The white lizard watched the crying child calmly.
Golden eyes unmoving.
Then—
finally—
he spoke.
"I have no such interest."
The voice was calm.
Clear.
Young.
Almost childlike.
Yet the moment those words echoed through the room—
Lian froze completely.
Even his crying stopped instantly.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Lian stared at the small white creature before him with widening eyes.
His thoughts blanked entirely.
It…
Spoke?
Not growls.
Not strange beast noises.
Not incomprehensible sounds.
But clear human speech.
Perfectly understandable.
A chill exploded through his entire body.
His face turned even paler than before.
A beast capable of speech—
the stories said such creatures were terrifying existences far beyond ordinary spiritual beasts.
Some were ancient demons.
Others were legendary creatures possessing intelligence equal to powerful cultivators.
No matter which—
none were beings someone like him should ever encounter.
The fear inside Lian deepened instantly.
Far worse than before.
The small creature he had originally thought might be weak—
was absolutely terrifying.
Meanwhile—
the white lizard continued calmly.
"I simply no longer saw reason to remain concealed."
Lian's pupils trembled violently.
Concealed?
His mind immediately began racing.
*So it didn't appear from nowhere…*
*It was already here…*
*Watching?*
But—
*When?*
*Since when?*
His thoughts rapidly rearranged themselves.
The unseen immortal in the forest.
The earth spikes.
His unknown savior.
This creature.
Lian's breathing shook faintly.
Then—
slowly—
a horrifying realization surfaced.
"…Y-You…"
His voice trembled badly.
"The one in the forest…"
The white lizard remained silent.
But the silence itself became the answer.
Lian's eyes widened completely afterward.
His mind shook violently.
The invisible immortal…
The terrifying existence that had instantly killed the Rank Two beast…
Had been this creature?
This small white creature?
His thoughts spiraled even further.
Then another realization surfaced immediately afterward.
If it had followed him from the forest—
Lian's heartbeat nearly stopped.
The invisible immortal that saved him…
This terrifying creature capable of speech…
Had followed him all the way back to the village.
To his home.
But—
why?
Fear still lingered heavily inside his chest.
Yet confusion slowly began mixing with it now.
If this creature truly wanted him dead—
he would already be dead.
There would have been absolutely no resistance possible.
The gravity holding him alone proved that much.
Then—
another thought surfaced.
*Maybe it wants something.*
That explanation made more sense.
Why else would such an existence bother saving someone like him?
Treasures?
Information?
Servitude?
But immediately afterward—
another problem surfaced.
*What could someone like me possibly even have?*
Lian swallowed nervously.
Then finally decided to stop guessing entirely.
Slowly—
carefully—
he spoke.
"…What do you want from me?"
The white lizard stared at him silently.
Golden eyes calm.
Almost blank.
As though the question itself puzzled him slightly.
The room remained quiet for several moments afterward.
Then—
the lizard answered calmly.
"I want nothing."
Lian blinked.
"…Huh?"
The answer completely caught him off guard.
The white lizard continued floating motionlessly before him.
"I have no interest in your possessions."
"Nor your life."
Lian stared blankly afterward.
Now he was somehow even more confused than before.
Then—
hesitantly—
he asked again.
"…Then why did you save me?"
"And why did you follow me?"
Silence immediately returned afterward.
The lizard remained motionless.
Yet inwardly—
his thoughts shifted slightly.
Why?
At first—
it had merely been curiosity.
The strange resistance inside his chest.
The inability to kill the child.
Interesting enough to observe.
Then afterward—
he had simply continued watching.
The child.
The village.
Human behavior.
Cultivation.
Nothing more.
Or perhaps—
not entirely nothing.
The white lizard's golden eyes narrowed faintly.
But outwardly—
he said none of that.
Instead—
he simply remained silent.
The silence stretched long enough that Lian began growing nervous again.
Then finally—
unable to endure it anymore—
Lian carefully forced out another question.
"…S-Since you don't want to kill me…"
His voice still trembled slightly.
"…Can you at least let me go now?"
The white lizard answered immediately.
"You attacked first."
Lian froze awkwardly.
Then a nervous smile appeared on his pale face.
"…Right…"
He laughed weakly.
