What Comes After

Feng Huixin's spiritual artifact, a pair of whips, was well-known and highly regarded even in Heaven—so much so that the Heavenly Emperor himself had given the whips their names.

The one he held in his right hand was the golden whip called Order. It was thin and flat, it's long lash like a flexible double-edged blade. When wielded by Feng Huixin, Order was able to slice off an entire mountain range with a single strike.

The one held in his left hand was the black whip called Punishment. This was the whip he used the least and the one that elicited the most fear when brought out. The whip called Punishment was covered with sharp black hooks that could strip the flesh and shred the bones of a person, then dig into the ground under their minced body to carve an abyss into the earth itself, all with a single lash.

But Feng Huixin did not feel that the current situation was dire enough for him to use Punishment.

And so, lifting the golden whip Order in his right hand, he struck down using only his physical strength.

Xie Xingye's pupils shrunk as he felt a vast torrent of wind slice in his direction, smashing apart the attack he had just mustered, before the wave of wind slammed into him with unimaginable weight. He felt his organs liquefy and his bones beginning to disintegrate into powder under this dreadful pressure. He hurriedly shielded himself using his power even as he was forcefully flung downwards due to the blow.

From an outsider's perspective, all the other cultivators saw was Feng Huixin's whip whistling through the air, causing space to distort and sending a blast of wind speeding down towards the demonic deity before the demonic deity seemed to suddenly disappear.

Instantaneously, a large boom thundered, sending out shockwaves that caused the earth to rumble and quake violently as a shower of dust and rocks flew up as if to touch the sky. The wave of wind had cleaved through the land and easily pushed apart the hard earth, splitting through the ancient Battle Arena itself as it sliced a narrow and deep valley right below where the demonic deity had been.

Deep inside this newly created valley, Xie Xingye barely managed to get up.

He'd had just enough time to draw over the dark vines to shield one half of his body before Feng Huixin's blow struck him down. And in the other half of his body that he hadn't had the chance to defend, his arm had been ripped away, while a chunk of his chest and torso had been torn right through. Even though his divinity was rapidly healing this damage, Xie Xingye still knew that he had vastly underestimated his opponent.

After all, Feng Huixin wasn't known as the strongest deity for nothing.

For just his physical attack that didn't contain even a trace of spiritual energy to bear this much overwhelming power was not something Xie Xingye could have expected. But now that it had come to this, he admitted that it was better to retreat for now.

As if reading his thoughts, the black dragon sudden flew up from behind a nearby cliff and dived down into the valley. Xie Xingye leapt up onto the dragon's back in a smooth motion as the dragon soared up again, speeding off into the distance to escape.

Feng Huixin looked downward towards Wei Xiang and spoke, "Xiang-er, take command. I will track and pursue."

Since Wei Xiang still had Qinghe in his arms, he only inclined his head respectfully and replied, "Yes, Master."

Reassured, Feng Huixin set off to give chase to Xie Xingye.

The entire confrontation between the two deities, from when the Sentinels had arrived up till now, had barely taken a couple of minutes, the abrupt conclusion leaving the watching cultivators bewildered.

Not caring about them, Wei Xiang called out loud for his lieutenants, "Zhou Lang, Rue Xu, Qian Ming, Hou Yu, come here."

The four Sentinels immediately presented themselves with a deep bow as they greeted as one, "Senior Officer Wei."

Wei Xiang ordered, "Employ the clean-up protocol for wartime. Divide the area into quadrants. Each of you will take charge of one area. Split the Sentinel force between yourself and report to me if you encounter any difficulties."

Bowing again while cupping their fists in salute, the four lieutenants responded, "Yes, Senior Officer Wei!"

Then, after casting worried glances at Qinghe, they dispersed to implement their senior officer's commands with a grim set to their shoulders.

At the side, Jing Shui, Chen Xiande, and the twins had their eyes fixed on Qinghe, apprehension visible in their expressions.

The twins looked like they wanted to tear into something in anger, but also like they would start crying at any moment as their mournful gazes remained silently fixed on their senior brother.

And as for Jing Shui and Chen Xiande, though they had heard one shocking thing after another, first about this Sentinel Wei not being a human and then about Feng Qinghe being the Grandmaster's son, the thing that occupied their mind the most was still Qinghe's condition.

"What's wrong with him? His injuries have all healed by now, so why isn't he waking up?" Jing Shui asked anxiously.

