Chapter 502: The Old Hermit’s Final Rest

The Old Hermit’s Final Rest

Shasa followed her two senior sisters and returned to Leon’s side.

Her steps were lighter than before.

The anger from the earlier quarrel had already vanished, replaced by the quiet satisfaction of knowing that Rias had promised her a hundred roasted sunflowers.

She walked between Selena and Rias, occasionally glancing at them as though she were still getting used to the strange feeling of having people beside her.

For most of her life, there had been no one to walk beside her.

Now there were three.

Leon turned around and looked at her.

For a moment, his gaze lingered on the young woman.

Then he remembered the old Hermit who had adopted her.

From everything Shasa had described earlier, Leon already had a rough idea of what had happened.

The old man had probably died several days ago.

His body had been left inside that broken little house, exposed to the cold and gradually beginning to decay.

Yet Shasa had not truly understood what she was seeing.

Or perhaps she had understood it somewhere deep inside and simply refused to accept it.

She had continued thinking that the old man was sleeping.

That he would eventually wake up.

That if she called him loudly enough, he would open his eyes and complain about being disturbed.

Leon quietly watched her.

There was no need to tell her the truth on the street.

If she was going to face it, she needed to see it herself.

Otherwise, this unresolved attachment could become a knot in her heart.

And for a cultivator, a knot in the heart could eventually become a chain around the soul.

Leon looked toward the ruined streets of Greyhaven City.

Then he spoke.

"Student, bring me to your place. I’ll help you resolve the karma of the mortal world so that you won’t have a knot in your heart on your cultivation path in the future."

Shasa tilted her head.

She clearly didn’t understand what mortal karma meant.

Her deep blue eyes held a trace of confusion.

Still, she trusted Leon.

So she nodded.

"Okay."

She turned around and led them through the streets.

The farther they went, the quieter the surroundings became.

The damaged streets gradually gave way to a poorer part of Greyhaven City.

Broken wooden fences leaned against one another.

Old walls had cracks running through them.

The wind slipped through gaps in abandoned houses, carrying the cold smell of dust and damp earth.

At last, Shasa stopped before a tiny wooden house.

Calling it a house was already being generous.

Several sections of the wall had deteriorated badly. The windows were cracked and partially rotten, leaving wide openings where the winter wind could enter freely.

There was almost no protection from the cold.

During winter, anyone sleeping inside would have felt the freezing air against their skin throughout the night.

Leon stood outside for a moment.

His expression slowly became solemn.

So this was where she had lived.

This was the place where an old Hermit and a young girl had depended on each other.

It was difficult to imagine someone surviving here for years.

Shasa, however, seemed completely accustomed to it.

She pushed open the crooked wooden door.

The hinges gave a dry creak.

Then she stepped inside.

Leon followed.

The moment he entered, a foul smell reached him.

His expression changed slightly.

On the ground near the corner of the room lay an old body.

The old Hermit.

His clothes were worn and dirty.

His once-thin body had already begun to decay.

The passage of time had not been kind.

The room was cold and still.

Yet Shasa didn’t react.

She walked inside as though nothing unusual had happened.

Then, almost out of habit, she called out.

"Old Hermit, I’m back."

Her voice echoed softly through the tiny room.

No answer came.

Shasa looked toward the old man.

She waited.

One second.

Two.

Three.

Nothing.

She frowned.

Then she walked closer.

"Eh... still not awake?"

Her voice carried mild annoyance rather than fear.

"You’ve slept for so many days. You’re so lazy..."

She gave a small sigh.

For a moment, she simply stood there.

Then she turned around and smiled at Leon.

"Teacher, this is where I live."

Leon looked at her.

His heart sank slightly.

She really still believed he was sleeping.

But perhaps that was only what she allowed herself to believe.

Leon didn’t correct her immediately.

Instead, he gently raised his right hand.

Mana gathered around his palm.

The air trembled softly.

The old Hermit’s body slowly lifted from the ground, suspended within a gentle current of spiritual power.

Shasa stared.

Her eyes followed the body.

There was a strange stillness in her expression.

She didn’t understand why Leon was doing this.

Then she noticed something.

The old man’s face.

The stillness.

The unnatural silence.

The complete lack of movement.

Her lips parted slightly.

"Teacher..."

Leon didn’t answer.

He simply carried the old man’s body outside.

Shasa followed.

Selena and Rias exchanged a quiet glance before walking behind them.

None of them spoke.

The mood had changed.

The playful atmosphere from earlier was gone.

They reached a small hill behind the wooden house.

The hill overlooked the ruined outskirts of Greyhaven City.

The wind was cold there.

Dry grass bent beneath the breeze.

Selena stepped forward.

Her expression was solemn.

She placed one hand on the hilt of her sword.

Then—

Shing!

A flash of sword light swept through the earth.

The ground split open cleanly.

A grave appeared.

Leon carefully lowered the old Hermit’s body into it.

For a long moment, he simply stood there.

The old man had already lost his soul.

His spirit had dissipated and entered the cycle of reincarnation.

There was nothing Leon could do for him anymore.

Even someone as powerful as Leon could not simply drag a soul back once it had already entered the cycle.

Perhaps this was simply the fate of mortals.

Birth.

Life.

Death.

Reincarnation.

Leon gently exhaled.