The silence was deafening.
I walked through the endless snow.
Before catching a glimpse of a familiar silhouette,
A small village not too far from where I stood, although as I got closer it seemed more like a home for ghosts than people.
I felt no presence of any sort.
None at all.
The night was cold and dark.
I couldn't make out the view clearly, still being quite far from the actual place.
Just outside the entrance of the village, there was a small carved wood covered in frost.
Wiping it away with bare hands, the letters became visible.
Finally, the characters formed two distinct words.
"Hanling village"
The wind blew past me, making my robes sway.
A ghost town wasn't the worst for shelter; after all, I had spent many nights in all sorts of places.
Finding the remains of an old village was quite lucky.
The clouds covered the entire sky-warning of an upcoming storm.
I preferred ghost towns, it was peaceful with no needless chatter or interactions with folks who didn't know how to contain their curiosity.
Ghosts tend to keep to themselves most of the time, unlike the rowdy men in inns.
At least that was the case as far as I knew.
Walking towards the village, I felt the wind nipping at my skin. I wore a thick cloak, but even that could not prevent the persistent cold from clinging to my exposed skin.
The snow crunched under my feet; pressing lightly, they sank.
leaving a trail of footsteps behind me.
The village looked decent.
However, there were ruins of what seemed to be the remnants of walls, as stones lay scattered on the ground; most of them had been swallowed by the snow, but those larger chunks stood proudly unyielding to the persistence of the storms.
It seems like this village used to be fairly safe looking around, but something happened.
Was it attacked by spiritual beasts?
After all, once they attacked, no matter how tall the wall was, it wouldn't stop a beast unless they had means to subdue it.
Perhaps it happened long ago, as there was no lingering energy left except the remains of what it used to be.
I had heard that the northern people under the Shuangwei territory build
walls as high as a cypress tree that were native to the southern people, pride of Guangiong and disciples from the famed Luminous Horizon sect.
Such walls were built around their villages to protect them from predators and the harsh wind, making their lives more bearable.
After all, no matter how well a sect managed its territories, some damages were unavoidable.
Perhaps those who lived here were saved, or perhaps the beast devoured them all with no chance to call for help.
But this was weird, because the disciples of the Frost Veil sect must've been sent around villages to patrol or look for any dangerous activities.
They were very prideful after all, having this strong sense of duty—obsession almost—with protecting everyone that they considered their own.
Hence,
It was truly strange for a village to just vanish with no hint of resistance.
Except for the broken walls and the crumbling houses, there was nothing else that could attest to the villagers struggle. As broken walls alone did not indicate human resistance.
The conditions of the stones were still sturdy, with no scratches nor any sign of slashes that the sect was so proud of. If there had been a fight, there would've been marks.
This place truly had nothing at all.
It almost made this village seem abandoned and forgotten.
That, however, wasn't possible; maybe a high-level demon passed by or a beast, leaving them no choice but to be devoured.
As the moon hid beneath the clouds, darkness enveloped the village.
I wandered around slowly, carefully observing the place.
I had never visited the northern territory, even when I was with my master. Except for the Shuangwei peak, where those proud immortals stayed.
The structure of the houses built here was unlike any other.
It was quite fascinating.
This place, which was overrun with silence and ruled by isolation, but it felt... oddly comforting.
Aimlessly, I wandered and passed through each and every alley; it was simply a whim I indulged myself with.
As I exhaled, my breath formed mists that blended with the surroundings. Not a single tree was in sight, and the houses had thick roofs made of wood exclusive to the northern place.
Feeling the walls, my hands felt numb; they had already suffered for a while because of the way I felt everything around me, in search of some trace, but that was simply an excuse, as I couldn't contain myself.
My hands reacted before my thoughts, as if they were searching for comfort from this forgotten place.
The walls felt prickly and crass; they were not smooth at all, unlike the well-built houses in the West.
I was immersed in the senses I felt from the touch. This indulgence gave me a sort of peace I haven't felt in a while. A peace that came from silence and stillness.
The moment I touched the frozen surface of those rough stones, it felt serene.
The winds passed by as if I did not exist, forgetting my existence, abandoned by the world.
Just like this village.
I closed my eyes, pondering on this strange sensation a little longer.
A feeling of peace that came with being forgotten and the endless loneliness it was...pleasant.
The sky was covered with dark clouds; it could snow again anytime soon. The weather in the north was unpredictable; a storm could strike at any time.
Retrieving my hands. I placed my focus back on this current situation.
I had to find something that could house me for the night.
A decent house with a roof that was still intact
After finally exploring the entire village, there was only one place left: it was an alley towards the left, the darkest one and the farthest from all the other houses.
Walking closer, I suddenly felt a presence.
A life force...
It was weak and faint.
No wonder I could not feel it before; I had unknowingly walked closer to this being, finally noticing its existence.
I felt no hostility as I trudged closer, but one thing was certain: this energy did not belong to any human.
Was it the one who devoured this village?
If so, why was it still here? If not, what was it doing here?
Its lack of hostility could be from not noticing anyone; however, to have gone unnoticed by me for so long, I couldn't lie, I was impressed.
Ghosts didn't have the essence of life.
They didn't have a life force; it belonged to humans, divine beings, and immortals. Although demons had it too, it was often corrupted.
Yet the one I felt wasn't corrupted, removing my first doubt of it belonging to a being who devoured the entire village. A village such as this—it was strange for it to be left in complete stillness.
But beings who devoured human souls or killed many carried a sort of uniqueness to them, most of the time turning into corruption depending on the scale of their damage.
Lacking such corruption, it was quite surprising.
However, it didn't feel particularly divine either.
