𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗵𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗺'𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱,
𝗷𝘂𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘆𝗲-𝗲𝘆𝗲-𝗲𝘆𝗲.

Tian Xing remembered the fact that Xue Yang was now a Jiang sect disciple and it still shocked her.

To think such a person could join the Jiang sect.

_______________________

Few months before the war.....

Tian Xing wandered around in Yi City, looking for a bratty teenager in simple clothes.

Yes, she was looking for none other than Xue Yang, courtesy name Chengmei.

There was also the case of A-Qing. She needed some serious fixing in her mindset.

Tian Xing sighed. How was she even going to accomplish this? Then there was the case of the Chang clan, along with Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan, courtesy name ZiChen.

But first things first, she had to stop Xue Yang from murdering the whole Chang clan because he got hit by a wagon and lost one of his pinky.

It honestly made her a bit annoyed at him, because why would you kill an entire set of innocent people for something only one person did?

That was against every moral in the world. She knew that he had a twisted past, but incidents still don't justify wrongs done by people with intentions of it.

Which is one of the reason she never excused Jiang Cheng's actions or Jin GuangYao's actions from the original novel. They had reasons, sure, but that could NEVER justify their horrible actions, the one thing they needed to have was redemption. The world is not just black and white. And the grey part is a difficult area. But things that were unexplained and unsaid left too much of an impact on their generation of the cultivation world, which was something Tian Xing tried to fix in this case.

Mistakes and wrongs are done. But it's just plain awful when one doesn't repent and redeem oneself. That just proves that the person doesn't regret doing the absolutely wrong deeds.

Su She was a character in the Mo dao zu shi who cursed Jin ZiXun just because he looked down upon Su She? That's the worst level of stupidity one could have.

Peace and love can not always be achieved among everyone, but what was the need to create unnecessary beef instead of proving himself worthy?

He even thought he could compare to Lan WangJi. What a joke.

Tian Xing stopped her inner monologue on why things had gotten wrong in the first place and returned to the situation in her hand, as she saw the young man in black and grey robes steal, no, rob from a shop of candies.

Xue Yang was just about to upturn the whole shop when a hand gripped is wrist.

The hand was unbelievably strong and it belonged to a woman.

Xue Yang looked with annoyance to see who stopped him. And he looked at a lady who appeared to be in his early twenties at most. She could be at his age as well. What stood out to him were her neon eyes and multicoloured robes. There were a variety of colours on her robes, which in other cases would contradict each other, but looked good on her.

The shopkeeper was staring at her with awe and gratitude.

The woman raised an eyebrow and spoke, "You want candy?"

Then she brought out her purse and paid for the candies.

Xue Yang was stunned and didn't know how to respond to this.

What?

Where did she come from? Or more importantly who was she? He didn't know her at all and yet she seemed to know him. This was alarming to him.

He instantly jerked his hand off her, "What are you doing? Do you wanna die?"

The female looked at him with a smug face, "You think you can kill me?"

There was power in her words, confidence in her tone and strength in her beauty.

Xue Yang smirked, "Why not? I am not that weak that I can't kill a simple woman."

Tina Xing snorted, "I thought by now you had figured out I was not a simple woman but whatever."

Xue Yang raised an eyebrow, "You are not?"

Tian Xing shrugged.

The next moment she spoke, "Well I know your motives."

Xue Yang looked at her with curiosity and asked sarcasticly, "Oh? You do? And well, how exactly?"

Tian Xing grinned, "I think that pretty much proves that I am not an ordinary woman."

Xue Yang snorted, "Like I will believe you."

Tian Xing smiled, that dangerous smile that chilled the whole air around them, "Well, I do know that you are planning to take revenge for your pinky."

Xue Yang now looked at her, stunned.

"Believe me now?" spoke Tian Xing.

In all honesty, she felt bad for him. His past was filled with poverty and people looking down on him. His memories were not pleasant at all.

