As the words rolled off Xiao Hu's tongue, the Wailing Life Transformation that she had comprehended kicked in, nurturing her flesh and blood energy with spinning rays of black and white light.
"Oh? Elaborate." Amused by Xiao Hu's words, Xinzi leaned in, taking a better look at his "big sister."
"Why did I not think of it before? As the God-Child of this branch, Hengye Baxian is the only legitimate heir to the previous monarch's seat. And if he's anything like his name suggests, there is no way he can tolerate either you or Yuemi's usurpation of his rights? Yet, your clan doesn't seem to care, enabling him to move and act as he sees fit. It's impressive enough that he didn't get murdered out of 'an abundance of precautions.' In what world do the overzealous fiends of this clan give him such freedom?" Xiao Hu leaned back, and her hands tightened around the sheets.
"Children don't pick their names. Though gifted, Baxian is just a peak-stage Heavenly Immortal. His battle-power is impressive, but the second to fifth elder can contend with him. Yuemi and the great elder can suppress him at will, and my true shell is also more powerful than him. Why would we invest time and energy tracking him down when we can end his existence whenever we feel like it? Also, you can't just kill a God-Child out of 'an abundance of precautions.' Baxian has an unshackled Divine Spark, and the right to climb the Divine Consecration ladder. One day, he will become a God."
"True, and just like you said, Hengye Baxian is gifted. Your Lord-Regent could infiltrate the Taiyang clan in her youth, robbed their crown princess' spark, and almost attempted to rob the August Divinity's cultivation base. Hengye Baxian already has the spark. Since you won't allow him to undergo his consecration, why can't he find other divine clans to ally with? Why can he not become a spy for the Taiyang, or perhaps other deities in Heaven? Why can he not cooperate to grow, borrow troops or other nefarious plans to finally seize back his rights?" Here, Xiao Hu paused, studying Xinzi's face—his lips arched into a smirk.
"You said it yourself. Reading a God-Child's Divine Soul, even for the elders of this clan, is no laughing matter. Unless Baxian gives them serious cause for doubts, the elders can't risk the permanent harm that his spark and soul will suffer for routine probes. Rattled by the 'what ifs,' at the very least, your clan elders should have kept him in chains. Instead, they still nurture his potential, enabling him to cultivate and grow in peace. They do so…because of your third eye." Xinzi's eyes sparkled at Xiao Hu's words. His lips spread apart, forming a fiendish grin.
"Hengye Zhen's Eye of Glorious Heaven can see through everything and read all of Baxian's secrets like an open book. Any plot that he considers, you see. So if Baxian was a threat, you'd know. The two of you didn't meet for twelve years, but outside the throne room, your third eye swept through him, enabling you to figure out all that Baxian has been up to. In the elders' ears, the warning you've given him proves that, while he likely hides treasonous thoughts, he has yet to commit a serious offense. Even in the carriage, your words followed that pattern. Giving Baxian an alibi before both the Hengye clan and thousand-faced shadow. You are Baxian's alibi, and since I refuse to believe that the man accepts this status quo…you're also his accomplice." The Wailing Life Transformation ended here, pushing Xiao Hu's blood energy past the first barrier. Her skin took a sanguine hue, and she broke through to the first-order of Blood Energy.
"Impressive. Baxian has told you all there was to know about this clan, and the near-death experience seems to have made you smarter as well. But you're making one excessive assumption here: that Baxian wants his rights back. He has told you about the Hengye clan and Hengye Zhen…not Hengye Baxian. For a young Immortal like Baxian, ten-thousand years is a long time—enough to review many priorities."
"He knows things that he shouldn't."
"And you know that because he told you so. What makes you think that all he's told you was the truth?" Still smiling at Xiao Hu, Xinzi asked. The swordswoman's jaw sank at the words. Indeed, how could she know that Baxian didn't mix truth and falsehood?
"I'm no one—nothing. He has no reason…to deceive me." Xiao Hu concluded, and for a second, Xinzi's eyes narrowed at her self-appraisal.
"He has no reason to tell you shit either. Still, he did. Why? So the invisible watchers of your struggles could get all the info about the Eternal Night Dynasty and my past? Nonsense.
You are heaven-blessed. Be it in this world or others, plenty will have a use for you. Baxian might just be one of them. For example, he told you that at my birth, I swallowed the remaining half of Shenzhuo's cultivation base as well 81 stars of the Night. That is impossible. Only the Swallowing Skill of a Primeval Devil can achieve such a feat. I'm the begotten son of Yongye and Shenzhuo, the purest form of Divine Spirit in the history of all realms. Though born from Primevals, I'm not one, and clearly not a Devil. So, where would the Swallowing Skill come from? Baxian lied with a straight face, and you believed him. Even now, you're willing to trust him more than you do me. I don't need a third eye to see that you've mental barriers against me."
"Does it matter? I'm sure you can break it all down with a finger snap." Xiao Hu sneered at Xinzi's words, unwilling to compromise.
"I lean in, you lean back. I stand nearby, you clench your sheets. You're terrified of me—and that does matter." Xinzi's smile vanished here, replaced by a blank, inscrutable look.
