After Yang Wei finished killing all the furball fire monsters, he realized they were tougher to kill compared to most monsters in the Red Snake Mountains or even the white wolves from earlier.
They lacked offensive abilities, but their durability was impressive.
As he stashed the fire beast cores in his storage pouch, Sun Yuying sat by a tree, wrapped in Yang Wei's cloak; the only shield protecting her naked body and saving her from even more embarrassment.
She didn't say anything yet, clearly feeling shy.
D-do I... say something? Like, maybe a thank you?
Yang Wei glanced at her and suggested, "Alright, I've stored all the cores. We should get going..."
Summoning her courage, Sun Yuying spoke up. "Where exactly are we going?" she inquired.
Yang Wei then said, "Hm? I haven't told you yet? We're going to see the Senior Dragons."
Sun Yuying looked more interested now. She leaned forward and adjusted her sitting position. "The Senior Dragons?" she asked.
Yang Wei nodded somewhat proudly. "Indeed, they're the ones who're gonna help me perfect the third level of Dragon Vein Cultivation. And while I didn't plan for you to come here, I actually planned to return to this place myself so I could finally condense a truly supreme dragon sword."
Sun Yuying tightly kept the cloak wrapped around her body, still scared of exposing herself any more than she already had. She then asked, "So you weren't satisfied with how formidable your sword already was? Even though I hate to admit it, your mantra helped me increase the potency of my sword tenfold. It's perfect."
Yang Wei shook his head and smiled before telling her, "In truth, the mantra was perfect, but it's still missing another perfect component to make it truly ultimate."
Sun Yuying managed to stand up, using only her legs for support since she didn't want to let go of her cloak for even a split second. She determinedly nodded at him and said, "Let's get going. I'm interested in meeting them too. I've already comprehended your sword mantra, so it's only fair if I make an ultimate dragon sword as well."
Yang Wei nodded in agreement. "Alright then, let's get goin--"
Sun Yuying sighed as she folded the scroll back and told him, "You don't need to act like you didn't see it. Weren't you going to ask about it?"
Yang Wei remained relaxed with his eyes shut and calmly responded, "I make it a habit never to ask anyone about things that don't concern me, especially when it's a gnarly scar like that. Plus, we're not close enough for me to ask."
Disregarding his words, Sun Yuying persisted and said, "Look." She hesitated to open her cloak a bit, perhaps because showing another person the scar scared her, bringing back traumatizing memories. Yang Wei opened his eyes to look, but Sun Yuying still hesitated.
"You don't need to show me or bring up the topic if it bothers you," Yang Wei started to say, but Sun Yuying interjected, "No! I can do this..." She then opened her cloak a bit and showed him the scar across her pelvic girdle area. Looking at it now, Yang Wei saw just how gruesome the scar was, but he didn't say a word.
She then asked him, "Have you heard about the Dragon Ridge Township Incident before?"
"No, I... haven't," Yang Wei replied.
"Well... that was the night I lost my smile. My village was attacked. I remember all my sisters being taken against their will and raped by wicked, heartless... *deep breath* heartless men.
Mothers and their young daughters were turned into cauldrons, raped while they lifelessly watched their fathers get dishonored and killed in front of them." She revealed more of her scar and explained, "I ended up like this because I tried to protect someone. If Chief Xiu hadn't saved me, I would've either died of blood loss... or suffered the same fate as my sisters."
"Inkflow Spire's Chief Xiu?" Yang Wei asked to confirm.
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Sun Yuying nodded solemnly.
She draped her cloak over her scarred back and began to sob softly. "Honestly, I, I can't even remember the name of any of my sisters or anything about my family or village," Sun Yuying confessed between sobs. "How heartless must I be to forget something like that?" She buried her face in her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"All I know is, *sob* when I asked Chief Xiu about my family, she said she couldn't save them... *sob* now, I can only imagine the kind of pain they must've gone through."
Yang Wei stood up and walked over to her, then sat beside her. "It's okay. You can cry on my shoulder as much as you need to," he reassured her.
Sun Yuying's sobs hitched slightly as she looked at him, tears filling her eyes. "Yang Wei..." she whispered, then collapsed onto his shoulder, crying even harder.