In the Blood Wood Cave Forest, as usual, a malevolent atmosphere was weighing on everything around. The cultivators hiding in the caves, for which it was impossible to guess what awaited inside, the animals that may or may not have become dangerous due to demonic cultivators' experiences, down to the very trees, towering over the forest and casting sinister shadows on the ground.
Zi Moyan, Ye Mu and Hanchen, hiding in one of the few relatively safe caves, generously gifted by Bai Zisheng, were all sitting down in silence. Fortunately, the Blood Wood Cave Forest was not excessively far from the Martial Devouring Mountains, and they had been able to hide there to lose any potential pursuer… or so they hoped.
"It's… a shame that we lost fellow Zhang" Ye Mu said.
"..."
"..."
Both Hanchen and Zi Moyan remained silent, though for different reasons.
After Baotian's sealing, Ye Mu poured all his remaining spiritual energy into regeneration and, becoming able to walk again, woke Hanchen up: together, taking their unconscious companion with them, they managed to leave before Liu Zhenyun could catch up. Almost miraculously, Zi Moyan woke up a few days later and, rummaging through her memory, managed to remember the location of this hiding spot, which Bai Zisheng had told her about. They were now in relative security, but that didn't mean that the ambiance was good whatsoever.
The poor fox, left alone to talk, had no choice but to keep going on his own:
"Don't worry about him too much, if he had truly died, the tampering in my Golden Core would have either disappeared or activated, destroying my cultivation" he said. "Fellow Zhang is still alive and, as we all know, he won't let it change easily! Zhang Baotian is someone that would climb Mount Tai on his own and get back down on the other side with no hesitation if it could allow him to escape death longer, even if it takes centuries, I believe he will definitely-"
"And what if I don't want to wait for centuries on end?" Zi Moyan said, interrupting him. "What if I cannot live all this time without him? These last forty years… no, more precisely, the last twenty-eight years we spent together, these were the best of my entire life. One can live their entire life without knowing another taste than that of rice but once they have gotten to enjoy the taste of meat, how cruel is it to never allow them to savour it again?"
Hanchen scoffed:
"Then what? Tell us senior Zi, what do you want to do? Going back to the Martial Devouring Mountains and using a spell in hope you'll end up in the same cramped, lightless cave as him? Or maybe you are going to bow ninety-nine times in front of them, asking them nicely to return him? 'Oh please, dear Martial Devouring Mountains, this lowly cultivator beg for your mercy, please free him, I have once tasted meat and now I crave it again'! Is that what you intend to do, uh?"
"Ah? What about I burn you down and offer your ashes to the mountains instead, you little trash!" Zi Moyan exclaimed, furious. "Stupid brat, you're courting death!"
With a spell, she summoned flames in her hand, butHanchen remained stoic:
"Yes, go on, I know for how long you have been wanting to do this" he said. "When we met, Zhang Baotian saved my life, but then put a tracker on me. He planned to refine me, and did refine my talent, but then he saved my life along with yours. When it comes to him, I consider us quit. But you? When I began my Qi Building advancement, I used my spirit sense to look for potential enemies. The only cultivators there were you and Zhang Baotian!
Senior Ye Mu always seemed to feel guilty around me for some reason, and now I realize why. And he was not present when you planned to abduct and refine me like livestock! From what he just said, I can deduce that my 'master' has put some sort of restriction on him, so even if I do feel some spite, I can understand his situation.
On the other side, purely of your own free will, you were fully prepared to end my life and feed me to him! In the previous month, when we were escaping and travelling to reach the Blood Wood Cave Forest, you never gave me any reason to forgive you! Not even one as simple as saying 'I'm sorry'!"
"Forgive me? What do you think your forgiveness is worth!? You are a leech, Hanchen. You needed Baotian to save you the very same day he met you, you needed him to orient you toward the Liu clan and indicate you how to plunder their treasures, you needed him to save you during the conflict with YOUR own master, and then needed ME to bring you to safety with me, to the cave that senior Bai generously lended us. Your nine generations are probably rolling in their graves seeing what you have become"
"Oh really, I'm a leech? You keep talking about how Baotian saved 'me', instead of 'us', as if he didn't save your life twice as much as you did for him! And Bai Zisheng? Really senior Zi, the way you talk, it's not hard to see you're not much behind me when it comes to being a leech! But what, because you feel thankful to them, that's supposed to make you better than me?"
