We walked side by side along the banks of Dark Fall Lake. Rong Xin's warm hand tells me she is nervous. I laugh to myself thinking about how we're both anxious in one another's presense.
Approaching the end of Dark Fall Lake, a stream trickles with sounds of running water. I release Rong Xin's hand and sit down on the grass.
She asks, "Master, why did you bring me here?"
I say, "I feel bad for not keeping my promise to go watch fireworks with you, so I brought you here."
She sits down next to me, holding her knees. "This is just a stream from the lake. What's so special about it?"
She's still sulking... Is it not time yet? I wonder what is keeping them?
As Wu Jing advised... One of the main ways to appease her is affection, kind words and sweets?
"Take it." I hand over the almond cookies that I had wrapped with a handkerchief.
"What is it?"
"I know you're going to get hungry around this time, so I prepared it."
"Huh? Thanks..." She accepts the cookies and unwraps them. Taking a bite, she is contemplating the taste.
"Rong Xin, look." I point to the flying fireflies. I stand to watch the hundreds of bugs surround the area.
She stands as well with a wide smile. Her eyes reflecting light of curious joy.
"Not as grand as fireworks, but fireflies are just as beautiful," I say without taking my eyes off of her.
"Master?"
"Hmm?"
"Thank you."
She's an odd one.
"Why are you thanking me all of a sudden?"
"That... you are trying to be considerate of my feelings."
It's not as though I didn't wrong you first.
"You don't have to thank me," I tell her. "I'm at fault. I'm not the brightest when it comes to things like this."
She doesn't look at me with her sullen expression.
"Wu Jing had to remind me that you were waiting for me. He was really angry that I kept you waiting. I've never really grown accustomed to take others' feelings into consideration. The truth is I don't know how I feel about you."
But I want to know if I can really come to love you. Without consequences. Can we just spend time like this with each other forever?
She finally looks at me. "You mean you still love Miss Ming Yan."
What does she mean Ming Yan? In the past, I have asked Ming Yan to stay at Bleak Night. I'd grown accustomed to her friendship. I didn't want her to completely shut me out of her life and run back to Song Wei Long... However, when it comes to love... I don't know if I see her that way.
"For some time, she was a woman I often thought about," I tell her honestly. "I don't know if I love her, but it is a strange feeling I feel when she denies to remain by my side... Rong Xin, you on the other hand begged to stay by my side as though I was the only viable path for you. You left your family, your home to be with me. Don't you miss your them?"
Would you ever think to leave me?
"I-- I guess it would be a lie if I said I didn't. One day I may return, but right now I just want to live for me."
"What does it mean to live for yourself?"
"It means... that I make the decisions. Whether that be the path of a dedicated cultivator or what I want to eat for dinner, I get to make the decision."
I laugh, "You must have a hard time then. There are too many types of food in this world."
"I don't just care about food!"
She always manages to make me smile.
"You care about me too?"
She doesn't answer. Looking away, her cheeks become inflamed in color.
"Rong Xin, I also... think of you quite a bit. Meaning that I find you incredibly foolish, agonizingly sweet, and refreshingly naive... You are a good person."
You inspire me to be a better man. To be worthy of you.
"Tomorrow, I'm leaving in search of Invigorating Essence Sect's Sect Leader Qie. He was taken by Wicked Mist and Ming Yan was hurt in the process. As a precaution, the Night Ravens will stand guard of Bleak Night. Wu Jing will be coming with me. I want you to look after Ming Yan, all right?"
"Master, you're going to leave?"
"I must."
"Wicked Mist have very powerful demons, don't they?"
I nod. "The most strong on earth."
"Master, you must look after yourself! You must come back without harm. I'll worry..."
"Only you would worry about me. Others would worry about the harm I will do." I can't help but let out a smirk.
"Well, I'm not like them! I'm the only Rong Xin that cares for you to be safe and well."
"Hmm."
"Don't worry about Miss Ming Yan. I'll take good care of her so that she'll recover when you get back."
"I'm not worried about Ming Yan right now. I'm worried you'll mope around Bleak Night waiting for me."
"I-- You're not the only thing I think about!"
She denies it. Heh.
"Right, I forgot. You'll miss my cooking," I smile.
"I do other things too! Not just eat or think about you!"
She's too easy to tease.
In this moment of watching her watch fireflies, I've come to understand something for certain. I can't wait to come back. Without taking a step outside Bleak Night, I already miss being with her, talking about anything, listening to her endless rambling. She makes the ordinary things in life seem much more worthwhile.
