Kai stood alone in the stable meadow, the once-bustling sanctuary now eerily quiet and devoid of life. The spirit beasts were gone, freed to roam the wilderness. A heavy sigh escaped his lips as he looked around the empty field. He wished, with every fiber of his being, that he could have taken them with him. They were his family, his companions, and the only source of light in the darkness of his life. But deep down, he knew it was impossible.

  If demonic cultivators were nearby, as he suspected, traveling with such a large group would have drawn too much attention. The creatures, wandering alone in the wild, might go unnoticed. To a demonic cultivator, they were just random spirit beasts wandering the wilderness. But his presence would change everything. He would mark them as targets, and their lives would be forfeit simply because they were with him.

  "They'll have a better chance without me," Kai murmured, trying to convince himself. The words felt hollow, a thin veil over the ache in his chest. His hands clenched at his sides as he stared at the forest’s edge, where the last of the beasts had disappeared.

  "They’ll also be happier in the wild," he whispered, his voice barely audible. The sentiment was meant to comfort him, but it felt like a lie. He had cared for them, nurtured them, and given them a home. Could the wilderness ever replace that? Or was it just another way to justify the unbearable loss?

  Kai closed his eyes and tilted his head back, drawing in a deep, steadying breath before dashing back to the barn. The familiar building, once filled with warmth and life, now felt eerily empty without the spirit beasts. Determined, he moved quickly to the storage area where he had kept the meat fruit.

  Locating a large, heavy barrel, he pried it open to reveal its contents—a thick, crimson liquid that eerily resembled blood. It was the juice extracted from the meat fruits he had painstakingly stored to prevent them from rotting. The viscous fluid shimmered under the dim light, its color disturbingly lifelike.

  Without hesitation, Kai began splashing the liquid around the barn. He smeared it across the walls, poured it over the stalls, and let it pool on the floor. The once-pristine interior now looked like a gruesome crime scene, a place where blood had been shed in abundance. His hands trembled slightly as he worked, but he pressed on, knowing the grim display would serve its purpose.

  Once the barrel was empty, Kai took a step back to examine his work. The barn now bore the hallmarks of a brutal massacre. Blood-like streaks dripped from beams, and dark puddles spread ominously across the ground. Anyone who saw it would think a slaughter had taken place here, a savage attack with no survivors.

  But he wasn’t done. From his storage ring, Kai retrieved a second barrel, this one filled with lantern oil. He began dousing the barn with the flammable liquid, ensuring every corner, every bloodied surface, was soaked. The sharp, acrid smell of oil filled the air as he worked quickly and efficiently. He grabbed what few useful items remained in the barn, tucking them into his storage ring, then stepped outside.

  With one final look, Kai struck a flint to ignite a torch. His chest tightened as he hurled the torch inside, the flames catching almost instantly. The oil-fed fire roared to life, consuming the barn in moments. The glow of the flames painted the surrounding meadow in an ominous orange light, and thick plumes of smoke billowed into the sky.

  Kai stood silently, watching as the barn was engulfed in fire. The fake blood, the splattered juice—everything that wasn't burned away, would leave behind evidence that something had died in the building. To anyone who might come searching, it would look like the barn had been attacked, the creatures inside slaughtered in a savage raid.

  Not wanting to linger and watch the barn—the place he had spent countless hours working—be reduced to ash, Kai quickly turned away and sprinted back toward his shack deeper in the forest. The path wound through dense underbrush, the towering trees casting long shadows in the faint light of the fire behind him. His breaths came in short, sharp bursts as he ran, his mind racing just as fast.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  When he finally reached his shack, something about it felt off. The door hung slightly ajar, and the usual stillness around the small clearing was disturbed. Anxiety gripped him, but he pushed it aside, stepping cautiously inside. He scanned the room but found no signs of intrusion. Either the disturbance was his imagination, or he was lucky to have arrived before anyone else.

  Kai didn’t waste a single moment. With a sense of urgency driving him, he began tearing through his meager belongings, gathering everything that held even the slightest value. Extra clothing, carefully folded and patched over time, went into the pile. Medicinal supplies—precious herbs, salves, and bandages—were meticulously sorted and added to the collection. Tools, though worn and simple, were too useful to leave behind, and the small stash of dried food he had painstakingly preserved over the weeks was packed with particular care. Each item was a lifeline, a small but crucial piece of his survival.

  One by one, he stuffed these essentials into his storage ring, his movements swift and deliberate. He couldn’t afford to leave anything useful behind, not when the road ahead was so uncertain. To save space in the storage ring, he repurposed his herb bag into a makeshift backpack, slinging it over his shoulders to carry a few additional items. It wasn’t much, but every bit of preparation counted.

  He repeated the grim process he had carried out at the barn. From his storage ring, he retrieved more of the meat fruit juice and began splattering it across the walls and floor, mimicking the look of a gruesome attack. Once the fake blood was in place, he spread lantern oil throughout the small structure, ensuring it would burn. He wanted it to look as though whoever had attacked the barn had found him here as well, killing him and leaving no trace behind.

  Kai knew that if it was demonic cultivators, they might not leave a body behind, either using it for their twisted techniques or reducing it to ash. The absence of a corpse wouldn’t seem strange in this context, and he hoped it would help sell the illusion.

  As he stood at the doorway, ready to ignite the oil, he hesitated. Something tugged at the edges of his mind—he had forgotten something. Turning back, his gaze fell on the bed in the corner. His chest tightened as he strode toward it and knelt down, reaching underneath. His hand found the familiar shape of a scabbard, and he pulled out a sword.

  The weapon felt foreign in his hands. It was the blade issued to him when he first joined the Ember Sword Sect, a symbol of his membership and an expectation of his eventual mastery of the sect’s signature technique—the Ember Sword Art. This skill allowed the wielder to engulf their blade in flames, a devastating display of their cultivation.

  But Kai had never aspired to learn the technique. He had always believed he would never rise high enough in the sect to achieve such mastery, so he had neglected his sword training entirely. The blade had lain untouched beneath his bed for years, collecting dust and forgotten.

  Now, however, things were different. The danger around him was very real, and he couldn’t afford to be defenseless. Kai secured the sword to his side, fastening it tightly. The weight of the weapon was both unfamiliar and strangely comforting—a reminder of a time when he had thought life would turn out differently.

  With everything in place, he took one last look around the shack that had been his home. “Goodbye,” he muttered under his breath. Then he struck the flint, igniting the oil. As flames began to consume the small structure, he turned and left, the sword at his side a silent promise that he would do whatever it took to survive.

  Kai took one last glance over his shoulder, the glow of the fire consuming his shack flickering through the trees. It felt like watching his past dissolve into ash—a life he had once known, reduced to nothing but smoke rising into the darkened sky. He gritted his teeth and turned away, the weight of his decision pressing heavily on his chest.

  Without another moment’s hesitation, he ran into the depths of the forest, his footsteps barely making a sound against the soft earth. The canopy above stretched endlessly, blotting out the stars and casting the forest in shadows. The cool night air brushed against his skin, carrying the faint, smoky scent of the fire he had left behind.

  Kai’s heart pounded in rhythm with his hurried steps, not just from the exertion but from the sheer magnitude of what he was leaving behind. This was not just an escape; it was a severance. He was cutting ties with the Ember Sword Sect, with the creatures he had cared for, and with the identity he had known for so long. He had no destination in mind, only the desperate desire to leave everything behind.