"Can you tell me why you wanted me to do all that?"

  Ling Yun asked Chen Yinying walking beside him. It had been few hours since they left the village, getting back on the track to Ling Yun's hometown.

  Although he had already planned not to tell the villagers the truth of their Master Wu, the words he had specially said to the village head's daughter about moving on were requested by her.

  "Hmm, I don't know."

  Her delicate fingers rubbed her chin lightly as if pondering her answer but all Chen Yinying was doing was trying to act cute infront of him.

  "It was just on whim. Like how you wanted to help the villagers, I took pity on the poor girl. The man she liked had just died tragically so I wanted to give her a little push to help her get back on her feet. I didn't want her to suffer for the rest of her life because of love."

  Ling Yun was a little surprised by her answer. She was cold enough to advice him to forget about the villagers' plight so he didn't think she would care about such a thing.

  The world is filled with uncountable number of people with their own unique way of thinking.

  "You might think I'm asking something strange but what do you think is a justified reason to kill someone?"

  Lost in the flow of conversation, Ling Yun asked it off handedly. He had been troubled by this question for quite sometime so a different perspectives might be helpful. Chen Yinying was taken aback by the sudden question that she froze in her tracks.

  What kind of question is that?

  Ling Yun had gone forward a few steps due to her suddenly stopping so he turned back his neck to look at her in inquiry. His face looked calm but she could see a hidden desperation in his eyes. It was the same look when he argued with her to kill the tiger so she decided to give it a serious answer.

  "A justified reason to kill someone?"

  In a sense, cultivators couldn't truly be judged unlike mortals. Mortals are weak and cannot survive alone. So they band together to form a society. And at its foundation are rules and regulations. The rules uphold the society which protects mortals as a whole. Anyone who breaks the rules is deemed as a threat to society and punished. A single mortal is always suppressed by the will of the masses. In short, mortals are judged by the rules of the society.

  But cultivators are inherently strong and can survive all alone. They who walk on the path of immortality, how can they allow themselves to be chained by some mere rules? A strong enough cultivator can destroy countries by himself. The only thing that can make a cultivator submit is a strength greater than him.

  Even the present righteous path is nothing but a large alliance led by the top sects of the Jiang region. The main reason majority of cultivators submit to them is not because of their morals or righteousness, but because the strength of the alliance far surpasses them.

  Another reason is the difference in mindset. Mortals have a maximum lifespan of 80 to 100 years. Too short to leave a mark on this world, their main purpose in life is to ensure the continuation of their bloodline.

  For an average man, his only legacy are his children and grandchildren who will carry on his name in the future. They play in their childhood, struggle in their youth, settle down and have a family then spend the rest of their life working hard for the next generation before dying. This is the normal life of a mortal.

  But for cultivators, a hundred years is nothing but a fleeting dream. Why would one waste time on making a family when working hard in cultivation can will help him outlive his own grandchildren. Instead of living a normal life, they dedicate their whole lives in the endless pursuit of Dao.

  The paths they take decide the choices they make in their lives. A spiritual culinary arts practitioner may live out his life peacefully cooking but for a blood path cultivator, massacring an entire village is normal. Because for him, that is a necessary step to deepen his understanding of his Dao.

  With myriad of cultivators with their different paths, it is impossible for one to judge another.

  "I have never killed anyone before so take what I say with a grain of salt." She paused for a moment as if recollecting something from her past.

  "Everyone has their own code and for me, it's love. You can kill your friend, betray you family, turn traitor to the entire world; any sin you can think of, I can forgive if it's done in the name of love. Atleast that's what I was taught."

  "Love?"

  Ling Yun was perplexed by her unexpected answer. For a moment he thought she was joking with him but her voice was firm and sincere.

  "Normally people will answer something like for power, wealth, clan, glory or honour. Compared to them doesn't love seem quite foolish?"

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  He heard a light giggle as her lips were curved into a silly smile. Her pink eyes were shining with amusement, clearly she found his confusion funny.

  "It's because it is foolish and illogical, that's what makes love so precious. Don't you think how powerful love can be if it can make one abandon everything, even himself for the sake of someone else?"

  An image of Mu Feixue came in his mind which he quickly discarded.

  "Master, have you ever fallen in love?"

  "When I was young, I also wanted to fall in love and have my own epic tales of romance but now I'm too busy to care about such trivial matters."

  When Ling Yun was about to sacrifice his life for Yaoyao, one of his regrets was about never experiencing love. But after serving under Mu Feixue, after that night, after everything he had experienced, searching for love seemed so small and insignificant.

  Wishing for a normal life and a pretty wife, how naive and ignorant I used to be.

  He heard peals of laughter beside him. " 'When I was young' master, you talk as if you have three grandchildren. Really how old are you?"

  "Since you know much about love, tell me have you ever experienced it yourself?"

