The reason why I'm going to Bleak Night isn't because I want to see him.
Just want to make that clear. I need to fully realize this myself.
Why didn't he let my family know? Also a part of me is truly worried for the people of Bleak Night. They were savagely attacked by Wicked Mist.
Ming Yan, Gu Yi... I wonder how they're doing?
It's almost dark now as I float through the outer wall of Bleak Night.
Although Bleak Night was attacked not too long ago, it seems they were able to recruit more followers and the entire place looks impeccably clean. No blood stains, no broken paper windows or unorganized furniture.
New faces on the servant team could be seen walking from place to place. One particularly young girl holds tightly onto a basket of clothes. I recognize those garments. Outlandish and elegant, I remember the nights I would stay up patching and sewing together those clothes for that demon.
I hate myself!
"Hmph! Of course, he's already found another servant to take my place. Servants are replaceable to him after all."
"When they increased the pay to become a follower, I joined but the atmosphere here is incredibly chilling." I overheard a lowly follower complain.
"Right? Not only do we have to avoid Sect Leader, we can't even let Lord Wu catch us in his path!" The other joins.
"I freeze when I'm within ten feet of Sect Leader. Ruchen made the mistake of looking him in the eyes and was taken out for a beating."
"That serious? Guess we gotta make ourselves scarce."
I talk out loud after hearing their conversation. "Huh? Looks like that demon is depressed after Bleak Night's devastating loss."
I float around the familiar place. Almost nostalgic about the times when I was a servant here. So proud about what I contributed, how I would slave away for a moment with that demon. Oh my God, why was I such an idiot?!
"Dark Fall Lake... This was the pavilion I practiced cultivation. All wasted!"
I pound my fist on the stone table. How could I have been so slow at cultivating? Just my luck to be taught by Wu Jing, that spoiled kid. I won't forget that day when he stabbed me in the back.
I remember it all. That day when I fought with Zhao Bao Bai and he stabbed me for his own ridiculous gain. In the end, Zhao Bao Bai perished without the chance of reviving his father. And after all these years, he's still hurting from that. Perhaps guilt-ridden for delivering my last blow. Thus why he stuck to that demon shamelessly.
I hear a ceramic clack on the table and turn around to see Wu Jing with a wine jar and cup in hand.
He pours himself a cup and drinks. I watch him solemnly wrinkle his eyebrows.
"Rong Xin, this one's for you." With another cup filled, he pours it onto the dirt outside the pavilion fence.
A ghost cup surfaces in my hand. He's offered the wine to me.
"What? Think this cup of wine is going to appease me?"
"I'll never be able to rid the guilt nor be able to beg you for forgiveness because I am unworthy." He takes a gulp of wine from the jar. Its colorless liquid spills down his chin.
He rambles on, "Can you believe it? I used to hate you. Thought you were the worst scum on the face of the earth."
Wow. And they say don't speak ill of the dead.
"And now... not a day goes by without you haunting my thoughts."
"Well, of course you will remember the person you inadvertently killed with your blade," I counter.
"I have to remember that... you are Zi Huo's."
I'm that demon's thing? I never agreed to that!
Sniffing the wine he offered me, a sweet scent of bliss infiltrates my brain. It smells so good! And I haven't consumed anything with such fragrance in a long time. The food and drinks at grandma's restaurant are merely imitations of the real thing with small flavorings that souls can barely remember.
"Since you offered it, I'll drink. But don't think this means you're forgiven!" I drink the cup clean and the ghost cup disappears. "Wow! So good."
"I know you like wine, so here's some more for you." Wu Jing pours the rest of the wine onto the ground. I excitedly wait for the offered wine to reach me in ghostly form. However, the wine turns into a white mist and the crystal vessel from my sash removed itself from me to float in mid air, meeting the mist as it glows inside before returning to my hand.
"What? What is this?"
His wine is now inside the crystal vessel. Did the vessel detect true love from Wu Jing's offered wine? Pre- Preposterous!
"Wu Jing! You better not! You-- You better not be in love with me or I'll never forgive you!"
Ugh! I can't believe this. It's like finding out your most hated and infuriating enemy has started to develop feelings for you. This cannot be the case here. Right?
