Goyin nodded, a response which surprised Alex.
‘Xichen has a daughter already?’ he thought. And judging by how old the girl was, she had to have married someone over 13 years ago. He wondered, for a brief moment, if it was the Tailun guy.
“Who is your father?” Alex asked.
“My father is Fuxian,” the girl answered, rather proudly. The smug smile on her face said something that Alex couldn’t read.
She looked at him with a weird look afterward, seeing his lack of reaction. “Do you not know who my father is?” she asked.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been here for so long that I do not know anything,” Alex said. “Who is your father?”
“He’s the Extolite Fuxian, of the Bonefang tribe,” she said with some sense of pride again.
“An Extolite?” Alex asked. That meant the person had to be quite strong.
If Alex remembered correctly, there were no tribes by the name Bonefang in the Palm Haven oasis. He could only guess that it was one of the tribes from some other city.
‘She married an Extolite?’ Alex thought. He wondered if she had any choice in that. In the end, had what she feared not come true then?
“My mother said you would be lonely,” the girl said. “So she sent me here to talk with you.”
Alex couldn’t help but smile. “I will appreciate any company I have. How old are you, Goyin?”
“13,” the girl said. “How old are you?”
“How old do I look?”
The girl shook her head. “My mother said you’re at least 50 years old. That’s almost as old as my father.”
“I’m older than that,” Alex said. “I’m over 300 years old.”
“No you’re not,” she said. “Not even my grandfather is that old.”
“I’m older than your grandfather.”
The girl took a step back in surprise. “How are you so old? How do you not look old then?”
She wasn’t the only one surprised. Alex hadn’t told his age to anyone else, so even the guards around her were surprised by this.
“It’s because I’m an Immortal,” Alex said. “You wouldn’t know what an Immortal is, would you?”
She shook her head.
“Have you begun cultivating?” Alex asked.
She shook her head again. “My father says I shouldn’t cultivate until a few years later. Then I can start.”
“Once you start, you will understand the benefits of Qi. At a certain age, you will be able to live forever with it.”
Her eyes widened. “I can do that?” she asked.
“I…” he didn’t want to make the young girl dream of a future she could not achieve. Becoming an Immortal in Hell was impossible, unless she was taken to the Inner regions where they might have a way.
But even if she went there, he didn’t know how likely it was that she would get to become one.
“It is possible,” Alex answered. “But it is very, very difficult. Do you know of the Inner regions of the desert?”
The girl nodded. “Beyond the sand wall.”
Alex hadn’t heard of the Inner region being separated by a sand wall, but he nodded nonetheless. “You will have to go there.”
“That’s… impossible. It’s so dangerous,” she said. “Not even my father can survive there if he were to go.”
An Extolite was only strong enough to fight beasts that left the Inner regions. If they were to go to the Inner regions, they would likely be overwhelmed.
“It is very dangerous. So you should just try to become as strong as your father.”
The girl nodded. “I will be. One day.”
She reached for the pocket on her clothes and brought out something. It was a storage bag, which caused the guards to go up to her, just in case she were to hand over something to the prisoner.
The young girl, however, brought out something wrapped in paper, and casually opened it to pull out sweets from inside.
She turned toward the two guards, handing over some pieces. “Do you guys want some?” she asked.
The two guards shook their heads and moved backward, realizing it was only sweets. The girl took back the piece and ate it herself. She brought out another piece and was halfway to eating it when she turned toward Alex.
“Do you want one?” she asked.
“Young lady, you cannot hand over any food to the prisoner,” one of the guards quickly said.
“Why?” she asked.
“He’s a prisoner. He’s being punished.”
“By not letting him eat sweets?”
“By not letting him eat anything,” the guard replied.
The girl frowned. “If he’s not eating anything at all, then how is he alive?”
“That… I do not know. You should ask your grandfather.”
“Okay,” she said and turned toward Alex. “Do you want one?”
Alex shrugged. “Sure. I haven’t had any food for a long time, so I won’t mind a few.”
“Great,” the girl said and packed up the sweets back in the paper and tossed it toward him.
Alex grabbed the scrunched-up ball of paper and pulled a sweet out from inside of it. It was a small white bead of sort, seemingly made fully with sugar, with maybe a flavor of date and coconut in it.
It wasn’t that good, but as the only thing other than beast cores and Yang energy he had gotten to eat for the past 3 decades, it was phenomenal.
“Thank you,” Alex said.
“Enjoy it,” the girl said. “I’ll see you later.”
She turned around and walked away before Alex had a chance to greet her farewell. The girl ran up the incline and met with some other people that had been waiting for her, before disappearing into the houses there.
Alex looked at the guards that had gotten back to their posts, and sighed as he reached for another sweet. When he pulled it out, he noticed something underneath.
His eyes narrowed as he carefully looked at what he was seeing.
There, on the piece of paper that wrapped the sweet, he read his name.