*Lower Realm... Eternal Flower Hill*
"Good or evil? I don't give a fuck!"
The gentle wind slid between the tall grasses and made the multicolored petals that carpeted the hill dance.
BaiShe was seated on a large flat stone, slightly elevated. His black robe rippled softly, as did his long silver hair, ending in black tips that floated behind him. The air carried a fragrance and a sweet note that seemed to come directly from the strings of the zither.
Suddenly, a breathless voice broke the melody.
"Brother BaiShe!"
He paused his movement and slowly turned his head.
A young woman was running up the slope, her white robe stained with dirt and grass at the hems. Her black hair clung in messy strands to her forehead and temples. She was panting, her cheeks flushed with anxiety.
"Ling'er?" he murmured, a discreet smile forming on his lips. His silver eyes caught the light of the setting sun. "I'm surprised you found me."
She stopped a few steps away from him, placed her hands on her knees to catch her breath, then raised her head. Her golden eyes, usually so bright, were clouded with worry.
"BaiShe…" She swallowed. "I searched for you without stopping the moment I heard the rumors."
He gently set the zither down on the stone beside him and rose with grace.
"What rumors, exactly?" he asked in a calm voice.
Ling'er clenched her fists at her sides.
"They say… they say you massacred three great sects of the Upper Realms in a single night. That you left rivers of blood on Mount Hua… Even the Ancestors of the immortal families couldn't stop you." Her voice trembled slightly on the last words. "They say you've become a demon."
BaiShe looked at her in silence for several seconds as his expression grew sadder and sadder.
"And you?" he asked softly. "Do you believe all that?"
Ling'er immediately shook her head.
"Of course not!" she answered. But her golden eyes wavered for a fraction of a second, just enough for him to notice. She lowered her head. "I… I know it's not possible."
He let out a long sigh.
"Thank you." He took a step toward her. "After the death of my fiancée, there wasn't much left around me. You alone stayed by my side, Ling'er."
He came closer. Their faces were now only a few centimeters apart. She could feel the quiet warmth radiating from him, as well as that sweet scent that could soothe her.
Ling'er blushed violently. Her eyelashes trembled.
"BaiShe… I don't know if this is appropriate right now…"
He tilted his head slightly, observing every detail of her expression.
"There will never be a better moment, Ling'er..."
Before she could answer, he placed a hand behind her nape and gently drew her to him.
The kiss began slowly, then deepened. Ling'er let out a small surprised sound against his mouth before closing her eyes and responding, timidly at first, then with more abandon. Her hands settled on BaiShe's chest.
BaiShe's free hand slid down her back through the thin fabric of her robe. She shivered when he reached the small of her back. His fingers lingered for a moment on that sensitive area, then continued lower. When his palm settled on the full, rounded curve of her buttocks and applied light pressure, fingers sinking slightly into the firm flesh, Ling'er jolted.
"Hmm~ BaiShe~… aahh~"
The kiss intensified. BaiShe slid his lips along her neck, tracing a burning path to the sensitive skin behind her ear. Ling'er shivered violently, her head instinctively tilting back to give him more space.
"BaiShe..." Her breathing was ragged.
He responded by applying new pressure to her buttocks, his fingers molding the firm flesh through the fabric. With his other hand, he slowly slid up her side, feeling every shiver travel through her body under his fingers. When his knuckles brushed the side of her breast, she inhaled sharply.
"Ahh~... gently... please..."
His fingers stopped, but his thumb continued to trace soothing circles on her hip through the cloth.
"Do you want me to stop?" he murmured against her skin.
She weakly shook her head, her fingers gripping his shoulder tightly. "No... it's just... I've never..." Her cheeks blazed, preventing her from finishing the sentence.
He lifted his head to meet her gaze. "I know." He brushed a strand of hair stuck to her damp temple. "How could I hurt you... When you are all I have left... Ling'er..."
He pulled her against him, pressing her body to his.
