Chapter 60: The Moon

He had originally thought that an emotion like "pity" would never appear within him.

Vane knew himself to be cold-hearted; watching others suffer, their skin torn and flesh gushing, it was already a testament to his conscience if he didn't feel pleasure, let alone "pity."

But at this moment, as he looked at the hand resting on his thigh, applying the ointment bit by bit, seeing the skin that should have been soft and delicate now riddled with cracks and scars, his heart felt as if it were submerged in a thick swamp, a suffocating dullness that made it hard to breathe.

What was this emotion? It was utterly alien.

In the past, when he saw her injured, the thought of retaliating against whoever hurt her ten thousand times over usually dominated his mind. Like her, he believed that non-fatal wounds were not worth fussing over; Vane was simply more vindictive. Therefore, this feeling of softness was truly strange.

—

What about the wound on her arm?

The youth's gaze involuntarily drifted to Zora’s left arm.

Zora, lying on the bed and feeling bored, thought of the corpse from today. She turned her head and asked, "Is killing and torturing people really that fun?"

The moment she spoke, Vane reacted as if he had been burned, instantly averting his gaze and looking back at her bandaged hand. It took him a heartbeat to realize what she had asked.

"...Fun? I'm not sure."

Zora countered, "But you look quite happy every time you kill, don't you? The slower you kill, the happier you seem. Every time you go to deal with someone, it takes a long, long time. It must be because torturing people is fun that you like doing it, right?"

"..." He snapped back to his senses completely, paused, and gave an ambiguous answer, "I suppose so."

Zora took this as an admission and said, "It's a pity the demonic cultivator’s body was contaminated. I'll try again next time."

Vane looked into the girl's amber eyes, his long lashes fluttering. He asked unobtrusively, "...Do you want to play the way I like to play?"

Zora saw no reason to deny it: "Yeah."

He didn't say anything more, but instead let out a soft laugh. Zora looked over in confusion. The youth’s laugh was full of genuine pleasure. He lowered his head to help her fix her sleeve; his lashes were crow-black and slightly curved—at first glance, they looked like straight, fine needles, like small brushes that made his eyes appear fleetingly sharp and fierce.

He didn't explain the reason for his laugh, instead bringing up another point.

"Contaminated?"

Zora: "Liyu said demonic cultivators are saturated with demonic aura; their flesh and bone are useless."

Given that Vane came from the Demon Realm, shouldn't he know more?

Zora: "You tell me."

Her tone was slightly commanding.

Vane naturally followed her lead: "Not all of it. When people say they are 'useless,' they mean they are useless to immortals. Demonic aura and spiritual energy are inherently different, as are the flow of meridians during cultivation. To an immortal, a demonic cultivator’s corpse is just a waste of a body—however, the sensation of killing a demonic cultivator is the same as a human's. The blood is warm, the bones are hard; they also struggle, cry, and beg for mercy."

He spoke on, recalling the demonic cultivators who had perished at his hands, his descriptions becoming increasingly specific. He couldn't remember their faces—nor was there a need to—Vane only remembered the feeling at those moments.

Joyful, comfortable, as if it were exactly what he was meant to do.

After a long while.

Zora, who had started to space out while listening: "........."

He was describing it so in detail; was he giving a full recommendation?

His killing style was different from Zora’s. He was very particular about the human body’s structure; after all, if one wanted to keep the other person alive while making them beg for mercy and ensuring they couldn't fight back, one had to master the degree of force perfectly. Vane had a deep understanding of the human body; he knew exactly what would cause a quick death and what would slow the process down. He knew where it hurt most without being fatal, and where to strike to paralyze the body.

Organs and bones, muscles and vessels—looking at a person was no different to him than looking at a piece of meat.

Zora was different. She only needed to know where the vital points were; she didn't learn the flashy stuff.

Vane, whose methods were judged as "flashy" by Zora, suddenly stopped talking.

Zora’s hand was still resting on his thigh. No one brought it up; one didn't care, and the other secretly didn't want to. Seeing him stop, Zora tapped his leg with her finger.

Vane pursed his lips and said in a low voice, "...Someone is coming."

Zora: "?"

She wasn't as vigilant as Vane, nor did she have the habit of releasing her spiritual sense. She only perceived the villager when they approached the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

The person knocked with extreme caution and said respectfully, "Immortals, our celebration is about to begin. The Goddess invites you both to take your seats."

Vane looked at Zora. She nodded, and only then did he reply, "Thank you, we understand. We'll be there shortly."

The person immediately complied and left the courtyard. He stole a quiet glance at the house next door, which the immortals claimed had been accidentally destroyed during cultivation.

As expected of immortals; a casual move can destroy such a sturdy house, let alone a person.

Inside.

Zora stood up, "Let's go."

Vane stood up accordingly: "Mhm."

