Every Lifetime I Fall {COMPLETED but undergoing revisions}

Chapter 171: Fifth Life - Against Fate

"It seems I'm not the only one who's changed," Qin Yu says to me.

Swinging the Meteor Sword down on the standing wood piece, I break it in two.

"What?" I wipe the sweat off my forehead with my sleeve.

He goes on saying, "Your cultivation is immense. You're even stronger than me at this time."

"Oh, that... Well, no one stays the same forever. It was always my goal to increase cultivation."

"What do you cultivate for? You want to become an Immortal?"

I stop to think. Dismissing the Meteor Sword, I cross my arms and reply, "In the past I had hopes to live without ever having to reincarnate again. Then it transitioned into having the means to protect myself. Now... I don't know."

I pick up the pieces of wood and make my way to the kitchen. Qin Yu takes a few from my hands and follows.

"Do you... eat normal food?" I quickly glance at him.

"You mean to ask if have I stopped eating humans?"

"Well, did you?"

He lets out a long exhale through his nose. "Did you really think I drank human blood?"

"I mean I did see you consume a lot of deer blood that one time. Anyhow, forget I said anything."

I take the stack from his hands and pile the wood into the pit underneath the stone stove. Conjuring a fire spell, the wood immediately burns.

"It's true in the past I've done things I'm not proud of. With the Ancient God essence, I'm much more stable."

He's talking around it... I speculate he isn't innocent with all the civilian deaths back at capital city. During his disappearance, the murders of this unknown blood sucking demon ceased.

I say, "I see. You seem to tolerate my presence well? I am human after all."

Being the previous leader of the demon cult, Wicked Mist, Qin Yu seems to be rather congenial around a lowly human like me.

Qin Yu lowers his gaze and stares deeply into my eyes. "You were such a naive child when I met you all those years ago. So innocent and docile, I felt amused manipulating you."

"Wow."

"You reminded me a lot of how I used to be before I became involved with Bleak Night, before becoming leader of Wicked Mist. I was always following someone, trying to prove myself. You resembled a child-like epiphany that was robbed from me. Perhaps, we're similar in a sense now that we have seen the darkness within people's hearts."

"You're right, I'm not Rong Xin anymore. And you're not Xiao Qing, you're Qin Yu now."

"That's... correct."

Placing a pot on the stove, I turn to Qin Yu. "I hope you're okay with vegetables for now. I'll head to the nearest village and get you something later."

"Don't worry about me. I don't get hungry as often as you."

"Right. You're like Yang Zi Huo in that way. You're both immortal and don't eat often."

"You speak of Yang Zi Huo quite often. Do you no longer have animosity towards him?" The tone of Qin Yu's voice lowers.

"I-- I don't feel anything towards him. I've already decided to move on from my hatred and let go of things that happened between me and him. I'm starting my life over."

Qin Yu stares at me with his nose high in the air, doubting my words. He exits the kitchen, leaving me to make lunch. Since he won't be eating, I cook enough just for one. Taking a bite out of the stir fried bamboo shoots, I force myself to swallow.