Hanchen shook his head:
I already met demonic cultivators before you, senior Zi, and I already met one or two that acted like you, so I believe I already have some insight into the kind of person you are" he said. "I bet that to help your consciousness, you're telling yourself that at the very least, you're staying true to your beliefs, right? Well believe it or not, that doesn't make you any less of a hypocrite! You are still scum, so stop alternating between self-pitying and trying to look down on me to feel better, I, Hanchen, refuse to play along!"
"You… you…" Zi Moyan stuttered, speechless, before being overtaken by anger: "You little bastard, you're courting dea-"
"ENOUGH!"
Both Zi Moyan and Hanchen were startled by the powerful voice, turning toward Ye Mu:
"Enough… that's enough" the fox said. "We barely lost fellow… no, brother Zhang, and you two are already allowing yourself to fall for your emotions. Do you even hear yourself? Do you think that's what brother Zhang was expecting when he fought so we could escape? Well, let me tell you what I believe is the answer to this question.
Brother Zhang isn't expecting anything right now. He is stuck in a cave, alone, probably going insane by the day. To hold on until he's freed, he'll have to cling to something, and there's a real possibility that this something will be his connections. If we give in to our emotions from now on, we definitely won't be able to live until he's able to come out. So please, calm down. Junior Hanchen so you can leave this cave alive and miss Zi so you can get to see brother Zhang again"
Hearing his words, the two finally calmed down. Still, there was still significant tension between them. However, Ye Mu's next words were what made it worse:
"Now that it's settled… junior Hanchen, let us go" he said.
Not only the one concerned, but also Zi Moyan took a bit to register what he had just said.
"... Ah?" Zi Moyan exclaimed dumbly.
"I… what do you mean, senior Ye Mu?" Hanchen asked.
"It's simple, really. As of now, with your Shadow Embodying True Physic lost forever, if you exit this cave on your own, it is not guaranteed that you even manage to exit the Blood Wood Cave Forest alive. Moreover, by now, with all the damages that this incident created, we are likely to be wanted in the entire country. Without having either a powerful companion or joining the demonic path to obtain basic protection, you won't be able to survive for long. Let's go together, leave the nation, and set off for the Country of Zhaoqing. There, the friendships between humans and Spirit Beasts is much more tolerated, and as we don't have any history with them, we will be able to start anew"
Hanchen hesitated:
"And may I know why you want me to come along?" he asked.
"A reason? If I had to give one…"
Ye Mu thought about their discussion on the Five Virtues, and chuckled:
"It would be that you're an endearing junior, and I believe it would be pleasant to travel with you, nothing more" he replied.
Hanchen, hearing this answer, couldn't help but laugh. Even though the fox had been pressured, he still had not completely forgiven him. Even then…
"Alright, senior, I accept" he said. "It's not like I have a better option, anyway. And…"
He smiled:
"I also believe you can be a good travel companion" he said.
The fox nodded:
"In this case… shall we go?" he asked.
"You mean, now?" Hanchen asked back.
The Spirit Beast nodded:
"It has not been too long yet since the incident" he said. "If we go full speed now, we have a better chance to reach the border and cross it before they take measures against us"
Hanchen sighed and got up:
"Alright then… let's go" he said.
However, Zi Moyan, who had partially recovered from her emotions, now stood in the entrance of the cave:
"So the two of you… are just planning to go without me?" she asked. "You too, Ye Mu?"
