The specter of death hung heavily over the clearing, spreading like a suffocating blanket that smothered all sound other than a young girl’s choked sobs.

Yu Chen had hurried to Ling Xia’s side, checking on the young girl once the man had fled. He’d helped her up, and although she’d wavered, she’d managed to stand on her own two feet.

Together, they’d approached Cang Wuji, who stood over the crumpled form of a young boy wearing the embroidered robes of the Golden Mist Sect. A shock of red hair framed his lifeless eyes, mingling with the growing puddle of pooling from the countless stab wounds covering his body.

Ling Xia let out broken sobs as she fell down, cradling the dead boy in her arms. She paid no heed to the blood that soaked into her ruined robes, staining them further. She lifted a trembling hand, brushing the red hair out of his face.

“No, Yan Tie…” She mumbled as she looked down at the young boy she held. “You should have fled, why didn’t you flee?”

Yu Chen turned away from the scene, walking away to give her some privacy as she grieved. Cang Wuji followed along, uncharacteristically silent.

“Did you know him?” Cang Wuji asked hesitantly, speaking in a low tone.

“No.” Yu Chen said, shaking his head in negation. “We never had the chance to meet.”

The two walked in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

Yu Chen thought the world was always strangely peaceful after a fight, and in the moment, he couldn’t help but feel as though the heavens were cold and uncaring. Dead bodies lay strewn across the bloody ground that was torn up from the fight. Did the world care? Birdsong filled the air, the jungle alive with the sound of countless creatures going about their lives.

Who would care when he was gone? Yu Chen couldn’t help but wonder.

He shook off the strange mood, approaching the two bodies of the men they’d slain. He looked down at the two men, and Lu She, still curled over her kill. One’s face was filled with an unwilling expression, and the other was a rictus of pain, with bloody gouges showing where he’d clawed at his neck.

Cultivation was supposed to be a path that brought one closer to the heavens. Why, then, was it filled with so much blood?

Yu Chen didn’t know the answer. Death was simply part of the natural order. One might as well ask why the world was filled with sunshine. He let out a low sigh, before bending down and beginning that oldest of traditions.

Robbing the dead. Or, as he preferred to think of it, retrieving the spoils of victory. He patted them down, rifling through their pockets and taking anything of any worth. Although it didn’t appear as though they had much.

Between them, the two men only had a couple of qi gathering pills and a handful of spirit stones. One of the pills stood out however, a small brown one with a rich aroma. He recognized it as a meridian-washing pill - something that was useful for helping more untalented cultivators when breaking through.

It would sell for a decent price back within the sect, they were a very popular item. He rummaged through one last pocket, and frowned, feeling something hard and square. He pulled it out, revealing a small piece of jade not so different from the ones he’d received from the sect.

He blinked before examining the item, but it didn’t seem out of the ordinary.

Closing his eyes, he brought the small piece of jade to his forehead. He was only slightly surprised to see a small collection of books appear. A few were simple treatises, and one had some garbled message Yu Chen couldn’t decipher, but there was a new technique hidden among them. Concentrating, he brought it to the forefront, reading the words Abyssal Fang Martial Forms.

The images of the form flickered through his mind, and he realized it was a dual technique, with separate Martial and Dagger Forms. The technique mimicked the fangs of some beast, and it seemed designed to help sharpen one’s qi. Daggers provided a physical aid to help in mastering it, besides being a useful weapon all on their own.

Yu Chen silently memorized the technique, filing it away into his Memory Palace where he could examine it later. He didn’t know how useful the Martial Forms would be, but there was inspiration in everything. He’d take what he could get.

He opened his eyes to see Cang Wuji looking at him in interest.

“Keep it.”

Yu Chen tossed the piece of jade to the other boy before pocketing the rest of the items. The technique within would be worth a lot to the right person, but Yu Chen would rather have the items. Besides, he’d already received a copy of it.

Cang Wuji closed his eyes, examining the item as well. Yu Chen had expected him to light up in happiness at the sight of the technique, but his face turned pale as he examined the jade’s contents.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“Yu Chen,” He said, his voice low and serious as he looked towards “We have a problem. Those were reavers.”

Yu Chen stared back at the other boy nonplussed.

“What’re reavers?” He asked in confusion.

“What’re -” Cang Wuji began before stopping. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before speaking again.

“Reavers are a group of demonic cultivators that roam the Yellow River, although they are officially known as the Blood River Sect. They practice a strange art that allows them to increase their cultivation through killing others.”

