As Yue Xing sat in the small and secluded forest where he set a trap for Li Zhanhao, leaning against a tree stump, he felt his strength slowly return. His Verdant Spring Art and the Bodily Restoration Pills he took earlier repaired his body little by little. He felt the wound in his abdomen close. It wouldn’t be long before his external injuries all healed.

  Of course, there were his internal injuries to consider. When Li Zhanhao broke the Tortoise Shell Formation, Yue Xing suffered the backlash which caused severe damage to him. It would take much longer for his internal injuries to heal. Perhaps a few days or so.

  The Xu siblings huddled against Yue Xing, pulling him out of his thoughts. He hugged their little warm bodies and thanked the heavens that they were safe. A part of him, the part that panicked when he found their room at the inn empty, relaxed.

  Safe. The children were safe.

  Little White, the Steelclaw Tiger, stood nearby and kept watch. Her white coat seemed to glow in the night. She was about the size of a horse. Dangerous and deadly, even among spirit beasts.

  Yue Xing wasn’t worried that she would attack him or the children. Despite his conflicts with Hu Yong, Yue Xing and Little White got along quite well. A part of him always felt jealous of Hu Yong, since she had a companion to share her journey with, so he treated Little White well. Sometimes, when no one was looking, he fed her little morsels.

  “Big Brother,” Xu Shu whispered, staring at Little White. “Is that a magic tiger?”

  Little White glanced over with an amused expression on her face, before continuing her vigil.

  “Yes, though the proper term is spirit beast,” Yue Xing said. “And even among spirit beasts, Little White is special. She is the descendant of a Divine Beast from ancient times, the mythical White Tiger.”

  As he spoke, Little White stood a little taller.

  “You mean from the legends?” Xu Liang asked, awe in his voice. “That White Tiger?”

  Yue Xing nodded.

  “The blood has thinned out since then,” he said. “However, if Little White ever awakens her bloodline, she will become a Divine Beast herself.”

  “Wow!” Xu Shu and Xu Liang said at the same time.

  Little White chuffed, which sounded like a chuckle.

  “Can she understand us?” Xu Shu asked.

  Yue Xing decided that now was a good time for a lesson. It wasn’t like they had anything else to do before Hu Yong returned.

  “Yes,” Yue Xing said. “Most spirit beasts are little more than animals. However, they can cultivate like humans. When they reach a certain level, they can become intelligent like humans. Those that go even further can even take human form.” He chuckled. “Of course, some spirit beasts have human intelligence from the moment of their birth. They’ve even formed tribes. Little White is from one such tribe.”

  Little White nodded.

  The spirit beast tribes in the Myriad Valleys province were a reclusive bunch. They rarely dealt with humans, a result of conflicts with humanity in the past. However, there were exceptions, such as the Beast Claw Sect.

  In fact, there had been marriages between spirit beasts who had taken on human form and disciples of the Beast Claw Sect. The resulting children either joined a spirit beast tribe, or the Beast Claw Sect.

  From what Yue Xing heard, Hu Yong was one such example. Her mother was a Steelclaw Tiger, like Little White, and her father was a human.

  “Can… Can we pet Little White?” Xu Shu asked.

  “You would have to ask her,” Yue Xing said.

  Xu Shu pulled away from him and stood up.

  “Um, Miss Little White,” she said, a little hesitant. “Can we pet you?”

  The Steelclaw Tiger regarded Xu Shu for a long moment, before nodding. Xu Shu squealed with excitement, before she rushed over. Little White laid down, so the girl could reach her.

  “So fluffy,” Xu Shu said, rubbing her face against Little White’s fur.

  Due to the difference in size between the two, Yue Xing found the sight both amusing and heart-warming. He looked down at Xu Liang and Xu Zhen, who watched with envy in their eyes.

  “Go ahead,” Yue Xing said. “Little White already gave her permission.”

  The two boys stood up and walked over to pet the tiger as well. This went on for a while, until Hu Yong returned about an hour after she left.

  When she arrived, she wore a cold look in her eyes. However, when she saw the children petting Little White, the cold look melted into something warmer. She walked over to Yue Xing.

  “I see what you mean,” Hu Yong murmured. “They are adorable.”

  Yue Xing nodded.

  “Ever since they came into my life, they have been nothing but a blessing.” He paused. “Troublesome and a handful, but a blessing nonetheless.”

  With that, Yue Xing pushed himself to his feet. He had healed enough that he could walk without issue, though it would take a while to return to Rising Sun City.

  “How was your hunt, Fellow Daoist Hu?” Yue Xing asked.

  Hu Yong let out a derisive snort.

  “Boring,” she said. “None of them could put up a decent fight.” She made a disgusted sound. “The loot was poor as well. You’d think they’d have more, given how many people they robbed and killed.”

  Yue Xing nodded toward Li Zhanhao’s corpse.

  “Check his storage pouch,” he said. “He was their leader, so I assume he kept the best loot for himself.”

  Hu Yong shook her head.

  “No, his storage pouch belongs to you,” she said. “You killed him. You earned it.”

