The laughter died down as the night deepened around them. The group of four enjoyed the peaceful night. They ate good food and enjoyed good drinks.

  Krell wasn’t much for conversation but he was one for a good drink. Jian Xuan had learned of this and was taking out his finest collections of drinks to share. Li Yu did the same but he once again regretted drinking all the monkey wine. Making a mental note to ‘take more’ next time he had the chance.

  By the third day, the mood shifted slightly.

  Jian Xuan and Lin Xia were still cultivating together, their golden and blue auras swirling in a beautiful dance but every once in a while their eyes would dart toward the dark mouth of the cave at the end of the valley.

  Krell spent the time off somewhere in this valley. What he was doing exactly no one really knew. Li Yu could have checked if he wanted to but he respected his privacy. Every now and again the sound of a hammer tapping a restless rhythm against some kind of metal would ring out.

  Li Yu sat by the stream again but he wasn't fishing. He was just watching the water flow. His other mind had been spending the last few days in various different law rivers. His second mind being able to do so while he continued on was an amazing advantage. He couldn’t just go continuous as there was still a drain on his soul but it was still good.

  "Three days," Li Yu murmured to himself.

  "That old man should be hitting the limit soon. That guy is really after his revenge. He is using every single moment of time that he can." Tekton analyzed. "Based on what you said a few days ago, the time should be coming up."

  "Kael is doing what he needs to…" Li Yu said quietly. “I can understand his rage. He can take all the time he needs.”

  He stood up as the sun began to dip below the horizon. It was casting long and bruised shadows across the valley. The silence from the cave over the last three days was heavy. It wasn't the silence of emptiness; it was the silence and unease of a tomb.

  After 3 days there was finally movement. From the darkness of the cave mouth a figure emerged.

  Jian Xuan and Lin Xia stood up immediately when they noticed it. Even though Krell wasn’t there he had been keeping his senses on the cave as well. He too detected the movement.

  Kael walked out into the twilight.

  He looked... different.

  Three days ago, Kael had been a bundle of raw nerves and suppressed rage. He had vibrated with a dark, frantic energy. Now, he walked with a slow, deliberate gait.

  His clothes were ruined. He hadn’t bothered to replace them before coming out. They were stiff with dried blood, none of it his own. His hands were stained a deep, rust red up to the elbows.

  His face was gaunt, his eyes sunken with dark circles bruising the skin beneath them. He looked exhausted, drained and hollowed out. He looked like a man who had carved out a piece of his own soul and left it in the dark.

  But his eyes were clearer than before. More clear than Li Yu had ever seen them. The frantic shaking from 3 days ago was gone. The madness was gone.

  He walked past the fire without saying a word. He didn't stop to look at Jian Xuan or Lin Xia. He didn't acknowledge Krell who had appeared in the sky just a moment ago.

  He walked straight to the stream.

  Li Yu watched him come. He was curious what Kael was feeling at this moment. ‘I wonder if I will feel the same way as he does when I too get my revenge…’ He thought while watching. He didn't move to intercept Kael. He just stood by the water's edge like a silent sentinel.

  Kael reached the bank. He fell to his knees in the mud, not caring about the dampness seeping into his clothes.

  He stared at the water for a long time without a word. Then, slowly, he dipped his hands in. The clear water turned red instantly, swirling away downstream.

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  Kael scrubbed. He scrubbed his hands, his wrists, his forearms. He scrubbed with a desperation that suggested he was trying to wash away more than just blood. He splashed water on his face, rubbing his skin until it was raw.

  Li Yu took a step closer. He kicked off his boots and he too waded into the stream, the cold water biting at his ankles.

  He sat down on a submerged rock next to Kael. He didn't say anything. He just sat there, letting the water rush past his legs.

  Kael stopped scrubbing after a moment. He stayed on his knees, water dripping from his chin, his chest heaving.

  "He's gone," Kael whispered to Li Yu but never looked at him. His voice was raspy, like he had been screaming alongside his victim.

  "I know," Li Yu said softly.

