Qing Yuan watched with wide eyes as Liu Xing's remains, which had been cut into hundreds of pieces, began to regenerate and merge. Qing Yuan's heart thumped frantically. On one hand, he knew that the dead were supposed to stay dead. It was a law of the universe, and this man was violating it. On the other hand, he couldn't help but feel elated. After all, Liu Xing, his friend, had died and was now being revived, soon to return to the world of the living. However, this elation was accompanied by dread, because while Liu Xing might live again, their situation was still dire. They were surrounded by enemies, one of whom was so terrifyingly strong that Qing Yuan thought he was a god. The devastation he had wrought was on an incomprehensible scale.

  Still, as Qing Yuan began to float and position himself in front of the group, he thought that maybe their situation would improve. The man with crimson eyes had used his effort to revive Liu Xing; surely, it must be for some grand reason.

  When Liu Xing's body was whole once again, with his skin unblemished and hair growing from his scalp, he sucked in a breath and opened his eyes. Qing Yuan felt tears threaten to spill from his own.

  However, before Qing Yuan could be truly happy, the Patriarch of the Nether Lotus Sect asked the demonic cultivators whether they would like to learn the technique that could revive people, and they answered "Yes!" resolutely. He then began talking about an Elder position in his sect, and in the end, he said: "My stance on him has not changed. His punishment is death. Whoever kills him will become an Elder and learn my secret." He stopped for a while, then let out a twisted smile. "Make it as painful as possible."

  At that moment, the kneeling demonic cultivators lunged at Liu Xing like beasts. Liu Xing, though he looked confused, reacted instantly. Qing Yuan could not follow his movement, but he glimpsed Liu Xing instantly surround himself with lightning and jumped to the side. The ground where he had been lying erupted under the demonic cultivators' fists, kicks, claws, and sword attacks.

  Qing Yuan gulped and focused his mind. It seemed his thought that Liu Xing had been revived for some grand reason was wrong. Instead, Liu Xing was revived so he could be killed again.

  "Qing Yuan!" Liu Xing shouted.

  Qing Yuan glanced over and caught a brief glimpse of Liu Xing. His body was shrouded in lightning, and a long lightning sword appeared in his right hand. He held his left hand in an odd position, as though holding an invisible weapon. Qing Yuan's eyes focused on Liu Xing's face, which was twisted with fear and anxiety. "I'll try to make a way out for you!"

  His shout was loud and thunderous, but it was also high-pitched, akin to a wounded animal cornered by a hunter and trying to sound intimidating. Qing Yuan swallowed hard. Liu Xing meant well. Certain death awaited them if he stayed here. However, perhaps the confusion of being revived, as well as the fact that Liu Xing had to move left and right to defend himself, made him a little short-sighted. Of course Qing Yuan wanted to run, but while Liu Xing was surrounded by demonic cultivators, the strongest one was standing right in front of him.

  The Patriarch also looked to the side as Liu Xing shouted, and his eyes narrowed slightly, as if he were annoyed. However, it was so fast that a fraction of a second later, his face was flat again, as if the expression had been a mirage. "Don't be savages. Cooperate with each other," he commented.

  At his words, Qing Yuan saw the demonic cultivators pause for a moment, their eyes meeting. A moment later, they began to launch barrages of attacks toward Liu Xing. Qing Yuan knew nothing about fighting, but even he could tell that the demonic cultivators' movements were slightly different. They no longer looked as if they were competing with each other. Instead, they began attacking Liu Xing two or three at a time, and while the number of attacks was less, they were more relentless and uniform, forcing Liu Xing to zigzag faster, focusing on dodging and forgoing any attacks of his own. The dance of death not too far from him was fast and chaotic. While most of the attacks were too fast for him to follow, he could glimpse some. One attack—a fist the size of a house made entirely from blood—was so eye-catching that he couldn't help but gape at it, and the resulting impact made the earth tremble.

  Qing Yuan shifted his vision forward again. Liu Xing was in trouble, but so was he, and so were the women behind him. The man with crimson eyes smiled at him like a predator looking at weak and injured prey, and Qing Yuan couldn't help but swallow hard.

  He knew that opposing the man was certain death. What other option did he have? Negotiation? Something like that could work if the two sides were equal, but they were clearly not. Still, Qing Yuan wanted to live. He wanted to see the outside world.

  "It is nice to see you, little child," the Patriarch began, his words gentle and soft. "Now that the pest will be dead again shortly, I can finally observe you carefully. I see that you have grown wonderfully. So wonderful, in fact, that you're a bit too much for your purpose." Then, he looked behind Qing Yuan, where the wounded were trying to clamp their mouths shut, hoping the man wouldn't notice them. "It's nice to see all of you, too. I've invested quite a lot of resources in all of you. And while you're a little damaged, it's still all right. What matters is what's inside you, after all. It was perhaps fate that made all of you meet this little child." He looked at Qing Yuan and smiled a little. "Indeed, sometimes, the heavens feel playful and tamper with fate like this."

