The sound of bird chirping echoed across the forest. In the small clearing at the center sat Zheng Fei. The young master was completely shirtless and seemed to be in the middle of meditating.

"Urg..."

The young man let out a small groan as he began to feel pain from his abdomen. Sweat was dripping down his body like a waterfall.

"Tch... It still doesn't get any easier."

He let out a sigh. Upon looking down, he noticed the large scar on his side. It was a mark left behind by the Jade Knight's brutal assault. He silently placed his hand on the scar for a moment, then began putting his garb back on.

Suddenly, Zheng Fei noticed a presence behind him. He shouted loudly.

"I know you're there Fen Xuan, is stalking people in the wood a tradition of the Heavenly Demon Sect now?"

Fen Xuan tumbled clumsily out into the open. The girl began fidgeting awkwardly with her fingers, a guilty expression appeared on her face.

"I... I just came to check on you. You seem to be doing well."

"I was doing better before you slapped me in the face... twice. Not even my own mother had hit me that hard." Zheng Fei replied with an annoyed expression.

"We... Well!! Anyone would be surprised if they woke up to someone sleeping naked next to them. If it had been you, wouldn't you do the same?"

Fen Xuan stuttered, with clear embarrassment in her voice. Zheng Fei put a hand on his chin, then he said.

"I guess you have a point. Anyway, I wasn't doing anything when you were in the coma. So don't go making up funny delusions on your own."

"Ho... How rude!! I wasn't thinking of anything."

Fen Xuan stopped herself for a moment, then she begrudgingly said.

"My... apology. I realized it awhile back that you were just transferring your chi to help with my recovery... You have my thanks."

Zheng Fei was taken aback. The young master however quickly regained his composure and replied in an aloof tone.

"Don't get me wrong, it would bring shame to my family if I didn't repay a debt. You did help me get out of Língzhi so It's only fair. Now we are even."

"Pffftt... Still can't be honest huh?"

Fen Xuan inadvertently let out a small chuckle, much to Zheng Fei's irritation. As she finished chuckling, the girl suddenly realized something.

"Wait, did you just say I was in a coma? How long have I been out?"

"About 2 weeks, give or take. We should arrive in Hǎixuě in a few days." Zheng Fei answered.

Fen Xuan was shocked. She was unconscious for that long? Her injury must have been more serious than she thought. Then it finally dawned on her.

"How... am I even alive...? The Jade Knight, his 5 point strikes technique should have ruptured all of my internal organs. I was so sure then that I was a goner."

"..."

Zheng Fei fell silence for a second. Then he took out 2 syringes from his pocket. One of them was completely empty while the other was nearly full of green liquid.

"These... things, are the reason. I snatched them from the corpse of the Jade Knight. I'm still not quite sure what they are, but the strange liquid contained within them has exceptional rejuvenative power. One vial was enough to almost completely heal your fatal wounds. As for myself, I only injected about one-fourth of it, but just that little amount was enough to entirely patch up the hole in my stomach"

Fen Xuan's eyes lighted up with fascination as she looked at the vials. Zheng Fei's expression suddenly got more serious, he then asked.

"Now it's my turn to ask question. Why exactly did you help me? Judging by your reaction back then, you clearly knew how dangerous the Jade Knights are. And yet, you still chose to help me despite knowing the risk it would entail. I reckoned you didn't do it out of the goodness of the heart either. So, what is it? What is your motive?"

"Hmph! Is it so hard to believe that I did out of the kindness of my heart? I am offended!!"

Fen Xuan replied with a haughty attitude. But it didn't amuse Zheng Fei, he still got a stern look on his face. She let out a small sigh and dropped the act.

"Alright, alright!! You got me. I have my own reason for helping you."

Fen Xuan reached into her pocket and reluctantly pulled out a shiny object. On closer look, it appeared to be a beautiful nail with mesmerizing glitter emitting from the surface. Zheng Fei dazed off for a moment, for he was captivated by the otherworldly beauty of the object. He quickly collected himself and asked.

