Xuan Ye, Wait for Me at Home

Saint Cai'er's grayish-white eyes narrowed slightly as she gripped the dagger at her waist.

One of the assassins stepped forward and knelt on one knee, his voice respectful.

"Saintess Your Highness, please stop being willful."

"Come back with us."

Saint Cai'er said nothing, but the aura around her grew increasingly wary.

Seeing this, another assassin sighed and spoke slowly.

"Your Highness, do you really think the peace of these past few days was something you could take for granted?"

"You've been planning a home here, roasting sweet potatoes, enjoying a brief moment of warmth. But do you know what Long Xuanye has been doing after you fall asleep?"

"On the first night, he wiped out two squads of third-tier demons, eighteen in all. The price was seven new wounds."

"On the second night, he wiped out two more squads led by fourth-tier demons. This time, he used some kind of secret technique, exhausting his Spiritual Power and damaging his internal organs."

"Last night, the enemy was even stronger. He fought on with little more than sheer will, and only managed to win after draining a fourth-tier demon's life force. When we found the battlefield, nothing remained but mangled limbs and shattered bodies."

"Every day, he changes into a clean long-sleeved shirt just to hide his new wounds."

"His fever and collapse today weren't caused by some passing chill. They were the inevitable result of pushing his body and Spiritual Power past their limits for days on end."

"Saintess Your Highness, he's been giving his life to protect what you call a 'home.'"

There was a hint of admiration in the assassin's voice. Put in the same position, he couldn't have done as well as Long Xuanye, nor could he have endured as much.

But Cai'er... was stunned.

The details she'd overlooked flooded into her mind.

Why did Xuan Ye always get up later than she did?

Why did he always wait until she was fast asleep before lying down?

Why did he sometimes seem distracted for a moment while eating?

Why did he always wear that long-sleeved shirt, so unsuited to the weather?

So... that was why.

While she was painting a beautiful future, he was fighting in the darkness, covered in blood.

While she was making him porridge and changing his bandages, feeling content that she could care for him, he was enduring pain and pressure beyond anything she could imagine.

An unbearable ache filled her heart.

Crystal-clear tears could no longer be held back. They spilled from her eyes, their light fading, and traced silent paths down her pale cheeks.

Saint Cai'er raised a hand and wiped away the tears.

The sadness and heartache vanished from her pale face, replaced by determination.

"I'm going back."

The assassin trying to persuade her furrowed his brows.

"Saintess Your Highness, please calm down!"

"You've been hiding from our Temple's pursuit, forced to scrape by in a place like this on the border. But things are different now!"

The assassin's voice grew urgent.

"Ever since that boy awakened, the demons have intensified their search. There are ten times as many sentries and patrols as before! You two can't survive out here!"

He appealed to her feelings and reason alike.

Saint Cai'er fell silent and lowered her head. Her long lashes trembled slightly, as if she were weighing something.

The assassin felt a little relieved at the sight, thinking she had listened.

After all, no matter how willful she was, the Saintess should understand what it meant to be cornered with no way out.

And yet.

In the next instant, a streak of gray light flashed!

Fast!

Faster than anything!

The assassin's pupils contracted, and every hair on his body stood on end. Without a second thought, he pushed off the ground and sprang backward!

Even so, a strand of his hair was quietly sliced off by the gray light, drifting soundlessly to the ground.

He staggered to a stop, still shaken, and only then saw that Saint Cai'er had somehow appeared right in front of him. She held the gray dagger, which was wreathed in an aura of death and rebirth that made his heart quail.

"Move."

Saint Cai'er lifted her eyes. The gray-white pupils held not a trace of warmth, only pure indifference.

"Xuan Ye is still waiting for me at home."

"Saintess, Your Highness!"

"Xuan Ye... is still waiting for me at home!"

The aura of the Reincarnation Sacred Sword made both assassins' breathing falter.

Being struck by that divine weapon was no ordinary injury.

That momentary opening was all she needed.

Saint Cai'er became a blur as she darted past them and raced back the way she had come.

She moved astonishingly fast. After a few breaths, all that remained on the forest path was a faint glimpse of her retreating figure.

The two assassins stood frozen in place.

After a moment, one of them gave a wry smile. "What do we do?"

The other—the one she had forced back—fell silent for several seconds.

"Follow her."

"We can't disobey Her Highness's orders, but at the very least... we should make sure with our own eyes that they survive."

Meanwhile.

In the clearing in front of the Thatched Hut.

The air reeked of blood.

Long Xuanye leaned on his short blade, kneeling on one knee as he panted heavily. Sweat mixed with Blood Water and ran from the corner of his forehead.

Three demon corpses lay around him, while even more demons surrounded him, their eyes glinting with cruel delight.

An especially towering demon pushed its companions aside and stepped forward.

It stood nearly three meters tall. Its skin was gray-brown like rock, covered in jagged cracks, and its arms were as thick as stone pillars.

A fifth-tier commander under Samikina, the Seventh Pillar and Rock Demon God: Rock Demon Gor.

"Stand back."

Gor's voice was deep and rough, like grinding stone.

"This human brat is mine."

Its ochre-yellow eyes fixed on the swaying boy on the ground, filled with greed and excitement.

One of the demon subordinates asked in confusion, "Lord Gor, if we attack together, we can tear him apart in an instant!"

Gor spread its wide mouth in a savage grin.

"Fools."

"Haven't you noticed? He's so young, yet already this strong. He can even slay our kind across ranks. Who else could possess talent like that, if not the human genius from the legends who awakened the power of light?"

"Even if it isn't him, he's certainly one of humanity's most promising young talents!"

Gor's voice brimmed with excitement.

"Capturing him alive—or killing him and bringing him back to the Demon God Pillar—would be a tremendous achievement!"

It took a step forward, its heavy footfall making the ground tremble slightly.

"Boy, tell me your name. Rock Demon Gor doesn't kill the nameless."

Long Xuanye slowly straightened, bracing himself on his blade. The violent rise and fall of his chest tugged at his wounds, making his face even paler.

He lifted his head, a faint glimmer of Chaos rising in his dark eyes.

"You want to know my name?"

The boy smiled, his grin edged with madness.

"Wait until you're dead, then ask Yama."

"Yama?"

Rock Demon Gor spread its wide mouth and laughed, the sound like grinding stone.

"Interesting."

"It's been a long time since I've seen a human brat with such backbone."