And so, night fell on the second day and the sun rose on the third.
“It’s a strange feeling, coming back to this place,” said one of the young ladies accompanying Hei back to the Radiant Jade.
It used to be her home, a place where she thought she ought to be safe, but reality turned out to be quite the contrary.
She wasn’t the only one feeling that way as the group made their way to the sect.
“It almost feels like I’m coming here for the first time.”
The group moved in silence for a while after that.
Hei turned to the young woman he had found badly injured in the treehouse all those days ago.
“Have you given any thought to my offer?”
Yunru, the girl in question, lowered her head.
She didn’t know what to do.
When Hei had returned to them, he hadn’t come alone.
He had brought their families along too.
But hers wasn’t among them.
She knew what it likely meant, but she didn’t want to give up the hope of finding them.
If she were to follow behind Hei, would she ever have the chance to go look for them?
“You don’t need to make your decision right now,” said Hei. “There will come a time when news of a ‘grand opening’ will circulate. Join us there if you’re so inclined.”
Yunru nodded her head.
And the group once again moved in silence until they reached a certain distance from the sect.
That was when Hei stopped in his tracks, barring the way with his arm.
“Wait a minute,” he said.
“What is it?!”
His abrupt change in demeanour startled the others.
Hei raised his index finger and narrowed his eyes.
The others exchanged nervous glances.
“It’s as I thought,” he said.
“What?”
“What’s going on?”
Hei folded his arms.
“Isn’t this a little too bland?”
“…”
The young ladies exchanged glances, seemingly asking each other if anyone knew what this was about.
“We need a little more style, don’t you think? A little flash.”
Eyes shifted but no words were said.
Hei shook his head.
“I wish Senior Sister Qiuyue were here. She would understand.”
With that said, Hei decided to make the sacrifice and opened his storage space, pulling some of his stockpiled chains from it.
They snaked along the ground and overlapped each other, creating three mounds that grew in size, slowly taking the form of a chariot and two winged horses.
“Your chariot awaits.”
As he said that, the horses got onto their hind legs and neighed majestically.
““…””
***
Bai and Mei stood just outside the Radiant Jade Sect with their hands clasped in front of their chests. They had their heads bowed and eyes closed as if in prayer.
This had become a common sight for those disciples who made it a point to rise with the sun, and it was more than a little pitiful.
These girls had been waiting for their brother for who knew how long.
“Don’t you think someone should break it to them?” asked one of the senior sisters.
“You think no one’s tried? They won’t listen to a word we say, insisting that their brother will return.”
She shook her head.
“It’s so sad.”
“Just leave them be. They’ll come to terms with it eventually.”
That was when she noticed a change.
Mei opened her eyes and looked off into the distance.
After a moment, she turned to Bai, excitedly pointing in the direction of the rising sun.
Bai turned to look where Mei was pointing and soon opened her eyes wide.
“Hm?”
The senior sister walked closer to them, squinting her eyes to see what they were looking at.
That was when she heard the neighing of horses.
“There’s no way…”
She saw an object in front of the sun. An object that was getting larger and larger, until the sun became its accessory.
There were horses in the sky, and holding their reigns was a dark figure dressed in black whose hair danced in the wind as his horses galloped across the sky.
At this point, Bai and Mei were waving their hands to the person behind the chariot, and soon, more figures could be made out.
There must have been eight or nine of them.
“No way!”
As they got closer, she saw some familiar faces.
Naturally, the person steering the chariot was none other than Shao Hei, which was surprising enough on its own, but the others…
“If you go missing, you’ll never be seen again…”
That had been a law of nature as far as the Radiant Jade Sect was concerned.
But that law had just been overturned.
She found that she couldn’t help stepping forward as the chariot made its descent.
Once it landed, the horses let out one last neigh as they and the chariot faded into specks of light, leaving behind the forms of Shao Hei and the nine disciples.
***
As the chariot made its landing, Mei ran forward and gave Hei a big hug, but Bai found herself unable to move.
During the course of their separation, she came to a realization.
She didn’t need him.
That wasn’t to say life would be the same without him or that she wouldn’t mind losing him.
Far from it.
What she learned was that if it was simply a matter of sustaining herself, she already possessed the tools necessary to do so.
And this realization triggered another.
‘If I don’t need him, then he definitely doesn’t need me…’
Overhearing the things that were being said around her, of how this was a monumental achievement, she couldn’t help wondering if he wouldn’t be better off without her.
She loved him with all her heart, and she was sure he felt the same way about her.
But if his concern for her ended up preventing him from reaching his potential, then she wouldn’t be able to live with herself.
Her brother was a hero, through and through, despite his many protestations.
He would willingly endure pain and suffering if it was to lessen the same for others.
It was one of the things she loved most about him.
And it was one characteristic of his that she hoped to emulate.
‘If it’s for the sake of others, can I not endure the pain of losing time with him?’
“You know, some little sisters cry when their brothers come home after a long time.”
While she was in thought, she failed to notice that he had walked up to her.
His words broke her train of thought and brought a smile to her face.
“Aren’t they being overly emotional?”
He shrugged.
“Perhaps. But there’s something about it that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside.”
She laughed and gave him a hug.
“I’m afraid you’ll have to settle for this.”
She stepped back and looked at his smiling face.
“Does it make you feel warm and fuzzy?”
He brought her back in for another hug.
“Overwhelmingly so.”