Looking at the small black ball of energy, Zhi Rui smiled. She got up and stored the ball inside her core to refine it later. The sun was setting, She took too much time, If she went back now they both could say that it was hard t find the flowers. But any more and it would be enough for the ill-intended to use as an excuse.
But out the corner of her eye, she saw a bandit trying to crawl away.
And what attracted her attention was the girl standing a few steps away from the men. She had glee in her face as the men struggled.
Seeing the happy smile on her face, Zhi Rui mused a small plan.
Zhi Rui opened her now healed hand and her bloodied mace came levitating. She grabbed it and threw it at the man's leg.
With a squeal of pain. the men started to sob. Zhi Rui walked beside him and extended her hand to the girl. The mace fluctuated from the ground beside the men's leg and laid right onto the girl's hand.
The girl, absent mindedly held the mace. She looked at the black-clothed Zhi Rui.
With a cackle, Zhi Rui nodded.
The girl looked at the man on the ground. Once her o so loyal servant.
It was still fresh in her memory, the day her caravan was attacked, how this servant of her offered himself so eagerly offered himself to them and happily proved himself by personally handling his old employers.
She understood it was his way of survival. And that it was natural for him to do as he did. Most would do the same. 'Yes, it's natural to prioritize, yourself.' The girl thought and nodded to herself. She gazed at the tear-stained man begging to be spared.
What she, her mother and father passed that day onwards. it's etched in her memories. The girl nodded to herself again.
'He acted to survive after all, even if he enjoyed what he was doing, he ultimately did it for the sake of survival it's natural. He is as guilty as a starving child stealing bread. only God can perfectly judge his sins.'
The girl gave him a sympathetic smile.
The man paled
"Your actions came out of your natural instincts and can't be blamed on you. Just like my actions of now." the girl said, "Anger, hate, and vengeance are natural feelings, so I can't be blamed for my actions too. Only god can judge both of us." The girl finished with the most honest gentle smile Zhi rui ad ever seen.
The Girl mustered her strength and with difficulty. managed to raise the mace above her head.
"PLEASE NO!" The man cried.
The girl looked at his face with the same smile
"My mom said the same, while you were screwing her to death didn't she?"
She Slammed it at his left hand, the man squealed. She took a deep breath and raised it again. She smashed his other hand. Next, she broke his forearms, slowly she broke all the bones from his extremities.
the girls face had ablush on it from swinging the mace. her heart trembled in pleasure as the men squirmed.
After a while, only vital places remained. Zhi Rui saw tears running down the girl's face. Her expression did not change but the tears ran down like a small river
She looked at Zhi Rui and gave her the mace back.
"You won't finish it?" Zhi Rui asked.
The girl shook her head and crouched down looking at the man's contorting face. Whenever he threatened to close his eyes, she slapped him awake.
"Do you plan on living?" Zhi Rui suddenly asked.
The girl slapped the man and looked up confused "I don't know." she said. With her parents gone, she had lost everything.
"Great!" Zhi Rui said cheerfully. I need a favor, How about you help me with it, and in turn, I'll provide you with directions. of course if you don't wont to follow it by then you can just kill yourself, hell I can easily help you with that." Zhi Rui laughed "So how about it?"
The girl looked dazedly at Zhi Rui she slapped the men one more time and asked indifferently "The favor?"
"You see the mortals who managed to ran away, they saw my beast you see, and while there a bunch of beas tamers around, it's still identifiable. So I was thinking and finding them then you would gather them in a group."
The girl raised her eyebrows, "You're gonna kill them? but they are not bandits."
"Yes," Zhi Rui nodded with sight and shrugged, "it's unfortunate, but there's nothing I can do about it."
The girl smiled "I understand, it's not like you want to do it, it's just that circumstances forced it on you. like it happened to this servant of mine."
the girl turned to the men.
Zhi Rui nodded distressedly. she looked up at the now almost all black sky.
"let's go?" she asked the girl.
With a sad smile, the girl noticed the men did not come back up after her slap anymore and sighed. She slightly nodded at Zhi Rui.
---------------
Zhi Rui woke blackie and after twenty minutes they gathered all the refugees, most of them ran in groups so it was easy to gather all of them. but just for safety Zhi Rui sent blackie to smell around anyone singled out.
She sat down on a tree and watched as the girl made contact with a remaining group. there was around seventy of them.
The state of her own body did not allow another fight, but they were mortals, Zhi Rui simply cast a weak curse with her remaining energy, and threw it in a six-meter area for effect. The people started to raise their voice and fighting, the girl noticed the abnormality and distanced herself.
as the things escalated, the started bashing and killing each other as the agitation spread The spell strength increased. they started to kill each other, the few who wisely tried to ran away, met their ends by a fluctuating heavy mace. after a few minutes only one with bloodshot eyes remained standing as his eyes cleared, he looked at his hands in despair. fortunate
ly for him, the mace ended his guilt.
With a thump, Zhi Rui jumped on the ground beside the girl.
"So, do you want to live or die?"
The girl looked at the corpses around still confused. Zhi Rui smiled and
reached for the girl's forehead, as the slave brand reached inside of her own head the girl widened her eyes. "Don't worry, you'll still able to die on your own later." Zhi Rui said.
The girl visibly relaxed and allowed the energy to pulse through her.
------------
Zhi Rui brought her to the place she parted with Xun Lee.
Xun Lee looked at the tiredness in Zhi Rui and blackie. Then she looked at the distressed looking girl on her back.
Zhi Rui started. "This girl was running away from something, I met her when looking for the yin lilies. She said that she was a captive in a bandit settlement that was attacked by demonic cultivators. I tried to go to survey the place, but I found nothing. that's why I'm late." Zhi Ru said.
Xun lee understood. That was the story they would tell the elders.
Xun Lee nodded. She showed Zhi Rui four Ying lilies. one more from the amount they were supposed to catch. Zhi Rui waved her hand in dismissal, she did what she wanted the girl's payment would be the full rewards form the mission. And something she would personally gift later.
she mounted on blackie and they ran back to the sect.
---------------
When they reached the entrance, The moon was bright. The guard at the entrance questioned but Zhi Rui showed the girl that was the sole survivor of the whole bandit group. The guard had a heavy expression at the chance of demonic cultivators nearby. And immediately took the girl to the higher hierarchy.
Zhi Rui took Xun lee to her dormitory and waved goodbye. Blackie ran like the wind to their own cave.
-----------
Zhi Rui lied on the pond as if the cold water was healing her tiredness. Even Blackie lay down immediately after entering the cave. they were too tired.
Zhi Rui was almost closing her eyes inside the pond when she heard it.
"That was risky. You should've focused more on your offensive moves."
Zhi Rui snapped her eyes open, she roughly turned around and saw, the voice coming out of the clothes she threw in the ground. her crystal ball was shining.
Zhi Rui felt relief for a brief moment, then her eyebrows locked into a frown. through clenched teeth, she asked.
"Bianca, you were watching me, this whole time?"
Seated on her own throne, Bianca spoke with her ever beautiful warm smile. Her eye showing the purest form of love. "You're my daughter, I would never leave you to your own devices."
Zhi Rui looked at the crystal ball. The gentle gaze in it brought murderous intention from the abyss of her heart.