Mystique Soul: A Cultivator's Flame
Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Chapter 28

The group trudged through the dunes of the endless desert, their footsteps muffled by the fine, powdery sand. The sun had set hours ago, leaving the world in a peculiar state of darkness. Though they had braced for the desert’s harsh cold, they hadn’t anticipated what they saw, or, rather, what they didn’t see, then night fell.

"No moon or stars," murmured the red-haired girl, Mei Lin, breaking the silence. She craned her neck, her fiery locks swaying as she scanned the featureless sky. "It’s like the heavens forgot this place exists."

"You know, I think I find the fact that there is even ’night’ or ’day’ in this cave more absurbed than the fact that there is not any stars" Cheng Rong muttered.

Feng Jiao Xue remained silent, her cold gaze fixed on the horizon. The darkness here was different, a void that swallowed light and sound, leaving only the faint shimmer of magic that flickered occasionally from their enchanted torches.

"It’s eerie," whispered one of the younger cultivators, hugging his knees. "But also... kind of peaceful?"

Han Qing, ever the vigilant shadow of the crown prince, narrowed his eyes. "We should make camp. Staying in one spot will allow us to conserve energy." His voice was clipped, but even he seemed slightly subdued by the strange tranquility of the desert night.

The group found a relatively flat area near a cluster of jagged rocks and began to set up camp. Feng Jiao Xue moved with practiced efficiency, her movements fluid and silent. She barely acknowledged the others, preferring to focus on pitching her tent and lighting her personal lantern, which glowed faintly blue.

As the night deepened, the air grew colder, prompting the group to gather around a central fire pit. The flickering flames cast elongated shadows on the sand, their warmth a welcome reprieve from the desert chill

Mei Lin broke the tension first, pulling a small sack from her pack. "Guess what I brought?" she said, her voice filled with mock mystery.

Chang Rong raised an eyebrow, his regal features softening ever so slightly in the firelight. "If it’s not poison, I’ll be impressed," he quipped.

Mei Lin rolled her eyes. "Very funny" She reached into the sack and produced a bundle of marshmallows, a few skewers, and a small jar of chocolate spread. "I thought we could make... what do you call them? Sweet charred clouds?"

A chuckle escaped from one of the older cultivators. "S’mores," he corrected. "It is famous for camping in one of the foreign land’s, isn’t it? Something about roasting marshmallows under the stars."

Feng Jiao Xue’s brow quirked at that.

Mei Lin pouted. "Well, we don’t have stars, but we have a fire, so close enough!" She handed out skewers and began roasting a marshmallow, her expression oddly earnest.

Feng Jiao Xue, seated slightly apart from the others, observed the scene with detached curiosity. She had always been more of an outsider, watching from the shadows rather than joining in. But tonight, there was something almost magnetic about the group’s lighthearted camaraderie.

"Feng Jiao Xue," Mei Lin called, waving a skewer in her direction. "You should try this! Even cold-hearted geniuses need a little sugar in their lives."

The group laughed softly, the tension of their earlier journey melting away.

After a moment of hesitation, Feng Jiao Xue accepted the skewer. She held it over the fire, her pale fingers steady despite the heat.

As the s’mores disappeared, the group fell into an easy rhythm of storytelling.

One cultivator shared a tale about his first failed attempt to summon a fire spirit, earning laughter and playful jabs. Another recounted a prank he’d played on his master during training, his voice rising with excitement as he acted out the scene.

One of the younger cultivators, a boy with sandy hair and a mischievous grin, spoke up first. "I’ll go! So, when I was a kid, my brother and I thought it’d be funny to sneak into the orchard and pick the biggest peach we could find. We didn’t realize it belonged to one of the elders..."

The others leaned in, intrigued.

"He caught us red-handed, but instead of scolding us, he said, ’You want the peach? Fine, but only if you can outrun me!’" The boy grinned. "Turns out, the elder was insanely fast. He chased us for an hour, and when he finally caught us, he made us eat the peach whole, pit and all!"

The group erupted into laughter, the mental image of the boy struggling with the tough peach pit too amusing to ignore.

