Li Yang sauntered back to where Mei Kongxu should be dealing with the rabble that he had left behind for her, his hands resting behind his head in a casual manner. But while he radiated an air of carefreeness, he was actually keeping a vigilant eye on his surroundings and focusing his various senses as much as he could. He had already fallen into Ho Fei's trap once, he wasn't interested in falling in another the moment he turned his back.

He hadn't gone far with Ho Fei, only around half a kilometre, so the trip back barely took him any time. He didn't know how long he had been unconscious while he saw the vision, but Mei Kongxu had already knocked down the four other youths by the time he returned.

He wasn't sure if she did it to be theatrical or because she wanted to put the youths in their place, but she had placed the four youths into a pile which she had then sat down on. It seemed almost as if she was trying to emit a majestic and threatening aura, sending a very faint glare in Li Yang's direction. But Li Yang acted as if he didn't even detect the glare at all, walking right up to Mei Kongxu and running his scrutinizing gaze up and down her seated figure for a short second before the corner of his lip raised slightly.

"Yeah, that regal appearance doesn't work at all, it just looks like you're trying too hard to be threatening and grand, kinda lessens the impact actually. You're too pretty and delicate to fit the tyrant profile that you're aiming for, a bloody fairy might work as a title for you, but you look a bit too clean for that, some dirt and blood might help on that front."

The four men who were beaten down beneath Mei Kongxu were only able to groan, partly from the pain and partly due to the fact that Li Yang wasn't even acknowledging their existence. As for Mei Kongxu, she maintained her chilly expression and faint glare, ignoring his fake attempt at giving her advice.

"I am not a weak maiden, I don't need you to fight my battles or take on my enemies, they are mine alone."

Mei Kongxu straightforwardly mentioned the source of her dissatisfaction, making it abundantly clear that she did not enjoy being treated like a damsel in distress. But sadly for her, Li Yang had his own thoughts on the matter.

"First off, I'd like to remind you that the one they came for was me, so they were technically my enemies and my fight. And secondly..."

Li Yang's sentence trailed off for a short second as he bent forward and brought his face closer to Mei Kongxu's, leaving only a few centimetres between the two of them.

"Your battles, your enemies, why should I give a shit about any of that? I didn't like that sissy's prissy boy face so I wanted to beat him up. I didn't like him, so I beat him up, just as I'll do to any others who I don't like, no matter who they are, who they know, or where they come from. So I'm sorry, Fairy Sister, but I didn't beat him up for you, it didn't have a single thing to do with you."

Since she was straightforward, so too was he, taking a small break from his usual teasing and light-hearted persona to show that even he could be serious at times. But sadly, he broke that serious moment after only a few seconds of silence, his expression returning to his usual carefree one as he straightened his back and changed the topic.

"Back when we first met, one of the questions you asked me is what I would do if the mere presence of a close friend led to my slow and agonizing death, didn't you? Why did you ask me that?"

The question popped up in his mind as he walked back here while thinking about the vision he had seen. One of the last things the two people spoke of in the vision was how the woman had seemingly killed the man nine times, with the man responding that it was him who killed himself by making his choice.

And since he also mentioned that he would do it again since she meant the world to him, that choice might very well have been to be with her, despite whatever accursed thing she apparently carried. The question Mei Kongxu asked him back then carried some similarity to that situation so Li Yang decided to pursue it, he might end up finding a hint or two if he was lucky. Of course, Mei Kongxu didn't know about the vision he had so she could only assume that he asked the question for a different reason.

"Ho Fei told you a thing or two, didn't he?"

Her expression sank somewhat as she stated the rhetorical question, causing one of Li Yang's eyebrows to perk up somewhat. An ice fairy like her actually had some things she didn't want others to know about? His curiosity was piqued somewhat, but rather than pursue this interest, he continued on with his original goal, leaning in a bit closer.

"Not a damn thing that wasn't a plead for his life, I've just found myself in a situation where I've grown a bit curious. So, why did you ask me that question, and does it have anything to do with a seemingly endless wilderness and a small cottage?"

If her question was indeed related to his vision, then perhaps she had even seen the same vision, she might have seen the wilderness and the cottage. He was just randomly throwing it out with just a faint glimmer of hope, but Mei Kongxu's reaction was far more drastic than he expected. Her eyes immediately shot open, staring at Li Yang in a shocked and intent manner as her cold facade shattered.

"You've seen it!?"

She stared at Li Yang as if she had found the light of hope, Li Yang's own eyes narrowing slightly when he realized that there was indeed a connection. But he didn't immediately answer her question, raising a finger and leaving her in suspense to enjoy her reactions for a bit longer.

"You haven't answered my question."

Mei Kongxu's eyebrow ticked up at Li Yang's smirking remark, which even she could tell he had only made to drag out the suspense she was feeling. But she wanted answers, so after remaining silent for a short moment, she once again told the story she had stopped telling others several years ago.

"...Whenever I close my eyes... I see things. Various scenes, places, events, people, an uncountable amount of different things. But there are some things that show up more often than others, an endless wilderness, a two-story wooden cottage, a woman with eyes and hair as black as the night, and a youthful man with eyes and hair that shine the same gold as the sun. I sometimes hear glimpses of their conversation, mentioning something known as the Thunder's roar and the Howl of the Tyrant. The questions I asked you were all based on things I've heard and seen within those...visions. I want to know what they mean, and why they haunt me."

Mei Kongxu had already lost track of the number of times she had told others this story when she was younger, hoping that someone would be able to give her an answer as to what the visions meant. But no one ever gave her an answer, they either thought she was making it up or that she was just plain crazy. Some of the children jealous of her even took this as a chance to spread a new mocking nickname for her, Haunted Fairy. But out of all the reactions she had expected, Li Yang's casual snort was the furthest from what she thought was possible.

"Heh, so you're another haunted brat, are you?"

Li Yang could only describe Mei Kongxu's following expression with one word, dumbfounded. She seemed utterly unable to wrap her head around his casual response to what she considered a drastic revelation. After all, how many people were actually haunted by visions like this whenever they close their eyes? But Li Yang wasn't just anyone, shrugging his shoulders and giving a casual explanation.

"That's what I'm called back in my sect, the haunted brat. Whenever I close my eyes, that woman's eyes seem to haunt me, muddled voices drifting around like phantoms. The fighting style that you called familiar was based partly on things I've heard from those voices, but I've altered it over time to fit my own laws better."

Li Yang hadn't been shy about telling others about the voices he heard, he continued sharing it even after he got older and got teased for it. Why should he bother with the opinions of others? They were worthless and of no use to him, so they could spout as much shit as they wanted, it didn't matter to him in the slightest.

Of course, hearing that Mei Kongxu seemed to be experiencing an even stronger version of whatever haunted him, his interest was more than just roused. There was no way it was coincidental that they both experienced the same thing featuring what was likely the same people, there had to be a connection between their visions. And since there was a connection, there was a chance of finding more hints that could uncover the truth. And with those thoughts in mind, Li Yang stretched out his hand with a smirk.

"So, I'm a haunted brat, and you're a haunted brat. And just like you're curious about the origin of those things, so too am I. So what do you say, want to work with me to find the truth?"

Mei Kongxu moved her gaze between Li Yang's smirk and his outstretched hand, a faint glimmer flashing through her eyes now that she had found something that could help her discover the truth behind her visions. So, she stretched out her own hand and grabbed Li Yang's, the two shaking hands as they formed their little alliance.