Kuxin.
The village where Mantai suggested him to go, the problem is Nanming didn't even know where he is currently.
Let alone to find a village called Kuxin, maybe Yi Ling know?
"Fuck off milksop"
Seems like she didn't even want to speak with him, Nanming decided to run away from Yi Ling who stomped her feet while washing some robes, still wearing that Rabbit mask.
As Nanming was on his way to meet Mantai again, he stumbled upon the bald monk from before who chant mantra endlessly, right now he is tending to a black cat who purrs and rub its head all over the monk's leg, seeking his affection.
"You gotten chubby, eat your fill as you see fit Mao"
The monk said as he pours down some of his rice porridge from the bowl to the ground, which the cat happily laps with its tongue, the monk then regards Nanming.
His eyes are green, his skin is a bit toned in brown, and his face is covered in scar marks, possibly from blades. Yet his face smiles in peace, as if he is someone who never once knew violence.
"Young boy, we haven't introduced ourselves properly, right? Apology for earlier, I am in my morning rite and is too busy to respond"
"Don't be"
Nanming respond while bowing, he is much older than him so it's only right for him to do this.
"Haha! No need to be so polite young boy, I'm just a monk who had much to learn"
The monk laughs as he clasped both of his hands.
"My name is Tenpei from The Xin village"
"My name is Nanming from Jiangnam"
The monk called Tenpei then nods, before he told Nanming something that shocked him.
"You must have some difficulty, speak, and maybe I can help you"
He speaks as if he was certain of the fact, almost like he predicts Nanming confusion ahead of time and offers him help, not like Nanming would refuse it anyway.
"I wanted to go to Kuxin village, but I don't know where it is"
"Kuxin?"
Suddenly, Tenpei green eyes turned purple. The glows of the iris illuminated Nanming vision in its brilliance, but as Tenpei did this, his face suddenly tensed up as vein bulged out from his temple.
"Huff"
Before he exhales a heavy breath and clutches his chest whose heartbeat so loud it can be heard by Nanming.
"Are you alright?"
Nanming tried to cradle him to prevent him from falling, but Tenpei quickly regained his composure and smiled again.
"Haha, your fate is interesting Nanming… You could take any road and ends up at Kuxin"
"…How?"
Tenpei then pointed towards the skies, but he locked his gaze towards Nanming still. His eyes had already turned back to green at that point.
"Such is the will of the Heaven, so incomprehensible at times but once you are there, all will fall into place"
"…"
Nanming think it was absurd that the Heaven would know, even when he was still in the Academy, he finds the notion of an All-Knowing and All-Powerful concept such as the Heaven ridiculous.
But he decided to follow along with Tenpei suggestion, who knows it might just be proven.
"I see, thank you for your help"
"May the white light continue to safeguard your travel"
Tenpei clasped his hand before he recites a mantra, possibly for Nanming wellbeing.
Nanming bowed towards Tenpei before he left, but even when he is away, he can hear Tenpei praying once more.
…
"Please give me back my sword"
Nanming said atop of a tree overlooking Yi Ling who dried her robes
"…"
Yi Ling shift her head to face Nanming with a pitiful look, she then calmly walks towards the tree and kicks it, sending Nanming down to fall on his butt.
Nanming recovered very fast and dashed back to hide behind some pillars.
"Give me back my sword"
He said, only his white hair peeks through the stone structure, once again, Yi Ling walk towards the pillar to try and kick it away.
But Nanming is smart and he swiftly switch his hiding spot; Yi Ling walk towards the new position and Nanming shifted away.
Like a game of cat and mouse, Yi Ling the cat and Nanming the unfortunate mouse in an action of chasing the other, that is until Yi Ling had enough.
"How can I give the sword to you if you keep running away!"
She shouted and stomped her feet to the ground, completely forgetting about her laundry.
"…But you didn't carry my sword"
Nanming will not be deceived, seeing that Yi Ling held not his sword but her black staff instead, its easy for him to discern her true intention.
"…Fine, here's your stupid sword"
She said as she produced a green gourd, from within that small container, Nanming sword materialize into her hand, a wonderous product.
Yi Ling then tossed the sword towards Nanming, as Nanming tried to grab it, Yi Ling dashed towards him.
"…"
And just like a mouse, he fell into a trap.
