I Will Leave Before Dawn

Chapter 19: The shadow and the sunlight

He said that "Everything happens for a reason."

Before I knew it, I found myself drawn to The Child without my conscious consent.

After an assembly, a realization dawned upon me like a downpour—I couldn't enact my revenge without a meticulously devised plan.

The cultivators surrounding Huang JunJie, their immortal prowess and formidable strength loomed over me, unlike the regular cultivators who had been hunting after me.

Though I stood a step ahead of them individually, I grudgingly admitted that their combined might would be my downfall.

It appeared that Lord Huang, in his grandeur, had sent his own son to study under a master from a powerful sect, the irony of it all sleeping into my bones, filling me with bitter amusement as I bite my lips.

My visits to the Qing Shan Sect and The Grim City had become a ceaseless journey, where I poured my thoughts into diaries and sought counsel from Yin Xuan. The weight of my purpose rested on his guidance, after all.

The thought of rallying the The Grim City residents to aid me in my quest for vengeance left me dissatisfied. The idea of using their strength to serve my personal vendetta didn't sit well with my principles, and so I declined Yin Xuan's proposal to ambush the sect.

As I delved deeper into my plans, my thoughts were shattered by The Child's interruption

I had aligned my timing with The Child's growth. He had turned fifteen this year, marking five years since we first met. I had spent five years planning my revenge, yet nothing seemed to be ready to play out.

It was exactly that. I wasn't reluctant.

"Mo Yun, I'm going to sleep now. Make sure you leave before dawn. I'll punish you myself if you're still here when I wake up."

Indeed, in a bizzare turn of event, I had been lingering around his room, my presence an unspoken secret veiled by the night.

I had sought answers on how he banished nightmares, only to be met with a perplexing response.

"What nightmares?" His innocent words slipped from his lips, not a single knowledge about spells or tricks to ward off such torment.

How, then, did my own nightmares cease in his presence? I really couldn't comprehend it.

In my new everyday life, I found myself falling into a familiar routine. I would linger in The Child's room after midnight, leaving just before the break of dawn. Then, I would return to my hall room in The Grim City, writing my diaries and reporting to Yin Xuan before returning back to the Qing Shan Sect for study and practice sessions with The Child and Huang JunJie, despite my hostility for it all.

I couldn't help but notice the disdainful glares Huang JunJie directed at me when The Child was absent. Undoubtedly, it must be due to my indirect refusal to follow his teachings.

"Mo Yun!" The Child bounded toward me...as a fox.

"What do you think?" he asked, twirling around me like an excited puppy.

"What is this?" I asked, feeling a sense of discomfort. The Child's fur was a deep, saturated orange, almost bordering on red.

I did not like it.

"It's my spiritual animal! Master told me it was possible to transform into one's spiritual animal, so he taught me how to do it, and poof! I'm a fox," he explained, wagging his tail.

How ridiculous. He was not a dog.

"It suits you," I replied regardless. "But the color is too... piercing."