Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Tang Guang looked up from his cup, facing the direction of where Ming Yue was.     

"Mm? Is she now? Should we send someone for her?" the Emperor asked.     

The man shook his head, going back to sipping his tea.      

"No, we shouldn't. By the looks of it, she's probably meditating, focusing on her recovery. We should leave her be. Rather, if anything, she may come to us for questions or she may just vanish from the room", he said.      

"Really? Should we not do something about it?"      

The Emperor looked at him with a bit of worry on his face. Why wouldn't he be? Just her presence could help deter crime and any ill-intentioned person from coming to his land.      

"Heh, what can we do? She's by far one of the strongest individuals in the country, maybe even the continent. Do you think we can stop her from going wherever she pleases? And knowing her, I doubt that we have anything to offer."     

Tang Guang chuckled before finishing his cup, gentling placing it onto the table.      

"So strong and yet so young, she has potential and I truly doubt that she would want to stay here. However, this place is her home, if a problem arises, I'm sure that she will come", he said to her.      

"Really?"      

"Hahaha, my brother, you shouldn't underestimate one's attachment to their homeland, not everyone is an unemotional chesspiece that you can use."     

The emperor leaned back, letting out a tired breath as he took a sip from his cup.      

"I'm getting old."     

"Heh, so am I. Do you remember? All those years ago, we both went out for the day markets and you ended up using a gold coin instead of a copper one. You nearly destroyed our favorite food stall!"     

"Heheheh, of course, I remember. The owner almost had a heart attack when he saw that coin! But ever since then, we'd get to eat there for free."     

"Probably because he didn't want to offend us! No ordinary person would just toss him a gold coin after all. Besides, I hear that he's finally turned his stall into a real restaurant."     

"Really now? I didn't know that,"     

There was a lull between them, a calm silence as they both started to reminisce about the past.     

"I've been reigning for over twenty years. It's been a long time since I've gone out to the streets, wandering on my own."     

The Emperor spoke out whilst staring at his cup, tilting it around and swishing his drink.     

"It really has been a long time but what about now? What do you plan to do? There are only two of the Fourteen Evils left, one of them being the Ascetic. I doubt even she could deal with him, he's just a step from reaching the Heaven Realm. Once that happens, he'll be that much more difficult to deal with."     

Tang Guang brought this up, knowing that this was a very worrying thing.      

"Ah, I don't know about him. A man who dedicated his entire being to cultivation, I'm sure that you know. He severed everything in order to reach a higher state of being, killing his own family, and mutilating his own genitals. Every person he meets he will kill in order to prevent any attachments from forming. And that determination has garnered the attention of many."     

The Emperor leaned forward as he spoke, looking at his sworn brother gravely.      

"Out of everyone, that man is the most dangerous one. Let alone his strength, his followers are simply one of a kind! All of them so devoutly believe that his path is the true path, doing just as he did and murdering others for the sake of their cultivation. And it's not cultivators doing it but mortals that follow this insane doctrine! All of them yearned to be more than just mortals and they're treating him like some god. I just... I just don't understand how such a thing could happen."     

He was agitated, his hand had curled up into fists, trembling as he held it tightly. He only stopped when Tang Guang placed a hand on his shoulder.      

"Ah, I nearly lost myself there, I just... how did this happen? How could we have let Redmist Sanctuary grow like this?"     

The Emperor lowered his head, staring at the ground in a dejected manner.     

"It's not your fault, truly, things were out of your control then and there was only so much that you could've do-"     

As the both of them spoke, they suddenly froze up, looking up at their surroundings.      

"Could that have been?"      

"No, it couldn't be."     

Sharing a look with one another, the both of them immediately stood up, calling for the guards.      

Meanwhile, Ming Yue was focused on her recovery, keeping a calm breath while circulating her energy. But then her eyes opened and she put her hand out, bringing Blood Moon to her grasp. The next moment, she unsheathed her sword and pointed it at the window where an ordinary man stood.      

Dressed in gray robes, he just stood there, unbothered by the sword pointed at his neck.      

Rather he was looking at her with little emotion, more than anything it was a look of interest.      

"So it is you, the one who's been hunting down the others. Hmm, what should I do now?" he asked himself.     

Unlike his calm or simply mellow demeanor, Ming Yue was on edge. But how could she not be?     

"I didn't even notice him until he was in the room! This... this is the Ascetic's power?!"     

She still had her sword pointed at him, ready to strike if he chose to make his move.     

"I haven't even recovered a third of my strength! How... how am I going to do this?"      

Her mind started to race, thinking about all of the possibilities that were available. But she was focused on the Ascetic, waiting to see what he would do next.      

He seemed to be deep in thought, thinking about his next move. As he was making his decision, they could hear hundreds of steps coming from the halls, no doubt the guards that were being summoned.      

The man glanced over at the doors before sighing and looking back at her.      

"I'd rather not kill all of these people, it would prove difficult to wash away the burden in my heart from such a heinous act. But... killing you is nothing more than a drop of blood in the river."     

Just as he moved. Ming Yue quickly fled, escaping through the window!     

There was no hesitation in her steps as she flew off, trying to avoid the Ascetic.      

"I've fled but... where do I escape to?!"     

Racking her brain for a place, she felt a chill down her spine and dared not to look back. Despite that, she heard his voice speaking close to her ear.      

"Truly, did you think that fleeing was the correct choice?" he asked.      

The fleeing cultivator suddenly spun around, swinging Blood Moon towards him but he was nowhere to be seen.     

"What?!"     

She suddenly felt a yanking on the back of her clothes as she was thrown to the ground, crashing into the stone streets.      

"Agh!"     

Ming Yue yelped out as the pain of her injuries overcame her.     

But she had to keep moving.      

"Damn it, where can I go?! I can't just fly off into the forest!"     

She barely got back up before flying off, trying to get as far away as she could. As for the Ascetic, he gently landed by the crash site, watching her fly off. The only expression that he had was pity for her.      

"Haah, does she really think that running will do her any good?"      

Thinking this, he flew after her and she was running out of time.