Due to a mix of his raised cultivation and Jing Shui constantly feeding him pills, Qinghe's physical wounds had almost completely healed at a rapid rate. And yet he remained unmoving and unresponsive. It was obvious that something else was wrong with him.

Not attempting to hide the gold in his eyes or the talons tipping his fingers, Wei Xiang frowned and replied in a deeper voice than usual, "His core is damaged, and his strength, as well as his spiritual energy, is completely exhausted. His condition is unstable, so his body has shut down to recuperate."

"Then we need to get him back to the sect quickly and have someone from the Lightning Sky Sect take a look at him," Chen Xiande said with a grave look.

The twins immediately piped in, "Brother Wei, can't you use the shadows and transport Senior Brother home directly?"

After all, when the Sentinels had arrived, many cultivators had already seen them popping out of the shadows, so the secret was already out in the open.

But hearing the twins' suggestion, Wei Xiang shook his head. "Because we all Sentinels used the shadow realm at once, it is currently very unsteady. It would be inadvisable to use it until it has stabilized on its own, however, it will take at least another day or so before it can accept at most a couple of people without issue."

Then, looking down at his little lover's pale face, Wei Xiang continued, "Nevertheless, we still have other means of transportation."

"But I heard that the transportation arrays in the arena all seemed to have been disabled stealthily by the demonic deity just before he sent those ghouls," Jing Shui informed with a frown.

Wei Xiang showed a thin smile. "There are still other ways."

Saying so, he unfurled his huge golden wings.

Seeing this, the twins also quickly summoned and extended their wings of ice and lightning, preparing to take flight.

After exchanging a look between them, Jing Shui and Chen Xiande took out their own methods of transport, and the group of six thus quickly took to the skies.

The other cultivators in the arena also began dispersing, taking care of their respective sects and cleaning up the mess.

Thus, the first offensive of the demonic deity Xie Xingye finally came to an end.

...

An hour later at the Heavenly Peak Sect, Qinghe's room that once seemed spacious was now completely crammed with people, most of whom were famous and distinguished personages in the cultivation world.

Qinghe laid silent and motionless on the bed while still in the same ripped and bloodstained robes. His face seemed too pale and bloodless, contrasting starkly with the dark shadows under his eyes. As he lay like this, his features seemed all too fragile, like an exquisitely made paper construct that would fall apart with a puff of wind. Even the rise and fall of his chest was barely noticeable as if he would stop breathing at any moment.

By the bedside, sitting on a plain wooden stool, the sect master of the Lightning Sky Sect held Qinghe wrist, inspecting his condition with wrinkled brows and a solemn face. Beside him stood his head disciple Lei Zihua, acting as her master's assistant.

Crowded around them were Wei Xiang, Feng Huixin, Fei Jin and Fei Yin, Chen Xiande, Jing Shui, Wu Xiao, and Zhen YiLan, with Liu Xue and Lu Feiyu left behind to take care of the aftermath in the Battle Arena in the other sect masters' absence. Each of the people present looked worried and remorseful to varying degrees, blaming themselves for not doing more or feeling angry at that demonic deity and the black dragon for pushing Qinghe this far.

As for why Feng Huixin was here, it was because Xie Xingye and his black dragon had unfortunately managed to escape his pursuit, and so he had quickly returned to check up on his son.

Just then, the sect master of Lightning Sky Sect, Fu Cangyun, placed Qinghe's wrist back down, his frown becoming more apparent as he thought over the results of his examination.

With an anxious expression, Zhen YiLan quickly asked, "Sect Master Fu, how is Qing-er?"

Rather than answering him directly, Fu Cangyun questioned in return, "Between Sect Master Zhen and the Grandmaster, under whose guidance was Feng Qinghe most of the time? Especially, till a few months ago."

Since one was Qinghe's master and the other his father, in the end, Fu Cangyun wasn't all too sure who he spent the most time with.

Frowning, Feng Huixin looked at Zhen YiLan just as the white-haired man spoke up, "He is under my charge even now. I did not know of his connection to the Grandmaster, and I daresay that Qing-er himself must not have discovered it until very recently. Why do you ask, Sect Master Fu?"

With a complicated expression, Fu Cangyun spoke, "Sect Master Zhen, I think I should let you know that your disciple seems to bear many indications of being tortured multiple times. There are signs of most of his bones having been broken before they were allowed to naturally mend again. Many of his bones even seemed to have been pulverized completely before regenerating. There are also layered hints that suggest that his limbs and organs had been completely removed—both partially and completely, sometimes cut away precisely and sometimes ripped off brutally—before being allowed to grow back on their own. And this seems to have happened multiple times as well. There are still many other signs that will take too long to read, but just know that he has a lot of scar tissue buildup inside of him, suggesting that he must have suffered a lot indeed.

