After a far too short amount of time, Ellen and I pulled apart from each other. I studied her. It was noon, with the sun at its zenith, so I had no trouble looking her over. She appeared thinner and more gaunt than I remembered. My heart ached at the sight.

  If I had known that my disappearance would have affected her this much, I would have made more of an effort to find our group. I thought that she would be fine, since she had the others with her. However, it appeared that I had been wrong.

  As I studied Ellen, she studied me in return. She looked me over in an almost frantic manner. When she realized that I was alive and unharmed (mostly), she breathed out and pressed her forehead against mine.

  “Thank the ancestors that you’re alright.” She said in a strained voice. A mixture of relief and worry filled her eyes. “I feared that I would never see you again.”

  Thankfully, she hadn’t noticed my internal injury. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be so calm.

  “It would take more than a measly hidden realm like this to kill me.” I said, speaking with more bravado than I felt.

  I thought back to how I almost died while fighting Cultivator Viviana and her companions, and decided to keep that to myself for now. There was no need to exacerbate Ellen’s worries with unnecessary details like that.

  “I’m sorry for worrying you.” I said in a gentle voice.

  Ellen gave me a wan smile.

  “It doesn’t matter.” She said. “All that matters is that you’re back with us now.” She pulled back. “I wasn’t the only one worried about you either. Isn’t that right, Sister Willow?”

  I turned towards the others, who I hadn’t noticed since I had focused all of my attention on Ellen; Cultivator Isabel, Elliot, and Willow. Like everyone else, they looked battered and bruised. However, it appeared that they had done better than most of the other groups, since their injuries looked less severe. I must have looked worse off than them.

  The moment Ellen pulled away from me and made room for Willow, the latter pulled me into a bone crushing hug. Due to the size difference between us, it felt as if she encompassed me on all sides. Willow didn’t say anything. She just let out a relieved sigh as she held me tight against her.

  “What a touching reunion.” A sultry voice said, containing a faint hint of mockery. “It’s enough to make a grown woman cry.”

  Willow and I pulled apart and turned to find Kasandra, the head of the Ancient Blood Sect’s branch office in East Mesa City, standing near us. The woman regarded us, her lips curved up in a faint smile. Willow, Cultivator Isabel, and I faced her and took stances. The other cultivators nearby scrambled away from us, unwilling to get involved. Ellen and Elliot, on the other hand, had a more visceral reaction. They both hissed at her with their fangs bared. In that moment, they looked less human and more serpentine.

  To them, Branch Head Kasandra was a monster. She looked similar to them, with her androgynous features and serpentine eyes. However, she was neither a snake spirit beast nor a beastkin with snake spirit beast heritage. Rather, she was a demonic cultivator who had refined the blood of a snake spirit beast and took on its features.

  “Ooh, how scary.” Branch Head Kasandra said in mock fear. “I’m just shivering in terror.” A sharp smile spread across her face. “If you’re going to bare your fangs at me, you should be prepared to face the consequences. Why, I’m half a mind to teach you both a lesson. You have such a lovely face, Cultivator Water Fang. I wonder what it would feel like to wear it.”

  Branch Head Head Kasandra’s words sent a shiver down my spine. My intuition warned me that she was dangerous. Not just because of her cultivation level, but because her eyes were filled with cruelty and malice. If given the chance, she wouldn’t just kill us. She would make us suffer, and she would enjoy it as she did so.

  A part of me wanted to scurry away and hide from Branch Head Kasandra. That was how much she scared me. However, I didn’t. My demonic nature stirred. Not out of hunger or desire, but in anger. Branch Head Kasandra dared to threaten Ellen, and I would not let that stand. Still, I couldn’t afford to offend her. She was at mid Golden Core. Killing us would be child’s play for her. Branch Head Xavier might be able to save us, but I couldn’t take that risk. I needed to tread carefully here.

  I stepped forward, placing myself between Ellen and Branch Head Kasandra. Her eyes shifted to me, curious and amused. Good. As long as she paid attention to me, she wouldn’t pay attention to Ellen or Elliot. While I wanted to indulge in my demonic nature and snarl at Branch Head Kasandra, I couldn’t. So, I swallowed down my anger and gave her a martial salute.

  “Greetings, Branch Head Kasandra.” I said. “My name is Flamewind. It is an honor to meet you.”