Hanchen narrowed his eyes, and Ye Mu was the one to reply:
"I'm sorry, miss Zi. From the beginning, I never intended to join the demonic path" he said. "So far, I was only following because of brother Zhang, but now that he isn't with us anymore, it's only natural that I take a different path"
He sighed:
"I truly hope our paths meet again someday, but as of now, I can't stay with you any longer" he said. "Goodbye, lady Zi"
Zi Moyan, hearing his words, turned pale. Her face went through surprise, fear, denial, sadness, anger, and finally back to a chilling calm:
"I see, I understand why you want to leave" she said. "I simply refuse it"
Lighting up blue flames around the cave's entrance, she created a powerful fire barrier to stop them from approaching:
"It seems that you two are really talented when it comes to reminding me that I'm a demonic cultivator, but seem to forget what it implies" she said. "I am not just a slightly angrier cultivator, I am a monster, and monsters don't like those who try to escape their grasp. If you won't stay with me, then you won't stay anywhere in the world of the living either"
Hanchen tensed but, once again, Ye Mu remained calm:
"Please, miss Zi, neither of us wants a confrontation to happen" he said.
The red-haired demonic cultivator scoffed:
"And what if I do want it?" she retorted. "What if I simply want to burn the two of you down to the ground to warm my heart a bit?"
"Then we'll fight" Ye Mu replied. "Maybe we will win, or maybe you will defeat and kill us both. If that happens, maybe you will feel better for a moment. But then, when the ashes disperse, you will simply feel even sadder than before. Look inside your heart, miss Zi: deep down, you know it is the truth"
Zi Moyan, listening to him, didn't move. Only her hand trembled a bit. Without a word, he created a path through her fire barrier with a wind spell, and began to walk past her, followed by Hanchen. The demonic cultivator raised her hand to attack.
"I'm sincere when I say this" Ye Mu said, briefly touching her hand with his paw. "I wish you to be happy"
Zi Moyan's hand remained stuck in the air.
"Please, I'll do anything… don't abandon me" she said.
Ye Mu looked at her with sadness in his eyes, but kept walking forward. Even minutes later, when they were gone and the fire had been extinguished, her hand remained stuck in the air as she was left there, all alone.
"It's okay… I'll just wait a bit and return to senior Bai's cultivation cave. With my current cultivation speed, it will only take me a few decades to reach the mid stage. Yes, that sounds like a good idea. I… I suppose I am not so good with relationships, since the only true one I had was with junior brother, and the others were"
With how things were going, her future was already assured, and she had full confidence in reaching Nascent Soul. She would live long enough to greet Baotian when he would be freed from the Martial Devouring Mountains, likely with her own faction in the demonic path. It would be all ok. It had to be. She had already accepted she would be alone.
"Ahh… why… why must it end like this!"
Even then, it didn't make the pain any better. Zi Moyan began to cry. To cry for her loss, for her inability to create real bounds with people, for being who she was.
She remembered the last thought she had before Xiao Chen pierced her skull: if she had been in her parents' place, could she have been a good mother, and stopped her child from following her in the demonic path?
Now, she could clearly see the answer to this question: she couldn't have done it. Someone unable to create connections on their own could have never gained enough understanding of someone else's heart, even if the other person in question was their own child. She was no better than her parents.
Zi Moyan, faced with the truth, could only call to him one last time:
"I sacrificed myself to save you, and we both managed to come out alive! So tell me, why I couldn't get to see your face once more, Zhang Baotian!"
But he was gone already. Ye Mu and Hanchen were gone as well.
She was alone.
Meanwhile, Ye Mu and Hanchen, walking along the path, were discussing. At one point, Hanchen asked what his senior wanted to do once they reached Zhaoqing country and returned to the righteous path.
"Hmm… that is a good question. For long, I always believed that the only peace that could exist between Spirit Beasts and humans was one maintained out of fear of war. But after staying in Red Bean Village for so long, I came to think: in Zhaoqing, renowned as the land of peace, it shouldn't be impossible to create a place where we can live in harmony, should it? I truly believe…" Ye Mu lost his words for a second, before continuing: "Even if establishing world peace is impossible for small people like us, we will be able to create at least one place people won't be willing to judge others on the race they were born in"
Hanchen, smiling, nodded:
"That's a great dream" he said. "I truly hope we will be able to realize it"
The fox laughed:
"'We', uh? Well, if there is already a 'we', then there is already hope"
"Yes, and one day, this 'we' will be far more than the two of us"
Hanchen smiled:
"When we reach this point, then it will mean that the dream has become reality"
They kept walking forward, leaving behind them a single broken soul.