…
"Can I go back down?"
Nanming is hanging from Yi Ling staff as he watched her doing her laundry, wringing the countless cloth and robes with her barehand.
Now that he noticed it, Yi Ling skin is beautiful. The smoothness unmarred by even one bump or impurity, like a doll.
Well, a cruel doll.
"…"
Yi Ling stayed silent, she hanged the last robes to the clothesline with other robes and cloth.
After that, she strides slowly towards Nanming, crossing her arms and looks at him with scrutiny, obviously presence even when her face is hidden.
"Where are you going?"
"…What's it to you?"
Nanming felt irritated at her illogical behavior, what kind of person ask someone when they are currently being hanged like a coat.
"…"
Yi Ling grab a fistful of Nanming's hair and pull it up, of course Nanming didn't react. She felt stupid for doing it but now she shifts her attention towards his sword on the ground.
She grabs the sword and threatens to break it.
"My apology, I will answer your question"
Success, Yi Ling felt victorious that she could play around with this supposedly terrifying Asura.
"I'm going to Kuxin village"
"Alright, I'm going with you"
Nanming tilts his head in confusion, and he is wrecking his mind to try and find a reasonable excuse for her not to follow him.
But he failed to find excuses, and before he knew it, he was already on the ground, and Yi Ling handed him his sword back.
"Don't misunderstand, I'm following you because you are a demon. Who knows what sort of fucked up thing you will do"
"…"
Nanming can only complied, else he risk being beaten to death by her.
.
.
.
Nanming and Yi Ling walks in the forest over the side of some cliff overlooking a small river, Nanming reads a book that most settlement is on the side of a river or a body of water for agriculture, so the same idea can be applied when searching for Kuxin village.
Along the way, Nanming noticed the vegetation here is different from the South. Unlike the South tall, green and lush vegetation to the point where the forest bed is often unseen by the volume of greenery.
The forest here is a bit milder with only some tall bush here and there, though it retains the same lively green the South forest had, which means Nanming is somewhere in Gunsi that borders Sianchi, still reasonably outside the Demonic Sect territory.
As Nanming trudges through the dry stone and brittle dirt, he notices the sky darkening over the horizon. And not too long after, thunder roars through.
"…"
Nanming stopped for a second, Yi Ling who follows him from behind click her tongue at his sudden action.
"What? You're scared of thunder?"
She said with sarcastic tone as she crossed her arm to cradle her black staff.
But Nanming stayed silent for a good minute before he spoke.
"When was the last time this place had any rain?"
"…"
Yi Ling is reluctant to answer at first, but she decided to answer his question.
"Five months ago, I think…"
Nanming started to ponder, he stroaked his chin as he considered the possibility from all the available information.
A five full month without rain is evident enough from the dry forest bed around, the rut from the small river is an evident that it isn't used to house a large volume of running water and the particularly steep cliffside is a recipe for a landslide.
But given the healthiness and the lush forest around him, Nanming regards the possibility of their roots being healthy enough to hold the ground together.
But should he assume the worst…
"…Are we moving or not?"
Nanming stayed silent at Yi Ling questions, absorbed in his thinking. But a smack at the back of his head is enough to break his silence.
"What?"
Nanming looked behind, rubbing the spot where he was hit by her staff.
Yi Ling stomped her foot and spoke in irritated low voice.
"Move…"
'Am I your prisoner or what?'
Nanming thinks like that, but he kept those words to himself and just complied with her words. Silently wishing for the incoming storm to not be that bad.
…
Well of course it was that bad.
The trees were swaying violently, following the violent movement of the storm in hopes of not being ripped from the ground as hail of water tore through the earth and upturned its brittle structure.
Nanming huddled in one of the sturdy trees, hoping that it would protect him from the incoming landslide.
Yi Ling however, just stood there in the middle of the storm. Unbothered by both the violent wind and the rush of water, standing still like a statue that observes Nanming every move.
It's kind of creepy, and her Rabbit mask certainly didn't help in easing off that scariness.
"There will be a landslide… hide somewhere"
Nanming warns her, he even make some space in the tree so that she can take shelter, but Yi Ling shook her head.
"I would rather die than being near you…"
She said, somehow her voice overpowered the sound of the storm and thunder.
