Hui Cao woke up from the rocking chair with the light of dusk breaking through the barrier of the field.
—How long did I sleep?—she said, stretching to the limit as she stood up.
"7.57 hours."
The system spoke in its usual calm voice while the objects on the wooden bench were stored away among blue particles.
Taking a breath while looking at the horizon in the Old West field, she thought about her mother.
Looking at the tree in the center of the private villa of the concubines' children, she realized that she could not remember its shape or species.
But in her mind, beyond the image of her mother with Wang Mao's knife in her chest, she shook her head, removing the memory a little more from her mind.
—System, you say you are a kind of Dao of Heaven, right? Can you bring the dead back to life?—she asked, with a glimmer of broken hope in her eyes.
"Guest, the resurrection of a being is the most complex step of a creation. My answer is this: I only serve one being in this world. I am like a personal Dao of Heaven if you wish to describe my state better. And in your world, the possibilities of resurrection were broken long ago. The souls here are equal to dust, and there they become nothing. There is no way to revive someone from the outside."
—That's impossible. They always spoke of the River of a Million Lives at the borders of the afterlife. Even if my mother were dead, at least she could obtain a new life thanks to reincarnation—her anger settled within her golden eyes like intense crimson flames.
—I also know about the Divine Elixir of a Thousand Lives. The greatest immortals could live again once they took it, so it is possible to revive—almost like a desperate shout toward the void.
"These data were extracted from the Primordial Stone Serpent Egg. Inscribed on its shell were marks of a different soul. What I can tell the guest from my knowledge of the outside is that celestial qi is scarce. Some of the natural formations may have been destroyed due to this fact."
The system slightly changed the tone of its voice, seeming to give a sense of comfort.
"If I had any way to store the soul of the being, I could attempt to create a secondary body with the materials provided. But my record tells me that the souls of those bandits and the subject Wang Mao disappeared in 0.007 nanoseconds. Therefore, I must speak of the impossibility of the existence of such a river. In the world of the Old West there exists the reincarnation of memories. As long as you have embedded a memory of how they perceived you, your soul transforms and disappears into the air. I have not seen a transport or transformation, but rather as if they exploded into nothingness itself."
The system spoke more calmly than usual; its voice carried a certain air of sorrow.
—This thing hasn't lied about anything… or if it has… it's not necessary. It should just kill me when it gains its own will. There's no reason for stupid tricks—she thought, with a bit of light embedded in her eyes.
Settling back into the rocking chair, she lay down again, looking at the field with nettles at least three meters high. However, her mind was lost in the void of uncertainty.
"Time completed. Host protocol 'Silly girl, don't get close to the fields' has ended."
—If everything is a lie, what else can I do? Aren't I seeking immortality? Isn't that why we become cultivators? But if everything is already at its end, what else can be done?—with a small impulse she jumped from the rocking chair with elegance and stood on the boards of the cabin, making them vibrate.
—I'm going to finish that damned fox—she said, preparing her fists while taking the feathered staff once more.
Her yellow eyes returned to their usual calm, and her heart once again became unshakable.
The counter began again. Amid fire and blows, the first two stages of the trial passed like a whirlwind.
—We meet again—the fox looked at its paws, paying more attention to its claws than to Hui Cao.
For her part, she remained silent. The sun already hidden on the horizon revealed a large, full moon, unlike the three from her home.
The figure of the fox was more solid and ethereal under the moonlight.
—Let's begin once more, beast—the girl said, her hair floating lightly in the night sky.
—As you wish. You're not very entertaining, you know—the fox showed a slight smile before immediately lunging forward, dividing its body into four identical copies.
In the darkness, only Hui Cao's golden eyes shone intensely.
The fox launched its attack, speaking through the girl's memories.
—Why don't you play, sister?—it said in a tone identical to the memory.
Hui Cao returned to the past in her mind, though while concentrating on returning she noticed in that memory the tree she had not allowed herself to see again.
Its bright orange leaves covered the center of the concubines' hall. Its vibrant and firm trunk emitted the scent of natural freshness.
Leaving the hall of memories, Hui Cao launched a direct flare toward the fox just centimeters from its face.
Although it switched positions with one of its clones, it was slightly covered by the dragon's fire.
Shaking its fur, the flames went out, but the fox showed annoyance on its face.
—You really are just like those foolish fire-spitters—it said, showing its teeth to the girl.
Hui Cao paid no attention to anything the blue fox said. For her part, her attention was focused on remembering the name of that tree.
The time above still marked ten minutes before the end of the trial.
Fire and clones clashed again, this time more precise, more furious on both sides.
The clones disappeared and reappeared again and again as the battle continued.
Flames of draconic fire wrapped the dark skies.
—My nam-e is Tao Ying—it said with the voice of her first love.
—Hello, I'm your aunt Yao—the first time she met her aunt.
—Hui Cao, you will suffer a very harsh loneliness—a memory that in her three-year-old mind she did not remember, spoken with her father's voice.
—Pay attention, princess, this is the Storm-Destroying Fist—said Tao Ying's father when he came to visit.
All her memories and the emotions within them were used as weapons: the boy with his restless excitement, her aunt with her paternal love, and her father with a melancholy and sorrow in his voice as vast as time.
But even with indifference toward the fox's voice, her memories were appreciated in her mind with greater intensity.
