Li Yu and Malos checked out of the dilapidated border inn.

  Standing at the edge of the precipice, the sheer scale of the divide was breathtaking. The canyon acted as a natural moat. A massive scar in the earth that separated what could be the lawless and chaotic wastelands from the newly stabilized borders of the House of Night. Calling it stabilized wasn’t quite right either but compared to what was going on outside, it could be seen that way.

  "Shall we?" Malos asked. He gestured toward the vast expanse with a polite sweep of his hand. He was quite excited to continue this random journey that he had set himself on. Each day brings with it a feeling of unexplored riches.

  Li Yu nodded. He began to fly across. Malos followed suit and was floating beside him with his hands clasped behind his back. He looked like a scholar taking a leisurely stroll through a garden rather than a Demon Lord hovering over an abyss.

  When their boots touched the solid earth on the eastern side of the canyon, the atmosphere shifted noticeably.

  There was an eerie and heavy quiet. The dirt roads were still choked with travelers and refugees but there was no open fighting. Even the most aggressive beastmen kept their weapons sheathed and their voices low.

  The fear of Queen Morrigan’s unseen backer hung over the region like a suffocating blanket. These borders were now considered a no fighting zone. Because it was so, there was an unnatural peace. One that seemed that it could break at any moment.

  Li Yu and Malos walked along a winding dirt path that cut through a series of low, rocky hills. They had been traveling for a few hours and were discussing the subtle differences in the ambient Demonic Qi of the region. All of a sudden the bushes ahead suddenly rustled.

  A group of six demons jumped out into the road and were blocking their path. Li Yu stopped and let out a quiet sigh. It did seem too good to be true. That this area was actually completely peaceful and safe.

  Calling them bandits would have been an insult to the profession though. They were a motley crew of lowlevel fiends and malnourished beastmen. Their armor consisted of rusted scrap metal that was tied together with frayed rope. The leader, a scrawny boar-kin with a chipped tusk, was brandishing a spear that looked suspiciously like a sharpened farming implement.

  "Halt!" The boar-kin squeaked. He was trying to force his voice into a menacing growl and failing miserably. "Drop your spatial rings! Leave your valuables on the dirt and walk away, or we'll... we'll bleed you dry!"

  The other five tried to look intimidating but Li Yu could hear their hearts hammering with pure terror. Their hands shook. They weren't hardened killers; they were desperate refugees who had likely run out of rations days ago and had resorted to the only violent option they could think of.

  Malos tilted his head and was looking at the pathetic group with mild amusement. This was yet another thing that he did not foresee. Normally, something like this would have triggered his foresight long ago. Now, it didn’t. It was such a wonderful feeling for him. He didn't say a word however. He was waiting to see what his traveling companion would do.

  Li Yu flared his aura. CRACK.

  The ground beneath Li Yu's foot splintered into a web of deep fissures that shot out toward the bandits. The sheer density of the impact sent a shockwave of displaced air slamming into the group.

  All six of the wannabe bandits were blown off their feet and tumbled backward into the dirt. The boar-kin dropped his makeshift spear and his eyes were wide with horror as he realized they had just tried to rob someone they shouldn’t have.

  "We... we're sorry!" The boar-kin stammered. He was scrambling backward on his hands and knees. "We didn't know! Please, spare us!"

  Li Yu looked at them. They were pathetic, starving and entirely non threatening, at least to him. Killing them would be like crushing ants that had accidentally crawled onto his boot.

  "Get out of here," Li Yu said with a firm voice but devoid of killing intent. "Next time don’t go robbing others. They could easily just kill you.Go."

  The bandits didn't need to be told twice. They scrambled to their feet and were tripping over each other in their desperate haste to run back into the rocky brush. Li Yu turned back to the road and was ready to resume their journey.

  "How merciful," Malos commented lightly on the side.

  The Demon Lord didn't raise his hand. He didn't call out any technique. He simply looked at the fleeing bandits. A silent, invisible ripple of Qi swept through the brush.

  Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

  Six bodies hit the dirt simultaneously. Their heads had simply detached from their shoulders and fell cleanly to the ground. There was no struggle. No grand display of power. Just instant and absolute death.

  Li Yu froze at the realization. He spun around and was staring at the six headless corpses bleeding out into the dry soil. A flash of intense anger flared in Li Yu's chest. He turned his glare onto Malos with his hands clenching into fists.

  "What was that for?" Li Yu demanded as his voice rose. "They were running away! They were practically starving to death. They weren't a threat to us, or to anyone else!"

  Malos looked back at him and his dark eyes were completely calm. "Why not kill them?"

  "Because it was unnecessary!" Li Yu snapped as he took a step toward the Demon Lord. "I already handled it. I spared them. You just executed six people for absolutely no reason."

  "I had a very good reason," Malos replied smoothly. He folded his hands into the sleeves of his grey robes. "As I told you, my young friend, I possess the gift of foresight. I cannot see your future but I can certainly see theirs."

  Malos gestured toward the corpses. "If you had let them go, they would have remained starving. Tomorrow, desperation would have pushed them further. I saw a vision of them stumbling across a family of mortal refugees. A mother, a father and two small children. Because those bandits were too weak to rob cultivators like us, they would have targeted the weak. They would have butchered that family for whatever they had. I simply killed six fools to save four innocent people."

  Li Yu's anger faltered. The righteous indignation that had been burning in his chest suddenly felt hollow. He looked at the bodies again and was picturing a helpless family being slaughtered by desperate men. The logic clicked perfectly into place.

  Li Yu let out a slow but heavy sigh. The tension drained from his shoulders. "If that's the case... then it's okay. You did the right thing. I wasn’t thinking ahead and only looking at the immediate situation. You saw the larger picture. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I apologize."

  Malos stared at Li Yu. Then, a slow, wide grin spread across the Demon Lord's face. He threw his head back and laughed out loud. The sound carried a sharp and mocking edge.

  "Oh, Li Yu," Malos chuckled. "You are delightfully gullible."

  Li Yu frowned, confusion replacing his relief. "What?"

  "I just lied to you," Malos said nonchalantly. His smile dropped into a look of piercing, analytical coldness. "I didn't see anything for those people. I didn't have a vision of a refugee family. I killed those six bandits simply because they are bandits. They might not go to do what I just said, but there’s nothing that said they wouldn’t. It could be more than four as well."

  Li Yu felt a cold knot form in his stomach. He had been tricked. Not only had he been tricked, Malos wasn’t wrong in his words either just now.

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  "Look how quickly you changed your tune," Malos pointed out while stepping closer to Li Yu. His voice dropped. It lost its casual amusement and took on the weight of an ancient teacher reprimanding a foolish student. "One moment, you are burning with righteous fury because I killed men you deemed 'non-threatening.' The next moment, I offer you a ‘righteous’ scenario. A flimsy justification about protecting the innocent and you instantly forgive the slaughter. You even praised me for it."

  "You manipulated the context," Li Yu argued defensively.

  "I manipulated you," Malos corrected sharply. "Because your moral foundation is built on quicksand. You claim to value life but the moment I give you an excuse, you decide that life is entirely expendable. Is it really right to kill some to protect many? Or to protect less? If it is, then you have no right to be angry at me or anyone for wiping out armies. If it isn't, then you shouldn't have forgiven me just because I spun a sad story about a hypothetical family."

  Li Yu was silent. The words hit him harder than any physical blow. Words he knew weren’t entirely wrong but weren’t entirely right either. It all depends on how one looks at it and how one sees the world.

  "You want to be a good person, Li Yu," Malos continued and was pacing slowly around him. "You want to walk the ‘high ground.’ But the high ground doesn't exist. There is only the path, and the choices you make on it. If you are going to be a savior, be a savior. If you are going to be a killer, be a killer. But do not be a hypocrite who bends his morals the moment the wind changes direction. You need to have firmer beliefs than that or your Dao Heart will shatter the moment you face a choice where both options lead to blood."

