Chapter 34

I opened my eyes, still seated in the middle of the ruined rice fields. Golden strands of Qi drifted lazily through the air around me, like sunlight caught in slow motion. I breathed in, and the energy settled through my meridians with a warmth I hadn’t realized I’d missed. It felt… right. Like something that had been ripped away was finally back in place.

I hadn’t noticed how hollow I’d felt until now. The exhaustion from the Spirit Beast fight was gone, replaced by a low hum of energy running beneath my skin. I hadn’t advanced my cultivation, of course. That wasn’t the point. I was only restoring what I’d lost but even that had shifted something inside me. 

I let my thoughts drift as I sat there, breathing in the scent of damp earth. My senses were sharper than before. I could hear the faint rustle of branches at the forest’s edge, the skitter of claws across stone. My eyes caught movement in the distance, birds wheeling far above the treeline, the faint glimmer of dew across broken stalks. If I stood and walked to the top of the nearest hill, I was sure I’d see the entire village clearly.

Eventually, I rose to my feet. I stretched once I stood, though I didn’t really need to. My body didn’t ache anymore. Still, the stretch felt good, comforting in a way. I dusted the dirt from my robes and started back toward the village.

When I made it to the gate I spotted Wei Lin storming down the path ahead, his straw hat casting a dark shadow across his face. He looked pissed. And exhausted. He hadn’t slept. That much was obvious.

When he saw me, he slowed just a little.

“You alright?” I asked.

“Fine,” he said, a little too fast. Then, after a pause, he added, “No. Not really.”

“They want me to go with them,” he said. “Those sect bastards. Said I have potential.”

I blinked, not expecting that.

“Really?”

He nodded, spitting to the side. “Guess I have some sort of potential.” His lip curled. “But they’re cowards. Didn’t even show up till the fighting was over.”

I looked around. “Shush,” I said under my breath. “You don’t know what they can hear.”

His eyes narrowed. “What, you think they’re listening in on us right now? There’s no way they would be able to hear me. Even if they could, I’d say it to their face.”

I shrugged. “I wouldn’t bet against it. If my hearing’s improved this much, imagine what it’s like at their level. And you wouldn’t say it to their face. I still remember when you were basically kissing my feet when we meet.”

That shut him up for a moment.

Then he shook his head. “I’m not going. I won’t become one of them.”

I exhaled. I’d been expecting that. And honestly I didn’t blame him.

“Wei Lin,” I said quietly, “I get it. I really do. I don’t trust them either. But if you walk away from this… you’ll be giving up the only real chance you have to change anything.”

He looked at me, confused.

“You want to protect the village, right? Become strong enough to change things?”

His jaw tightened. I saw the flicker in his eyes, that looked a lot like guilt.

“They won’t listen to me,” he muttered.

“Not now,” I agreed. “But what about after? After you’ve trained? After you’ve grown into your strength?”

He didn’t answer.

“You could become someone they respect. Someone who can protect this place for real. With power. You’ll be in their ranks, true. But that doesn’t mean you have to be like them.”

He stared at the ground. Kicked a stone into the grass.

“What about you?” he asked finally. “You coming with me?”

I shook my head.

“I can’t,” I said. “I have somewhere I need to be.”

Wei Lin stayed quiet for a long moment before finally glancing sideways at me, his brow furrowed beneath the wide brim of his straw hat. “Where do you need to be?”

I let the silence stretch between us for a few breaths. The wind moved through the broken stalks of the field, soft and low, brushing against the side of my face like a whisper. “Far away,” I said eventually, my voice quieter than I intended. “Further than I can explain. But I’ve discovered something, recently, that might give me some answers. Something I’ve been working for since the moment I arrived here.”

Wei Lin looked confused so I continued.

“Do you remember the cliff? Where we hunted that first time. The one where the earth had been carved open by some long-dead cultivator?”

“I think the answers are down there.”

Wei Lin grimaced and looked away. His fingers flexed at his sides, curling into loose fists before relaxing again. “I remember you telling me you were from far away,” he said, quieter now. “At the start, I thought you might’ve been… I don’t know. Some kind of demonic cultivator. Especially with how confused you were about everything—like you didn’t know what Qi even was. I thought maybe you’d hit your head or were cursed or some rubbish.”

I laughed. A real one. “No curses. No head trauma either. Just from somewhere that might as well be another world entirely.”

He gave a small snort at that. “I’ve never seen the edge of the world. But I’ve heard about it.”

That made me smile. “You’ll have to let me educate you sometime,” I said, shaking my head. “Assuming this place works anything like where I’m from. I could really blow your mind.”

Wei Lin turned to face me fully. There was something in his eyes. “I remember the cliff. And I remember the stories. They say that wound in the land was made during a cultivator war a hundreds of years ago. That the land down there is cursed. No one that’s been down there has ever returned. If that’s where your answer are, id say you should forget about them.”

I was about to speak when he cut me off.

“But I can tell by the look in your eyes, that that’s not an option. So all I’ll say is stay alive. And I’ll do the same.”