But revenge was not going to give him anything.

Tian Xing kind of just grabbed him by the hand and pulled him away from the market they were in.

Xue Yang yelped and yelled at her to let him go but to no aveil. He was surprised at the strength in her arms. She was surely a cultivator, a strong one at that.

Tian Xing grabbed him inside an inn, paying quickly and they both went inside a room.

Xue Yang was seriously angry about the treatment he got and was starting to think of how to kill her.

Tian Xing chuckled, "Don't even think about it. You can't kill me."

"How did you know I was thinking of killing you?" asked Xue Yang with a raised eyebrow.

Tian Xing reminded, "I told you I am not an ordinary lady. Now listen. I know you want to annihilate the whole Chang clan for that 'precious' pinky finger of yours. That will not get you anywhere."

Xue Yang laughed maniacally, "So you do know about what I planned, and you are gonna give me a lecture on how revenge is not the solution, sounds about right?"

Tian Xing smiled, "You are partially correct. However, I will help you take revenge, just the appropriate amount. You will not kill anyone. Your pinky and your self esteem with your psychotic mind is not worth everyone in the clan. There are innocents in that clan who have nothing to do with you."

Xue Yang scoffed, "They are all the same."

Tian Xing roared, "No they are not. Just because you saw the bad side of something doesn't mean everything is bad around you. Not everyone has a twisted mindset."

Xue Yang yelled back, "What do you know? You don't know how my life was."

Tian Xing spoke in a dangerously low voice, "You assumed that I just knew about your intentions without knowing your lifestyle?"

That made Xue Yang ponder a bit, because it made sense for her to know it, however exactly she knew.

Tian Xing sighed, "Look kid, I know you had a bad life in the streets, but killing won't solve shit. Instead we have to expose his bad deeds. Old habits die hard, I am sure he has done some shady things."

Truth be told, Tian Xing had absolutely no idea what shady things she could expect, she didn't even know if the Chang Clan leader had indeed done anything shady enough to have him stripped off his title as the sect leader. But she had to try.

Xue Yang raised an eyebrow, "And if it doesn't work out?"

Tian Xing spoke, "I will ask him to compensate for you and if he refuses, leave the rest to me."

Xue Yang snorted, "You are giving me this offer, but how can I trust you, huh? You might just be a fraud."

Tian Xing raised an eyebrow, "Why would I know about you and come to you if I was not going to help? Why would I go to the trouble of booking this inn and wasting my money and words on a person like you if I am not here to help?"

Xue Yang questioned, "Why exactly do you want to help me?"

Why?

That was a good question. A question everyone asked her. Why help them?

Tian Xing smiled, "It is the right thing to do, that's why."

_______________________

After some sneaky investigations, Tian Xing found out that the Chang clan leader, Chang Xiumin was indeed doing shady business.

It was an illegal drug business so to speak. Well at that time those were not called drugs of course, but life threatening potions.

These potions were used illegally by various people for their own benefits. And the Chang clan used to trade these out in exchange of hefty money.

It seemed like there was a deadly type of Lily plant that continued various harmful chemicals in them in Yi City. This plant was used by the Chang clan to make these drugs.

Tian Xing had informed Xue Yang about it and he was beyond happy to think that the guy will finally have his title stripped off of him.

But that was an entirely too big of a thing to do without the help of another sect leader. She was just a rogue cultivator. She couldn't really step into the political grounds of another sect.

She explained it to Xue Yang, who obviously was not willing to believe it.

Tian Xing had smacked him hard on the spot, saying that a war was approaching soon and they couldn't do it now, she had to explain the whole tension between the sects.

Xue Yang had been suspicious but after seeing her take some measures, he agreed.

As for what measures, that was rather interesting.
_______________________

After the war...

Cloud Recesses was always beautiful as a place. It had a calm tranquility to it's atmosphere and honestly had an abundance of spiritual energy.

