you are, I cannot tell you," the man said. "But I can tell you that you are safe, for now."
Alex tilted his head up to see the upside-down image of a man standing in front of something. Alex couldn't see much from this viewpoint, but he saw a lot of white. He also saw fire and smoke beyond the man, but nothing else.
"Did you save me?" Alex asked in a solemn tone.
"Yes and no," the man said. "I found you wounded and gave you shelter, so in a way I did save you. But, the one that truly saved you was that beast of yours. He fought dozens of ocean beasts to protect you."
"Had it not been for him, you would've most likely been fish food a long time ago," the man said.
'Fish food…' Alex thought. Was the dream he had seen just now not been a dream then?
"So Pearl saved me, huh?" Alex asked the man.
"Pearl? Is that the name of that tiger-like cat beast with the white fur?" the man asked. "I suppose the name makes sense. Yes, it was him that saved you. By how bloodied and wounded he was, I assume he fought for a long time too. He looked more hurt than you, but then you seem to have been crippled too."
"I have no Qi, do I?" Alex asked.
"No," the man said. "Do you need some time to process this?"
Alex shook his head. "Maybe later. I have more questions than thoughts right now."
"I do too," the man replied. "Your beast disappeared into his beast space before I could ask how you got into this situation. Can you sit up?"
Alex tried. Pain flared from his stomach once again, but he overcame it this time around and sat up, leaning against the wall of what seemed to be a cave.
He was right by the mouth of the cave, the bright light from outside pouring in, letting him see just where he was.
Alex saw the ocean in the distance, past some treetops that were below his eye level. He seemed to be on a mountain of sort with a cave on it.
He turned around as the man in the white robe walked toward him, carrying a small pot in his hands. The man's robes weren't as good-looking as Alex had expected them to be, torn in multiple places.
Alex lifted his gaze from the clothes to the man's face and his eyes went wide in shock.
The man's face was covered in a long white mustache and scraggly white beard, and his unkempt hair made him look more like a beggar than anything. He was also considerably older-
looking than what his voice suggested.
However, that wasn't the main reason why he was shocked.
It was because he recognized the man before him. "It's you!" Alex said.
The old man's face scrunched in what Alex thought was a frown. "Do I know you?" he asked.
"You do," Alex said,"We've met before, um… 18 years ago? You stopped the ship I was in, coming from the Southern Continent to check for something."
"Hmm?" the man narrowed his eyes a little before it went wide again. "Oh, is it you, King of the Southern Continent?"
Alex nodded.
"Ah, I didn't expect to see you again," the man said. "Especially not like this."
Alex wanted to retort about the man's dress but kept quiet on that topic. "Thank you for saving me," he said. "How many days have I been out?"
"3 days, Your Majesty," the man said. "You've been out for 3 days. Most likely because of your blood loss. You were pale as an oyster meat when I first saw you."
Alex could imagine. He had been wounded and had been losing blood profusely. The fact that he had even lived was something else.
The man gave Alex some time to think and brought out a wooden bowl from his storage bag. Then, he poured some soup from the hot pot he had been carrying.
"Here, I'm been making this for the past 3 days," he said.
Alex looked at the bowl skeptically.
"It's good for your body," the old man said. "It's made with Amber seaweed, Dawn Oyster, and many other nutritious ingredients that have been cooked in a brother for a long time. It will give you the strength you are lacking."
"Besides, you're a mortal now," the old man reminded him. "If you don't eat, you'll die."
Alex gave a disgruntled look, angry at those words, but he did feel weak. So, he nodded in the end and slowly drank the soup.
As the soup entered Alex's mouth, he tasted the incredible flavor of the soup, the thick texture of the broth, and the absolute harmony of saltiness and savoriness.
He couldn't put the soup down at all and only did when he finished it all.
Alex breathed out loud and huffed a little before wiping his face. He could feel an incredible warmth flowing through his body, making him feel so much more alert and alive.
It was incredible.
Did it taste so good because he was mortal? Because his body craved for food?
Alex didn't think it was just that.
He looked toward the old man, curious about something.
"Your name," he said slowly. "May I know what it is?"
The old man grumbled a little. "I cannot tell you—"
"It's Zhou Linfan, isn't it?" Alex asked the man and saw his eyes narrow in surprise.
That was all the confirmation Alex needed.