  “My,” she said, sounding surprised, “What a polite young demon you are. I always regarded the disciples of Flame Fiend Hall as unrefined savages. It appears that I was wrong. At least some of you have manners.”

  She knew that I was a disciple of Flame Fiend Hall? Well, that wasn’t so surprising now that I thought of it. Unlike most sects, the Dawn and Dusk didn’t have a uniform for the sect as a whole. Instead, each hall within the Dawn and Dusk Sect had its own uniform. This made it easier to figure out which hall a particular disciple belonged to.

  “I apologize on my wife’s behalf.” I said. “We are still tired and weary after our time in the Violet Desert hidden realm, and your sudden appearance startled us.”

  “Oh?” Branch Head Kasandra said, her eyes lighting up with interest. “You’re Cultivator Water Fang’s husband? How interesting.” She looked me up and down. “Well, I can’t fault her taste in men. I want to eat you up myself.”

  Ellen shoved me behind her, reversing our positions.

  “Stay away from him, you abomination!” She hissed.

  All mirth fled from Branch Head Kasandra’s expression.

  “Abomination?” she asked. “Out of consideration for you husband, I was going to let you off with a warning. However, if you’re going to insult me like that, then I have no choice but to punish you.”

  Something grabbed me from behind and pulled me back. In the blink of an eye, I found myself a few feet away from my original position with Ellen standing next me. Branch Head Kasandra stood next to our original position, her hand extended outward with the palm facing out. Wind buffeted, and I realized that Branch Head Kasandra had just tried to attack us. My blood ran cold.

  If Ellen and I hadn’t been pulled back, that attack would have killed us both, or at least severely injured us. I looked back to find Branch Head Xavier standing behind us, a grim expression on his face. He was the one who saved us.

  “Enough!” He said. “What were you thinking, Cultivator Kasandra? Trying to kill one of my juniors with a sneak attack like that? You should be ashamed of yourself! Have you no honor?”

  Branch Head Kasandra regarded him with a false smile on her face.

  “I wasn’t trying to kill them.” She said. “I was merely trying to teach a disrespectful junior a lesson.”

  Branch Head Xavier snorted and flared his aura.

  “I’m neither blind nor a fool.” He said. “Try something like that in front of me again, and I will retaliate.”

  Branch Head Kasandra gasped, acting like a lovestruck girl.

  “Is that a promise?” She asked, her voice higher-pitched than before.

  Branch Head Xavier let out a disgusted sound.

  “Stop it,” a voice called out, “Both of you.”

  Two more cultivators appeared from above, landing between Branch Head Xavier and Branch Head Kasandra: Branch Head Elroy and Cultivator Black Sand. The former was the head of the Thousand Blade Sect’s branch office here in East Mesa City, while the former was the adviser to East Mesa City’s city lord.

  “Stop fighting with each other like a pair of children.” Branch Head Elroy scolded with a stern expression on his face. “You two are supposed to be examples for your juniors. Act like it.”

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  Cultivator Black Sand didn’t say anything, but it was clear from his demeanor that he agreed with Branch Head Elroy’s words.

  “Tch, spoilsports.” Branch Head Kasandra said, clicking her tongue in disappointment. “Why did you have to jump in when things were getting interesting?”

  Branch Head Elroy turned towards her and released a bit of his aura. Like before, when I first met him, he reminded me of a thin and sharp blade. Despite facing pressure from two peers, Branch Head Kasandra remained unruffled. Then again, she was in mid Golden Core while they were just at early Golden Core. Even if the two of them paired up against her, she might come out victorious.

  “The two of you should collect your disciples and leave.” Cultivator Black Sand said. “Otherwise, I will report this matter to the city lord and have him sanction both of your sects.”

  Branch Head Xavier took a deep breath before replying.

  “Very well, Cultivator Black Sand.” He said. “I shall comply.” He raised his head high. “Disciples of the Dawn and Dusk Sect! Follow me!”

  With that, Branch Head Xavier started marching off. Our group scrambled to follow him. The other disciples from the Dawn and Dusk Sect soon joined us.

  ‘Thank you, Branch Head Xavier.’ I said to the man, speaking to him through telepathy.

  ‘There is no need to thank me, Junior Brother Darian.’ He said. ‘I was merely doing my duty.’ He shook his head. ‘If anything, I should apologize for not intervening sooner. I never expected Cultivator Kasandra to outright attack you like that.’

