"Xiaofu, are we near your hometown, Fuling Town, yet?"
On this full moon night, the Grandwhite Kunpeng had its wings spread in flight. Looking at it from the ground, it looked like there were two moons in the sky.
Qingyu's ash-grey hair fluttered in the wind. Gradually, her hair color turned to that of the moon. However, nobody really paid attention to her, perhaps thanks to how attention-grabbing Tianming was.
"We'll be there soon. It's just across that mountain ahead," said a white-clad girl. She looked quite average with skin not as fair as Qingyu’s. Not to mention, there were a few scars on her face, signs of the many battles she had fought. Unlike the elders' descendants, she had relied on herself to become an inner disciple.
"Xiaofu, why do you look so downcast? Do you feel unwell?" Qingyu asked concernedly.
"I'm fine," Guo Xiaofu said, hurriedly shaking her head.
"It's fine. Even though they kidnapped your parents, you said that they'd let them go after seeing a disciple from Grand-Orient Sect, right?"
"That's right. My parents offended these bandits, but they heard that I was a disciple of the sect, so they didn't dare go overboard."
"Then it's fine. Don't worry. I’ve made some progress lately. I can deal with bandits on the fourth level of Unity for you."
"Thank you, Qingyu!" Xiaofu turned to her and looked a little distraught. Qingyu found it a little weird, but didn't think too much of it as Xiaofu had always been a worrywart. She was tough, but quite helpless at times, too. That was why they had been able to get along in the Wuyou Faction. There were many others who looked down on Qingyu for her background and mocked her abilities, despite being a member of the Apex Branch. Only Guo Xiaofu seemed to still hold some respect for the Li Saint Clan.
To most of the other inner disciples, Guo Xiaofu's family background was indeed rather lowly. However, there was nobody else willing to train with Qingyu besides her. As Qingyu didn't have many friends to begin with, she cherished the few she had.
Right after they flew past a mountain, Guo Xiaofu said, "We're here. Let's descend."
"Alright."
Qingyu telepathically willed her kunpeng to glide downward. Soon, they reached the ground. When the kunpeng tucked its wings together, it beat up quite a lot of dust. Quite a number of trees shook under the moonlight, rustling rather audibly as if they were hiding quite a few figures in the dark.
"There's nobody here. Xiaofu, didn't you say that bandits occupied your hometown? This doesn't look like a town to me," she said when she saw the desolate place. For some reason, Guo Xiaofu's shoulders were shaking.
"Qingyu, I'm sorry! I’ll pay you back what I owe in the next life!" she cried all of a sudden, sounding rather heartbroken as she ran away.
Right at that moment, a young man in robes of gold suddenly burst out of the forest, wielding a two-pronged spear. He smirked as he blocked Guo Xiaofu's way.
"Li Xuanchen?" Qingyu felt a chill down her spine. It happened too fast, and she was rather disoriented. She couldn't figure out why he showed up here. Not to mention, his savage expression seemed to suggest he would be taking out his prey soon. What was worse was Guo Xiaofu had ran to him as she cried and suddenly knelt.
"Li Xuanchen! Tell Su Wuyou and the others that I did what I was told! I beg you... ask them to free my parents! Please!" she cried in despair. It was clear now what had happened. She didn't dare to look back at Qingyu, as she definitely understood what was happening by now.
"Please, I'm scared!" Guo Xiaofu slammed her head against the rocky ground before her as she begged. The sound of the slamming was really disturbing to Qingyu.
"So you threatened Xiaofu with her parents to lure me out? Li Xuanchen, what are you planning?" she said as she took Vilemoon out of her spatial ring. Ever since getting a new elder brother and awakening her talent, her state of mind had changed considerably. Despite knowing she had fallen into a trap, her first thought wasn’t to run or panic, but fight.
She glanced at Guo Xiaofu, feeling rather hurt at being reminded of what had happened to Li Wudi. The father and daughter had both been betrayed by the ones they were closest to. Even though Guo Xiaofu's parents were being used against her, Qingyu felt that she should've trusted her and asked her to help solve the problem. No matter what the reason, it felt horrible to be betrayed.
As the moonlight shone on her, her irises' color dimmed.
