The orange haze carried Huang Ying and Song Yi through the forest at a tremendous speed, but it didn't seem to be moving aimlessly or in a straight line. Song Yi's eyes were completely focused as she looked ahead of them, her pupils occasionally flickering around and causing their direction to change. From the looks of it, she was able to at least control their directions even after they were flung away by that strange crystal that she shattered.

Song Yi's gaze would occasionally turn towards the sun as they moved through the forest, her pupils wavering and trembling slightly. The sun was already starting to set when Huang Ying found the group of 15 people that he killed, enough time had already passed since then that the sun was almost fully set, darkness descending over the forest.

Song Yi settled her gaze on a dome-like mountain located a bit in front of them, it was far enough away from the group that had been chasing them that she felt it was safe enough to stop here. But the orange haze around them didn't vanish as they approached the mountain, it smashed them directly into the mountain and actually dug a path directly into the center of it. The haze expanded once they reached a spot close to the center of the mountain, crushing the stone and earth around them to form a cavern that was about 100 meters wide and long and about 30 meters tall, more than enough for their group.

The haze vanished after it finished digging the cavern and the group fell to the ground, Song Yi landing on her butt and rubbing her tired eyes. They were so deep in the cavern that it was almost pitch black, but Huang Ying found that his vision was mostly unimpeded, probably another side-effect from devouring so many Demonic beasts. Now that he was actually starting to use the law of devouring properly, he was rapidly starting to discover all the neat advantages it gave him.

Song Yi finished rubbing her eyes and then quickly scooted back, putting some distance between herself and Huang Ying before she swiped her interspatial ring and took out several lanterns. She hurriedly and even somewhat panicky lit the lanterns and placed them around her and Huang Ying, forming a circle just like he had seen her do every night in the academy. Only when she finished setting up the small light sources and dispelled the darkness around them did she let out a soft breath of relief, her gaze landing on Huang Ying's two beasts.

"Right, now we've got some more time. Cute little buggers those two, but don't you think you could have gotten your hands on some stronger ones, or at least some that are a bit grander and more fitting to you?"

Huang Ying would have to be completely braindead to not understand that Song Yi was trying to distract him, or to at least guide the direction away from what she didn't want to talk about. He gave a casual shrug of his shoulders, putting down Hei Ya and taking Hong Yi out of his pocket while introducing them.

"What can I say? I've got an affinity and fondness for broken things that refuse to stay down. This sparrow is Hong Yi and this wolf is Hei Ya, and they'll do just fine."

Huang Ying didn't mind playing along for now, but his curiosity had been roused so he would get his answers sooner rather than later. Hong Yi and Hei Ya demonstrated their cleverness by greeting Song Yi after they were introduced, Hei Ya lowering his head slightly while Hong Yi jumped around and let out a few chirps. One of Song Yi's eyebrows rose after hearing their names, her eyes roaming over Huang Ying with a somewhat dubious glint in them.

"Now you're fucking with me, right? Let's ignore the fact that you chose to name them Red Wing and Black Fang, let's even ignore the fact that you've gathered yourself a little H and Y troupe. But that name, Hong Yi, isn't that just a blatant rip-off of my name? I mean, you literally only changed one letter in it, could you really not think of anything better than this blatant thievery? Did your parents not teach you that you've gotta be a bit grand in how you name things? They never tell you to give the names a bit of panache?"

Huang Ying rolled his eyes in the face of Song Yi's accusations, stretching out his hand and allowing Hong Yi to hop up his arm and onto his shoulder before he retorted.

"You say it's blatant thievery, I say that it's you having a terribly generic name that's easy to alter and copy. And no, I can't say that they did. They ditched me not long after giving birth to me, so they haven't exactly had the most time to teach me anything."

Huang Ying was very upfront and blunt about it, he knew perfectly well what he was, he was an abandoned child that didn't even have a home of his own. He had seen the truth and cruelty of the cultivation world so he knew that people like him were as common as yellow leaves in autumn, that was why he could be so casual about it. But him being casual about it didn't mean that Song Yi could be just as blunt, her head lowering apologetically.

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"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to dredge up memories like that."

Huang Ying simply shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and turned his head, his gaze drifting out through the tunnel that the orange haze had dug for them. The sun had now fully set, only a few faint glimmers of stars visible in the darkness beyond the tunnel. Song Yi turned her head slightly as well, but her gaze was fully focused on the lanterns that surrounded them, one the flames flickering within them.

