THE REAL PROTEGE-Chapter 517: OTAKO’S MYTH: HEALING IMMORTAL

Red smirked knowingly.

The Azure Dragon continued calmly.

"Only a fraction among cultivators are gifted with healing capability."

Ren blinked.

'Healing?'

"If her cultivation foundation becomes flawless," he said, "she may break through with a healing cultivation."

Gasps resounded.

Lily stared at her sister in disbelief.

Fatty grabbed Ren's arm.

"Healing? Like — saving people?"

Ren herself was stunned.

"That should be a gift," she said slowly. "How could it become a threat?"

The Azure Dragon's ancient eyes mellowed.

"You are young," he said patiently.

"Every sect, every clan, every empire covets healers. The truth is, there are so few true healers that entire wars have been fought over a single one. Without them, even great clans suffer losses that can never be undone. They will seek to bind you, claim you, protect you, or imprison you."

The word landed heavily.

Imprison.

Shun's hand clenched tightly.

Quan Ye's face stiffened.

Ling Li's gaze was razor-focused.

Ren inhaled slowly.

Now she understood.

Being able to heal meant becoming indispensable.

Indispensable meant never being free.

Shi Min: Exceptional

The Azure Dragon shifted his gaze.

To Shi Min.

The air transformed again.

"However," he said, "Ling, your son is more exceptional."

Ling Li's fingers halted subtly.

"He reminds me of Otako."

That single second of eye contact between Azure Dragon and Ling Li did not escape Four Eyes.

His heart skipped once.

He had long suspected something.

The mask.

The orders.

The muteness.

But evidence?

None.

Shi Min frowned.

"What makes you say that, Your Majesty?"

The Azure Dragon beamed gently.

"You both reached immortality young."

The room collectively inhaled.

Even those who knew still endured the weight of hearing it stated so plainly.

"And I see the comparable resilience in you," he continued. "If you reach Otako… spend time with him… You may adopt the cultivations he created exclusively for himself."

Shi Min's eyes sharpened.

"Are you familiar with Otako?"

The Azure Dragon chuckled softly again.

"You can say that."

Ling Li's heartbeat remained steady.

But Four Eyes' thought raced.

'Otako.

His wife?

The masked immortal.

Coincidence?

Or convergence?'

The garden hall felt serene.

Yet underneath the koi pond's reflection…

Storm clouds were forming.

And none of them yet knew how deeply their fates were bound with the masked sovereign whose finger decided life and death.

The garden hall had never felt so alive.

Or so silent.

"Wow! Can you tell us about Otako?" Lily burst out, leaning forward so quickly that the drink in her cup nearly sloshed over.

Her eyes were shining — not due to fear, but fascination.

The Azure Dragon lifted his cup slowly, sapphire pupils glinting with quiet amusement.

"What do you want to know about Otako?"

"Everything!" Lily declared without hesitation.

"Anything!" Fatty chimed in.

"All that you know!" Shi Min added, thumping the low table with dramatic emphasis.

Even Kim Kim wriggled in Four Eyes' arms, curiosity brightening up her tiny face.

The hall burst into intersecting voices.

Shun folded his arms but didn't object.

Ren's expression stayed composed, but she, too, was listening more intently than she realized.

Four Eyes' gaze focused ever so slightly.

The Azure Dragon let the noise rise for a moment before giving a light, resonant laugh.

The giggle alone carried ancient weight — like stone rolling down a mountainside.

"Ling," he said mildly, glancing at her, "you knew Otako personally. Why didn't you tell them about him?"

Ling Li, who had just lifted her cup of tea, barely choked.

She coughed once, regaining composure almost instantly — but the flash in her eyes did not escape Four Eyes.

"I told them to avoid becoming associated with Otako," she replied evenly. "The less they know, the better. It would avoid them from unforeseen disaster." For just a heartbeat, a flash of memory danced deep in her eyes—a phantom ache, quickly masked beneath steady calm.

Her manner was calm.

Too calm.

Four Eyes watched her carefully.

Avoid association.

Avoid disaster.

'Why speak as if proximity alone could bring calamity?'

The Azure Dragon inclined his head slightly.

"So, should I tell them about Otako or not?"

Ling Li waved her hand casually, as though the matter were insignificant.

"Sure, do as you please."

Her look remained unconcerned.

Inside, however, something tightened.

She doubted the Azure Dragon knew much.

Otako was not someone easily observed.

Or understood.

But the slight flash in the Dragon's ancient eyes…

Made her slightly uneasy.

It was a feeling she rarely experienced.

And she ignored it.

She would regret that later.

Otako's Myth: The Healer

"Very well," the Azure Dragon said lightly, placing his teacup down with deliberate care. "Allow me to think where to begin."

The garden breeze slowed.

Even the koi in the pond seemed to be still.

"Otako," The Azure Dragon began, tone lowering just enough to pull every ear toward him, "is the only person I know who not only heals… but can also defy death."

The temperature in the hall seemed to drop by a degree.

Lily's mouth parted.

"Defy death? Do you mean he can revive the dead?"

"Exactly," the Azure Dragon replied calmly.

A stir went through the group.

Red did not interrupt. She only watched quietly, fingers resting elegantly over her sleeve.

Kim Kim yanked on Four Eyes' shirt.

"Dad," she whispered softly, "who is Otako?"

Four Eyes lowered his head slightly, and his voice quieted.

"I only know his name. But everyone fears him. Let's listen."

His eyes, however, flicked briefly toward Ling Li.

She did not react.

Not outwardly.

The Azure Dragon continued.

"Otako's healing signature technique is known as 'Finger of the External Arbiter.'"

The name alone seemed to pressurize against the air.

"Otako is Immortal. Perfected in both internal and external cultivation. Detached. Feared. Known for killing by a flick of his finger."

Fatty swallowed audibly.

"That same finger…" the Azure Dragon's voice took on an almost amused tone, "is the one he uses to heal."

Silence intensified.

Ren's brows crease faintly.

Shun's jaw stiffened.

Shi Min leaned slightly forward.

"So his healing technique," the Azure Dragon continued, "is neither gentle nor benevolent. And certainly not compassionate."

He paused, his gaze turning thoughtful. "Otako believes that mercy is not true healing. To him, anything flawed must be either perfected or erased — there is no room for compromise. The cost is absolute: a body is healed only if it can withstand his judgment. Otherwise, it is destroyed. This harshness is the price of true correction."

A faint smile curved his lips.

When mortals observe Otako using it, they should first feel fear... and only afterward realize someone has been healed.

Lily blinked her eyes.

"How can healing feel terrifying?"

The Azure Dragon's eyes glistened.

"Because it feels like death examining whether you are worth keeping."

The words came to rest like frost.

No one spoke.

"The same finger he uses to kill… he uses to heal. But no one knows the difference."

The Dragon's tone became softer.

"Because Otako does not transfer qi. He does not inject energy. He passes judgment."

Ling Li's fingers clenched ever so slightly around her porcelain cup.

Hardly noticeable.

But Four Eyes noticed.

"When Otako flicks his finger toward someone's wound…"

The breeze in the garden died completely.

"The air freezes."

The bamboo outside stopped rustling.

"Sound disappears."

Even Fatty didn't dare shift.

"A thin, invisible ripple spreads."

Ren's breathing slowed instinctively.

"Within the injured body—"

The Azure Dragon's voice became nearly clinical.

"Dead flesh disintegrates instantly."

"Corrupted qi is erased."

"Damaged meridians are reconstructed according to a flawless immortal blueprint."