Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

As for Ming Yue, she went off to the edge of the clearing before stopping at the small spring, away from the house. She knelt down and looked at the water, checking her reflection before looking at herself once more. 

Although her clothes were enough to tell her, she was an absolute mess in terms of appearance. All of her equipment was still in its dreadful state, slowly fixing itself but at a snail's pace. Her face and hair were messy as well, some parts were singed while there were plenty of bruises and cuts.

They were small now but there was no doubt that her injuries were much worse before. 

Her heavy breaths slowed and calmed in time as her heart calmed. She slowly relaxed and took a long look at herself, releasing a heavy sigh. 

"I should clean myself up", she thought.

Undressing, Ming Yue dipped into the cold stream of water and began to wash herself, wiping away any dead skin and dried blood. She then fully submerged into the stream before coming out, taking in a few breaths. 

Her dirtied hair was clean once more and she came out feeling refreshed. The crisp sensation of the running water had helped clear her mind and calm her down. 

She then dried herself off before changing into a fresh pair of clothes. Something basic for times when she wouldn't or couldn't wear her armor. 

"Now then, what should I..."

Looking at her dirtied equipment, she took out everything and washed them, cleaning off any dirt or blood from it. It didn't take long for her to finish it but she did have a much closer look at the state of it all, especially the Pearlstone Dagger.

Holding it in her hands, she turned it around, examining the damage it had taken. 

"It looks barely usable at this point", she muttered sadly. 

The Pearlstone Dagger was a great replacement for her last dagger but now, it looked as if it could shatter into hundreds of pieces. There were cracks all over the blade and dozens of tiny fractures too. 

But what weapon wouldn't end up in that state considering its use? 

It was her main weapon when Blood Moon was still in the lake. Every day it was being used for battle or harvesting and she had brought it in for maintenance many times. However, there was only so much punishment it could take. Its blade was already shortened from the constant sharpening. 

She couldn't help but sigh before putting the dagger away. Although she had her sword back, having a second weapon had always been comforting to her. 

"I'm definitely going to need a replacement after this."

Tucking it all into her spatial ring, she returned to the house, greeted by the pleasant smell of rabbit stew. Seated by the fire were Xiao Bai's mother and Xiao Bai, who was fast asleep with his head on her lap. 

His mother nodded after seeing her, beckoning the young woman closer. 

"You seem a lot better now, please join me and have some of the stew. He tried to stay up as late as possible to wait for you but he certainly fell asleep quickly", she said. 

Ming Yue felt a bit embarrassed as she sat down quietly. 

The mother smiled as she took a spoon and bowl, filling it with stew and handing it over to her. 

"Well, you're welcome to talk to me about it. I'm sure what you need the most is someone to listen to you", she said. 

"I..."

Ming Yue looked at her somewhat stunned by the sudden gesture but she didn't refuse it. 

"I was part of a war and in the last battle, I fought an unimaginable creature far beyond what I thought could've existed..."

She just continued to talk, revealing the war and the True Idol. From the first to the final struggle and then the moment where things should've ended for her. 

"I'm sorry for earlier, I just needed time to absorb everything. I still... can't believe that I'm in the Beast Continent of all places. I should've been dead but I guess I was lucky." 

When she finished, Ming Yue looked at Xiao Bai's mother, seeing a rather surprised face. Certainly, she knew that Ming Yue was no ordinary person but she was certainly not expecting a story like this. However, she soon regained her composure and spoke.

"Well first off, if you had not succeeded in destroying this 'Primordial' then the world would've been destroyed right? I mean, who knows how long you've been in that forests before Xiao Bai found you." 

"That's true."

"And there is no guarantee that you'll be stuck here for the rest of your life. If you managed to come here, then there's surely a way to get out." 

"You're right, you're right. My only chances would be the Savage Lands." 

Although Ming Yue knew that all of this was true, she couldn't help but feel doubtful. The mother could see it, the uncertainty and hesitation in the young cultivator's eyes. 

"I think what you need most is some peace, some time to yourself. You certainly didn't come out of that war unscathed. You should stay here for a while, relax, heal. It would do you some good."

Ming Yue couldn't help but feel her heart warmed by the mother's words. 

"And you and your son, it's just the two of you? There's supposed to be tribes, no?" she suddenly asked. 

Ming Yue was curious after all. Since this was the Beast Continent, there were so many things that she wanted to know. But Xiao Bai's mother had a bit of a complicated expression on her face. Not quite sadness but more so, hesitation. 

"Me and my son, we're from the Byakko Tribe, descendants of the White Tiger. It is a prideful bunch who values strength and ferocity, something that me and my husband weren't so fond of", she explained. 

She looked at the fire and the pot of stew steaming above it. 

"You see, all that tribe wanted was to grow their territory, to constantly fight and become stronger but such behavior was self-destructive. But that was the thing, every tribe was different but territory was the most important thing for everyone. There were often battles and skirmishes to gain just a few more feet of land. And because both of us were against these practices, we were expelled from the tribe and forced to live on our own. But we were fine with that, we had this little house and our son here. A peaceful life until my husband was lost." 

Her voice grew increasingly gentle as she continued, it even began to tremble just a bit. 

"When Xiao Bai was still small, my husband went out to hunt but never came back. I thought that perhaps he had just taken the wrong turns but after a week, I carried Xiao Bai with me on my back and looked for him. Day in and day out, that was what I did, exhausting myself until I finally found his corpse. He had tripped and fallen, his head cracked against a rock, caving in. By the time I found him, his body had been... ripped apart by beasts."

After saying it, she took in a deep breath, trying to still her voice as she finished her story.

"Having put myself to the brink of exhaustion and the shock of seeing him like that, I nearly collapsed. The only reason why I didn't was because of Xiao Bai." 

She looked at her sleeping child, slowly curling up on her lap and doing so peacefully. Putting a hand on his head, she began to run her fingers through his hair, gently caressing him. 

She smiled and faced Ming Yue, showing some teary eyes. 

"I had to live for my son." 

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