"On top of that, his spiritual pathways have also accrued damage as an indication of his spiritual flow being suppressed along with his cultivation. His core is also worn and seems to have been in constant danger of cracking. To put it simply, I'm amazed that your disciple was able to survive and continue to cultivate with a sane mind."

Zhen YiLan was beyond shocked and devastated upon hearing all this, his hands fisted and trembling by his side. However, though the others also showed distressed and pained expression at what Fu Cangyun said, they'd more or less already understood that it might be this way.

Seeing Zhen YiLan's look of severe self-reproach, Fu Cangyun softened his voice and added, "Sect Master Zhen, I have known you for long, and so I know that you would not have condoned your disciple's self-destructive tendencies if you had been aware. I can only advise that you take better care of him. Also, there are no new signs of injury after until a few months ago. He must have stopped being reckless then. I suggest you encourage whatever might have brought about this change in his attitude."

But everyone already knew that the biggest change that occurred to Qinghe a few months ago was…

Several heads immediately turned in Wei Xiang's direction in response, while Wei Xiang only looked wry. "Rest assured, I will continue to take care of him."

After nodding to his disciple, Feng Huixin turned to Fu Cangyun and asked, "Sect Master Fu, what can be done for my son now?"

Stroking his triangular steel-grey beard in thought, Fu Cangyun spoke, "His physical injuries have completely healed, but his cracked core and lack of spiritual energy are putting too much burden on him. The cracked core is not something we can immediately deal with, I will have to spend a few days to collect the materials and refine the appropriate pills for that. But for now, he should at least get an infusion of wind-based spiritual energy soon. Are there any experienced wielders of wind here?"

"Yes," Feng Huixin said as he silently stepped forward.

Fu Cangyun blinked, just remembering that the Grandmaster was indeed a wind-wielder.

Nodding, he stepped to the side and instructed, "Then please do it very gradually and try not to send too much energy at once."

Feng Huixin made a sound of affirmation and strode closer to his son. Then carefully taking Qinghe's wrist in his hand, Feng Huixin sent a thread of his spiritual energy into him, trying to be as gentle as possible.

A silent hush fell over the room as everyone waited with bated breath to see if there would be any improvement in Qinghe's condition.

After a few minutes, Qinghe's eyelashes indeed began to tremble, showing that he was about to wake.

Knowing that his son didn't like being touched, Feng Huixin quickly let go of Qinghe's hand.

The first thing Qinghe noticed when his consciousness flared to awareness was the dull throbbing in his stomach that felt like a hammer was smashing repeatedly at his dantian from the inside. The pain came and went in waves, unceasing and relentless.

When he finally cracked his bleary eyes open, he noticed the crowd of faces peering at him worriedly.

Habitually stuffing down all discomfort and putting up his pleasant expression and smile, Qinghe spoke, "Hello, I see that I have a lot of guests. May I ask what's the matter?"

At the side, Wei Xiang pressed his lips together, his brows drawing down.

These past few months, he had become increasingly attuned to deducing what his beloved was feeling, learning which combination of the scents he exuded meant which emotion, like fear, distrust, anger, joy etc.

And now, Wei Xiang felt his nose being assailed by the strong scent of pain and distress.

Yet Qinghe outwardly looked as calm and collected as always, not giving away a single hint of his progressively increasing misery or his feeling of panic at being surrounded by so many people while he was at his most vulnerable.

Not willing to see this, Wei Xiang bent forward and enveloped a startled Qinghe in his arms, hiding him from the crowd of people as he turned and growled, "Leave for now."

Fu Cangyun simply nodded and left with Lei Zihua, already understanding that Wei Xiang had sensed something from Qinghe that warranted such a response.

Feng Huixin hesitated, but trusting in his disciple, he chose to silently walk out of the room.

Next were the twins. Guessing that Wei Xiang's beast must have scented something, they also quickly left after throwing a "Get well soon, Senior Brother!" at Qinghe.

Knowing that Qinghe must be feeling overwhelmed, Wu Xiao dragged Jing Shui and strode out the door after giving Qinghe a nod in greeting.

Zhen YiLan hesitated, then simply bowed towards Wei Xiang and said solemnly, "I will leave my second disciple in your care then, Sentinel Wei." Then he also left the room, with a still anxious looking Chen Xiande following him out.