  “In that case, I won’t stand on ceremony,” he said.

  Yue Xing walked over and took Li Zhanhao’s storage pouch, though he didn’t check it right away. After some consideration, he cut off the man’s head and put it in a sack, before placing it in his storage pouch. This earned him a raised eyebrow from Hu Yong.

  “He had a decent sized bounty on his head,” Yue Xing said. “I used a lot of talismans and lost one formation killing him. I need to recoup my losses.”

  He could recover the Slaughtering Sword Formation without issue, since it hadn’t been damaged. However, the Tortoise Shell Formation was a total loss. So was his defensive artifact, his robes.

  “I never thought I’d see the day where Yue Xing worried about resources,” Hu Yong said.

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Her tone sounded odd. Was… Was she teasing him? That never happened before. Yue Xing realized that there were more facets to Hu Yong than he ever imagined. He rather liked it.

  “I’m no longer a disciple of the Celestial Sword Sect,” Yue Xing said. “I’m a rogue cultivator with limited means.”

  At least, for now. Things would change if he managed to join the Myriad Path Sect.

  Yue Xing gave Hu Yong a martial salute.

  “Thank you for your help, Fellow Daoist Hu,” he said. “I owe you a great debt for this. However, this is where we part ways. The children and I need to return to Rising Sun City, and you need to report back to your sect.”

  Yue Xing planned on resting in Rising Sun City until his injuries healed, before finding a caravan to the nearest large city. From there, he would find passage to the Myriad Path Sect for himself and the children.

  Well, not quite. First, Yue Xing wanted to visit the nearest office for the Dark Moon Pavilion. They were the best information brokers in the cultivation world, and he wanted to find out who sent the Blood Wolf Gang after the children. Their services were expensive, but maybe he could get a discount with the VIP token his mother gave him.

  “Hold on,” Hu Yong said. “I never said you could leave.”

  Yue Xing tensed. Right. Despite everything that happened tonight, this was still Hu Yong. She liked to provoke him. Yue Xing prepared for himself.

  “As you said, you owe me a debt for helping you here,” Hu Yong said, grinning. “I intend to collect it right away.”

  Yue Xing relaxed a little, but only a little.

  “How may I repay this favor, Fellow Daoist Hu?” he asked.

  “Simple. Stop being so formal. We’ve known each other long enough. Just call me by my given name.”

  What?

  Yue Xing stared at Hu Yong for several long moments. Of all the things she could’ve asked for, he never expected this.

  “Fellow Daoist Hu-” he started to say, but Hu Yong cut him off.

  “Yong,” she said.

  Yue Xing gave her a baffled look.

  “Forgive my bluntness, but we’re not nearly close enough for that level of intimacy.”

  Hu Yong glared at him.

  “Is this how you repay favors?” she asked. “I expected better. This is my price for helping you tonight. Unless you plan on breaking your word.”

  She had him there. Despite knowing this, Yue Xing still felt reluctant. He had never been close enough with someone to call them by their given name, not even his martial siblings. He always addressed them formally.

  However, Hu Yong was right. He had given his word, and he didn’t intend on breaking it.

  “Very well,” Yue Xing said. “Sister Yong.”

  His cheeks heated up with embarrassment. A wide smile spread across Hu Yong’s face.

  “Now then,” she said. “That wasn’t so hard, was it? Hmm, Brother Xing?”

  Yue Xing closed his eyes.

  “Please stop teasing me… Sister Yong.”

  Hu Yong chuckled.

  “Be glad that I didn’t make you call me ‘Yong’er’,” she said.

  If she had done that, Yue Xing’s heart would’ve burst from embarrassment.

  “Regardless, it’s time for us to part ways… Sister Yong,” Yue Xing said, opening his eyes.

  “Not quite,” Hu Yong said.

  Yue Xing gave her an annoyed look, partly to cover up his embarrassment.

  “What now?” he snapped.

  Rather than grow angry, Hu Yong seemed amused by his reaction.

  “I don’t feel like going back to my sect just yet,” she said in a carefree tone. “I shall accompany you until you reach your destination, wherever that is.”

  Yue Xing stared at Hu Yong.

  “Why?” he asked, incredulous.

  Hu Yong shrugged.

  “I feel like it,” she said.

  Yue Xing shook his head.

  “We couldn’t possibly trouble you… Sister Yong.”

  Hu Yong snorted.

  “I never said I’d do it for free.” She held up two fingers. “In exchange for escorting you, I want two things. First, you and I shall share a drink at some point during our journey. Second, you’ll tell me the story behind your expulsion. I’ve heard rumors and gossip, but nothing more.”

  Hmm, that wasn’t a bad offer. While Yue Xing was confident in his ability to reach the Myriad Path Sect on his own, even with the children in tow, having Hu Yong along would make things much safer. Besides, he liked this side of Hu Yong. A part of him wanted to see more of it.

  As for her conditions, neither seemed egregious. Yue Xing never drank before, though it was something he wanted to experience. Why not explore it with Hu Yong? As for the story behind his expulsion, it didn’t weigh on his heart anymore. It wasn’t as if he had anything to hide.

