The night air was heavy with the scent of blood and charred wood, the remnants of battle lingering like a specter over Pine Village. The once-familiar streets were stained red, littered with the fallen, both friend and foe.
Feiyin stood amidst the wreckage, his fingers curled tightly around the hilt of his saber, his knuckles white. The battle was over, but victory was nowhere to be found.
Jiang Hu moved through the battlefield with a grim expression, counting the bodies one by one. "Twelve militia dead. Three villagers. Sixteen wounded." His voice was hoarse, the weight of each number pressing against the hearts of those who heard.
The black-clothed invaders, however, had lost more than twice that number, yet their deaths brought no relief. The village had suffered, and for what?
No answers, no clear reason. Only loss.
Cai Feng exhaled sharply, his gaze sweeping over the fallen enemies. He crouched down, pulling at the dark robes of one of the corpses, searching for anything, anything, that might reveal who they were, who had sent them.
Nothing.
No body had any identifying markers, their weapons unmarked, their armor plain. Even their faces were mostly concealed, making it difficult to determine where they might have come from. Jiang Hu clicked his tongue in frustration. "No insignias. No documents. Not even a damn coin pouch."
Cai Feng stood, his blade still in hand. "They were ready to die from the beginning."
The realization settled in the air like ash. Their enemies had no intention of retreating, no intention of leaving anyone alive to speak. That meant this wasn't a simple raid for resources.
They were after something in the region. Feiyin felt a cold shudder run through him. He didn't know who these people were, but he could feel their lingering presence, even in death.
The oscillations of the world trembled around him, an echo of the violence that had taken place. The remnants of rage, fear, and pain clung to the air like invisible threads, vibrating in disharmony. The village was wounded, and he could feel it.
His mother's voice pulled him from his thoughts. "Burn the bodies."
The surviving militia members nodded grimly, gathering the corpses of their fallen enemies into a pile. Dry hay and oil-soaked cloth were thrown onto the heap. Cai Feng did not hesitate. He lifted his hand, and with a flick of his blade, a controlled spark of Qi ignited the pile. The flames roared to life, consuming the bodies in moments, sending thick black smoke curling into the sky.
No prayers. No rites. These men did not deserve such things.
The air turned thick with the stench of burning flesh, but no one turned away. They watched in silence as the fire did its work, their eyes reflecting the flickering flames.
But even as the enemy bodies burned, the true tragedy remained.
The villagers.
The men who had fought and died not as warriors, but as fathers, as sons, as brothers. And now, it was time to bury them.
The graveyard behind the village was quiet, save for the sound of shovels digging into the earth. The militia worked without speaking, sweat mixing with dried blood on their faces as they dug one grave after another. Feiyin stood at the edge of the field, his gaze fixed on the freshly dug graves, his fingers twitching at his sides. There were too many.
Beside him, Sun Ke sniffled, his normally bright face pale and sullen. "I, I saw Old Man Zhou fall." His voice wavered. "He was… trying to shield his son."
Feiyin swallowed, his throat tight. Zhou Wen, the blacksmith, had been a kind man. He had once let Feiyin watch him forge a horseshoe, explaining how heat and pressure shaped metal, just like hardship shaped men.
Now, he lay beneath the soil.
Gone.
One by one, the bodies of the fallen militia and villagers were lowered into the graves, wrapped in simple cloth. The families stood in silence, some with tears streaking their faces, others too numb to cry. A woman collapsed to her knees, clutching the lifeless hand of her husband before he was lowered into the ground. Her sobs pierced the air, raw and broken. A child, no older than three, stood clutching his mother's robes, staring blankly at the grave that would soon hold his father.
Feiyin watched, his heart twisting painfully. He could see their grief, but worse, he could feel it. The oscillations of the world shuddered, grief thick and suffocating, like a song played out of tune. Nothing was in harmony. Everything was wrong.
His mother moved through the gathered crowd, her face calm, but her hands gentle as she helped bandage the wounded. She worked with practiced efficiency, yet every so often, Feiyin noticed the subtle way her fingers tightened around the bandages, as if she, too, was holding something back. She was strong.