At last, the room was empty and quiet, leaving only the couple.

Letting out a shuddering breath, Qinghe finally dropped his smile as his face scrunched in pain. His arms curved around his stomach as he let his body lean limply in Wei Xiang's arms, not wanting to keep up the pretense anymore.

"Love, are you alright?" Wei Xiang asked while smoothing his hand down his little lover's back.

Qinghe made as if to nod out of habit, then stopped and quickly shook his head. "Xiang, my core…it hurts…"

Wei Xiang felt his heart ache at his inability to help his lover ease his pain. "Sect Master Fu has said that he'll work on your medicine. It will be ready in a few days. Can you hold on?"

Qinghe jerkily nodded. Bearing pain was something he didn't mind doing, and this wasn't the worst pain he'd had to bear till now anyway.

Then hesitating, Qinghe said, "We might not have time for Sect Master Fu to make those pills. I don't think that deity will wait that long before he comes up with a new plan. We should take this time to preemptively attack him when he's at a low."

With a helpless expression, Wei Xiang could only sigh. "Qinghe…you are in no condition to worry about that now."

The edges of Qinghe's mouth tightened, turning white due to a new wash of pain, but he still pressed on, "I know, I know. But… I have to do this. Before I start planning about what to do next, I will need Sect Master Wu to weave new bindings, but this time on my core."

"Qinghe!" Wei Xiang admonished. "You have to rest now. Don't think about what comes after."

Hearing his beloved's tone, Qinghe suddenly shrunk his shoulders and bent his head. In a small voice, he asked, "Xiang…are you very angry? Are you mad that I got hurt again?"

Sighing, Wei Xiang patted his lover tenderly on the head, then asked in return, "Did you feel like there was any other choice that could have ended with a better result for you?"

Seriously thinking about it, Qinghe could only shrug. "I don't know. Maybe if I had the time to think more rather than getting surprised by the suddenness of it all, then I might have been able to find some other way to keep the deity occupied that would ensure everyone's safety, however, I'm still not too sure about that. But at that time, though I didn't really want to get hurt, I also felt like I didn't have any other choice. I can only say that I tried my best to protect my life as much as possible."

After explaining his thoughts clearly, Qinghe peeked up to see his lover's reaction.

Wei Xiang didn't look angry, only slightly sad. "I realize that you did the best you could with what you had to stall for our arrival, so I'm not mad at you for that. I just wish you didn't have to get hurt like this. I'm frustrated at my inability to always protect you, that's all."

For some reason, hearing the quiet self-reprobation in Wei Xiang's tone made Qinghe feel guiltier than his beloved being angry at him or more visibly upset.

"Xiang, I-I'm sorry… But I might have to get hurt a bit more by the time this is done…" Qinghe trailed away with his eyes lowered, his trembling fingers curling into his robe and gripping them tightly in trepidation.

For a few moments, there was only silence. And then Wei Xiang's inflectionless voice floated down from above, "Why?"

Qinghe bit his lip, the pain in his stomach pushed to the back of his mind for now. "Since my core is already cracked…I would be the most suitable person to take on this role. It'll be most efficient if I…was the one to…do it…"

Feeling unable to continue as he sensed his lover's anger rising, Qinghe slowly stopped talking.

Wei Xiang finally spoke, his voice a quiet whisper filled with complex emotions, "Why do you always have to put yourself through so much like this?"

Qinghe didn't know how to answer.

Letting go of his stomach, he slowly raised his hands to clutch at Wei Xiang's shoulders, his head leaning forward to rest on his beloved's chest.

In a weary voice, he replied, "Xiang, I'm sorry. I don't really want to hurt either. But I feel like I need to do this, that I would regret it if I didn't. And though I might sound conceited for saying this, the truth is that I don't trust anyone else to do this better than me. And I might not deserve to ask you this, but Xiang, can you please support my decision this time? I…I really need it now."

Wei Xiang let out a breath. Maybe he was being too rigid in trying to make sure his beloved wouldn't get hurt, but he didn't think it was all that unreasonable. But hearing the dull and lifeless tone in his little lover's voice, feeling him unconsciously curling around his stomach as if in reaction to the pain in his core while he was pressed against his body, Wei Xiang didn't want to burden him with his expectations.

Closing his eyes, Wei Xiang thought carefully about what he wanted to do.

"Qinghe," he called softly after a while. "Tell me truthfully, whatever you're planning, will you come out of it alive?"

