Yuelong looked at the man standing before him. Mengjun always carried a bright mood around him but yet, Yuelong never knew that such a tragedy had happened to someone so joyful. It was also hard to imagine someone like Mengjun saying those harsh words so casually: “Yeah, they were the ones who destroyed my family.”

“What did he go through in the past for him to say such things so unemotionally?” Yuelong thought to himself. 

But regardless of what Mengjun said, Yuelong nonetheless felt a little closer to the man as they all had one thing in common: they’ve lost loved ones to the forces of evil.

“It was a long, long time ago,” Mengjun explained. He waved to Xiao-Kai, signaling him to come closer. “Come and greet Murong gu-niang and Sifei.”

Xiao-Kai shuffled closer to the group. Oblivious to what had happened inside the cavern, his face was a wide and joyful smile. Perhaps it was because of Xiao-Kai’s purity and good intentions that the others took no offense to his smile. Rather, Murong Zi and Sifei felt warm at heart, as if a comforting bandage was wrapped around their shattered emotions.

“Xiao-Kai greets Lady Murong and Sifei-ge!” He smiled brightly.

A much missed smile formed on Murong Zi’s face. “Good Xiao-Kai.”

Sifei stepped forward. “Come on, Xiao-Kai, let’s go over there to talk.”

Leading Xiao-Kai by the hand, the two sat down underneath a persimmon tree and chatted away.

Mengjun quietly asked Murong Zi, “Will he be alright? I mean Sifei.”

Murong Zi sighed a little, the gloom returned to her expression, “Sifei is much like Xiao-Kai. They are both pure at heart. I think Xiao-Kai can help relieve him of the grief.”

“Ah…” 

“Mengjun, do you perhaps… Remember anything about the incident?” Yuelong questioned. 

“Of my past?”

Yuelong nodded. Afraid that he might bring up unwanted memories to Mengjun.

Just as though Mengjun had read his mind, he replied, “Oh, don’t worry. It had happened so long ago, I barely have any memories of it.”

“Ah, I see…”

“The only thing I remember is that I had six other siblings. I was the second youngest. And one day, the demons just came and we were all separated.”

“Was there someone who was holding these cloud-shaped badges?” Murong Zi interrupted.

“Yes, there was.”

“That’s what happened to my aunt as well.” Murong Zi said, her voice trailing off. “According to one of my aunt’s surviving servants, they also attacked out of nowhere and one of them held this badge.”

“Were they demons who attacked?” Yuelong asked.

Murong Zi tightened her fists. “Not just demons, but those shameless Bi An people as well. Humans cooperating with demons will only lead to disasters! If I ever come across a Bi An disciple, I will make them wish they had never been born!”

Mengjun winced from her threat. Although it wasn’t directly targeted towards him, he nonetheless shuddered a little.

“The Bi An Sect…” Mengjun muttered.

“That’s right, Mengjun, you don’t know much about the world of cultivators do you?” Yuelong suddenly asked.

Mengjun shook his head.

“We’re not supposed to get ordinary humans into our affairs but considering what has happened these past couple of days, I think we can tell you about the world of cultivators,” Yuelong said. “What do you think, Murong gu-niang?”

Murong Zi closely inspected Mengjun from head to toe and replied, “I think it’s alright.”

“So, Mengjun, there are many cultivation sects in our world and there are seven of them who are the strongest. They are Lishui, Qianyang, Yefeng, Tianyan, Huangxue, Jingxuan and Bi An. I’m from the Qianyang Sect.” Yuelong glanced at Murong Zi, hoping the words “Lishui” didn’t bring about any more grief to her. 

“Each of these sects are stationed across the nation. Qianyang is in the mountains to the west, Lishui is in the northern waters, Yefeng is in the southern forests, Tianyan are in the central plains, Huangxue is in the grottos of the desert, Bi An is on an island to the eastern sea and Jingxuan doesn’t have a headquarters because their monasteries are everywhere.”

Mengjun nodded in acknowledgement. From the corner of his eye, he could see Murong Zi’s eyes pinned on him, watching his every move and reaction. It brought him an incredible amount of discomfort, but he tried to ignore it.

“Each of these cultivation sects have their own unique way of cultivation and martial arts. We also keep the areas around us protected from unwanted spiritual activities. Many of them are caused by an accumulation of human desires.”

“When human desires for wealth, lust, or malicious intent, it produces a faint, black wisp. Over time, it can accumulate, take form, and become a sentient being that further corrupts the people in an attempt to strengthen itself. So one of our duties is to get rid of that and also to keep animal spirits in check as well.”

“Animals naturally have the ability to attain supernatural powers because they live in the natural world and are exposed to it a lot more than us. But however, animals do not have the human emotions of us and thus, once they attain a certain amount of power, they will harm humans.”

“Like that calamari!” Mengjun exclaimed.

“Yes, the calamari is called a He Luo Fish.” Murong Zi answered.

“Speaking about the He Luo Fish, it’s an ancient species from before the time of the Yellow Emperor. But now it is in the Wastelands, which is another world…”

Yuelong suddenly stopped.

“What’s wrong, Yiheng?” Mengjun asked, waving a hand in front of Yuelong’s blank eyes.

“No way…”

“What is it, Fan gong-zi?” Murong Zi lifted her gaze from Mengjun and turned her attention to Yuelong.

Yuelong explained, “Remember when Leader Murong said it was a demon from another world?”

“You don’t mean…”

Yuelong nodded. Both Murong Zi and Yuelong’s faces instantly turned grim.

