>people suffering the same misfortune sympathize with each other<

Xiao YiJun doesn't know why he tried to survive.  Everyone he knew and loved had died. His village above had been completely destroyed. 

Why should he stay alive?

What other reason that he should remain in this human realm?

And yet he struggled. 

He ate the flesh of his family, his neighbour to survive.

Like the hunters that were trapped in the mountains, scavenging each other to stay alive. It was the survival of the fittest they said. They were not wrong. But for Xiao YiJun, it was the survival of the brave; only those who were strong enough to throw away their humanity could live.

That was what he did.

Nevermind what was the reason, he needed to survive. 

It was an instinct that lies within every living creature. 

For some, it was also a reason to take others lives.

When the righteous cultivators arrived at the village, none of the villagers had any qualm of what would befall them. The righteous cultivators would never harm them, they were righteous after all. They were too naive.

To subjugate the snake beast, the righteous cultivators used half of the villagers as human baits while the other half were used as materials for spells. 

Despite the hell that was unleashed in front of his eyes, Xiao YiJun survived. His bones were broken, as did his soul yet he remained alive.

When the beast was caught, every single of the villagers were thrown into an underground cage, left to rot without being discovered. 

He did not expect to be rescued.

He also did not expect that his saviour would be a righteous cultivator. 

Would he allow himself to be saved by those who destroyed his life?

Bai BingLu was worried about the boy’s health; both physically and mentally. 

The hunt was about a month ago, the only way the boy could survive this long was by scavenging the corpses. The side effect of it, either to his body and mind would be severed. It was her most utmost priority to treat the malnutrition, infection and broken bones that grew wrong. Regarding his trauma, however, only time would tell. 

Bai BingLu was a mere alchemist. Regardless of how potent her pills, it could only affect one’s physical. Not to mention, she was someone who understands the reason for the genocide that Yu Yan had committed. She, after all, was raised to be able to do the same thing as him. 

Would someone who was raised to be a culprit be able to heal the victim?

Currently, they were residing in a hut just at the other end of forest that was spared from the destruction. Xiao YiJun was injured so they could not travel far, just a distance enough for the decimated land to disappear from sight.

Xiao YiJun was a child and one who was not really exposed to any cultivation. Bai BingLu was reluctant to give any pills to heal his injuries, afraid it might burden and overwork his body. Luckily, she had some common medicine that doctors used for normal people. She was planning to use it to trade while travelling to small villages, who knew it would be used like this.

During the treatment, Xiao YiJun endured all the pain without any question. He was a bit reserved and definitely suspicious of Bai BingLu who was so adamant of saving him. He was a stranger, one who was left to die by Bai BingLu’s peer. 

What was the difference between her and them?

From what he could see, the cultivators before belonged to a very influenced sect, judging from their expensive clothing and weapons decorated with jewels. If such privileged cultivators would resort to genocide, then how far could an average cultivator like the woman in front of him do?

“Wah, xiao di is so strong! You don’t even scream!”

Xiao YiJun remained silent, yet his face still showed the pain he endured. 

“Um.. I will get the food. Just don’t move around.”

Bai BingLu left the hut for the outdoor kitchen.  Communicating with children was harder than she thought. She never thought it would be a problem, after all, she managed Ji Shen fine enough. Was it because Ji Shen seems more mature and considerate than he appeared to be?

After the master left, the disciple made his appearance. Ji Shen was sent away from the hut to study the cultivation book that Bai BingLu gave to him. Not that it was important for him to study properly, it was the same as what Tu Huo Long gave to him. 

Right now, it was the matter of the boy they picked up. 

Who was he?

“Where’s shizun?”

He knew where she was, Ji Shen only wanted a conversation opener. However, a conversation can only happen if the other party was humouring him but the boy lying on the bed kept his lips shut.

Ji Shen sighed. He realised that the boy must be traumatized after witnessing such a tragedy and even consuming human’s flesh to stay alive. For Ji Shen however, like he always thought, it was not a big of a deal for him. Genocide and cannibalism were something he saw plenty of time. 

However, for all of the times, he never had to deal with the aftermath. Ji Shen never thought that one day he would be taking care of a victim. He had a hunch that it would not be the last time if he remained by Bai BingLu’s side.

But Ji Shen could understand the boy’s feelings. Being a child that could always be toyed around angered him so much back then that he was willing to seek for Tu Huo Long’s bed. Maybe he could learn something from Bai BingLu and helped the boy for a bit.

“You know, staying sad and scared won’t help you.” 

Ji Shen walked closer to the boy and whispered, like a devil he was, “Why not take revenge?”

“You want to let those who did this to you, to your family go?”

“Let them be happy and strong?”

“Drag them down.”

“Give them the hell that they gave to you.”

“...How?”

Ji Shen grinned, lifting the edge of his peach blossom eyes. 

Xiao YiJun would never say it out loud but Ji Shen’s eyes were the most beautiful thing he had seen. The shade of his iris resembling the outcast sky; a sight which he learned to treasure as he was trapped inside an underground cave with nothingness and blood to see.

a/n: Thank you to my two friends who involuntary become my beta reader. Also thank you, grammarly.