Clark opened the ancient scroll and witnessed two old paintings from within. They were so lifelike that it appeared almost taken from a digital camera from his old world.
But he was of course aware of the fact that this picture was indeed taken and crafted by a master artist in this xianxia world.
This personal treasure had been with Lu Chen for most of his life and in those rare moments of clarity, he would always visit this happy memory that was forever wrapped in perfection.
"My parents in this world..." Clark gazed at the first image and his heart was gripped with regrets when he saw the beautiful smiles of Lu Chen's mother and father.
In between the lovely couple stood a younger Lu Chen that was perhaps 10 years old or even younger.
This was a family photo that captured with great vividness a time when everything in Lu Chen's life was still happy and great.
Alas, these wonderful people were no longer living today and no matter how much Lu Chen would have wanted to, he could only honor this parents' memory with a life truly lived.
Unfortunately, that dream remained a mere dream even until Lu Chen's last breath. There was an epic lesson be learned here which our bored gamer was luckily not too stupid to realize.
"If i can go back home someday, i will make sure that i would repay my parents' love a hundredfold!"
"FUCK THAT! MAKE IT A THOUSANDFOLD!"
"I will absolutely return! Just wait for me a little longer!" Clark vowed and a single tear fell from his eyes. He wiped it angrily and he made this anger fuel his determination even more.
Intense emotions like this one ate at his soul and Clark almost exploded in the spot. He wanted to rage, to shout, and to destroy anything else in his path.
'STOP! YOU FUCKING IDIOT!'
'DO YOU WANT TO TURN INTO THE DAMNED HULK AGAIN AND HURT YOURSELF IN THE PROCESS?!'
Clark roared in his mind which woke him up in time before he could have inflicted yet another huge big bang in this fresh unmolested chamber.
The last time he did that he suffered a crippled foot. Clark could only imagine the damage if he totally lost his sanity in the end. Would he perhaps hurt Lai Peng too?
"SHIT!"
"Take deep breaths!"
"In... and out!"
"I can do this!"
"Just relax!"
"In... and out!" Clark talked himself into pacifying his chaotic emotions. The drumbeats of his heart echoed loudly in his ears. It took almost 15 minutes to calm his nerves.
And as if on cue, Clark heard his pseudo reward in the form of a new level up.
"BOINK!"
"Congratulations, host. You have gained a new level. Please visit the system menu for further details." Nancy announced with her usual lovely voice.
Host: Clark Colter
Level: 16
Power: 654
Experience: 0/1,200,000
Health: 850/850
Health Regen: 7/s
Mana: 850/850
Mana Regen: 3/s
Class: Necromancer
System Shop
Shop Points: None
Class Skills
Skill Points: 6
Influence
Clark's character sheet flashed briefly before his eyes before new beeps resounded to announce a new set of prey for his undead army.
It did not even take a few seconds before his mana reserve dwindled to 50 as Nancy has automated the summoning of yet another 8 skeletons into the service.
"How can i ever level up peacefully if i can't even seem to manage my own emotions?!"
"I can't even afford to feel anything without going berserk!"
"I can't be sad!"
"And I can't be happy either!"
"FUCK ME!"
"This is bullshit!"
"Just turn me into a rotten mummy or something else equally unfeeling and ugly!" Clark babbled to release his frustrations.
Alas, the end result was him getting even more riled up and going back to the initial stages of his mad raving hulk state.
"Here it comes again!"
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"I FUCKING HATE THIS!"
"I DON'T BELIEVE THAT I CAN'T OVERCOME THIS WRETCHED DEBUFF ON MY OWN!"
"COME, HULK! LET US DANCE!"
* * *
Thirty minutes later and Clark found himself mastering at least a minuscule of these negative impulses.
This time around though, he was successful in not harming himself nor has he broken any of the things in the room.
It was hard to reach this point but our good gamer has not at all given up in searching for the trick out of this situation.
No doubt it would have been easier if he was merely playing a game wherein he could order a character around like the sims to work them hard day and night without boredom and difficulty.
