"… Just like that. Good!"
Ryu smiled, lightly patting Sephare's soft dark blond hair. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this sort of genuine happiness. Regardless, it had been a very long time.
"Don't try and treat qi like a beast on a leash, think about it more like breathing. You aren't pulling air on a rope into your lungs, rather, you're expanding your lungs and creating a vacuum that invites air in.
"Treat your qi just like this. You don't have to tug, fight and pull it. Make it subconscious, a reflex you have as synonymous with yourself as taking a breath."
Ryu's voice was incomparably gentle, even his gaze was soft.
When Sephare came here with such a ridiculous goal in mind, he was honestly infuriated. His fury was for this poor girl as her resolve, but rather toward her mother and brother who actually allowed such a thing to occur in the first place.
If it wasn't for Sephare's pleading, Ryu would have most definitely lashed out.
Ultimately, the little girl burst into a fit of tears, causing Ryu's heart to soften. Through her sobs, she managed to eek out a few words. Ryu learned that much of her sadness and even her actions on this day stemmed from her being unwilling to be a burden on her family. She had even hidden the fact she was trying to learn alchemy because it was simply too expensive.
Sephare wanted to become an alchemist because she had heard from a friend that alchemists made a lot of money. If she could become even a decent Common Grade Alchemist, she would be able to support her brother's cultivation journey and be less of a burden.
Unfortunately, she had a frail body and could barely become an Working Disciple of a subordinate Half-Step Fifth Order Sect. After saving up her contribution points from the time she was nine years old, she barely managed to afford an ungraded alchemy cauldron and a crude Circulation Method.
It had been almost half a year now, but she hadn't made any progress whatsoever, mostly because she had miscalculated… Now that she had a cauldron and Circulation Method… How would she afford the Spiritual Herbs she needed to practice?
Having hid all of this from her mother and brother so as not to burden them, the little girl suddenly felt the crushing weight of the world. She had surmounted one obstacle, only for a much larger one to appear.
Gisla and Guiot thought her to be na?ve and innocent, so they tried to protect her with all her might. But the truth was that this little girl had been fighting her own battles for a long time already.
Ironically, it was this little thirteen-year-old girl who took a stand to defend her mother and brother this time.
"Don't blame mom and big brother. My brother doesn't even know that I'm here and my mother only reluctantly let me go after I told her there was no better fate for me than becoming your woman…"
Hearing such words come a small girl's mouth, Ryu's last bit of rage dissipated completely. It wasn't easy for a woman in the martial world to raise her children alone like this. Gisla had made a mistake this time, but Ryu no longer hated her for it.
'This little girl is too pitiful…' Ailsa said through tears. Whether she was crying for Ryu or Sephare had become a blurred line long ago. '… This is an unfortunate reality for her.
'The harm caused to a normal woman's body giving birth to a talent on Guiot's level is extremely high. In most cases, the mother will die during labor. The fact Gisla survived and even gave birth to a second child with her weak cultivation is near unfathomable. Unfortunately, Little Sephare paid a price for it.
'Her body and meridians are overly frail due to the fact her mother's body lacked the strength to properly nurture her during gestation. The fact this little girl survived is another miracle…'
How could the Cosmos not work on equivalent exchange? The higher the cultivation of the parents, the more likely they were to produce talented offspring.
However, the Heavens didn't cut off all paths. One's Rites was one such example, but Soul Natures were another. But, there was a price to pay for everything, and Little Sephare was bearing some of that burden.
'This is enough to be worthwhile in investigating, Little Ryu. This little girl's talent in alchemy is only a little above average for the Pedestal Plane. If she takes full advantage of your help, she would become an Earth Grade Alchemist if there weren't any other variables.
'Unfortunately, her meridians are too frail, she would never be able to increase her cultivation level enough to accomplish this.'
Ryu frowned as he continued to observe. He didn't quite understand what was worth investigating about this. The little girl had a tragic Fate, that was all.
'It may seem like another closed case of the unfairness of the world, but that may not necessarily be the case.
'Both Gisla and Sephare have incredibly weak bodies, their vitality is much lower than what they should be for their age. Yet, they walk and interact with the world as though nothing was wrong. In fact, when you met them on their way back to the Outer Ring, the two had walked tens of miles already.'
'What you're saying is that their outward vitality might be the result after losing a much higher amount?'
'That's exactly right. It may be that the reason the two survived wasn't due to luck, but rather because their vitalities were much larger than normal individuals to begin with. If that's the case, then this isn't a normal situation.'
'If there's something special about them, wouldn't you be able to sense it?'
'Not necessarily. There are many special conditions that aren't explicitly locked into categories and grades. For example, Soul Natures have a category, that being their moniker itself, but they don't have dividing grades among them like say Bloodlines or Bone Structures do.
'Another example are warriors born with Innate Strength. This isn't classified as a particular constitution, but they do occur and one often can't see the result without personally witnessing it.
'Even beyond this, there are concepts like intelligence. It's nearly impossible to slap a label and grade onto something as abstract as this. Plus, these don't touch things like genetic abnormalities, constitution mutations, or even first or undocumented occurrences. The world is too big.'
'Then what should I do to help her, then?'
'I'll prepare a diet that will help her and her mother recover. It doesn't seem like this situation is impossible to reverse, it's just that they haven't had the expertise or the wealth necessary to do it. Then we can simply observe what happens.'
Ryu nodded before turning his attention back toward Little Sephare's progress.
Ailsa gazed toward the side of Ryu's face and sighed deeply.
'Little Ryu… She'll be fine.'
'…' Ryu remained silent for such a long time that Ailsa thought he just wouldn't respond as he usually did. However, he, to Ailsa's shock, spoke again.
'The person I feel the most guilty toward is Big Sister Nuri. I at least said goodbye to Elena… But I know Nuri will take it the hardest… She was tasked with protecting me, yet I died. Even if it wasn't her fault, she will still blame herself….
'… She had better be alive, because if she's dead… I really will become a Demon.'
The human-skinned tome in Ryu's inner space vibrated before falling to rest.