"Xiaotian, you're awake?" Tiaopi's clear voice rang with relief, his tone brightening as he noticed Yu Xiao's eyes flutter open after being unconscious for what felt like an eternity.
Yu Xiao's eyelids felt heavy, her vision blurred at the edges.
She tried to lift herself, but her arms trembled violently, barely supporting her weight.
Her body felt like it had been hollowed out, drained of all strength.
With great effort, she managed to prop herself against something solid—the rough bark of a massive tree trunk pressed against her back.
"Where am I?"
The words left her lips in a hoarse whisper as she struggled to focus on her surroundings.
A tiny spark of light suddenly darted before her eyes.
Tiaopi materialized, hovering anxiously in front of her face, her ethereal form flickering with concern.
"I was so worried about you. Thankfully, you're awake," Tiaopi said, his small voice wavering with emotion.
Yu Xiao slowly lifted her face, squinting upward.
Through the haze of exhaustion, she saw a thick canopy of ancient branches stretching overhead, their gnarled limbs twisted together like protective arms.
Wonder flickered across her pale features despite her weakened state.
"What is this place? How did I end up here?"
Tiaopi's glow dimmed slightly, as if recalling something troubling.
"You fainted. I sensed that your meridians were unstable—dangerously so—so I came out immediately."
He paused, her light pulsing with agitation.
"When I emerged, I saw Xuelang Lingzu outside, shoving at your head, trying to rouse you. Then the old man appeared. He approached us and helped you withdraw from that place. He said, we needed to get you away as quickly as possible, before the central domain warriors arrived."
Yu Xiao's brow furrowed, confusion clouding her exhausted expression.
"The old man also concealed your internal force," Tiaopi continued, his tone more reassuring now. "He helped mask your aura completely. At this point, they won't be able to find us—we're untraceable."
A shaky breath escaped Yu Xiao's lips as the gravity of their situation slowly sank in. Her fingers curled weakly against the earth beneath her, feeling the damp soil and scattered leaves.
"Then, Xuelang Lingzu—where is he?" Yu Xiao's voice cracked with sudden urgency, her eyes widening as she tried to push herself more upright, only to wince from the sharp pain that lanced through her body.
"Xuelang Lingzu is safe, rest assured," Tiaopi said quickly, his light pulsing soothingly as he floated closer. "Young Master Xue Wuya will find us soon. I let Xuelang Lingzu leave to deliver the news to him."
A flicker of relief crossed Yu Xiao's pallid face, and she slumped back against the tree trunk, her breath coming in shallow gasps.
Tiaopi's glow dimmed, taking on a more somber hue. He drifted lower, his voice dropping to something almost accusatory, laced with worry.
"Xiaotian... what exactly happened? Why were you so gravely injured?"
Yu Xiao's gaze fell to her lap, unable to meet even the spirit's ethereal presence.
"Recently, I sensed your internal force spiraling out of control," Tiaopi continued, his tone growing more distressed. "I tried to emerge, to help you, but I was being cornered—blocked somehow. I couldn't get out of your body no matter how hard I struggled."
His light flickered erratically, as if reliving the panic of that moment.
"When I finally managed to break free, you were already passed out. There was so much blood, Xiaotian—on your clothes, smeared across your face, coating your hands..."
Tiaopi's voice trembled, the tiny spirit visibly shaken.
"What happened to you out there?"
Yu Xiao's fingers twitched, and she slowly raised one trembling hand before her face.
Even now, faint rust-colored stains lingered beneath her fingernails and in the creases of her palm. Her expression twisted with something between anguish and confusion, as if she herself wasn't entirely sure of the answer.
Pressing her eyes shut, Yu Xiao released a shaky, exhausted breath. Her hand moved instinctively to her chest, fingers clutching at the fabric as a sharp, lingering pain throbbed beneath her ribs—a torment that refused to fade.
Suddenly, an image erupted in her mind, vivid and unrelenting.
She saw herself—her own face, twisted and unrecognizable, streaked with blood. Her eyes in that vision burned with a deadly, feral intensity she didn't recognize.
In her hands, a sword rose and fell with brutal force, again and again.
The blood that now soaked her robes was the same blood she saw in that terrible vision, splattered across her arms, dripping from the blade.
Her eyes snapped open, wide with horror. Her breathing quickened, shallow and erratic.
Did I really kill those warriors?
Her mind recoiled from the thought, desperately trying to reject it.
This can't be! It's impossible!
But the evidence was undeniable.