Alas, this was real life and that meant that he needed to find the key for himself and continue to be relentless in his pursuit. It was a complex process and yet our boy gamer persevered through it all.
"I am the master of my actions."
"No action does not come from this heart."
"If i choose to be happy, i will."
"If I wanted to be sad, I can."
"Nothing can influence me."
"Not anymore."
"NOTHING!"
"BOINK!" Clark opened his eyes and there was an easy smile hanging on his face at this time.
He tempted the demon inside him over and over again until he realized that although he couldn't control what happens outside, like for example how he was played along akin to a puppet on strings by some Elder God on a power trip but what occurs within him was a totally different matter altogether.
"I decide what I become." Clark whispered. Although the myriad of negative emotions were still present inside of him but in comparison to the past, it was a difference between heaven and the earth.
At least now, Clark could willfully control the dark whispers brought about by his fears and doubts.
"Now that I have a bit of a handle on the situation and would not become a monster without my consent, it's finally high time to know what has happened to Xinyue."
Clark picked up the ancient scroll and unfurled it once more. At the bottom part depicted another image and this one was quite cute to look at. It portrayed another couple that was perhaps aged 15 or so.
The boy had a childish smile on his face which brought about a promise of mischief and youthful enthusiasm. The girl on the other hand was the definition of a young miss.
She was beyond beautiful and had been the source of Lu Chen's fantasy and regret. The young woman in the painting could not have been anyone else but Tang Xinyue alone.
"Where is Xinyue at the moment, Nancy?" Clark queried. If the system could readily identify his foes, he doubted not that it could also very much determine the location of whoever he wished to find.
"Tang Xinyue is currently inside the Demonic Sword Sect, host. She is one of the Inner Disciples of the sect and has shown great promise in her training so far. The system ranks her cultivation aptitude as A+."
Nancy responded more than what she was asked for. The system knew the unspoken curiosity in Clark's heart as has rewarded his timidity with this additional information.
"Thank you, Nancy." Clark sighed in relief. It was good to know that Lu Chen's ex fiancee was doing well for herself. And pretty good in fact knowing that she had an A+ assessment from the system.
At this time, Clark could only assume that there were people out there with SSS ranks also. He would have asked Nancy about this but alas, Clark could not take his mind off of Lu Chen's errors.
If the man had only been a little bit wiser then he would have never done that thing in the first place.
'Who knows? You might have lived a happy life, old fool. Far from the miserable state that you ultimately resulted in.' Clark shook his head as he commented on a dead guy's deed.
Nevertheless, since Lu Chen's obsession still existed in his heart, it seemed that Clark would have no choice but do something about it.
"Hmmm... We shall meet again, Xinyue. Soon. And perhaps..." Clark smiled sadly and discontinued what he had to say for himself alone.
* * *
A man in dark cultivation robes tiptoed to mimic the stillness of the night. He was shrouded in all black and wore a mask with the same color of his facade.
Perhaps only his blue eyes depicted a drastic contrast to how eerily secret his approach had been in a place that usually did not allow such a person like him.
The man would go slow at times and would flash silently like a panther in stalk of its prey. After an indeterminate amount of time, he arrived at a quiet courtyard.
It was now 50 minutes past midnight and all people inside this residence would have been already asleep by now which made this specific time the best moment to attempt a perfect assassination.
The man paused and listened for more than 10 minutes to ascertain if his calculations were correct.
He crouched low from behind one of the tall pillars of the residence and even steadied his breath to a bare minimum.
All this man's actions denoted of trained expertise in the ways of night combat that could only be had after many successful kills in this kind of job. Indeed, this person was a true assassin.
After the 15th minute of careful observation, the seasoned murderer tiptoed closer to one of the entryways into the house. He took a dagger to fashion a personal entrance of sorts.
Of course he could have punched his way in but that would defeat his purpose in coming. After all, a full fledged veteran assassin was at his best in remaining unseen and unheard.
The man was about to use the sharp weapon but was only halfway through the motion before he was stopped completely in place.
He felt a strong presence from behind him that was not there a second prior!
"I hear that you're looking for me."
"Well... Here I am."