“You’re right,” I said quietly. “Even if it’s where my path ends, I still have to go.”

He looked away again, chewing on the inside of his cheek, jaw tight.

Wei Lin nodded slowly, his expression hardening in that quiet way he did when he’d made up his mind. He turned back toward the village, then looked at me again. “Then I’ll go with the cultivators.”

His words settled between us like stones dropped into a still pond.

“I’ll grow stronger,” he continued. “Strong enough that no one from the sect, or any sect, can look down on people like us again. I’ll make sure this village never has to bury fifty of its own in a single day. I’ll make sure the next time beasts come, we’re ready. And maybe… maybe we can change how mortals are seen. How they’re treated.”

There was no boast in his voice. Just resolve. Like he’d been carrying the idea quietly for a while, letting it form in the dark, and now, with everything broken around us, it had finally taken shape.

I nodded, meeting his gaze. “That’s a good goal,” I said. “And I believe you’ll achieve it.”

He looked down but I caught the way his mouth tugged up at the corner. Just slightly.

We stood there in silence, the sun climbing higher behind thin clouds. There was nothing else to say. It looked like we both had our paths.

———

I was back in the village now.

Most of the streets had been cleared, the rubble pushed into piles, and the worst of the blood washed away by the rain. What remained was broken buildings and corpses.

I stood awkwardly among the other villagers as they buried their dead.

The ceremony was held just outside the shrine, in a clearing where the grass had been flattened by countless feet. Graves had been dug in even rows, and bodies were lowered into the dirt with care.

Master Kai stood beside me, his leg still bandaged, his hands clasped behind his back. He’d insisted I come, said it was important that I show my face. Apparently, I’d become a bit of a folk hero to the survivors.

I didn’t know how to feel about that.

So I stood there, silent and still, trying not to shift under the weight of it all. I wasn’t sure if I belonged here. Watching the villagers grieve for their families, their friends, people they’d grown up with… it felt wrong to stand among them when I hadn’t lost anyone. I’d killed the Spirit Beast. Sure. But that didn’t make me feel like I magically belonged. No matter how hard I tried in the beginning.

At the front, Elder Yimu, the oldest of the four, was speaking. His voice was soft, a rasp barely carried by the breeze. I only caught fragments. Words about loss. Resilience. Remembrance. I tried to listen, but my eyes wandered.

Fi Yan stood a few rows ahead, holding a woman’s hand tightly—her mother, I guessed. The resemblance was obvious. Older, taller, same sharp eyes. She looked back at me for a brief moment, her expression unreadable, then quickly turned away. I blinked, surprised. What was wrong with her? Did she think I was angry? Sure, what she’d done during the attack had been reckless. But I wasn’t her parent. I wasn’t her brother. I shook my head and turned my attention back to the proceedings.

The burial ended not long after. A few villagers wept openly. Most stayed quiet. When the last body was covered and the prayers had been said, the crowd began to thin, drifting back to their homes and whatever pieces of life they still had.

I walked beside Master Kai, our pace slow and steady, heading back toward the clinic. He didn’t speak, and I appreciated the silence.

We were halfway down the road when I heard soft footsteps behind me. I turned.

The female cultivator was standing there, her robe clean despite the dust, her hair tied neatly back and catching the sunlight. She gave a small smile.

“You have good senses,” she said, folding her hands in front of her.

I nodded once. “Yeah I guess.”

She let out a small laugh and raised a hand to her mouth, feigning embarrassment. “So rude of me. I’ve yet to give you a proper introduction.”

She stepped forward, the hem of her robe barely brushing the dirt. “I am Yue Qian, outer elder of the Fallen Mist Sect. And I’ve come to offer you something… more official.”

My brow furrowed slightly, but I stayed quiet.

She continued, her tone light. “You’ve displayed remarkable talent, Fang Wu. Especially for someone who’s only just begun to refine their Qi. Killing a Spirit Beast alone? That’s no small feat. So, on behalf of the sect, I would like to offer you a place among us—as an outer disciple.”

I opened my mouth, but she raised a finger.

“More than that,” she added, “I would take you as my personal disciple.”

I blinked. That… was unexpected.

She waited, smile still in place, though I could see the curiosity behind her eyes. She was watching closely.

I took a breath. “I appreciate the offer,” I said, keeping my voice measured. “Truly. But I can’t accept. Not right now.”

Her smile didn’t falter, though something flickered in her gaze. “May I ask why?”

I hesitated for a beat. “I have somewhere I need to be.”

She studied me, then nodded, as if she understood more than I’d said. “A wandering cultivator, then. Seeking answers about the world, trying to find their own path. Very well.” She stepped back, hands clasped again. “But should you change your mind… come to the Whispering Basin. Ask for me. I will show you what it means to walk the path of a true cultivator.”

Her eyes lingered on mine for a moment longer, and then she turned and vanished into the thinning crowd.

I stood there for a few seconds before I turned and walked the rest of the way back to the clinic. When I stepped into my room, I didn’t sit. I moved to the small pile of belongings beside the bed and began to pack.

It was time.

The village had survived.

But my journey was just beginning.