The cultivation master

"Reef the sails!! Drop anchor here!"

"Lower the boat into the water!!!"

"Hurry up!! That's an order from the captain!"

Once the ship stopped, Cyrus boarded the rowboat alone. Although the crew wasn't entirely in favor, Cyrus had made his decision.

The bottom of the boat gently floated on the water's surface. Cyrus picked up the wooden oar and began rowing. The drifting boat on the water didn't move an inch. The waves ignored it and continued on their way. That boat wasn't affected by the waves; it was completely still.

Cyrus slowly brought his boat alongside it and looked at the man in the other boat.

"Show me the way out of here."

The man in the other boat smirked and said in a grating voice, "I guided you once. If you want that path again, you'll have to pay for it…"

Cyrus focused on the man's smirk. "That's right. Every request requires a cost. Speak, what's the price for granting this request?"

"Price… cost… this world is full of unfulfilled desires. You… you want me to set the price for this request, but this time you tell me how much your desire is worth, the fake one?"

"Hahaha… A wandering whisperer who doesn't know the price of what he's asked to do. The value of anything is relative to the being who fulfills it. I give you the permission to set your own price, wandering whisperer …"

"Hmmm… right… being…price…I have something in mind. But can you afford it?"

Cyrus took on a serious expression.

"Speak, the fake one, can you afford the requested price?"

Cyrus conversed with the whisperer for a long time. Despite the constant taunts and jibes, he didn't lose his composure. He was a superior being; superior beings didn't get angry at the insults of insignificant creatures. In fact, this was a trait of great individuals that elevated them to such a position. People who knew when to be patient and when to get angry.

The wandering whisperer hissed and took off his hat. Half of his face was decayed, and the other half was just skin and bones.

"Redemption, the fake one, my price is redemption."

"Years of wandering taught me that nothing is greater than redemption. People reach true maturity when they pursue the path of redemption. Redemption is so grand that even insignificant beings like me seek it…"

"Will this fake one grant me redemption?"

Cyrus sighed and extended his hand towards the whisperer.

"What did you see in redemption, the lost whisper?"

"In the beautiful gaze of death, my lord."

"Wealth, wife, and children?"

"My companions on the journey."

"What is your redemption?"

"My redemption … redemption … is freedom…"

Suddenly, a white aura separated from the whisperer's head and shot towards the sky like a comet. It pierced the fog, and its bright light illuminated everything. Cyrus gave a half-smile and looked at the whisperer's body, which was withering away.

[His memories, I took the memories that bound him, and he was able to achieve what he wanted. He let go of his regrets and reached the truth.]

The man's life passed before Cyrus's eyes like a short film.

[Ah, he was a fortunate man. When he returned from fishing, his son would wait for him by the dock. His wife cooked warm meals, and life was good…]

Suddenly, a shadow fell over Cyrus's face.

[One day, he got caught in a storm and ended up here. When he came to, he was alone and adrift in the heart of the fog.]

[Minutes and hours, days and weeks, months and years; he didn't feel the passage of any of them. While he was rotting in despair here, he didn't know his wife had died from the pain of his absence, and his son had grown to his age.]

[He survived only with the memories of his son and wife. Hope; that was what kept him going, but deep down, he knew it was too late. He had lost them forever and would never get them back.]

[But why do I feel his regret wasn't any of these?]

Cyrus took another look at those memories. The man's body had completely disintegrated. Now his boat silently moved on the water and drifted away.

[Ah, right! The last moment he was with his family…]

The last moments and last times were the greatest torment for humans. They never knew exactly when those last times were. It could be the last time they saw their family, and then they would lose them completely and suddenly.

Humans never appreciated the moments; they didn't live those moments. Even after becoming whisperers, they didn't stop this behavior.

Cyrus sighed softly and extended his hand towards the sky.

"Did I have a last moment to regret, too?"

But he remembered nothing.

"Perhaps I regret the last moment when I remembered everything…"

Suddenly, several floating flames appeared on the surface, showing the way out. The captain and Julian looked at those flames, which stretched like a continuous line in the foggy world, and happily stared at Cyrus, who was rowing.

When Cyrus reached the ship, cheers and shouts erupted. All enmities were forgotten, and a new hope awakened in the sailors' hearts.

"Captain!! Congratulations!!!"

"You did it, sir!!!"

Cyrus laughed and joined them. Then, as he placed the hat on the captain's head, he said, "This is my last order, pull up the sails and follow the flames!!"

"Aye, sir!!!"

But just as the sails were released, the sound of cannon fire echoed, and splinters of wood scattered in the air. The lookout in the crow's nest shouted in panic, "Pirate King!!! Pirate King!!! The pirate ship is behind us!!!"

The captain immediately went to the stern to see for himself.

"God help us. This is madness. That man is insane! Has he followed us all the way here?!!"

But Cyrus knew one thing for sure. It was impossible for the Pirate King to have followed them.

[Of course, the answer is clear. There's a traitor on the ship.]