Xue Yang was surprised at how peaceful and beautiful Cloud Recesses was. It was a place that always held a calmness and tranquility.

Lan XiChen was talking with Lan WangJi and Lan Qiren about clan matters when they came in and greeted the three of them.

Of course Xue Yang at first didn't bow and Tian Xing nudged him super hard to do so and only then did he greet them properly.

Lan XiChen and Lan WangJi bowed in greeting, Lan Qiren nodding briefly.

Tian Xing smiled, "I am sorry for the unplanned visit and intrusion, but today I have come with a special case."

Lan XiChen smiled, "It is fine."

Tian Xing spoke, "Then I will be taking the opportunity. Do you remember me asking about the Chang clan?"

Lan XiChen answered, "Yes, I do."

Tian Xing nodded, "Has there been cases with life threatening potions around the cultivation world nowadays?"

Lan XiChen's eyes widened, "Yes, for a very long time. Recently, they have increased a lot. At the beginning it was not much, but nowadays, especially after the war, there have been increasing cases of it. But we are unable to figure out who exactly is behind making these potions."

Xue Yang smirked, "Well you see, we found out that the Chang Clan has been making these and selling them out in high prices.

Lan Qiren's face darkened.

Tian Xing grinned, "Oh I forgot to introduce him to you. This is Xue Yang, courtesy name Chengmei. He is one of the residents of Yi City, though bandit might be a better term."

Lan WangJi immediately went alert on the word 'bandit'. Tian Xing coaxed, "Relax. He is a non cultivator. He doesn't have a golden core, at least not yet."

Xue Yang raised an eyebrow, "Just because I am not a cultivator doesn't mean I am not dangerous. It can be bad to underestimate me." He ended with a devilish grin.

Tian Xing smiled the 'smile' and spoke, "If we want to we can kill you here on the spot and none would know. Beware of trying funny things."

Lan WangJi glared at Xue Yang, adding to the statement.

Lan XiChen spoke, "Well, we need evidence for the claim you made."

He didn't doubt Tian Xing. At this point he had already seen many of her shenanigans.

Tian Xing grinned, "Evidence? I do have evidence."

With that she brought out a potion.

It was the same life threatening potion that she was talking about. Tian Xing spoke with amusement, "I bought this from them. Xue Yang is a witness of it. And we can prove it further if you just come with me." She sighed exasperatedly, "I spent all my money on this. You better solve this case." She mock glared at Lan XiChen.

Lan Qiren, spoke, "How did you find out it was them though? You just did not randomly suspect them right?"

Tian Xing grinned, "I saw shady people leaving from the backyard of the clan quarters. They were obviously the men from his sect. I followed them out and boom. It turned out to be a secret place where they had been making these potions. It's from a Lily that is deadly for people and it only grows over in Yi city."

The words hung in the air and Lan XiChen broke the silence, "Let's go."

_______________________

At the Chang residence...

Lan XiChen was behind the door where Tian Xing had made an apparence.

Tian Xing came as the same lady who bought the potion from the Chang Clan. She greeted the clan leader, "Sect Leader Chang."

The Chang Clan leader, Chang Xiumin laughed and replied, "Ahhh Guniang, you came back. It's been a while. Do you need more of the poison you took last time?"

Lan XiChen's fists tightened. This was all the proof he needed for the accusation to be proved true.

Xue Yang was grinning like an idiot. He was honestly enjoying this. The whole set seemed better than any murder.

Tian Xing smirked, "Ah well, I have not really come to buy more. But I have brought someone to meet you."

Chang Xiumin asked, "Really? Who is it? Another customer?"

"No." came a frosty male voice.

Chang Xiumin froze.

Lan XiChen and Xue Yang came out to the door and entered the room.

Chang Xiumin's mouth went agape and he pointed accusingly at Tian Xing, "YOU- YOU BETRAYED ME!!!"

"Silence!" was all it took from Lan XiChen for him to shut up. Literally and figuratively.