  I nodded. Neither had I. When Ellen insulted her, I expected some form of retaliation, but I hadn’t expected Branch Head Kasandra to go for a killing blow right away. A part of me wondered if that had been her plan the entire time, and she just needed an excuse.

  ‘I believe that Cultivator Kasandra wanted to kill you from the beginning.’ Branch Head Xavier said, his words mirroring my thoughts. ‘While she might seem driven by impulse and whimsy, Cultivator Kasandra is a cunning and calculating woman.’ He glanced at me. ‘I believe it is best if you and your companions left East Mesa City as soon as possible. I’m not confident in my ability to protect you from Cultivator Kasandra, not if she made a serious effort to target you.’

  His words took me aback.

  ‘Why would she want to kill me?’ I asked.

  Branch Head Xavier shook his head.

  ‘I don’t know.’ He said. ‘However, I will say this. Cultivator Kasandra never acts without a reason. If she is after you, then she believes it will benefit her or the Ancient Blood Sect in some way.’

  I felt a pit open up in my stomach. Had Cultivator Kasandra figured out my true identity? Or maybe the Ancient Blood Sect had found out that my companions and I were the ones who killed Cultivator Blood Lotus and her people? Or maybe Cultivator Kasandra was targeting us for a different reason. Either way, it was best to return to the Dawn and Dusk Sect as soon as possible. Now that we had left the Violet Desert hidden realm, we no longer had a reason to stay in East Mesa City.

  As we walked away from the others, I felt someone’s gaze on me. I assumed it was Branch Head Kasandra, and looked back with my spirit sense to make sure. However, to my surprise, Cultivator Black Sand was the one watching me. This wasn’t the first time I caught his attention. Something similar happened when I first arrived at the entrance to the Violet Desert hidden realm. Cultivator Black Sand and I ended up staring at one another for a few seconds.

  At the time, I hadn’t thought much of it. However, with recent events, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was something going on. Maybe he was in league with Cultivator Kasandra. When she arrived at the entrance to the Violet Desert hidden realm three days ago, she mentioned something about a proposal. Cultivator Black Sand rebuffed her. However, what if that had all been an act?

  I shook my head. There wasn’t any point in speculating about this. My priority was getting back to East Mesa City. Afterwards, my friends and I would make any necessary preparations, before leaving for the Dawn and Dusk Sect.

  After we put some distance between ourselves and the entrance to the Violet Desert hidden realm, Branch Head Xavier pulled out his flying barge from his storage ring. It amazed me that something so small could contain something so large. Spatial storage items were truly marvelous.

  As the disciples of the Dawn and Dusk Sect boarded the flying barge, I took a quick count. I noticed that we were missing a few. Of the thirty that entered the Violet Desert hidden realm, twenty five remained. We had lost five people. This was a lot. During previous excursions into the Violet Desert hidden realm, the Dawn and Dusk Sect lost one or two disciples at most. Some years, it didn’t lose any at all.

  A part of me wondered if my actions had led to that. The Dawn and Dusk Sect and the Thousand Blade Sect came into conflict because our group fought with Cultivator Galen’s group. If that hadn’t happened, then perhaps the disciples we lost would have survived. However, were we responsible? Was I? Cultivator Galen harassed Ellen first. We were defending one of our own. Still, I doubted that the disciples who lost their lives would find any solace in that.

  Once everyone was on board, the flying barge took off and began its several hour journey back towards East Mesa City. During the journey there, I relayed the information that I received from Branch Head Xavier to the rest of my group, speaking to them through telepathy. After discussing it between ourselves, we decided it was best to leave East Mesa City as soon as possible.

  As the flying barge flew towards its destination, three of the other disciples from the Dawn and Dusk Sect walked towards our group. I recognized them. It was Culti-Brother Ross, a disciple from Puppet Master Pavilion, and his two companions. My friends regarded the trio with curiosity, and more than a little wariness.

  “We meet once again, Brother Flamewind.” Brother Ross said, giving me a martial salute.

  His two companions followed his actions. I saluted them in return.

  “Brother Ross,” I said, “I’m glad that you made it out of the Violet Desert hidden realm alive.”

  He smiled at me.

  “Thanks to you, Brother Flamewind.” He said.

  Someone tapped my shoulder. I turned to find Ellen and the others giving me questioning looks.

