Chapter 79: Rules

Chapter 79: Rules

The lake of blood.

The corpses.

Not long ago, these senior brothers and sisters were laughing and joking with her, playing and having fun. But now, they lay in pools of blood, their corpses piled in the middle of the courtyard, forming a ghastly hill.

The heads of the senior brothers had all been severed and neatly lined up on the ground, while the senior sisters, most of them barely clothed, had bodies shriveled like dried corpses, evidently used as furnaces to extract their life essence.

Amid the mountain of corpses, she even saw her only junior sister—Qing’er.

Qing’er looked like a broken doll, her small head drooping as she leaned against the edge of the corpse hill. Her eyes were dull and lifeless, staring blankly ahead.

That young and innocent face, which had clung to her not long ago, had shyly and affectionately called out, “Senior Sister, let’s play together.”

The little girl stared at the scene before her in a daze.

For a moment, she wondered if she was still dreaming.

If there were such a terrifying nightmare, then once she woke up, she would cry her heart out in her mother’s arms.

So, she staggered along the familiar yet strange corridor.

She saw a group of people wearing identical masks, coldly patrolling the area.

She saw the place where she used to play and have fun, now a raging sea of fire.

She walked through it all in a daze, but it seemed as if no one noticed her. Even the masked cultivators, terrifying as they were, simply hurried past her, as if she were invisible.

A thought suddenly occurred to her—was she already dead?

Was she now just a wandering ghost?

She was terrified and wanted to find her mother.

But she searched everywhere and couldn’t find her.

Eventually, she sat on the ground, hugging her knees, crying in frustration.

Around her, the endless screams and wails continued, mixed with curses and pleas for mercy.

It was a scene straight out of hell.

“Dad… Mom… Wan’er had a nightmare.”

“This nightmare is so scary… Wan’er can’t wake up…”

The little girl cried for a long time until she was too tired to continue. Through her tear-filled eyes, she noticed that the masked cultivators were gradually gathering, especially as some emerged from the scripture hall on the western mountain.

After congregating, a few elderly men in strange robes, with aged faces, began whispering to each other in the middle of the square.

“Have you found it?”

“We’ve searched everywhere—nothing.”

“That man was stubborn to the end. Even after watching his wife be tortured to death, he bit down hard till he broke his teeth, and refused to reveal anything.”

“Strange… Where could it be hidden?”

“Are there any survivors left in the sect?”

“None. Not a single living thing remains.”

“Then search! He couldn’t have had time to hide it elsewhere. Even if we have to dig three feet into this mountain, we must find it!”

The little girl didn’t finish listening to their conversation. She simply stood up in a daze, her tear-streaked face turning toward the distant scripture hall.

Dragging her long sleeping robe, she walked to the door of the hall.

—She suddenly hesitated to open it.

She was terrified that if she pushed the door open, everything would no longer be a nightmare but become reality.

She feared she would never find her mother and father again and forever lose the chance to wake up from this nightmare.

But in the end, she pushed the door open.

She saw a man, shirtless and covered in blood, kneeling in a pool of it.

She saw a woman, chained and suspended in the center of the hall, her face pale as snow, devoid of any color.

“—Dad? Mom?”

The little girl walked dazedly to the man and woman, reaching out to touch them.

But her arms passed through their faces in an eerie manner, as if she had no physical form.

She began to cry again.

She cried loudly, coughing as though her lungs would come out, until her throat bled and she lost her voice completely.

The cultivators had left the mountain gate at some point, leaving only the raging fires that consumed every structure.

Amid the flames, the little girl, voiceless from crying, slowly lay down beside the man and woman.

She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Maybe, when she woke up, the dream would end.

<+

“But I didn’t wake up.”

“The second time I opened my eyes, all that remained were the charred ruins of what had been burned to ash.”

“My parents’ corpses had been completely reduced to ashes, and the corpses of my senior brothers and sisters had been picked clean by wild beasts and crows.”

“Nothing had changed. That nightmare simply became reality.”

“I was so hungry and thirsty, I could only walk barefoot down the mountain. If it hadn’t been for master finding me, I might have died with my family.”

By the time Yu Xiang finished speaking, she was sobbing uncontrollably.

“I’ve always… been running from remembering that day.”

“But every night, those images haunt my eyes. They invade my dreams.”

“I’m really scared… I’ve thought about ending it all so many times, just to be with my parents.”

“But their souls appear by my bedside every night, crying and begging me not to die. They want me to avenge them.”

“But living like this… every single day is so painful…”

Chen Yin remained silent, listening to everything.

Yu Xiang, her eyes swollen and red, was still sobbing when a broad hand gently rested on her head.

“...You’ve suffered,” he said, his voice filled with tenderness.

Yu Xiang’s nose tingled again.

“Afterward, the demonic cultivators found me and told me that my constitution made me the perfect candidate to cultivate the Refined Nether Arts.”

“They said that once I mastered it, I’d have the power to avenge my parents and my senior brothers and sisters.”

“So… so I…” She lowered her head. “I’m sorry…”

She couldn’t hold back any longer and buried her face in Chen Yin’s chest, her tear-filled eyes overflowing as she sobbed, “I’m sorry, Senior Brother… I didn’t mean to keep this from you…”

“I thought revenge was the only purpose left in my life, but after meeting you and Master…”

“You two are my only family now. I’m so scared that because of me, you’ll end up reliving the nightmare of the Changli Palace…”

Chen Yin gently stroked her hair in a comforting manner and murmured softly, “You’re the same for me.”

“You and Master are the only family I have left.”

Yu Xiang froze for a moment, her tear-streaked face lifting to stare blankly at Chen Yin.

“This world has rules,” Chen Yin said in a calm tone. “Have you ever harmed those masked cultivators?”

“No…”

“Did they harm your family?”

“Yes…”

“Then they owe you,” he said seriously. “A life for a life. A debt must be repaid. That’s the rule.”

“If they’re unwilling to follow the rules, that’s fine.”

“...Get a good night’s sleep,” Chen Yin said, ruffling Yu Xiang’s hair. “Tomorrow, I’ll take you to the main sect. You can teach them the rules yourself.”

Yu Xiang stared blankly at the side of Chen Yin’s face, her gaze turning slightly dazed.

“I-I’m afraid I won’t be able to sleep. Once I start remembering, I’ll just—”

“It’s okay,” Chen Yin interrupted, lifting her into his arms effortlessly.

“Tonight, I’ll stay with you.”

If you want to see more chapter of this story and don't mind spending $5 monthly to see till the latest chapter, please go to my Patreon:

Latest Chapter in Patreon: Chapter 131: Congratulations, You’re Correct

Link to the latest chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/138495099?collection=833971

https://www.patreon.com/collection/833971?view=expanded