Tian Liu Yan turned around and pulled Pian'er up by her chain.
"She won't die," he said threateningly. Pian'er narrowed her eyes. She? Did he mean this girl? What was her name? Xinxin?
"Let her go!" The voice sounded clear but weak. Nevertheless, Liu Yan dropped Pian'er. Xinxin came with a tray and placed it in front of the demon.
"Please let her go," she begged, looking at Liu Yan. Pian'er watched the two of them. Although the girl was clearly weaker than him, he did not object.
A human being giving orders to a demon?
Where the hell had she ended up? Pian'er peered at the tray. In addition to fabrics, pots, and thread, there was also something to eat. Xinxin turned to Pian'er. "Let me treat your wound, then eat something and you can go, okay?" she asked gently. Pian'er looked up at Liu Yan. Was she allowed to just decide that?
But he just watched her treat Pian'er's wounds and didn't move when she finally untied the bonds.
"We have to go. Your power as a curse binder has increased, but you've also wiped out almost all the low-level demons living here. I don't think that's right," Xinxin said, shaking her head.
"We have to be able to defend ourselves. If people like the Zhao brothers or Tao Cui track us down again, we can't run away forever," Liu Yan replied calmly.
He sounded much gentler. Pian'er froze. Curse Binder? She only knew rumors, stories that had once been told to her. But suddenly everything made much more sense.
The curse shackle absorbed corrupted qi, and demons were born from this corruption. A hot and cold shiver ran down her spine. If he continued like this, he would soon become one of the most powerful beings this world had ever seen.
Was running away really such a smart move? This Xinxin seemed to have some control over him, and she had this girl's favor. Xinxin had stood up for her. Maybe she could use that to her advantage.
"Those men..."
"Don't mention it!"
"But I'm talking about it. If you can't defend yourself, then I'll stay close to you!"
"But you can't be everywhere!" Pian'er blinked. Suddenly, she found herself caught up in a heated discussion between the two, and neither looked like they were going to give in to the other. Pian'er sensed her chance.
"I could stay with her," she offered, breaking the silence between the two. Their eyes fell on her. Pian'er set the bowl aside and knelt in front of them.
"In the world of demons, might makes right. Take me as your confidante and command me to watch over Xinxin. I have already proven that I can do it. In return, I will be under your protection," she said. Xinxin sighed.
"We can barely take care of ourselves, Pian'er." She checked the bandage again.
"We're constantly on the run and can't even guarantee you a roof over your head."
Pian'er now turned directly to Liu Yan, who had been standing to the side.
He didn't seem to question Xinxin's decisions. But he would certainly not miss an opportunity if it served to protect her.
"Your Highness," she began. Liu Yan's fingertips twitched slightly and Xinxin frowned.
"You want to become powerful, powerful enough to protect Xinxin. You can leave that to me. I also know where to find demons that will give you true power. Not just the lowly scum. If you want to become someone who can fight for a place in this world and earn respect, you need allies!"
"You want to save your own skin in case we meet again," Xinxin said sharply. Pian'er felt a shiver run down her spine.
As fragile and weak as she appeared, Xinxin had a razor-sharp mind. Lying would be pointless now.
"Of course," Pian'er admitted. Xinxin looked at her for a moment. Her dark, intelligent eyes seemed to see right through Pian'er. Was this really the same girl who had been so helpless in the alley earlier? Finally, she sighed and shrugged.
"Why not? We have to keep going anyway, and she's right. Maybe you do need a few more allies," she finally said.
Liu Yan stood there, thought about the suggestion, and simply nodded his head to show that he agreed.
"Give me one of your petals as a token of trust," he demanded. Pian'er looked up at him in disbelief.
But Liu Yan's gaze was cold and expressionless, at least when he looked at anyone other than Xinxin. Pian'er had just lost one of her petals because of his attack. She gritted her teeth.
You had to give him credit for one thing: he was a quick learner. It was only natural that he wanted a pledge until she had proven her trustworthiness.
Pian'er placed a hand on her chest. Inside, she felt her true form, the burning fire lotus, resisting, but finally she removed one of the outer petals and handed it to him.
Liu Yan examined the petal from all sides.
It was a bright, pale red color and gave off a slight burnt smell. Then it was swallowed up by his black-red mist. Pian'er collapsed, covered in sweat. Losing one leaf had been painful enough; losing a second had almost completely drained her. Xinxin gently stroked her shoulder and looked at her with pity.
She knew that Pian'er would need quite a while to recover from this, not to mention that she had now lost a significant portion of her original power.
"So?" Liu Yan asked her impassively. "Where do we go next?" Xinxin clicked her tongue and stood up in front of him.
"At least give her a little time to recover," she scolded.
"To the mountains," Pian'er gasped. She couldn't allow herself to appear weaker than the woman she was supposed to protect. What would he do if she was no longer of use to him?
"There has been a presence there for quite some time. It is powerful, but it does not leave the mountains. So whatever is hiding there won't be able to escape," she gasped. Liu Yan nodded. Turning to Xinxin, he continued.
"We'll leave early tomorrow morning." Then he took her hand and led her out of the cellar vault without looking back.
