Liam acted before his mind could catch up with the development. He rushed to Grace, moving so quickly he blew away the Qi he had unconsciously released, his hood falling on its own to reveal his face.

Grace instinctively got defensive, only for something else to fuel her frozen state. Liam had grabbed her arms to check her all over, even getting to his knees at some point to search whether his Qi had touched her shoes.

Luckily, the deadly Qi hadn’t touched Grace, but the predicament was far from over for Liam. He exhaled loudly in reassurance, but placed a hand on his sweaty, lowered face, having to deal with guilt and something that refused to disappear.

The hiss still rang in Liam’s ears, echoing the mental state he had reached earlier, as if wanting to act as a permanent reminder of what he could and should become.

"I’m sorry," Liam panted, squinting his eyes to attempt to suppress the hiss. "I was careless. I’m sorry."

Grace was still a bit frozen. During the inspection, Liam’s face had gotten way too close to specific areas without any warning, but those words snapped her out of her embarrassment and whatever else she wouldn’t admit she had felt.

After glancing at Liam’s guilty figure, Grace inspected the other side of the carriage, where he had been sitting. Uneven, shallow holes had been carved in the bench and floor, slivers of grey smoke still leaking from them now that the dark Qi was no more.

That wasn’t unheard of in the cultivation world. Grace immediately understood what Liam had been doing, especially since she knew his core’s nature.

Still, the intensity, clearly subconscious nature, and what Grace’s survival instincts had conveyed made her think about Lancelot. Liam’s affinity to poison was strong, too strong to be ordinary.

But the same went for Liam’s worry toward Grace, so she made a conscious effort not to connect anything, instead opting for something else.

"Master William," Grace called, "You ruined the hairstyle I spent much time and effort combing."

"What?" Liam gasped, frowning. His sudden sprint had indeed disheveled his hair, but that couldn’t have any relevance when he had risked hurting Grace.

"I’ll redo it," Grace declared, joining Liam on the carriage’s floor, "But it won’t go toward repaying your debt this time."

"Grace, I-," Liam began to mutter, but Grace bumped her shoulder into his while scooting behind him, interrupting him.

"Have you ever heard of the phrase hero among men?" Grace questioned, drawing her comb.

Liam wanted to argue some more. Hurting someone he cared about was among the things he hated the most. That hadn’t happened now, but it didn’t imply lack of regret.

However, as the combing session began, a soothing sensation invaded Liam, even helping him suppress the hiss.

"I have," Liam ended up saying, closing his eyes to bathe in the comfort he didn’t believe he deserved, but lulling him enough to prevent the opposition his guilt wanted to pose.

"It’s used to praise outstanding characters," Grace continued, "But no one ever talks about what those characters had to do to become outstanding. There’s no mention of monsters, either, and we both know they exist."

Liam followed the speech, calming down under the care the brushes reeked of.

"The way I see it," Grace exclaimed. "Someone’s hero is just a monster to someone else, and slaying him would make a hero out of yourself, or a monster."

Liam completely agreed. He had long since abandoned concepts of universal good and evil. There was only his perspective.

"I read many so-called enlightened texts," Grace revealed, "All warning heroes not to become the monsters they hunt, all written by heroes who likely were monsters to others."

"I don’t care how others see me," Liam declared, "But I won’t stand for hurting you in the process of becoming a fiend."

"I’m tougher than you think," Grace commented, "And such things can happen. I’m actually glad you didn’t suffer from Qi deviation or worse."

Liam wanted to say something, but the brushing stopped, replaced by a weight on his shoulder that made him look up at the person supporting herself on it.

"We are walking the path toward our monsters," Grace said, smiling, "Together, aren’t we?"

Liam diverted his gaze, but Grace poked his forehead with her finger, reclaiming his attention.

"Master William, don’t even consider getting rid of me under the guise of protecting me," Grace chuckled, wanting it to sound like a threat but failing. "You can’t escape me. Ever. Give up the very notion of being without me."

That was a crossroads Liam had already faced. As strong as his urge to protect was, he couldn’t stop others from doing the same or accepting the risks that being with him would bring.

So, Liam didn’t argue, his guilt fading as Grace dropped down to resume brushing his hair.

Of course, Liam didn’t forget what had happened, and aside from internally vowing never to risk hurting Grace again, he acknowledged something else.

It turned out Liam’s reasoning had been on point. He could indeed summon far more of his core’s nature. There simply was a catch to it.

’Can I summon that on command?’ Liam wondered. ’Do I need to limit that to specific situations? Can I learn to control it without losing myself to my Hatred?’

The field had to be explored, clearly in seclusion, where Liam didn’t risk hurting anybody. However, there was another side to that dangerous predicament.

That second layer of Qi mastery looked pretty much complete already. Liam didn’t need to work on intensifying anything. He just had to learn to control a power he already wielded, meaning he could soon start training in what his Master had shown him during his battle.

After a while, more than what it should have taken, Grace considered herself satisfied and stood up, admiring her work from above, feeling something that was a bit more intimate than mere satisfaction.

Liam’s hairstyle was nothing fancy. It was actually quite ordinary. Grace had merely opted for a half-up, half-down style, with the top of Liam’s hair secured into a bun while everything else hung down.

Still, even something so simple made all the difference compared to Liam’s wild, unbothered style. He looked less of a savage now and far more like a proper cultivator, and Grace’s greed flared.

Liam checked the unusual weight of the bun before inspecting the bright, dangerous smile pointed at him, but something suddenly distracted both him and Grace.

The carriage had stopped, and not out of unexpected events. It had simply fulfilled its purpose.

Liam and Grace jumped outside without exchanging a word. Spring was in full force now, but it was colder than what he recalled, signifying how further north they were.

But, more than the unusual weather, Liam focused on a relatively distant series of sensations that had long since hit his perception.

On a green hill ahead, Liam sensed a cacophony of bustling life hidden behind a protective wall made of stones that encircled that short peak.

Despite having been in the cultivation world for over a year and having witnessed all sorts of magical things, Liam experienced some childish excitement at the sight.

After all, the meeting point with Lancelot was a city, the first city Liam had ever seen in his life.