Liu Xing hadn't forgotten that his main priority was to get to his people as soon as possible. However, as he moved through the jaws of a gigantic blue snake—which had its jaw snapped shut, creating a blue explosion that pushed him toward a punch intended for an electric eel—he realized destroying the dome was harder than he had thought. An angry giant anglerfish followed him like a demon, he shot bullets to stop the advance of tentacles from a horse-and-dolphin hybrid, and he slashed his stone blade to deflect a spirit beast that looked like a spinning, plate-like saw blade. There were always things to interrupt him.

His own impatience screamed at him to get out of the dome, but as he zigzagged between a swordfish fighting a giant human hand and unleashing Lightning Palm bullets at them, he knew that while he needed to hurry, he also had to be patient and take it slow. It was a contradiction in his mind, and his heart screamed that it was not the right thing to do, but his logical side knew it was the best and wisest decision. Hitting the barrier repeatedly while attacking these spirit beasts would look productive, but it was inefficient. The best thing to do was to get rid of half of them or pit them against each other so he could focus on breaking the dome. Alas, even though he was invisible, he was not untraceable. These spirit beasts had incredibly sharp senses and could locate him in a single glance.

Thus, with all his focus and power, he matched the intensity of these monstrous spirit beasts. The fight was chaotic. Each and every being inside the dome didn't need to focus to land an attack. Every slash, thrust, projectile, laser, body slam, and bite was guaranteed to hit something, although often not the one they intended to attack. Liu Xing was the most mobile due to being the smallest, but he was also the most versatile. While half of them were immune to his Lightning Palm bullets, the rest were not, so he could stun an enemy and let another try to maul it. On the other hand, his crescent purple qi was strong enough to contend with the attacks of these spirit beasts, to the point that even the anglerfish always tried to dodge it. He himself was hit several times, either by some kind of body slam or projectile attack, though the most severe blow he endured was from a giant eyeball. It was not a spirit beast that attacked directly, but one that manipulated water and made it explode.

The spinning giant plate manipulated the ground, raising spires of earth and shooting poles of dirt toward its enemies, while the anglerfish left a trail of eggs behind it, each the size of a small child. Although none of the eggs had cracked yet, Liu Xing was sure they were dangerous. So, in the midst of trying to discern who was the weakest and most vulnerable, he made sure to destroy the anglerfish's eggs.

From outside the dome, the fight was chaos. It was akin to pitting eleven wild beasts in a small cage, each of them trying to tear the other apart. The dome itself was shaking and rumbling, and if Liu Xing could have seen it from the outside, he would have nodded, realizing the dome was not that tough. If all of them focused their power on destroying the barrier, it would break in record time. However, aside from Liu Xing, no other being thought of it.

As he moved, while his full focus was on looking for an opportunity to steal a kill, he had one part of his mind looking through his Eyes of Lightning. Though he could not order them to move with grace and complex movement, he had successfully sent one flying toward the city, while the other was toward the sea. However, this part of his brain was more focused on the specific eye that was looking over his people. He tried to move it frantically left and right, trying to signal them so they could run or hide. The one who noticed it, however, was Tide Walker, who looked at the eye and thought it wanted to play.

He thought that normally, Qing Yuan would have seen his signal. However, the boy was standing on the ground quite far from the camp, with his mother in front of him. Both of them looked tense, and Qing Yuan had erected some kind of qi barrier that his eye could not pass through. It was probably a barrier to make sure no words from the inside traveled outside.

"No matter," Liu Xing muttered. As of now, they were still safe, and he needed to make sure he would arrive in time. Liu Xing sent a crescent of purple qi toward the eel. It shot toward it like a swallow, intending to graze the eel's eye. Usually, it would dodge to the side, chomp it with its jaw, shoot it with electricity, or even desperately try to deflect it with its tail, but since it was occupied by the swordfish spirit beast, his attack landed, eliciting a roar that made the water rumble.

"Hold it for a while."

He needed a little more time to escape from this dome.

***

Qing Yuan was aware that he was far from normal. In fact, it bothered him so much at times that if he were given the option to become a helpless baby or his current self, he would have chosen to be a helpless baby. Sure, if he hadn't become conscious by the time his father had gone on his journey, he would probably have died. However, since he wouldn't have had any conscious thoughts, and thus would not be aware of the concept of life and death, he reckoned he would have departed this world in a state close to happiness. Of course, since he could not turn back time, and no one had given him a choice, he had to live his life with his current condition. And today, he decided, it was best to finally move on to a new chapter of his life.

