Path of the Lilies

21. Determination

"...Wei Family really loves to bully the weak people," Ye Jiao murmured after she had calmed down. She didn't have any confidence in her self-control, so she didn't try to speak or fight back when the two siblings came to her. If she decided to fight them, the Wei Family would make things hard for Ye Ai Xia because they were staying in Wei Family Residence.

Ye Jiao stared at her dirty hand. She sighed to herself. At least, she didn't try to punch them for real because they were acting really arrogantly and annoying.

Slowly, she made her way back to the residence where Ye Ai Xia was busy cooking their next meal.

"Jiao'er, you have returned?" Ye Ai Xia asked without turning around. As Eon Energy Master rank 3, Ye Ai Xia has sharper sense compared with ordinary people, so she could sense it when Ye Jiao came closer.

"Yes, Aunt Ai Xia."

"Can you help me cook?"

"Ah, I'm a bit dirty after practicing, so I'll take a bath first," Ye Jiao gave her excuse. Without waiting for an answer, she dashed to the room and headed straight to the bathroom.

She undressed before jumping into the large bathtub filled with warm water. Ye Ai Xia always prepared water when it was afternoon because Ye Jiao finished her practice at around this time every single day for the past few days.

Splash!

"It feels really good," Ye Jiao smiled to herself. Looking at her hand, she started to rub them together in the water to clean up the dirt and all. At the same time, her mind was thinking of her encounter with the two of them again.

Splash! Splash!

Ye Jiao slammed her hand into the water two times as tears streamed out of the corner of her eyes. This was the first time someone used their overpowering strength to suppress her. Before this, they only mocked her or sent her jeering gaze. The fact that she could do nothing but hid everything in her heart made her angry and sad.

This frustrated her.

The weak has no say in this world and the strong treated the weak as dirt. No, not all the strong, but the Wei Family.

'A family of a general yet they bully the weak. Truly a great general.'

Ye Jiao buried her face in the water as she forced herself to stop crying. There was no use to cry. She just has to become stronger faster so that no one would bully her anymore.

"Jiao'er."

Sensing the sudden hug from behind, Ye Jiao was stunned. "Aunt Ai Xia, I'm still bathing."

"I know," Ye Ai Xia noticed that this girl was clearly holding back her feeling. It was unusual for Ye Jiao to head directly to the bath, so she could guess that something must be wrong. Seeing her action, she could faintly guess what had happened.

"Aunt Ai Xia, I..."

"It's fine," Ye Ai Xia said in soothing tone. She caressed Ye Jiao's hair tenderly. "You're doing great, Jiao'er. Everything is fine."

Ye Jiao could feel the comfortable warmth that Ye Ai Xia provided to her. Tears welled up in her ears again. She buried her face in Ye Ai Xia's embrace. "I'm so weak, Aunt... I can't do anything!"

"Shh, sweetheart, it's fine, you're doing great," Ye Ai Xia said to Ye Jiao in soft tone.

Ye Jiao cried in Ye Ai Xia's embrace as she vented up her frustration. The feeling of holding back her own talent and hiding from the others were not something a seven-year-old girl capable to do. Everything was simply too much for her.

She didn't know how long it took for her to calm down, but Ye Ai Xia continued to accompany her and stroked her tenderly.

"Have you calmed down?" Ye Ai Xia asked.

Ye Jiao nodded her head. "Yes, I'm sorry for crying like that, Aunt Ai Xia."

"It's normal for girls to cry," Ye Ai Xia sighed. "There's no need for you to hold back every single time. If it feels hard, you can come to me."

Listening to Ye Ai Xia's words, Ye Jiao nodded her head once more. She used to rely on her father because he would protect her from every danger around them. After he had left, she forgot that she had Ye Ai Xia caring for her.

"I'll train even harder," Ye Jiao said. "That way, I can surpass them and reach higher rank than before."

Ye Ai Xia smiled. "Jiao'er, what's your martial path?"

Martial path?

"What's that?"

"That's the reason for you to pursue the path to be Eon Energy Master. This reason is the one that will bring you to a greater height and let you walk down your path," Ye Ai Xia explained.

Ye Jiao recalled that her father once asked her the same question in the past. She never gave it much thought before because she didn't know herself why she wanted to become strong.

Was it because she wanted to gain revenge?

Was it because she wanted to gain the recognition?

Was it because she wanted to be praised and hailed as the genius?

Her eyes flickered as she recalled the cold expression her father had when he faced against those from Wei Family. After that, her memory brought her to remember the time she spent with her father. All the joy and fun times she had with them flashed through her mind in that split second.

Why did she want to become strong?

"Jiao'er?" Ye Ai Xia noticed that Ye Jiao seemed to fall into a contemplation. This question was hard to answer for children, and many of them usually provided with weird and funny answers.

Ye Jiao looked up and smiled brightly. "I know my martial path."

"Yes? What is it?"

"It's to protect!"