"You're saying you don't remember anything from when you were born?"
"Not that I don't remember… It was just all wind and snow. I didn't even know where I was."
On the way back to her domain, Guizhong asked Xue Kui about his past.
"An extreme-cold land, then. No wonder you wield Cryo. But… there's nothing like that anywhere nearby."
A crease formed between her brows.
"How did you end up on this plane?"
"I wasn't heading this way at first. Then I saw a bright streak cut across the sky, so I followed it."
"I see."
A fallen star had lured him here.
"And before that, what were you doing?"
"Following instinct. Fighting whatever crossed my path."
"And you never wore your mask?"
Guizhong slid her hand down her face, pantomiming.
"Mask?"
Now it was Xue Kui's turn to look puzzled.
"That's a yaksha's innate gift. Are you sure you're a yaksha…?"
"I am," he tapped his temple. "The information was here the moment I was born."
"What's in that inherited information?"
"Identity. Combat knowledge. A common tongue."
He eyed the god floating beside him. "How do you do that? The floating, the… this."
"Want to learn? I'll teach you."
"Really?"
"Really. After you learn what you ought to know first. Oh—here we are."
Xue Kui stared at the settlement ahead, a ring of low wooden palisades.
"Looks… kind of shabby."
"Hey now—we just moved and settled here. A little rough is normal."
Guizhong's smile softened into something solemn as she regarded the short fence.
"But soon, I'll make this a beautiful place—a place that feels safe."
The sincerity in her voice baffled Xue Kui.
Why would a being this powerful care so much for a race this fragile?
Even he had only helped humans because they looked like him.
What did a god share with them that could stir such feeling?
"Hurry along!"
Still thinking, he was tugged by the hand through the gate.
"Inside looks… proper enough."
Compared to the weeds of the wilds, the streets, the houses—everything looked clean.
He tilted his head watching people swing unfamiliar "weapons" into the ground.
"What are they doing? Is there an enemy under the dirt?"
Even knowing he was newly born, Guizhong couldn't help laughing behind her sleeve.
"That's called plowing. They're loosening the soil so seeds can grow—and yield food."
"Oh."
Xue Kui looked unimpressed. He didn't need to eat; the Cryo in the air sufficed to sustain him.
"Human cooking can make food delicious. I'll have you try some."
She'd noticed his thoughts and made the offer.
"Er… no need?"
He had once tasted meat from a hilichurl pot.
It was awful—enough to make him wary of eating.
"What did you eat?"
Seeing him show fear at the thought of food, Guizhong arched a brow.
A yaksha who faced gods without flinching—shrinking from a meal?
"Lady Guizhong!"
People noticed their protector and gathered quickly, greeting her with bright faces. She spun once in the air, cheerful, confirming matters one by one.
"Is the soil fit for planting after testing?"
"Do the builders understand the wall plans I drew?"
"Will the hunt carry us until the first harvest?"
"The Ma family welcomed a baby boy? Congratulate them!"
"So those two youngsters are finally getting married? Wonderful—I'll come steal a sip of wedding wine."
…
From policy to gossip, the God of Dust involved herself in every grain of mortal life.
Xue Kui yawned, still unable to understand why someone so strong would blend so easily with humans.
Guizhong turned and beckoned.
"This little one is named Xue Kui—a yaksha. From today, he's one of us!"
Dozens of bright eyes swung to him. Xue Kui reflexively took two steps back.
"Whoa, we're recruiting immortals now?"
"So skinny. Not like the yaksha under the Geo God."
"Who cares—he's cute! Do immortals and mortals have children?"
He'd been surrounded many times since birth.
But never like this—no blood-scent, no killing intent.
For a fighter who disdained bullying the harmless, he was… at a loss.
Unlike those who still kept their distance from Guizhong out of reverence, the elders and women, charmed by the snow-white hair and small face, reached out to pinch his cheeks and muss his hair.
For the first time, Xue Kui admired Guizhong's ease in a crowd.
He couldn't move.
What held him wasn't overwhelming strength—
but something warm, and soft.
"All right, all right. He'll be with us a long time; don't crowd him. You'll make him bristle."
Seeing that he didn't lash out even when surrounded, Guizhong nodded, pleased, and waded in to fish him free.
"He's felt your warmth. Back to work, everyone."
When they dispersed, she glanced at Xue Kui, who was smoothing his hair.
"How does it feel?"
His hands paused; his face stayed blank.
"Nonsensical."
Guizhong smiled and took his hand again.
"Come on. I promised to show you human food."
Ignoring his darkening expression, the elegant God of Dust moved with surprising bustle.
"I said I don't—"
Wait.
What is that smell?
"My treat today."
She held two fist-sized bundles wrapped in cloth. Even covered, they let out a rich fragrance. She tossed one to him.
Not that a god ever needed to pay.
Xue Kui peeled back the cloth—and his eyes widened.
A potato?
As the steam billowed out, the scent bloomed.
He blinked, bewildered.
Was this really the same species as those hilichurl things that tasted like beast droppings?
The heat rising from the potato felt like a tiny warm hand, cupping his cheek and guiding him closer.
He didn't know when he opened his mouth—only that something soft and glutinous entered.
Crisp at first bite, then tender. A hint of salt turned the simple aroma into something layered.
Guizhong parted her lips and blew white mist to cool it. Xue Kui hesitated.
The heat was nothing to either of them.
Even so, he imitated her—breath fogging the air.
The mist coiled upward. Such an ordinary sight—yet because it came from his mouth, it felt… amusing.
Then he startled himself.
He'd never imagined there were things in this world—besides strong foes and battle—that could be interesting.
Even something as silly as puffing out steam.
"Come on! There's food even better than this."
Hearing even better, Xue Kui followed without thinking, hand in hand.
Watching Guizhong swallow a piping-hot potato in two, three bites, Xue Kui tried to copy her—then relented, unwilling to finish so fast.
In the end, remembering there was more ahead, he steeled himself and finished it.
Then he saw the skewers—pork belly dripping fat and juices.
He swallowed.
Human civilization… is a good civilization.
So—he decided—he would protect them.
By dusk, Guizhong left to advise the builders about the city walls.
With nothing to do and unfamiliar with the settlement, Xue Kui slipped away to a nearby rise and sat cross-legged, watching the human homes.
When he didn't want to fight, he often sat alone like this, spacing out.
Humans—what a curious race.
He watched the tiny figures below, each busy with something, and fell into thought.
Why did a race so weak seem happier than the rest?
He looked like them. Aside from innate strength, what else set him apart?
The sun sank. Darkness swallowed the earth—
and the settlement with it.
Time to go. Nothing to see now.
So the young yaksha thought.
Abruptly, a spark flared in the dark—like a single fire-fly—then caught the dry grass.
Firelight ran along a line from the settlement gate to the rear, then bloomed outward, washing the whole village in a warm glow.
From his hilltop, the lit settlement in the boundless night looked like fireflies in the dark—
Faint, yet undeniable.
Watching the small people still hurrying, still teasing one another, Xue Kui's expression loosened.
A whisper of sand drifted by. Guizhong appeared behind him without a sound. Seeing the yearning in his eyes for those lights, she smiled.
To enter the world is not merely to walk its roads.
Only by feeling many feelings, weathering many events, and letting oneself be woven into the world's crossings—
Can one truly be among them?
At that moment, the yaksha began to taste the warmth and chill of mortal life.
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