"Ah… I am so tired. Why did it have to happen to me?!"
A girl was leaning against a wall. She was injured, not severely though. She had short gray hair and had green irises, and was wearing a beautiful purple Hanfu. Her name was Mah Qi.
She used to hate traveling alone and was quite scared. However, everything changed when her mother, Yua Emi, took her to the Ma clan with her. She was left even more lonely when her mother died.
As she didn't know her way around these mountains, she was lost in the forest.
Her real father, Cu Gil bent on taking revenge, didn't even care what would happen to her if he died.
However, revenge was something that was even more common than love. Love could happen with only the ones a person cared about or admired: but revenge would take place even on a little disagreement.
A person could not love the one who killed their loved ones, but a person could bear revenge even against the ones they loved.
Yang Zhai was looking at this from afar. He looked at the girl and muttered,
"Isn't she…"
Yang Zhai summoned The Last One.
The Last One came and stopped in front of Mah Qi.
Mah Qi was looking down when she saw two feet. She looked up and saw a boy, with long black hair.
She stood up hurriedly and tried to jump, but was kicked by The Last One and was sent flying.
"Cough…"
She vomited blood and stood up with difficulty.
"Who… are you, and what did… I do to you?!!"
She was panting and could barely hold it together. Her skin was also pale, and she looked to be skinny. It seemed like she hadn't eaten properly for a few days.
Her story was quite sad, firstly, she was fooled and betrayed by her mom. Then, she saw her mother turn into a monster and barely managed to run away. Thirdly, even though she feared traveling alone, she was left alone and had no choice left.
She used to live lavishly, and peacefully, but everything changed.
"Stop!"
The Last One was about to attack Mah Qi but was stopped by Yang Zhai.
"Wh… who are you?!"
"I am Yang Zhai. What are you doing here?"
"Yang Zhai…? I think I heard this name before, but can't seem to remember where. I was running from the Ma clan cultivators and came here. If this place is yours, I will leave."
Mah Qi thought: I am too injured to do anything. Even the one who attacked me was so strong, but he stopped the moment this boy ordered. How much stronger could he be? Right now, I need to get out of here.
Mah Qi turns around and is about to leave, but is stopped by Yang Zhai.
"Wait, you can't leave like that. Tell me, who are you? Are you by any chance, Tai Qi's daughter?"
Ah!!!!
Mah Qi was alerted and shocked. This also made her depressed. She hadn't heard anyone call her Tai Qi's daughter in a while.
She tries to run without looking back. She was alone and injured with two boys around; how could she feel safe?
"Hmm," Yang Zhai's eyes narrowed when he saw this.
He looked at The Last One and it chased Mah Qi. Yang Zhai used the Earth Burial Ka and a pit appeared below her. She lost her balance and fell face-first.
The Last One reached her and pinned her down with his right leg on her back.
Yang Zhai came in front of her and sat down on his feet in a squatting position. His arms resting on his knees.
"Don't do anything stupid. Just answer me correctly and I will spare you. Hey, One, kill her the moment she does something."
Yang Zhai first warned Mah Qi before ordering The Last One.
Mah Qi turned her face to the side from shame. She never used to leave her house. Even Yang Zhai could barely recognize her. She was, for sure, a pure girl.
She was scared of traveling alone, not because she was scared of the beasts or anything like that. What she was scared of were cultivators.
It's truly ironic; her mother is impure, whereas her daughter is pure. I wonder how her daughter turned out to be like this. If the figure from the inheritance was right, then Mah Qi shouldn't be Yua Emi's daughter. Don't know, it could be possible, after all, that figure had reached the peak of the world, so there should be a deep research behind what he said: Yang Zhai thought.
"Tell me, are you Tai Qi's daughter?"
"I… am, why do you care?"
She didn't even look at Yang Zhai when speaking.
Yang Zhai didn't mind that.
"Good, you are coming with me. I have a place I need your help with. In return, I will allow you to live. And don't worry, I don't plan on doing anything to you. After I get what I want, you can go your separate way."
After saying this, Yang Zhai recalled The Last One. He turned around and sat down. He began to eat the peaches he picked.
Mah Qi stood up and looked at Yang Zhai.
"How can I trust you? And why should I follow you?"
"Simple, you have no choice. Anyway, I am more familiar with this world than you are. And from your condition, I can say that you aren't able to survive alone. Here, have them."
Yang Zhai handed her some fruits and thought: I need you for two reasons, first is your future of becoming a spirit. The second is for the Mantora Mountain.
Mah Qi was hesitant. She was scared that Yang Zhai might have poisoned the peaches. But, she didn't care and picked them after a little thinking. She was too hungry to hold herself back.
"I can not care about that now. I am going to be forced to follow him anyway, so it's better if I die. I don't know what he might do to me" She mumbled.
She still wanted to run away, but couldn't.
Even though she hated it, Yang Zhai was right. She didn't have the ability to survive on her own. For the previous months, she had been barely getting by. Even the food she had stored in her Storage Ka had run out.
"Are you rank 3 peak-stage?"
Yang Zhai asked.
"Yes…,"
"As expected, being a clan leader's daughter, you enjoyed priority. He must have spent quite a lot of resources on you."
Yang Zhai spoke.
While they were speaking, Jun Haru came back.
"Sigh… I returned safely. Hmm, who are you?!"
Jun Haru was holding onto a lot of fruits in his Hanfu Shenyi cloth. When he saw Mah Qi, he was shocked.
Mah Qi didn't answer.
"She will be traveling with us. On Mantora Mountain, the more people we have, the better. Anyway, eat some fruits and give the others to me, I will store them."
Yang Zhai took most of Jun Haru's fruits and stored them in his bracelet. He left some for Jun Haru to eat though.
"Brother, if you have decided our destination, why are we still waiting? I know you are injured and need rest, but still, shouldn't we start traveling at a low pace? This way, we can travel as well as rest."
Jun Haru asked.
"No, I am waiting for some people. They should arrive in two or three days."
He was talking about Si Yu and Li Na. Not just that, he was also thinking of inviting Hyun Hae and Lie Yi as he wanted more people before he went to Mantora Mountain. But he didn't, the reason being that he was the strongest in the group right now and could control them easily.
Even though not much would change since Hyun Hae listened to him as well, but if he ever ended up in a battle against her, it would be a different story.
Just like that, three days passed.
/!*****!*****!/