"…I'm really sorry about that."
"I thought you were going to kill me…"
Honestly—
any normal person would have thought the same thing.
A terrifying spirit beast suddenly appearing inches away while they were alone at home?
Only lunatics would remain calm.
The gravity holding him remained steady for another moment afterward.
Then—
slowly—
the pressure vanished.
Lian immediately dropped.
THUD.
"Ow—!"
He hit the floor awkwardly before instinctively scrambling backward once more.
This time—
the lizard did nothing.
Simply floating there silently.
Lian rubbed his arm slightly before cautiously glancing back toward the white creature.
Still terrifying.
Still incomprehensible.
But now—
slightly less murderous than before.
Slightly.
The room gradually became quiet once more.
Then—
carefully—
Lian spoke again.
"…So…"
"…What happens now?"
Lian sat stiffly against the wooden wall.
Eyes locked cautiously onto the floating white lizard before him.
The earlier terror still lingered heavily inside his chest.
But now—
another emotion had begun mixing with it.
Unease.
Because the creature was still there.
Still silently watching him.
And somehow—
that felt even stranger.
After hesitating briefly—
Lian finally spoke carefully again.
"…Are you just going to stay there and keep watching me?"
His expression became awkward afterward.
"…That's kind of creepy."
The white lizard remained motionless.
Golden eyes calm and unreadable.
Then—
he spoke once more.
"Your talent is truly pitiful."
The words landed heavily.
Direct.
Blunt.
Without even the slightest softness.
Lian froze instantly.
It felt like being struck directly in the chest.
His expression stiffened awkwardly afterward.
Then another realization surfaced immediately afterward.
Village Head Wa Shi's house.
Xu Mei.
The cultivation lessons.
The spiritual root testing.
This creature…
had likely been watching the entire time.
A chill ran down his spine once again.
*That's terrifying…*
Still—
after several moments—
Lian forced himself to answer.
"…I know."
His voice lowered slightly afterward.
"I already know my talent isn't good."
"But…"
His eyes slowly steadied again.
"…Compared to people who can't cultivate at all…"
"I'm already luckier than most."
Determination slowly surfaced across his face afterward.
"I just need to work harder and—"
"It will not matter."
The white lizard interrupted calmly.
Lian stopped speaking immediately.
The creature's golden eyes remained fixed upon him.
"With your spiritual roots…"
"You will likely never advance beyond Spirit Refining."
"Your life will end no differently from that old human."
"Growing old."
"Weakening."
"Then dying like any ordinary mortal."
Silence instantly filled the room afterward.
Lian stared blankly.
The words settled slowly inside him.
Heavier.
And heavier.
Spirit Refining.
That old human…
Village Head Wa Shi.
A cultivator for his entire life—
yet still old.
Still weak compared to true immortals.
Still nearing death.
Lian's hands slowly tightened.
Then clenched completely.
"No."
The word escaped immediately.
Firm.
Stubborn.
The white lizard remained silent.
Lian's jaw tightened harder afterward.
"No…"
"With enough resources…"
"I can still improve."
"Village Head said cultivators constantly need resources."
"If I gather enough…"
"If I work hard enough…"
The more he spoke—
the more uncertain his voice gradually became.
Because deep down—
even he already understood the truth.
Resources.
Opportunities.
Powerful techniques.
Those things belonged to sects.
To clans.
To geniuses.
Not poor village boys born with low-grade Five Element roots.
Still—
Lian lowered his head slightly.
"…Even then…"
His fists remained tightly clenched.
"…I still want to try."
The room quieted afterward.
The white lizard watched him silently.
Golden eyes unreadable.
Then—
slowly—
the creature spoke once more.
"…Why?"
Lian blinked slightly.
The question seemed genuine.
As though the creature truly could not understand.
Why continue struggling despite knowing the odds?
Why refuse to surrender?
Lian became quiet afterward.
Then—
slowly—
he answered.
"…Because if I don't…"
His voice softened slightly.
"…Then she'll stay alone."
The white lizard's eyes narrowed faintly.
Lian lowered his gaze.
"…I already promised my mother."
"I'm going to become stronger."
"And one day…"
"…I'm going to bring Lin Yue back."