But even she could not erase the pain that had settled over the village. Cai Feng stood with his arms crossed, his expression unreadable, but his presence alone steadied the others. Jiang Hu spoke, his voice gravelly with exhaustion.
"They died protecting their home."
He looked at the remaining militia members, his gaze sharp and unwavering.
"This village still stands because of them. Because of all of you."
His words held weight, but they did little to ease the ache in Feiyin's chest. The graves were filled, one after another, until the ground was smooth once more. But nothing felt the same. Pine Village had survived, but it had lost pieces of itself.
---
The hours stretched on, the weight of sorrow pressing heavier with each passing moment. No one spoke as they continued working, their grief manifesting in the rhythmic sounds of shovels meeting earth, of quiet sobs carried by the cold night wind.
The last of the bodies were buried, and still, no one left.
The scent of blood, fire, and damp soil clung to the village like an unshakable shadow. Feiyin's hands ached from helping where he could, bringing water, handing out bandages, steadying those who were too weak to stand alone. But the ache in his chest far outweighed the strain on his limbs.
As the hours dragged toward dawn, exhaustion settled over the village like a heavy fog. But no one rested.
They worked through the night, tending to wounds, patching damaged homes, dragging away debris, trying, desperately, to bring a sense of normalcy back to what had been shattered.
Feiyin moved as if in a trance, watching, listening, feeling. The village pulsed with a deep, aching sorrow, the oscillations of grief and exhaustion vibrating in discord. Each voice, each breath, each movement, all of it carried the weight of loss.
His mother had barely taken a moment to rest, her hands steady but her face drawn. She wrapped the wounds of the injured with practiced efficiency, but Feiyin could see the flickers of sadness in her eyes.
His father stood in silence, surveying the remains of what was once their home, his expression unreadable but his presence as solid as stone. Jiang Hu moved with purpose, issuing quiet orders to the remaining militia, his voice steady despite the grief laced within it. Sun Ke, despite his wound, still helped carry the injured where he could, his usual mischievous glint replaced with quiet determination.
The sun had yet to rise, but the sky began to shift, the deep black of night slowly giving way to muted shades of gray. And then, The first rays of light pierced through the horizon, washing over the village in hues of gold and soft pink.
Feiyin lifted his gaze, watching as the warmth of dawn kissed the broken rooftops, the bloodstained earth, the weary faces of the villagers. The night was finally over. But the scars it left behind would never fade. Pine Village still stood. Wounded, grieving, but alive.
Feiyin took a slow breath, his small hands clenched tightly at his sides. The light illuminated everything, the sorrow, the struggle, the resilience. His heart pounded with a quiet, unshakable resolve.
"One day…"
"I will be strong enough to protect them."
"Strong enough to ensure this never happens again."
As the village breathed in the morning light, Feiyin made a silent promise. And for the first time since the battle ended, his gaze held not just grief, But determination.
Even after a week, grief clung to Pine Village like a second skin, woven into every quiet moment, every whispered conversation, every cautious glance toward the darkened forest beyond the wooden walls. The scent of burnt wood and dried blood had long faded, but the weight of loss remained.
The villagers carried on, because what else could they do?
The broken homes had been patched up, but the people… they were still wounded.
The militia had doubled their watch, taking shifts at all hours, ensuring they would never be taken by surprise again. The gates were now reinforced, and small wooden barriers had been erected at various entry points to slow down any future attackers.
Even the occasional merchants who once passed through with ease now approached the village with hesitation, their wary eyes flickering over the reinforced defenses and the hardened expressions of the villagers. No one felt safe.
Across the kingdom, reports of conflict had only grown worse. Several key towns had been struck in rapid succession, supply depots burned, convoys ambushed. Even Red Moon City, considered untouchable by many, had suffered repeated attacks. Some of its outer districts were scarred by fire and battle, while travel between cities became more dangerous with each passing week.