“What is it?” Mengjun questioned, desperate to know the answer.

“I think the demon that attacked the Lishui disciples was possibly an ancient beast from the other world—the Wastelands.” Yuelong answered solemnly.

“I don’t think it’s that simple,” Murong Zi stared down at the dirt. “This demon also stole the dan from my peers. It must be a very powerful one as well. But how did it get here to our world? And what does it want with the dan of cultivators?”

“Hold up, what’s this Wasteland? And what is this dan?” Mengjun put up his hands in confusion.

Yuelong continued his explanation, “The Wasteland is a different dimension that overlaps our current world. It exists right here, right now, but on a different plane of existence. It was created by the Gods to seal up powerful creatures of the ancient world like the He Luo Fish.”

“This dan, is a cluster of energy that we cultivate from the start of our cultivation till the end. When we reach certain levels that require us to break through, the energy stored up in the dan will act like an explosive, it will break through the connections of our bodies to the higher realms and aiding us to ascend to them.”

“Ah… I see. Then how did this wasteland demon come through?” Mengjun crossed his arms. “Is there a connection between the Wastelands and our world?”

Murong Zi and Yuelong looked at each other.

“Yes and no.” Murong Zi answered. “There are places which are connected, but only certain creatures can come and go as they please…”

“What kind of creatures?” Mengjun questioned.

“I’m afraid I do not know the answer to that.” 

“Nor do I.”

“What about the He Luo King?” Mengjun suddenly asked.

Murong Zi shot Mengjun a suspicious look. “Yes… what happened to it?”

Yuelong also looked at Mengjun with a puzzled look.

“Oh, it crawled to the pool inside the chamber and plopped right in,” Mengjun responded casually.

“The pool?” Murong Zi and Yuelong exclaimed at the same time.

“Then perhaps that pool is a pathway then?” Murong Zi remarked. “Then we must destroy it!”

Murong Zi stood up without warning. 

Yuelong lifted a hand in response. “Murong gu-niang, I know you’re desperate to prevent another disaster from happening. But if we destroy this pathway, we’ll never get to the bottom of this.”

“Isn’t it simple?” Murong Zi responded angrily. “The black cloud badges? Pathway to the Wastelands? Humans and demons working together? This is all Bi An Sect’s doing! They’re going to wreak havoc on this world again! Just like Chixi Mojun and his bloody campaigns for world domination!”

At the name of Chixi Mojun, Yuelong’s hand slipped back down. Even though he has told himself time after time that there was no way Lanyue would murder innocents, reality would always slap him awake. Forty-nine villages were burned to the ground under the name of Chixi Mojun. Not a single survivor or body left behind. Only ashes and the choking scent of smoke followed by a peculiar lemony scent…

“I’m sorry, I just… I just…”

“No, it’s quite understandable. Don’t worry too much,” Mengjun comforted Murong Zi.

Murong Zi nodded her thanks to Mengjun and sat down staring at the ground once more.

After a moment of silence, Yuelong pardoned himself from the group, carrying the two cloud-badges in his robes. He walked off into the surrounding forest, immersing himself in the scent of pine. He took in a big, deep breath of fresh air and released a long sigh.

He felt lost and hollow on the inside. He simply didn’t know what to do anymore. He felt as though the entire world was relying on his shoulders for support but yet, he had failed. Yuelong also felt conflicted. On one hand, he believed that Lanyue would never be the type of person to harm another, let alone slaughter forty-nine villages. But then reality told him otherwise and the people around believed that Lanyue was a cruel leader. He couldn’t help but to question a bit of his own views.

“Hey, are you alright?” 

Yuelong turned around to see Mengjun had followed him.

“You seemed a little bothered back there.” Mengjun said, trying to comfort him.

Yuelong shook his head, “No it’s nothing.” He’d rather bottle it all up inside of himself than to spread his burden to others.

Mengjun quietly walked up next to Yuelong. In the silent, chilly night, millions of stars sparkled above. From the human world, Yuelong was able to see a portion of the Tianhang River above. Its tremendous size and majestic beauty outshine anything in the world.

Yuelong pointed into the air in front of him, summoning up a glowing rectangle. Mengjun watched him in silence as Yuelong started writing a message with his finger. As he finished off the message, the rectangle folded itself into a paper crane and flew away into the sky, leaving a trail of glittering sparkles.

Just as though Mengjun knew what Yuelong was doing, he didn’t bother to question his actions. The two stood motionless in the tranquility of the forest, admiring the scenery above.

“You know something?” Mengjun started. “My opera teacher once told me legends that everyone on Earth was once a divine being like those stars up there.”

“Oh?”

“Mhm. And by looking up at the sky, you can read your own fate. Like the brightest star that you see will lead you to your loved one, no matter where they are.”

Yuelong smiled at his words. He knew this was Mengjun’s way of trying to comfort him.

“Thank you, Mengjun.”

Without much thought, Yuelong searched the skies for the brightest star. To his surprise, there was one bright star that outshined the others, that was stationed far to the east. Yuelong gazed at the star in deep thought. 

“Is that where he is? Lanyue?” He thought to himself. The thought that Lanyue was alive and well gave him comfort. 

But whilst he was focused on the brightest star to the east, Yuelong had completely missed another bright star right above his head. The two stars were incomparable as they shined the same brightness.

Just like that, the two spent their last moments of the night, silently gazing at the sea of stars, thinking of the one they loved.