"Li Qingyu, you should ask me that question instead!" said a soft, but sinister voice from behind.
Qingyu turned back immediately and saw a young boy. Despite his tall physique, he seemed to be rather young. His white robes fluttered in the air as he looked Qingyu down with a sinister gaze.
"Yuwen Shengcheng?" she mouthed. Gripping Vilemoon even tighter, she armed her other hand with her three Crescent Spinblades.
"That's right, it's me."
"What are you planning?" she asked without a trace of fear.
That apparently pissed him off. He was already itching to see her terrified, kneeling look, like how Guo Xiaofu was acting now. "I'm here for revenge. I want to pay you and Tianming back ten thousand times the pain I suffered! I want you to forever live in my shadow! I want to ruin your mind and make you my meat slave that dances at my every beck and call! You can't even die without my permission! From now until your death, you’ll be living in a nightmare. Only if you serve me well will I consider letting you catch a breath," he said, sounding more and more agitated as he approached her.
The scenes of his fight against Tianming and his father's disappointed expression flashed through his mind. Coupled with Qingyu's coldness, he felt the rage in his heart boiling.
"I think you're mistaken. You're the one who keeps messing with others. Nobody can realistically bully you. If anyone's to blame, it's your cowardice and overconfidence."
From Jincan's wedding to the fight at the Imperial Ninefold Gates and the fight for the manna on the Abyssal Battlefield, he was the one who had started all of them, only to lose horribly. It was a shame that he would never admit that. He was the kind of person who would always be able to justify what he did to others to himself.
"Shut up! How dare you look down on me? You're nothing but a pathetic member of the Apex Branch! Li Qingyu, I'd like to see if you still dare to act so defiant once I strip you naked!" He had grown more and more restless over the past few days. As far as he was concerned, he felt his dignity had been trampled on, and he really had to vent all that frustration.
Faced with such seething hate, Qingyu was still unmoved. "Someone like you doesn't even deserve to be in the Yuwen Clan. You're like a stray dog that can do nothing but whine."
Yuwen Shengcheng almost vomited blood from anger. The worst part of that insult was that it was on point. "Li Qingyu!" He took a fierce step forward.
"You don't scare me. Yuwen Shengcheng, since I'm already here, stop troubling Xiaofu and let her parents go. I'll leave with you." She gripped her blade and gave the girl another look. Such was life. The powerless couldn't do anything, no matter how hard they tried. Not everyone was so lucky to have a chance to challenge destiny. Most people were merely playthings of fate.
"Alright. Guo Xiaofu, you may leave first," Li Xuanchen said.
Guo Xiaofu thought she had misheard. She thought Qingyu would hate her for it, yet she had taken it all herself and even wanted her to leave first, asking for her parents to be released on her behalf.
"Qingyu...." She stood up, her tears flowing from her face nonstop.
"Xiaofu, it's fine. Go first—" Before she finished, a golden spear emerged from Guo Xiaofu's body, stained in red. It was a one-hit kill. Guo Xiaofu looked down as her vision started blurring. Stretching out her arms, she cried, "Qingyu... save me... I'm scared..."
The spear was audibly drawn back through her body. Guo Xiaofu looked fearfully at Qingyu and slumped to the ground, dying like a stray in an alley. Her lifebound beast charged forward in a panic, only to be intercepted by a Sixteen-winged Gold Kunpeng and an Eight-armed Taotie. They tore it in two halves, spilling rivers of blood.
Everything suddenly fell silent. The manic smiles of the two youths, coupled with Guo Xiaofu's last words, were like swords piercing into Qingyu. She felt some difficulty breathing all of a sudden. Try as she might to force a breath, the scene caused her to turn cold. She clutched her chest and her eyes had turned into two full moons without her even realizing it. There was no pain or emotion in them, only cold killing intent.
Li Xuanchen and Yuwen Shengcheng approached her with playful smiles. "Li Qingyu, you're next!"
She loosened her tightened palms and closed her eyes. Nobody saw it, but Vilemoon vibrated a thousand times in a fraction of a second.
"I'm sorry, Xiaofu. I'll make sure you rest in peace." The glow emanating from Vilemoon almost seemed to be competing with the brilliant moon up in the skies.