Flame Horse
Mu Yu was behind Lan Ling’er, who was crouched down on the tree branch. He could see her sodden red clothes and catch whiffs of her favourite orchid scent. He only just realised she was actually quite pretty. He was perturbed as to why he never noticed. He couldn’t decide whether or not to pull his hand out of hers. Her vice-like grip did hurt, though. He had never been so close to a girl before. Not to mention Lan Ling’er was someone he quarrelled with daily.
“It’s just a flame horse, big deal,” said Mu Yu.
Lan Ling’er gestured to hush with her finger and whispered, “A Level Two horse is relatively high level. They rarely show up at the outer perimeter. If they do, it means someone is hunting them. We have no reason to involve ourselves.”
“Senior Sister, do you usually hold Second Brother’s hand in this fashion?”
Lan Ling’er released Mu Yu upon realising where her hand was. “I should kick you down!”
The flame horse’s strides sounded heavier and heavier, silencing Mu Yu before he could fire back. They spotted the horse enveloped in red flames bolt out from behind trees, trails of black footprints left behind.
Mu Yu spotted two Foundation Establishment Realm Ninth Layer cultivators tailing the horse, both of who were in their thirties. One of them brandished a short sword. They cut off the horse’s path and tried to subdue it. The other one obstructed the horse using a golden ring that switched between a large and smaller form. There was no value in killing the horse unless…
Lan Ling’er furrowed her eyebrows. “The flame horse is pregnant.”
Level Three fiends would manifest fiend spirits after death. Said spirits contained the essence of a fiend’s lifetime-worth of cultivation. Cultivators used them for replenishment. A Level Three fiend was the equivalent of a Golden Core Realm cultivator. Thus, a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator could save themselves two years of cultivation if they could absorb a fiend spirit. Fiend spirits were prized possessions for even Golden Core Realm cultivators had a tough time slaying them. Unlike other flame horses, pregnant ones would manifest as a fiend spirit after their deaths. As such, pregnant flame horses were prime targets for cultivators.
No doubt, it was shameless from the perspective of one with principles. Foregoing principles for prestige and benefit was the norm for cultivators, nevertheless. They were the main contributors to endangering flame horses. Adult flame horses were worthless to cultivators. The problem was cultivators didn’t grant them the chance to grow.
The pregnant flame horse was bleeding a substance resembling lava, which was their equivalent of blood. The lava trickling from its wound scorched the earth.
“Senior Sister, I know it’s a fiend, but I’m going to argue it’s immoral for them to slay a pregnant flame horse.”
Lan Ling’er shook her head. “It’s none of our business. The best way to ensure you live a long life in the world of cultivation is to not stick your nose where it doesn’t belong.”
“I’m not going to watch them commit the atrocity.”
If Mu Yu had to choose between humans and another race, he’d choose humans. Regardless, he fervently loved life, contributing to his dislike for hunting fiends. He could always sense their life fading once they were slain, a tragic feeling that resonated with him. He looked away whenever Cheng Yan finished off fiends. Growing up amongst hunters, he tacitly came to terms with the reality that hunters wouldn’t show their prey mercy since it was compulsory for survival. Similarly, he fathomed they needed to hunt fiends for spirit stones to cover their living expenses.
Mu Yu understood the strong preyed on the weak in this world. Still, he couldn’t justify slaying a pregnant beast in the end. His shifu taught him to defend his principles as long as he didn’t impose needless harm on others. His village’s hunters never preyed on pregnant wild beasts because ordinary folk believed in karma.
“Stay put.” Lan Ling’er clutched Mu Yu’s hand tight. He couldn’t break out when her cultivation was superior. “Putting aside right and wrong, we don’t have what it takes to rescue the flame horse. We’ll only lose our own lives. Use your brain. We need to come up with a plan first.”
Lan Ling’er was too late. The two cultivators assaulted the horse until it cried to the sky. Mu Yu could hear the horse’s sorrow reverberating and replaying. His heart skipped a beat upon hearing the horse’s eventual collapse. For a short moment, its flames burnt brighter than ever, shining brighter than ever after its most valiant moment.
The flame horse’s baby released a golden light that flickered until it turned into a colourful beam and receded until it was reduced to a fist-sized fiend spirit and pile of ashes. Smoke whisked from them, revealing the two greedy and ecstatic expressions.
Lan Ling’er’s jaw hung open. By no account was she merciful when she hunted fiends, but she wouldn’t kill a pregnant fiend. Her decision to assess the situation was the final decision that sealed the horse and infant’s fate.
Looking at the two cultivators clasping the fiend soul in their hands, Mu Yu wondered if it was better the infant wasn’t born into the hostile world, where it’d only be hunted. He questioned if cultivators’ sole duty was to fight elemental demons. He clamped his fingers into white-knuckled vice-grips.
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