“If they’re here… It isn’t safe to be here.” He said, looking around with obvious fear on his face. “You don’t understand Yu Chen. They’re like a wave of locusts that plague the river. Everywhere they land things die. Towns and cities, Men, women and children, even sects are swallowed up in their wake! They’ll kill anything that breathes, even the beasts and spirit beasts.”

Yu Chen stood still, processing as he came to grip with the news.

“If we are lucky a single ship landed, and the masters outside will be able to fight them off.” Cang Wuji said, as though trying to convince himself. He didn’t seem very convinced.

“If we are unlucky?” Yu Chen asked.

Cang Wuji gave him a bleak smile. “If we are unlucky, everyone is dead.”

Yu Chen chewed in thought, looking at the other boy for a long moment before turning around and walking back to Ling Xia.

“Hey.” He said gently, kneeling beside her and placing a hand on her shoulder.

She blinked, looking up at him with tears in her eyes.

“We have to leave now; it isn’t safe to stay here.” Yu Chen said, staring into her eyes.

Ling Xia was silent as she processed his words, before nodding slowly.

“Yan Tie… At the very least, we have to bury him.” Her voice was full of sorrow, but conviction filled it.

Yu Chen simply nodded.

“Of course.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The three of them reentered the jungle, leaving the dead behind them.

They moved slower than before, accommodating Ling Xia’s wounded leg as she followed along listlessly behind the two boys. Yu Chen kept his eyes peeled for danger, the jungle feeling more menacing than it had before. Alert, every sound in the undergrowth echoed in his ears, as the sweltering heat pressed down upon them.

The signs of civilization grew more apparent as their journey continued. Broken building became a common sight, peaking from the undergrowth, alongside moss covered statues and broken walls, the last remnants of a ruined sect.

He heard a hiss on indrawn breath from Cang Wuji up ahead, and hurried to reach him, finding him standing over two bodies that lay on the jungle floor.

“Dead.” Cang Wuji said shortly, and Yu Chen knelt to examine them. Both bodies were covered in multiple stab wounds, but the smell coming from the bodies told him they’d been there a while.

Yu Chen cursed softly under his breath as he examined the bodies before looking around warily. Saying a few short prayers over the dead, they continued on their way.

Hours passed, and eventually they had to come to a halt, Ling Xia’s tired form barely hanging on. Yu Chen had found a low stone building that was still mostly intact, although it was overgrown to the point that he’d nearly mistaken it for a small hill.

They entered it after ensuring it was safe. Yu Chen and Cang Wuji discussed a plan to keep watch as Ling Xia fell into an exhausted slumber. Yu Chen took the first shift, and Cang Wuji walked to another corner of the room, quickly falling asleep.

Yu Chen winced as he slid down to rest against one of the walls, gingerly probing his wounds as he examined them. He’d taken another nurturing pill himself as he’d walked, leaving him dangerously low on medical supplies.

Not that the two he had left were worth much right now anyways. One of the strange properties of medicine was that your body built up a natural resistance to it with sustained use. Yu Chen had taken multiple pills in quick succession, and he could already feel the effect from them slowing down.

Thankfully his natural vitality was very powerful, to the point that the cuts he’d sustained would heal overnight, despite his resistance to the medicine. Although the deep puncture in his back would take longer to heal.

The rest of his watch passed quietly. Yu Chen woke Cang Wuji when it was his turn, before taking his own well-deserved rest. The night passed in a dreamless slumber, and Yu Chen awoke feeling refreshed, the worst of his aches and pains gone.

Ling Xia didn’t look quite as fresh, but she looked remarkably better than she had the night before. The only real injury she’d sustained was the wound to her leg, and that was already feeling better. It was able to hold her weight without pain, and she shouldn’t have any trouble walking on it.

“Where are we going?” The girl asked, as they began walking again.

“We’re going to meet a strange girl named Tianyun Lingxuan. She claims to know some secret about these ruins,” Yu Chen said, waving around at the hidden remains of the sect all around them.

“Tianyun Lingxuan?” Ling Xia interrupted him in surprise, looking as though she recognized the name.

“Yes.” Yu Chen said, looking at her in askance. She didn't say anything else, so he continued speaking.

“According to Cang Wuji, the men who attacked you are well known disciples of a famous demonic sect. Apparently, they are very dangerous. We should meet up with others, there’s more safety in numbers.”

Ling Xia slowly nodded her head, a dark cloud crossing her face at the mention of the strange cultivators. She opened her mouth, beginning to say something, when Cang Wuji’s voice came echoing to them.

“Quiet!” The boy called back in a low tone. “There are voices up ahead."