Severing Time & Space

Humans Are Nothing Without Hope

Wu Jian and Wu Meiying were in the library as per usual. They had finished exercising, gone to their classes, and were ending the day by reading. Grandpa Son had found them a book called The Rock Maiden. It was about a girl named Ling Lee, who fell in love with a kind, young fisherman. When the fisherman was lost at sea, she never gave up hope, climbed to the top of the cliff overlooking the sea, and was turned to stone by a powerful Deva Realm cultivator who took pity on her. The young fisherman eventually returns, sees his wife frozen in stone, and convinces the Deva Realm cultivator to return his wife. It was a very touching story, but something about it felt off to them.

"Is it possible to turn someone into stone like that?" asked Wu Jian after they finished reading the story.

"Hmmm. I wonder," Wu Meiying muttered. "I think it's possible. There are cultivators who are skilled practitioners of the earth element. I'm sure some are powerful enough to turn a person into stone. Mmmm... however, I thought they specialized in body enhancement. Maybe if someone gains a strong enough affinity for earth, they can turn people into stone?"

"Should we ask Grandpa Son?" asked Wu Jian.

"No. Let's not bother him with this. I don't think he could answer it anyway."

Grandpa Son was the most knowledgeable person either of them knew. Rumor had it he had memorized every book within this library. Wu Jian couldn't think of another person who would be able to answer his question, but if Wu Meiying said he couldn't, then he believed her. She was the only person he believed knew more than Grandpa Son.

They closed the book and brought it to the front, where Grandpa Son sat behind a table. He smiled kindly as they set the book down.

"Done already?" he asked. "What did you think?"

"It was an interesting story," Wu Jian said with a smile.

"Though I do have to question why a Deva Realm cultivator would bother turning a woman to stone, only to turn her back when her husband returned, and for nothing in return. That does not sound like a powerful cultivator to me," Wu Meiying said. Wu Jian nodded in agreement.

The Deva Realm was known as the realm of true strength. While there were maybe a handful of Deva Realm cultivators in the Shang Kingdom where Wu Jian and Wu Meiying lived, they formed the core of the larger kingdom's militaries and sects. A number of powerful sects wouldn't even accept someone into their ranks unless they had reached the Deva Realm. Many cultivators considered this realm to be the first step into godhood.

"Ah ha ha ha," Grandpa Son laughed. "You bring up an interesting point. There are many folktales like this that do not make sense. It is common sense to assume that no cultivator would do anything for free, much less one who has reached the Deva Realm. They are people on a higher level of existence than the rest of us and generally do not care for those they deem beneath them. So, then, why would someone write a story like this? Do you have any thoughts on the matter?"

Wu Jian remained silent as Wu Meiying furrowed her brow in thought. What was she thinking? He had his own thoughts on the matter, but he really wanted to know what she thought about the questions Grandpa Son posed.

Her expression cleared up a moment later.

"I can think of two reasons," she declared.

"Oh?" Grandpa Son raised a white, bushy eyebrow.

"The first reason is because humans want to believe in a higher power. Even if that higher power has no real interest in them, many will make up stories of Deva Realm cultivators helping normal people because it gives them hope."

Grandpa Son nodded and stroked his beard. "Humans are nothing without hope. There is truth in what you say. And what is the other reason?"

Wu Meiying took a deep breath and gave a troubled smile. "The other reason is someone paid these people to write these stories to make cultivators seem nicer than they are. It is common knowledge that we live in a world where strength means everything. Those who have strength have the right to trample on those who don't. Why would a Deva Realm cultivator ever help some random couple when doing so is clearly beneath him? This feels like a propaganda piece written to make cultivators out to be nicer people than they are."