Slow, mocking applause sounded from the bank of the river. Mei Hua spread out his divine sense to see who it was. The white figure against the darkness of his mind resembled that of the bastard Wei. Mei Hua’s chest heaved as he breathed in the sweet air, ignoring the man. 

“Congratulations,” Wei said, his tone containing a hint of amusement. 

Mei Hua continued to ignore him, focusing on reigning in the wild spiritual energy that was rampaging inside of his body. He felt the taste of iron rising up his throat and resisted the urge to cough it up, swallowing it into his stomach instead. 

“You managed to break through to the next level of qi condensation. You’re a level three now. That’s quite impressive for a child.” Wei continued talking to himself. 

Wei was quite impressed with the results. He thought for sure that once the child went under the water’s surface it was over. But soon he felt the fluctuations of spiritual energy and the kid stood back up. This child was truly a monster. It made Wei want to perform more experiments on him. 

With a whistle, Brother Wei called over some guards who were on watch duty. They followed his orders and waded into the river to retrieve the child. With a clank, the chains fell off, freeing the boy’s limbs. Mei Hua staggered under the sudden lightness before collapsing to the gravelly riverbank. 

Blood surged up his throat and Mei Hua instinctively put a hand against his mouth to stop it. It did nothing to prevent the blood from seeping out and watering the ground. A crimson trail leaked from the corners of his mouth. He didn’t have time to admire the offensive color before his body gave out and he slipped into unconsciousness. 

“My, my, what a strong child,” Wei muttered, grabbing the child by the chin. “Strong yet weak.” Wei thought of how this one wanted to protect Xiao Ai and frowned. Something would have to be done about that child, but in due time. 

For now, Wei told the guards to bring the child back to the cage and toss him in. Not even bothering to dry him off. With all of the month’s strain finally catching up to him, Mei Hua was utterly exhausted. His body was so burnt out that it caught ill with the chill the water had brought him. 

Days passed as he struggled in and out of the fever. He could barely drink or eat, which only worsened his condition. His mind was too unstable to use spiritual energy, forcing him to deal with the brunt of the illness himself. Wei didn’t offer any medicine. Li didn’t punish him either, but Li did enjoy watching him writhe under the effects of the fever. 

Mei Hua’s mind was filled with nightmares and hallucinations. He didn’t know when he was awake or asleep thanks to the blindfold on his eyes. He didn’t even notice when they arrived at the first city where half of the kids were sold off in the market. Nor did he notice when they were back on the road with a considerably empty cage. 

Xiao Ai tried to take care of Mei Hua, but he was also suffering from the effects of his illness and his thread of fate was growing considerably shorter by the day. 

“Big Brother,” Xiao Ai coughed, “You have to drink something or you won’t get better.” 

Mei Hua’s face was burning hot but he was conscious for once. He nodded his head and accepted the wooden bowl that was set against his chapped lips. His parched throat greedily accepted the water like a desert floor. His scrunched eyebrows eased somewhat and he breathed a sigh of relief. He felt a lot cooler now. 

Xiao Ai smiled sadly at his big brother before climbing into the other’s arms. It was a cold night and he could use the fever-induced warmth to his advantage. His body felt unusually heavy and his brain was stuffed with cotton. He was sure that he didn’t have long to live. 

“Big Brother,” Xiao Ai said quietly with tears in his voice, “Thank you for everything. Thank you for using the array to protect us. Thank you for giving me your food and spiritual energy. Thank you for getting me medicine. You were the best Big Brother ever. I hope… you survive.” Xiao Ai’s voice trailed off as he breathed his last breath. 

Mei Hua, who was half-delirious, heard the words but couldn’t process them. Even as the boy in his arms grew colder and colder, he didn’t understand what was happening. He could only be comforted by the cool skin that doused his fever as he fell into a fitful sleep. 

It wasn’t until the next day when Mei Hua broke free from the grasp of malicious fever did he understand what happened. He woke up to feel a stiff body in his arms.

 Mei Hua had thought that his heart was made of cold iron that could be reforged and bent countless times, but now he realized it was actually made of porcelain. When he felt Xiao Ai’s corpse in his arm, he heard his heart shatter into a thousand pieces as he reached rock bottom. 

