Hèi An stood before them, his expression unsettling and too serene for someone so violent. The corners of his mouth curled upward, but there was no kindness in the gesture. His fingers, unnaturally long, narrow as bone needles glided across Mu Chen's cheek. Not tenderly, but Deliberately. The scratch was slight, but the threat behind it wasn't.
"No, No. Such a poor little guy. Now tell me, where is the Fenghuang." he said, voice quiet, and almost bored.
Mu Chen didn't answer. His throat moved like he was trying to speak, but no sound followed. His lower lip trembled, and his chin tilted down like a dam about to break. Before the tears came, Hèi An reached forward again, this time pressing a finger gently to the boy's lips, quiet command.
Li Shen's jaw clenched, and his entire body stiffened. There was no thought, no plan, just fury. He moved, fast and without hesitation. But he wasn't fast enough. Hèi An turned and slapped him with a sharp backhand, then immediately followed with another to the opposite cheek. The slaps echoed, and Li Shen stumbled back, one hand at his face, rage flooding every nerve.
"You want to die here?" Hèi An asked, his tone dry, almost amused. He dragged his tongue across his bottom lip as if savoring the question.
Before Li could respond, Meiyin dropped low and pushed forward, shoving Hèi An back just enough to grab Mu Chen from his arms. Her grip on the child was firm and protective. Her breathing was loud and tight with fear, but steadied by instinct.
Hèi An didn't resist. He tilted his head slightly, watching her with narrowed eyes. A smirk formed on the lips.
"¿En serio? ¿Quieres hacerlo difícil? Bien. Como quieras."
With a slow lift of his hand, his nails sharpened like blades. He swiped at Meiyin's face, and the strike was deep. A line of blood appeared across her cheek instantly. She hissed through her teeth, but didn't cry out.
Without hesitation, she handed the child to Xinyin and said with clipped urgency, "Take him away, don't stop, Just run!"
Xinyin didn't waste time. She turned and sprinted, Mu Chen held tightly to her chest.
Li Shen and Meiyin moved in unison, heading straight for Hèi An. But he had already stepped forward. In one motion, he drove his hand into Li Shen's abdomen. Flesh gave way with a sickening sound. His arm passed straight through, and blood pouring from the wound in heavy bursts.
Meiyin reached out to him, but Hèi An turned and struck her midsection with brutal force. Her body folded and she staggered backward, knees giving out, and her mouth filling with blood.
Hèi An walked slowly toward her as if there were no rush.
"I warned you," he said. "You chose to ignore it."
He gripped the sides of her head and twisted it sharply. Her neck snapped, body collapsing then she died.
Li Shen was on the floor, barely breathing. His eyes blurred, but he saw a shard of metal just beside him, jagged and rusted. He reached for it, trembling. His hand closed around the cold edge.
He was dizzy, but the rage kept him steady. He rose, shaking, and shoved the weapon forward with all the strength his battered body could offer. It drove into Hèi An's back and burst through his chest.
The sound Hèi An made was sharp but restrained.
Li Shen pulled the shard back, then thrust it again—this time into the base of Hèi An's neck. He didn't hesitate, and he twisted.
For a moment, Hèi An stood upright, his breath caught. Then his skin began to fracture in black ash spilling from the cracks. Faint embers shimmered within it, like dying coals breaking apart in the wind.
He screamed, and He fell slowly, gracelessly and collapsed, and the light vanishing with him.
Li Shen stood over the body, blood running down his arms, his legs barely holding him up. He couldn't breathe, Couldn't feel anything either, but the raw burn of vengeance.
His knees buckled, and he fell to the floor, then his eyes slowly closed while tears
dropped, and he pass away.
---
Xinyin clutched Mu Chen tighter as her sobs grew louder. Her arms trembled, but she didn't stop running. Panic blurred her vision, but the wooden sign ahead—Carpentry & Tools—pulled her forward like a lifeline.
She rushed in, nearly tripping over the threshold. Two men were inside, hunched over a thick slab of timber, the sharp scent of sawdust hanging in the air.
"Please, I need help." She cried, voice shaking.
The older carpenter squinted at her. The younger one leaned back, puzzled. Their expressions said they thought she was unhinged.
"Help?" the older one asked, wiping his hands on a rag. "What's going on?"
Xinyin didn't hesitate. "A man, he looked like something out of a nightmare and he's trying to kill my parents."
The older carpenter chuckled under his breath, clearly unconvinced. "A demon? Really?"
But the younger one glanced at Xinyin, his brows furrowing as he took in her dirt-streaked face, the blood on her sleeves, and the panic in her eyes. He nudged his partner.
"She's not playing around. Look at her," he muttered to other. "She's scared out of her mind."
"Demons don't exist," the older one said, shaking his head. "You've been reading too many ghost stories."
"Doesn't matter," the younger replied, standing straighter. "If she's telling the truth and we do nothing, that's on us."
Xinyin stepped closer, knees buckling beneath her. She dropped down in front of them, bowing low. "Please. I'm begging you."
The younger carpenter immediately moved, pulling her up gently by the shoulders. "Alright, kid. We're coming with you. Just show us where."
She nodded silently, turned, and led them out into the house.
The path home was quiet, and when they arrived, the silence cracked like broken glass.
Bodies lay sprawled in the yard, which was Li and Meiyin.
Her parents.
Xinyin froze. Her breath caught somewhere deep in her chest. Her legs stopped working. She didn't scream, didn't fall to the ground either, but she just stood there, as if frozen in time, eyes wide, staring at the unimaginable.
The carpenters were silent too. Horror crept into their faces. The older one who had laughed now looked pale, and shaken.
The younger carpenter stepped forward and placed a hand lightly on Xinyin's shoulder.
"I'm sorry," he said, voice low. "They're gone. We can… we'll help you bury them, if you want to."
She didn't respond.
Her hands hung limply at her sides. Her face was blank and grief hadn't even touched her yet but it was still circling like a storm waiting to break.
Finally, she nodded small, and slow.
They got to work, no words were exchanged as they dug. There were no coffins, no ceremony. Just dirt, and aching silence. The men laid her parents in the earth with the same hands they used to carve wood—rough, calloused, and respectful.
When the last handful of soil was packed down, the carpenters stood back. The younger one looked at her, something soft in his eyes. "If you need anything," he said, "come find us."
Then they left.
Xinyin knelt before the fresh graves. Her fingers trembled as she laid Mu Chen down gently beside her. The baby stirred but stayed quiet.
She scooped a bit of soil into her palm, the same earth that now blanketed her family, and clutched it tightly between her fingers.
"Mother... Father... Xun…" Her voice cracked. "I swear, whoever did this—whoever tore you away from me—I'll find them. I'll make them pay."
Her gaze lifted toward the horizon.
"Mu Chen... we're leaving. We'll go to Yángzhou."
---
The Demon Realm—
A furious snarl echoed through the obsidian halls of the fortress. Stone cracked under the weight of raw fury.
"She was just a child! And Hèi couldn't even handle that?" The voice belonged to the demon king, Mò Yàn, his face obscured behind an iron mask, and his aura burning like cursed fire.
"He failed," the king growled, his words venomous. "This time you were able to live. But next time you won't slip through my fingers, I will see to it that you do not leave alive."
His hand tightened around the armrest of his throne, splintering it with a sharp crack.