  Li Yu looked down at the dirt. He had spent so long justifying his own actions. Telling himself that every life he took was necessary for his survival or the greater good. They were just thoughts to comfort himself with.

  Reality was different. He killed and took because he was able to. Because he had to in order to get stronger. Killing a beast and taking its core made himself stronger. It wasn’t wrong and it wasn’t right either. It just was. He had always tried to justify it when it never needed justification. Malos had just exposed how easily that justification could be used to excuse literal murder.

  "You're right," Li Yu said quietly and his voice was tight. "My beliefs are sometimes contradictory. It all depends on the moment. I wanted to feel like I was better than the mindless slaughter of this realm but I was just making up rules to make myself feel comfortable."

  "Comfort is an illusion," Malos agreed and his tone softened slightly.

  They left the headless corpses behind and continued their trek. Some wild beasts would have a nice meal today from it. For the next few hours, the atmosphere was heavy with contemplation. Li Yu didn't speak as his mind turned Malos's words over and over. He was examining the cracks in his own philosophy.

  By late afternoon, they arrived at a bustling trading post situated at a major crossroads. The House of Night had recently established a garrison here and the presence of heavily armored guards kept the violence to a minimum. The desperation of the massive refugee population was impossible to hide though.

  As they walked through the crowded market, they witnessed another scene unfolding.

  A young, emaciated demon, no older than a teenager made a desperate grab for a bundle of medicinal herbs on a merchant's stall. He was sloppy. The merchant, a burly, four armed fiend, caught the boy by the throat before he could take two steps.

  "Thief!" The merchant roared. The merchant lifted the choking boy into the air. He raised one of his thick, calloused fists and brought it down hard on the boy's face. Blood sprayed across the dirt.

  The surrounding crowd didn't intervene. In the Demon Realm, theft was a crime punished by whatever violence the victim deemed appropriate. The merchant drew a heavy, curved knife with his lower set of arms and was clearly intending to take a hand or more as payment.

  Li Yu stepped forward instinctively before he realized it. The sight of the young demon made him act before considering it through.

  "Stop," Li Yu said as his voice cut clearly through the noise of the market.

  The merchant paused and was glaring at the stranger. He felt Li Yu's suppressed aura, recognizing that this traveler was at least a Core Formation expert and far stronger than himself.

  "He stole from me, Lord," the merchant grunted back. He kept his grip on the boy's throat. "The law of the market dictates he pays."

  "How much were the herbs?" Li Yu asked while reaching into his ring. He pulled out a few spirit stones and flicked them onto the merchant's stall. "That should cover it. Let him go. There is no need to take out a weapon to settle such things."

  The merchant looked at the glowing stones and his greed instantly overcoming his anger. He dropped the boy into the dirt and snatched the stones. "Generous. Very generous. The matter is settled."

  The young demon gasped for air and then scrambled to his feet. He looked at Li Yu with fearful eyes. He was still clutching the stolen herbs to his chest. Without saying a word the demon bolted into the crowd.

  Li Yu turned away and was expecting to see Malos mocking him again. Instead, Malos was simply watching the crowd with a knowing, cynical smile.

  "What?" Li Yu asked defensively. "I saved his life. And I didn't kill the merchant to do it. Is there a flaw in that logic too?"

  "Oh, there is no flaw." Malos said while walking alongside him as they left the market. "You successfully applied your wealth to prevent immediate violence. It was a very clean, very noble gesture. A problem that was somewhat large for them was a small issue for you."

  Malos gestured casually over his shoulder. "Unfortunately, you completely ignored the reality of your environment."

  Li Yu frowned and was extending his spiritual sense back into the market.

  He found the young demon's signature quickly. The boy had run into a narrow alleyway between two tents. He stopped there, most likely thinking he was safe. But three older and much larger thugs had followed him. They had seen the boy successfully steal the herbs and more importantly, they had seen a wealthy traveler bail him out.