Lan XiChen put the silencing spell on him just in case. Xue Yang came forward, "Remember me?"

Chang Xiumin glared at Xue Yang as he was unable to speak.

Xue Yang showed his non- existant pinky, "You took this pinky finger away from me, you bribed me in the name of sweets and threw me away. You may have forgotten, but I still remember."

Tian Xing put a hand on his shoulder, "A-Yang, let's not drag that any longer. He is going in the dungeons now. Appropriate punishments will be given to him there."

Tian Xing then looked at Lan XiChen and spoke, "Sect Leader Lan, he has always been tyrannical towards the poor. Xue Yang is one of the victims of it. Please punish him as you see fit."

Lan XiChen's almond eyes flashed cold, "Very well. Chang Xiumin, you will be going to the dungeons of the Lan sect, along with the people who worked with you. Soon we will find out who your dealers and buyers were as well."

The case of the Chang clan leader came to an official close.

It was revealed that his family was not happy with him either. He was obviously not on well terms with his wife and son, and his family were rather happy with him gone, making his son, Chang RenJun, the next Chang clan leader.

Also Xue Yang had helped those who he had robed from begrudgingly.

Suffice to say it took a few months.

_______________________

"I guess I will join a sect." said Xue Yang as he scratched his cheek.

Tian Xing's eyes widened, "Huh?"

Xue Yang shrugged, "Why not? I really don't have anything else to do in life. I have accomplished my revenge and I will be bored to death otherwise."

Tian Xing's eyebrows twitched, "Alright but which sect would you join?"

Xue Yang grinned, "A sect that is free, not hunched down by too much discipline and where we can do innovative stuff."

Tian Xing raised an eyebrow, "I didn't know you were into innovative stuff."

Xue Yang almost shouted, "Hey! I have a smart mind, for your information."
Tian Xing smiled, "I know, A-Yang. I know you do."

This caught Xue Yang off guard, he blushed a bit, "Who are you calling 'A-Yang'? I didn't say you could call me that."

Tian Xing laughed, "Well I am still calling you that. You can call me Xing-jie."

Xue Yang scoffed, "That's disrespectful."
Tian Xing snorted, "Look who's talking about respect. As if you have any."

Xue Yang grinned, "Of course I don't."
"Then don't expect any back. Besides I am a lot older than you. I am allowed to call you that " Tian Xing grinned back.

Xue Yang groaned, but there was no bite in it, "Ugh fine.... Xing-jie."

Tian Xing came and ruffled his hair, chuckling, "Good boy."

There was a pregnant pause before she smiled sweetly, "I am proud of you, A-Yang."

Xue Yang's whole face turned into an expression of shock and awe. No one had ever told him that they were proud of him. He felt happy and giddy knowing that somewhere in this world, someone was proud of him.

He smiled, genuinely, and spoke, "Thank you Xing-jie."

Tian Xing asked, "So which sect would you join?"

Xue Yang shrugged, "Maybe the Jiang Sect?"

Tian Xing laughed.

It was another beautiful day, ending in a beautiful way.

_______________________
Xue Yang joined the Jiang sect after the whole fiasco with the Chang family ended. He had a lot of natural talent and had earned quite a bit of name and fame for himself for that Chang clan case. So he was easily accepted.

Wei WuXian laughed as Tian Xing spoke of her experiences while travelling the world.

"And then guess what? They were all so surprised hearing that I was actually a cultivator and not some young woman with a pretty face."

Wei WuXian said with mirth, "Well you do look really young. But you always turn out to be a granny."

Tian Xing mock raged, "Hey! What does that mean?"

He snorted, "The meaning is very clear Xing-jie."

Tian Xing glared at him, "It's not. I am not a granny."

"You are. You are 31, almost 32. And you act like one too. Like one of those wise old people with a stick." said Wei WuXian cheekily.

