Xie Xie's Past and Conqueror's Haki

After Teacher Wu left, I promptly nudged Wulin and Gu Yue. They looked at me in confusion, wondering why I had grabbed their attention.

"We should go out and explore the city. The academy grounds are kinda suffocating, don't you think?"

Wulin seemed to be on the edge. "I mean, it sounds fun, but mealtime in the dining hall is starting."

"Come on, I'll treat you to some food. And you too, Gu Yue." This statement caused Wulin to nod. Looking towards Gu Yue, I gestured for her to answer.

"I'll go. As long as you're paying though. You got so much money, you should put it to use."

I looked at her blankly, before responding. "Am I really your friend, or just your credit card?"

She stared back. "My friend who doubles as a credit card."

I sighed in exasperation, before accepting it. "Alright then, let's just go. I'm hungry as hell. I'll take you to a place I used to work on my off time."

Wulin nodded, while Gu Yue made an exaggerated surprised expression. "The nouveau rich young master actually knows how to work?"

"I'm actually a really good cook, you know," I responded.

Gu Yue looked skeptical, replying, "I'll believe it if I try it."

On the other hand, Wulin seemed excited, exclaiming, "Really? You can cook? That means you can make food for me!"

As we talked leisurely, we eventually ended up at one of the places closest to my heart. It was a small shop, looking worn down but cozy. Inside was one of my most precious people, someone I thought of as family. Uncle Li.

As soon as he saw me, his face brightened. "Xie Xie! You've come to visit! And with your friends, too. Do you want your usual?"

I gave a rare, genuine, smile, before responding. "Sure. But can I cook for my friends? I want to show them that I can cook."

He gave me a wide smile back, before gesturing to the kitchen. "Of course! You're always welcome to cook here, whether it be for your friends or yourself. You're basically my own nephew at this point."

I could feel myself getting emotional, so I quickly hurried inside the kitchen and began to cook. After a few minutes, I finally finished cooking, satisfied at the beef stew I made. I placed one in front of Wulin, one in front of Gu Yue, and one at my seat.

After they each took a bite, I asked their opinions. "So, isn't it good?"

Wulin exclaimed with an enthusiastic, yes, saying, "This is one of the best meals I've had! I never knew you could cook this well!"

"Wow! This is actually better than I expected!" said Gu Yue.

I was going to retort, but I stopped in favor of eating my delicious lunch. Extra delicious, since I cooked it. After eating for a while, we all were full.

As we all finished up our food, Gu Yue asked a question. "Hey, Xie Xie. You don't seem to be the type to have found this shop on your own, so how did you find this place?"

My eyes got a bit teary while I reminisced. My voice cracking, I finally answered the question. "The stewed beef from this shop used to be my mother's favorite, so I would go here occasionally. Later on, after I learned cooking, I went here to work and better my cooking."

Gu Yue seemed to think it was a sensitive topic, so she didn't push. She wouldn't be exactly wrong, though. While I did have many great memories here, this shop always caused some sad or unwanted memories and emotions to escape from the jar I tried to seal it in.

I know it's not an effective coping method, but I've been doing it since my mother died, which was when I was 4 or 5. It's honestly concerning, but I think I'll handle it. Probably.

Fucking jar needs to work better, though. These damn memories keep popping up. And in each of them is the one person I hate most. My maternal grandfather. He was the damn bastard that kept pushing my mom to work, even when she was injured.

He was the reason why her immune system shut down, and she contracted a terminal illness. It's all his fucking fault. And I wasn't even the one to get revenge on him. He died of natural causes.

A bastard that deserved to die in a horrible way, was allowed to die happy in his sleep. He died as an accomplished mecha master, with following his wife into a peaceful death.

On the other hand, Uncle Li, one of the greatest men I've ever had the pleasure of meeting is stuck in a worn-down shop, barely making a living. Every time we would try to donate to him, or invest a big amount, he would find some way to return it. It's like he didn't even want the money anymore. And even as he had little money, he still had time to play with me when I was a child, teach me how to cook, teach me life lessons, and cheer me up.

How is it fair that such a pure, kind, man would have to live such an arduous life, while scum would live great lives in leisure? Our world is fucked up. Or my mind is.

For now, I'm alright. I still know what's morally right and wrong. Doesn't mean that I'll always do what's morally right though. I'm a selfish person. If someone tried hurting my loved ones, I'd kill them no hesitation. I'd definitely make them pay for whatever they did. But I wouldn't kill if there was no necessity.

Damn psychological anime. I'm 9 years old. Is it even because I'm 9 years old, or because Spirit Masters grow up way faster than normal humans? Why am I even trying to psychoanalyze myself? I'll just shove that all in The Jar, and leave it for future me to think about.

I woke up from my reverie to the sound of Wulin trying to get my attention. "Xie Xie. Hey, Xie Xie! Are you there? We still got a lot of places to go to and things to eat, right?"