The so-called celebration was just many tables and benches set out together. The villagers gathered here to celebrate, the tables laden with dishes. Every household in the village had contributed; those who could cook prepared their signature dishes, and the atmosphere was joyous.

When the two arrived, Liyu was wearing her mask and sitting at the head table. The mouth of the mask had a mechanism that could be slid down to reveal her mouth.

"When do you plan to return to the sect?" Liyu asked Zora softly.

Zora: "Leaving as soon as I finish eating."

Liyu: "I see..."

She said solemnly once more, "Thank you both for today. I have no precious items to give you, but I hope you will not reject these two jade pendants."

She handed a pair of pendants to Zora and Vane. It was originally a single piece of jade with a mind-clearing effect that could also store a tiny amount of items. Liyu had split it in two; the break in the middle was very neat, turning the circular pendant into two semi-circles.

"Thank you."

Zora took it. The jade felt cold to the touch. she held it up, and under the moonlight, it became transparent and beautiful. A fish with an ink-colored tail and a transparent silhouette was swimming leisurely inside the jade. Being stared at by Zora, it seemed flustered, its tail wagging faster as it swam back and forth in the narrow semi-circular pendant.

Vane looked down at his pendant. The fish's tail was also ink-colored, but it remained motionless under his gaze, only occasionally flicking its tail lazily.

It was a pair with hers.

The youth looked up and smiled: "Thank you, Fellow Daoist Liyu."

...

He really is happy.

Liyu thought to herself, a smile on her face: "There's no need. You were the ones who helped so much."

The two mature socialites exchanged polite and appropriate pleasantries, while Zora stood alone in the middle watching the fish. She shook the pendant, causing the fish inside to scurry around in terror. When the fish stopped, she shook it again.

The fish scurried again.

She shook again.

The fish scurried again.

She shook again.

The fish... the fish got used to it and stopped moving.

These were Snow-Mud Fish, capable of absorbing a portion of the wearer's heavy worries and sorrows. They were rare in the cultivation world, making them exceptionally expensive and hard to find.

The food was set, and the crowd was noisy, chatting away in high spirits. Zora, who had sat down first, had her right hand bandaged in gauze. She used her left hand to pick up a piece of pastry and ate it slowly.

A villager enthusiastically poured them each a cup of clear liquor. Zora didn't pay attention and downed it in one gulp, immediately coughing from the spice of it.

Vane, who had just returned, patted her back: "This is alcohol."

He replaced her cup with clear water.

Vane didn't eat much; he spent the entire time serving her like a servant, picking out food and refilling her water without missing a beat. A villager who had been nervously waiting to serve the immortals suddenly relaxed.

He realized... there was absolutely nothing for him to do. That immortal was doing a more perfect job than any servant; there was no room for him to interfere...

The celebration of unknown name ended. Zora and Vane packed up and walked out of the village. Under the moonlight, Zora looked at her injured hand and suddenly turned back.

Vane: "What is it?"

Zora said honestly: "I don't know. I just feel like I want to see Liyu again."

"Is it a sense of lingering attachment?"

"Maybe."

After all, Liyu was about to die, and they would never see her again.

"..."

Vane gazed at her quietly. His face was normal, but his eyes were exceptionally still, not missing a single trace of her expression: "Then let's go take one last look."

Zora went back and stood in a tree watching from afar. Those villagers were actually kneeling in unison. Liyu was alone, disappearing into the woods where she usually lived. Only after Liyu left did those villagers begin to hold back their sobs.

"Don't be too sad. The Goddess said this is a 'Happy Passing.' How many people can have a Happy Passing? Our Goddess is a lucky one. We also have the ability to stand on our own feet. The treasures and methods she left behind are enough for us to resist monsters. The Goddess... she is at peace," the successor to the village head said. His face was also covered in tears, and though he didn't sob, the tears fell involuntarily.

Everyone present had been watched over as they grew up by the Goddess. In their hearts, the cultivation world was as far away as the moon, but the Goddess was as close as the leaves overhead.

Zora watched for a moment, then shifted her gaze toward the forest. She flew off on her sword. Vane stopped at the edge of the forest, arms crossed as he stood guard. He paid no mind to the weeping in his ears, staring down at a blade of grass on the ground.

Zora was like a naive youth who had just entered the world, possessing her own set of behaviors and thoughts. She had only just learned new things, but those new things didn't mean she had to learn to be exactly like ordinary people. Even in the face of a lingering farewell, she wasn't sad like others.

Vane laughed to himself and looked up at the night sky. She was like the moon, still hanging in the sky, but the moonlight was finally willing to let a little fall, and her gaze was cast down. She would, of course, always hang high, with no need to fall into the mortal dust; it was just that travelers needed her moonlight to see her position and race toward the moon.

In the woods, Liyu sat on a stone, her white bird mask looking flawless under the moonlight. Zora walked out and stood in place, looking in confusion at Liyu, who was gazing at the moon, then followed her gaze to look at it as well.