He slowly undid the knot, feeling the fabric loosen. Her robe parted slightly at the top of her chest, revealing the beginning of her breasts, the paler, more tender skin. He placed his lips on that exposed area.
"Aaah!"
Ling'er let out a small high-pitched moan "Nnnhh~" her fingers digging deeper into his shoulder.
His mouth moved lower, following the line of her cleavage. Each kiss gave birth to shivers that ran through her entire body. Her hands slid from his shoulders to his chest, feeling the muscles ripple under her palms.
"Ling'er..." he murmured against her skin. "I need you... Don't move away from me..."
She could not answer, too busy holding back the sounds threatening to escape her lips. When he gently pulled on the edge of her robe to expose more of her shoulder, another moan escaped her.
"Mmhmm~ BaiShe... that... ahh~ Ahh~ BaiShe... wait..."
They stayed like that for several long seconds, breathing heavily, bodies pressed against each other. When they finally separated, Ling'er's lips were swollen and wet, her cheeks on fire.
She lowered her eyes, embarrassed, but did not step back.
"The patriarchs of the immortal families are after you," she murmured in a trembling voice. "They even say the Jade Emperor wants to kill you."
BaiShe gently stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers.
"I know."
"Then why…" She raised her eyes to him, fear and determination mingling in her golden gaze. "Why do you stay here playing the zither instead of running?"
He gave a sad smile.
"Because running without you makes no sense."
Ling'er remained silent for a moment. Then, in a firmer voice:
"Then take me with you."
Before BaiShe could answer, a cry tore through the air above them.
"FILTHY DEMON! STAY AWAY FROM LADY XUAN LING!"
The sky cracked... Five massive figures emerged from it in a burst of blinding light. Their qi was so dense that the grass around the hill disintegrated. Behind them, smaller figures appeared one after another. In just a few breaths, more than hundreds of millions of cultivators floated before him.
Ling'er reacted instantly. She rose into the air with a fluid movement and placed herself between BaiShe and the newcomers.
"Ancestor!" she shouted toward the oldest of the five Immortals. "Why are you slandering him? He is not like that!"
The Ancestor in question shook his head with an expression of deep sadness.
"Lady Xuan Ling, do not stay here. He is a demon. He devoured his own father's dantian and shattered his fiancée's dao. How can you still trust him?"
Ling'er shook her head vehemently.
"Those are lies! Rumors spread by those who fear his power! BaiShe would never…"
She didn't have time to finish her sentence.
A cold hand suddenly settled on her nape.
A soft and terribly calm voice whispered right against her ear:
"Shhhhh~ You should listen to your elders, little naive one."
Ling'er froze.
"No…"
Then the hand plunged directly through her chest.
The five fingers pierced her ribcage. She spat a scarlet spray that splashed the ground in front of her.
"BaiShe… how…" She tried to speak as tears welled in her eyes.
He closed his fingers around her still-beating heart, pulled sharply and tore the organ out. Ling'er's body slumped and BaiShe let her fall into the valley.
He raised his eyes toward the Immortals and the other cultivators.
"Sweet dreams, Ling'er~"
A deathly silence fell over the hill.
Then a howl of pure rage exploded.
"FILTHY DEMON! HOW DARE YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR ADOPTIVE SISTER'S NAIVETY?!"
BaiShe tilted his head slightly to the side.
"She was useful to lure you into this trap. A useless pawn is discarded. That's all."
The five Immortals and the millions of cultivators behind them released their qi at the same time, all converging toward BaiShe in a cataclysmic wave.
And him?
He slowly raised both hands, palms facing the sky.
His smile kept growing.
A violent Khaotic qi surged from his body... It had nothing elegant about it but a vile qi that pulsed as thin arms with mouths emerged everywhere in the space... The reality around him twisted and cracked.
"I'll Rip Supremacy From The Very Heavens And Feast On The Celestial Dao... Good or Evil… I Don't Give A Fuck. In This World… I'm The Goddamn Fatality."