Back in the boulder-infested expanse, Zheng Xie strolled slowly with both hands clasped neatly behind his back. Each carried upon its surface strange etchings, carvings depicting various stories.
Behind him, Chu Fu followed in silence. Her steps were small, hesitant, and her head remained bowed low. The crunch of gravel beneath her feet was the only sound daring to accompany Zheng Xie's languid pace.
The man's fingers brushed idly against one of the carvings as he passed, tracing the weathered grooves with absentminded precision. A tired sigh escaped his lips.
"Have you paid attention to these carvings, lady?" he asked at last, his tone soft and smooth.
Chu Fu stiffened at his sudden question. Her body flinched before her mind caught up, betraying the instinctive fear she tried desperately to keep hidden. She hesitated, then slowly raised her eyes toward the very stone Zheng Xie gestured to.
There were indeed markings carved into its weather-beaten face—twisting lines, broken figures, distorted images of men and beasts. Yet she shook her head after a brief pause, her voice faint.
"No… I have not, senior."
"Hmm." Zheng Xie hummed in thought, the sound low and thoughtful. "You should have… The story written into these stones… don't you find it eerily similar to your own tale?"
Her heart jolted at the words, though her face betrayed only a faint frown. She bit her lip, then forced her voice out in cautious restraint. "How so?" But the tone was too sharp.
Immediately she realized her mistake, and fear coiled like ice around her chest. Her next words came out meek and trembling, submissive in their retreat. "I mean… Can you please explain that to me? I lack the capacity to see what you mean."
A faint smile tugged at Zheng Xie's lips. He raised his hand and placed it lightly atop her head, patting her as though she were but a child fumbling in ignorance. "Why not?" he said casually, as though the entire exchange were nothing more than idle gossip. He withdrew his hand, then gestured to the boulder before them.
The carving depicted a lone figure, encircled by dark tendrils that writhed and coiled, latching hungrily onto their flesh. The figure's hands clawed madly at its own body, tearing skin in frantic despair. Its face was contorted—anguish, shame, and helplessness.
"See this person, swallowed in these black tendrils?" Zheng Xie asked softly, his tone unchanging. "Do you not think… it resembles you?"
Chu Fu's brow furrowed, confusion mingled with unease. "How so? I… I cannot see any resemblance." Her words were spoken with outward submission, but her heart beat like a drum in her chest.
Zheng Xie merely nodded, his gaze still upon the carving. "From what I see, these tendrils are not merely external chains. They are the embodiment of one's own suppressed emotions… festering, feeding, suffocating. And here—" his finger hovered over the gouged lines where the figure clawed at itself, "—is self-loathing, made visible. The act of tearing at one's own flesh… is the manifestation of hating what one has become."
The words slid into Chu Fu's ears like venom. She felt the hairs at the nape of her neck rise.
"My… suffocating and suppressed thoughts?" The question slipped out before she realized, a reflex born of trembling recognition.
Zheng Xie turned toward her, and for the briefest moment his eyes gleamed with a knowing light. He smiled with a serenity that made his words all the more suffocating. "Yes. Precisely. Your thoughts of wanting that boy. Your thoughts of desiring, of claiming, the boy who gives his admiration to another. And then, your hatred… not toward her, not even toward him, but toward yourself. You hate yourself for being this way, yet you cannot stop. That contradiction breeds the loathing I speak of. The same clawing of flesh you see etched here."
Chu Fu's breath faltered. Her lips parted, but no sound came out. The truth she had tried so hard to bury lay bare before her, stripped and pinned down by the calm voice of the man beside her.
Seeing her tremble, Zheng Xie leaned closer, brushing against her senses as his voice dropped to a whisper in her ear.
"You were happy… when that girl was nearly killed by my hand, weren't you?"
The air froze.
Chu Fu's lungs burned. A coldness spread down her back as though icy water were being poured over her spine. Her lips quivered, desperate to form words, but her tongue betrayed her.
'You know,' Zheng Xie thought silently as he watched her, 'that every syllable I speak is truth. Without lies in your nature, you cannot deny me. You are trapped… unable to speak, unable to refute.'
Her trembling shoulders gave him all the answer he required.
Zheng Xie chuckled lightly, pulling away. His voice regained its smooth, casual lilt, as though nothing had been spoken at all. "Forget about it," he said with an almost playful tone. "Perhaps I'm only projecting what I myself would have done. Aren't you a righteous child? Surely you would never harbor such demonic thoughts… would you?"
Chu Fu stood straight as if someone had nailed her to the ground. Her chest rose and fell in shallow breaths, but not even the trembling of her shoulders betrayed her inner storm. Only her head moved, slowly, rigidly, as she nodded in affirmation to his words.
