The eyes began to close one by one until there was nothing but darkness left and only then did she regain full control of her body.

Like a puppet with its string cut off, Claudia fell to the floor wheezing and crying. Only after a few seconds of silent sobbing did she have enough mental faculties to check on her condition.

There was not a scratch on her body but she was well and truly broken from the inside out. Not to mention dealing with the old witch's wrath but even the demon that had followed her back wasn't going to leave her alone until she did what it had asked of her.

It was bound to the Abyss and needed an extremely powerful ally to allow it to return to the material realms. And it had found that ally in none other than Hao Xuan himself.

At first she thought the old witch might intervene at some point but it didn't look like that was going to happen. She couldn't care less in fact, even allowing the demon to torture Claudia without reservation.

***

Hao Xuan landed some 130 meters outside of Argham where no one else could see him. He made a grasping motion a round clay token appeared in the palm of his hand. With a wisp of Qi, the insignia on its surface came alive and disappeared right as a figure materialized next to him.

*Neeeigh!* x2

More than half a meter taller than Hao Xuan himself, the two heads bobbed up and down while its six muscle-bound legs clobbered the ground underneath into a mushy paste. (CH 532 for reference)

"I know I know, it has been too long. But I didn't forget about you," he lied through his teeth as a rare smile adorned Hao Xuan's face.

He reached out to brush Grey's mane.

"I'm sorry to have kept you locked up for so long."

Grey neighed loudly and wildly a couple more times before suddenly going silent. His black eyes perfectly reflected Hao Xuan's image like a mirror as he inspected him up and down before slowly taking a step back.

Hao Xuan could feel the reluctance in his gaze. It was not much different from when they had met for the very first time.

"What, even you don't recognize me anymore?"

He kept smiling but there was a sea of emotions behind those few words.

But not a moment later both of Grey's heads bobbed repeatedly in elation before gently b.u.mping against Hao Xuan's chest and hugging him as if to say "of course not".

Grey was just a beast he had picked up along the way without much thought but it would be a lie if Hao Xuan didn't admit that he had made a personal connection with him without much effort.

Maybe that was just in his head or maybe it was a way for him to remember Joey and the life he could have had back in the beast world.

"I really have been away for too long. I wonder how everyone is doing?"

All of a sudden an immense feeling of nostalgia hit him like a truck. The Mei Kingdom, despite all its problems, was like a second home to him. The more time pa.s.sed and things became... "complicated", the more he longed for the simpler times.

"Soon we'll go back. You will see, it is a wonderful place. There is so much to do and see. You can run for days and months and never run out of land. You will love it there," he whispered.

But Grey had never been in there in the first place so how could he? He was born and raised in captivity, the only freedom he knew was what Hao Xuan had given him and even though they didn't understand each other perfectly, Grey was still immensely grateful to him.

Hao Xuan jumped on his back before pointing in the direction he had seen Dai Zhi, "Straight there. It's a fair bit away so don't hold back."

He had to hold on to the mane for support because of the imbalance created by his decrepit right arm but when Grey started moving and the surroundings turned into a blur, everything became much easier.

Within seconds Grey's figure was nothing more than a pa.s.sing shadow as he soundlessly traversed tens of kilometers with every movement. A wind barrier was erected around him that completely separated them from the outside world but it couldn't stop the bitterness from spreading.

'Why do I feel like I've abandoned them altogether? I promise I will go back and see everyone again,' he told himself but that was not in his power anymore.

If he truly wanted things his way, Hao Xuan would have to make certain choices that would follow him for the rest of his life.

He was soon brought out of the stupor when the surroundings started to become clear again. They had already arrived at the destination.

?