Quinn walked to the cave's entrance and stood beside Zi. He glanced down at her.
"Get up," he said.
Zi smiled faintly and rose to her feet. "Thank you, brother."
Quinn furrowed his brows. "Are you not angry with me?" He asked her. This was the first time he had punished her, he had expected her to be angry with him but she wasn't which made him curious.
"Angry? No, I can never be angry at my brother," she replied with a smile. Afterwards, the smile faded and she became serious. For a moment, Quinn's heart skipped. "Brother, I am sorry for getting you upset, I promise..." She paused and raised four of her fingers in the air. "I swear to always obey brother!"
Quinn's heart tightened at her words. He stared at her small hand raised so earnestly, four fingers pointed to the heavens as if sealing an oath with the universe itself. A strange warmth welled in his chest, but along with it came an ache—an ache he had long grown used to hiding.
"Zi…" His voice dropped lower, softer, almost unlike the Quinn who had stood unshaken before a prince moments ago.
Zi's bright eyes searched his face, and when she found no anger there, her lips curved into a gentle smile once more.
"You don't need to swear anything to me," Quinn said, lowering her hand with his own. "You've done nothing wrong. I only punished you because…" He trailed off, struggling with words that felt heavy in his throat. "Because this world is cruel, and if you don't learn to be careful, it will swallow you whole. I cannot… I will not allow that to happen to you."
Zi blinked up at him, then tilted her head with the innocence of a child yet untouched by the weight of the world. "Brother will always protect me, right?"
Quinn exhaled slowly, pressing his palm gently against her head. "Always."
Her smile returned, brighter this time. She leaned lightly against him, as if his presence alone was enough to keep all shadows at bay. Quinn let her, though his gaze grew distant, his thoughts already weaving with the memory of Zhenyu's words.
"You can not always protect her."
He clenched his fists tightly, so much that his nails dug into his flesh.
"Zi," he called.
Zi raised her head. "Yes, brother."
"You must have listened to my conversation with Prince Zhenyu, right?" He asked her.
Zi frowned but still replied. "Yes, brother. I did."
"Zi, we have to leave here. We'll go with him, back to the capital."
Zi didn't reply immediately. She lowered her gaze, her small hands curling into the hem of her clothes. The silence stretched between them, broken only by the faint whistle of the wind outside the cave.
Finally, she whispered, almost too softly, "Brother… I don't want to go."
Quinn's brows furrowed. He crouched slightly so that his eyes met hers, his voice calm but firm. "Why not?"
Zi bit her lip, her shoulders trembling faintly. "This place… even though it's dark, even though it's scary sometimes… it's ours. With you here, I feel safe. But if we go to the capital…" She paused, her voice catching. "Brother, I'm afraid. I'm afraid they'll take you away from me. That I'll lose you."
Her words struck deeper than she realized. Quinn's chest tightened, but he forced himself to remain steady. He reached out, brushing his fingers gently against her hair.
"Zi," he said softly, "listen to me. The abyssal land… it's not a place for us to stay forever. Every day here is a risk. Demons, abyssal beasts, even wandering immortals—this land belongs to death, not to us. If we stay, sooner or later…" His voice lowered, almost breaking. "…I might not be able to protect you."
Zi's lips quivered, and her eyes grew wet, though no tears fell.
Quinn's tone grew firmer, like steel wrapped in warmth. "If we go to the capital, you'll have a roof over your head. Food. A place where you can laugh without fear. Isn't that better? I can endure anything, but you—" he placed his hand over her small one—"you deserve more than this."
Zi looked at him, her expression torn between fear and trust. The silence stretched again before she finally murmured, "If brother says it's for the best… then I'll follow. No matter where we go, I'll be with you."
Quinn's eyes softened, but deep within, resolve burned brighter. After thinking about what Zhenyu said, he made up the decision. For his sister, he is willing to do anything.
------
Later at night, Zi fell asleep and the two young men sat by the fire.
"So have you made up your mind already?" Zhenyu asked Quinn.
"Yes, but there is something I need you to tell me," Quinn replied.
Zhenyu squinted his eyes. "Why I am helping you? No... More like why I am interested in you?"
Quinn glanced at him before fixing his gaze on the burning sticks. "Indeed. What do you want from me?"
Zhenyu sighed and rose to his feet. He began to pace around the room before speaking. "Let me tell you a story," he said glancing at Quinn with a faint smile. "Once upon a time, a king got married to his wife out of love but after years of their marriage, they were still unable to bear children. The king's throne was at the stake, the Queen's dignity was almost trampled by her husband's people, as well as her subjects. She was desperate for a child... Her desperacy led her into doing something unthinkable..." He paused and turned to Quinn.
"Do you know what she did?" He asked him. Quinn didn't respond so he chuckled faintly and continued. "At night, she drugged her husband — the King, and sent her most-trusted maid into his chambers. No one knew except for the two women. Some time later, the queen confirmed her maid to be pregnant so she took her and hid her somewhere far away from the palace, strangely, she was also pregnant at that same time but she was yet to discover. At last, when the queen found out that she was pregnant, she was overjoyed but at the same time scared because her maid was pregnant too. Greed and jealousy clouded her heart so she began to device plans on how to remove her maid out of the picture — she was already pregnant so the maid was of no use to her anymore. Luckily for the maid, she found out about the Queen's plot against her and ran away... She hid somewhere very far until she finally gave first to a male child. At that same time, the Queen also gave birth. She returned to the capital, seeked an audience with the king and told the king everything that had happened, after everything that was done, it was discovered that the boy was indeed the king's son. Left with no choice, the king accepted the boy but not his mother. The maid was left heartbroken but she was happy because she had secured her son's future... But unknown to her, she would never watch her son grow into a fine prince. She was killed that same day and her body was cut into many pieces, it was beyond recognition. That was the end of the maid. As for her son, he had a problem during his birth, as such, he was born without a spiritual root. Growing up, he was disdained by everyone around him, his father called him useless... His foster mother hates him to the core, always scheming against him. He is never valued by anyone and as such, he has to do everything he can to change his fate."