"Is that someone's nail? What does that have to do with my question?"

"Don't be so impatient. This is no ordinary nail, it belongs to the founder of our great Heavenly Demon Sect and has been passed down in our clan for generations!!"

Fen Xuan said with enthusiasm in her voice.

"... All I've learned is that you people at the Heavenly Demon Sect have some wacky traditions."

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Zheng Fei replied with slight mocking in his tone.

"H...Hey! I haven't finished yet. This nail also functions as a special compass. It's the only thing that can locate our great founder's whereabouts. The reason I saved you back in Língzhi was because it reacted to you."

"I see, interesting... Wait did you say it's a tool to locate your great founder? How long has it been since your sect was established?" Zheng Fei asked curiously.

"About 3000 years ago." Fen Xuan replied nonchalantly.

Zheng Fei's eyes were wide opened. He was speechless.

"So you're telling me you're risking your life to find a corpse?"

"No, our great founder is still alive and well."

Fen Xuan answered. When the girl noticed the flabbergasted expression on Zheng Fei's face, she quickly continued.

"It's... a very long story. But to summarize, our founder was called Fen Li the Great Wolf. Apparently she was a yaoguai from a land far, far away. She and her sisters came to this land to escape from their pursuers. Legend has it that she fell in love with a human here and went with him on numerous adventures. One of her most famous exploits includes killing Daji*, The Queen of Womb, who was said to be an evil tyrant at the time. There was also that time when she..."

"Ho... Hold it!! This is a lot to take in all at one. Give me a moment."

Zheng Fei's brain was overloading with the barrage of information. He took in a deep breath and started calming himself down. After awhile, he said.

"So if I get it right. You're saying your great founder, a legendary yaoguai, is not only still alive but she left behind a clue for where to find her. Why didn't she just stay behind at your sect then? And do you even have any proof that all of it weren't just tall tales from legend?"

Fen Xuan pondered quietly for a moment. The she replied.

"For your first question, I... don't know. Our great founder is a mysterious person. She just left behind this sacred relic so we of the Fen clan, her descendants, can find her in time of need."

She stopped, her eyes were now glancing down at something.

"For your second question. These things here are the proof." Fen Xuan pointed at the pair of ribbons dangling off her wrists.

"Those? I thought they're just a specially made pair of ribbons."

Zheng Fei replied with surprise. Then he remembered. He did notice something really strange about them back in Língzhi. It felt as if they were something completely different from normal sacred relics. Fen Xuan continued explaining.

"In a way, they are. However, these were originally a magical biding device made for our great founder Fen Li. I don't know all the details, but at some point it was broken and reforged into this pair of ribbons you see now. Ever since then, they have remained an important sacred relic of our clan and been passed down through generations of sect leaders. These actually used to belong to my mother and her mother before that."

Zheng Fei put a hand on his chin, he was seemingly fascinated by everything he just heard. Fen Xuan then said.

"And that is the reason why I helped you. I also have a request to make."

Zheng Fei seemed to know what she was about to say.

"Would you join me on my quest to find Fen Li, the great founder of our Heavenly Demon Sect?"

In contrast to Fen Li's enthusiasm, Zheng Fei just asked aloofly.

"If I was to help you, what would I get out of it?"

Fen Xuan let out a smirk, she knew he would ask that question.

"After we find our founder, the whole Heavenly Demon Sect will be in your debt. You are free to ask us for any favor."

A contemplating look appeared on Zheng Fei's face. Having the backing of the Heavenly Demon Sect would certainly be an enormous help in taking back his claim for the Heaven Gazer Sect. He couldn't just marched into the sect and made his demand after all. What he needed were allies and an army.

Zheng Fei's face contorted into a devious grin, which seemed to creep Fen Xuan out. He then said with delight in his voice.

"Alright!! I accepted your offer."