"Why should I not be? You brought me here so I could be one of your scapegoats, not just because of the info my soul could offer…but because I'm female." Xiao Hu stressed the 'female' part, and as she spoke, her voice grew louder.
"Xinzi, from the start you knew that keeping a human female so close to you would drive your Lord-Regent insane. You brought me so I'd drain enough of Yuemi's attention that she wouldn't examine your case thoroughly. How…cruel of you."
"You misunderstand."
"Misunderstand? The bitch could have snapped my head for a yes or a no, but I misunderstand? My dantian has turned into a volcanic eruption…but I misunderstand?!"
"Who told you that I didn't have a countermeasure planned for each lethal scenario? Your status as heaven-blessed is both scourge and shield. Knowing that, Yuemi wouldn't kill you—at least not directly."
"No one can plan for all variables! From the moment that you brought me here, a part of you had accepted the possibility that I might not survive. To say nothing of Dong Ling, even if you could guarantee that it'd serve your plans, you'd have never brought the Zhi-Zhu twins here!"
"True." Xinzi admitted in a straightforward tone, but though she knew this all along, once faced with the admission, Xiao Hu felt her heart rupture.
"True? Hengye Zhen, fuck you!"
"Again, you misunderstand. You are Heaven-Blessed. No matter how often disasters strike, destiny is always on your side. The world will not adjust because an ordinary child suffers. But it will adjust for you. That's why I'd rather keep you nearby. You will always bring me good fortune. However…" Xinzi's level tone took a lower pitch. His eyes turned cold, and he leaned closer to Xiao Hu's face.
"Don't forget how we got here in the first place. I may not care for your attempts at my life, but that's because I have a broad mind and a beautiful heart—full of warmth and kindness for the world's myriad lives. Still, the fact of the matter remains that you've tried to kill me twice. Consider that you've paid half your debt. Initially, I was going to call it square after you led me into the Green Leaf village. But truth is I can get in without you—just need to have another poor soul cultivate your Green Immortal Sword Art.
Since you can't stand our 'brotherhood' anymore, let's end it. Where do you want to go? What do you want to do? I will send you on your way. Matter of fact, if you'd like to be reborn as a privileged child of the Endless Sea, I can have the Ghost King Hall arrange it as well. Just say the word…and it's all over," Xinzi said. The words hit the swordswoman like rolling thunder. Her eyes turned red, narrowing at the monk.
"Fine! Fine! You've already played with them to your heart's content, so you might as well go all the way! I don't need you to give me squat! Erase my memories and send me on my way! Little brother Hengye, in this life or another, may we never meet again!" For the first time since forever, determination returned to Xiao Hu's gaze, and she leaned in, nearly butting heads with Xinzi.
"As you wish." Xinzi's lips curled into a final smile. One hand pressed on Xiao Hu's dantian, while the other fell on her forehead. With the left, Xinzi activated the Five Elements Transmutative Technique and Swallowing Skill, aiming to fix the dantian situation. With the right, he absorbed the swordswoman's memories.
…
In a colorful festival with brash laughter, merchant stalls and floating lanterns all around, backed into a corner, a slender pretty boy was getting mauled by five young masters.
"Xia Hu, you good-for-nothing son of a bitch, how dare you stick so close to our sect's goddesses?!"
"Humph! A toad wanting to eat swan meat! You deserve to be damned!"
"A waste should have a waste's demeanor, know your place!"
"Sorry…sorry…I'm…sorry!" Clubbing blows upon clubbing blows slammed into the pretty boy, who held his head, begging for forgiveness. At that time, a young monk waltzed into the scene, hands joined in a prayer sign.
"The Golden Lotus be praised. Five fourth to sixth-level Qi Refinement disciples ganging up on someone that's still at the first level—at a festival at that. Don't you feel ashamed of being alive?"
"Bastard monk! Who the hell do you think you are?"
"I am a son of the royal Shui clan. If you don't shut up and…wait, why does he look…familiar?"
"My humble self is Xinzi, of the Clear Heart monastery. Since you seem so eager to admit your mistakes, allow me to give you a chance at…Penitence."
"No, it's the genius monk! Run aw…" All five White Immortal sect disciples tumbled, lost in Xinzi's word of penitence. That settled, our monk stepped towards the badly bruised lad, leaning against the tree that Xia Hu's back laid on.
"Usually, I don't meddle with other people's business, but you looked so pathetic that I couldn't help myself. Why are you apologizing when you're the one getting beat up?"
"I'm…I'm not apologizing to them. I'm apologizing to myself for…for being so useless. I just…sometimes I just wish that…that I wasn't born a man so I could rely on others without…without feeling so ashamed. But it's fine. I will keep trying. I will…get better," Xia Hu said, biting his lips to restrain the tears.
"A fellow determined to struggle, how queer. Fine, this tribute festival is the same every year and is starting to bore me. If you need someone to help you keep your face intact, Brother Xinzi is here." Not long afterward, Chun Xu and Dong Ling would join the two. The rest…is history.
…
Both Xinzi and Xiao Hu remembered how they met. Tears streamed down Xiao Hu's eyes, then the memory vanished from her mind….alongside all the rest.
