Chapter 117 - 117 - The Kirin

Xia Gazed up at the strange-looking man. He was wearing a demonic-looking mask which covered most of his face from his forehead till his nose. Only his green eyes and lips could be seen.

The man softly held his shoulders and lifted him. He held onto him until he was able to stably stand on his own.

"Thank you," Xia whispered to the young man. He subtly pulled little further away from him and watching him vigilantly. After his encounter with that man named Prince Gua, he had become quite wary of strangers.

The man was silently observing him. His unwavering eyes made him a little unsettled, but the familiar lotus fragrance on his body made Xia more comfortable.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" the man said with his magnetic voice.

"No... thank you so much," he repeated.

The man smiled and whispered, "Don't thank me. It is my responsibility,"

Xia did not understand him clearly. 'Why is saving me his responsibility? This person is talking in riddles,' he thought as he looked at him.

Their eyes met, and the man smirked.

'Wait....is he interested in me like that disgusting prince? Either way, I have to stay away from this mysterious man,'

As he stepped back, he tripped on a small rock, but the man quickly held his hand and steadied him.

Xia pulled his hand away and coughed. 'I don't want this man to have any other thoughts... what to do... ah I know,'

"I...I.... my lover will be so happy to know you saved me. You will be rewarded in gold and silver haha," he laughed awkwardly.

The man's eyes went wide at his admission, then he started laughing. "That's not needed at all. I just saved a fellow cultivator from danger. No big deal," he said and strode away.

'Oh my, did I misunderstood,' Xia scratched his chin. Watching the man walk away made his heart ache weirdly. "Hey wait, you didn't... tell me your name," he whispered.

The man turned back and smirked. "You will come to know when the time is right," he said and continued walking forward.

Xia watched him leave. There was a small sense of disappointment in his heart. He held his chest and wondered, 'what is this feeling? This is definitely not love, right?'

He shook his head. 'no, No.... how is that possible I love Long so much already. This must be because of my fear from near death experience,' he said to himself.

The man in green did not go far. He jumped onto a nearby tree and gazed down at Xia. 'He looks just like her. But acts just like me,' he thought as tears rolled down his eyes.

"Master, you could have revealed your real identity," a voice whispered from behind him.

He sighed, "It's no use now. He hates me already for not being with him. It's good that I can be next to him and protect him whenever he needs me," he said with a small smile.

"You are an Idiot master," a small corpse butterfly whispered.

"Mind your business, Icarus. He doesn't need to know. Besides, I don't care if he likes me or not," he said with his head down.

The corpse butterfly slightly nipped his hands. "then why did you gift him Fangshui* Armour. Is it not because he wished for it? Is it not to impress him? Ahhh yes, It's because you DON'T care... hmm sounds super sketchy," it whispered in a sarcastic tone.

"Shut up and go away," the man whispered with a pout.

"Hump, master, you have to try to talk at least," the butterfly whispered but his master was busy watching Xia che.

Icarus watched all of this from his underground palace. The man he followed and trusted as a brother was sulking like a little kid.

"I still don't think it was a good idea to give him Fangshui armour and the golden glove..." he sighed.

The green clothed man glared at the little butterfly. "He is my son, it is his right to have these,"

"But those are heavenly articles, if people find out they might even try to hurt him," the little shimmering butterfly shouted.

"Then I will hunt each and every one of them," the man declared with a small smile.

"hump who was the one who said 'I want him to grow strong on his own'," Icarus said and summoned back his butterfly.

The green dressed man pulled his mask off and wiped his wet cheeks. He sniffed loudly. "My baby suffered so much. Daddy also wished I was with you," he cried.

Ten thousand years ago, he was on a small hunt leaving his pregnant wife home. But when he came back, his wife had been brutally murdered. In rage, he issued war against the heaven. In actuality no one, not even his close comrades, knew that the real reason for the war was the death of his wife and child.

He hid his grief and engaged in war.

This war continued for almost thousands of years until most of the demons were defeated. And the seven demon lords went into hibernation.

For years now he thought that his child had not survived, but six months ago he felt a weird spiritual energy that was similar to his and his now late wife. This woke him up from his hibernation. He ran over to the closest place he felt it. Surprisingly, it was close to where his friend Icarus went into hibernation.

He woke him up and told him the good news. Surprisingly so his son himself stumbled into their territory.

The green dressed man smirked. "It was fate that we get to meet again, son. And this time I will not leave," he whispered.

Xia sneezed loudly. "Someone is talking about me," he whispered as he wiped his nose.

The ground under his feet started trembled again, followed by a huge roar. "What is going on? Who is causing this much havoc?" He narrowed his eyes and gazed at the general direction of the sound.

Before doing anything, he summoned Feila and checked her pulse again. It was getting normal and her temperature was also slowly coming down. Her skin was too clammy though, so he wiped her face with a towel.

A huge roar was heard again, followed by the ground trembling. 'I have to keep her safe. He thought and put her back inside the space.

He turned away from the direction of the roar, but curiosity got the better of him. 'Eh what would happen if I just take a peek?' he thought and dashed towards the direction of the ongoing fight.

He jumped onto the trees and leaped around the trees like a little monkey. As he neared the fight scene, he saw a huge creature standing there. Its fur covered hooves stomped onto anything nearby.

The tree was not that tall, so he was not able to get a clear view of the strange creature. He jumped onto another and started climbing to the top.

From that vantage point he could fully see the mysterious creature. It looked more like a deer with huge antlers on its face it had scaled running along his neck. Its ears and tail were fluffy.

'Impossible..... Is it a.....'

"Kirin," Xia gasped.

It was one of the many mythological beasts. Hundred years ago Xia heard a rumour that a Kirin had descended the earth but the rumour disappeared right after. Never in three thousand years did he think that he would get to witness it.

The Kirin was screaming and wailing around. As it was trying to fight someone. 'Who is fighting it?' he wondered.

"OLI," a loud shout was heard in the midst.

'Eh, that sounds like Long. What the hell? Why is he fighting a Kirin?' he thought as his heart pounded. He dashed closer to the fight zone to take a better look.

Even in ancient history it was said that Dragon's and Kirin's are equally strong. And in battle, the loser is not easy to determine.

"Stupid Long, what are you up to now," he whispered.

He jumped onto a nearby tree and gazed down.

It was indeed Long Aotian, he was almost at the stage to transform into a dragon. His talons were out, his tail was swishing behind him and his nose elongated into a long snout.

"WHERE IS XIA?" he shouted and launched an attack on the Kirin.

The Kirin used his hoofs to hide someone behind him. It grunted loudly.

"I don't care. GIVE ME BACK MY LOVER," Long shouted and clawed the beast's legs.

He wanted to shout out that he was here, but he saw that both of them were attacking so ferociously. If he called out now, it would definitely distract his lover.

He bit his trembling lips. His hands and legs were trembling. 'I am here Long, so please.....please stop this. Please I don't want you to get hurt,' he internally prayed.

At one point the battle was so bad that the Kirin opened its mouth wide and spat out a huge wind blade.

The earth shook violently. The tree he was sitting on collapsed completely.

Note:

Fangshui - literally translates to waterproof.. google said so.