The Obligations of the Elderly - chapter 36

Chapter 35

However, Gong Si himself also knew that life from now on would not be the same as before.

He just hadn’t had time to think about it yet, or perhaps he was temporarily avoiding reality.

Since his younger brothers were all so considerate of him, he quickly pulled his head out of the sand.

After reassuring his brothers not to worry about him and to go about their own business, he casually found an empty room and sat down for a formal conversation with Xi Liu.

“Let’s talk about us now.” Sitting boldly in the chair opposite Xi Liu, Gong Si stared at him intently. “For example-”

He extended a finger and poked Xi Liu’s smooth, fair cheek. “With this appearance of yours… how did you end up looking like you’re seventy or eighty years old?”

“Heh…” Xi Liu chuckled softly, reached under the tea basket to take out the tea set, clapped his hands for someone to bring a pot of cold water, and lit a small red stove. He actually started to boil water.

But boiling water aside, what needed to be said would have to be said eventually. While fanning the stove, Xi Liu organized his thoughts and spoke slowly: “I was born seventy years ago. I experienced an Awakening at birth-supposedly the only ruler in history to have undergone Awakening at birth.”

“A newborn baby can’t Form Contract, nor can they control the energy around them. My body was always very weak.”

“When I was little, I didn’t know that was my energy. I thought there was a demon beside me, right behind me, trying to eat me…”

Xi Liu paused as he spoke, as if recalling those days. But it was only for a few seconds before he continued:

“My family kept searching for a suitable Vessel for me. In this situation, as long as a suitable Vessel could be found to contain all the energy, I would be fine. But they never found the right Vessel, and the energy gathering around me kept increasing, while my body grew weaker. To wait for a better treatment method, and also for a more suitable Vessel, my doctor decided to put me into Suspended Animation.”

“That’s actually a kind of treatment too~ After the User’s body enters Suspended Animation through special means, their energy can also temporarily go dormant. Every so often, I would wake up for a while, then go back into Suspended Animation.”

“So even though I was born seventy years ago, I spent most of my time in Suspended Animation. The actual years I was awake weren’t that many.”

“If you only count the days I was awake, you and I aren’t that different in age~” Xi Liu lifted his face and smiled at Gong Si.

Completely unmoved by that smile, Gong Si propped his cheek with one hand, his eyes still fixed on Xi Liu’s face. “When Xie Kai first came to my house, he said you’d used a lot of Vessels before?”

“…” Carefully turning down the stove, Xi Liu put tea leaves into the teapot. “Those weren’t Form Contracts. Those Vessels were found by Xie Kai and the others while I was in Suspended Animation.”

“There are all kinds of professions in this world, and there are also Vessels that don’t Form Contract with a User one-on-one, but instead provide energy containment services. It’s a kind of treatment industry.”

With his eyes lowered, Xi Liu held the teapot in one hand. Hot water poured into the pot, and the tea leaves danced inside.

“Of course, they also found candidates they thought suitable to Form Contract with me, to see if I could Form Contract with them when I woke up.”

“All of them failed.”

Dividing the tea into two cups, Xi Liu pushed one toward Gong Si.

“Failed Vessels meet all kinds of ends. After all, not every Vessel has an Eldest Brother like you who’s willing to protect them to the very end.”

That last sentence from Xi Liu was a bit cold.

Taking a light sip of his own tea, Xi Liu finally looked up again, his dark eyes meeting Gong Si’s. He spoke, word by word: “You are my only Form Contract partner. No one forced this on me-it was my own choice.”

The two of them stared at each other for a long time.

In the end, Gong Si looked away first. He picked up the teacup in front of him and downed the tea in one gulp.

Setting the cup down on the table, Gong Si asked again, “Your level is super high, but mine is so low. If you Form Contract with me, isn’t it like a big guy buying a tiny shirt-there’s no way you can fit, right? Wouldn’t you end up dying anyway?”

He spoke bluntly, but Xi Liu heard a hint of concern in his words, so he smiled again. “For me, randomly Form Contracting with a Vessel someone else found just to survive would be irresponsible to myself and to the Vessel. I don’t like that.”

“Forming a Contract is like getting married to me. I want to be with someone I truly like.”

“To be with the person I choose, even if I can only live for a year, a month, a day, or a second, my heart will be happy.”

“That’s far better than randomly Form Contracting and spending every day in mutual resentment, feeling like every day lasts a year.”

“I’m not the type who can develop feelings over time~”

At this point, Xi Liu looked at Gong Si and smiled gently.

Gong Si gave a little shake, brushing off a bit of discomfort. “We’re partners, pure partners. D-don’t make it sound so ambiguous!”
His face was a little red.

