Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

One by one the ships fell, destroyed by Ming Yue and the crew was all but dead. At the end of it, she flew back to the sky ship. Her clothes were stained red and her sword dripped with blood. Landing on the deck, she wiped the blood off her sword with her sleeves. The Changing Clouds Armor changed back to its original form, cleansing itself of the bloodstains. 

In seconds, it was as if she had never gone to battle at all. 

But everyone else had witnessed it, the destruction of a pirate fleet in her hands. An entire fleet, twenty ships in total had been decimated by her. For some it hadn't quite settled in and for others, there was a bit of fear and awe in what they had seen. 

"How did she achieve this?" they thought, it couldn't be fathomed. 

But they saw it all, heads lopped by the dozen, pools of blood that dyed the ships red, and the ghostly figure of Ming Yue, whose presence seemed to encompass everyting. If one looked closely, they would find the rolling heads to have expressions of fear and shock frozen on their faces. Their skin devoid of color, their eyes and mouth wide open as if to scream but no voice could be found. 

Some shuddered, unable to look Ming Yue straight for the carnage she had brought. 

The young cultivator did not seem to care, she looked around before aiding everyone. 

"Please, let me help you."

She spoke calmly, retrieving medicinal bandages and pastes from her spatial ring. Fortunately, no one had died but a few had been heavily injured, specifically, the two bodyguards from earlier. 

Both Wei La and Zuan Gan laid against the side of the ship, breathing heavily. Of the two, Wei La was in a much worse situation. Having to deal with the harpoon from Xing Dao, he could not stop it and endured the pain as it had pierced the side of his stomach. 

"Agh, this damned harpoon!" 

Zuan Gan was hesitant, his friend was injured but he was not confident in retrieving the harpoon. 

"Let me see it."

Ming Yue walked up to them and inspected the injury. It was lodged deeply in Wei La and pulling it out could cause even more bleeding, making the wound worse. Kneeling down, Ming Yue grabbed the harpoon by the shaft and the slightest movement had caused Wei La to grown in pain. 

"This will be painful but I will be as quick as possible. "

She looked at Wei La who nodded and grit his teeth, prepared to endure the pain. 

Ming Yue pulled out the Pearlstone Dagger, a weapon featuring a small white pearl inserted into the pommel. The blade was thin and long, six inches in length and the width was less then two fingers. 

Slowly, she opened the wound and widened it. Using the dagger, she slowly cut it open, allowing the harpoon space to loosen up. Zuan Gan watched closely, making sure that Wei La was still conscious. The young girl that they worked to protect tried to look away. However, she could not help but look at Wei La, concerned for his well-being. 

"Almost there..."

Ming Yue cut deeper into the wound, freeing up the harpoon and taking it out. She moved fast, applying some red paste to the wound and then wrapping his abdomen with bandages. The paste quickly worked, festering and bubbling as it began to close up the wound. 

"Hoo..."

Wei La breathed out feeling alleviated and relief as the pain was replaced by a cool sensation. 

"Hm, good, with an injury like that, it will take at least a week to fully recover. I'm not very skilled with this sort of work so it would be better to see a doctor. You may have incurred some internal injuries that only a medicinal pill could fix."

Ming Yue quickly explained while handing over a bundle of bandages to Zuan Gan. 

"Replace them once a day. You could risk things like sickness and infection. It would be even more costly to heal him."

Handing them off to him, Ming Yue stood up and moved on to the other injured. Before she did, the young mistress from before ran up to her. Looking a bit awkward, she mustered up the courage to speak. 

"Thank you for helping my bodyguard...I'm sorry for trying to take your pets..."

Her voice was quiet and after she finished, she grew silent. After seeing Ming Yue's actions, her mind changed after realizing that Ming Yue had saved her and treated her bodyguard. She was not stupid or stubborn enough to not understand this. She waited for Ming Yue's response only to be met with silence. 

Rather, a dark silver furred fox, walked towards her feet and rubbed against her clothes. Hei Yue looked at her, perhaps forgiving her for her actions before returning to Ming Yue. 

The young girl looked at them before being led away by her guards. 

The remainder of the trip was quiet and went without much problem. Of course, with Ming Yue around, there wasn't much to be worried about. However, the passengers and even a few of the crew had mostly avoided her. 

The scenes of her destruction was heavily imprinted in their minds. 

The only ones who didn't seem to mind her was Boss Hang and the young mistress, who introduced herself as Cai Kuihua. The former thanked her for her help and even answered a few lingering questions she had about sky ships. The latter asked her many questions: her past, her connection to Hei Yue and Xiao Yin, where she was headed. 

She seemed very intrigued by Ming Yue, wanting to know what sort of person she was. Where others were afraid, Kuihua's young age came with a lack of fear. 

The journey lasted several more days before the sky ship landed in the capital of Red Lotus, Five Element City. Ming Yue left, thanking the crew for their hospitality and giving Wei La another inspection before going. 

As for Kuihua, she had a slightly disappointed expression as Ming Yue exited the ship. Once more, she was accompanied by no one but her two guards. 

"Mm, I'm back."

MIng Yue looked around with her two companions, recalling her time here. The auction house and the Youth Dragon Tournament that she took part in. The tournament took place every five years and Ming Yue had entered when she was fifteen. She still had another chance at twenty as the participants had to be twenty or younger. 

But for now there were better times to reminisce.

From the capital city, she traveled for a few days before reaching a very familiar place along the way. 

"This is...the Firelight Ruins."

Just a distance away was the Firelight City, this had been where people fought over the inheritance of Yan Hui Zhu, the Fury of the Light. Such an opportunity was not meant for her and instead, a member of the Violet Sun Sect had grasped it. 

Even without getting it, Ming Yue chanced upon other encounters. 

"Hei Yue, do you remember this place?"

She looked towards the fox, whose eyes seemed to wander around the area. The beast's eyes were a bit somber, remembering what had happened here. The death of his mother and meeting Ming Yue were memories that emerged within him. If it was not for meeting the young woman, where could Hei Yue had gone?

Perhaps, he would've died to the same beast that killed his mother. 

However, it was the beast that died, killed through the duo's cooperation and devoured by Hei Yue. 

The fox looked up at Ming Yue, rubbing against her leg. 

"Hm, how could you not have forgotten this place?" she smiled, scratching his head. 

Upon finishing, her face took on a strange expression as if she had remembered something.

"I wonder, is that pond still there?"