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Painting with Liu Xing was fun. He had seen paintings before and had watched people paint, but he never knew that painting could be so enjoyable and so full of freedom. He could choose whether to follow the rules and paint a tree with green leaves, or he could become creative and choose more colorful colors, like pink or purple or even orange. He loved the color orange. It was so bright. However, while the painting itself was enjoyable, the truly precious thing he had gained was his leisurely conversation with Liu Xing. That man probably thought their conversation as they painted was nothing special, but for Qing Yuan, it was the happiest moment in his life, not to mention the bountiful insight he got from conversing with him.

For Qing Yuan, it was like being blind his entire life, only to have his eyes suddenly function again, seeing colors for the first time.

"This world is vast." Qing Yuan inhaled the night air. He was hovering to the side of the river, the same place where Liu Xing had talked to the blind old man. Below him, the current of the little river carried several green leaves on its surface, making them look like marching ants searching for food or a safe place for their nest. "The world is beautiful. There are many people in this world, each with their own mind and colorful view of life."

In the sky, clouds obstructed the moon, but a single beam of light successfully penetrated them, bathing him in moonlight. The view was ethereal. It was as if Qing Yuan was a fairy, his smile illuminating the world and his ringing laughter resonating with the world itself. He flew left and right, happy with his current state, dancing in the air with falling leaves, grass, and flowers. Some flowers, despite not getting any light from the moon, decided to bloom, and the river's current began to make a louder sound, as if it were singing.

Qing Yuan was happy, truly happy. However, his happiness was not complete. After all, even though he could see a bright future in front of him, where he would journey this world and see different people and views and flowers and mountains and beautiful lakes and beautiful animals and many more, there was still a part of his heart shadowed by darkness. He was human, after all, and he had a story. While it was short, his past life would carry its weight forever and ever until one day he would die and leave this world. This darkness was related to his biological mother.

His feelings for her were complex, like a tangled string that was almost impossible to parse. He loved his mother, but he also hated her. He wanted to leave her, and yet, there was a yearning for her in his heart. Thinking about her made his lungs feel suffocated and his heart full of anxiety, and the only thing he could do to handle it was to forget her. However, as Qing Yuan danced in the air, he saw her at the edge of his vision. She was standing behind a tree, her eyes uncertain, as if she wanted to come to him but was also afraid she would be rejected.

The qi around her still tried to annoy her, but it was no longer vicious. Instead of punches, the sensations felt more like annoying and persistent taps.

After a while, his mother finally gathered her courage and walked toward him. Qing Yuan stopped his dance and hovered toward her. When they were only separated by several strides, Qing Yuan set his expression into a pleasant one, a smile that didn't come from his heart.

At this point, he finally realized why his mother was "cursed," and he had no doubt that Liu Xing already knew about it, or perhaps suspected it. His mother was indeed cursed, and the one who had cursed her… was him.

He had actually suspected it for a long time. After all, he hated his mother, and subconsciously, he wanted her to pay the price for treating him badly. His will reached the qi around him, and it was willing to follow his order. He felt that this will, this "curse," was also extending to someone else and some other place. This one was different. More potent and strong and sinister, though for now, he let this curse persist. He decided that he would sever his curse once he was ready to turn a new chapter of his life, which meant it would happen after his conversation with his mother.

"Is there anything I can help you with, mother?" Qing Yuan asked.

His mother looked down, as if she was ashamed and afraid. However, she inhaled deeply and opened her mouth. It seemed the encouragement from big sister Fang Ruxue and the others had successfully made her see her error, and he predicted that she would try to amend their relationship.

"Little Yuan, I—. The reason I came here is because… because I want to apologize."

Qing Yuan smiled, though he felt as if he had been punched in the stomach. "Is that so?"

"Yes," she said resolutely, her eyes shining with lucidity, as if the words truly came from her heart. "W-would you forgive me?"

Qing Yuan maintained his smile. He knew that this moment would come, and he had already prepared his answer.

"Of course not, mother. I will never forgive you."

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