Tian Xing nudged him, "Seriously, what does that even mean? I am not old and I don't have a stick either."

Wei WuXian spoke with a gentle chuckle, "I said you act like one."

Tian Xing raised an eyebrow, "How exactly?"

Wei WuXian's eyes softened, "Just like how you help all of us everytime we get in trouble."

Tian Xing's eyes widened a bit at that.

Wei WuXian continued, with a loving smile, "Just like how you brought us together."

Tian Xing remained silent.

"Xing-jie, you are not completely a human are you?"

Tian Xing froze, which gave Wei WuXian even more of a surety of his speculation.

Tian Xing, though, quickly recovered of her shock, "What are you even talking about? What am I if not a human?" she ended with an eyebrow raise.

Wei WuXian answered knowingly, "I never said you were not a human. I said you were not completely a human."

Tian Xing snorted, "What do you suppose I am then?"

Wei WuXian shrugged, "I don't know. That's the puzzling part."

Tian Xing smiled, "You really have some otherworldly thinking in your mind."

Wei WuXian noticed she was not refuting his deduction, which he pointed out, "You are not saying I am completely wrong."

Tian Xing was about to answer something but Jiang YanLi came and called, "A-Xian, Xing-jie. Time for lunch."

Tian Xing smiled, "Let's go, we shouldn't keep the others waiting."

Wei WuXian laughed brightly and agreed, "Let's go then."

The conversation was avoided in the nick of time.
__________________________________

The family of five were talking about all sorts of things in the lunch table. Tian Xing watched and occasionally also joined in the chatter.

It was lively. It was warm.

It was home.

Lotus Pier had become a warm home for them. No longer was it just a flashy house they were staying in.

Tian Xing smiled to herself, her neon eyes warm and downcast.

Tian Xing was once Rubi. And as Rubi, she was alone for a very long time. Rubi had been a leaning point of a lot of idols before. If there were times they were stressed beyond belief or heartbroken with hates, she would give them a shoulder to cry on, warm arms to hug and motherly pats on their head.

Rubi's parents had died when she was 13 years old. Being from a military family, she had been taught from childhood how to handle herself in fights. And by the age of 13, she was already a skilled martial artist. But unfortunately, her parents, being in military had passed away in a dangerous mission.

As someone who was used to being alone from her childhood, she had managed to make herself able to live, but the loss of parents was still a heavy toll on her mind as a child. Her caretaker, who used to work in times when her parents were not home, had left her after her parents had died, because apparently she wouldn't earn any money from the household anymore.

And thus, Rubi Kim, a 13 year old girl, was left alone in California.

None of her relatives wanted to take the initiative to take her under their wing. It would cause them extra money, and they would have an extra mouth to feed.

Back then, Rubi had held grudges against them for this, but as time went on, she understood why they didn't want another mouth to feed.

Her relatives lived in South Korea, while she lived in America. Who would have taken the effort to actually take her back there? Everything from her shifting to her schooling would have taken a lot of money and time, which would have cost them a great loss of many things.

Which none of her relatives wanted.

Yes, some would say they are cold hearted. Rubi herself would say they were cold hearted. But she was glad to not have gone to them, because surely they would have treated her poorly, as she would have been just a free loader.

Rubi grew up in America alone without any guardians, and thus had to face various problems in her life. The biggest problem was understanding ill intentions of people. There were several times she was close to getting harassed, but as she knew how to fight, fortunately nothing bad had happened to her.

That doesn't mean it didn't traumatise her. Her first time being harassed made her throw up after coming home.

It was horrifying.

And disgusting.

After turning 18 she applied to the Sm town audition that fortunately happened in Calafornia, and she happened to pass it up.

Eventually her studies and her training intertwined and even after having troubles, she completed her studies.

After she debuted though, many of her relatives started to contact her.

Funny.

Rubi had politely, POLITELY, put them in their place.

Some people just needed a high five, in the face, with a chair.