The clues left behind at Invigorating Essence is minimal. All the people disappeared without a trace. No bloodshed nor appearance of a struggle. All except for Ming Yan's room. I'm sure it was where she was wounded. Sect Leader Qie must have put up a fight to have her flee.
"Zi Huo, we found a survivor hiding in a hidden closet. He was too scared to come out until now," Wu Jing says.
"Let's go to him."
Inside the library, the student physician is mumbling to himself. His face is pale with quivering lips.
"Tell me. What happened here? Why are you the only one left?" I ask him.
"It was... Wicket Mist. They-- They came and-- and the demon attacked Miss Ming Yan and Sect Leader Qie. They took everyone as hostages... Everyone..."
"Do you have any idea where they went?" Wu Jing steps in.
The student shakes his head. "No-- No idea. I heard one of them say that they will wait for-- For Sect Leader Yang to come to them."
"Zi Huo, this is surely a trap." Wu Jing turns to me.
"It's me who they want. I'll gladly walk into their trap to annihilate them."
Such a big group of people went missing from Invigorating Essence. There's no way they could move everyone without being seen.
"Isn't it strange, Wu Jing?"
"What?"
"All these normal humans helping a single demon kidnap those within Invigorating Essence. When did Wicked Mist ever accept humans into their crowd?"
"Right..."
"This single demon... must be strong enough to come alone. The humans were merely an accessory. They came in without breaking a single door, which means their faces were familiar."
"You. Did you get a look at their faces?" Wu Jing questions the student physician.
"I-- I don't remember. All I remembered doing was hiding as they took everyone away."
"Anything you can distinguish from any of their voices?" Wu Jing pressures him to give us information.
"Nothing really. However..."
"What is it?" I take a step toward him.
"The-- The demon was worried if Sect Leader Yang would come since they failed to capture Miss Ming Yan. That's when he decided to take everyone. The others with him didn't like his decision or him for that matter."
I say to Wu Jing, "It's possible they are not from the same group."
"That's what I'm thinking." He responds.
This demon decided on the spot to take everyone, which means he already has a hidden place that could hold them all prisoners. They wouldn't have been able to move everyone without being noticed. They couldn't have done it fast either.
"So it has to be a place nearby..."
"What is it, Zi Huo?" Wu Jing looks at me.
Turning to the student, I ask, "Are there any caves, abandoned villages, or place near here where they could have taken all those people?"
"I'm-- I'm sure there are. Invigorating Essence is surrounded by neighboring mountains. There is a village near Tie Qing Mountain. It became desolate years ago, but suddenly people started living there again. Sect Leader Qie has told us to not venture there."
"Wu Jing, has the Night Ravens searched the surrounding areas?"
Wu Jing answers, "Yes, they have. However, that village... we didn't come across it."
"We believe the villagers are magic users. They can conjure illusions for those who travel there. You won't be able to enter the village if not allowed," the disciple added.
"We may have missed this mysterious place. Wu Jing, send another troop to investigate."
"On it." Wu Jing leaves the library while I have other Night Raven guards attend to the surviving student.
I wander about the Sect, looking for other clues. The intruders came and gone like the wind, only causing the candle light to flicker momentarily. Nothing left behind.
I walk into a rock garden and alongside it exists a long wall. It appears to be out of place, put there to hide some thing not meant for others to see. I look up and see words inscribed into the wall. It's a riddle. It doesn't look to have been disturbed by the intruders, so I continue walking.
"I didn't know Invigorating Essence had such a place." I come across a field of flowers. Wildflowers protrude out of grasses and organized bushes of extravagant flowers with colorful petals neatly inhibited the field.
The field meets the sky in the distance, creating a breathtaking realm of innocent nature.
Through the field, I walk forward. The fragrance of perfumed essence is immense. I find myself in front of an isolated living quarters. Peeking inside, there is no where to step. Flowers covered every inch of the courtyard. Vines spiraling around the poles of the small building.
"Who has lived here?" I ask myself.
The name... I could almost think of it. Why? Why do I feel as though I've been here before? My hands could almost feel the gravel of dirt as soon as I stepped into this field...
"Finally. I was looking for you," Wu Jing interrupts.
I turn to him, and the thought I had escapes. "What is it?"
"The Night Ravens found a mysterious path surrounded by a fog. It leads them back to the same place. I believe a spell has been put in place to misguide travelers."
"Good. Let's head there. Have the Night Ravens continue to search the surrounding areas."
"All right."