(Ah Yin fan art)
In the woods outside Holy Soul Village, a rough hand pushed aside the vines.
Tang Hao ducked into the cave, his head nearly brushing the stalactites overhead.
He hadn't been here in a long time. The last time had been a few months ago, when he'd watered Ah Yin and pulled up a few weeds nearby that were competing for nutrients.
Back then, Ah Yin had been thriving. Her leaves were a brilliant blue, and her stem was thick and strong.
"It's been so long since I came to see Ah Yin."
He muttered to himself, his voice echoing through the cavern. "That brat Tang San—I don't know why he had to absorb that Lone Bamboo as a Soul Ring."
He circled a stalagmite at the cave entrance and headed deeper inside.
The loose stones crunched beneath his feet. Water droplets fell from the cave walls onto his shoulders, but he didn't wipe them away.
"Ah Yin, after I see you this time, I'll go back and take Xiao San away. I can't let that Yu Xiaogang poison him any longer."
He walked slowly, like a husband returning home after a long absence, carrying a little guilt in his heart, along with a little self-righteousness.
He felt guilty because he rarely came to visit, and self-righteous because he was out working hard for their child.
"Ah Yin, I miss you so much."
He rounded the final bend, his gaze falling on the flat stone platform.
The platform was empty.
Tang Hao stopped short. The tenderness on his face vanished as if someone had slapped it away.
He rubbed his eyes hard, then rubbed them again, and again.
"??? Ah Yin?"
There was only a shallow hollow on the platform, left behind by the roots Ah Yin