What a round moon,

Zora thought.

Liyu: "Why did you come back?"

Zora spoke the truth: "Because I couldn't bear to let you go, so I wanted to watch you die."

"...Oh my," Liyu let out a laugh. "So blunt. But there's nothing much to see in death... Fellow Daoist Zora, you aren't sad either."

Zora frowned: "What is there to be sad about?"

She simply wanted to watch Liyu until she died, so she came to watch.

Liyu turned her head to look at Zora and gave another muffled laugh: "Fellow Daoist Zora, because the 'not wanting to let go' of others is always linked to sadness. But you aren't 'others,' so it makes a lot of sense that it isn't linked for you."

Zora nodded. The two fell silent. Liyu felt her body weakening rapidly. She looked at the night sky, watching the bright moon. Zora wasn't interested in the moon, so she kept her eyes on Liyu, staring fixedly, truly waiting seriously for her death.

A cool breeze brushed their faces, and the woods rustled.

Liyu suddenly murmured: "...I wanted to enter the woods alone and die while watching the moon. It’s not bad to have one more person now."

"There are many villagers," Zora said, offering a suggestion. "I can pull a few more up here."

"Hahahaha," Liyu laughed, then looked at Zora again. "Fellow Daoist Zora, you are truly different. I hope you will become powerful in the future—the kind of powerful where you don't need to adapt to the world, but the world needs to adapt to you."

"As for inviting the villagers... never mind." Liyu shook her head, her tone light. "I’ve spent over three hundred years for the village. In the final moment, let me stop looking at the village and just look at the moon. Look up; there are patterns on the moon, very beautiful."

Hearing this, Zora turned to look at the moon.

"Fellow Daoist Zora, outside the gates of the December Sect, there are twelve moons. They are twelve Mizi Empty Realms left behind by the founding master. She was far too much of a genius—the first cultivator to open a Mizi Empty Realm, forming the foundational domain of the December Sect."

Zora tilted her head. She didn't know these things.

Liyu finished and let out a long breath: "Back when I first entered the cultivation world, I so wanted to enter the Four Great Sects. I remembered those interesting histories clearly, like the back of my hand. I didn't expect that even now, I would still remember."

She didn't regret her choice to guard the village, but in her heart, she still held a slight regretful longing and expectation for that other path.

Silence fell again. Zora stood to the side, watching the moon with Liyu. Zora was mainly looking at the patterns.

After an unknown amount of time, a cloud covered a part of the moon, then drifted away. Zora suddenly heard her murmur slowly and softly, as if afraid of disturbing something.

"I wonder if those Fusion stage cultivators, those Golden Core stage cultivators... when they see this moon, do they think it’s actually not that high?"

As the words fell, the muffled thud of the mask falling onto the grass followed. Zora turned her head. There was no longer anyone on the stone, leaving only a mask symbolizing her existence, lying lonely in the grass.

When a cultivator is killed, they leave behind an ordinary corpse. But if it is the extinction of a natural death, for those at the Foundation Establishment stage and above, it is already considered going against heaven. Not being accepted by the earth, they turn into a wisp of smoke, a gust of wind, or some spiritual energy, dissipating into the air.

Since the earth does not accept them, they travel a stretch between heaven and earth as their final act of cultivation.

The stone was empty. The white bird mask was a treasure brought back with great difficulty by a villager who had gone out to cultivate; she chose to let it remain.

Zora watched for a moment, walked closer, and bent down to pick up the mask. She didn't cry, nor did she show sadness.

"Can I take this away?"

A wisp of wind gently brushed her fingertips in agreement, then drifted away with the natural breeze.

Zora walked out of the forest and said to Vane: "Let’s go."

He nodded.

The two left the village. Halfway there, Zora stopped. As if on a whim, she took out the mask and held it before her face. Those amber eyes gazed at the moon through the eyes of the mask. High in the air, the clouds reflected the moonlight. They were very close to the moon, yet very far away. The wind made their sleeves whip loudly.

Vane didn't speak, waiting quietly.

Zora seriously memorized what the moon looked like from the perspective of the Foundation Establishment stage and put the mask away: "I'll look at it again when I reach the Fusion stage."

Vane smiled: "What is it?"

Zora explained and recalled: "Because she asked me a question at the end. I have to answer it."

Vane was silent for a moment, gazing fixedly at her side profile. Zora’s expression was as usual—naive and dazed, with a touch of seriousness. She treated it like a mission, believing it was a promise and stubbornly fulfilling it. No sadness, no memorial.

But there was a sense of lingering attachment and a seriousness toward her promise. She didn't need to be like ordinary people; she didn't need to fall into the mortal world. Scattering a bit of moonlight was enough.

Vane’s gaze didn't move, remaining fixed on her clear eyes as he gave an acknowledgment.

"After we hand in the mission at Floating Cloud Valley, where are we going?"

Zora: "Back to the sect."

"Okay."