Chapter 77 - Regrets?

While others were sleeping peacefully in their lover's embrace, Ji Yao was stuck in a never-ending dream that could be better described as a nightmare.

His surroundings were so dark that he couldn't even see his hand when he raised it in front of his face. He felt a great sense of anxiety as he walked aimlessly with no sense of direction. 

He wanted to stop walking at some point because he felt like it was a pointless task. He was walking around in circles over and over again. But the moment his feet stopped he felt something lurking in the darkness closing up on him. Something so sinister that it made his blood run cold.

The sense of uneasiness increased the longer he stayed in place so left with no choice he had to keep moving forward. Just as he thought he was going to walk himself to death he saw a bright light shining from a great distance. A great sense of comfort washed over him the closer he got to that beam of light.

He felt like he had finally found a way out of this dark cold place so as he got closer his steps quickened. The light grew brighter and brighter but when he saw a little boy sitting under the light his steps paused. The little boy was both familiar and unfamiliar to him.

His lone figure sat in silence surrounded by darkness as he hugged his knees. He looked especially pitiful sitting there all alone with no one to accompany him. Ji Yao felt bad for him so he emerged from the darkness and reached out to him but before he got far cold bony fingers caught his shoulder.

Startled he froze on the spot but it seemed the boy had already felt his presence. He lifted his head that had been tucked between his knees revealing that tear-stained face and stared into the darkness.

"Hello! He-hello..... is there anyone there?...," said the little boy sniffling a couple of times as he wiped the tears off his face.

Ji Yao wanted to say something but an elderly lady appeared by his side with her hand still on his shoulder. His gaze shifted from the hand on his shoulder to her face. He didn't even realise that his body seemed to accept this woman's touch as he scrutinised her. 

She had graceful wrinkles on her face showing her years of experience. The most eye-catching thing were her eyes that seemed to be looking through the deepest depths of his soul.

Ji Yao caught sight of the symbol on her forehead glowing with a red light and felt an inexplicable warmth surround him like a baby in their mother's womb. He subconsciously wanted to embrace her but he held back.

The old lady had two braids in her hair with unique accessories that matched her earrings. She wore a red robe embroidered with Qilin symbols.

She took a step back with both her hands on Ji Yao's shoulders and spoke from behind him saying, "Why help the enemy? He looks pathetic but this here... is a beast."

Ji Yao's eyes shifted from the long fingernails painted red and a gold finger bracelet with a design out of this world to the little boy who was still calling out in a brittle voice.

"Don't believe me? Watch.....," said the old lady in a croaky voice. As soon as she said this a pair of red eyes appeared in the dark startling both Ji Yao and this little boy.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! Somebody please... help me... wuwuwuwu," screamed the little boy as he crawled backwards in fright. The fear on his face was apparent especially when he found that he couldn't exit from within the parameter of the light.

The Huishe's entire head emerged from the darkness approaching the boy while snarling. Compared to the boy's tiny body the Huishe was ten times larger. This boy was like a toothpick in its mouth.

Feeling distraught, Ji Yao reached out but the grip on his shoulder tightened to the point of digging into his flesh. "They are all monsters!! They took everything from us and cut off our crowns. You can't associate with them.... you can't associate with a predator that plunders everything out of selfishness! Listen to me...," she said turning him around to face her, "don't you feel it? The fear, the anger, the humiliation? It's them. They did this to us!"

But Ji Yao couldn't heed this advice when he felt those screams and whimpers behind him grow louder and louder. He felt fear but his fear was surpassed by the feeling of anxiety and worry for that kid.

He turned his head to look at the kid. Their eyes met for a split second like the boy could see him. His eyes seemed to ask, "Why won't you help me?" as a tear flowed down his cheek.

A cold hand suddenly pulled his face back and he was forced to look at the older lady again. "It seems you can only learn from experience then let this ancestor show you how much of a beast he is," she said before hitting his chest with a palm strike that made his insides churn.

His body was sent flying towards the Huishe whose mouth was gradually opening to swallow him whole. Ji Yao felt a chill down his spine paralyzed in fear as he drew closer to the Huishe. For a moment he thought he was going to die.

It was just a dream but for some reason, he believed everything happening to him was real. With his life flashing before his eyes he had a lot of regrets. He regretted not yielding to his father more often. He should have gone fishing with him when he had the chance.

The only problem was that Ji Wen's idea of fishing was zapping the water with his lightning strike sending all the electrocuted fish floating on the surface of the water. It wasn't fun but the idea was to spend time with his father.

He regretted not having kissed or fallen in love which was somewhat strange considering his situation. Resigning to his fate he relaxed his body ready to be devoured into the belly of the beast.

But just as he had signed himself off to fate, his body was suddenly pulled back by a terrifyingly powerful force. His body tumbled to the floor in the light as he heard the little boy yelling, "No! No! You can't eat him. He is mine. Bad snake!"

Ji Yao, "WTF."