Wu Jing continues to look out toward the lake with a blank expression. The uneasiness in the air puts pressure my chest. He can't feel it but I'm suffocating! Floating away, I wonder off, following a stream from the lake.
"I got this essence. I should return to Sharp." The faster I get the Memory Preserver, the better.
Stumbling upon a grave, I spooked myself. "Hey! Bleak Night don't have graves!"
Even as a ghost, part me was afraid of corrupted souls.
"I... This place seems familiar." Looking around the grassy banks of the stream and the unnaturally paved wild weeds, I realize I have been here before. With that demon.
"The fireflies..."
From behind, I hear someone making their way to the grave. The rock monument clearly spells out my name. This is my resting place.
"Fire demon!" That demon walked toward my grave, setting down a glittering sword. He kneels in front, lightly tracing the characters of my name.
"That's my Meteor Sword."
"Are you hungry?" The demon suddenly asks as if I was right in front of him and able to have a conversation.
"Huh?"
"I brought you some food." He separates the different compartments of the food carrier and lays down dishes of warmly cooked food.
"Waah!" I couldn't contain my excitement. I can finally enjoy texture, smells, and taste! A pair of wooden chopsticks appears in my hand, and I divulge in the food, completely forgetting about the demon's presence.
"What is this?" Picking up a slice of friend pancakes, I feel my stomach becoming upset. "I hate pancakes!"
Throwing my chopsticks to the side out of anger, it disappears.
"Knowing you, it won't be easy to forgive me, right?" He whispers softly. Standing, he walks away a few steps before stopping.
Turning back around, he makes a confession. "I can't forgive myself."
"He's gone crazy," I mutter.
"Rong Xin... Na Li."
My spine straightens and my ears turned outwards. Why did he call me by that name?
"I couldn't protect you. I failed you. I remembered you too late."
He remembers?!
"Please don't forgive me. I don't deserve your forgiveness. I don't deserve you."
I could see his clenched fists. The whiteness on his knuckles emphasizes his emotional turmoil. I still won't be fooled.
"Say what you want, I just want my Meteor Sword and then I'm out of here," I complain while reaching for the sword.
"Who's there?" That demon sends a powerful force of energy my way, almost splitting me in half. Luckily with my state, I'm not vulnerable to worldly magic. That demon was not to the level of a deity that could subdue ghosts.
Hollering, I ask, "Woah! Can you see me?!"
He remains quiet with a doubtful expression. Looking around the surrounding, his face turns from aggression to sorrow.
"Rong Xin, is that you?" He stares off into a random direction. Obviously, he cannot see or hear me, but the ability to deduct that I'm present made me jump.
"Rong Xin, if you're here, give me a sign!" He yells.
Scoffing, I say, "I just want my sword."
"Rong Xin!"
"Stop calling me!" I can't believe there was a time when I wanted to hear him call my name.
"Rong Xin, it's me. I'm Lu Kai."
He-- What?
"I remember everything. The times when you were Na Li. And the times when you invaded my mind to help bring back my memories."
"So-- So what?"
"I want to say that I love you. I still love you. I miss you everyday."
My lips curled into an almost growl like position. I detest the words he's saying. I don't want to hear any of it.
"You found your way back to me, and I didn't even recognize you."
I cannot stop my heart from beating rapidly. I don't want to be swayed by those words. I will not be swayed.
"I will find you, and I promise you I will recognize you right away."
"Ha!" I laugh at his act of dedication. There's no way I will ever run into him again.
"If you're here, show yourself. Give me a sign that it's you."
In a moment of prolonging silence, I finally say, "Say what you want. I only want my sword, and I'm taking it with me."
Before I could reach for the handle, a swarm of fireflies lands on the gravesite with the air around us covered in hundreds of hovering glow.
I hear him say, "Rong Xin, it really is you."
"Hey! I'm not doing this! It is a random act of nature. Don't take it as a supernatural sign!"
He doesn't hear and with the light of fireflies reflecting in his eyes, a single tear falls down his cheeks.
Oh my! Am I really the witness to the tears of that merciless demon?
The vessel vibrates violently and shoots out into the air. The tear drops from the demon's chin and evaporates into a blue spark. It is absorbed by the vessel and I can see the two essences twirl inside. Dropping back in my hand, the vessel shines brightly.
"I don't believe it. These are not essences of true love. They just can't be."