It was the middle of the night. Xinxin was asleep, after drinking a soothing tea, next to the pile of books and parchments that had formed around Liu Yan. He sat at a low desk, leafing through the books and occasionally writing something down from them.
A few candles lit up his workspace. Again and again, his gaze darted to the sleeping Xinxin, who was almost invisible under the robe he had given her as a blanket. Pian'er sat in another corner and watched him.
Occasionally, she saw a slight smile when Xinxin turned over or took a deep breath.
"Is she your wife?" she asked cautiously. Liu Yan's smile faded as he looked up at Pian'er.
"No," he replied curtly.
"Your servant?"
"Even less," he replied sharply, now looking at Pian'er angrily. She nodded slowly.
"But she's important to you?" she tried again.
"Let's put it this way: if even a hair on her head is harmed under your watch, I'll break every single bone in your body," Liu Yan said coldly. Pian'er swallowed and nodded.
"Be honest with me if I'm to protect her as best I can," Pian'er ventured, sliding closer to the desk.
"Is she the cultist with the destroyed meridians?" Liu Yan paused. His gaze wandered from his papers to the sleeping Xinxin and finally to Pian'er.
"You said if her meridians are destroyed, she would die?" he asked. Pian'er nodded.
"But she's not dead, so there must be another explanation," he said, brushing a strand of hair from Xinxin's face. The scar glistened silver in the candlelight.
"She once cultivated, there's no doubt about that. Before we met, someone pulled her out of a river. After that, she could only perform a few spells that were hardly worth mentioning.
But later, during our escape, she got better. She was able to use more complicated spells and proved her knowledge in demon and ghost hunting," he said. Pian'er rubbed his forehead.
"That sounds like she was a wandering Xia." Liu Yan looked at her questioningly.
"Wandering cultists without a sect who specialize in freeing people from evil," she quickly explained.
"But these Xia are extremely capable and powerful. Falling into a river alone would not have destroyed her meridians. If, as you say, she has such extensive knowledge, she must have learned it from someone. A master. If you asked him...?" Liu Yan shook his head.
"She remains silent about everything that happened before the accident."
"Didn't anyone come looking for her?" Pian'er pressed.
"We met someone from her past once. But she vehemently refused to reveal anything," he replied. Pian'er thought for a moment.
"I've heard of a technique that transfers qi. But since it involves a tremendous shift in power, even immortals use it only very rarely. It involves transferring one's own inner qi to someone else. This causes one's own spiritual veins to dry up," she mused aloud.
"Can something like that be done against the donor's will?"
Liu Yan asked sharply. Pian'er shrugged.
Liu Yan lowered the book. That would at least be a reasonable explanation for her reaction. If she had been forced against her will to transfer her qi, her hatred for her former comrade Tao Cui was perfectly understandable, as was her flight and behavior when they met again.
"Let's assume she was forced to do it and fled. Can the meridians recover?" he pressed. Pian'er looked confused.
"I don't know. Having Qi extracted against one's will could already cause irreparable damage, but yes, to a certain extent she could recover, but..." She looked at Xinxin.
She sensed no power at all, no spark of spiritual energy flowing from her.
"There's nothing there," she whispered cautiously. Liu Yan looked at Xinxin, anger and rage welling up inside him. What had she had to endure before the Zhao?
"We encountered a curse, it ate into her body. I was able to remove it, but since then," he swallowed. "Since then, she has been unable to cast any spells." Pian'er nodded.
"A curse consists of corrupted qi. Like her, it will have sucked all the power out of her and incorporated it into itself. Destroyed spiritual veins can no longer regulate the flow of energy, and the cultist dies. But if there are no more spiritual veins, no more energy flow, she is just a mortal shell without power."
Pian'er had spoken very carefully, yet she could feel the power trembling in the air. The candle in front of them flared up. Liu Yan's eyes clearly showed his anger, but outwardly he gave nothing away.
He said nothing for a while, so that his voice startled her out of her thoughts when he spoke again.
"What can I do to become stronger?" he asked. Pian'er looked at him in disbelief. She almost told him to absorb the strongest demons, but she didn't want to give herself away.
"Well, you could cultivate your power instead of just absorbing it," she said. Liu Yan looked at her as if waiting for her to continue.
"It's very similar to cultivating sects. Except that you don't just absorb the corrupted qi, you have to cultivate it and develop it within yourself."
"Are you telling me to sit in a cave and meditate for years?" Liu Yan asked dangerously coldly. Pian'er had to laugh, so loudly that Xinxin turned around and pulled her cloak over her ears.
The demoness quickly covered her mouth with her hands. Then she shook her head.
"Demons don't cultivate like humans," she explained. "Our path of cultivation is much more... brutal. We cultivate through combat, by defeating opponents. I already told you, only the strongest survive."
"And the most cunning," Liu Yan added. He nodded.
"All right, then starting tomorrow, you will teach me the demonic path of cultivation," he decided. Pian'r sighed.
"You just cost me two petals," she complained. "If you want me to protect Xinxin properly, at least give me a little time to regain my strength." Liu Yan looked at her coolly.
"Tomorrow," he replied, brooking no argument. Then he opened his book again and continued reading. Pian'er slid back into the corner and remained silent for the rest of the night. Maybe one day she would get Xinxin to tell her what connected the two of them.