This wasn't Huang Ying's first encounter with spatial travel, he'd already experienced how nauseating it could feel so he had already steeled himself. But this particular experience was far worse than the previous one. During the first trip, his mind and body felt like they were being stretched and spun around, it was enough to churn anyone's stomach. But now?

Now he felt like he was being torn apart, thousands of different spatial tunnels tugging at his body as they tried to pull him down their specific path. He was trapped inside a tree and his body was stretched out in a vain attempt to fill up every inch, twisting itself to fit into each branch and root. And yet, at the same time, he felt like he was falling, forming a truly peculiar sensation.

"The path is diverging. You need to choose one."

The voice of Li Jun rang inside Huang Ying's stretched head as he allowed the peculiar sensation to envelop him, forcing him to patch his mind together to catch what he was saying. But he didn't quite understand it, Li Jun barely gave any details after all, forcing him to ask for clarification.

"Be more clear."

"This spatial tunnel is shaped like the tree that concealed it, there are several hundred branching paths, they probably lead to different places in the Forge so that the Cove doesn't lose all its members the moment they try to flee in here. They all seem to be able to hold about two or three people at a time, so if you want to end up with one of your companions then you need to tell me quickly so that I can direct you towards it."

This spatial tunnel was one of Domecliff Cove's final trump cards, a way they could flee to a relatively safe place once things went wrong. But how sad wouldn't it be if they fled to safety, only to end up getting killed all at the same time? So they split it up, some paths led to safer routes while some served as traps that led to more dangerous areas, but only the higher-ups knew exactly which path led where.

Huang Ying knew that he probably didn't have the time to give his decision any proper thought, but to be honest he didn't even need to. His choice had already been made, there was a certain person he had to talk to after all.

"Point me towards the branch that Song Yi's entering."

Were the corners of his lips turning up? Was he grinning madly, smirking amusedly? He honestly couldn't tell with how stretched out he felt right now. But there was one thing he knew, he felt amused right now. He felt like cackling again, he felt like marvelling at that madness and insanity. Life, life really was good when you were surrounded by good people.

"Alright. Then do as I say, use your Qi like this..."

Li Jun started to direct him, and Huang Ying listened and acted. He couldn't feel himself move, he just felt twisted and stretched. He also couldn't sense Song Yi, but he couldn't sense the others either so perhaps that was only to be expected.

"There, now you should end up together. The ones who'll be closest to you should be those two pets of yours, but in my current state I can't tell exactly how close."

Li Jun's voice marked the end of Huang Ying's seemingly pointless acts, it also served as the prelude of his departure from this twisted space. The stretched parts of his body and mind were all drawn in again, gathering around him as he felt like he reformed. And then the whiteness around him vanished, replaced by the murky brown of earth, the soft touch of wind, and the brilliant orange of a setting sun.

He had arrived in a small clearing, but the jagged stumps that rose from the ground around him showed that it probably wasn't a natural clearing. The trees around him were thin yet tall, the trunks tilting and twisting as they rose, some of the trees even curled around each other as they strove to reach higher.

But just as Li Jun had assured him, he didn't arrive there alone. Song Yi had appeared a handful of steps away from him, but unlike him she was on her hands and knees, her breath ragged as she pushed back the nauseating sensation. But she had seen Huang Ying, her trembling pupils and pale face were proof enough of that.

Huang Ying's lips curled up somewhat, this time he was keenly aware of it. He was smirking, a twisted and bloody grin since he was still drenched in the blood of those he had just killed. He sat down on one the jagged stumps jutting up behind him, his robes nothing more than tatters as he crossed his legs.

"Well then, got anything to say?"

He didn't condemn, he didn't judge, he didn't curse, he didn't even question her actions, he simply asked her what she had to say. Song Yi spent a few seconds regulating her breathing before she stood up, her legs clearly a bit unsteady thanks to the transfer.

"...I'm sorry."

She spoke the words with a lowered head, as if she was trying to avoid looking at Huang Ying's expression. That slight moment of hesitation, was it because she struggled to find the right words or was it because she wanted to say more? Huang Ying didn't know, but knowing or not knowing mattered little when it came to his answer.

"Heh, why?"

Was it a funny answer? Was the situation amusing? If it wasn't, then why did he let out a small chuckle before he continued his questioning? Had he already seen the answer and just wanted to hear it from her? Song Yi didn't know, right now she couldn't understand what Huang Ying was thinking.

"I dragged you into it without asking you, without even telling you or warning you. I pushed it all onto you without giving you a choice in the matter."

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Choice, she felt that it was a thing that mattered greatly to Huang Ying. The freedom to live and die as he pleased, the freedom to act as he pleased, the moment his choice in those matters vanished so too did his freedom. And she had robbed him of that choice. But once again he spoke up, once again he questioned her on things she didn't understand.

"How do you feel about it?"

It was at this moment that Song Yi couldn't help but raise her head. She needed to see his face, she needed to be able to study his expression, otherwise, she may never be able to understand his thoughts. But even as she gazed upon his face, she failed to find the understanding she wanted.

"...Eh?"

At first, she failed to actually give an answer to his question. Her feelings on the matter? Was he asking about the apology or the act itself, or perhaps the end result that it bore? She wracked her brain for a bit before she figured that he was talking about the act itself, then she had to search her soul for a few seconds to truly dig out what she felt about it. Right now, she felt that she needed to be honest, he deserved at least that much after she robbed him.