Hehehe.

Rubi's debut in Sm town had immediately become a hit because of her rapping. It was not surprising for Sm entertainment to have good vocalists, but having an excellent female rapper was a different thing.

Obviously with great success came great obstacles. Haters were literally stalking her out to find her flaws and well, there was no limit to obsessive fans.

2015 was the peak of kpop. It was the time kpop got global recognition.

At that time, Rubi understood something very interesting and important. No matter how good you are, people will find flaws in you.

There were hate comments everywhere about her in every social media. About the smallest things.

Sigh.

Rubi didn't have the energy to tolerate them so she always put them in their places, which always angered the haters even more, calling her shameless and ill mannered.

Funny. They were the ones who always talked shit about her.

Being an idol with amazing stage presence and confidence, she was synonymous with the 'bad bitch' line of kpop along with BoA, CL, Soyeon, Hwasa, Jessi and HyuNa.

But as time went on, kpop industry became even more toxic, especially with the start of the fourth generation. People started to criticise idols for so much as breathing the wrong way. They couldn't interact with opposite gender idols because then they will be shipped together. They would be called 'pick me' for the smallest normal actions, and will get judged no matter what they did.

Rubi was someone who had amazing relations with her fellow entertainment idols. Red velvet, NCT, Super M, SHINee, Exo- really, everyone was really fond of her and they all had great relationship and chemistry with each other. Rubi especially babied Yeri from Red Velvet and all the new members of NCT a lot. With Exo she had a buddy-buddy friendship.

Snsd had encountered some problems and thus she didn't have to chance to bond with many of their members, but Hyoyeon and Taeyeon were still there and thus had become good friends with her. BoA was a senior to all of them, so with her Rubi talked in a tone of respect but her humour was still there.

Rubi loved to make jokes with people and make them laugh. All in all, she had a very good relationship with many of the idols.

Even with other entertainment idols, she had a pretty good relationship.

Unfortunately fourth generation idols could not be openly friends with many people. Rubi really despised that side of the media and didn't give one little fuck about it. She still interacted with everyone in front of the camera.

"I am a person who loves myself a lot. And a person who knows my own capabilities. The skills I have is what I earned through my hard work and dedication. So whether you hate me or not, the truth will not change, neither will my self-confidence."
-Kim Rubi

There was a reason of why she left Sm entertainment though. And it had resulted in a huge backlash for Sm. She had been engaged in a bullying scandal.

And there was a well awaring reason for that.

Rubi's stylist was one of the people who had beef with her in the University Rubi studied in. As Rubi was a trainee alongside being a University student, at that time Rubi was fairly young and beautiful with many people asking her out, which resulted in the actual 'popular' rich school girl in the University to get jealous.

Cliche, but that was reality. Joo Sara, was a typical rich spoiled princess.

In any case, she had tried to frame Rubi in many atrocities for this reason. Rubi compared her to all those over the top K-Dramas that aired on Tv, and always laughed about the fact that she once hadn't believed that there would be people like that in real life, but then there was Joo Sara.

In any case, Joo Sara had become a stylist of Sm entertainment. And coincidentally ended up styling for her. Rubi at first didn't have any objections for anything, because after all both of them were just people doing their jobs. But when Joo Sara saw that it was Kim Rubi she was styling for, she deliberately gave her uncomfortable outfits. Thus, Rubi gave her a harsh scolding one day, which turned into something bigger. Afterwards, this turned into a scandal, and that was only because Joo Sara had claimed that Rubi was a bully in University and had also bullied her afterwards as they met in Sm town.

Which was completely bogus. This bullying scandal ended up in a huge commotion and people started accusing her of being a bully, calling her all sorts of names, telling her to quit being an idol and even sending death threats.