Zheng Fei then started shaking Fen Xuan's hands. Who was now questioning if she made the right decision. There was still however something weighing on the young master's mind, he asked.

"But that wasn't the whole story, was it? You said that your sect only starts looking for the founder in time of need. I'm not one to pry, but if we were to be working together from now on. I would like there to not be any secrets between us."

Fen Xuan's expression turned sour. She did not want to relive those horrible memories again. With a resigned acceptance, the young girl closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She started telling Zheng Fei everything. The girl talked about the death of her parents the sect leaders and about the fateful duel between her senior sisters Bai Lin and Zhu Que. All the while, her face began to distort as she could barely hold in her tears. Upon noticing this, Zheng Fei interrupted her.

"That's enough, I got the gist of it now. What happened to your sect after that incident?"

"... My aunt Fen Huang took over as temporary leader. Sister Zhu Que fell into a coma with 3 years left to live, it was a miracle that she could even survive the wounds. My aunt told me the only way to save her was by finding our founder. Not that I had any other choice since our great Heavenly Demon Sect was in great peril anyway."

Fen Xuan paused for a moment, her eyes were still staring a thousand yards away.

"The poison sister Bai Lin used originated from the sister of great founder Fen Li. Even among the masters in our sect, her proficiency with it is second to none, so finding the founder is our only hope. I spent the next 6 months training rigorously under my aunt before setting out on this quest. Fast forward to a year later and here we are."

Zheng Fei glanced at Fen Xuan's expression, a pitied look appeared on his face. He was then startled as the girl suddenly slapped her cheeks with both palms. Fen Xuan forcefully snapped herself out of depression and pointed her finger at Zheng Fei with a pout.

"Hmph! It's your fault that I had to relive such horrible experiences!! Now it's my turn to ask. What is your secret huh? How did a young master from a sect of Zhao half way across the continent ended up here? You probably have more secrets that I do!!"

Zheng Fei let out a groan as he rolled his eyes. There was no getting out of this, he thought. He reluctantly answered.

"I was... exiled, by my traitorous uncle and cousin. They used one of our sect's rare sacred relic to banish me all the way here."

"Exiled?" Fen Xuan replied in shock.

"Yes, they framed me for something I didn't commit and stole from me my birthright. So I made it my life mission to reclaim it and make them suffer. By any mean possible." Rage began to fill Zheng Fei's voice.

"I... I'm surprised, Zheng Fei. I didn't know, I'm sorry..."

Zheng Fei clicked his tongue and shrugged off her apology.

"No matter, what's done is done. I am more looking forward to what their faces will look like once I return." Zheng Fei said with an evil glee.

A chill ran down Fen Xuan's back. The girl tried to compose herself and switched the subject.

"This is bit awkward, but there's another thing I want you to help with."

"Oh? What is it?" Zheng Fei asked.

Fen Xuan took out an old notebook and showed it to him.

"FenFen's.. note? Pffffffttttt...."

Zheng Fei couldn't hold himself back from laughing at the cutesy nickname. Much to the embarrasment of Fen Xuan, whose face was now bright red.

"Don't...Don't laugh!!! I didn't name it, it was my father!!"

She then continued.

"He had a wish to discover and record new things in the world. I want to continue his legacy and finished what he couldn't. So, you're going to help me fill this notebook up."

The girl said with a tint of sadness in her voice. Zheng Fei couldn't say "no" after seeing her expression. He just let out a sigh and reluctantly agreed.

Night began to fall in the forest. The sound of birds chirping had now been replaced with crickets'. Zheng Fei stood up and stretches his shoulders. He turned back and Fen Xuan and said.

"It's gotten late now, we should head back to the camp."

Fen Xuan answered with a nod. As the two began to depart, Fen Xuan suddenly looked back at the bush behind her. She felt as if someone had been watching them.

"Something's wrong?" Zheng Fei stopped and asked.

"No... Nothing. It must have been my imagination."

While the two were walking away, a shadowy figure silently watched them from afar.