Qinghe froze.

Then leaning back, he looked into Wei Xiang's eyes earnestly. "Technically, there is a possibility of me dying."

Just as Wei Xiang began gritting his teeth, his eyes lighting up with fury and desperate despair, Qinghe raised his hands to cup his lover's face between his palms, continuing in a steady voice, "But I won't. I've already thought it through. Even if I should by all rights die, I will still be saved. Do you know why?"

With difficulty, Wei Xiang unclenched his jaws and asked, "Why?"

"Because Heaven won't let me. I feel like I'm important to it for some reason. I don't know what this heavenly soul is, but I know that it seems to play a significant part in whatever plan Heaven has for me. After honing me for so many years, I doubt it'll let me go that easily."

Hearing this, Wei Xiang frowned, unconvinced. "Is that guess something you can trust your life to?"

Qinghe chuckled. "Yes, I'm sure of it. Even if it weren't the case, even if I die, Xiang, you won't be alone. You will follow me and we will reincarnate somewhere else together because of our soul bond. We'll possibly end up in one of those other worlds that the people of Silver Mist have so much fun spying on. No matter what happens, we won't have to be apart."

Wei Xiang sighed, his heart lightening for some reason. Though he wanted to stay stubbornly unconvinced, he could feel an insuppressible joy sprouting within him at the reminder of how even death couldn't come between them, and at how his little lover seemed so delighted at the prospect of always reincarnating beside him.

However, Wei Xiang had to admit…

"I would still you rather not die at all."

Solemnly nodding, Qinghe agreed. "Yes, me neither. I will do my best to not die."

Seeing his confidence, Wei Xiang started believing in it a little as well.

But still not fully convinced, he asked with a bit of hesitation, "What if something goes wrong? We can't afford any mistakes."

Qinghe just waved his hand. "I'll not be the only one there. I'm confident that you and the others can make things go the way I want it to."

Then, with a sharp grin, he declared, "I was unprepared the first time, but this time I will make sure to keep the whole battlefield under my control."

Wei Xiang could only shake his head at this, his lips involuntarily curling up with a wry smile.

Maybe, for once, he really should believe that everything would be alright.

Bending down, he placed a chaste kiss on his little lover's forehead. "Alright then, tell me how I can help."

Qinghe nodded seriously and said, "Then you can help by dual cultivating together with me to stabilize my health."

Wei Xiang's lips twitched as he bopped his opportunistic lover on his little nose. "Nice try, but you're in no condition for that now, love."

Qinghe sighed at how his beloved was being so unnecessarily reasonable. "Fine, fine. Then for now, help me ask the Grandmaster to arrange a large scale conference with the most important people of all the major sects and some of the minor sects with the best resources. We all need to discuss this matter together and start delegating tasks. But before the conference, I need to get my core at least temporarily patched up. It really is too inconvenient otherwise. Patching it up properly could also help reduce the direness of the aftermath once this whole thing is over."

Nodding, Wei Xiang assured, "I'll take care of it. Until we go to meet Sect Master Wu to discuss about your core, you better stay here and get some rest. In the meantime, I'll talk with Master about setting up that conference."

Smiling, Qinghe nodded. Obediently letting go of Wei Xiang and lying down on the bed, Qinghe let out an exhausted breath.

Now that they'd finished discussing all that, he keenly felt the throb of his core again. And thinking of how much more excruciating temporarily patching his core was going to be, Qinghe felt faint fear stirring inside him, the sensation both unfamiliar and unwelcome.

Recalling how it had felt that first time so long ago when Wu Xiao had cast the Soul Sealing spell on him, Qinghe instinctively turned to his side and drew up his knees as if trying to protect himself. It had really felt very terrible that time, and patching his core would only feel worse.

Sitting at the edge of the bed, Wei Xiang couldn't help but get worried as he saw his beloved's complexion worsening.

But just as he was pondering on how to best comfort his lover, he felt a small tug on his robes and looked down, only to see Qinghe's fingers delicately pulling the hem of his sleeve.

Looking up with wide eyes, Qinghe spoke in a beseeching voice, "Xiang, can you please come and lie down with me for a while? I'll sleep better that way."

As long as his lover stayed beside him, Qinghe knew that his fears of the future would stay away.

And so, after Wei Xiang shed his outer robes and lied down on the bed, Qinghe snuggled close into his beloved's soothing warmth and finally felt peaceful sleep descending on him.

Whatever came after this, he and his Xiang would deal with it together.