281: Choose Your Side (Bai Ye's Memory)

Choose Your Side (Bai Ye's Memory)

Silence stretched between them. Bai Ye didn't know how to respond. He didn't know how to match the person in front of him with the girl he remembered, or how to associate this scene with anything he had imagined on his way back.0

"… Why?" was the only word he managed to croak out of his throat in the end.

The girl tilted her head. "You mean why I've been waiting for you?" She raised the sword in her grip. "Have you not noticed? Twin Stars is growing stronger now than ever before. I can feel the power flowing inside me, pulsing with such immense energy that I never knew was possible. Aren't you excited for me? Wouldn't you want to be here to witness such an incredible achievement?"

Bai Ye kept staring at her in a daze. He could see the thrill in her eyes, the black flame that replaced the bright twinkles, burning like hellfire from the depth of her soul. He noticed the change in Twin Stars as well. The crimson light pulsing over the blood-crusted blades had grown so wild, so glaring that it scorched his vision. He blinked the sting away from his eyes.

"Why did you kill them?" He corrected his question.

The sword spirit paused for a second, as if taken aback by his words. "Have you forgotten?" she exclaimed. "They said I'm a demon! They said I'm a threat to their perfect little lives at Mount Hua! Did you think I knew nothing about all the words they used to call me behind my back?"

Of course he didn't, but for the longest time, he thought she didn't care. He thought that as long as he could figure out a solution to her bonding, she would forget about these unpleasant gossips quickly enough, and that all of it would soon be in the past.

"I didn't know it troubled you so much," he said. "You should've told me. We could've left. We could've gone anywhere … just you and me, if you don't want to hear anyone say these things against you."

"Leave? Why would I do that?" She waved an arm proudly in a wide sweep. "Useless humans like them are the perfect food for Twin Stars. They served their purpose well, and I'd say that's worth the trouble."

Bai Ye couldn't believe anything he was hearing. He couldn't believe such cruel words could ever come out of her lips. This couldn't be real … Only three days ago, she had talked to him so calmly and even apologized for her stubbornness over the years. She had proved to him that her kind-hearted soul was still there, and she had made him think that a better future was finally coming for them after all their struggles. But now … Who was this girl standing before him? Who was this girl with only blood and hatred left on her mind?

A clattering noise interrupted his thoughts. The girl swirled around. A few dozen paces behind her, two disciples were stepping out of a thicket of bushes. Both were injured, covered in blood, and they supported each other while holding firmly onto their swords with the other hand. "Demon!" one of them shouted. "Come at us! Mount Hua won't surrender to your dark power without putting on a fight!"

The sword spirit huffed. "Tsk, the Gatekeeper needs to teach his disciples the basic rules of self-preservation." She strode towards the two young men. "Look at you, so powerless yet so full of naive bravery in your head. Would you like me to teach you a lesson on your master's behalf?"

She raised her blade. The cold metal glinted against the snow-filled sky, and that scarlet sheen finally snapped Bai Ye out of his trance. He finally realized then … that she was determined to wipe out every last soul on Mount Hua. And once she fed them all to Twin Stars, she wouldn't stop there. She would keep going for as long as she and the swords lived.

Someone had to stop her.

HE had to stop her.

Bai Ye forced himself to move. He unsheathed his longsword, and just before her blades crossed with her target, he blocked them, meeting her blow firmly with his own. "Seek shelter," he said to the disciples behind him without looking back.

The two disciples hesitated for a moment. That was enough for the sword spirit to strike a second time. She swung both of her swords fast around Bai Ye's protection, and they almost made it past him before he intercepted again, the loud clang sending a resonating vibration all the way down to the ground.

"Leave, now," he commanded. This time, he heard the disciples scuttling away behind him, leaving only him and the girl once more.

"Bai Ye!" The girl pulled her blades back, her voice burning with rage. "What is the meaning of this? Why are you helping them?"

Bai Ye straightened. "I can't let you continue," he made himself say. "Please … Stop it. Some of these people might have wronged you in the past, but they don't deserve death. Not like this."

She glared at him. Then slowly, her lips curled into a strange smile. "So this is what it is," she said. "You are on their side, aren't you? You think I'm a demon as well? You think I'm the villain claiming innocent people's lives with slaughter?"

When Bai Ye didn't respond, her eyes darkened even further. "What if I don't stop?" she demanded, raising her sword once more and pointing it at Chu Yang's hall behind them. "There are more cowards hiding in there that I haven't been able to finish up. What if I want to find them all and feed them to my swords?" She drew a smooth line with the tip of her blade, turning it toward him. "What will you do if I don't stop, Bai Ye? Will you kill me to save their pathetic lives?"

Bai Ye felt his heart stop.

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