She looked down at herself—at the dark, dried stains covering her clothes, at the crimson smears still clinging to her skin.
The sight made her stomach twist violently.
A wave of anguish crashed over her, and before she could stop it, hot tears spilled from her eyes, streaming down her dirt-streaked cheeks.
The memories struck her like physical blows, fragmented but damning. Her chest heaved as a sob caught in her throat.
"I am a criminal."
The words left her lips in a broken whisper, her voice trembling uncontrollably. Her hands shook as she stared at them, as if they belonged to someone else—someone capable of unspeakable things.
"Feng Xiaotian, don't cry. Settle yourself first."
Tiaopi's voice wavered with worry, his light flickering anxiously around Yu Xiao's tear-stained face.
Yu Xiao roughly wiped at her face with the back of her hand, smearing the mixture of tears and dirt across her cheeks.
As she tried to steady her breathing, her senses sharpened.
Through the sound of her own ragged breaths, she caught it—a faint, gentle babbling.
The hushed melody of flowing water, somewhere close by.
"There's water nearby," she murmured, her voice still thick with emotion.
But the words seemed to ground her, pulling her back from the edge of despair. Her sobbing ceased abruptly, replaced by grim determination.
She pressed her palms flat against the rough tree bark and pushed herself upward.
Her legs nearly buckled beneath her weight, trembling violently.
The world tilted dangerously, and she had to grip the trunk to keep from collapsing.
Dizziness washed over her in waves, and the persistent pain in her chest flared with each movement.
Still, she gritted her teeth and forced herself to stand, swaying but upright.
"Where are you going?" Tiaopi asked, alarm creeping into his tone as he darted in front of Yu Xiao's face.
"I need to see myself first," Yu Xiao replied hoarsely, her jaw set with resolve despite the pallor of her skin.
Without waiting for a response, she took an unsteady step forward, then another, one hand reaching out to brace against nearby trees as she stumbled toward the sound of running water.
Each step was a battle against her weakened body, but she pressed on, driven by a desperate need to confront what she had become.
After a desperate search through the underbrush, she finally found it—a clear brook, its water glinting in the filtered sunlight that broke through the canopy above.
Without a second thought, without any consideration for her injuries or weakened state, Yu Xiao stumbled forward and plunged herself directly into the stream.
The cold water hit her like a shock, stealing her breath, but she didn't care.
Her hands moved frantically, scrubbing at her skin, her clothes, anywhere the blood had dried and clung to her like damning evidence.
She was trembling—whether from the icy water or the horror consuming her mind, she couldn't tell anymore.
Tears streamed down her face, mixing with the water that rushed around her.
They came unbidden, unstoppable, as fragmented images assaulted her mind again and again.
The sword in her hand.
The bodies are falling.
The blood—so much blood.
Each memory was a knife twisting deeper into her conscience.
This is horrible!
The thought screamed through her mind as her hands scrubbed harder, almost violently, as if she could wash away not just the blood but the terrible truth of what she had done.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the water around her ran clear.
The crimson stains were gone, dissolved into the current and carried away downstream.
She dragged herself out of the brook, water streaming from her soaked clothes and hair, her body shaking uncontrollably.
As she stood there, dripping and gasping, her gaze fell to her hand.
Relief flickered through the darkness of her thoughts—her spatial ring was still there, secured on her finger, its metal surface gleaming wetly.
At least she could summon fresh clothes from within it, something clean and untainted to replace the blood-soaked garments that now clung heavily to her frame, a constant reminder of her sins.
After a few moments, she had settled herself.
She now wore a plain black robe—simple and unadorned, the same one she had chosen to wear when she first left Fenglin Town, rejecting the more ornamental garments she could have taken.
Its familiar weight against her skin brought a small measure of comfort, a reminder of simpler times before everything had spiraled into chaos.
She glanced down at herself, taking in the clean fabric, her hands no longer stained with crimson.
The sight brought a fragile sense of relief, and she felt the crushing weight on her chest ease ever so slightly.
It wasn't much, but it was something—a small step back toward feeling human again.
Her gaze shifted to the bloodied robes lying in a crumpled heap at her feet.
The once-decent garment was now ruined, saturated with dark, dried blood that told a story she wished she could forget.
Her expression hardened.
With a deliberate motion, she kicked the soiled clothing aside, leaving it discarded beside the brook where the water could slowly claim it.
She turned her back on it, refusing to look at it any longer.
The physical evidence might be gone from her body, but the memories—those would not wash away so easily.