Harry woke up slowly and, as his eyes adjusted to the light, the pain of his uncle's death tightened in his chest. For three days, he remained in deep mourning, isolated in his room, mulling over memories and the emptiness.
The silence was broken by the insistent ringing of his cell phone. At first, he tried to ignore it, but the calls didn't stop. Finally, tired, he answered. On the other end, Vinícius's worried voice:
— Harry, man, are you okay? You disappeared, I'm worried.
With a choked voice, he replied:
— My uncle... he died. I'm in mourning.
Vinícius tried to comfort him, saying that no more strange cases had appeared in the region, and that he wasn't alone.
After the call, Harry came to his senses. He remembered his purpose — the mission he needed to fulfill. He tucked the mourning deep in his heart with renewed determination. He got up, took a long shower, and began his cultivation. To his surprise, the Qi flowed into him twice as fast.
He remembered the novels he used to read, where after a life-or-death battle, the cultivator's potential would awaken. Though he didn't feel excited — the price had been too high — he fixed his determination.
The next day, he returned to the city and sent a message to Vinícius:
"I'm already in the city. Any news out there?"
He realized that classes had already started a few days ago. He turned on the bed and stared at the ceiling. His thoughts inevitably went to Luu. His face blushed.
— Ugh... stop that! — he slapped his own face to focus.
He tried to cultivate right there, but soon noticed that the Qi in the area was extremely low — almost nonexistent. Frustrated, he picked up his phone and started looking for places like woods or parks to cultivate more efficiently.
After marking a few points of interest on the map, he went back to meditating on the teachings of the immortal Long Hai, reliving the recorded memories. He ate something light and went to sleep early to face class the next day.
The next morning, still unemployed, he went to the university and met up again with Vinícius, his old nerdy friend — a typical rich kid who lived alone and led a comfortable life. They greeted each other enthusiastically.
— So, Harry, how are you? Feeling better? What happened, man? — asked Vinícius.
Harry smiled.
— After class, I'll stop by your place. We'll talk calmly there, it's safer.
During class, he noticed another change: his mind was clearer. He started memorizing and understanding the content much more easily than ever before. He thought to himself:
— Is this... the effect of cultivation? It's really working!
At break time, while walking down the hallway, he crossed eyes with Luu. She looked at him with surprise. Harry was taller, his posture upright, but his eyes were sad... She bit her lip, unable to gather the courage to approach.
After class, he went with Vinícius to his house. The friend, curious, couldn't hold back the question:
— Now spill it. What's going on with you?!
Harry took a deep breath. He knew that what came next would change everything between them.