  "I made him..." Kael paused while swallowing hard. "I made him remember everything that he had done to my family. Even if he wasn’t the exact one that gave the order… He was the head of the demon. I made him know of my family. My mother. My father and the others. I made him say them. I made him beg them for forgiveness."

  Kael looked at his wet, clean hands. They were trembling. He never thought he would one day be able to do what he had just did. Even in his dreams he didn’t have such a satisfying ending.

  "It didn't bring them back."

  "No," Li Yu said as he looked at the reflection of the moon in the water. "I too have realized that. It never does. Revenge isn't resurrection. It's just... balancing the ledger. It's paying a debt that needs to be paid or else the interest keeps on going on."

  Kael let out a long and shaky breath. He slumped back, sitting in the shallow water of the stream next to Li Yu. The cold current soaked his clothes but he didn't seem to notice.

  "I feel empty," Kael confessed. "I thought I would feel triumphant. Or happy. But I just feel... light. Like a heavy stone I've been carrying for years is just... gone. And now I don't know what to carry instead. I feel like if a strong wind comes, I'll just blow away."

  Li Yu reached into his storage ring and pulled out a flask of wine. He took a sip then handed it to Kael.

  "That's for you to find and fill Kael," Li Yu said. "The emptiness. If you leave it empty, the darkness comes back in. You have to fill it with something else. At least that’s what I’ve concluded myself."

  Kael took the flask. He stared at it for a moment before taking a long pull. He coughed slightly as he realized this was the first thing he had drank in days. The burn brings a bit of color back to his pale cheeks.

  "Fill it with what?" Kael asked while looking at Li Yu. "I spent my whole life for this moment. Ever since losing my family, this is all I have lived for. The things I have done just to survive and to get this moment.... I don't know who I am without the hate."

  "You're Kael," Li Yu said simply. "A member of the Golden Shell Guild. You're a member of the Crab Cult. Most importantly you are yourself and have a lifetime to figure out what you want to do next."

  Li Yu leaned back on his hands as he was looking up. It felt like his words just now were more for himself than Kael. He too had been thinking long and hard during his traveling journey. About what to do and what to do afterwards.

  The sky above the valley was a vast velvet canvas of black, dusted with millions of diamond-bright stars. The galaxy stretched out in an endless river of light.

  "Look up," Li Yu said.

  Kael tilted his head back. He looked at the stars. They were indifferent to his pain, indifferent to the blood in the cave. They just burned, cold and beautiful.

  "It's big," Kael murmured.

  "It is," Li Yu agreed. "Plenty of room to find something new. Plenty of room to fill that empty space."

  Li Yu nudged Kael’s shoulder with his own.

  "We have a headquarters to raid soon. Your revenge will not truly end until the headquarters and core of the Crimson Fang are destroyed. After that happens, most likely the ones that ordered the death of your family will also be killed. We have Jian Xuan and his lovebirds act to make fun of. You have a different family now, Kael."

  Li Yu wasn’t just saying empty words. With his progress in the Karmic Laws, he can vaguely feel the karmic connections of himself and others. It wasn’t to the point where he could truly use it to track anyone down. However, when he brought Cyrus to Kael, he could feel a connection between them. If the connection was strong enough, he could feel it.

  Kael thought about what Li Yu had said and finally lowered the flask. He looked at Li Yu, really looked at him. This boy was so much younger than him, yet this boy had granted him a favor he could never replay.

  He also saw the acceptance and cheerfulness in Li Yu's eyes. No judgment for the torture. No fear of the killer. Just a friend sitting in a cold stream.

  A tear slipped down Kael's cheek, mixing with the river water. He turned to face Li Yu while remaining on his knees. He went to give Li Yu a deep kowtow but found himself unable to move.

  He wanted to tell Li Yu that he owed him his life and would be his dog if he wanted him to. Kael looked up and saw Li Yu smile at him, realizing what had stopped him from moving and what it meant.

  "Family," Kael whispered. It felt strange on his tongue after all these years, but not bad.

  "Family," Li Yu affirmed.

  They sat there for a long time, surrounded by the quiet of the wilderness. They didn't speak again. They just drank the wine and watched the stars wheel slowly overhead. They let the cold water wash the past away and carry it downstream into the dark.