Chapter 96: Ka Wei's Father's Past

Seeing ghosts, huh?

Luo De played with the grass‑green Vision in his hand, but he still couldn't figure it out.

After discovering this Vision last night thanks to Nadixa's reminder, he hadn't slept since waking up.

He really couldn't figure it out.

What on earth is this for?

Could it be that he's good‑looking enough for Heaven to smile on him and grant him a few extra Visions?

Luo De is indeed carefree.

But now he can't stay carefree.

"Sorry, I don't know how to explain this either."

Nadixa, who had vanished all night, reappeared now: "I searched the void all night last night; sorry, I found no theory or case that could explain this."

"Okay, I got it."

Luo De rubbed his temples and put away the Grass Element Divine Eye.

Even the Dendro Archon couldn't figure it out.

How could a mere mortal hope to understand?

He has time to spare.

Better to go do something useful.

As for the 'productive thing' Luo De mentioned,

It's actually the promise he made long ago to take Ka Wei to find the house where his father once lived.

He looks like he didn't sleep much last night either, showing up this morning with a pair of very distinct dark circles.

"Huh? What's wrong with you again?"

Seeing Luo De's low spirits, Ka Wei asked doubtfully.

He's missing his father—what's up with Luo De, who's always goofing around?

Dixiya, hearing the sound, also looked over.

"What's going on?"

Luo De rarely shows such an expression, so Dixiya's voice inevitably carried some worry.

"Nothing."

"Mm—"

"This is hard to talk about; forget it, I'll tell you when I have time."

Having a third Vision is something he finds hard to bring up, no matter how he thinks about it.

Dixiya knowing about it doesn't matter either way.

But it would be inconvenient for others to know.

Moreover, now isn't the time to talk about it; feeling a bit vexed, Luo De waved his hand casually, took Ka Wei out the door, and headed straight for A Ru Cun.

Soon enough.

The two soon saw Kantisi waiting for them at the village entrance.

"Mr. Luo De, and Mr. Ka Wei, please follow me."

Kantisi, who had already received Luo De's notice beforehand, remained as usual—her tone gentle but not overly enthusiastic.

Following her, they wound their way through the village.

Initially.

Ka Wei felt rather complicated about seeing the house where his father once lived, unsure how he would face it when the time came.

Then, as they walked, he suddenly noticed.

Luo De seemed to be unwelcome in A Ru Cun.

The young lady who called herself a Guardian walked ahead, and everyone who saw her greeted her warmly.

But whenever these people saw Luo De, they reacted as if they'd seen a ghost, hurrying to put distance between themselves and him.

This left Ka Wei astonished and suspicious.

Luo De gave him a pretty good impression: he cooks well, is knowledgeable, well‑traveled, can farm, and reportedly once single‑handedly cared for the injured A De Ba Yi and the child Ke Lai, showing a kind heart.

Why are the villagers so afraid of him?

At that moment, Luo De, walking side by side with Ka Wei, said quietly: "Because I once killed someone in defiance of the village's rules and never received punishment."

"Killing someone?"

Ka Wei's expression froze, and his gaze toward Luo De shifted slightly.

This guy, he actually kills?

"Out in the desert, you have no choice."

Luo De chuckled lightly: "You'll find out if you stay here long enough—though violence isn't the way to solve problems, it can eliminate those who create them."

As soon as he said that,

Kantisi couldn't help but glance back at him.

"Miss Kantisi, don't you think what I said is wrong?"

Seeing this, Luo De gave Kantisi a sideways grin.

"No, I think you're absolutely right."

To Ka Wei's surprise, the seemingly mild‑mannered Guardian actually agreed with Luo De's statement.

"Heh."

Seeing Ka Wei's surprised expression, Luo De patted his shoulder: "Take it slow; you'll get used to it eventually."

While speaking,

Three people arrived before a house that had been swept spotless.

Here.

An old woman sat before the door, leisurely fanning herself.

Upon seeing Kantisi arrive, she immediately stood up, smiling broadly as she greeted her: "Miss Kantisi, you've come."

"Grandma Li Shi Di, this is Mr. Ka Wei whom I mentioned to you yesterday."

After Kantisi replied with a smile, she handed Ka Wei and Luo De over to the old woman named Li Shi Di.

"Hmm, alike, alike, truly alike."

As soon as Kantisi left, Li Shi Di began circling Ka Wei, constantly saying 'alike'.

After a good while.

She then emerged from her recollection, saying with a melancholy face: "Indeed, it's that person's child; they look exactly alike."

"Do you, do you know my father?"

