"It's time for me to leave..."

The golden sun burned fiercely in a cloudless sky when these decisive words passed through his lips. No shadows were cast by the walls he sat upon and the landscape was mostly quiet with the exception of light breezes brushing across lengthening grasses in the fields beyond and the singing of the small families of birds in nearby trees. He was alone, even the dry corpses of the undead that he had put to rest just a few hours earlier had burned to dust in the relentless fire cast by his old friend's hand, the purified smoke had also been swept away into the air. All was currently peaceful, at least for this moment when the itch in his soul decided to make itself known once more.

He had never been good at standing still...

Actually, he had never meant to remain here, in this small haven surrounded by thick stone walls for so long; he had only meant to find Ren Zexian, to guide him that they might reunite with Yu Zhang before making any decisions for their future paths. But Ren Zexian's heart had taken root here, with a beautiful youth whose eyes were as pure as the water his veins produced. His apprentice Chang Min had also tied himself to this place, though Bai Yan was aware that even without such a tie, that child would not leave his Master to go with him instead. He waved away his wandering thoughts, thinking of the other delightful distraction this place had going for it and a shiver of anticipation raced up his spine.

Remaining one or two more nights would be fine, he decided. But ultimately, he was aware that even the indulgent pleasure to be found in Patrick's delicious body would not keep him here much longer.

Patrick also did not try to keep him.

"Are you sure that you are fine with this?" Harry murmured to him on the morning they discovered that Bai Yan meant to leave.

Patrick smiled, warmed by the concern, but shook his head without care. "I knew Bai Yan's type when I let him crawl into my bed. There's likely no one on this planet that can keep that kind of man pinned down for long and I was okay with that." However his smile turned into a pout as he considered one thing that had not occurred to him before now. "Ah, but it's going to be real troublesome to find a husband now! Won't I always be comparing other men with him?!"

"You like him that much, why not tell him?" Harry asked.

"Huh? When did I say I liked him?" Patrick looked confused. "I was talking about the sex! It was the best sex I've ever had! That man is a genius in bed!" Harry wished he'd kept his silence and concern to himself.

"What are your plans?" Ren Zexian enquired of his old friend as they walked towards the gates. They did not need to open the gates, Bai Yan would just leap over the walls and head wherever he was heading. More, it was the courtesy etched inside their bones that had them heading to the gates regardless.

"I will head over to old Zhang first," Bai Yan replied. "He has been waiting for close to a year for news of you." A year was really not long to a cultivator, but in the circumstances were also unusual even for they who had seen so much in their long lifetimes. It would not be unexpected that Yu Zhang might be eager for news, even a little anxious for it.

"Of course," Ren Zexian acknowledged the unspoken words as well as the spoken. "Send Yu Zhang and Long Wenwen my regards."

Bai Yan nodded before continuing; "And then I might see if I can find the whereabouts of the others, or at least any signs of them." The twelve of them had been together for the longest period towards Eld Dein's end. His heart had ached when he had discovered that Lu Ting was no more, but also comforted that his body's final rest had come at the hands of Ren Zexian. There were worst fates.

Before leaving, Bai Yan handed Ren Zexian a small silk pouch, enchanted with many wards. The other recognised it immediately and knew what it held. "Give those to your lover, perhaps he will be successful where we failed." Ren Zexian gripped the pouch tightly. "I will return in the future."

"I know." These were their parting words with no mentions of farewells, though it might be months or even years before Ren Zexian would see Bai Yan again. He simply watched as Bai Yan sped swiftly away, heading first North before turning East and then he was gone.

*****

It had taken Bai Yan nearly ten months to find Ren Zexian in the distant and small land, far west of the origin of his journey and nestled within the seas off of the coast of the main lands stretched between them. However, the lone moon waxed and waned just once in the period it took to return... he would have taken less time had he not decided to challenge a few large, mutant beasts that had crossed his path. The desert serpent had been particularly difficult to deal with, however its skin would become a great armour... if he was able to find a decent blacksmith anywhere. Alas none of the humans he'd met so far had any such talent.

As the sun rose on the twenty eighth day of his journey, he stepped into land that went by the name Huaxia. This land had once been vastly populated and understood in theory some of the principles that the cultivators of Eld Dein had used in practice for millennia. Their language had differed to their own much like an accent and the common Device the oldest cultivators all wore for Deciphering Tongues had not been required when they had woken here, though there was still some disparity when it came to cultural manner that would have taken a bit of time to overcome... had the Apocalypse not occurred a few days following.

The cities had been overcome in a matter of hours with the dense population becoming a hindrance to survival rather than a help. Most were abandoned either completely or partially as the survivors banded together, just as was common throughout the world. The settlements, surrounded by walls and often militarised were named bases, but even if the foundations were strong, rot occasionally could set in. Blood considered thick could dilute to become as water, close friends could become the deadliest of enemies, those with power could seek to suppress those without. Or a strange hand could reach out in ones greatest of need and become the support one needed to stand strong.

The base that Bai Yan headed to was not the largest and was not even in the most advantageous position, but others had learned that it could not be overlooked. Those without the awakened veins to become ability users were not repressed and those with elemental or physical powers were exempt from morals or law. The laws for this base were based on common sense and survival, not for the decision maker's benefits. It cannot be said that all was in harmony, but it was far from the dark chaos that was rumoured to have infected two or three bases in the country.