  Li Yu watched through his spiritual sense as the thugs cornered the boy. They didn't just want the herbs; they were beating him mercilessly. They were demanding to know if he had any connection to the rich cultivator. They were intending to rob him of anything else he might be hiding. The beating was far worse than what the merchant would have delivered.

  Li Yu stopped walking. He felt a surge of guilt, realizing his intervention had directly caused a worse outcome for the kid. He was just going to go his own way and left the boy’s fate to his own. Sometimes he would tie up loose ends for those that he helped but often times he didn’t. He didn’t think he had to.

  If dealing with a large group that was coming after someone, when Li Yu helped in the past. He would make sure to get rid of that large group. But when helping someone on the street or in passing. He wouldn’t follow them for days to make sure they were okay. He would give them something or help them with something. Afterwards he would go on to do his own things.

  ‘How many times has something like this happened after such events with my interference?’ Li Yu thought to himself with horror.

  "You see," Malos lectured quietly, "you tried to apply a half measure in a world that only respects absolutes. By saving him publicly and showing wealth, you painted a target on his back. You cured the symptom but you fed the disease."

  Li Yu gritted his teeth. "I have to go back. I have to stop them."

  "And do what?" Malos challenged while stepping in front of Li Yu. "Beat the thugs? Then they will wait until you leave town and kill the boy out of spite. Will you kill the thugs? Then you are back to slaughtering the wicked to protect the weak. What if those thugs have friends that take revenge for them? Will you guard that boy forever? This is the exact philosophy you were just questioning an hour ago. Or will you adopt the boy, take him with you and become a wet nurse to every starving person in the realm?"

  Li Yu was trapped. Every option presented a contradiction.

  "This is the quicksand, Li Yu," Malos said with some amusement. He didn’t know why but he found some amusement in challenging the boy’s beliefs. "When you step off the path of your own cultivation to play savior, you become responsible for the ripples you create. If you are not willing to follow through to the bloody end, then your mercy is just a form of vanity. You did it to make yourself feel good, not to actually save him."

  Li Yu stared at the Demon Lord. The words cut deeper than any blade. Malos wasn't just bringing him down from his moral high ground; he was systematically dismantling it. He was forcing Li Yu to see the ugly, uncompromising reality of the world he lived in.

  "I won't just let him die because I made a mistake," Li Yu said firmly. His voice lost its defensive edge and was replaced with a cold resolve.

  He didn't run back to the alley. Instead, Li Yu sent wisps of his Qi and targeted the three thugs' legs.

  Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.

  Through his spiritual sense, Li Yu felt the three thugs collapse. Their legs shattered instantly. They wouldn't die but they would never walk properly again and they were in too much agony to bother the boy.

  Li Yu resumed walking down the dirt road. He wasn’t going to watch over the boy forever. He was someone he had met in passing and doing this was enough. Where it eventually led, Li Yu wouldn’t know. It was enough that he did what he thought was right. That will just have to be enough moving forward.

  "A compromise," Malos noted, raising an eyebrow. "You crippled them from afar. You saved the boy, punished the wicked and kept your hands relatively clean of murder."

  "It's a start," Li Yu said quietly as his eyes focused on the path ahead. His mind was also thinking of his true path ahead. Less righteous justification for his actions and more acting on what he believed was the right thing to do. Whether or not it was correct, only history and time would be able to tell him later.

  "Indeed," Malos smiled. Malos never had any disciples before so he never taught anyone before. The kid was learning from him just now. A feeling he never experienced. He wasn’t really teaching the boy anything, he was merely sharing his own thoughts and ideas on how he saw this world. How the boy took it and incorporated it into his actual being to be seen. It was another exciting thing for the Demon Lord to experience.

  They walked into the deepening twilight of the Night Queen's territory. Two wanderers debating the value of a soul in a world that treated them like currency.