Ka Wei's voice trembled.

If at first he was half-believing, half-doubting, now Li Shi Di's words made him feel as if he had some vague spiritual intuition, convinced that the 'that person' she spoke of was his father.

"I don't know whether he is your father."

"He never told us his name; he only ever helped us."

Li Shi Di sighed, walked with hands behind her back and hunched over toward the house: "Come on, child, let's talk here."

Just like outside.

The inside of the house was also spotless.

One can tell without thinking that someone must regularly come to clean.

The room had few furnishings: just a table and a chair, with no bed or wardrobe.

After entering, Li Shi Di casually picked up a small rag, wiping the old furnishings while saying to Ka Wei and Luo De: "It wasn't like this before, but you know the village's conditions—few things can last over twenty years; these two are now the last items in this home."

Next.

She then began to recount the events of that year.

"This has to start from twenty years ago."

"Back then, village life was much harder than it is now."

"Poverty, disease, ignorance."

"These problems constantly troubled us."

"Until a young person from the Academy came to the village."

Upon hearing this.

Ka Wei's face suddenly showed a hint of sorrow.

Back then, it was precisely because he said he thought the Academy's celebration crown was especially beautiful that his father decided to enter the competition, winning this crown for Ka Wei and sending it to him to play with for a few days.

At the time, the competition wasn't complicated, and Ka Wei's father was widely regarded as capable of winning.

But unfortunately.

He ultimately missed the crown by a hair's breadth, and after the competition he went missing for a period of time; thereafter Ka Wei and his mother received news that his father had died accidentally in the desert.

This matter became an eternal nail in Ka Wei's heart that he could never pull out.

Even to this day.

He still feels that it was his own words that killed his father.

"Don't dwell on the past; focus on the present, for example, listen to Grandma Li Shi Di tell your father's story properly."

Luo De's consolation was very effective.

Ka Wei immediately stepped out of the shadow of the past, listening intently to Li Shi Di's narration.

"That young man, he was clearly a genius from the Academy with a bright future, yet he willingly suffered here."

"He taught us knowledge, enabling the children to recognize characters, to read, and to live better lives."

"He also told us how to deal with sandstorms and monsters."

"Well, those suspension bridges and sandstorm defenses in the village are what he taught us to build."

"Alas—"

"We were poor back then; we couldn't afford medicine, so many who fell ill could only wait to die."

"Seeing that, he took all his money to buy medicine and personally cared for the sick."

"What a pity, what a pity."

"Good people don't live long—"

Upon saying this, Li Shi Di's voice grew mournful.

And Ka Wei also trembled slightly, his voice choking with tears as he asked hoarsely: "He, how did he die?"

"Back then, your father often left the village to survey the desert."

"Once I asked him what he was looking for."

"He said he wanted to talk with someone from a group called the Na Qie Shi Tuan."

"Later, when he went out to survey, on his way back he encountered a caravan trapped in quicksand; he saved many people but did not return himself."

Upon saying this.

Ka Wei completely lost control of his emotions, tears streaming down his eyes.

And after Li Shi Di finished speaking her next words, his tears could not be stopped.

"At that time, right here, we found a half-finished letter he hadn't completed, written to his child and his wife."

After his death, my son kept that remnant letter on him, hoping that someday he could pass it on to his child.

But he left no name; we tried many ways, asked many people, but we never found where his child was.

Remnant Letter!

Ka Wei wiped away a tear, anxiously asking: "Is the letter still here?"

"It's gone."

Saying this, Li Shi Di lowered her head in shame, her voice tinged with sorrow: "For a better life, my son became a mercenary; just a few years ago, his mercenary unit clashed with another, he lost his life, and everything on him was seized."

"Alas—"

Hearing that the letter was gone, Ka Wei closed his eyes and let out a long, disappointed sigh.

"Sorry, I couldn't keep your father's letter."

Li Shi Di said apologetically: "Your father helped us so much, yet we failed even this small thing; truly sorry, sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"If only I had come earlier."

Ka Wei comforted the tearful Li Shi Di, then turned to Luo De and said: "Luo De, could you let me be alone here for a moment?"

"Sure."

Luo De nodded and left the house together with Li Shi Di.

However.

They had just stepped out the door.

Then they heard a long-suppressed sobbing from the room, filled with regret, remorse, and a sense of relief, as if a burden that had weighed on them for many years had finally been lifted.

"They really have exactly the same personality."

Having said that, Luo De gently shook his head, sat by the doorway, and waited for Ka Wei to vent his emotions.

(End of chapter)