At the final seconds of the fight—
—Don't think you'll get away so easily—the fox had already lost its air of superiority; its face now was pure rage.
Releasing a primordial scream that resonated to the deepest part of Hui Cao's soul, causing a slight tremor in her spiritual sea, it divided into twenty copies.
Each one as real as the original. Even Hui Cao's divine vision had no effect on the illusion.
Like a flamethrower she released all her breath, while feeling how her spiritual sea emptied at great speed.
The bluish fox that was about to collide with her face suddenly disappeared with the system's notification.
"Rare Spirit Training Field completed. You are granted the reward of +50 spirit points to your total statistics. Adaptability not yet achieved. Continue the hard work, guest."
Hui Cao, with her pale face, immediately felt how her soul and spiritual sea expanded, preventing her from falling to the ground from exhaustion.
Walking out of that field, she noticed a man sitting among the music of that device, wearing a brown hat and a poncho, seated in the rocking chair.
Blackie, for his part, stared for a moment before turning his head to look at Hui Cao. He stayed there for a moment before removing his saddle with complete agility and placing it on the table.
Although The Man Without a name carried light stains of blood on his clothes, he seemed half awake.
Hui Cao calmly approached the man who was gently rocking. Before stepping onto the cabin's entrance he said—
—How was your day, crybaby?—he said, slightly lifting his hat and placing it back in position.
The Man Without a name approached the radio calmly while Billy Joel spoke.
—There will always be only one love for the right people. That's how Johnny Cash describes it in the song One. Enjoy.
The music released the melody of the guitar. The Man Without a name hesitated in his movement before leaving it where it was.
Hui Cao simply walked toward the table. The Man Without a name walked toward the chest inside, taking out a light dinner.
Both plates contained simple bread, and beside it a hot chocolate.
After serving the girl, The Man Without a name glanced at her and asked—
—Any luck?—he said in a calm voice while looking at the girl's expression.
Hui Cao raised her gaze once more, with some fatigue in her being.
—No.
The Man Without a name looked at Hui Cao's clean expression.
He stood up and turned off the radio without hesitation.
Taking a sip of the chocolate in his hand, he looked at the girl once more and asked—
—What happened today?—his simple and ordinary eyes reflected a calm light.
Hui Cao cast another glance, but her tranquil composure remained as if her emotions were sealed even tighter.
—I remembered my mother—she said calmly while gently blowing on the chocolate.
The Man Without a name walked calmly toward her and sat on the left side of the table.
—We don't have that much trust to ask, but… when did it happen?—he said calmly while taking some dice in his hand.
Hui Cao looked at the face of The Man Without a name. Although the man's beard looked neglected, it was well styled. She simply looked into the man's hazel eyes and said—
—Just about three days ago—she said without concern, waiting for the man's reaction.
He took the dice and threw them onto the table while looking at the clear sky.
—I guessed it when the system took your crystals away—he said calmly.
—Well, you didn't have time to mourn until today, right?—he said calmly while taking the dice from the table.
Hui Cao looked again at The Man Without a name with a tired expression and a cold face, giving a slight nod.
—I'll tell you the story of a man—he said calmly.
—One day the man arrived in a new town. His home was impossible to return to. At first, believe it or not, he felt happy—he said calmly while placing one of the dice into Hui Cao's hand.
—How can someone be happy far from their home? you will ask. Well, that man said that in his home a bottle of pure water was worth more than a harvest, that meat was equal to the luxuries of the richest people. But in that town water was free and meat was cheap—he looked at Hui Cao, making a gesture to shake and throw.
—Time passed. The man adapted to the town. He began to work, earned money, built his life calmly, until one day an enormous sadness flooded him. He did not know what caused it. Searching for answers, he asked the town's doctor, then a shaman, and finally an artist who painted on the street—he said calmly while taking a sip of chocolate.
—The doctor used all his instruments without finding anything out of place. The shaman moved the spirits in consultation, yet even they did not know what was happening. In his desperation he asked an artist who was painting the image of the town on a canvas—both threw the dice at the same time, rolling a four and a six.
—Perhaps you miss your home? said the artist. But the man said that in that town there had been nothing but misery and fatigue. How could he miss that? Before finishing, the artist replied: Was I speaking of a house, sir? Did you have people in your home that you miss?—Hui Cao held the dice in her hands, noticing how The Man Without a name kept moving his fingers nonstop, like a nervous tick.
—The man who had seemed blind to the world turned his gaze once more toward the direction from which he had come that time. Only one person managed to cross his tormented mind: his mother—The Man Without a name released a long and continuous sigh.
—Remembering every detail of the woman, and his memories that seemed distant, as if the desert sand distorted them, he released the artist's collar and walked away, turning back toward his new home. Now with riches and food that in his life he could never have dreamed of, yet even so the loneliness weighed more than a hammer again and again—he said, maintaining his composure and looking attentively into Hui Cao's eyes.
—You see, girl, the man I speak of never had the chance to see his mother one last time. But although I know you did not have such a good experience, at least you have something to remember her by, don't you?—taking the cup, he moved it forward and held it in the air.
—They say there is no greater sacrifice than giving everything for those you love. So why don't you try giving everything for her?—he asked, lightly moving the cup.
Hui Cao shed a few simple tears and raised her cup, clinking it against the cup of The Man Without a name, making them resonate in the depths of the farm.