In the darkness of the world, gathering food was extremely difficult.

Without fire to cook, eating felt like a return to ancient times.

There were no animals here either.

The only thing available… were the corpses of the Foreign Clan.

So, the food was the Foreign Clan.

"I remember you previously gave me something like a wild fruit…" the boy asked.

"Eating those…" the girl said. "If you want to cultivate Sword Skill, it consumes a lot. Just eating those is useless. Plus, those wild fruits can barely fill the stomach and don't really taste good…"

That was indeed true. This place had no sunshine; it was already difficult for wild fruits to grow here.

"So what do you usually eat?" the boy asked.

The girl used her saber to lift a piece of Foreign Clan flesh, drove out the blood with her Inner Strength, and then slowly ate it. "I usually don't need to eat… just rest… I eat occasionally… You're different…"

The boy felt nauseous watching.

"Don't worry. Once the blood has dried, the meat of the Foreign Clan…" the girl said, "is still edible."

Living in such a ghastly place was truly pushing one to the limits.

The boy, skilled in culinary arts, thought about it. Although unable to cook here, he could still make the meat into delicious jerky.

Raw meat. It would be peculiar if anyone actually liked it.

The boy shook his head; no wonder the girl rarely ate. However, she was not an ordinary person, so it was normal that she ate little.

The boy gathered the corpses of the Foreign Clan.

"Their Life Force is really strong…"

Even long after death, their flesh was still slowly squirming…

It showed how difficult it was to kill these Foreign Clan members.

"Your saber… it can absorb the blood of the Foreign Clan…" the girl said. "If you insert your saber into the flesh, it can dry up these pieces of meat, making them less gamey to eat."

The boy did not eat. Instead, he slowly cut them up, then rubbed the edible salt he carried onto the pieces of meat.

"What are you doing?"

"Making jerky. Eating raw meat can lead to problems," the boy said. "Jerky tastes good, and luckily, I still have some seasonings on me."

"Seasonings?"

"It's something used to prepare food…"

"Oh…"

"From the human world outside?"

"You know about it?"

"When my mother was alive, she told me some things about the human world outside… I know a little."

"What else did your mother tell you about the outside world?"

"Um…"

"Mother said that the most dangerous things in the outside world are men. If a man—Wu Chuan—ever intrudes here, you must never trust anything he says, and you absolutely must not go out with any man…"

The boy was speechless.

"Your mother was right," he said.

「A month later,」

The first batch of jerky made by the boy was ready.

"How does it taste?"

"Oh… it's very tasty."

The boy nodded in satisfaction, confident in his cooking skills. Though his Power had been crippled, many of the various items he carried with him were still there, including the seasonings. This place, even without ingredients and no way to cook, couldn't stump him.

The boy took a bite. The taste was barely passable, he thought…

However, after eating, a faint energy surged from his heart, rapidly digesting the jerky. After digestion, his body, slightly tired from practicing Sword Skill, recovered at an extremely fast rate.

This heart…

It was the girl's first time eating such special food, and she ate several pieces in a row.

"Seems like it tastes good."

"Yes. My mother also made it this way once… but it wasn't tasty. My father only ate a few bites before vomiting, and my mother was quite angry for a while."

The boy was once again speechless.

「Months later.」

"My Sword Skill should be fairly well cultivated by now, right?" the boy asked.

"Almost," the girl said lightly. "In a few more days, you and I will go together to kill that Foreign King…"

"Okay!" the boy exclaimed excitedly.

After months of rigorous training and the girl's guidance, his understanding of this Saber Technique had increased exponentially. If they joined forces, dealing with the Foreign King shouldn't be a problem.

In the past few months, he had become increasingly familiar with the girl. Whenever he had some free time, the boy would tell the girl about the human world outside.

"The Water Lantern Festival? What's that?"

"It's when people make beautiful water lanterns, place their wishes inside them, and release them into rivers or ponds, making wishes to the River God. The many water lanterns illuminate the river, making it look like the starry sky. Of course, there's no real River God in the outside world; he's just something people imagined."

"That must look pretty, right?"

"Yeah, very pretty."

"Have you ever made a wish?"

"I have."

"What did you wish for?"

"If I tell you, it won't come true."

The girl turned her head away. "..." She drew her saber. "Your Sword Skill isn't refined enough. Let's practice again today."

"..."

The days spent practicing with the saber weren't boring.

"My mother said that I shouldn't be curious about the outside world."

"Actually, the outside world isn't good at all."

"Really?"

"Truly. The outside world, the Jianghu, it's all a mess—countless schemes and deceptions. One small misstep, and you could end up dead on the street. Besides, the Central Plains Court is collapsing, and the common folk aren't living well either. It's utter chaos."

"It's nowhere near as peaceful as here."

"Since the outside world is so troublesome…" Wuxin said, "you could just stay here and continue practicing your Sword Skill. When you've mastered this one, I'll teach you an even more powerful one."

"I haven't even fully mastered this yet. You're highly talented; if we learn together and exchange pointers, we should learn much faster."

The boy fell silent for a moment, then said, "No. Although the outside world is chaotic, there are many people who are very important to me, and very important things I must do."

"Oh," Wuxin nodded. "Right, you have parents, don't you? You've been here for so long; they must be very worried about you…"

"Then you should train harder. You help me deal with that Foreign King, and I'll send you out of here…"

…

"It's Lunar New Year."

"What is Lunar New Year? I think I heard my mother mention it…"

"It's the most important day of the year. It means another three hundred and sixty days of our lives have passed…"

"So, you came here…"

The boy spoke softly, "It's been a year. My Silent Annihilation Saber Skill is almost on par with yours now, and I've become much more proficient with this saber."

"Then let's set out," Wuxin said. "That Foreign King has been active lately…"

"Okay."

——

[Moon God: The girl, although naive, is very pure. She probably doesn't realize that she has developed feelings for the boy… However, the boy will probably have to leave eventually, won't he?]

[Moon God: What happened next? Did they kill the Foreign King?]

[Wang Mu: The youth and the girl embarked on their journey, heading into the depths of darkness. Relying on each other, they slew countless members of the Foreign Clan and eventually reached the main camp, where they confronted the Foreign King. After a prolonged, fierce battle, at a crucial moment, the Foreign King produced the corpses of the girl's parents, causing her to lose focus for a vital second. Just as the king was about to strike her, the youth lunged to shield her, taking the full impact of the blow. Though heavily struck, he succeeded in severing one of the Foreign King's arms in the exchange.]

[Wang Mu: The youth's blood, mixed with the Foreign King's, splashed onto the girl's face, startling her awake. Her eyes blazed with a blood-red light, illuminating the dark world. She unleashed a single slash of her saber that tore through the dark sky and cleaved the Foreign King in two! Finally, she supported the heavily injured youth, and they limped back to their original camp.]

——

"Are you leaving now?"

"Yes, the Foreign King is dead."

The stone house fell into silence.

"I've made a lot of jerky," the boy said. "I've also taught you the method. I'll come back again in the future."

"Good. I'll wait for you."

"Take this saber with you."

"Does this saber have a name?"

"No."

"Come to think of it, I still don't know your name."

"I don't have one."

"Didn't your parents name you?"

"No. My parents said that our clan has no need for any designations."

"Shall I give you one?"

"Sure."

"You were born in darkness. Why not call you Ying?"

"Ying? Great!"

"What do you like?"

"Hmm…"