Chapter 956: Choices P6: Ruan’s Gratitude

Aksai paused briefly before adding further.

"I’ll personally write a letter to Old Purple for you to give to him. Hopefully, you two can help each other and survive the imperial invasion together."

Shuan nodded deeply.

"Thank you, Lord Aksai."

Aksai waved his hand.

"Go."

Shuan bowed once more before returning to the Seven Stars.

Aksai watched him leave silently.

He had given Shuan everything he could.

The rest of the road... Shuan would have to walk by himself.

Ruan was the next person Aksai looked toward.

"Ruan, come forward."

The elderly-looking Expert stepped out from the Seven Stars and stopped before Aksai.

Ruan didn’t speak immediately.

He seemed to be organizing his thoughts, his weathered face carrying a rare trace of hesitation.

Aksai waited patiently.

"What have you decided?"

Ruan took a slow breath.

"My Lord, I have a request before I answer."

"Go ahead."

"I wish for my family and Shuan’s family to be moved to a safe place."

Ruan’s expression became solemn.

"Preferably somewhere on a distant island, far away from the mainland and the areas currently caught in the conflict."

Aksai raised an eyebrow slightly.

He had expected something along those lines.

"Is that all?"

Ruan shook his head. He lowered his gaze for a moment before continuing.

"I... I also want to follow Shuan."

Aksai’s expression remained unchanged.

"I want to join the resistance against the imperial invasion alongside him."

There was no hesitation in Ruan’s voice this time.

Aksai already understood the reasons behind his decision.

To Ruan, Shuan was more than a fellow member of the Seven Stars.

He was like a younger brother.

The two had spent years together on Emerald Cove Island, fighting side by side and sharing countless dangerous experiences. If Shuan was going to throw himself into the mainland’s chaos, Ruan naturally didn’t want him facing it alone.

But that wasn’t the only reason.

Ruan had his own connection to the Purple River Sect.

Before coming to Emerald Cove Island, he had been one of its disciples.

His relationship with the sect went back even further than that.

In fact, Aksai was the reason Ruan had been able to join the Purple River Sect in the first place.

Back when they were still much younger, Ruan and his mother, Aunt Reta, had worked as neighboring rental farmers with Aksai’s family on the Lakir Clan’s Spirit Fields.

At the time, Aksai had received considerable kindness from Aunt Reta.

When the Lakir Clan eventually fell and the resulting turmoil swept across the region, Aksai used the opportunity available to him to repay that kindness (Chapter 66).

He helped Ruan and his mother enter the Purple River Sect.

That decision had changed their lives.

It had also allowed them to escape many of the dangers that followed the Lakir Clan’s downfall.

Ruan still remembered his time in the Purple River Sect fondly.

He had possessed little talent back then, yet the sect had still been patient with him. More importantly, when his mother began losing her memories during her later years, the sect had helped him care for her.

Those memories had never faded.

Now that the Purple River Sect was fighting for its survival against the imperial invasion, Ruan felt that it was finally time to repay the kindness it had shown him.

If Shuan was driven by revenge against the Rokur royals, Ruan’s motivation was much simpler.

Gratitude.

He wanted to stand beside the people who had once helped him when he had been weak and powerless.

But Ruan was no longer the young cultivator who could leave everything behind.

He had a family now.

His sons were still growing, and he wanted them to have futures of their own.

That was why he had made his request first.

If his family and Shuan’s family could be moved somewhere safe, then he and Shuan would have far fewer things to worry about while fighting on the mainland.

They could take greater risks and move freely.

And most importantly, they wouldn’t have to constantly wonder whether their families had been caught in the aftermath of their actions.

Aksai understood all of this without Ruan needing to explain it.

He simply nodded.

"That’s reasonable."

Aksai reached into his storage ring and took out another storage pouch before tossing it toward Ruan.

Ruan caught it with both hands.

He hesitated before probing it with his Spirit Sense.

His expression changed slightly.

Aksai didn’t explain what was inside.

There was no need.

Ruan had already received enough from his Lord over the years.

"This should be enough to help you arrange things for your family," Aksai said. "I’ll also make arrangements for both families to leave the island safely."

Ruan’s expression softened.

He bowed deeply.

"Thank you, My Lord."

Aksai waved his hand.

"Go and make your preparations."

Ruan bowed once more before returning to the Seven Stars.

Aksai watched him leave.

Another one was leaving.

But unlike Shuan, Ruan wasn’t walking toward the mainland because of a grudge. He was walking toward it because he remembered the kindness he had once received.

For some reason, Aksai sensed that Ruan’s decision to join Shuan would not end well for him.

Perhaps he had little confidence in Ruan’s capabilities. Perhaps Ruan himself was too honest for his own good, especially in these tumultuous times.

Or perhaps it was a side effect of practicing the Fortune-telling Arts through his Aether Clone, but he could sometimes sense when someone was making a risky decision.

However, the outcome of such decisions was still uncertain, and there was always a possibility that Ruan might gain something significant from the risks he was about to take.

As such, Aksai did not stop him.

He knew that the workings of fate were mysterious. If something was truly inevitable, Ruan might still face the same catastrophe while trying to avoid it by following Aksai’s directions.

And if it wasn’t something set in stone, then it was better to let things take their natural course.