Chapter 269 Chapter 269 – Suicide
Henry looked at Maria while they waited for Ken's parents to arrive. Although blindfolded, Maria could still feel the questioning gaze underneath.
"His mother is injured severely, and her core was destroyed. She spends most of her time in bed accompanied by her husband," Maria explained in a quiet voice the depressing atmosphere in the house.
"Master Haoran will be here soon," The maid soon returned and served everyone tea, followed by a man. Henry understood that Mei probably did not accept guests in her injured state and said nothing about her absence.
"Hello, Maria. Thank you for looking after us." Haoran's appearance would be heart-wrenching for anyone who knew him 4 years ago. He seemed like he turned 20 years older since Ken's sixth birthday, and his identity as a fifth-stage cultivator made this fact even worse. His eyes lost their old glimmer, and his posture was weak and bent as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders all the time.
"There's nothing to thank me for, I'm only a subordinate of your son, Master Haoran," she got up and bowed. Maria knew that getting liked by Ken's parents could make her one step closer to life if Ken cared about his parents' opinions, hence, she was always polite to them. Little did she know that her fate was already determined, and her executioner sat right beside her.
"I still find it hard to believe that my little boy turned so reliable so fast," Haoran sighed in self-loathing as he thought of his eldest son. He missed his two sons badly and felt completely useless and helpless both as a father and a husband. He could not defend his children nor cure his crippled wife.
A few seconds of silence passed as nobody wanted to interrupt the depressed man. "Who is he?" He eventually gestured toward Henry and asked.
"He is Henry, a companion of Ken. He sent him here to pick you up, he could not do it himself due to the political situation in the sect."
"Is Ken in any kind of trouble?" Hoaran asked worriedly, but Maria had no answer, so all heads turned to Henry.
"No, he just… moves out. You and Auntie Mei should come with me."
Henry was bad at explaining stuff, so Haoran could only frown in confusion. A cultivator of Ken's age could not just "move out" of the clan. Especially when there were sixth-stage cultivators waiting for him to make a mistake. Haoran and Mei never received the news of Krone and Norman's fall.
"Is he running away from the sect? It's impossible to escape the grasp of the beings at the seventh stage! I only got away because none of these beings was searching for me, and I was much older than him."
"It is ok. We join Serene Lotus Sect. Elders will pick us up if you and Auntie Mei come with me to where Ken told me to take you."
"The Serene Lotus Sect? How did that happen?" Haoran asked with surprise written all over his face. He could not fathom a scenario in which Ken who was not even 10 years old contacted the Serene Lotus Sect and convinced them to let him join their sect.
Furthermore, it was not even as simple as being accepted; it sounded like the first-ranked of the continent sect went out of their way to recruit him, even taking his family along with him.
He had a lot of questions asked, but he realized he wouldn't get any answers. Henry's tone and facial expressions made it clear that he did not like to answer the questions but was forcing himself. The results of this effort were not optimal either.
"How confident is he about this plan?"
"100%. Young Master Ken is always sure of the outcome of his actions," Maria took the burden of speaking back and helped to reassure the worried father.
"I see. I guess I'm so useless now I can only follow my 10-year-old son's instructions. We will come with you, just please wait a few minutes while I talk to my wife," Haoran said with a defeated voice as he walked back to his room.
The remaining group sat silently while they waited for Haoran and Mei. Meanwhile, inside the bedroom, Haoran sat by his wife's side on the king-size bed.
"Mei, Dear. I've received news from our son. Good news."
Mei, who had been lying almost lifelessly on the bed, revealed a sign of life when her eyes moved to look at Haoran with a sparkle of hope.
"Ken?"
"Yes, our Ken. He managed to enter the Serene Lotus Sect, the strongest sect in the world. He ran away from the clan and joined them."
A small smile adorned Mei's fragile lips. They were dry and cracked. Her face was wrinkled like a woman in her eighties, and her breath was weak and slow.
"My Ken is amazing. I hope he can get to the top of the world one day, I believe he can do it in the right environment."
"He can, Dear. We might even live long enough to see it. He told us to go somewhere and said that the elders of the Serene Lotus Sect would take us from there to their territory. It must mean they value Ken very highly."
"Did he come here himself?" She asked with a rejuvenated voice and tried to get up on her elbows, raising her head and upper body.
"No, he couldn't. He sent one of his friends, a monk who is really bad at talking," Haoran described the monk for his wife while stroking her hair gently.
"Haha," Mei laughed lightly for the first time in the past four years. "He himself is bad at making friends, no wonder they get along," Mei said as her smile turned wider while she thought about her son.
He had not made a single friend in the sect until the moment he was taken away. She never complained because he seemed to be developing and maturing much faster than his age group, so she believed he was too special to enjoy the company of the other kids.
"You're right. What do you think, should we go? They might have a way to cure you in the Serene Lotus Sect," Haoran said in a cracked voice, a tear appearing in his eyes when the topic of his wife's injury was brought up.
"You are asking me if I want to grab a chance at getting cured… haah, it means you're worried about something." There was silence before Mei continued to talk again, understanding Haoran could not bring himself to say anything against the hope of getting her cured.
"You're worried that they might use us in a way to manipulate him and influence his decisions, maybe even blackmail and force him into subservience."
Mei said out loud the worries Haoran could not voice. He was torn between his duty as a husband and his duty as a father.
"Yes."
"Then bring me a knife. I will plunge it into my heart myself instead of becoming a burden on Ken."
The two shared a long gaze into each other's eyes and talked with no words. They knew that staying behind was not an option. The Sue clan would use them to taunt and blackmail Ken without any hesitation. The fact that Ken sent people to pick them up was the best testimony to the fact he thought the same.
However, they did not know the circumstances under which Ken joined the Serene Lotus Sect. They knew he was a genius, and an amazing one at that, especially at the Alchemy field. In their current state, they could only think pessimistically and believe that they'd be used against Ken in one way or another in the future if they let a foreign sect take them.
"Do you think it's the best choice?" Haoran asked in a quivering voice after they finished their silent conversation. He did not want his wife to die and he did not want to die himself. But the thoughts about being a burden on his son kept haunting his mind relentlessly.
"Yes. Don't you think the same?"
Haoran did not answer directly. Instead, he produced two long daggers from his storage ring and gave one to Mei.
"I'm sorry, I'm useless to the end. I can't do it for you."
"It's fine, I can at least kill myself even in my current state." Mei comforted him and took one of the daggers. In her determination, her hand was firm as if she was at her peak again.
The two made eye contact and looked into one another's eyes lovingly while raising their blades and placing them against their chests. Despite the slight shaking that pervaded their movements, their eyes gleamed in resolve.
"May all beings have happy minds."
Just as the two were about to put an end to their lives and avoid being a burden on their son, the door was opened, and a blindfolded monk entered and spoke in a soft voice.
The couple's expressions changed for the better as they felt bliss they had not felt in years. Today was by no doubt the happiest they had been in years, twice already.
"Just as a mother would protect her only child with her life, even so let one cultivate a boundless love towards all beings." Henry quoted out loud as he watched the two parents, "Today I've been enlightened on the meaning of this sentence. Amitabha."
Fortunately, the house was not prepared by Ken, so most of the formations were simple third-rank ones that could not hide anything from Henry's perception.
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