  “I helped Brother Ross and his companions when they were in a bit of trouble.” I explained, answering their unspoken question.

  I kept the details light, since I didn’t want the others to know about my internal injury just yet.

  “You sell yourself short, Brother Flamewind.” Brother Ross said. “If it hadn’t been for you, my friends and I-…”

  ‘Brother Ross,’ I said through telepathy, cutting him off, ‘I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell my friends about what happened.’

  The man gave me a surprised look, and glanced at my friends, before nodding.

  “On second thought,” he said, speaking out loud, “I may be misremembering your contribution, Brother Flamewind.”

  I felt a pair of sharp gazes on me. When I turned around, I found both Ellen and Willow staring at me through narrowed eyes.

  “Flamewind,” Ellen said, an edge to her voice, “What happened? Why did you stop him from continuing?”

  Willow crossed her arms.

  “Nothing untoward happened, right?” She asked.

  I swallowed. Faced with the two of them, I felt like a mouse cornered by a pair of angry cats. I looked at Elliot and Cultivator Isabel for help. However, the two of them looked away and pretended not to notice my predicament. Traitors!

  “Nothing much happened.” I said. “Brother Ross and his companions were outnumbered by a group of enemies, and I just evened out the numbers. It wasn’t that big of a deal.”

  Ellen narrowed her eyes further. She dashed towards me, her index fingers pointed towards me. I recognized this as a stance from the Sealing Finger fighting style. In a panic, I dashed back. However, Ellen wasn’t alone. Willow attacked me from the side and put me in a hold. I struggled to break free, but Ellen arrived before I could. She struck my acupoints with her fingers and restricted my movements. I couldn’t even speak. While I wasn’t as weak as I used to be when Ellen last used this move on me, I was still weaker than her.

  After they subdued me, Ellen and Willow examined my condition with greater scrutiny than before. As I feared, it didn’t take them long to discover my internal injury. While this went on, the other disciples from the Dawn and Dusk Sect observed all this with fascinated expressions on their faces. It was as if they were watching a play.

  “Flamewind,” Ellen said, her pupils narrowed to vertical slits. “When were you planning to tell us about your injury?”

  “Why did you hide it in the first place?” Willow cried out. “You should have told us right away!”

  Ellen pressed one of my acupoints, allowing me to speak once more.

  “I was going to tell you once we reached East Mesa City.” I said. “Once we were back home. I wasn’t going to hide it for much longer.”

  Ellen studied me for several moments.

  “You promise?” She asked.

  “I promise.” I said with a nod.

  “How did you even receive such an injury?” Willow asked.

  Ellen pressed my acupoint again, preventing me from speaking once.

  “We’ll ask someone else,” she said, “Since it’s clear that you won’t tell us.” She turned towards Brother Ross. “You there. Tell us what happened. Leave nothing out.”

  Faced with an angry Ellen, Brother Ross capitulated right away and told them everything. A part of me wanted to stop him, but there wasn’t any point. The others would find out everything anyway.

  “Injured and pushed to the brink, we had no choice but to follow Brother Flamewind’s words and leave him behind.” Brother Ross said, finishing up the story. Guilt and shame filled his voice. “We owe him our lives.”

  With my spirit sense, I saw several of the other disciples from the Dawn and Dusk Sect regard me with newfound respect in their eyes. Until this point, I had been an outsider who had come from the main sect. However, now I was someone who had rescued one of their own.

  “I know this is a pitiful recompense, but take this.” Brother Ross said, pulling out a storage bag from his storage ring. His companions did the same. “This is all the Violet Sand we accumulated while in the Violet Desert hidden realm. We owe Brother Flamewind far more than we could ever hope to repay, but I pray that this is a small step in the right direction.”

  I would have felt touched by this. However, Brother Ross held the storage bags out to Ellen. He wore an ingratiating smile on his face.

  “I accept on my husband’s behalf.” Ellen said, taking the storage bags and putting them away. Afterwards, she turned towards me. “When we get home, you are telling us the rest of the stor-…”

  The flying barge lurched, interrupting Ellen. Everyone stumbled, though they managed to stay upright. I almost fell over, but Willow caught me in time.

  “Everyone, brace yourselves!” Branch Head Xavier called out. “We’re under attack!”

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  This chapter was edited by Radriel7