Chapter 64: Fox

The war had ended, but the peace that fell upon the city was not complete.

The streets still carried the weight of destruction, the hearts of all still remembered the chaos.

The northern gate was completely destroyed, along with a good part of the city. Houses had collapsed, marks of blood remained on the stones even after countless buckets of water had been thrown.

Days passed, and while the city struggled to rebuild itself, Kyrian remained in his courtyard at the Mu family residence.

He no longer concerned himself with the city, nor mingled with the others to rebuild. He did not care about his name, which was being spoken even more by many people.

He preferred the silence of his courtyard and, above all, the tranquility he felt when training. In his courtyard, he breathed deeply as he saw the whole scene of chaos again.

He reviewed every movement he had made with the sword, his own mistakes, flaws, and delays. Outwardly, it looked perfect and precise. But Kyrian knew, compared to his spear, which he had used since childhood, his sword technique did not compare.

And he wanted to change that, no, he needed to.

He had heard from Yanyu, at the Verdant Sword Sect, that it was not mandatory to follow the path of the sword.

But those talented on that path would still be given preference. Many of the resources the sect could offer would be beneficial only to those who used swords.

And he wanted all those resources. The more, the better, as long as he had resources, his cultivation would advance. Consequently, his strength.

After returning from the city, Kyrian stayed there, in his room. With only that in mind.

Yanyu was the one who brought news from outside. She came in cheerfully every day. With light steps and a voice always carrying energy. She, somehow, seemed far too happy for some reason.

She would sit near the table or even on the floor before him and then begin to speak.

“Did you know? Old Wang said it was your inheritance treasure that defeated that black thing.”

“Everyone had seen a blur at that time, but now everyone believes it. They say you saved them twice. First, they were at the wall, and then… when no one could even think straight, much less face that being.”

Yanyu spoke with her eyes shining, her hands gesturing as she spoke.

Kyrian, who had been sitting with his eyes closed thinking, opened them. Breathing deeply as his blue eyes fixed on Yanyu.

“I didn’t do anything,” he replied.

Yanyu frowned, as if disagreeing immediately.

“How did you not? You were there! Everyone saw what you did at the wall. And if the treasure was yours, then you were the one who saved us.”

Kyrian closed his eyes again. Leaning slightly back against his bed.

“I was only at the wall because of the spirit stones I would earn from it. Liu told me the rewards would be delivered soon.”

“And as for the treasure, I wasn’t the one who controlled it. It acted on its own.”

“So what?” Yanyu insisted.

“That doesn’t change anything. You were the one who defeated the flying beasts. And you were the one carrying the treasure. You were the one standing before that being. If you hadn’t been there, who knows what could have happened…”

Despite her words, Kyrian remained silent.

He did not seek anyone’s gratitude, nor did he care what they thought of him.

But the memory of the book emerging from his head was still strange and unsettling. He did not understand what that was.

Besides, if he didn’t even know why the book had followed him, accepting praise for something like that seemed completely hollow to him.

Only one thing mattered now, to keep cultivating, to keep getting stronger.

Despite that, the conversations with Yanyu had become part of his routine.

She spoke about how the city was being rebuilt and about the families thanking those who had fought. About the children of the Mu family, who once again ran through the streets with pride.

She commented on how the arrogant mercenaries now spoke Kyrian’s name with respect for what he had done on the defense line.

“Maybe the city archers will even make a statue of you to remember the battle! Imagine a statue of you at the northern gate. What do you think about that?” Yanyu said, smiling with amusement.

“Ridiculous.” Kyrian snorted, opening his eyes to look at her. It was obvious that he knew she was joking.

The one who truly deserved a statue was Old Wang.

Yanyu laughed loudly at his response, covering her mouth with her hands.

“I know, I know. But it’s funny to think about.”

She kept bouncing from one subject to another, filling the room with her voice.

Kyrian replied little, only what was necessary.

Usually a ’yes’ or ’no,’ sometimes a comment, and only when it was something that truly interested him would he argue further.

But behind his impassive face, which seemed not to care about much, there was something different.

He liked it.

The weight of silence from the ten years with Wei Feng was suffocating. Kyrian was finally talking to someone in a simple way.

When Yanyu was there, speaking without pause, filling the empty space that would always surround him, that weight seemed lighter.

The nights were long.

Kyrian would lie down after hours of training in the courtyard. Just waiting for the limit to fade so he could return to cultivating.

While that did not happen, Kyrian lay on his bed, closed his eyes, and tried to search for the book inside his mind. But it was always in vain.

It was as if the book had never existed.

’From Xiao Jun, to the destined one… isn’t it?’

’What does “destined” really mean?’ Kyrian asked himself in his mind. But without an answer.

Another thing that remained, besides that, was the fox.

Lying in the corner of the room on a cushion.

She slept deeply. Her white fur shone in the moonlight coming through the window.

Kyrian sometimes watched her, extending his hand to gently touch the soft fur. But what he felt from that small sleeping body was not calm.

Even though that dark and unknown energy had completely disappeared, with no sign of returning.

Kyrian could feel the hostility. That seeped from the fox even while she slept. It was cold, deep.

Like a small vessel of silent hatred.

Kyrian wondered what this little being had gone through to harbor such terrible hatred.

And he also knew, when the fox finally awoke, it would not be so easy.

One afternoon, Yanyu came in bringing fresh fruit.

Kyrian acted as if he didn’t care, but quickly grabbed several of them, eating while Yanyu watched him with a slight smile.

’This guy only thinks about training and eating… he hasn’t left the house for so long,’ Yanyu thought as she watched Kyrian eat the fruit with a faint smile.

She tried to make Kyrian go out into the city, but it was in vain. It seemed he was even more focused on strengthening himself.

The days turned into routine.

Kyrian trained, talked with Yanyu, observed the sleeping fox.

Little by little, the weight of war lifted from the city. One day Yanyu brought him a sack full of spirit stones. She said it was his promised reward from Liu.

And then his preparation truly began. The exam for the Verdant Sword Sect was not so far away. He knew it.

That was what truly mattered. His cultivation was low, but with those stones he could at least reach the 6º stage.

That night, sitting in the courtyard, Kyrian breathed deeply as stones vanished, being absorbed through his eyes.

The storm had passed, but another was approaching.

He looked back, only to see two shining eyes full of hostility.

The fox had awakened.

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