After traveling for several days, Xiu Xiang could see a familiar mountain. She had come out of the portal farther than she initially thought. The mountain in front of her just so happens to be the one where the Cliff of Abyss lies. Since she was already here, Xiu Xiang thought she might as well take a look around. It wasn't a bad thing to not be too cautious.
The forest was as dense as always. The weaker demon beasts inhabiting the forest steered clear of Xiu Xiang as if they could sense her strong presence. She couldn't remember exactly where the cave was. It took her hours before she finally found it.
The entrance was in shambles. It must've been caused by the fight between Wang Yue and Song Yi Yan after she escaped to the Cliff of Abyss. She climbed over the pile of rocks and slid into the dark cave. With her outstretched palm, a small fireball burned brightly, lighting her surroundings. She finally found the spot where she had woken up from. The jade bottles were long gone as it had been smashed into tiny pieces from the fight.
It wasn't the greatest grade of jade bottles, so it couldn't have been from Tian Ling Sect. Did Wang Yue go somewhere else to get them? She remembered the town near Tian Ling Sect. It was a town that distributed a lot of cheap pills made within Tian Ling Sect.
Wang Yue wouldn't have the time to sneak back into Tian Ling Sect to steal the pills so he must've gotten them from that town. The next best place to ask around would have to be that town.
The longer she stayed in the cave, the more she thought about the past. Xiu Xiang couldn't help but remember that night when the two of them spent together. Her hand traveled over the rock wall. She tumbled to the ground and leaned against it. She was supposed to look around for information but here she was reminiscing the past.
Whether it was in the past or the present, she found that Wei Xing and her would always end up as enemies. She remembered asking Wei Xing about moving from the North Peak to the West Peak. She wanted to change her fate to avoid being the Demoness. If she had managed to, would things have turn out differently?
"Wei Xing, if I hadn't gone to fetch you water and food, would things have turned out differently? Maybe I would've studied under the same master as you. Maybe I wouldn't have fallen off the Cliff of Abyss... maybe..."
Maybe we could've even fallen in love...
It was too late for regrets.
She got up to her feet and dusted off the dirt from her clothes. The Cliff of Abyss was nearby. Just in case she found any other clues, she decided to head up there.
Sighing heavily, she leisurely walked up the mountain until she arrived at the clearing of the Cliff of Abyss. This was the place that started it all. She suddenly remembered that she saw extra words on the rock that she had carved out her own message. She silently made her way over to the rock that sat by the edge of the cliff.
Her words were still on the rock but alongside it was a small sentence.
"As long as the heart beats, I will be your faith..." She couldn't help but trail her finger across the words.
Who could have written these words...?
Xiu Xiang dropped to her knees as she stared at the writing for a long time. She decided to become the Demoness only to die. What was the point of her being revived back into this world?
"Whoever you are, how can you be my faith when my heart had stopped beating long ago?" She spoke to the rock as if it understood her. The more she stared at the sentence, the more of an eyesore it was. Standing up to her feet, she held out her palm. Fire swirled densely around her palm. She was about to blast away the stone when she heard leaves rustle at the edge of the forest.
Before she could investigate, a snow-white rabbit jumped out from the bushes. Relaxing at the sight of the rabbit, she turned back to look at the rock. In the end, she decided against destroying it. She brushed her hand against the rock one more time and finally left.
Moments later, a dark figure emerged from where the rabbit had jumped out from. His black robes swayed gently behind him as he approached the rock wall. He had heard everything that Xiu Xiang had said.
"..." The man's silhouette was outlined by the bright moon in the dark sky. He stared longingly at the carved words.
This mysterious figure was none other than Wei Xing. It seemed that he had caught up with Xiu Xiang at last and happened to secretly follow her all the way here. His heart nearly burst with every word that came from Xiu Xiang's lips. He pressed his forehead against the rock lightly and said, "I'll make your heart beat again, as many times as you want. No matter what I will still be your faith whether I'm human or a demon."
He turned his head in the direction where Xiu Xiang had disappeared to. Warmth emitted from the smile etched on his face.
The sun was beating down on a group of travelers. They were rather unreserved with the way they were dressed. The women's clothes were flashy while the men's clothes were extremely loose and gaudy.
Behind the group was a large cart filled with all kinds of strange items; fireworks, paper umbrellas, poles with towels wrapped at the end ready for fire, and brightly colored strips of paper. Above the large cart was a white long flag. The words 'Traveling Circus Troupe' was written on the flag. It fluttered rapidly against the wind.
The Circus Troupe just finished with a show in the nearby town and was heading for the next town to display their new act. A lunar festival was being held for the next several days in the next town which was perfect for them to make some money.
