"Where am I...?"
Looking around, Liming Zi inspected her unfamiliar surroundings.
'White bedding, large cabinets and small drawers... is this a medical bay?'
The soft glow from the nearby brass instruments and ceramic dishes drew Liming Zi's gaze to an open window. The Starlit Sky outside was dim, casting a dull glow on the world.
When she moved, Liming Zi felt something tight in her grasp, a warm metallic feel against her chest.
"This is...?"
A peculiar spear, of greater height than her own, and with a radiant pale blade. The image of a lotus flower blossomed at the base of the blade; the metallic flower was of a grey lustre.
Liming Zi was stunned for a breath's time before she sighed. Her melancholic breath was then sucked back in as she saw a figure standing before her.
A woman dressed in tight white robes, overlaid with looser green robes. She had a clean and well-kept appearance. Wrapped around her head was a green headpiece.
"You're a Medical Expert...?"
"You are already so lively...
"Yes, you are correct. I am a Medical Expert, and you find yourself in my Medical Complex. To be exact..."
Taking a seat beside Liming Zi's bed, the woman introduced herself,
"My name is Zhao Liao, lead Medical Expert of Union Settlement's Central Medical Complex."
"Union Settlement...?"
"To put it in short, you are at another Immortal Settlement, which Lord Immortal Union leads. He extracted all of you from your fallen Settlement and was thus placed in our care."
"All...?"
At that drawn-out response, Zhao Liao gestured to the door,
"This is a special room reserved for you, but the others of your Settlement rest in the general quarters of the Medical Complex."
"They're alive?!"
"Yes. But do not worry about that for now. Just lie there and rest."
Liming Zi felt relieved at the revelation that her people were still alive.
Zhao Liao continued,
"When everyone has risen, the answers you wish to seek will be given then. So please, rest easy until now."
...
It had only been an hour since.
Despite Zhao Liao's instructions to rest, Liming Zi seemed to have recovered quickly.
After relentlessly requesting to see her people, Zhao Liao reluctantly allowed Liming Zi to see them, all of whom were still unconscious.
There were faint traces of blue-grey fog lingering on the people.
One in particular had a thick cloud surrounding him.
"Sun...?!"
"Wait—"
Before Zhao Liao could stop her, Liming Zi had already rushed over to Sun's side.
Reach out a faintly trembling hand, she tried to wave away the vestiges of fog on Sun's skin.
Unexpectedly, instead of being brushed away, the fog seemed to thin every so slightly.
"You rid the fog so easily...?"
"..."
Though quietly surprised, Liming Zi continued to rid the fog from Sun's body, waving her hands and gradually dispersing the remnants.
Pausing for a moment, Zhao Liao sighed and began to help Liming Zi in her efforts.
...
"Li Zl?"
"How are you feeling right now?"
After roughly thirty minutes, the fog was entirely removed from Sun's body.
"Terrible..." As he said this, Sun tried to rise from the embrace of his bedding, but was met with Zhao Liao's grasp, which held him down.
Peering around, he saw the Medical Complex and the few people around him.
"Where are we...? These are our people, no?"
"...Few survived the ordeal of Star Gazing Settlement... What little remained has been brought here, to the Medical Complex of another Settlement..."
"So... Star Gazing Settlement has fallen...?"
"...Completely..."
"..."
Zhao Liao had gently laid Sun back on his bed.
"Don't move... how are you feeling right now?"
"Terrible... I feel terrible..."
"That—"
Liming Zi was interrupted as Zhao Liao raised a hand.
"Let him be for now."
To have lost so much, and to have suffered the terrible loss of his home, Sun felt sickened at the revelation of his lost people.
...
There were fewer than seventy people in this area of the Medical Complex. That is, fewer than seventy people from Star Gazing Settlement had survived.
Liming Zi and Zhao Liao worked together to aid in the recovery of the people.
There was no proper method to rid the fog.
Waving hands and grasping the air, these were the sort of gestures Liming Zi used to rid the fog.
Zhao Liao, however, emitted a pale white light.
It was an unusual spectacle, though after hours of work, the number of people cleansed from the fog began to rise.
...
After three nights of efforts, everyone from Star Gazing Settlement was cured from the blue-grey fog that lingered on their bodies.
Though most of them still seemed lifeless, they, at the very least, survived the ordeal.
Sun had already recovered but remained in bed. Most people were like this.
Others slouched in in sorrow, others found themselves staring at the walls.
Liming Zi stood on one far end of the room. looking over her people.
"Everyone has awoken, yes?"
"They have, but are you really going to do this now?"
"It would be best to do so now, Lord Union wishes to bring these people back into normal life."
Two figures entered the room, the same Medical Expert, Zhao Liao, and another figure, who introduced himself with a loud voice.
"May I have everyone's attention. I, the Regional Affairs Minister of Union Settlement, bring to you all a statement from Lord Immortal Union himself. Please, gather around and listen attentively."
This 'Regional Affairs Minister' gathered the group of refugees. With a cough, he began to relay the information he carried,
"I am here on behalf of Lord Immortal Union, an envoy to convey his message in his stead.
"Lord Immortal Union apologises for not being here at this moment, but he offers his sincerest condolences for the situation that has befallen you, the people, and your home, Star Gazing Settlement."
"But, Lord Immortal wishes to offer you all hospitality, accommodating your needs, to smooth the process of assimilation into this Settlement, Union Settlement, and return everyone to their orderly lives."
The crowd was silent.
There was no quiet discussion between anyone, but everyone seemed to have the same thought on their minds.
Eventually, one raised the question,
"Sir... envoy... What has happened to our home?"
"..."
Sun and Liming Zi also held an expectant light in their eyes.
The envoy coughed to clear his throat, then pulled a bamboo paper slip from his robes.
"This is an abridged retelling of the events of Star Gazing Settlement.
"On the Sixth Epoch, Twenty-Seventh night, the Immortal Settlement known as Star Gazing Settlement was attacked by two Demonic Immortals.
"While the terrifying calamity ensued, Exalted Immortal Defiance battled... and lost his life to the two attacking Immortals..."
The wave of news hit the people like a wave of ice-cold water.
Liming Zi bit her bottom lip and stifled her emotions, unaware of the quiet whimper that slipped Sun's lips.
"As we speak, Exalted Immortal Adamant, neighbouring Immortal and ally of the Western region, is pursuing these two fiends to the ends of the world!"
Like the waves, the people's emotions fell and rose.
Sun held his breath, wanting to raise a question, but Liming Zi had raised her voice first.
"Envoy... What of our home? What happened to Star Gazing Settlement...?"
"...
"...That... The mountain upon which Star Gazing Settlement was built has been overrun with ruin.
"What remains is devastation. The Settlement is destroyed."
...