  “Very well… Sister Yong,” Yue Xing said. “I accept.”

  Hu Yong chuckled.

  “Excellent.”

  With that, she pulled a sleek and beautiful flying boat out of her storage pouch, one large enough to hold all of them, including Little White. Yue Xing felt a little envious. Even when he was in the Celestial Sword Sect, he never owned something like this.

  He’d had the wealth to afford one. However, his former master forbade him from wasting spirit stones on such useless extravagances. Yue Xing planned on rectifying that.

  “Children,” Yue Xing called out.

  However, he froze when he turned to face them. The Xu siblings and Little White looked at him and Hu Yong with varying expressions on their faces. Little White appeared amused. Meanwhile Xu Liang frowned, Xu Shu appeared conflicted, and Xu Zhen seemed confused. For some reason, this deepened Yue Xing’s embarrassment.

  “Big Brother,” Xu Shu said. “Do you and Miss Hu like each other?”

  Yue Xing’s face grew so heated that even the tips of his ears burned.

  “What?!” he shouted. “No! Of course not. Tell them… Sister Yong.”

  Yue Xing looked over and saw a red-faced Hu Yong. This shocked him. He had always regarded her as a brash and bold warrior. Seeing her act like a tender-hearted maiden was new.

  “Brother Xing and I are just…” Hu Yong paused for a moment. “Old friends. We’re old friends.” She looked at him. “Right, Brother Xing?”

  Yue Xing nodded, moving his head up and down so fast that he resembled a chicken.

  “Exactly! Old friends. Nothing more.”

  The Xu siblings looked at the two of them in disbelief. Even the youngest, Xu Zhen, looked skeptical.

  “Enough of that,” Yue Xing said in a stern tone, mostly to cover up his embarrassment. “Get aboard Sister Yong’s flying boat. In her kindness, she offered to escort us to our destination. Be sure to thank her.”

  The Xu siblings nodded and boarded the flying boat.

  “Thank you, Big Sister Hu,” they said.

  Yue Xing, Hu Yong, and Little White joined them.

  With that, they flew up into the air and headed towards Rising Sun City.

  Meng Yingtai gasped as she crawled out of the earth. Mud covered her entire body, clogging her mouth and nostrils. Despite this, she felt nothing but relief. She was alive. That was all that mattered.

  She was alive.

  Meng Yingtai forward crawled for a few more feet, before she stopped and rolled onto her back, staring up at the sky above.

  Thank the Young Mistress for her foresight. Before assigning her this mission, she gave Meng Yingtai an Earth Burrowing Charm, which allowed her to hide underground when that beast of a woman arrived. Otherwise, Meng Yingtai would’ve died with the rest of the Blood Wolf Gang.

  Hiding underground hadn’t been a pleasant experience, but that didn’t matter. Survival took precedence.

  After a while, Meng Yingtai’s relief faded away and dread took its place.

  Her mission had been a complete and utter failure.

  At first, it seemed simple. Her Young Mistress ordered her to infiltrate the Blood Wolf Gang and ensure that they delivered the Xu siblings to the Blood Lotus Cult without issue.

  Infiltrating the Blood Wolf Gang proved easy. That fool, Li Zhanhao, was easy to deceive. All that remained was retrieving the Xu siblings.

  Nothing should’ve gone wrong. No one knew about the Xu siblings’ true identities. All Meng Yingtai needed to do was nudge things along while the Blood Wolf Gang did most of the work.

  However, everything started to go wrong almost from the very beginning.

  First, the Blood Wolf Gang lost the children. They managed to track them down to Rising Sun City. Meng Yingtai and three others snuck into the city to find them. Somehow, two of the four ended up dying, which drew the city lord’s attention to Li Zhanhao. The third tried to kill Meng Yingtai out of jealousy, so she eliminated him and disposed of his body.

  Despite this, Meng Yingtai managed to find the children as they wandered around Rising Sun City. She knocked them unconscious and brought them back to the Blood Wolf Gang’s hideout.

  That should’ve been the end of it.

  Instead, someone infiltrated the Blood Wolf Gang’s hideout and stole the children away. Worst of all, that fool Li Zhanhao got himself killed. Just as Meng Yingtai decided to take action herself, that beast of a woman arrived and started slaughtering the entire Blood Wolf Gang.

  At this point, there was no chance of recovering the children. All that remained for Meng Yingtai to do was return to the Blood Lotus Cult and report her failure to her Young Mistress.

  She would be punished. There was no way to escape that fate. However, perhaps she could spin things in her favor and reduce her punishment. That was the best she could hope for.

  As for running away, Meng Yingtai never considered the possibility. Her loyalty to her Young Mistress was absolute.

  After resting some more to catch her breath, Meng Yingtai stood up and started heading back to the Blood Lotus Cult. A long journey awaited her.

  I have a up and running, if you want to say hi.

  For those who want to show a little extra support, I also have a.

  As a teaser, free members get access to character art drawn by the talented Ms. Tsuu, songs by Lucas Quinn Creations, and Patreon exclusive short stories.