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Qing Yuan pressed his lips together. This man spoke as if he knew him and Sister Fang Ruxue and Sister Su Nian and the others personally, which was impossible. However, his words brought the question of why that handsome man—lying on the ground not too far from them—had called him "Little Pill" back into his mind. Qing Yuan thought for a moment, looked toward the thundering, clanking, and shouting in the distance, and decided that he had found a way to buy time for Liu Xing as well as satisfy his curiosity.

  "Do you know me, sir?" Qing Yuan asked.

  "Yes," the man nodded as he began to take steps forward, his right hand extending toward him. "In fact, I know you better than you know yourself."

  Qing Yuan moved back, trying to stay as far as possible from his hand. "Why did your son call me 'Little Pill'?" he asked, then continued, his lips pressed together. "I know I'm different from other people. What am I, actually? Am I... not human?"

  "A human, a cultivator, an immortal, a god," he listed. "You're none of those things. In fact, what my son called you is exactly right. You are indeed a pill, like this one." The man flicked his right wrist, and a golden pill appeared between his thumb and index finger. As soon as the pill appeared, it disappeared again. "While it would be wrong to say that you're an ordinary pill, you are, in the end, a pill."

  "I cannot believe your claim," Qing Yuan stated. "I look like a human, think like a human, and act like a human. The only difference is that I'm loved by the ambient qi, and I was conscious shortly after my birth."

  "There's a spirit beast that looks like a human, thinks like a human, and acts like a human. Yet, when I dissected it, the inside was a spirit beast. Your outward appearance is indeed human, but inside, you're not. You're a pill. Would you like for me to prove it?"

  Qing Yuan backed away more as the man's hand reached for him. He felt fear,, but he was also curious. What if what he said was true? What if he was indeed a pill? In the end, though, Qing Yuan shook his head. He decided that this man was lying. There was no way he was a pill.

  "No, I think you don't need to," he stated. "I am a human. Any proof you conjure must be a mere trick. After all, you have the power to revive someone. If you can do something like that, anything is possible for you."

  "Oh, believe me, while my technique does touch upon the miraculous, it is still not perfect. Luckily, the cursed wombs are already gathered in the same place." He looked behind Qing Yuan and smiled. "The only thing I need is a new 'Little Pill' like you, one born not because of happenstance, impure and imperfect like you, but one that will become the perfect key to open that place. You said you don't need me to prove you are a pill? Unfortunately, you don't have any choice in the matter. Whether you want to or not, you must revert. After all, if you remain in this form, you cannot accomplish your purpose."

  "My purpose is to live and explore this world," Qing Yuan said, backing away further as he willed the ambient qi to shroud the sisters behind him. However, as soon as it touched them, it dispersed like cotton thrown into a fire.

  "Little pill, your true purpose, as a pill, is to be consumed."

  "No!" he shouted, his heart—the proof that he was human—beating frantically in his chest. "You're a liar!"

  "I am, but this time, I am honest. Here, let me help you." At that, the Patriarch of the Nether Lotus Sect beckoned to him with his extended right hand. At that moment, Qing Yuan felt his body begin to vibrate. At first, it was soft, as if his feet were connected to the ground and experiencing a slight tremor. However, as time passed, the vibration grew stronger. His teeth began to chatter, his stomach churned, and his bones rattled inside his body. Soon, it felt as if he were a small pebble in a jar that someone was shaking so hard the world spun. A bad premonition filled him, but he gritted his teeth and willed the ambient qi to stabilize him. At his will, the ambient qi clawed the air and tried to blanket him, but it was futile. The moment it touched him, it dispersed like a gust of wind trying to lift a mountain.

  "I am a human," Qing Yuan muttered. Then he said it harder, until finally, he shouted loudly, "I am a human! Not a pill!"

  Yet, while his heart hammered in his chest, his body vibrated more and more. He reflexively curled into a ball, unable to fight the instinct. The pose felt just right, as if it were the correct position for him. Soon, golden light began to emerge from his body, and Qing Yuan shouted in a hard, hoarse voice, "I am a human!" Tears began falling from his eyes. "Liu Xing, help me!"

  He was a human. He didn't want to die. He wanted to explore the world.

  "Stop it!" Liu Xing shouted from a distance, his face twisted in fury and fear. Yet, he could not move toward Qing Yuan, because the moment he turned, an enemy appeared in front of him, and he had to move to the side.

  At that moment, soft yet hurried footsteps could be heard.

  "Don't hurt my son!"

  Qing Yuan looked forward and saw his mother appear behind the Patriarch of the Nether Lotus Sect. She held a thick log in her hands and smashed it into the back of the Patriarch's head, her face twisted with righteous fury. Upon seeing this, Qing Yuan's eyes widened, and fear filled him as if he had swallowed tar. "Mother, what are you doing?!"

  This man was a god! Surely, his foolish mother understood what she had just done!

  At that, the Patriarch looked behind him. Qing Yuan knew there was no way a man like him could not have sensed his mother's presence, but his murderous eyes betrayed that expectation.

  "Insolent ant," he said.

  keep the lights on.

  A Mother's Love, A Son's Demise