Rubi had made it clear on all social medias about what had happened. That it was Joo Sara accusing her of being a bully because she had a bad relationship with Rubi. This was proved further by her University batch mates and the ones who had seen Rubi getting uncomfortable outfits, like the make up artist or the hair stylist, that she was not a bully in either case. Joo Sara had been properly being criticised and hated by the public in all platforms and social medias.

She had not really expected that Rubi would take matter into her own hands, because most idols are left in the mercy of the company and knowing Sm town, they definitely wouldn't back up their artists in scandals. Rubi had proven herself innocent by herself.

However, as always, Sm entertainment didn't back her up.

This was always the case for scandals of Sm town artists. They never got any back up from the entertainment itself, and they always put the artist in an indefinite hiatus, something Rubi refused to have when the company told her about it, and instead asked for back up.

But Sm entertainment always prioritised their reputation. So they didn't want it to be tarnished by supporting a 'bully'. Rubi had already clarified and proved that she was not a bully, but Knetz and netizens were still many, and not all of them liked her, so they held on to this accusation even after she had been proved innocent. Rubi, feeling disappointed, decided to end her contract with Sm entertainment, and as she had already been 7 years under Sm entertainment, they also terminated her remaining short contract.

This caused a huge uproar and Sm town had been boycotted by the huge fanbase of Rubi, especially because at that time, the hype of Kpop had already reached internationally.

Rubi, after taking a break for 1 month and settling down everything, made a contract with Hybe under Ador and again started to make music of her own.

Hybe was at that moment gathering all sorts of trainees and idols. Rubi watched as people came and went away.

With time, she grew close with BTS, Seventeen and TxT members, and with time, she got to know the girls of Le Serrafim, New jeans and the boys of Enhyphen. Hybe reached the peak of their career in 2021-2023.

Being out of Sm entertainment never stopped her from interacting with Sm artists. She still was as friendly as she could get onscreen, although she limited her actions with them in front of cameras, not because of herself, but because of the artists she interacted with. They would have gotten hate for no reason if she interacted with them openly.

Rubi was not especially close with YG artists as they rarely ever came to music shows and awards. The only ones she had talked to were Treasure and Blackpink's members.

She was very close with JYP artists though, especially Nmixx. Lily often loved to be babied by her. 

She had been very surprised and sorrowful when she heard that Jinni had left Nmixx. She had asked the members if they could tell what it was, but they chose not to. Rubi didn’t probe them any longer about it as well.

There was one other girl she had grown very close to.

Wonyoung of Ive.

She always kept her at a close range of communication. She was the only person other than herself who she found to be as unbothered of hate as she was.
However she lived her life onscreen was not something that she was bothered by, she loved how strong Wonyoung mentality was.

Even so, just being 17 and getting hate for so much as existing still takes a heavy toll on people and it took a heavy toll on her as well. She had been getting skinnier and skinnier because of  it.

Rubi had one day, taken her to the restaurant and made her eat all sorts of her favourite things, telling her to stay healthy and safe, giving her motivation to keep being unbothered.

Ive had been a group of fairly young women and she had given all of them shoulders to lean on. 

All her life.

She had given her shoulder to lean on.

To Haerin who was stressed about her debut, to Yeonjun who had been attacked by saesangs, to Jungkook who needed comfort because Jin was leaving for military, to Chaewon who had to stay strong in front of everyone, but she was still a human.

She had given her shoulder to Wendy who was insecure of her dancing, to Yeri who was hated for no reason, to Renjun who found closeness with her, to Taeyong because even after being the leader of 22 people, he was but a person too.

He had given her shoulder to Taemin, to Key, to Onew, to Minho, the times when they couldn't sleep because they cried for Jonghyun. She had given her shoulder to IU, who couldn't help but be reminded of how Sulli died when Jonghyun died.