"Yao Yao, don't stray too far!" Uncle Li, the leader of the troupe shouted in the distance.
A young girl, no more than the age of fourteen, was trailing far behind the group. She was too busy picking wild flowers along the dirt path. Every now and then, her eyes would stray off into the distance. She had been living in a small village while her family went traveling to put on shows. Now that she was of age, she would participate in the shows that the family put on. As a young girl who was kept within a small village all her life, everything would pique her curiosity.
Yao Yao stood up from the spot that she had been picking flowers from. She was just about to catch up with her group when her eyes caught sight of something in the distance. Dust clouds gathered around the patch of black that slowly loomed closer towards the traveling group.
"Father? What is that?" Yao Yao called out to the group.
The circus troupe stopped at the girl's inquiry. Uncle Li turned around and squinted. The sunlight was much to bright for him to make out the black speck that was growing ever larger, so he lifted his hand to shield the light. Seconds later, he let out a loud gasp.
"Everyone, run! Bandits are on our trail!" Uncle Li cried out.
Upon hearing that bandits were right behind them, they took off in a flurry. Yao Yao, the youngest one of the group, had been lagging too far behind the group. She was closest to the group of bandits that was quickly approaching.
"Father! Wait for me!" Yao Yao cried out. With short, puny legs, how could a small girl like her catch up with the adults, much less the cart that was pulled by horses?
The next thing the group knows, Yao Yao let out a piercing scream. The circus troupe looked over their shoulder, only to see that Yao Yao had been swept up into one of the bandit's arms.
"Yao Yao!" Uncle Li cried out. His heart nearly stopped when he saw his youngest daughter being imprisoned by the bandits. The circus troupe feared for the young girl except they feared even more for their lives. Not a single person stepped forward to save the damsel in distress.
"Ha! Ha! A fresh one! This young one would make a lovely wife for the chief!" exclaimed the rider who swept up Yao Yao. This man was, Big Brother Yu, one of the toughest bandits among the Black Bandit Group.
"Big Brother Yu, what about those other people?" A tall lanky youth to the right side of Big Brother Yu pointed to the circus troupe.
The Black Bandit Group just finished robbing a group when they came upon this traveling troupe. Big Brother Yu's eyes fell on the pretty young girl whose face was as fresh the morning dew. As much as they want to steal from this troupe, they already robbed quite a handful of groups before this. They didn't have enough hands to bring back more. No matter how much the bandits wanted to steal, there was still a limit on greediness.
"Hm... leave them. We'll just take the girl," Big Brother Yu ordered.
Yao Yao has been sheltered all her life. The only thing she knew about bandits were the horrible stories she would hear from the elders before she went to bed at night. She never expected that she would get kidnapped by bandits one day.
Her eyes trailed up to the Big Brother Yu's face. The lower half of his face was covered with a black cloth. The only thing she could see from his face was his sharp eyes and a large scar that started from the outer end of his left eyebrow, trailing down his cheek. If the eyes didn't clue in on how dangerous the person was, the scar was more than enough.
As soon as Big Brother Yu looked down at Yao Yao, she lost the will to cry for help. Her big eyes were filled with tears, making her look even more enchanting. For a moment, Big Brother Yu debated on whether he should keep this girl to himself.
Right as soon as he was about to make a decision, a pebble came zooming out of nowhere. It shot towards Big Brother Yu like a bullet, hitting him right on the temple of his forehead. Both he and Yao Yao tumbled off the horse. Even in the middle of him falling off the horse, he remembered to protect the girl in his arms.
"Big Brother Yu!" the youth cried out. The group of bandits looked around, searching for the culprit who had thrown the pebble.
Not far from the two groups stood a short, thin figure. The only reason why Big Brother Yu knew that it was a woman who had attacked her was because of her highly attractive figure. If it wasn't for that, he would've thought it was a young man looking for some excitement in his life. The clothes seemed to fit quite snuggly against her body, accentuating her luscious curves. Her dark blue clothes were made out of the finest silk. Despite not being adorned with any jewelries or make up, she seemed to stand out even in a crowd. The woman wasn't the most beautiful person Big Brother Yu has seen, however just her confident stance alone, made her look that much more attractive.
He stood up to his feet with Yao Yao still tightly embraced in his arms.
"Who are you? Do you know who you've offended?" Big Brother Yu shouted.
The young woman merely shrugged.
"Don't know. Don't care. Hand over your money and maybe I'll let you go with only a few broken bones."
No one has ever spoken so bluntly nor so rudely to Big Brother Yu before. In this area, everyone knew to fear the Black Bandit Group. The only problem was, there was no way that the girl before them would fear any of them. She was after all the most feared Demoness before the Black Bandit Group had even started to gain fame.