Re-birth: The Beginning after the End - Chapter 101

Chapter 101: SPLITTING UP

Mo Xing stepped forward, his youthful features hardened with rare seriousness. The chamber’s twisted space seemed to bend around him, responding to the barely contained power that rippled beneath his usual easy grace. “Old Tang, if you know where they are—”

“Knowledge has its own price,” Old Tang interrupted, his form seeming to blur like watercolors in rain. Something ancient and knowing flickered in the depths of his otherworldly eyes. “And time… time is not what you think it is. The Failed Candidate has already begun preparing the ritual circles. Even now, your brothers’ cores are being slowly drained to power the preliminary formations.”

Li Hua’s hands trembled with a fury that threatened to shatter her careful assassin’s control. The raw desperation in her voice carved new paths through the scholarly quiet of the chamber. “Tell me now!” The sound echoed strangely, causing nearby scrolls to rustle like startled birds, each whisper a mockery of her pain. “My brothers are being tortured while you speak in riddles about knowledge and time!”

Mo Xing reached for her, but she stepped away from his touch, her eyes blazing with fury as she faced Elder Tang. “I don’t care about the price. I don’t care about proper protocols or cosmic consequences. Every moment we waste with cryptic warnings is another moment their cores are being drained. Either tell me where to find them, or I’ll tear apart every fold in this realm until I do.”

The air grew heavy with power as her essence flared in response to her emotions, her usual perfect control fracturing under the weight of seeing her brothers’ torture. Wind began to stir around her, making the ancient scrolls flutter and dance, while the very air seemed to pulse with her barely contained fury.

Old Tang’s colorless eyes studied her with newfound interest, as if her outburst had revealed something unexpected. “Very well,” he said, his brush moving with sudden purpose. “But remember, girl—sometimes knowing the truth is more dangerous than remaining ignorant. The Failed Candidate has hidden your brothers in places where reality grows thin…”

The ink before Old Tang began to move with new urgency, forming intricate maps that twisted through multiple dimensions. “He’s placed them at three points of power—places where the boundaries between realms naturally weaken.” The brush danced through the air, marking locations with glowing sigils. “Your eldest brother, is being held in the Frozen Peak Caves in the lower realm, where ice preserves moments of time like insects in amber. The Failed Candidate is using the cave’s temporal distortions to accelerate the core-draining process.”

The ink shifted, revealing a second location. “Your other brother has been taken to the Void Temple in the Ascending Plateau Realm—or what remains of it. Three centuries ago, it was a sacred site for realm transitions before something… went wrong. Now it’s a wound in reality, perfect for channeling corrupted spiritual essence.”

Li Hua turned to face Mo Xing, “Let’s go.”

“We’ll split up,” Mo Xing said, his voice carrying that particular gentleness he seemed to reserve for her most volatile moments. “You’ll take care of your brother at the Frozen Peaks and I’ll head over to the Void Temple.”

The words hung between them like frost crystals, beautiful and sharp. Li Hua studied his face, searching for any hint of doubt beneath that infuriating confidence. Her heart twisted with an emotion she refused to name – something dangerously close to fear, not for herself, but for him.

“You’re leaving me with that chatterbox?” she deflected, letting irritation mask the deeper currents swirling beneath. The memory of Mo Tao’s endless questions and theatrical displays provided a convenient shield for her unspoken concerns.

Mo Xing’s laughter echoed through the chamber, rich with genuine amusement. “Believe it or not, he’s quite knowledgeable and could be of use to you.” His eyes sparkled with mischief. “Besides, his endless talking might keep you from missing me too much.”

Li Hua shot him a glare that could have frozen a lesser cultivator solid, but he merely continued smiling that infuriating smile of his. She let out a deep, resigned sigh. “Fine.” The word carried all the enthusiasm of someone agreeing to their own execution. “Thank you.”

Li Hua turned to Elder Tang, her eyes questioning. “Your price?”

The keeper’s form shimmered slightly as he waved his hand dismissively. “No rush, girl. I sense you’ll return soon enough.” His colorless eyes held something knowing, almost amused. “Let’s discuss this… later.”

Li Hua nodded, not entirely sure if she should be relieved or worried by his cryptic response. She moved toward the exit, navigating the twisted paths between the floating scrolls with careful steps. She could feel Mo Xing following closely behind her, his presence warm and solid at her back.

She pretended not to notice how his hand hovered near the small of her back as they walked, not quite touching but close enough to send tingles along her spine. Whether the gesture was protective or possessive, she wasn’t entirely sure—and that uncertainty was beginning to become a familiar feeling where Mo Xing was concerned.

They found Mo Tao pacing in the gardens, his expensive robes somehow already wrinkled despite the short wait, each crease a testament to his perpetual state of dramatic agitation. Moonflowers bloomed around him, their pale, ghostly petals catching the dim light like faded echoes of stars. The moment he saw them, he moved forward with the quiet urgency of a shadow, his energy a fleeting contrast to the heavy gloom of their mission.

“So?” His eyes sparkled with barely contained excitement, reading the tension between Li Hua and Mo Xing with an insight that belied his theatrical nature. “What did Old Tang say? Are we going on an adventure? A rescue mission perhaps? Or—”

“I’ll be sending you and Little tempest back to the lower realm,” Mo Xing interrupted smoothly, though something in his expression suggested he was grateful for his friend’s ability to lighten even the darkest moments.

“Ah???” Mo Tao’s face drained of color, his theatrical dismay making him look like someone had just announced his execution. “The lower realm? But the Third Princess—”

“The Frozen Peaks, not Jade Garden City,” Mo Xing corrected, his lips twitching with barely concealed amusement. “You can stop hiding behind that pillar.”

Li Hua smiled faintly at Mo Tao’s antics, though it made her miss her brothers even more.

Mo Tao perked up instantly, his mood shifting faster than the weather on a cultivation peak. “The Frozen Peaks? Brother Xing!” His eyes lit up with excitement. “Are you finally going to help me court the First Princess? You didn’t forget!” He clasped his hands together theatrically. “I knew you cared about my romantic endeavors—”

“No more princesses, Mo Tao,” Mo Xing cut him off firmly, though his eyes danced with mischief. “One near-marriage and attempted exorcism is enough for this century, don’t you think?”

“Fine,” Mo Tao sighed with theatrical dejection, his shoulders slumping as if carrying the weight of all failed romances in history. “But you’re crushing my dreams of becoming the Frozen Peaks’ Prince Consort, Brother Xing. I hope you know that.”

Mo Xing merely smiled at his friend’s dramatics before gathering both Li Hua and Mo Tao closer. “Ready?” he asked, though he was already weaving the void-walking technique around them. Reality began to blur at the edges, darkness seeping in like ink through paper.

They emerged in the crisp air of the lower realm, where the familiar chill of the Frozen Peaks nipped at their skin like hungry spirits. Mo Xing turned to leave, but paused, something shifting beneath his usual mask of playful confidence. His hesitation lasted just long enough to make Li Hua’s instincts prickle with warning.