Fate

Ch. 8 ⚠️

⚠️ Sensitive content in this chapter. Content includes topics such as childhood trauma and abuse, and Cynophobia which is the overwhelming fear of dogs. ⚠️
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Wei Wuxian sighed, "I will try to remember what I can, but a lot of my memories have been lost as I grew, but it might be because of me being so busy with training that I lost track of my parents and my memories of them," Wuxian said, "I was maybe four years old when my parents died. Though Lan Zhan was born in a sect, I was not. My father was the second hand and head disciple of the Jiang Sect but he left the sect to travel with my mother, as she was a rogue cultivator. My mother had a famous name, her name was Cangse Sanren. Her mother was the most renowned and respected immortal in our world, her name is Baoshan Sanren. I've never met her before.

She lived in a secluded mountain but no one knew where specifically. She didn't want to be involved with the political parties of the sects. It was said that once you left her mountain, you were never allowed to return. That was her rule. I don't know if it includes her biological daughter but it was possible. One day I remember my parents bringing me to an inn, and told me they will be out for a bit. They told me that they loved me and my mother said to me, that I have a beautiful smile. No matter the situation, always remember to smile, not to cry in front of those who were not family. After they left, I never saw them again.

I was kicked out of the inn I was staying in after three days. I was living on the streets for about five years, maybe. During that time I would have a hard time finding food, and if I did, I'd have to fight off dire hounds," Wuxian rolled up his sleeves and showed old bite wounds, "the scars are occasionally sensitive to the touch from time to time but it's a constant reminder of my fear of dogs. I am so deathly afraid of them that I freeze in the spot, can't breathe properly, and I even remember that I passed out from time to time from seeing them. No matter the dog either, even if they are well trained, I am terrified."

"Have you ever wanted to overcome that fear?" Xiao Zhan asked.

"Oh for sure," Wuxian replied, "the sect leader from the Jiang Clan, Jiang Fengmian, took me in, but his son, Jiang Cheng, had to get rid of his dogs due to my fear. Jiang Cheng hated me for a while for that. Jiang Fengmian's wife didn't want me in the sect either. She made it clear from day one that I wasn't her family. I was just there because Jiang Fengmian was a friend of my father's.

The two would argue a lot, and I would be the main topic of those arguments for most of them. His wife was known as Yu Ziyuan and I'd call her Madam Yu. She would compare me to her son all the time. She whipped me with a powerful spiritual weapon called Zidian, when I first formed my golden core. It was because I gained it before her son."

"Can you explain what a golden core and Zidian are?" Haikuan asked.

"Golden cores can store and control spiritual energy. The core forms after a certain point of cultivation, by using the body as a crucible to cultivate the core. After the formation of their golden core, the cultivator's level increases at a rapid speed; without a golden core, a cultivator can only be a low-end cultivator. Cultivators are practitioners of martial and mystical arts who strive to become powerful and increase their longevity.

The golden core is actually a term derived from Daoism and Chinese internal alchemy. It involves cultivating one's Essence, Qi and Spirit through Daoist cultivation practices and then fusing the three to create the Golden Elixir (golden core). In ancient China, Essential Matter, Vital Breath (Qi) and Spirit were regarded as the "root of Spiritual Nature and Bodily Life," Wangji explained.

"Okay, so it's another form of energy," Haikuan said.

"Yes, we can tell you more about it sometime," Wangji said.