His words brought back my focus, causing me to nod and reply. "Of course. This place has a lot of good food stalls. There's dessert, appetizers, main courses, basically everything."

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After a while of eating, laughing, and joking around, our attention was once again drawn to Uncle Li's shop, where a commotion could be heard.

"You guys can't do this! This is how I make a living!" Uncle Li's voice sounded out through the crowd.

I forced my way to the crowd, before finding Uncle Li collapsed and bleeding, in the midst of a broken and battered shop. Three men were standing in front of him, with the middle one, seemingly the ringleader, with his fist bloodied. Uncle Li's bloodied visage seemed to overlap with my mother's lifeless corpse. My vision blurred, as I felt a familiar, all-consuming hatred envelop my senses, and rage take control of my mind.

Gu Yue and Wulin tried to help, but I stopped them, commanding, "Stay out of this!

My face at the time must have shown my overwhelming hatred, as both Gu Yue and Tang Wulin recoiled back as they saw it. Walking to the front of the crowd, I simply commanded. "Get away from him." I didn't raise my voice, nor did I say it forcefully, but I still attracted their attention.

The potential ringleader turned, before seeing it was just me, sneering. "Oh? And what're you going to do about it, kid? Run home and cry to your mommy?"

"It seems you didn't hear me the first time. I said. Get. The fuck. Away. From him," I responded, raising my voice a little.

It seems he was a sadistic bastard who didn't enjoy being commanded, so he raised up his arm, saying, "I was going to let him off, but you're pissing me off right now. Watch, as the old man you try to save becomes crippled because of your actions." He brought his hand down quickly, with great force, intent on smashing in Uncle Li's face.

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU! TO GET THE FUCK AWAY!" At that moment, it seemed something inside me snapped. An invisible wave of energy came crashing out my body, causing most people in the square to faint, unconscious. The only people still up were Uncle Li, Gu Yue, and Wulin who I seemed to subconsciously have excluded from my newly awakened [Conqueror's Haki], and the ringleader, who was barely standing up due to the force of my [Conqueror's Haki]. Gu Yue and Wulin watched in awe, as I began to slowly walk towards the ringleader.

"W-what the hell did you do?" the man who was beating up Uncle Li asked. I didn't even bother responding at this moment. For me, he was nothing but scum. He was my prey. An insect that I had decided to step on. But most of all, he was someone who hurt something precious to me. And that was unforgivable.

Soon, we were face to face. Him, kneeling on the ground in fear, and me, above him, deciding his fate. After a while of staring, he snapped out of it, jumping back and unleashing his Spirit, with two rings. Seeing the Spirit, I instinctively knew it was a dragon.

And a voice in the back of my head, a part of me, yet not me began to tremble in anger. 'Th-this inferior tribesman dares to lay a single hand on a person who I consider as family? I will make him pay with his life! I will kill him! Kill! KILL! KILL!' As the words, 'KILL!', were chanted in my mind, the ferocious roar of a dragon began to sound in my mind.

The dragon roar caused the rage and hatred to be amplified by a multiple of a hundred, to the point where the only thing in my mind was to kill. However, strangely enough, I was completely conscious and sober. However, I was also solely focused on killing. It was a state where I was calm, yet enraged, cool, but hotheaded, logically-driven, and one-track minded. I activated [Zone], which boosted my focus, still keeping me in the same state of mind, before also activating [Total Concentration Breathing: Constant], and [Full Body Arnament: Hardening]. I could only use this combination for 15 seconds max, but that was all I needed.

Finally done focusing on my state of mind, I immediately leaped into battle. I used [Front Kick], sending him way up high in the air. 2 seconds had passed.

Using a combination of [Geppo], [Soru], and [Bo-bup], I re-appeared in the air, launching a [Baekdu] to his stomach, sending him flying to the right. 5 seconds had passed.

Using the same air-traversing combination, I re-appeared behind him again, hitting him with an [Arang], an elbow-strike to the chest, sending him flying to the left. 9 seconds had passed.

I once again reappeared, but this time above him, with his chest level to my knee. I used another [Baekdu], this time sending him flying upwards right into my elbows poised and ready to strike, for a [Fangs]. 13 seconds had passed.

Finally, he was sent crashing into the ground in a crater. His limbs were bloody and mangled, his face a complete mess, and his ribs in a disorderly state. I used the last 2 seconds to dash right up to his body using [Soru], intending to bring my foot down on his head. However, at the last second, my time limit ran out. My body began to scream in pain, the effects of so many boosters used in conjunction all coming at once.

Finally, as I began to blackout, I heard three voices screaming, accompanied by a cool, while slightly panicked voice. Those three seemed to be Uncle Li, Gu Yue, and Tang Wulin. And was that cool voice Teacher Wu? Well, at least I can rest easy knowing that I'm in good care from now until I wake up.