- Promise to go with cultivators when they came to recruit Yu Lin (0.3%).
- Protect Yu Lin from Elder Li (0.1%).
- Decide to stay so Bai Feng could teach Yu Lin (0.2%).
- Stand up to Elder Li when he threatened to kill Yu Lin (0.4%).
“The only pattern I can see here is that everything deals with Yu Lin,” Yu Di said. Secretly, that’s how he felt this whole time. Every time his curse unlocked, it was because of his daughter.
“I’m not sure,” Bai Feng said. “That might just be a coincidence. Look at the numbers. They’re all different every time.”
“Baba look. A cat.” Yu Lin lifted her page to show a lopsided cat drawn with crude circles and a triangle for ears. Everything was colored in with black ink.
“That’s nice. Do you want another sheet?” Yu Di took it from her and placed it in a growing pile of animal drawings.
Yu Lin nodded.
Yu Di passed another sheet to her and went back to his own. Bai Feng was right. There had to be something going on with each incident.
“The most recent one was when Elder Li threatened to kill Yu Lin,” Yu Di said.
Bai Feng shook her head.
“We can’t keep focusing on just one idea,” she said. “If it was as simple as protecting Yu Lin, I’m sure you would have unlocked it by now. You’ve taken care of her for four years.”
Yu Di looked away.
“It’s actually only been one year. I didn’t know I had a daughter until her mother dropped her off.”
Yu Lin didn’t react this time.
“Well you have been taking care of her for at least one year and doing your best,” Bai Feng said. “But I don’t think it’s so simple. Otherwise, you'll have to keep throwing your child at danger.”
“You’re right,” Yu Di said. “I have been looking at this curse the wrong way. I kept thinking that all I needed was higher grade materials or some secret technique. But the person that cursed me, the goddess of Miryana, was a kind, yet simple person. There’s no way she could have used an intricate curse. It has to be something simple.”
“Sometimes the simplest is the best. We tend to forget that as we reach higher levels of cultivation. This goes doubly so for you.”
“How are you so wise for one so young?” Yu Di shook his head.
“Age has nothing to do with wisdom. Just look at your daughter. She wants a cat, she makes a cat. Simple yet each of her drawings are different.”
“Here Baba,” Yu Lin said. She handed Yu Di another drawing of a cat.
“Thank you.” Yu Di picked up the page and this time, it looked nothing like a cat. Yet it was a cat.
“So what is your next move?” Bai Feng asked.
“We need more information. It’s time to go testing.”
Bai Feng glanced at Yu Lin.
“But what about the costs of using your power?” she asked.
“Every time I use it, it’s about a month. Let’s see if I can do it without using my full power. However, I suspect that’s a condition.”
“What do you mean?”
“My current power level is so weak that anyone could bully me. Every one of these situations has been against insurmountable odds for the current me.”
“Except when you agreed to stay.”
Yu Di looked at his sheet again. Bai Feng was right. The only time he didn’t have to use his full power or any power was when he decided to stay.
“What made that different?” Bai Feng asked.
“I don’t know. You asked me to stay so that you can teach Yu Lin.” Yu Di patted his daughter on the head. “I have to admit, you are a better teacher than me for her, but the dangers far outweigh any benefits. Yet I still stayed.”
A thought hit him.
“I think I stayed not only for little Lin, but also for you,” Yu Di said. “When I heard your sad story, I couldn’t help but feel sad for you. And seeing my daughter wanting to stay made the choice all the easier. The last thing I wanted was for her to be alone when I pass in the future.”
Yu Lin dropped her brush.
“Baba, you can’t go.” The little girl rushed her father into a heavy embrace. It almost knocked him over.
“I’m not going anywhere little Lin. Don’t worry.” Yu Di hugged her close.
“This brings more questions,” Bai Feng said.
“Then starting tomorrow I’m going to test everything I can. Then we meet back here in a week.”
Yu Di got up to leave.
Stolen story; please report.
“You might as well stay in my home,” Bai Feng said.
“Are you sure Senior Bai? It would be improper for a man and a woman to spend the night under one roof that isn’t married or related.”
Yu Di knew that this would affect Bai Feng more than him because she was a woman, but secretly he hoped he could stay there instead. Spending another night in that rat infested, bug ridden, cesspool of a “former” prison only made him not want to sleep at all. His daughter was already sleeping in this house, so it wasn’t as bad.
“The rumors have already spread throughout the sect,” Bai Feng said. “Another one won’t hurt. There’s also no rule against it.
Yu Di cupped his hands and bowed his head.
“Thank you so much, Senior Bai. I might finally get a good night’s sleep for once.”
“You’re welcome. You can sleep over in the corner with your daughter.”
“But auntie Bai, I want to sleep with you,” Yu Lin said. “Can’t we all sleep together?”
Bai Feng pursed her lips.
“No little Lin, that would be inappropriate,” Yu Di said. “You’re young but you should understand that boys and girls can’t sleep together. That’s not right.”
“But Baba is a boy and I’m a girl.”
“That’s different. I’m your father.”
“Okay.” Yu Lin nuzzled against her father’s chest, yawning.
“Well, it’s late. I’ll talk with you tomorrow, Senior Bai.”
Bai Feng nodded.
