Chapter 953: Choices P3: Niviya’s Determination

Niviya clenched her hands beneath her sleeves.

She didn’t dare complain anymore.

What could she even complain about?

Aksai had already given them more than enough.

The problem had never been that the island had failed them.

It was that she had failed to make proper use of what she had been given.

Aksai, however, didn’t know what either of them was thinking.

He merely looked at the mother and daughter standing before him.

After a moment, his expression softened.

"Sister Nimiya, it’s been a while. I hope you are doing well."

He smiled as he addressed her.

Nimiya immediately bowed slightly.

"Thanks to your care, Lord Aksai, I’ve been doing well."

Aksai nodded.

His smile remained for another moment before his expression turned serious.

"You already know the current state of the island’s affairs by now."

Nimiya’s expression became solemn.

Aksai continued.

"Although I wouldn’t recommend staying, each person has their own choice to make after weighing the pros and cons."

His gaze moved briefly toward Niviya before returning to Nimiya.

"I won’t force anyone to leave. Perhaps staying here and offering allegiance to the imperials would allow you to survive the incoming crisis. Perhaps this change in allegiance would even make you more prosperous and successful in the future."

He paused.

"That being said, I still need to know everyone’s intentions so I can make the necessary arrangements."

Aksai looked directly at Nimiya.

"So, Sister Nimiya..."

His voice became calm but serious.

"Are you going to stay or leave?"

Nimiya remained silent for a while.

She lowered her head and pondered Aksai’s question carefully.

It was not an easy decision.

She had always prioritized her own safety. She knew her limits, understood the dangers of the cultivation world, and had never been the type to take unnecessary risks.

In a way, she was Aksai if he didn’t have the kind of advantages that he had.

After a long silence, she finally raised her head.

"My Lord, we are going to leave the island in a few days."

She paused before adding,

"Please grant us safe passage."

Nimiya had made the decision for herself and her daughter.

Aksai was somewhat surprised.

He had expected Nimiya and Niviya to choose to remain on Emerald Cove Island and offer their allegiance to the royal faction once its forces eventually arrived.

After all, Nimiya and her daughter had maintained a safe distance from the island’s administration and had very little stake in its affairs.

Nimiya had always kept a low profile and understood her own limits.

She performed whatever tasks she was assigned properly and received the corresponding benefits from the island’s administration in return. That was the extent of her interaction with the island administration and with Aksai by proxy.

Of course, Aksai had never asked her to contribute more either. This was why the Emerald Cove only had Seven Stars when there were eight Experts on the island in total with Nimiya being the silent star.

Although her daughter could be somewhat troublesome, Nimiya had always made sure that the two of them stayed away from unnecessary trouble.

Frankly speaking, nobody would consider Nimiya one of Aksai’s core subordinates.

Her aloof nature and absence from the island administration’s power structure were well known.

Because of that, she could have relatively easily changed her allegiance.

And for someone like Nimiya, who understood her own capabilities and limitations and valued her safety above almost everything else, avoiding the incoming chaos should have been the obvious choice.

Yet, she had chosen to leave.

In a way, she had chosen not to betray Aksai, even if doing so meant abandoning the stable foundation she had enjoyed on Emerald Cove Island.

Aksai was silently pleased by her decision.

He nodded.

"Very well, Sister Nimiya."

With a wave of his hand, a number of talismans and precious cultivation resources appeared before him and flew toward Nimiya.

"These are some resources you can use for your cultivation in the future."

Nimiya looked at the items in surprise. Each of these resources could be valued above tens of thousands of Spirit Stones. These resources were especially precious now, when the trade with the mainland was broken for an indefinite period.

It would have taken Nimiya a decade or two to earn these resources if she were to work hard on the tasks assigned by the island’s administration while keeping her cultivation practice on the back burner. These resources alone could be seen as a pretty good severance package.

However, Nimiya was pleasantly shocked to find out that apart from the Spirit resources, there were also a bunch of talismans given to her.

"As for the talismans, there are two Instant Recovery Talismans," Aksai said, following Nimiya’s gaze, "two Spirit Reclamation Talismans, three 2nd Order Nine Suns Burning Heaven Talismans, and one 3rd Order Nine Suns Burning Heaven Talisman."

Aksai’s expression became serious.

"Use them only in case of an emergency."

Nimiya carefully accepted the resources.

"Thank you, my Lord."

Aksai then shifted his gaze toward Niviya.

His scrutinizing gaze made the young woman instinctively bow even deeper.

"My... my Lord, I will follow my mother’s decision," she said hurriedly.

Aksai chuckled.

"Little Niviya, you’ve decided to stop calling me Uncle Aksai, it seems."

His smile was faint and somewhat mirthless.

"Perhaps I’m not a capable uncle in your eyes anymore?"

Niviya’s heart skipped a beat.

Before she could respond, Aksai continued.

"Well, in a way, that isn’t completely false."

He sighed.

"If I were truly capable, I wouldn’t have to run away. Nor would I have to ask you to do the same."

Niviya immediately dropped to her knees.

She pressed her forehead against the floor.

"Uncle Aksai, I... I wouldn’t dare demean you in any way."

Her voice trembled.

"If I said something inappropriate earlier, please forgive me."

Aksai remained silent for a moment.

Niviya’s heart sank.

She suddenly had an unsettling feeling that Aksai had somehow heard the conversation she had shared with her mother earlier.

She wasn’t entirely wrong.