A Senior’s Revelation and a Father’s Past

“Senior, are you… ill?” I couldn’t help but ask, only to hear the other party finish their fit of coughing. Immediately, I realized the unfortunate double meaning of my question and awkwardly fell silent.However, the person did not retort with an immediate, “You’re the one who’s sick, you bastard!” as I had anticipated. Instead, after a long moment of gasping for breath, she finally asked in a low voice, “You said your father is Liu Buping?”

“To answer, Senior, my father is indeed Liu Buping of the Carefree Academy, specializing in Autumn Water, and known by the Daoist name ‘Autumn Water Child’. Do you recognize my father?” I replied, bowing respectfully. My thoughts churned for a moment, then recalling my mother’s frequent admonitions, I gritted my teeth. Pushing aside my apprehension, I ventured to ask again, “From your coughs and gasps, Senior, it seems less like a common ailment and more like a depletion of internal energy? Are you well, Senior?”

“Whether this old one fares well or ill, what concern is it of yours, little one?” the other party asked, a touch of amusement coloring her voice after hearing my supplementary question.

“This junior presumes to speak. Hearing Senior’s coughs and gasps, it appears your internal energy is damaged, and you carry an old ailment that is difficult to heal. This junior happens to have a special healing panacea, the Nine-Revolving Bear-Serpent Pill, produced by the pharmaceutical company under the Grand Martial Carefree Academy. Senior, I wonder if…” I was cut short before I could finish my sentence by another peal of prolonged laughter.

“The Nine-Revolving Bear-Serpent Pill, haha! From this, it seems you are indeed a descendant of that little brat Liu Buping! Haha, what a pity. How could a mere secret medicine from the Spirit Vulture Palace possibly heal this old one’s injuries?” The shadowy figure finally spoke, a touch of self-mockery lacing her words after her laughter subsided.

His words left me utterly bewildered. However, judging by how she referred to my father as a “little brat,” this person must surely be one of my father’s seniors. But how was it that I had never heard of any esteemed martial arts elder who knew my father harboring such a peculiar penchant for impersonating Tarzan in hidden caves deep within ancient mountain forests?

“Senior, what do you mean by that? Uh, my mother said the Nine-Revolving Bear-Serpent Pill is different from those other miraculous elixirs advertised by the Spirit Vulture Palace. Uh, this one genuinely has restorative effects for internal injuries…” With no other recourse, I could only whisper my reply, a hint of timidity in my voice.

“Your mother, you say? If this old one remembers correctly, your mother should be Lin Qing, known as ‘Fairy Bell Sound’ of the Carefree Spirit Vulture Palace back in the day, shouldn’t she?” The other party’s sudden direct address of my mother’s maiden name instantly caught me off guard.

“Senior, you know my mother as well?” I inquired, my voice laced with caution.

The other party let out a sinister chuckle in the shadows, then, pinching her throat, she spoke, “Since this old one knows that scoundrel Liu Buping, how could I possibly be unaware of his former sweetheart, Qing, the ‘Fairy Bell Sound’ of the Carefree Academy’s Spirit Vulture Palace, whose renown echoed throughout Grand Martial University?”

****

I still vividly recalled the anecdotes my mother had shared with me during my childhood, her enthusiasm boundless as she recounted them.

“Back then, your mother was quite the campus celebrity, with countless admirers,” she’d once declared. “Yet, for some inexplicable reason, I ended up falling for your father, a man who possessed absolutely nothing!”

Though I understood that my mother, then thirty-five, still retained her grace and charm, undiminished by the years, I made a grave error. In my weekly journal, I had described her as a “fading beauty” using words I believed to be exceptionally literary. When my homeroom teacher, a colleague of my mother’s, selected it as an outstanding entry to be read aloud to the class and then, to my horror, reported it to my mother, I received a brutal beating from my father.

“You little scoundrel, you’ve gotten quite audacious, haven’t you!” he had roared. “How dare you call your mother old! Even I wouldn’t dare be so impudent in front of her! You’re practically begging for death!”

My father had railed at me thus, all while administering his ‘correction’!

****

“Senior, who exactly are you…? From what I’m hearing, it seems you might be my father’s senior?” I asked, a hint of sorrow in my voice as I simultaneously recalled my own unfortunate past.

“Haha, who is this old one, you ask? It seems none of you Grand Martial University brats of this generation recognize this old one’s name anymore. So be it. Even that ‘Seven Fiends Asura’ Liu Buping from back then changed his moniker to ‘Autumn Water Child’. It’s only natural for this old one’s name to be swallowed by the river of time!” I couldn’t discern what my question had triggered, but the shadowy figure once again emitted that unsettling, ambiguous laugh.

Yet, at that very moment, I had no inclination to dwell on how utterly unpleasant that laughter was; the sheer horror in my heart was plainly evident on my face.

“What, little brat, you wear such a suspicious expression. Does this old one seem capable of deceiving you? Back then, your father—ah, when he was about your age—this old one encountered that rascal in the Foreign Language Academy… Haha, how charming that brat was in his youth! I distinctly recall him making a name for himself across the ten major academies with his Asura True Qi Palm. Later, the Six Paths of Reincarnation Sword he forged while pursuing his master’s degree was even more astonishingly brilliant, compelling one to admire how this young rascal could, at such an tender age, comprehend life and death and grasp the Dao of Heaven… Haha, who would have thought this little scoundrel was truly a romantic at heart, forsaking the martial world for the sake of beauty, abandoning the path of martial arts for the path of love. I still remember how, to pursue Lin Qing, the ‘Fairy Bell Sound’ of the Carefree Academy’s Spirit Vulture Palace—your mother, little brat—he was willing to betray his sect, abandon his ancestors, and defy his mentor. He abruptly switched majors while pursuing his doctorate, shamelessly begging everyone to intercede with Ling Aozi of Carefree Autumn Water at the time, leaving his master’s supervisor’s face utterly ashen with rage. Hahaha, if a student of this old one had pulled such a stunt, I would have been compelled to purge them from the sect! Haha!” That person’s eyes seemed to possess the ability to perceive things in the dark. After so brazenly articulating the confusion and astonishment etched upon my face, she continued speaking at length. I, standing by, grew increasingly aghast and utterly bewildered, finding no words to utter beyond meek nods. My mind, however, began to wander, recalling the boastful claims my father had made months prior when he learned I had been accepted into Grand Martial University, during a celebratory father-son drink commemorating my success.

****

‘You little rascal, when you get to Grand Martial University, don’t you dare disgrace your father! Back then, when your father studied at Grand Martial University, I was a generational prodigy, my martial arts shaking the entire school. My doctoral supervisor, your grand-master, back then, he took a liking to my exceptional talent and superior innate qualities. Oh, he was practically crying and begging to take me as his disciple; there was no stopping him! That’s why I only changed my major and transferred academies!’

****

From this revelation, it became abundantly clear that not only were fairy tales full of deceit, but much of my father’s grand pronouncements were also nothing more than elaborate boasts.

“Little brat, why have you fallen silent? Is there any inaccuracy whatsoever in what this old one has just told you?” the other party demanded, her voice deepening upon noticing my prolonged silence.

Startled, I finally snapped out of my internal disdain for my father. I immediately hastened to agree, “No, no, venerable Senior, everything you’ve said is correct. Uh, my father indeed had such an… unpresentable past… His affair with Lin—my mother, it truly unfolded exactly as Senior described…”