Xu Qing looked at Xue Yuncui as she stabbed the sword all the way through her head. Then she stepped back, pale faced. Xue Yuncui slipped into death, and Xu Qing stood there silently.
Meng Hao looked at her and then walked up next to her. Together, they sat down. The vines dragged Xue Yuncui’s body down into the ground and began to devour it.
The moon hung high in the sky, and everything was quiet. No one had noticed the ripples of battle magic; after all, this Blessed Land was a very large place.
“First time?” asked Meng Hao. Their shadows overlapped in the moonlight.
She was quiet for a while before nodding.
“The first time I killed someone, my heart was troubled for quite a while,” he said softly. As he looked at her, images from the Reliance Sect floated into his mind.
A breeze passed by, cleaning away the stench of blood. Xu Qing’s hair curled up, brushing against Meng Hao’s face. It was hard to tell whether it wrapped around his face, or his heart.
“Was it after the Sect disbanded?” asked Xu Qing, turning her head to look at him. Her face was pale, but to Meng Hao, it was beautiful.
He remembered the night years ago when he had escorted her back to the East Mountain. As he’d watched her walking away from him, he’d thought to himself that he wouldn’t mind marrying her 1.
It was a memory from years ago, such a long time ago. It was hard to determine whether or not it was simply the idling of youth.
“Actually, it was inside the Sect,” said Meng Hao with a smile. He felt relaxed. This Blessed Land was a dangerous place, but for some reason he felt at ease, as if he were back in the Reliance Sect, on top of the East Mountain, standing beneath the moon.
“Oh?” said Xu Qing, looking shocked. She stared at Meng Hao, temporarily forgetting to cover her face with coldness.
To Meng Hao, her blank look was filled with beauty. It was very different from the Elder Sister Xu from his memories. Coldness was unapproachable; but her numb look now made her seem very dear.
Meng Hao laughed.