Looking at Gong Si’s ears, which were flushed red, the smile on Xi Liu’s face didn’t fade: “Mm, I just found the most fitting metaphor.”

Blushing and stiff all over, Gong Si sat for a long while. After Xi Liu poured him another cup of tea, Gong Si hurriedly drank it all in one go. He drank roughly, but Xi Liu didn’t mind and simply kept pouring him tea.

After three cups in a row, the heat on Gong Si’s face finally faded a little. He looked up, fixing his gaze on Xi Liu and said seriously, “To be honest, I’m still not quite used to becoming a Vessel. But this way, Ah Ji can delay the Form Contract for a while, and secondly, the one who will Form Contract with me is you.”

At this, Gong Si tilted his head slightly, but his gaze at Xi Liu grew deeper:

“My only friend.” He extended his right fist, knuckles forward, toward Xi Liu.

Startled, Xi Liu seemed to recall something and extended his own left fist in the same gesture.

Gong Si moved first, gently bumping his fist against Xi Liu’s.

“My only friend…” Xi Liu murmured, looking at Gong Si’s fist.

The two youths looked at each other and laughed together.

“Although it’s pretty basic, I’ll do my best to help you live a few more days. At the very least, you’ll have a peaceful old age.” Gong Si said to him earnestly.

Xi Liu: …

“Living a few more days is fine, but forget about a peaceful old age.” Xi Liu protested. “I look younger than you!”

“True, you’re shorter than me.” Gong Si teased.

Xi Liu: …

They both laughed again.

In this moment, they were neither User and Vessel, nor a powerful, soon-to-die ruler and a miserable Vessel who suddenly changed status. It was as if they had returned to Lengshui Town, back to that shabby classroom in the countryside, back to Class 2-3 as class president and vice president.

That was their original relationship.

“But my level is so low, and yours is so high. I probably can’t contain you, right?” After chatting and laughing, the two returned to their usual ease. Xi Liu took out some pastries, Gong Si grabbed one and started eating, and they continued talking.

“I heard it’s like a big guy trying to wear baby clothes? Or maybe just one sock?” Gong Si couldn’t help but imagine Xi Liu naked with only one sock.

Xi Liu raised his eyebrows: “It’s one thing for you to tease me, but do you have to say that about yourself? One sock?”

“Well, it’s pretty apt.” Xi Liu looked up and continued, “But it’s not that tragic.”

“When it comes to Form Contract, the most compatible pairing is a User and Vessel of equal strength-the capacity and volume match, and both are comfortable. In our case, there really is a problem of not being able to contain. So even though Users can Form Contract with lower-level Vessels, in practice it almost never happens.”

“But sometimes, low-level Users can Form Contract with high-level Vessels through other means.”

Using a small knife, Xi Liu cut the pastry into four pieces, then used a small fork to pick up a piece and slowly put it in his mouth, chewing and swallowing with deliberate care. Gong Si didn’t know how to describe the scene, only that it was somehow pleasing to watch.

After wiping his mouth with a napkin, Xi Liu continued, “But our attributes are extremely compatible-the Compatibility Rate is over 99%. Honestly, it’s pretty amazing. Xie Kai and the others were all shocked.”

That was one reason why, even though Xie Kai and the others knew Gong Si’s level was shockingly low, they didn’t strongly oppose it-the Compatibility Rate was just too incredible!

“But-” Xi Liu suddenly paused, a mischievous smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. He raised his eyebrows at Gong Si: “I wasn’t shocked. In fact, I thought it was only natural.”

“From the first time we met, I felt we were a great match.”

It was a strange feeling-the first time in his life he’d felt that way. Personality, words and actions, even looks… everything felt comfortable, perfectly right.

Before this, he had no idea his ideal type was like this.

(Like this?) Gong Si glanced at him, his Kitchen Knife Eyes narrowing: “Stop saying such cheesy things! Don’t you feel embarrassed?”

The boy with Kitchen Knife Eyes blushed again.

With a slight smile, Xi Liu continued, “No one can say what will happen with such a high Compatibility Rate. With attribute bonuses, maybe a miracle will happen.”

“At least, I’ve felt great these past few days.”

He thought for a moment and said:

“It’s like walking naked through the snow in Lengshui Town’s winter, and suddenly getting a sock. Once you put it on, you feel so much better-a magical sock!”

“Hey! Don’t compare people to socks!” This time it was Gong Si’s turn to protest.

“You were the one who called yourself a sock…” Xi Liu shot him a glance.

The two bantered for a while, until Gong Si coughed lightly:

“Lengshui Town, let’s go back there soon.”

Xi Liu looked up-

And met Gong Si’s black eyes.

Serious black eyes.

“We’ll get you healed here, at least mostly.”
“Learn the basics about Users and Vessels, and take a look at the world outside.”

