It was evening when Er Xi led Ling and the other servants out. Ling's father whispered to her that he had charged her with taking care of Ling and heading to the outer part of Weixen. She knew exactly what he meant by that, as she was treated by Ling's parents as a daughter and was informed how they bought an inn in Weixen for Ling earlier. They had never wanted their son to stay in the barren land with them forever.
As they made their way towards the wall, Er Xi could see children and barely sixteen-year-old teenagers. It seemed like all the adults had made concessions to die just to give the young ones a chance to start life anew. However, this choice should have been considered foolish, as the adults could easily change their identities, but they were too afraid of being recognized in the future and implicating their young ones, who should be their legacy.
Upon reaching the wall, Er Xi noticed Ling abruptly stopping and followed his gaze to see his master and madam. Tears quickly filled her eyes before they started to flow down her cheeks. She had expected this, but she still hoped it would never happen. Ling stood still, seemingly in a trance, lost in his own world upon seeing the scene. There were no tears falling from his eyes, nor was his countenance bright. He seemed totally lost, just standing there without looking away or moving forward. The rest of the servants were also crying. This continued until dusk, when Er Xi finally composed herself enough to approach Ling, who had not moved for more than three hours.
"Young Master," Er Xi called, but received no reply. She tried again, tugging at Ling, but still got no response. Seeing that Ling wasn't bothering to move or reply, she decided to leave him to himself, knowing Ling the best. Addressing the other servants, Er Xi said, "Master and Madam are dead now. Anyone who bears resentment against them is free to leave, and those who don't should come back with me to pick spades, to dig and pay respect to Master and Madam." Despite being only fifteen, she always acted incredibly mature.
A few older servants decided to leave, while the younger ones who thought it would be hard to start life by themselves stayed back. Even with how great Ling's parents were, nobody wanted to be a slave forever. This was their chance to be free – who knows what Ling would become when he grows up? Who knows whether he will treat them right?
After the servants took sides, only Er Xi and about six more servants moved back to collect spades and start digging. All the while, Ling still stood where he was, motionless and silent. The servants gave their two masters a respectful burial, digging as much as they could and laying both Ling's mother and father to rest.
"Young Master," Er Xi decided to try again after seeing tears finally slide down his eyes when his parents were finally laid to rest.
"Thank you, Big Sister Xi. I want to stay with my parents for a little while longer," Ling finally spoke.
Hearing him, Er Xi nodded and moved to the other servants, trying her best to put things in order. Soon, the night grew deeper, and most of the servants who remained with Ling fell asleep. Er Xi walked towards Ling to call him to rest, as he had been standing for more than seven hours.
"Young Master," Er Xi called. "What did my father tell you?" Ling answered, without looking away from his parents' graves.
"He said that I should take you to Weixen and that you should live a great life without thinking about them. He said he really loves you and wanted to be with you forever but was sad he can't," Er Xi said.
"Such a coward. Why didn't he say it to me directly?" Ling said, as tears started to drip down his eyes uncontrollably. Seeing this, Er Xi could only come close to hug Ling, trying to console him, even though she herself couldn't control her own tears.
After crying for some time, Ling stopped crying and forced a smile. "They wanted me to live great and happy, right? I will live great and happy. Tomorrow, we will head to Weixen," Ling said, trying to maintain the forced smile, even as tears continued to drip down his eyes.
"Young Master," Er Xi said, heartbroken at seeing the usually cheerful and playful Ling in such a state.
"Go sleep. I want to be with them until morning," Ling said, still with the forced smile.
Hearing this and knowing Ling wouldn't budge, Er Xi found herself a corner to sleep.
Early in the morning, Er Xi woke up with the other servants to see Ling still standing in the same spot. He hadn't slept at all.
"Young Master," Er Xi called as she walked up to Ling.
"Right, let's move to Weixen," Ling said as he turned to give a smile. His eyes were red; he must have cried all night.
"You can't walk in this condition," Er Xi said, seeing how haggard and dejected Ling looked.
"I can. Let's move," Ling said, still smiling as he took the first step, leaving.
Seeing this, Er Xi, who actually knows the way, followed, as did the six other servants who remained.
After walking for a long time, Weixen, even being the state closest to the barren land, was still not easy to reach. Most servants got tired, and Er Xi decided they should rest. They had covered enough distance to be out of the barren land.
"We'll stay in that cave; it will provide better protection from feral wolves and some other beasts," Er Xi said as she spotted a cave.
After Er Xi said this, Ling noticed that most servants were afraid of stepping into the cave. It should be a better option to protect them from most things, but without being sure that no demonic or wild beast was living there, they were not ready to take a bet.
"I will go in first," Ling said as he stepped forward.
"No, young master," Er Xi said, trying to hold him back.
"I am the young master. I should make decisions and protect what's mine," Ling said with a smile as he put down Er Xi's hand, blocking her, then started moving in.
Inside, the cave was spacious. Ling slowly looked around to make sure there was no danger. "A human boy," a snake that was lurking in the dark said as its eyes turned bloodshot. It had fled to this cave after fighting a cultivator and was almost at death's door. "Should I kill him to vent my anger and frustration? No, he seems to have good fortune. I should attach to his body and drain his life force bit by bit until I've sucked enough to leave him dead and use his body as mine," the snake thought to itself as it felt the heavens had finally smiled on it.
Ling was about to move out to tell the others to come in when his body immediately turned cold. He shivered and found it hard to move. "Er Xi!" Ling let out a muffled scream as Er Xi, who was outside, charged in without minding the danger.
Rushing in, Er Xi saw Ling on the ground. He looked totally pale and a bit more lifeless than before going into the cave. "The cave... is... not... safe," Ling stuttered as he talked while shivering.
Er Xi, without waiting to know the dangers of the cave, quickly carried Ling. Her strength should have never been enough, but Ling now totally looked frail, and the situation too had made Er Xi go above her limit, carrying Ling and rushing out.
"We are leaving," Er Xi said to the other servants and left running while carrying Ling on her back, without caring if the other servants followed suit. To her, Ling was her young master, throwing her life for him was totally right.
After covering a distance, Er Xi was already feeling numb in her legs. She was supposed to rest, but the situation had pushed her to keep pushing. She was determined to reach Weixen.
It was night when Er Xi arrived. Showing the fake identification the master had obtained early for Ling and giving a small bribe saw them through the city gate. She asked frantically for a pharmacist and soon enough found one. Dropping Ling off with the pharmacist, Er Xi collapsed. The stress had gotten to her long ago.