"Hahahaha," Zheng Xie's laughter rang out. He waved his sleeve as though brushing away her silence and turned around, his steps unhurried. "See, I was merely projecting. Forget my words, girl. They were nothing but the ramblings of a demon who delights in torment. C'mon now, follow me. Let's venture around. This island is unfamiliar to me, I have yet to set foot beyond these stones. Be my guide."
Chu Fu blinked, her mind snapping back to the present. She had been rooted to the ground too long, and the sudden shift of the demon's tone tugged her back into motion. She finally overcame her stupor and forced her legs to move, steps light and careful as she trailed after him. "Sorry to disappoint you, but… even I have not explored this island fully. We only arrived here the day before."
"Hmm." Zheng Xie hummed, stroking his chin. His expression betrayed no surprise, only the faintest glimmer of amusement. "No matter. Let us both venture forth together. Having the company of a beautiful girl as my fellow traveler would hardly be a misfortune, would it?"
Chu Fu curled her lips into a smile, a perfect arc that matched the grace of her face, but her eyes were like still water . "Yes… then, please lead the way."
Her steps were steady, her composure flawless, yet beneath the surface, her mind churned. Zheng Xie's words had dug into her like hooks, barbs she could not dislodge. They echoed again and again inside her heart, carrying with them a bitter truth she had long known but buried deep inside her.
'He wasn't lying… I was happy. Truly happy that Sister Ming was attacked.'
Her mind leapt back to hours ago, to the moment when she had been held within Brother Huan's arms. His warmth had encircled her like a protective barrier, a comfort she had hungered for yet dared not speak aloud. It had been so intoxicating, so utterly pleasurable that she wished the embrace had never ended.
But then—Bao had intervened. Bao, with her alchemical knowledge, had ruined it all.
'That stupid Bao! She had to show off right then, giving everyone hope. If Ming had died back then… if she had bled out on the ground while Bao was absent… ah, how blissful it would have been.'
Her lips curled bitterly at her own thoughts. 'No, I can't think like this. How wretched I am… to harbor such hatred toward one who is both friend and sister. But… isn't it the truth? I love her and yet I despise her, I wish for her life yet yearn for her death. I am such a twisted thing.'
But self-loathing mattered little now. The reality was cruel and simple: all of their lives hung by a thread. Not just Ming's, but everyone's on Bao's ability to heal. If Bao faltered, if Ming succumbed to her wounds, the entire group would crumble. Their fates were chained together, for better or worse.
Even her beloved Brother Huan… even she herself…
Her nails dug faint crescents into her palms as a desperate thought took root in her mind. 'Is there truly nothing I can do? Nothing to carve a path where only Huan and I survive? This demon… no, this man before me. Surely there must be something he desires, something that could bind him. If I can lure him, if I can offer what he seeks, perhaps he would favor us. Perhaps he would spare us when the rest fall.'
Her gaze lingered on his back, on the black-robed figure who walked with the unhurried confidence. She clenched her teeth. 'Yes. I must find it. I must discover what he covets the most.'
"Miss," Zheng Xie's voice cut through her storming thoughts, carrying a friendly lilt that contrasted sharply with the weight of his presence. "If your mind has wandered enough into the heavens, perhaps you would care to descend back to the mortal realm."
Chu Fu's face flushed red, her composure finally cracking. She dipped her head, strands of hair slipping forward to shield her embarrassment. "I… I am deeply sorry for my behavior. I will not repeat it."
Then, raising her chin with newfound determination, she met his gaze with unwavering eyes. "What is it that you require of me?"
Zheng Xie paused, stroking his chin in mock contemplation. His gaze swept her from head to toe. He hummed long and low. "For the time being… nothing much. Merely, step under the shade of this boulder."
He pointed upward with a single forefinger.
Above him, a massive slab of stone floated in the air, turning lazily, suspended by invisible threads of qi. Casting cool shade beneath its wide breadth, shielding him from the blistering heat of the twin suns that scorched the island.
Chu Fu's pupils contracted sharply, her breath catching in her throat. 'Infusing qi into objects, commanding them to obey one's will… only cultivators who have stepped into the Core Formation Realm can achieve such a feat. That means… at the bare minimum… his cultivation surpasses ours by an entire realm.'
Her heart thudded like a war drum, each beat pushing her deeper into panic and resolve. Her makeshift plan, the desperate notion of binding Zheng Xie to her side, flared brighter, fanned by the undeniable proof of his strength.
There was no certainty he would uphold any bargain. He was not bound by honor nor an oath. He had no ties with them.
No, if she wanted safety, she would have to create her own tether. Something strong enough that Zheng Xie would not abandon his promise—or, at the very least, would hesitate to kill her and Brother Huan.
Her lips pressed into a thin line as her mind whirled. 'What does such a demon desire? Power? Beauty? Loyalty? Or perhaps something deeper…?'
She stepped beneath the shade, her heart already calculating, her soul bracing itself for the gamble that might save her life… or damn it forever.