Reunion with Meimu

I'm trying to find a way to land the finishing blow!

Li Ke turned his head and saw Meimu, who was clearly panting from running at full speed. Summoning strength from who knows where, he didn't even bother to fix his belt; he simply leaned on Yone's sword and trudged toward her.

Having just survived a brush with death, he felt an overwhelming sense of security upon seeing Meimu. And where did that sense of security come from?

The demon he had risked his life to kill had been decapitated by Meimu with a single kick and a spell. Wasn't this damn sense of security exactly what he needed?

"Meimu! You finally made it! Look! She's the demon you were looking for!"

Li Ke's stumbling gait and his half-undone belt made Meimu's eye twitch. When they first met, she had thought him a steady, dignified young swordsman.

But her intuition had been right all along—this guy was just as much of a wild boar as her daughter, Akali!

Still, she walked over, helped Li Ke sit on the ground, and after a quick scan of the battlefield, produced a vial of medicine and a paper talisman.

"Drink this, quickly."

After handing him the medicine specifically formulated to treat internal injuries and replenish vitality and spirit, Meimu took out the talisman and began chanting before him.

Magical energy rapidly converged in Meimu's hands. Drawing upon the surrounding flora, she channeled their vitality to gather enough life force for her spell.

"Akrasorn!"

With the final word of the incantation, a green light erupted from her hands, enveloping them both. As Li Ke swallowed the medicine, he immediately felt a strange, stinging sensation.

A warm, refreshing energy flowed from outside his body into his core, soothing his wounds and internal damage. Once it touched the medicine already in his system, the effect became unstoppable; it activated the elixir, sending a cool sensation radiating from his stomach throughout his entire body.

"Oh, oh, oh!!"

Despite being in this world for over a decade, this was the first time Li Ke had ever been healed like this! He let out an embarrassing cry of excitement, causing Meimu to raise an eyebrow once more.

Li Ke, oblivious to her expression, quickly opened his status panel. He watched his vitality skyrocket like a rocket, finally settling at 100 once Meimu stopped the spell. Even his spirit energy, fueled by the medicine, began to climb rapidly.

It rose much faster than his vitality; no sooner had he noticed it climbing than it hit the cap of 140 and pushed right past it.

156/140.

The number kept climbing, and Li Ke felt it wouldn't stop until the medicine's effects wore off.

"There, I've saved your life. It's better to let the remaining injuries heal on their own; this kind of magic... isn't meant to be cast too often."

Meimu paused at the end. It wasn't that she couldn't fully heal him with magic, but the tenets of her order forbade it.

She had drawn away a portion of the local life force, and while she had compensated with her own magic, continuing to draw more would lead to an imbalance.

Her order's core tenet was the preservation of equilibrium; she could not intentionally create an imbalance. This was precisely why disciples of the Kinkou Order were sometimes viewed as cold and heartless.

When Kinkou disciples saved lives, they used magic without hesitation, but only on the condition that it did not disrupt the local balance.

Once a certain threshold was reached, even if their own brothers or sisters were dying before them, they could not use more magic, or they would violate the very essence of their order.

This was the Iron Law of the Kinkou. It was cruel, but it was a truth proven by centuries of blood and tears; the philosophies of other lands were ill-suited for this magic-rich soil.

Fortunately, Li Ke was lucky. The magic and vitality here were abundant, so Meimu's spell hadn't broken the law, but that was as far as it went. Any further, and she would have crossed the line.

"I get it, I get it. Equilibrium, right?"

Li Ke gave Meimu a thumbs-up, his bright smile full of the joy of surviving death. Meimu shook her head with a smile. Although he shared the same reckless personality as her daughter, she didn't dislike it—in fact, she found she quite liked seeing someone like Li Ke wear such a pure... well, mindless grin.

Meimu was startled by her own thoughts. There weren't many people she admired, and after a moment of reflection, she reached a conclusion.

"Perhaps it's because this guy knows his limits, unlike Akali who just causes trouble?"

She knew well that the same personality could manifest differently in different people. Once she was sure Li Ke's injuries were stable, she turned her gaze toward the girl who was still breathing faintly.

"This is... the mask has been removed?"

Frowning, Meimu looked at Li Ke, who was currently hyperactive from the excess spirit energy, and gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head.

Their Kinkou medicine could restore spirit energy, but it contained no stimulants. Li Ke's excitement only proved that this was his true nature, brought to the surface by the overflow of energy.

It was nothing like the artificial high caused by stimulants.

She walked over to examine the girl. She could no longer sense any magical power on her, only a long, bloody gash across her face.

She hesitated, looking at the girl's sleeping face, then turned her back to Li Ke and drew her kunai.

Even if the demon had been purged, a person whose heart had been cracked would only be a matter of time before another demon found them, provided they couldn't find peace.

And next time, the demon she transformed into would only be stronger.

The scent of blood filled the air, causing Li Ke, still buzzing from the excess energy, to stop smiling and look at Meimu.

He didn't feel pity for the girl. While demons played a part in the evil deeds of those they possessed or tempted, the person's own thoughts were always involved.

So, even though the girl had been tempted by a demon, she had truly wanted to kill him. He wouldn't have hesitated to finish her off himself.

He was just a bit concerned about her state of mind. He had been left with some psychological trauma from the demon himself; if he hadn't shattered the mask and triggered a weakness-exploit, he would have been dead and buried.

Thus, just as Meimu was about to ask how Li Ke had managed to shatter the mask with ordinary steel, Li Ke spoke up.

"Are you really just going to..."

"Set your mind at ease. They fell to darkness of their own accord."

Meimu froze. In all her years as the Fist of Shadow, no one had ever dared to question her like this!

She glared at Li Ke, her kunai spinning in her hand.

"Are you worried about me, kid?"