“Then, when you have time, come back to Lengshui Town.”

Gong Si said to Xi Liu.

“I’ve thought about it. Whether it’s you, or Qiu Xia, Dong Chun, Ah Ji… all of you seem to be learning better here. I’ll admit I’m a bit selfish- the world outside is bigger, and Qiu Xia and the others can choose their future partners from a wider range.”

“Hey, you said you liked Lengshui Town, right?”

“In the future, would you come back with me regularly, and maybe retire there together?” Gong Si asked Xi Liu.

Xi Liu stared at Gong Si for a moment, then nodded.

“Alright!” The two of them happily settled on their future vacation spot, and even their retirement plans.

Then, after another piece of pastry, Gong Si suddenly thought of a question-

A very important question:

“By the way, don’t all Vessels have another form? Like knives, swords, syringes, or maybe wind, thunder, lightning, animals.”

“What am I?” He pointed to his own chest.

“The Users of Master Xi Liu’s family are famous for their use of knives-”

The speaker was Ah Feng-one of the five Chief Stewards under Xie Kai. At this moment, he stood in front of a white wall, which had been repurposed as a projection screen. On the screen was a huge knife, and Ah Feng was introducing it, while the other stewards stood quietly on either side of the wall.

“This is the Vessel of Master Xi Liu’s first ancestor, named Frost River. It’s the top-ranked great knife in the knife Vessel registry, Ice Type. With a single slash, it can freeze rivers and snow.”

“This is a photo of the first ancestor and her Vessel.” As Ah Feng spoke, the image behind him changed to a photo of a tall woman and a handsome man standing together.

“This is the first ancestor.” He pointed to the woman.

“And this is Ancestor Frost River.” Next, he pointed to the man.

In the audience, Gong Si let out an “Oh.”

“Next is the second ancestor and his Vessel. The second ancestor’s Vessel is still a great knife, Water Type…” Ah Feng clicked to the next photo and continued his introduction.

They were now in another room, arranged by Xie Kai after learning that Gong Si wanted to understand the basics of Vessel forms, and even assigned a Chief Steward as lecturer.

“This old gentleman seems especially enthusiastic.” Watching the elder speak animatedly in front of the screen, Gong Si whispered to Xi Liu.

“^-^” Xi Liu just smiled: “Ah Feng has been hoping I’d settle on a Vessel so he could tell me stories. He’s been preparing teaching materials since I first started looking for a Vessel. After so many years, he’s updated the materials five times. Now that I’ve finally decided, he’s been holding back for a long time. Just let him talk.”

Gong Si: …

The lecture lasted the entire day, only stopping when it was time for Ah Feng to take his heart medication. Only then did Gong Si finally escape from the endless catalog of great knives!

“You have so many relatives!” was Gong Si’s first impression. “With all these blades flashing, your family is basically a martial world!”

Xi Liu just grinned and said nothing.

“Of course. The main family has always stood at the pinnacle of the offensive type, and though we’ve declined in recent years, our reputation remains.” Hearing Gong Si’s words, Ah Feng spoke up again, medicine still in his mouth.

“He’s got sharp ears.” Gong Si muttered under his breath.

“Thank you for the compliment.” Ah Feng heard that too!

Feeling sheepish, Gong Si didn’t dare complain any further.

After taking his medicine, Ah Feng walked over, circled Gong Si three times, and finally said with restraint, “Regarding your earlier question, Master Gong Si, about what kind of Vessel you are, I have some guesses.”

He stopped beside Gong Si, waited for Gong Si to look up at him, then continued: “The Vessels in Master Xi Liu’s family are mostly natural weapon types, especially Water Type knives. Master Gong Si’s father is a cleaver, his mother is a dagger, and his siblings are all Water Type. I estimate there’s an eighty percent chance that Master Gong Si is a Water Type weapon Vessel.”

It sounded reasonable-Gong Si immediately looked at the photo frozen on the screen: a great knife! As tall as a person!

“Wow~ So I’ll be a great knife like this in the future? Looks pretty cool…” As a teenage boy, he was definitely interested in weapons.

Ah Feng shook his head with restraint.

“?” Gong Si raised his eyebrows in confusion.

Then he saw Ah Feng extend his gloved hands, both index fingers straight, measuring in the air.

“What does that mean?” Gong Si asked, not understanding.

“About this big.” Ah Feng replied, “The size of the Vessel Master Gong Si will turn into.”

Gong Si looked at the distance between his fingers: about fifteen centimeters.

Gong Si’s face darkened.

“The grade and size of a Vessel are directly linked. An H-Class Vessel, when converted to Vessel size, is at most about this big.”

“Master Gong Si and Master Xi Liu can brainstorm Water Type weapons of about this size.”

That was Ah Feng’s final suggestion.