Yu Di walked over to a dark corner of Bai Feng’s home. It had a small blanket there for Yu Lin that had a small duck sewn into it. There was nothing else and Yu Di was grateful for that.
He pulled out a sleeping mat along with a large blanket from within his own storage ring. He covered himself and his daughter. Yu Lin snored as he put her down beside him.
Tomorrow was going to be a big day for Yu Di. It was time to test the limits of this curse. Maybe, with a bit of luck, he’ll be able to finally break it and leave this place.
In the morning, Yu Di convinced his daughter to ride on his shoulder all morning instead of playing with Bai Feng. He had to make it a game.
They were standing among the other disciples on the training grounds at the center of the fortress. The disciples batted at each other as children do with no real formal training. There was mostly dirt and dust being kicked around as they all tried to hit each other.
The first test he did was to flare his Qi with his daughter on his shoulders. He pulled it back only to the level he was currently at, which was impossible at first.
Yu Di had been using his full power ever since he began cultivating. There was no sparring with a fellow junior disciple and every time he went to steal from the sects, he didn’t dare use less power. In his last major fight with the goddess he used everything he could to end the fight as quickly as possible.
Now, he was using not even one percent of his full power. It was like holding a square of tofu in his hands and trying to squeeze it without splattering everything everywhere.
Yet splatter it did.
Yu Lin pushed off Yu Di’s shoulders and did a backflip.
“Baba, that hurt.”
“Sorry little Lin,” Yu Di said. He reached down and picked her back up, checking her over to see if she was hurt anywhere.
“Baba, can I play?” Yu Lin pointed at a group of younger disciples doing flips and tricks. They looked like the group from before that were at Bai Feng’s home, tossing Yu Lin.
This was a good opportunity. If his daughter was in danger, maybe his curse would lift if he went to save her.
“Yes, little Lin, you can go play. Remember to stay safe.” Yu Di wanted to unlock his curse, not get her daughter killed.
“Okay.” Yu Lin kicked off her father, attempting to hit the floor.
“Wait.” Yu Di kissed her on the head before releasing her.
As Yu Di waited for something to happen to his daughter, he practiced his Qi control. Worse than threading the needle.
The day was a failure.
He controlled his Qi, but only if he focused. That was it.
Nothing happened to his daughter.
Normally Yu Di wouldn't want anything to happen to his child, but couldn't those disciples play a little rougher with her? Couldn't they have tried to hurt her a little bit? He even hoped that Elder Li came around again to make his life hard.
It probably had something to do with all the female disciples crowding around Yu Lin, trying to play with her like the doll they never had. Yu Di had to admit, his daughter was cute.
It wasn’t until they were almost to Bai Feng’s home did they stop. A woman wearing the same gray servants’ tunic as them, sat in the middle of the road. She had a cart by her, but the wheels had come off. There were large empty buckets on top of the cart.
Yu Di felt sorry for the woman, but after a long day of sweeping the floors he was tired. He just wanted some food and to collapse onto the floor. He had been using his Qi all day and he was empty.
“Baba, she needs help,” Yu Lin said.
“Little Lin, I’m too tired. I can’t help her.” Yu Di walked around the woman.
“No, stop.” Yu Lin pulled Yu Di’s hair.
He felt his hair rip from his head. It was probably the only weakness of having a strong daughter on his shoulders.
“Ouch.”
“Sorry Baba.” Yu Lin tried to pat the hair back in place, but that wasn’t happening. He better not have a bald spot up there.
“Why did you do that?” Yu Di rubbed his head. Fortunately, he had other hair covering over the spot.
“Mother said to always help others. She needs help.” Yu Lin pointed at the woman.
Yu Di wanted to argue against that, but that would have set a bad example for his daughter.
“You’re right. Let’s help her.” Yu Di put Yu Lin down onto the ground.
“Auntie, can we help you?” Yu Lin asked.
The woman looked up, her eyes sunken. Her tunic was wet and sticking to her body.
“Yes, please!” the woman said. “I was carrying this water to the kitchens when the wheels broke off. No one stopped to help me.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Yu Di said. “What can we do to help?”
“I need to get more water or Head Servant Cui Ying is going to whip me again.” The woman pointed toward the well not too far from there.
“Yu Lin, grab a bucket and get the water. I’ll see what I can do about the cart.” Yu Di looked at the wheels and they were full of rot. It didn’t even have basic Qi constructs to strengthen it so it wouldn’t break. “I’m sorry but the cart can’t be fixed. We’ll have to leave it. Are you hurt anywhere?”
The woman shook her head.
“Then we’ll have to do this without the cart.” Yu Di passed two buckets to the woman. “My daughter will take one. You and I can take two. It should take two trips and we should be done.”
Yu Di wasn’t sure if the woman was crying when she took the bucket, but when she looked up, she was definitely thankful. Her smile was wide.
Curse unlocked: 0.1% lifted.
Yu Di collapsed onto his sleeping mat when he got back to Bai Feng’s home. Of course the buckets weren't normal mortal buckets. They had to be giant ones that filled more than they looked. The few Qi items they had in the sect and it was to carry more water.
He was too exhausted to eat as that would require moving his mouth. Yu Lin ate happily with Bai Feng, recounting her adventures of the day. However, he couldn’t sleep. He kept thinking about how his curse lifted when he helped the woman.
Yu Lin said to help and he did.
Curse unlocked.
Was it that simple?