As Wen regained lucidity, he felt his mind capable of processing a lot more information from his surroundings, his eyes could view much farther than he was ever able to, he could parse through the various sounds,noises and the vibrating air in his surroundings with precision, he soon noticed an anomaly in the space about 3 metres behind him.

He turned around, to see a young woman walking towards him, taking each step with a look of determination in her dark eyes that portrayed both defiance and apprehension like a raven of the night.

Wen had never seen anyone as breathtakingly beautiful before, she was like a goddess, a being that didn't seem to belong in the mortal world. But he wasn't the same person he was before, whatever it was that was inside him had warped his world, he only saw another mortal being of flesh, blood and bone underneath all that beauty.

The woman stopped once she was close enough to be within his arms reach, she slowly raised her right hand bringing it closer to his face. Wen caught her hand, unsure of what the woman hoped to convey by that gesture, his instincts didn't warn him of any malicious intention from the woman, the woman's lips then parted voicing arcane words in a whisper.

'Mei, the last remaining child of the night, fate had been cruel to her ripping her apart from her land, forcing her to wander and hide from the very ones that destroyed her home, she yearned for vengeance and he seemed to be the only one who could grant her desire.'

Wen knew not what to make of the strange request, he wasn't sure how he was alive or what lead to this strange meeting in the forest. Perhaps it was the accursed remnant soul within that had brought him back after representative Li had him beaten to death, perhaps it was also what the woman Mei thought made him capable of aiding her in her quest for revenge.

The remnant soul has helped him but has also turned him into a threat for his own race. In his trance he had seen vague places from strange worlds quite different from his own, he saw bloody battles that shook the heavens and flooded the lands with blood, amid millions of corpses stood a bearded man with eyes that were like red flames that threatened to burn everything down until nothing was left behind, a hungry flame that would never be quenched no matter how much blood it drank. The man looked up and smiled at Wen and suddenly Wen had returned to his world somewhere inside a dark forest without any injuries on him and heightened senses that made him appreciate the world around him better that ever before.

He had learnt the hard way that ultimately all sentient beings put themselves before others, he was sacrificed so that the rest of them could feel safe, destroying the individual for the survival of the majority. He was a threat that loomed over their heads, so they had put him down, if the roles were reversed he would have done the same.

To survive he would need all the help that he could get, the only way he could rise above it all was by growing stronger to the point where it didn't matter whether he was a threat or not, they couldn't do jack even if they wanted to other than live or die on his whim.

In every world, in every time period, the powerful do as they please and the weak are molded to conform to the whims of the powerful.

Wen resolved to grow stronger so that he would never again be under the mercy of others, forced to dance and die to their tunes.

He let go of Mei's hand as he smiled while voicing his agreement to help her in her quest for vengeance provided she in turn assist him with his.

They then set off together traversing through the dark woods westward, they needed to reach the closest town from where they could go about their plan of infiltrating a human sect, the last place the great sects would look for a demon and an Otherworlder, it was liking hiding under the bed of one's enemy.

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Along the way, the two exchanged their knowledge of the world and of cultivation, they grew to a better understanding of their different lives and their common goals.

There was not much difference between night and day in the forest, the thick canopy blocked most of the light from reaching the ground, this allowed many creatures to thrive in the forest cloaked by the darkness.

Most of these creatures were dealt with at ease by Mei, Wen observed as Mei fought a dark boar that he had spotted earlier hiding in the dense undergrowth about 20 metres from them.He would never have spotted it had he not awoken to his heightened senses.

Mei weaved left and right as the boar tried in vain to impale her with its huge tusks. She kept dodging until the boar started to tire, it's movements becoming slower and slower and then it dropped dead as Mei finished it off using a makeshift wooden spear which she drove a few inches into the boar's left eye with a single thrust.

Wen had never experienced a meal as delicious as the cooked boar meat in front of him, he had gotten Mei's help in creating a controlled fire, over which they roasted the boar meat using wooden branches as skewers.

They hunted, ate, travelled and took turns sleeping while the other guarded as they continued on westward with no town in sight.

Their days went by quickly, it was nearly a month since they began their journey. Wen had learnt to fight and defend himself over the days through observing Mei as she hunted and having her help in sparring with him. She beat him up until he gave up each time they sparred, but with each day he lasted longer and longer on his spars before having to give up to conserve enough strength to not slow them down on their journey.

A few days later they finally left the forest and reached a large town, covered by towering walls made of huge bricks, with watchtowers and a humongous steel gate. The town was guarded by cultivators who took turns guarding the city gate and watch towers.

Wen and Mei decided to stay at the edge of the forest as they plotted on how to enter the town. They thought of hiding in some passing trade caravans or robbing the people that would enter the forest but none of that would solve the long term need for resources, gatepasses or knowledge about the town and it's various sects, to go in without knowing the enemy would be like walking to their own deaths, besides there was the possibility of being tracked down after being spotted in the caravan or the robberies being reported. So they settled on immobilising, interrogating and then slaying lone individuals or small groups that would traverse through the forest, this way they could reduce the chances of leaving any traces or loose ends behind.

What do you think is the oldest of professions that men worked in since the ancient times, it is that of the assassin or in less glorified terms it is that of a cold blooded murderer. Killing is a way of life in itself is it not, killing plant and animals to sustain oneself for the whole of one's life. Why then should one not kill others, it's funny how this taboo seems to bind many people to the point where they would rather kill themselves than risk the backlash of slaughtering their enemies who have driven them into despair. The hypocrites who prohibit it have themselves obtained their sects, clans and territories by shedding rivers of blood.

The reason is simple, those who have obtained what they have now risk the same cycle where someone stronger would come and destroy all that they have built, dash their children upon the rocks and sell their women and daughters. So they decided that by prohibiting killing and acting for peace and order, they would have the moral high ground and be able to garner support should a foe threaten to take what's theirs by violence and annihilate them.

It is something that encourages weakness, the only ones who benefit from it are cowards who thrive on the violence that their ancestors used to provide them what they have today only to now prolong the same violence from being brought upon them through such cowardly rules.

Do the powerful have anything to fear losing, to strive to take what one desires or die trying. To repay every insult ten times over, to cause the heavens to weep and the devils of the abyss to cower at the sight of one's vengeance.

One may ask, do they not allow killing for the sake of defending one's town, sect, clan from an invader in battle and is such killing not considered honorable. Well it would be honorable if the one fighting is the one who has obtained what he has and strives to protect it , if he is but a mere soldier, driven by a sense of belonging forced into him since childhood, living in meagre conditions and fights out of stupid honor like a dog dying to guard his cowardly masters then such a one's honor is worth jack and it is befitting for him to die a dog's death.