Bandits and rogue cultivators prowled the roads freely, emboldened by the lack of patrols and the general unrest. Lone travelers vanished without a trace, and small merchant caravans were either rerouted or turned back entirely.
The conditions were no longer safe for open travel.
So the decision was made, Pine Village would bunker down and endure. Their isolation, once a vulnerability, was now a shield. As a small target tucked away in the foothills, they could afford to wait, hold fast until the regional alliance gathered its strength and sent reinforcements. Only then would they risk the journey south, retreating to one of the larger cities where safety might still be found.
That night still haunted Feiyin.
The clash of blades, the scent of blood, the cold weight of the enemy's body as he struck him down…
His first kill.
It replayed in his mind over and over, no matter how hard he tried to push it away. The night after the battle, when everything had finally settled and the fires had died down, he broke. Alone in their home, his small body shook with silent sobs, his hands gripping his blanket so tightly his fingers turned white.
Then, warmth surrounded him. Strong arms pulled him close. His father's voice, deep and steady, rumbled against his ear.
"You did the right thing."
Feiyin's fingers curled against his father's robe, trembling.
"I'm proud of you."
A choked sound escaped Feiyin's throat. "I… I didn't want to… but I had to…"
Cai Feng's grip tightened ever so slightly.
"I would have liked for you to grow more before you witnessed something like this." His father's voice was calm, but there was an undeniable sorrow beneath it.
"But such is the way of the world."
Feiyin squeezed his eyes shut, pressing his forehead against his father's chest.
And Cai Feng held him until his body stopped shaking.
The next morning, he did not wake. His body, exhausted beyond its limits, had simply shut down. For an entire day and night, he slept without stirring.
His mother had placed cool cloths over his forehead, smoothing his hair as she watched over him in silence. When he finally woke, the first thing he saw was his father, standing by the doorway with his arms crossed. His mother sat beside him, brushing his hair back gently.
"You slept for a whole day, sweetheart."
Feiyin blinked slowly, his mind still hazy. Then, the memories rushed back, and he sat up sharply.
His father gave him a long look. "Are you feeling better?"
Feiyin swallowed, his chest tightening, and then he nodded.
His training intensified. His body, his mind, his inner strength, he sharpened all of it. Each morning, he threw himself into his training with unwavering focus, repeating his postures, his breathing, his drills with precision and determination. He observed the oscillations around him even more closely, using them to guide his movements, to refine his techniques, to improve every small detail he could.
The militia trained harder too. The men who had survived were different now. They fought with a fierce edge, as if trying to make up for the comrades they had lost.
Jiang Hu pushed them harder, his usual blunt manner even more gruff than before. Sun Ke, once playful and relaxed, now trained with a ferocity that surprised even Feiyin.
And then, one morning,
Sun Ke broke through.
A pulse of energy surged through the training ground, and all heads turned as Sun Ke gasped, his body trembling. A faint, almost invisible glow surrounded him, a sign that his first meridians had opened. Jiang Hu let out a deep breath, clapping Sun Ke on the back. "Took you long enough."
Sun Ke let out a breathless laugh, his face flushed with excitement. "I, I did it."
The rest of the militia cheered. Even Feiyin smiled, watching as Sun Ke tested his new control, his stance more stable, his strikes more fluid. This was what it meant to grow stronger. This was what it meant to move forward.
After a long week of relentless training, Feiyin felt it,
The moment his body finally reached completion. His movements were fluid, seamless, his control over his inner strength more precise than ever. His muscles, bones, blood, marrow, and skin, they had all been forged to their peak. And when he tested his inner strength, the air shuddered around him.
5000 kg.
He had done it. He had reached the pinnacle of body tempering. His father stood before him, arms crossed, his expression unreadable. Feiyin let out a slow breath, steadily channeling his strength into his limbs. Then, with a single movement,
He drove his fist into the ground. The earth cracked beneath him, a spiderweb of fissures spreading outwards. A long silence followed. Then, Cai Feng smiled. It was small, but a proud one.
"Good."
That was all his father said, but it was all Feiyin needed. He had done it.