Chapter 62 (1/2)

Karta rolled over and yawned. “Alright, it’s done,” she said and smacked her lips. “In five hundred years, the intergalactic society will discover the planet your avatar is on.”

Vremya nodded. “Good job.”

Karta snorted. “I still can’t believe it doesn’t count as cheating. If I didn’t interfere, your avatar would be stuck in that backwater planet for years, maybe even dying there. I mean, the odds of that planet being discovered are less than one in thirty trillion. This really doesn’t count as heavenly intervention?”

“I told you,” Vremya said and pushed the stinky dog’s head away from his thigh, “the rules against heavenly intervention aren’t that strict. There’s nothing wrong with manufacturing some artificial luck for my avatar. As long as he doesn’t know we’re interfering, he’ll believe he did it all on his own.”

“You think your avatar isn’t wondering why the strongest sect of the world he was on suddenly decided to stop bullying and oppression the same year he entered? You think he isn’t wondering why the all-female sect is suddenly accepting males? You think he won’t notice the intergalactic civilization discovering his planet the moment after he gains the strength to influence the inhabitants of the planet’s decisions?”

“He’s too busy cultivating to focus on the little details,” Vremya said, waving his hand as if he were shooing a fly.

“Well, I hope he’s not too busy cultivating to remember about karma,” Karta said, raising her eyebrows.

“He knows what he’s doing,” Vremya said and snorted. “After all, he’s me. Look, he’s going to settle his karma right now.”

***

Azalea glanced around her cave. Everything she owned—a cushion, a blanket, and a pouch—was in a box in her hands. She had passed the promotion exam, and she was moving to the outer disciples’ living quarters. The token that Kid Vremya had given to her was hanging from the corner of the box, barely held up by a string. Her expression turned sour when she realized she still had to do all of Kid Vremya’s chores for him because he refused to become an outer disciple. As a member of royalty, she had to uphold her family name—that’s what her mother had always told her. She couldn’t go back on her words, but at least, she learned a very important lesson: don’t make any promises.

There was a thumping sound, and Azalea nearly dropped her box out of surprise. She turned around, and she dropped her box out of surprise. “Vremya!?” Her shut-in neighbor never left his cave! What was he doing here!? “Are you okay? Does your head hurt? Are you sick? What’s wrong?”

Kid Vremya pointed at the token hanging from Azalea’s box. “I’m here for my token.”

Azalea snatched the token and put it in her robes. “Didn’t I say I was keeping it?” She held the box closer to her body and squinted at Kid Vremya. “Where are you going? The skill pavilion? The cafeteria? The main hall?”

“I’m going to visit the old lady who raised me,” Kid Vremya said. “I need to settle the karma between us before she dies. It’ll be inconvenient to search for her reincarnated soul if I put it off for later.”

Azalea tilted her head. Kid Vremya always spoke in such a strange way. It really was like speaking to her dad or one of her teachers. “Okay, I’ll go with you.”

“Why would you go with me?” Kid Vremya asked. “It’s not like you know her.”

Azalea pouted. “I want to go. If you don’t let me, I won’t give you back your token.”

Kid Vremya sighed. “Alright, fine, you can come too,” he said. It was much easier to concede to Azalea’s wishes than to find an elder and file a complaint about a stolen token. As the embodiment of a river, he preferred to take the path of least resistance whenever he could. Also, he was currently distracted because he was cultivating. “Lead the way.” If he could get someone to bring him there, he could devote more attention to strengthening himself.

Azalea nodded and skipped out of the cave, still holding onto her box. She placed it down inside of Kid Vremya’s cave, right behind the barrier which she had opened with his token. She took the lead before coming to a halt. “Wait, we’re going to see your grandmother, so why am I leading the way?”

“She’s not my grandmother,” Kid Vremya said. “She’s the old lady who fished me out of a river and gave me a home. You’re leading the way because I don’t know where to go.”

Azalea shook her head and grabbed Kid Vremya’s hand. “What would you do without me?” she asked and tugged on his arm. Her eyes glinted, and she turned her head while walking. “Remember what I said before leaving? I’m an outer disciple now! You have to call me senior sister.”

Kid Vremya pretended as if he hadn’t heard a thing. “Keep your eyes on the road. What if you trip?”