In this base, two cultivators taught their arts to those they considered worthy. There was often a price for such lessons, but they varied from as little as a bundle of common herbs to a rare piece of flawless jade that had been carved into the shape of a lion. The man, who appeared just a little over thirty, despite the iron grey eyes that seemed as old as time, would teach the ability users how to use and how to strengthen their arts. The most famous of his students was a woman who created a wall of fire during the first zombie tide, burning hundreds of weaker zombies to death on her own before others were destroyed using a mix of petrol, alcohol and air to fuel the fires.

In contrast, the woman taught less, but her few students were all given lessons in transforming mutated plants and herbs into strange concoctions and pills, though only one had ever successfully created said pills. She claimed to be a student herself, but of the man, yet he never gave such lessons to anyone in the base. The pills and potions became highly sought after, raising their value to often ridiculous prices, only affordable to an elite few. None of those people knew that these things were considered basic and common to the many realms beyond this own and were not really profitable there.

The two people's presence and their talents had made the base a target and in the beginning, it had been attacked by greed driven mortals. However the defenders were not weak, especially as many had been taught by them, so the attackers who survived were forced to retreat and the bases who had quietly sought to fish in troubled waters reconsidered their tactics. But these were recent events, long after the initial storms that the End itself produced, Bai Yan did not know of these things, but if he did, he would likely have not cared.

The base was mostly grey and brown in colour, with buildings as tall as seven floors or as short as single floored dwellings. They were like the small army base in that tiny distant land where growing plant life outside of a shelter was taboo and mutant plants had to be dealt with swiftly due to the unknown risk involved, unless they could be identified as safe by an alchemist or herbalist before hand. Signs in the way of scorch marks revealed the tenacity of both the survivors and nature when it came to this matter. Bai Yan ignored most of these points and headed to a lone building, encircled by four cracked roads and a short wall no more than waist height.

The building had four stories and a flat roof. There were small balconies on every other window and flecks of green could be seen upon the ones on the upper floors. On the ground floor, one window, near the entrance, had obvious cracks, which had been taped over. Outside of the building were simple paving slaps as well as tiny, decorative stones covering the earth beneath. It seemed quite cold and grey, especially lacking the signs of movement that almost every other building nearby had.

Bai Yan entered the main entrance, which was unlocked and was immediately greeted with numerous wooden doors, each with numbers attached upon them and small glass covered holes high and central. There was also cold grey stairs leading upwards and adorned by metal railings. He headed for these and began to climb.

He headed for the third floor, where the doors had been mostly removed, though there was still a lack of flow as this building was meant to originally house many individuals or small families after all. Yu Zhang always liked to greet the sun rise, so Bai Yan knew to head to the eastern most apartment first and sure enough, he saw his old friend in contemplation upon the balcony. In this building, only Yu Zhang and Long Wenwen now lived, thus he would not be disturbed unless he expected to be.

"You have returned," Yu Zhang greeted him immediately.

"I have," Bai Yan grinned, heading over to the low table close to the open balcony doors before kneeling comfortably beside it, then proceeded to pour himself tea. The pot was clearly freshly made, the steam curled from spout and the cup the hot liquid was then poured into.

"You did not find him?" Yu Zhang questioned, clearly surprised that Bai Yan had returned alone. Bai Yan's grin stretched further, clearly satisfied that Yu Zhang could not always divine everything.

"I did, however, he will not leave where he has chosen to settle," Bai Yan advised him and proceeded to slowly explain about both Ren Zexian and Chang Min.

"Well," Yu Zhang did not take long to digest the information and his lips curled, his heart clearly glad for his past friend's disciple, who was also now his good friend.

Bai Yan glanced about, his eyes seeking a good show but failing to capture one. "Where is Long Wenwen?"

"Outside, seeking ingredients with others," came the reply. He had given the task of teaching a new generation of alchemists to Long Wenwen in order to consolidate her own learnings as well as stretch her confined knowledge. She had always been very good alchemist, just a little too confined to the text book at times, not willing to experiment. However, the Earth had forced her to open her eyes and seek new ways of doing things. These humans were also good teachers for her; few had the talent to learn their skills, but several without abilities had still risen to the challenge of assisting the apprentice alchemists, calling themselves herbalists no less. Yu Zhang found the people of this realm interesting.

"Oh," Bai Yan sounded sulky.

Yu Zhang sighed; "Forget about teasing her," he advised. "On that matter, she has long since accepted and given up." Bai Yan had his doubts, but did not say anything to refute. Instead, he spoke of other things, of Lu Ting and of Ren Zexian's beloved's unique gifts.

"I gave him the seeds," Bai Yan advised him. Yu Zhang looked startled for a moment, then nodded. This world's spiritual energy was naturally thin and although the number of cultivators was still very few, in a hundred thousand or perhaps less if the human's gained the same greed for immortality, this world could also experience the same fate as Eld Dein... and that was if the zombie plague did not destroy humanity first. So they could also not stop imparting lessons for the people's survival, despite the long term risk.

"Then let us hope he can successfully make them grow."

(End of Book One)

Author's note; continue on for explanation!