26 Bound for Life

It wasn't the scream that woke Little Ju up. It was the pain. Not his, but that of a human beside him. Her thrashing, malignant energy warped his own; dragging him from slumber.

Every single spirit beast there felt terror in their hearts as they felt an aura of bloodlust pollute the air. They couldn't find it in themselves to take a breath. Something deep in their bones told them that if they moved a single inch right now–they would end up dead.

Their reddened eyes fell on the human that had once been feebly struggling against her bounds suddenly flare with rigor. She screamed and yelled herself hoarse; when she had not even reacted to the lightning storm that had surrounded her before. Her voice seemed to scrape against their insides; cutting deep into their bones. Some shuddered to get rid of the feeling, but they could not.

Dread and foreboding bubbled within all of them; each of them realizing something was not right with that girl.

Little Yan ran as fast as she could, kicking up dust in her wake. Ice rushing through her veins at the thought of her brother being next to whatever that was. She needed to get him away. She had felt desperation before, but it had never been like this. It all should have been smooth sailing; ending with Little Ju recovering.

Why had the heavens interfered? Did they curse her brother to die?

Yun Da Xia couldn't comprehend anything but pain. Screams bloodied her eardrums. They seemed to come from a thousand voices; all begging for mercy. None ever stopped their pleading. Something had broken within her, ready to be let loose. Her muscles spasmed and ached; her insides endured like they were being twisted and pulled. It felt like her body was tearing itself up from the inside out.

There was no limit to the qi leaving her body in droves; overwhelming and destructive. Despite that, she still felt like there was too much–too much energy inside her. She was drowning and there was nothing to find purchase on; no land, no hope. A notion chilled her bones: she was fighting a losing battle, where she was her own enemy.

Darkness was the only companion she had. The cold was like an old friend, beckoning her to come to its side. It was tempting to step over the cliff, to let herself drown, to let go. Thinking of that, something within assured her that it would be right. It said that all she would need to do was give up control.

She played with the thought in her mind; breaths growing faint as she deliberated. Giving up control... the idea caused the sights of bloody battlefields and throne rooms to flash through Yun Da Xia's mind. It made her dizzy.

Still weak, a little wolf stared at Yun Da Xia, his amber eyes clouded with apprehension. Human. He had nearly lost his life because of them. It was only right that this girl dies as an act of penance for her race. A life for a life was the universal rule of the world.

And yet, his young heart tightened in protest. Little Ju could taste the copper on his tongue; could see the crimson staining the grass around the little human. He didn't feel the same bloodlust the others had, rather, it was desperation. He was well familiar with desperation.

A howl of pain echoed through the forest, and a silver-eyed wolf fell to the ground in a heap.

"Little Yan!" Her parents quickly arrived by her side. Each of them heaped her with questions of worry; both of them understanding that their daughter was not one who could easily show pain.

From the moment she had been thrown onto the ground, Little Yan's mind had been crippled into a state of shock. A hard wall of air had separated her from her brother; solid and unyielding. Its presence defied logic and law, but it was real.

"Mother! Father! You can't go to brother!" She choked out the words as quickly as she could; rushing to block their way. "What? Why?" Her mother bellowed, itching to be by her son's side. Little Yan had the same sentiments, but she shook her head. Although she couldn't understand or make peace with the current predicament, she was certain that she was not mistaken.

But she dearly wished she was.

"You can't interrupt brother. He's set up a spirit barrier."

Her words sent ripples through the hearts of all who heard. Beasts both large and small, high ranked or no, glanced at each other in shock; hoping they had misheard. Little Yan didn't repeat her statement nor did she clarify, simply staring at the two wolves she had addressed. Both of them had ghastly expressions on their faces.

Her own expression was likely a reflection of theirs. All of them had felt the viciousness that emanated from that human; causing alarm to run through their minds. Somehow, a lowly girl had unsettled them enough to feel like a threat. If there wasn't the threat of qi deviation [1] befalling her brother if she destroyed his barrier, then there was no doubt that the human would be breathing her last.

"What's going on? Why is he initiating a spiritual contract with her?" Little Yan's mother gave voice to the question everyone had.

Nobody except Little Ju would be able to answer.

°°°

[1] Qi deviation: an event where a cultivator or other being's spirit collapses, resulting in injury or death.