The force was on the verge of being extinguished.
Its life was slipping away; I felt its will to live.
It was particularly strong.
I followed the traces carefully.
the rusty smell flooding my nose with every step forward.
Following the faint breaths, it led me deeper within the alley.
The darkness, akin to a void itself, under the dark sky
The breathing grew weaker and weaker.
As I walked closer, the moon broke through the clouds for a brief moment.
Lighting the alley as if someone had flashed a light spell
At that moment the figure of a child came into view his figure curled and slumping down by the wall, it had long hair like silk before being dyed, its white hair drenched in blood and messed by clumps of ice sticking to it, clothes torn and barely wearable, drenched by blood and sweat; his wounds were open still pouring blood, seeping through its clothes; the place around him dyed in its blood
I wasn't bothered by the smell earlier.
But once I was standing right in front of its source, I couldn't help but frown due to the strong stench that came from that place.
This child tried to mask its scent with whatever spiritual energy he had left; however, that led his already unstable energy to fluctuate.
It seems that it has been sustaining its life force with his spiritual energy as well all while hiding himself.
Seeing this sight, I drew closer,
This reminded me of a distant but vivid memory of the past.
The stench of blood was particularly disgusting, just like the strong stench of burning flesh in that memory etched in my core despite my attempts to forget it.
It had been so long since I came across such a strong scent that I had to take a moment to adjust.
Its face was smeared with blood as sweat broke, its eyes tightly shut from pain and exhaustion
The light vanished as soon as it appeared
And slowly snow began to fall from the sky
Landing gently on me.
The child would surely die here.
Was it what people called 'destiny'?
It would live if I took him in
However i did not feel a strong need to save it,
I did not know what kind of being it was so, I couldn't help but grow curious but my curiosity wasn't strong enough to save this child.
It wasn't human, that was for sure; however, it wasn't a demon either.
But, as I stood still the image of master flashed through my mind.
The child's appearance...
It reminded me of my master, especially the hair; this was the only thing I recalled so vividly, the thing that caught my attention from the moment we met.
The color of his hair.
I looked at the dying child. I'm sure this scene would've invoked pity or sympathy in Master, he was kind and gentle after all.
The child was barely keeping his breath.
Then a stray thought came to my mind.
When my master took me in…
I wonder what he felt.
Was it pity?
Or was it simply a whim of his?
He never answered this question of mine.
Leaving my questions unanswered till today.
If I took this child in...
Will this help me understand him?
Would it answer the question that still plagued my mind?
Will this answer the questions regarding
Him?
Almost in a whisper, I asked the child
"Do you want to follow me?"
He didn't seem to understand, but I caught his eyes flickering as light broke through small gaps from the sky.
He still held onto what little consciousness he had left.
Lifting up the child from the pool of blood, I mouthed a spell warming his body, stopping more blood from leaving him, his face was as pale as the snow while the snow beneath him was now tainted.
Finding a decent house, I walked in
Placing my cloak on the ground
I laid the child there; he was already unconscious.
Perhaps he had been holding on for a bit too long.
He was visibly exhausted, his breath ragged.
His lips had turned blue and chapped, rough from dehydration.
I placed my fingers on his pulse,
his internal state was a mess, it wasn't fatal for now but it could be detrimental if not resolved quickly.
This was quite annoying, I disliked sharing my energy since that incident.
But this was the only option, letting out a heavy sigh I placed my discomfort aside.
Taking out a small vial, I took out a pill, placing it within his mouth to help him with his external wounds.
Placing my palm flat on his chest I felt my spiritual energy flow out through my palm.
His body started to relax under my treatment.
The storm was harsh outside.
The winds howled, sounding particularly agitated, carrying the demonic essence of beasts.
Maybe due to the mountains being a natural place where all kinds of beasts lived this qi was quite strong despite these beasts being far from them.
After retracting my hand, my gaze landed on his body once more.
"He must be starving"
His body was thin and looked very unsightly.
I had no food to feed him.
I had to look for some meat after the storm calmed down, whether it belonged to a beast, or some animal that wasn't a problem.
Any meat was edible as long as it is cooked.
I've even seen children eating snow in some places.
The place was empty, too empty.
I couldn't feel any life force within the radius of a mile.
Hunting would prove to be difficult, it seems.
I glanced at the child's figure. It was similar to the figure of a human child around the age of eight or nine.
I sat down beside the child
The floor was rough.
Feeling quite uncomfortable, shifting around for a moment I settled down with a position that was most comfortable.
The kid looked comfortable sleeping in peace, the cloak was doing its job well as a mattress even better than its original function it seemed.
This cloak was given to me by my master, it was especially thick and soft. Made using the fur of a two tailed spiritual fox.
It was a hassle bringing it here.
Especially since i had forgotten to bring an inventory artifact with me,
I couldn't wear it on the way. If I had tried, I would've died due to the heat.
Despite all that I couldn't bring myself to abandon it.
It finally came in handy after all that.
I didn't need it that much. Although the cold was harsh, I would've survived just fine with the use of spells.
Maybe this was due to my master's influence on me.
Doing something that makes things more difficult than convenient.
However, it wasn't so bad.
I could see his smiling face had he been here,
he smiled at any given chance even in situations that didn't seem appropriate, he always carried a smile on his face.
I never asked him why maybe it slipped my mind.
Sometimes it was annoying...
But I didnt dislike it
Leaning on the wall, I closed my eyes,
Feeling my own spiritual essense throughout my veins.
The place felt a bit more alive with the presence of the child along with mine filling the room; the sound of his breath was particularly loud due to the silence.
But...
it wasn't particularly bad.
........