"Brother!"
Ruby's voice rang through the field as she sprinted forward, excitent clear—until she saw the aftermath.
She skidded to a stop, her breath hitching as her eyes widened in horror.
The ground was littered with bodies, blood soaking into the soil like dark ink staining parchnt. So corpses still twitched, their lifeless eyes staring at nothing.
The heavy scent of iron filled the air, thick and suffocating, mingling with the lingering energy of battle.
Her stomach twisted. She took a shaky step back, nearly tripping over her own feet.
"W-What… what happened here?" Her voice barely rose above a whisper, cracking under the weight of disbelief.
Ace stood before her, unshaken. Behind him, Liu i and Shan Yifeng remained eerily calm, their expressions unreadable, as if this carnage was nothing more than another daily routine.
Even their spirit beasts, so terrifying in battle, now stood silently, unfazed.
Ruby's hands trembled. These weren't just faceless enemies to her. They were people—people who had a life of their own.
Her gaze darted to Ace, searching for answers, searching for the brother she once knew.
But what she saw in his eyes wasn't the warmth she had grown up with.
Instead, she found sothing else.
Her chest tightened. "Brother… what did you do?"
Ace stepped forward, placing a steady hand on her shoulder.
"Ruby," he said, voice even, "they ca for our lives. If we hadn't fought back, we wouldn't be standing here."
His words were ant to reassure, but there was an undeniable chill beneath them—a blunt acknowledgnt of the brutality they lived in.
Ruby swallowed hard, forcing herself to look away from the lifeless bodies. She wanted to believe him, to accept that this was necessary. But seeing it first hand made that so much harder.
She turned to Liu i and Shan Yifeng.
They weren't just calm; they were indifferent. No horror, no hesitation.
If anything, Liu i's curiosity almost seed… playful.
Ruby took another step back. "How… how do your disciples not feel afraid?"
Hearing his sister's question, Ace imdiately understood the cause.
Spirit Apples.
The sa apples that had once healed Liu i—curing her of her idiocy—had turned her into what she was now. Intelligent? Perhaps. But sothing was different. Sothing unnatural.
Even Ace found it unsettling. She wasn't afraid to kill. Neither was Shan Yifeng.
It reminded him of the tournant. He had worried then, wondering if the bloodshed would leave them with trauma. But Liu i's words from that day echoed in his mind:
"Master, it's fine. We won't kill anyone."
Ace exhaled slowly, Liu i had eaten too many Spirit Apples. Too many to even care. He was partly to be blad but if what he read about the cultivation world was true, he was steering in the right direction.
Before Ace could answer, Liu i tilted her head, her lips curling into a childlike smile.
"Elder Sister, why are you so scared?" she asked, voice light and teasing. "Isn't this fun?"
Ruby froze.
Liu i stood before her, drenched in blood. It painted her small fra in deep crimson, yet not a single drop had touched her during the fight—Ace was certain of it.
His gaze shifted. Then he understood.
The spirit sovereign wolf stood beside her, its fangs still embedded in a lifeless body. Blood dripped from its jaws onto the dirt below.
Ruby recoiled, instinct driving her away.
Liu i only giggled. She clasped her hands behind her back, swaying like a mischievous child caught red-handed. With a twirl of her heels, she spun in place, her blood-soaked robes fluttering around her.
"Look, Master," she chirped, as if showing off a prize. "White Fur and the Big wolf did such a good job, didn't they?"
Ace frowned slightly but said nothing.
Ruby, however, was speechless.
She couldn't process it—the eerie, almost gleeful way Liu i spoke. The way her eyes glead, full of unfiltered joy, as if she genuinely couldn't understand why Ruby was so disturbed.
This… this wasn't normal.
And yet, to Liu i, it was.
Unlike her, Shan Yifeng didn't revel in the aftermath. Instead, he moved thodically, issuing silent commands to his spirit sovereign wolf.
With each powerful swipe of its claws, the earth parted, forming a shallow grave.
Ace watched, mildly surprised. Yifeng wasn't just clearing bodies—he was erasing evidence. There was no hesitation, no disgust nor any of the feelings one would expect a kid to have after their first real killing.
Ruby clung to Ace's sleeve, fingers tightening as if he were the only thing keeping her grounded.
"Brother," she whispered, voice strained, "this… this isn't normal."
Ace exhaled slowly.
He wasn't sure if she was talking about the battlefield, Yifeng's cold pragmatism, or Liu i's eerie delight.
Perhaps all of it.
Still, he rested a reassuring hand on Ruby's head, gently pulling her into his embrace.
"It's okay," he murmured, his tone calm yet distant. "This is just the world we live in."
Ruby swallowed hard, gripping him tighter.
But when she peeked over his shoulder, her gaze landed on Liu i.
The little girl was still twirling, still humming, her blood stained clothes swaying with each movent.
A chill ran down Ruby's spine.
This wasn't normal. Not at all.
Ace's voice pulled her back.
"Liu i," he said firmly. "Go clean yourself up."
Liu i pouted but obeyed. With a cheerful hum, she skipped away, leaving a trail of bloody footprints behind.
With that settled, Ace turned back to Shan Yifeng. The boy worked in silence, dragging bodies toward the graves, his spirit sovereign wolf assisting him without need for instruction.
Ace knelt beside him, grasping a body by its shoulders and helping move it.
"You didn't hesitate," he noted.
Shan Yifeng didn't look up. "Master, you said we can't be exposed. I just did what had to be done."
His voice was steady, but there was sothing distant in his eyes.
Ace didn't press further.
Instead, he rose to his feet, gaze shifting back to Ruby.
She was still stiff, face pale, her hands clenched at her sides.
"Take Aunt Hong back," he instructed gently. "She shouldn't wake up to this ss."
Ruby hesitated. "Brother… I—"
"Now, Ruby."
His voice was soft, but the weight behind it was undeniable.
She flinched, then nodded. Moving to Liu Hong's unconscious form, she carefully lifted her and started walking away.
Even as she left, she cast one last glance over her shoulder—one last look at Ace and Yifeng, burying the dead like it was nothing more than another task to complete.
(A/N: My apologies.)
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