Shaking the boy, he muttered “Xiao Ai, wake up.” He shook the corpse over and over with no response. His hands trembled yet tears refused to fall. 

Xiao Ai couldn’t be dead! The boy with adorable inky eyes and matted raven hair must be playing a prank on him. He was probably somewhere in the cage, holding his breath while watching Mei Hua. 

Mei Hua lifted his trembling hands to the blindfold on his eyes and tried to lift it. Instantly, he felt a shooting pain that warned him to stop. But he had to try. He had to see for himself. 

“I wouldn’t do that,” Wei smirked, watching the broken child in front of him. 

Hearing the voice, Mei Hua paused and turned toward the source. His hands fell from the blindfold. He lunged at the bars, trying to reach the man on the other side. He wanted to tear out his throat!

“Whoa, calm down,” Wei said mockingly, watching the thin, pallid child turn ravenous as he lost all reason. “Why are you so angry?” 

“YOU LET HIM DIE!” Mei Hua roared, livid. 

“Did I?” 

“YES!” 

“I think you’re the one who let him die, though. It’s your fault that he died.”

“M-my fault?” Mei Hua paused. Was it his fault? Hadn’t he given the boy food, spiritual energy, and even medicine? 

Wei hummed, “Yes, it is all your fault. You showed the boy kindness, which only earned him the hatred of the other children. Because you were blind to everything around you, focusing only on yourself, you didn’t see how much he was suffering.” 

“My… fault?” Mei Hua’s outstretched hands fell limply by his side and he knees gave out, thudding against the wooden boards of the cage. 

“Yes,” Wei coaxed, “it was all your fault. The other children hated him so they beat him, starved him, and ostracized him so he couldn’t huddle with them for warmth. All because you were nice to him. If you were really thinking of him then you should have kicked him away like everyone else.” 

Mei Hua tugged at his hair. It was all of his fault! He only saw his little brother in Xiao Ai. He only wanted to help the boy because he remembered how he failed to protect his younger brother in his past life. Because of his selfishness, he killed Xiao Ai! Mei Hua ran his nails over his face and arms, creating bloody scratches. He rocked back and forth, mulling over what he had done. 

It’s all my fault. It’s all my fault. It’s. All. My. Fault. Mei Hua slumped to the wooden floor, his eyes dead behind the blindfold. He couldn’t protect those that he cared for. He couldn’t protect himself; his younger brother; his mother or father, and he couldn’t protect Xiao Ai. 

A wicked grin curled up the corners of Wei’s mouth as he watched the boy’s mental breakdown with glee. With just a little more coaxing he could shatter the remnants of the boy’s will into dust. 

“You couldn’t protect the boy because you were weak. You selfishly decided that you would take care of him when you couldn’t even take care of yourself. If you were stronger, then you could protect whoever you wanted. You wouldn’t have to suffer like this.”

That’s it! Mei Hua thought to himself, I am weak. I always failed because I was weak. I’ll never accomplish anything if I remain this way. He lifted his head in the direction that Wei was standing. 

“I am weak,” Mei Hua spat out. 

Wei nodded. Good. He’s finally understood. “If you would like, I can help you grow stronger. You just have to listen to me, okay?” 

Mei Hua thought that he had nothing to lose. He didn’t care about his own life, and the only people he had liked had all died. The only person he could think of was the villain who was just an obsession from a past life. He did want to help the villain, but how would he manage to do that if he was weak? 

“Okay,” Mei Hua nodded his head obediently. 

“Good. Then your first task is to kill everyone in this cage.” Wei commanded.

The other children in the cage who were listening to the two converse up until now felt a chill run down their spines. Weren’t they to be sold as slaves? Why were they suddenly being threatened?

“They took part in killing your Xiao Ai, didn’t they? Don’t you think they deserve to die? If you want to be strong, you have to get rid of everything that stands in your way.” 

Mei Hua’s head twitched. It did make sense. The children in the cage had treated both him and Xiao Ai terribly even though they were all facing the same circumstances. Mei Hua shakily stood up and turned toward the other children. 

With blood dripping down his skin and splattering his clothes, Mei Hua was let out of the cage. The only thing remaining inside was corpses. Wei took Mei Hua by the shoulder and guided him away to get cleaned up.