  A little miffed by her teasing, Ling Yun retorted wanting to corner her. He thought she would shoot back at him but instead her smile disappeared and her expression turned sombre.

  "I don't have any experience. To tell the truth, I am afraid of falling in love."

  "Didn't you believe love is a wonderful thing? Then what is there to fear?"

  She was staring blankly at the sky but her hands had started trembling a bit. They clutched her robes tightly as if making sure it was present covering her body.

  "If I ever fall in love, I'm sure it will never come true. I never want to experience the pain of unrequited love."

  The deep seated pain in her eyes reminded him of his own trauma. He wanted to ask further but felt it wouldn't be appropriate. But still maybe he should-

  "It's getting late. We should make camp."

  Her misty eyes had become clear as if the moment before was an illusion. Ling Yun started preparing the food while she set up the tents. He called little Bai for its meal but surprisingly the snake didn't come out, staying put inside the spatial bracelet. After calling twice, he decided to give up.

  After eating, she gave him another lesson. The time spent was a bit awkward. On the outside it was same as usual with her trying to flirt and tease while he remained stoic ignoring her attempts. But this time it felt a bit forced.

  They both were trying to maintain their positions as a simple musician and an upcoming alchemist, but after the time they spent together the distance between them had become ambiguous. With their true selves surfacing from time to time, it was getting harder to maintain this facade.

  But with her not willing to open and him reluctant to push further, the curtain between them remained steadfast.

  ***

  "So this is master's hometown."

  After travelling for so long, they had finally reached Grey Cloud village. Chen Yinying had put back her fox mask on to prevent catching some unwanted attention.

  "No need to look around too much. It is a simple village with nothing worth to catch your attention."

  Ling Yun said after her turning her neck excitedly in all directions. For someone living in an immortal city, this place would feel too shabby. The spiritual Qi here was much poor.

  "So are we heading straight to your place?"

  "Let's head to a tavern first. I'm going to need some information first."

  Chen Yinying narrowed her eyes at the back of his head before walking beside him. Ever since he arrived in this village, his mood had gotten a little down. Normally, one would be happy on going back to his hometown.

  There mustt be some friction between him and his clan. Otherwise why would he wear such shabby robes instead of proudly showing off his purple alchemist ones.

  With both not wanting to drink, they had ordered some simple stew for perfunctory. Ling Yun kept his ears opened, wanting to catch any news about his clan.

  "Master it's definitely your fault."

  He looked across the table and watched her tapping the wood in irritation.

  "What's the matter?"

  "After eating the meals made by you, everything else feels so bland now. How are you going to take responsibility for this?"

  Feeling wronged, Ling Yun huffed. "So what do you want me do? Should I keep taking care of you forever?"

  She waited for a second before replying in a shy voice as if she was an innocent demure maiden.

  "If master is asking so sincerely, then my answer is yes."

  Ling Yun cheeks reddened as he realised the implications of what he said. He cleared his throat before replying with a firm voice.

  "Stop with your silly nonsense. Don't distract me anymore."

  "Awww, you really are so cruel to a maiden's heart." After that she kept silent, half-heartedly poking the stew with her chopsticks while Ling Yun focused his attention on the crowd.

  "Did you know that a child of Ling clan has become an alchemist?"

  His ears perked up instantly and he looked towards the direction of the voice. Two middle aged men sitting near the counter were conversing while drinking.

  "An alchemist? I haven't heard any news like that. If it was true, the head of the clan would announce it himself to the village. Brother you're too drunk."

  "No I'm serious. I heard it from one of their servants. And you know who it is? It's that cripple Ling Yun."

  "Surely you are pulling my leg. How can a cripple become an alchemist? Besides didn't Ling Yun die two years ago with that cursed child?"

  "No, no he didn't die. It was just a rumour. He left the clan and now he will surely come back for revenge and take back his position as the heir of the Ling clan."

  How do they know that I'm studying to become an alchemist? And what's with this nonsense about revenge?

  Suddenly, the door of the tavern opened with a loud noise. A party of four youths entered and leading them was someone Ling Yun was familiar with. He pulled down his hat and tried to reduce his presence to a minimum.

  "Look it's the young master of the Ling clan, Ling Jihua."

  Ling Jihua simply looked at a busy table and it's occupants immediately cleared it. With an arrogant smirk, he led his group and loudly ordered wine. The bustling tavern had gone completely silent with the other customers only talking in whispers. The Ling clan was one of top three clans in this village, who knows what would happen if they somehow offended them.

  Ling Yun cursed his luck and started thinking on how to leave without getting found out. But his heart fell when he sensed Jihua walking towards their table.

  While Jihua was waiting for his order, a girl in a fox mask caught his eye. She was definitely a stranger here. He lips curved in a sly grin as he decided to 'make an acquaintance'. But as he reached them, he got the shock of his life. He would have never guessed who the man sitting infront of her was.

  "Cousin.. is that really you?"