Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

That night was a blissful one and the next day, Ming Yue woke up feeling refreshed.

Switching back to her sky blue robes, she packed up and left the room. She walked to Lao Gan's room only to hear heavy snoring behind the door. For a non-cultivator, he needed a lot more time to recover. She paid no more mind and left for the first floor.

Walking down to the counter, she ordered some food for breakfast and ate quietly. It was a bowl of congee and fried dough sticks, a delicious meal compared to the rations and grilled meat she had for the past month.

Find a table in the corner, Ming Yue sat down and scanned her surroundings. It was quite busy despite the early morning. Most tables had been occupied by others. There were merchants and their bodyguards, wandering cultivators, but there seemed to be one group in particular that stood out.

Wearing tattered yellow robes, this was a group of seven sect disciples. From where they came from she did not know, however it seemed that they have come across some misfortune. Perhaps it was a dangerous encounter with a beast or an ambush by bandits.

As she ate, she listened to the many conversations. Perhaps there was some information that might come in handy.

Some spoke of the mysterious person responsible for destroying multiple sects. Others talked about the developments in the Demon Continent, mostly merchants interested in its potential for profit. Though, there were a few who discussed the current situation.

It seemed that the group was currently discussing their next move. The eldest disciple, a middle aged woman, looked to her juniors.

"After this rest, we have to hurry to Heaven's Gate. We must tell them that Tao Feng are here, the one that killed the sect elder is one of them."

They nodded to her instructions.

"We are the last of the Yellow Leaf Sect. None of us can die before we reach Heaven's Gate."

Ming Yue was surprised, to think that there were still remnants of the destroyed sect. It also seems that they know something about the one that people have been hunting. While she wasn't specifically looking for this person, she was curious about them.

Not to mention, she was a part of Heaven's Gate.

Finishing her food, she walked up to them and in turn, the Yellow Leaf Sect Disciples turned towards her. Some had their hands on their weapons, ready to draw.

"Hello, my name is Ming Yue and I am a member of Heaven's Gate", she introduced herself and showed her gray badge to them as proof.

They looked at her dubiously but the badge had cleared their doubts. It was a symbol synonymous to Heaven's Gate that something that cannot be easily copied. The middle aged woman looked to the others before speaking to her.

"Please sit down, I am called Ye Hang and these are my junior brothers and sisters. Are you truly a member of Heaven's Gate?"

Ming Yue nodded, "Yes, and I wanted to know why you think it was the Tao Feng that did this."

"It has to be them! Who else would dare to do such a thing to my master!" another disciple, a young man spoke out.

"Liu Wang, stop it! This is not the time or palce to lose your temper!"

Ye Hang lectured her junior brother before turning back to Ming Yue.

"To be truthful, me and my juniors were out for some experiential training. When we came back, the sect was already in flames. All of us were about to jump in until we saw someone come out of the destruction. Wearing a mask, this man walked away before disappearing from. We did not wait and immediately rushed to try and save anyone that was still alive. But it was too late, all of out brothers and sisters were killed. Our elders died in battle."

They all had somber expressions, unable to contain the sadness that they felt. Ye Hang looked at Ming Yue gravely.

"We know it was the Tao Feng because they had tried to aquire our sect and force us to join them. However, we resisted it and the sect leader personally led a force to stamp them out. They are the only group with a grudge against us."

Ming Yue took time to digest what she had learned.

Was the masked man the same one that had crossed paths with her?

"I bet they're planning something! They have to be! We're not the only sects that were destroyed like this!" Liu Wang blurted out his thoughts.

Ming Yue looked at him, before asking them all a question about the mask. The Yellow Leaf Sect Disciples looked to each other before one of them answered.

"I didn't quite get a look at him but it was a very simpe mask. There were two holes just for the eyes and that was it."

It was the same person that she and Lao Gan met in the mountains!

Ming Yue thought about this. Who was the identity of this masked figure? If the Tao Feng were planning something, what was it? Were they continuing their "Conquest"? Didn't the Grand Elder of Heaven's Gate suppress them? There were many questions that she had.

The biggest one was, what were these sacrifices used for exactly?

She knew that strong cultivators would be sacrificed to appease the heavens and prevent the next calamity. However, if it was such why was it called a conquest? There had to be something more.

Thanking them for the information, Ming Yue gave her some of the medicinal bandages that she made.

"When you reach Heaven's Gate, show this to the Medicinal Elder and they should not turn you away."

She wasn't sure how much power she had but hopefully, these disciples would be listened too.

"Thank you for your help!" Ye Hang bowed as did the others and left for Heaven's Gate.

Ming Yue walked back to her room and saw that Lao Gan was awake. She walked in as he did some maintenence on his wooden backpack.

"Oh, Ming Yue! Did you already have breakfast?" he asked happily.

"Yes, I've come to tell you that this is where we part ways."

Lao Gan's hand slowed before continuing to clean his backpack.

"I see. Well, it was bound to happen. I doubt you were going to the Ying Long Sea to get some rare seafood. Heh, I hope we meet again, perhaps you might be willing to try that smelly sauce next time."

He turned around and bowed to which she did the same.

"Thank you for helping me. I am indebted to you", he said, speaking in a warm tone.

"I bid you good luck", she responded and left the inn.

Though they've only been working together for a month, they went through a number of tough trials. From the Primal Frost Deer to meeting the Qilin, they had become accustomed with each other. Lao Gan was a quirky person but she enjoyed his talk of food and the extensive number of things he had collected. It was interesting and showed her just how vast the continent was.

She hoped that they would meet again, perhaps somewhere other than a forest.

Ming Yue took out the map that Elder Hua gave her, looking at where she was. The Dark Water Kingdom wasn't too far from the inn. She might be able to reach the gates by the end of the day if she hurried.

Following large and open path, she made her way to the Dark Water Kingdom, a place that closed itself away from the rest of the continent. Hopefully, Elder Shen's insignia would make it easy for her to come in but in her mind she had doubts.

However, one can only know once they were there.

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