Huichen

Days once more passed slowly, and every week or so, they raided a new village, until the Taoists got on their trail, and they were forced to retreat.

Two months had passed since Hui had left her village, as they finally came into view of the demonic cult's playground. It was a large domineering fortress, set within the natural rock surface of a cliff face. It was easily defensible and didn't need to guard its back or sides from foreign invasion. And spies would have a nightmare even trying to enter the place, much less get to the inner circles, since each place in the fortress was separated by rock walls, the third rate warriors separated from the second rate, who were separated from the first rate, who were separated from the inner council and above. 

However, the entourage that Hui entered with didn't go to any of those places, but instead descended down many flights of stairs until they came to an heated chamber, where Hui abruptly discovered the fortress was actually a volcano, as they had to walk around a large pit of lava, to get to a cave on the other side, there, the beautiful women that were brought with them were separated, and then the young girls, except the very youngest, such as Hui, who was still trotting by Li Haoli's side, gripping his robe tightly, before she stopped, pulling him to a stop as well.

"What?" Li Haoli was annoyed by the stop. But he could've forced them to continue, so Hui ignored it and looked up at him, her eyes as clear as the day he met her.

"Big bro, can you carry me the rest of the way?"

She was grasping for any opportunity for life. Did any of her efforts pay off? Probably not. But she could feel it, death would come to her soon, just around the bend, if she didn't do something first.

Li Haoli immediately smiled, far too widely to make her comfortable, and immediately acquiesced to her request, picking her up in one swoop, and holding her overly gently. "Of course, only the best for my little Hui." He said, landing a small kiss on her brow.

She leaned into his arms, but she also could feel her heart falling. As someone who had had to play with mens hearts to survive in her previous life, her intuition was rarely wrong. In this case, she once again trusted it, and it made her sad. Because she'd failed.

Her small hand gripped the dark green robe, now lined with delicate white flowers. Had her efforts really meant nothing to this man? 

Indeed, a woman will give away her heart like it is nothing, but a man will keep his to the end. Hate flashed in her eyes again, hate that had buried itself only recently. She didn't hate men, they couldn't help the way they were made, she could only hate herself for being herself. 

[In case you were confused, this is wrong, however, Hui is a woman with an evil mind that takes every opportunity it can to feed her lies into thinking she isn't good enough, and that men are perfection, so she wants to be one. There are men who give their hearts away, and are hurt by callus women too] 

Li Haoli seemed to take happiness in how dependent the girl was to him, and how much she now trusted him to save her. A malicious smile broke his face, the innocent little girl, he already knew that she wasn't of any use and would soon be thrown away like nothing, and yet, he still tricked her into thinking everything would be okay!

Li Haoli was a vicious man, who loved to play with others' hearts, the same way he played with his own. 

All the children left were led into another room, where an old woman stood. She was obviously impaired in various ways, though whether it was blindness, deafness, or muteness, no one could tell. She'd hold the hand of each kid and point them into one of three places. If it were a young girl, she would be placed in a corner where a beautiful young woman stood, along with Leader Sungwu or placed in a corner where two old fogies in black stood. If it were a boy, he was either placed in a group next to leader Yunseng, placed in a group next to a couple clerics, clothed in white, that hadn't made the journey with them, or placed in the group with the two fogies in black. Her brother Shi was put into the group next to the clerics, and her brother Chai, for whatever reason, was chosen to stand with Sungwu. Finally, Hui was brought forward, still in Hui's arms. She could feel Leader Yunseng's stare piercing through her, and gripped Li Haoli's robe even tighter, as the old woman's gnarled hand gripped her thin wrist. However, she already knew it by the time the old lady pointed her to the two men in black. She gripped Li Haoli, looking up at him. "Big bro…" But her voice was cut short as she saw his huge smile of delight.

"It seems you've been chosen to go to the cauldron Little Hui!" His tone was light, as if congratulating her on being accepted into a great school of learning. She knew the truth, but she was an innocent child, so she innocently looked up at him in delight.

"Is that good?" But really, what was the point of acting anymore? He wasn't going to do it. He wouldn't save her. Because he never once considered it an option.

Li Haoli laughed. "Why don't we find out?"

They followed the two hunched figures down a long winding stair, before it once more opened into a large cavern, with a huge cauldron chained over a pool of molten lava.

Hui gasped at the majesty of the place. It was a miracle to behold. However, her excitement was cut short, as the kids were hurriedly brought toward a large cage that already housed hundreds of starving orphans. 

Right at this moment, the cage door was opened, as a man was going amongst the droves of children, in the middle of selecting a few promising candidates for the creation of his newest pill.

"Brother Hei!" Cried out Li Haoli, raising up his hand and waving as if they were best friends. "What's up? Looking for some new ingredients?" Brother Hei immediately brightened upon seeing Li Haoli. His face was simple and honest looking, and if not for the many impoverished children around him that he was in the middle of selecting to murder, you might think he was Daoist with a kind, gentle temperament. 

He was a man with a face that was born for a simple life. Unfortunately, he rejected that honor from the heavens and took up murderous genius instead.

"Brother Li!" He cried out, coming over to slap Li Haoli on the shoulder. "So good to see you! How was the trip this last round?" He looked around at the children behind him, and then at the one in his arms. "I see you have some good products this time!"

"Yep, just for you!" Replied Li Haoli cheerfully back. "In fact," He gestured toward Hui in his arms. "Would you want to use any of the fresh products today?"

Hei Jingyi immediately looked delighted. "Actually, you have perfect timing, we were just in the process of looking for some young virgin females, preferably healthy and innocent!"

"How many more?" asked Li Haoli, as if asking about his shopping list.

"Just four." Hei Jingyi gladly responded, continuing to chat with Li Haoli, as he grabbed a child from behind him, who cried out at the sudden motion, and led the way to the cauldron. A man in black brought two more that he'd chosen.

Before Hui had a chance to respond, they had already arrived at the edge of the ledge, and the man in black threw a little girl down into the inside of the cauldron. You could hear her screams, as she fell, and the other one quickly followed her descent, before their cries were both cut short. The girl held by Hei Jingyi immediately began to struggle, trying to break free from his hold, as she screamed and cried in terror at what she'd just witnessed anew. But Hei Jingyi held her like he was holding a naughty little beetle that was trying to get away, before mercilessly chucking her in as well. You could hear her scream in pain, as she began to burn as well.

Li Haoli looked down at Hui, a gentle smile on his face. "Well, don't you think it looks fun?"

Hui shook her head. Trying to hide her face in his shoulder. She knew it wouldn't work.

Li Haoli just smiled. Walking over to the ledge.

How long would her fate remain in the hands of a man? Hui could feel her heart begin to scream, each thump a streak of pain flew throughout her body, her qi was falling in disarray. Li Haoli pulled her face away from his shoulder, took a good look at her face, twisted in misery and anger, before tossing her into the cauldron. She could hear him laughing as she fell, as the heat blasted her from every side. Her eyes locked to his with everything she needed to say locked in that expression. She giggled.