Chapter 699

About six or seven years ago, Lu Ka was taken out by Oleg from a craftsman's home to learn various skills—combat, weapons, strategy, and the like. He rarely spoke, but he learned quickly. Later, after he had been an apprentice for over a year, he ruined one arm while rescuing several townspeople from the Rift.

"…He barely made it through that time, passing out for three days straight. I kept watch by his sickbed, feeling frantic, both guilty and anxious. As a result, you guess… what were his first words when he woke up?"

"He said, 'Master, I'm very happy!'" Oleg recalled that scene with a sigh, "——When he said that, his whole body was wrapped in bandages, bloody and mangled… but that was the first time he smiled at me, that expression I can still see when I close my eyes."

Xing, lost in thought: "So that's what kind of person he is…"

"What I want to say is, that brat Lu Ka values the lives of those around him more than his own, and has done so since childhood. So when he says something like 'It's all for self-cultivation,' it's mostly a lie. He's definitely hiding something from you."

——

A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality.

"How can anyone value another's life so highly?" Han Li frowned slightly, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes.

"Master…" Yin Yue raised her silver eyes, her voice tinged with a teasing smile, "Are you envious? If only there were more selfless people like Lu Ka on the path of cultivation."

Han Li, hearing that, shook his head: "Envious? Not really. The world of cultivation has always been survival of the fittest, profit first; there's never any kindness without reason. If someone truly treated me like that…" He turned his gaze back to Oleg in the sky curtain, "If I weren't more vigilant, I'd probably have been used up and discarded long ago. I'm just feeling moved that someone like Lu Ka could still be alive today… It seems that although Belo Berg is bitterly cold and barren, the hearts of some sects that claim to be the 'orthodox' path are even more righteous."

"What the master said is absolutely right. Although this sky curtain is not lacking in evil demons and heretical paths from countless doomed planets, it also has no shortage of good people. And Belo Berg is even more so, as the saying goes: 'Ten thousand years of profound ice also harbor warmth.' In this icy, snowy place, not everything is cold."

"Well, if Natasha, Xier, Oleg, and the others had the intentions of the Six Demonic Sects and Extreme Yin Island, then within a few years all the resources and manpower of this lower region would be seized by them. The lower levels of Belo Berg would never see someone like Lu Ka…"

Yin Yue covered her mouth and chuckled lightly: "After all that… you're still envious, huh~"

——

Oleg supported Xing and Xier in getting to the bottom of things, but he also hoped not to put Lu Ka in an awkward position, after all he's the idol of the children of Pan Yan Town—he still wants to maintain that glorious image.

Soon after, Xing received a message from Xier: she had found Lu Ka, who was about to head to Rivet Town—and Xier knew just how dangerous that place was.

The two ran forward and indeed found Lu Ka at the inner entrance of Rivet Town. Xier and Xing hid secretly behind cover, cautiously tailing him, while Lu Ka himself was very careful, looking back every three steps, afraid someone was following him.

Before long, Lu Ka reached the central district of Rivet Town, and the person he saw…

All that could be seen was a girl wearing a thick hood walking out.

"Wait, is that… Hu Ke?! What is she doing here?"

Xing instantly understood: "It must be Hu Ke who caused Lu Ka's situation!"

Xier also didn't understand what she had grasped: "I can't tell if you're joking. But Lu Ka would probably advise her to return to town, right? After all, that guy cares a lot about children's safety."

Lu Ka also didn't know what he had said to Hu Ke; shortly afterward he alone went up a farther set of steps, while Hu Ke walked toward them and happened to bump into them hiding behind the crate.

For a moment, big eyes met small eyes, everyone staring at each other.

"…Wow!! Honorary member, Sis Xier—"

Xier quickly stepped forward and clapped a hand over Hu Ke's mouth: "Shh! Don't make a sound—you almost gave us away!"

"Mmm, you two sneaking around—what exactly are you up to?"

Xing: "We're treasure hunting."

Hu Ke's eyes flashed open with a "swish": "Oh!! How exciting!"

"If you don't hurry up, you'll lose even more… Hu Ke, hurry back to town, don't loiter here."

After seeing Hu Ke off, fortunately they hadn't lost Lu Ka, and the two immediately followed him to the abandoned orphanage, where they saw Lu Ka place something into a small wooden box.

Having finished all that, Lu Ka left without looking back, completely unaware that Xier and Xing were right beside him.

——

Sword Art Online.

"What he left behind… should probably be considered his privacy, right? Is it okay to sneak a look?" Asuna hesitated a bit; Xier and Xing's current behavior was like sneaking a peek at someone else's diary—kind of… not very moral.

"I understand your feeling, Asuna, but given the current situation we still need to figure out what Lu Ka is really thinking; Xier must clarify why he's undertaking this dangerous 'trial.' Someone like him, who values his comrades' lives more than his own, if he encounters such danger again…" Kirito didn't finish the sentence, but Asuna already understood his concern.

"You're right, but we've watched him come this far; aside from meeting Hu Ke, he hasn't had any contact with other suspicious people. Actually, once that worst‑case scenario is ruled out, I don't think there's anything to worry about."

Kirito was completely at a loss: "The worst‑case scenario? What scenario? You wouldn't suspect Lu Ka of secretly doing something like spying on Xier and the others, would you?"

Asuna instantly blushed, her eyes unconsciously darting elsewhere: "Ah… um, at the very beginning I really did have that thought—for example, those embarrassing slogans of his were actually probably secret signals for meeting up… but after listening to Oleg talk about Lu Ka's past, I also dismissed those ideas."

——

"I… I don't know why, but I keep feeling…"

"Shouldn't we not open it?" Xing followed up on her words.

"…Well, there's no reason, it's just a gut feeling. But we've followed him all this way—if we don't open it to have a look, we'll have gone through all this trouble for nothing."

Xier opened the box; inside there was really nothing, just a notebook, which she flipped through casually—it was filled entirely with children's handwriting and doodles.

These drawings, with their childish strokes, depict a little girl smiling and holding up her thumb toward Lu Ka, while Lu Ka likewise grins, showing a sunshine‑like smile, and returns a thumb‑up to the girl.

The two thumbs, in the center of the picture, seem to transcend time and space, pressing firmly together.

"Hello, Brother Lu Ka! I'm Maggi, from Hammer Town just like you, and I'm your loyal boxing fan! Although I've been physically weak since childhood, I still dream of one day fighting alongside you and becoming a big star on the ring! Although it's a bit embarrassing, I still want to ask my dad to send you this little notebook…"