She had given her shoulder to Liz, who was infinitely mistreated by Starship entertainment. She had given her shoulder to Mashiho, who wanted to quit being an idol, Rubi never stopped him. She knew his health was more important. She was only there, letting him cry his heart out in the desolate corner of the cafe they were in. She had given her shoulder to Soojin, who had been kicked out of Cube because of something she didn't do, to Soyeon who wanted nothing more than to leave Cube with (G)-Idle because of how horrible the company was, to Chuu who was being abused by BBC, to Garam who was just 15, but had gotten so much hate she attempted suicide. It was lucky she had survived. Rubi had given her shoulder to Nancy who had sexually harassed in MLD entertainment. She had given her shoulder to all of them.

But who gave her the shoulder to cry on?

None.

It had always been like that. She was used to being a steady pillar in everyone's life, a giant tree that sheltered them from the sunlight and rain, the storm and heat. She was a breath of air for those who needed it.

Rubi, or Tian Xing, whoever it may be, was not used to weakness. She was not used to being weak and vulnerable.

Strength, confidence, surety. Those words were always synonymous with her.

Even as Tian Xing, that was how who she was. Her strong personality was no exception no matter where she was.

She was the elder sister of this generation's young cultivators, friends with the elders of this generation, and had been a steady pillar for those who needed someone to lean on. It had never been the other way around.

Not that she complained about it. It was good that she didn't trouble anyone with her burdens.

But the worst thing about being strong was that no one ever asked if she was alright or not. It was never in anyone's imagination that she could be wounded, broken and shattered.

Granted she was a survivor of a lot of things, and she overcame many obstacles in her life, but all of those were by herself. There was none to help her.

She was confident and nonchalant, that was true. She had been confident all her life. But there were times when she wasn't as nonchalant as she became later in she was in her prime. But at those difficult times of doubt, no one had really been beside her. She had to cope with herself alone. By the time she had people to support her, she had already become the person that she was at present.

Rubi Kim, the global sensational idol.

Tian Xing's eyes were lost as she looked at the now empty bowl, as she had already finished her eating.

"...ie."
"...jie!"
"Xing-jie!!!"

"Huh?" Tian Xing looked at the worried faces of everyone and smiled, "Yes?"

Jiang Cheng raged, "Yes, my ass! We have calling for the last five minutes. Where was your soul?"

Tian Xing sputtered, "Ah-ahh-ahhh well, I was thinking about some things."

Wei WuXian frowned, "You looked so dazed. What were you thinking about?"

Tian Xing replied in a haste, "Ah nothing nothing. Really. I am fine. I was just thinking about some small things. Nothing too serious."

Wei WuXian didn't believe her, but didn't probe any longer to this.

Jiang FengMian asked, "Was the food not to your taste?"

Tian Xing shook her hands in a 'no' gesture, "No no the food was very palatable and delicious."

Yu ZiYuan spoke with a frown, "You can tell us if something is bothering you."

Tian Xing froze.

Then she smiled, "Thank you, but really, it's nothing."

It's already too late to help me.

I already have toppled through my worries.

__________________________________

Tian Xing sat the docks, as she reminded herself of the people she needed to save.

There were still a few left.

"Xing-jie." came a gentle call.

Tian Xing smiled as she looked behind, "A-Cheng."

Jiang Cheng walked towards her with slow steps, "Is something bothering you? You can tell me."

Tian Xing pursed her lips, then she sighed, "It's nothing too big. Don't worry. I was just thinking about how everything happened. Time really flies by."

Jiang Cheng looked at the calm lakes of YunMeng, "That's true. It's already been two and a half year since the war. A lot of things have happened in the meantime."

A lot of many things.

Tian Xing wondered how so much time had passed already. She had already become accustomed to being a cultivator and a demon.

It was a miracle that she had managed to keep her secrets. But even so, she felt like something was missing.

That there was something she was not aware of.

Jiang Cheng put a hand on her paler hands, "Xing-jie if there is anything bothering you, then please do tell us."

Tian Xing smiled, "Mn. Don't worry. I really am fine."

But in fact, she would never tell them her worries. They couldn't know.