Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

The day went by peacefully, in fact, the next coming days were peaceful. The pair slowly grew closer. Oftentimes, Ming Yue went out on her own to hunt, leaving her two beasts to watch over Hongyu. And the little girl was obedient, never going off on her own, waiting for the cultivator to return. 

But as peaceful as the days were, the nights were less than that, especially for Ming Yue. 

As today came to an end, Ming Yue had tucked Hongyu in bed, waiting for the girl to fall asleep before leaving her side. 

"Stay her side, both of you. Don't come to me, okay, no matter what."

She looked to the two beasts who looked back with worried eyes. Hei Yue was even whimpering a bit as she left the house. 

"If I stay in the same house, who knows what would happen if I sleep", she thought. 

"More than likely, you'd scare her or worse..."

Xue Yue suddenly spoke to which her counterpart stopped. 

"Don't say that. Are you trying to curse me or something?!"

Ming Yue couldn't help but pause to scold Xue Yue, who just chuckled. Her laughs echoed before vanishing. The young cultivator sighed as she continued to walk away, moving towards a more secluded part of the clearing in the north. She was far from the house, isolated and alone. 

It was very quiet as she sat by the trees. Not even the sound of the water stream entered her ears. 

She sat down and crossed her legs, looking around before retrieving two books from her spatial ring. 

"I didn't think I would find another book of his here", she muttered to herself. 

Held in her hands were the two books of the Savant of a Hundred Flashes, Huan Shi Ti. Ever since the Four Claws left her home, she had been studying those books at night, practicing the Lightning Dao. 

Although they were just paintings of clouds and lightning, each illustration was of a different form of a storm. Whether it was calm, violent, or even beautiful, each painting served to show a new aspect of it. 

It brought many ideas to her mind. 

"Could I do this?" 

"How can I replicate that?" 

"What if I do this?" 

Sparks flew out of her hands as she tested and practiced, trying to improve her other techniques, the Boltwind Nails, the Storm Lance, and more. What about sword techniques revolving around lightning?

Ming Yue certainly had the power for it, she just needed the control and understanding. How could she connect her Sword Dao to the Lightning Dao? Lastly, how can she connect Wind and Lightning together?

"It's definitely possible but which way is best for me?" she thought. 

The young cultivator didn't stop pondering until late into the night. She let out a heavy sigh as some progress was made. However, Ming Yue was not looking forward to what would happen next. 

She took another look and breathed in deeply before closing her eyes, entering meditation. 

There was nothing but peacefulness around her. The sound of waving grass and rustling leaves, caressed her ears while she saw nothing but darkness. The sounds lulled her deeper and deeper until she saw a soft light in front of her. 

With nowhere else to go, Ming Yue moved forward, approaching the light. It grew stronger as she took each step before she reached it and the light swallowed her up. Under its glaring brightness, she shielded her eyes and tried her best to see through it but she couldn't. 

It was pure white but it soon dimmed and vanished, revealing a new scene before her. 

"What is this? Why is it here?" she muttered to herself. 

The young woman seemed to be standing in the middle of two seemingly different places.

One was her village, vibrant, beautiful, alive. 

The other was the battlefield where she fought against the Idol of Chaos, the opposite of her home, dead, dreary, and bleak. Before these two scenes was her, standing in the center alone. Her eyes wandered from one side to the other before suddenly stopping at the village. 

Shadows began to appear, silhouettes of those who once lived there. Slowly they grew clearer and clearer until she recognized them all. 

"Teacher Fan, Chen Xiao..."

She recalled their names one by one, watching them go about their day. And then she saw one last figure, resembling that of a young girl. From shadows to life, she saw herself, hurriedly walking through the village with something in her arms. 

Her eyes widened for an instant as she followed her younger self. 

"Baobao..."

Muttering that name, Ming Yue looked into those arms, finding an injured white hare within them. Walking through the village, she followed her younger self into their home, a simple hut surrounded by racks of dried herbs. 

Once inside, she heard her younger self call out. 

"Father, father! Please help me!"

Walking inside, Ming Yue saw a familiar scene. 

"Hm? Yue'er? What happened?" 

Seated in the middle of their home, grinding away at some herbs, was her father, Rou Meng. His hair was tied back into a simple bun as his sleeves were rolled up. Wiping a bit of sweat from her head, he turned to look at his daughter with a warm smile. 

Ming Yue stood right behind her younger self and when her father turned to look it felt as if he was looking at her. 

Her heart trembled for a moment as she watched silently. 

"I found this poor hare in the forest! We can save it right?" 

Her younger self showed the white hare to her father. He narrowed his eyes and leaned forward before looking at her. 

"Why don't you put the hare on the table?" he said. 

"Oh, yay! I'll bring the medicine!"

Out of joy, the young girl gently placed the hare on the table before running off, already knowing what to bring. Her father chuckled before examining the hare. It breathed heavily, bleeding from a wound on its hind legs. 

And as quickly as she left, the young Ming Yue returned, carrying bandages and ointments. 

"Alright, are you ready to help me?" her father asked. 

"Yes!"

And so Ming Yue watched as the father and daughter pair worked together to patch up the hare. It took about two hours but for her, it felt like just a few minutes. Absorbed by the scene, time went by quickly. 

At the end of the process, the hare's breathing returned to normal as the pain was gone. The young Ming Yue and her father leaned back and let out a sigh of relief, satisfied that it was successful. They both shared a look before her father leaned forward and patted her head. 

"Good work! You saved another life, I'm proud of you, Yue'er."

She giggled, showing a happy look on her face. The refreshing sound of her laugh awakened the hare as it turned to look at her. She stared back, deep in thought before her eyes lit up. 

"I'll call you Baobao! When you're feeling better, you can come with me to see the others! I'm sure you'll make plenty of friends!"

Carefully, she carried the Baobao into her arms, gently hugging the hare. 

Ming Yue watched all of it happen. Her eyes rested on the hare before looking at this joyous scene. She should feel happy, she should feel warm, and yet, she felt nothing for this scene. 

How old was she when this happened? 

How long ago did this happen?

She didn't remember. All she had was the name, "Baobao".

And then, there a crack of thunder, loud and shocking!

Ming Yue suddenly spun around and ran out of the hut, looking up at the skies.. And flying above them all was the Idol of Chaos in all of its fury.