"...I don't regret it. No, maybe a little piece of me does, but I think I would do it again even if I could go back in time. I...I hate them. The Liangyu family, their allies, everyone who helped them, the world that supported them. I hate them, hate hate hate. I want them to burn, to slowly drown on their own blood as they watch each other die. I will kill them all, from the oldest man to the youngest child, one by one, crawling through dirt if I have to. I will...no, I must, kill them all. Even if doing so means the end of me, even if I must fall further into the depths for it."

Hatred to surpass all others. Even if she had to shake hands with the devil, even if she had to become the world's greatest sinner, it didn't matter what she had to become, she would get her revenge. The family would burn, their legacy would fade, they would drown on their own blood as they tasted their own innards. That was her hatred, that was her desire, her reason for existence. But in the face of that crimson hatred, the only expression Huang Ying showed was a slight tilt of his head as his lips took on an almost amused and quizzical curve.

"Then why do you apologize?"

"..."

She couldn't answer. Was it because she didn't understand why he asked, or because she didn't understand why she apologized? No, she knew why she apologized. She didn't want to be hated, or perhaps she just wanted him to understand, to know why she had robbed him of his choice. It was contradicting, she was willing to become the devil for her revenge, but she also didn't want to be hated, at least not by these people. Her silence alone was enough answer for Huang Ying, who chose to keep talking.

"You did what you wanted, what you needed, what your heart desired. That is how you live, that is how you stand. So why do you apologize for it?"

Huang Ying did what he wanted, what his heart desired, what he felt he needed. That was how he had decided to live after he was reborn. And he didn't apologize for it. Those who wanted to, would follow, those who didn't, would leave. And for those who chose to follow, apologies were pointless. Huang Ying rose from his seated position and took a step forward.

"Tell me, Song Yi. What would have become of you should I have fallen back there? What if they had managed to kill me earlier and get to you, what would you have become?"

He was the key to acquiring Song Yi and Ying Feixu, that was the belief she had fed them to spur them into action. Huang Ying was stronger than the two of them so what would become of them should he fall? Song Yi knew the answer better than anyone, the scars of it still covered her body and soul to this day.

"I...I'd return to those days... A slave...Cattle... A helpless toy..."

She trembled as she answered. Was it because she recalled those dark and helpless days or was she intimidated by the man that oh so slowly walked closer? Huang Ying stopped only half a step away from Song Yi, tilting his head downwards as he locked eyes with her, pitch-black meeting heterochromia.

"And yet you did it. You didn't show them just Ying Feixu, you showed them yourself. You saw those people, those detestable people that make your stomach churn and your heart burn, and you offered yourself. You presented them a bit of bait they could never resist, the bait you found most painful of all."

Would it have worked if she only sent them the file of Ying Feixu? Possibly, Song Yi knew their tastes well so there was a chance it would have worked. But that alone wasn't good enough for her, so she threw them another piece of bait, that one piece of bait that could hurt her the most. And that little bait, that one act of desperation, that alone made all the difference.

"You danced with agony, Song Yi. You saw the path to success and saw that it ran parallel to the path of damnation, and you danced the line between them without batting an eye. One mistake, one wrong step, and damnation awaits, torment untold, a hell of your own making. But you danced all the same, because that is what your heart told you. Tell me, Song Yi, how many people have you seen that can have such mad determination, such insane guts?"

She saw her own death, her own torment, but she moved forward all the same. Whether or not the die would fall in favour of damnation or success was out of her hands, she had placed it squarely in Huang Ying's hands. But she moved forward all the same, hardened her heart and walked ahead. For revenge. For success. With nothing but boundless and icy determination.

"And tell me, Song Yi, what have I said to those who have shown me their determination in the past?"

Determination. Lang Zan had once asked him why determination was such a big turn on for his respect button. He lived, he walked, he died, all for determination. He killed and he spared, all for determination. That one word was perhaps the one that best defined Huang Ying right now, that or insanity, it all depended on who you asked.

"...Respect..."

Song Yi gave the answer almost unconsciously, disbelievingly. She had seen it before in the past, the pointless or downright idiotic things Huang Ying was willing to do just because someone's determination impressed him. That madness, that insanity, would it really extend even to her?

"Yes, respect. Respect to let them live, respect to let them seek their own vengeance, respect to bury them. Their affiliation? Their feelings towards me? Fuck if any of that matters, they have the determination to face death so they deserve my respect, they have earned their lives. So tell me, Song Yi, what do you think my respect for your determination will lead to?"

The lion that tried to kill him but got to live, the bandit that got spared and allowed revenge on those that abandoned him, the enemy he ended and buried. The only thing that tied them all together was the determination they showed at the end, and that alone was what had captivated Huang Ying and dictated his actions. Song Yi had shown that very same determination, so what would it lead to in the end?

"You want revenge? You want to burn the Liangyu name and heritage? And you want to use me to do so? You want to place yourself as bait and use me as the key to that bait, the maw that awaits them at the base of the trap?"

Huang Ying leaned down slightly as he spoke, their faces were now so close that they could almost touch. His voice softened as he spoke, in the end, it was barely a whisper, sneaking into Song Yi's ears like a soft breeze. Was it god whispering of salvation or the devil whispering of damnation? Perhaps only time would be able to answer that question.

"Then use me, Song Yi. Use me to burn it all. And in turn, I will use you to show this world, its gods, those people hiding after running, that I... I am alive."