"That’s nothing," another cultivator chimed in, his burly frame shaking with suppressed mirth. "My master once told me to clean the entire training hall as punishment for slacking off. But I was too lazy, so I enchanted a broom to do it for me. It worked great, until it didn’t."

"What happened?" Mei Lin asked, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

"The enchantment went haywire. The broom started sweeping everything: my shoes, my lunch, even my hair!" He gestured dramatically, earning a chorus of laughs. "It took three elders to stop it, and I had to clean up the mess the normal way afterward."

"Serves you right," One of his companion muttered, though the corners of his mouth twitched in amusement.

To everyone’s surprise, Han Qing spoke next, his tone unusually casual. "Speaking of pranks... When we were kids, young master once decided it’d be fun to test his swordsmanship against me. He said, ’Don’t hold back.’"

Liang Feng looked up, his brows raised. "I did say that, didn’t I?"

"You did." Han Qing’s lips quirked into a rare smile. "So, I didn’t. And I knocked you straight into the palace pond."

The group burst into laughter, but Han Qing wasn’t finished. "Do you remember what you did after that, young master?"

Liang Feng sighed, a hand running through his hair. "Chased you across the palace grounds with a mud ball."

"And missed every time," Han Qing added smugly. "But you made sure I scrubbed the entire training hall afterward."

"I regret nothing," Liang Feng said, though his eyes twinkled with humor.

The group laughed harder than they had in days, the sound carrying into the empty night. Even Feng Jiao Xue found herself smiling faintly, though she quickly masked it with a sip of tea from her flask.

"Alright, my turn!" Mei Lin announced, bouncing on her heels. "So, once, my sect had this huge banquet, and there was this really fancy pudding that everyone wanted to try. But only the elders were allowed to eat it."

"And you stole some?" Feng Jiao Xue guessed, her voice calm but amused.

"Not quite," Mei Lin replied with a grin. "I distracted them. I pretended to faint from hunger, and while they were fussing over me, I snuck a piece."

"Did you get caught?"

"Oh, definitely. But it was so worth it. That pudding was amazing!"

"yeah, and we have to handle cooking duty for a month! all five of us because of you" The bulky swordman ruffled her hair.

One of the magicians, a lanky man with glasses, pushed his spectacles up his nose and cleared his throat. "My story isn’t as mischievous, but it’s memorable. During my first summoning class, I was supposed to call forth a water spirit. Simple enough, right?"

"Did it go wrong?" Mei Lin teased.

He nodded solemnly. "Instead of a water spirit, I summoned a tiny rain cloud. It followed me everywhere for three days, pouring just enough water to soak me but not enough to be useful."

Even Feng Jiao Xue couldn’t suppress a soft chuckle at that.

"Everywhere," he emphasized. "Classrooms, the library, even my bed! By the end, I was considering moving to a place like this permanently strangely enough hahaha!"

"What about you?" Liang Feng asked. "Any story to tell?"

Feng Jiao Xue frozed before she tried to go over the original version of her in this world’s memories.

"One, but I don’t think it’s quite funny. I have a brother... of sort" She refused to look at Liang Feng.

"I don’t know where he heard it from but someone told him that if a person is sick, poridge can make them feel better. I had a small cough and he kept feeding me some almost the entire day" She smiled chuckling to herself as she felt the warmth in that memory. "I was perhaps six then and he is near my age. My stomach hurts but just to stop him from crying because I was ’dying’ I kept eating until his father stopped him"

"Wait?! Really?!" Liang Feng asked in amazement while the others laughed.

"Is it that surprising?" Mei Lin asked.

"I believe it’s because young master did that to his sister too" Han Qing supplied causing everyone to laugh harder at the coincidence. "She was tearfully eating it all obidiently in fact. It was adorably pitiful"

Feng Jiao Xue blushed lightly at the tid bit. She glanced at the others, noting their relaxed postures and soft smiles. For a brief moment, the burdens of their journey seemed lighter, their shared laughter and stories weaving an invisible bond.

Perhaps, she thought, even a lone wolf like her could find solace in the company of others, if only for a single, starless night, this world isn’t that bad at all.