Silence descended over the cavern, Hong Yi occasionally breaking it with some abrupt chirping and Hei Ya by letting out a deep breath as he laid on the ground next to Huang Ying with slightly narrowed eyes. The silence persisted for almost half an hour before Huang Ying broke it, looking at Song Yi out of the corner of his eyes while speaking bluntly.

"It's been about long enough now, don't you think it's about time you start talking? I don't think just anyone can bring out a crystal like that, and I don't think these lanterns are just there to help you focus your mind, I think that was just a little lie on your part."

Song Yi's body jolted slightly when Huang Ying spoke up, her gaze darting over to him. Neither of them had moved since they entered the cavern so there was still a neat 10 feet of distance between them. Her gaze wavered for a bit before calm returned to her expression, nonchalantly turning her head and looking at the tunnel that led to the outside.

"Let me guess, you'll leave if I don't talk?"

Her tone was a bit flat, her face not carrying even the faintest shred of emotion as she spoke. But Huang Ying simply shrugged his shoulders and laid down on his side, his right elbow resting against the ground while he rested the side of his head on his hand.

"As if I could be bothered to do something that boring. If you don't talk then you don't talk, that's all there is to it. Not like people need to know everything about each other to be friends."

Curiosity was not a good enough reason for Huang Ying to jeopardize one of his friendships, especially not since he had so preciously few of them. Besides, he could just be patient if that was all it took, she'd talk sooner or later. He would prefer sooner, but he was also fine with later. Song Yi looked honestly surprised at his nonchalant response, turning to look at him with a somewhat dumbfounded expression that slowly turned uncertain as she shook her head.

"Knowing will do you more harm than good, there is even a chance that people will try to kill you if the truth should come out."

Song Yi sighed as she spoke, gazing somewhat wistfully at one of the flickering flames within the closest lantern. From the looks of things, she had probably seen exactly what she was talking about. But once again, Huang Ying's casual response left her dumbfounded, he even let out a chuckle.

"Heh, I'm currently enrolled in an academy where about 95 % of the student body, maybe more, want nothing more than to hang my head on a spike in front of their dorms. Hell, even some of the teachers seem to be in on this shit. And adding on to that, I'm currently stuck in a forest where every living being except for you, Chen Hong, and the two darlings next to me, want me dead. So you tell me, do you think I'm going to be afraid of people coming to kill me?"

Song Yi's gaze landed on Huang Ying's face, but there wasn't a trace of worry or fear on it. There was only boundless confidence and nonchalance, as well as a glimmer of excitement that burned like the sun in his pupils. He was already surrounded by people that wanted to kill him so what did it matter if he added on even more, it only meant that he would get an even better challenge. Song Yi's gaze wavered slightly once more, but facing that boundless confidence she could do nothing but yield.

"My full name is actually Tiansheng Song Yi, I'm the last surviving member of the Tiansheng dynasty that once ruled the 89 planets located to the east of this planet. I wouldn't be surprised if that name told you nothing, we've practically been erased from the history books overnight, even the memories of those who once knew us have been wiped clean, our very existence has been utterly denied. But believe it or not, we still ruled those planets a mere eight years ago, I was only six, but I still remember it like it was yesterday."

Song Yi's words weren't wrong, Huang Ying had never heard about this Tiansheng dynasty before, nor had he seen any mention of it anywhere. He put that fact aside for now, he could look it up later when they weren't stuck in a forest like this. He was actually a bit surprised to learn that she was six years old eight years ago, it meant that while she looked to be about 12, she was actually 14 years old.

But seeing as she was seemingly the last member of a dynasty that might have been pushed to ruin, and adding on the thing she said before they fled, could it be malnourishment? Possibly from imprisonment? Song Yi stretched out her hands and pulled the closest lantern even closer, gazing intently into the flickering flames.

"You're right, I did lie to you back then, the lanterns aren't there to help me focus, they are here to ward off the dark. Seven years ago, shortly after my seventh birthday, the downfall of the Tiansheng dynasty came. My parents were reading me a lullaby when they were assassinated, the assassin simply materialized right out of the darkness and killed both of them with a quick slash. They were still in the middle of their sentences when their throats were cut and they collapsed to the floor, heaving for air while clutching at their throats, just staring at me with those despairing eyes. Ever since that day, I can't look at the darkness without seeing the horrible face of the assassin, of the Dark King. Even now I fear that he'll come out of the darkness like he did that day, but this time he'll come for my throat."