Nanming just nod and no longer paying any attention to her. Just a second later, he could feel the ground trembling beneath, as if the thundering hooves of a thousand horses raced down the cliff.
But there is another sound, water crashing through the cliff face and sending debris down to the small river. It's a flash flood.
"…"
Nanming looked around the tree, finding a massive wave of brown water alongside mud and boulders heading straight towards him.
As the entire force of the flood crashed into the tree and caused it to topple, crushing Nanming who was beneath the tree and forced him to drown under the wave of liquid material.
He desperately tried to claw his way out of the tree's embrace, only to find himself being crushed by a boulder and pierced by a stray wood trunk.
His mouth, ears and eyes were filled with mud as it forced its way inside his body, flooding the internal organ of Nanming with whatever thing they carried.
Who knows how many times he had died at such a short amount of time, mother nature is very terrifying.
Once Nanming breach to the surface, swimming up-stream against the flash flood. He found Yi Ling calmly standing atop her staff that is firmly stuck into the ground and split the flash flood in its length.
"…"
If he knew this, Nanming would surely take refuge atop of her staff, even when she beats him because of it, it will be far less painful than if he were swept by flash flood.
Speaking of being swept away, a massive tree trunk smashed towards Nanming body and sending him down towards the runoff stream of the flash flood, carrying him like a sort of driftwood under the mercy of the tides.
Before he passes out.
.
.
.
The Crimson Palace, after the announcement that one of the Wu Clan prince died during the breach of an unknown figure.
The Wu Clan blamed this incident towards the incompetence of the Mugeon Dynasty for being unable to bring their promised peace towards Jiangnam province.
As of now, the entire Wu Clan activities has been postponed following through with the One-Hundred days mourning rite.
Wu Chen who is currently on a leave from the Academy currently resides in the manor of Lady Hwang, the death of his brother has been a massive blow to him.
His heart feels heavy, as if the concept of his own physical heart has been nothing but a burden on how much stress it exudes to his body.
Everytime he thinks about Nanming, his heart beats in sorrow, remembering his last word of promise before it was followed with grunt and scream of pain.
Is it his fault that he was killed? If he wasn't in that forest, would he not be attacked? If he didn't force him to make a promise at such a time, would he still be alive right now?
The question that continues to ravage his heart, clawing at nothing but emptiness of his self over the loss of an important someone.
Right now, he is inside the room where Nanming used to reside. Its kind of ridiculous how little traces he left here.
As if he was just a passing wind that leaves nothing but sorrow to those who it passes.
Hah!
Wu Chen must've look ridiculous right now…
…
"…"
Pitifully ridiculous.
.
.
.
"How long will you wail in sadness?"
In Lady Elina manor, Wu Lixian was also permitted to leave the Academy grounds for a while, after days of braving herself to step foot on this manor after such a long time, she was instead greeted by the scrutinizing look of her half-dead mother.
Right now, her mother sits in a wheelchair just outside of Wu Lixian bedroom. Her voice even when it was weakened didn't stop having such a heavy tone towards her.
"Stop looking so pitiful, it's just a death of someone marked for one anyway"
'…Nanming is not just someone!'
Her shouts were halted by her fear, Wu Lixian did not have any courage to defy her mother.
She continues to bury herself in her bed, muffling her own cries with pillows and blanket, she could've protected Nanming, she could've saved him… Hell, she would gladly trade her own useless life for someone like Nanming.
She could've sprint with all her might when she hea—
"For fuck sake!"
Her mother shouts, causing Wu Lixian to flinch.
"You are so fucking useless! Just stop crying already!"
Wu Lixian stifled her own tears, biting on her tongue to prevent any sound from coming out.
"Your existence is already a burden in my life… Don't make it harder with that incessant pitiful shriek!"
Wu Lixian could only cower under her shouts that reminds her of how lowly she is, of how unwanted she is… of how impulsive she is… crying like this is a bad trait of her that she can't get rid of.
"…"
She could hear her mother's wheelchair rolling away from her room, isolating her in an open cage that is her bedroom.
Yet she didn't have any power left to escape, to breath the fresh air of freedom free from any expectations and scrutiny…
Or she does have the power, it's just that she is too weak to make use of it.
Some fucking Wu Clan members she is…