The wyrm's eyes showed unmistakable grievance—
a long, echoing cry reverberated through the air.
You're still a child among Yakshas—
then I'm just a baby among dragonkind too!
Aside from killing it, there was another solution to end the crisis:
Move the entire wyrm somewhere else.
Without its presence, the water element gathering in the sky would eventually disperse.
There might be temporary flooding over the uninhabited wilds,
but the people of Guizhong's city would remain safe.
As for what that water-rich rain would do to barren earth…
Snow Kui didn't care.
If it didn't threaten Guizhong's people, that was enough.
He never imagined that, after the first battle where he used Honghuang,
the next time he'd use it…
…would be as a porter.
With elemental power formed into a platform above his head,
Snow Kui lifted the curled-up wyrm—
and walked.
Step after step out of the mountains.
Only a being on par with a god could do such a thing.
And among mortals, only Snow Kui—
with his limitless recovery and frightening endurance—
could bear this workload.
When the distant sea finally came into view,
the wyrm's eyes gleamed with excitement,
and a rising cry spilled from its throat.
Snow Kui inhaled lightly—
"…hah!"
He suddenly threw it.
The wyrm choked mid-cry,
the world blurring as the landscape spun and weightlessness claimed it.
???
But the closer the ocean drew,
the less the wyrm cared about being tossed.
The sea embraced it.
Freedom.
After years trapped within narrow waterways, the vastness of the ocean felt like salvation.
Yet even in its excitement, it held back.
It raised its head above the water, looking toward the shore—
A small, pale figure stood there.
Once an enemy.
Now its liberator.
Snow Kui turned slightly.
"Remember our pact.
Do not harm humans.
If you do—
I will kill you."
He stepped aside.
"Now get lost."
He left without looking back.
Only when he heard a long, trembling cry behind him—
perhaps gratitude, perhaps farewell—
and felt the wyrm's life force fading rapidly into the deep water…
…did he shake his head and flick droplets from his wet hair.
The wyrm had returned home.
Should I return as well?
Guizhong was a little upset.
The child she raised with care—
had outright refused her request yesterday,
and even run away.
But then—
"Guizhong, we don't need sleep."
"Yaksha… no— I don't need rest."
In her incense-filled room, Guizhong sighed softly.
The moment she sensed a familiar aura pressing against the perimeter of her array—
her form dissolved into sand.
She appeared outside the barrier,
meeting the white-haired Yaksha who approached step by step.
Soaked. Muddy. Slightly battered.
He avoided her eyes.
"…I'm done."
He had no technique that could dry himself.
He didn't care.
Not about wet clothes, not about how he looked.
Guizhong stared for only a heartbeat
before all yesterday's frustration vanished.
Joy replaced it.
She floated down to a rock nearby and patted it.
"Come. Sit. I'll dry your hair."
He sat with his back to her.
Fine grains of sand threaded gently through his hair,
absorbing the moisture—
and her hand rested lightly atop his head.
Warm. Careful. Comforting.
"Where did you go to end up like this?"
Snow Kui paused.
"…the rain. And the water, I guess."
Guizhong blinked.
That explained nothing.
But the child was here.
That was enough.
"Want to walk through the city?
You haven't been back in a long time."
Snow Kui looked up—
eyes faintly brighter than usual.
He glanced at the towering city walls.
"…Alright."
Later
"Ta-da!"
Guizhong announced triumphantly, waving a roasted potato.
Without waiting, she pushed it into Snow Kui's hands.
"It's what you ate the first time I welcomed you to the city!"
It was only a potato roasted over fire with a pinch of salt.
Snow Kui quietly bit into it, eyes roaming the city.
Brick houses had replaced the fragile straw huts.
The city had grown—
just as he had.
Yet Guizhong noticed the lack of sparkle in his expression.
No appetite.
No excitement.
Her hand tightened around his.
As if afraid he might vanish again.
Snow Kui glanced down at their clasped hands,
but didn't pull away.
He continued eating slowly, gaze drifting.
"…This place?"
They stopped in front of a busy storefront—
mostly women entering or leaving.
A familiar scent lingered in the air.
Snow Kui's expression dimmed.
Guizhong explained gently:
"Stone Dust's wife opened this shop.
After learning your ointment techniques.
It's very popular.
They're even developing products for men."
Snow Kui shook his head.
If they lived well,
there was no need to meet.
He finished the last bite of the now-cold potato.
This time, I will protect everything.
Before he could take another step—
"XIAO!
SNOW!
KUI—!!"
Flame-like heat barreled toward them.
Guizhong stepped aside with a smile.
Snow Kui barely braced himself before a figure slammed into his back,
forcing him a step forward.
Instinctively, he caught the person's legs to steady her.
He turned his head—
gray-blue eyes meeting violet ones.
Yingda.
Fire and ice.
Neither yielding.
"Long time no see! I missed you SO MUCH!"
Advance Chapters available on P@treon
[email protected]/soulrequiem