Chapter 136 - Faceless Ji Yao

If this left him with no face then whatever Rui Fei was about to say next would send his soul flying out of his body.

"You also held my hand and told me not to leave," said Rui Fei trying to mask the pride in his voice. Ji Yao wished the ground could just open up and swallow him whole. His actions alone can easily make one misunderstand. No wonder Rui Fei liked him. It had to be because of his actions when he got drunk.

Ji Yao didn't have time to delve deeper into his logic when Rui Fei yet again dropped another bomb. "When you bit me you seemed very eager and possessive. You almost made me feel like we were in a relationship."

Ji Yao, 'WTF.'

Yes, it was about time he accepted it.. He had bent an innocent person crooked unintentionally and there was no guarantee that Rui Fei would be bent straight ever again. Ji Yao fell silent at a loss for words. For ten minutes straight he didn't say a word trying to sort out the chaotic mess in his mind.

Rui Fei seemed to understand that Ji Yao needed time to process this so he halted his attack to give the enemy some breathing space. He pretended to have fallen asleep with his hand over Ji Yao's as though preventing him from running away.

After an hour of being absent-minded, Ji Yao came back to himself and tapped Rui Fei as though checking if he was awake. Rui Fei didn't respond so he assumed he was asleep. He decided to slip away and get some air so he pulled his hand away but Rui Fei was reluctant to let him go. 

Despite that Ji Yao pulled his hand away and stepped outside the tent. Rui Fei was partially awake when Ji Yao took his hand back and didn't open his eyes when Ji Yao left. He was just a little nervous and worried that Ji Yao wouldn't accept it but he also knew these things take time so he gave him some space.

Outside the tent, the camp had fallen silent with a few crew members taking shifts to guard the campsite. They silently greeted him as he approached the campfire before casually resuming their silent game.

Ji Yao walked over to the edge of the camp and looked into the distance. Even the sky here was different from the rest of Hyesong. The horizon was dark tainted with a bit of blue despite it being the middle of the night. The position of the constellations was off as well.

Gemini and Aquila were confused being in a place they had no business being. Ji Yao was as confused as them questioning himself which he rarely did. He was trying to figure out if his actions towards Rui Fei when he was drunk reflected some type of deep emotion that hadn't yet surfaced.

Actually, it had surfaced but because Ji Yao was a little slow he hadn't figured it out yet. He was possessive of Rui Fei but he hadn't noticed yet. The time Rui Fei held Xiaoyu's wrist he felt unhappy but he hadn't understood it as being possessive.

While he was busily searching within himself for answers his entire body suddenly tensed up. Taking every reaction in this place seriously he closed his eyes and sparks of lightning spread from his body disappearing into the night sky searching for something.

His vision suddenly expanded into the distance as his seraphic energy spread out like vines stretching for miles. Within the distance, he saw half-beast creatures with sharp teeth like that of wolves heading in their direction. On their foreheads was a blue light shaped like the Qilin symbol.

They had to be sent by that man. He reacted swiftly waking up Xunshi Zhe who was sleeping beside the campfire. "Light them up," he commanded before rushing over to the tent he left Rui Fei sleeping in.

Xunshi Zhe didn't waste time drawing a complicated array before cutting his hand. As soon as his blood touched the array a barrier erected forming a protective circle. At about the time the barrier went up the creatures had approached with one of them managing to get through. It howled from the pain as the barrier slashed one of its legs off when it dove in. Everyone was woken up and prepared themselves for a big confrontation.

The beast didn't care that it was outnumbered. Its goal was to take down as many of the enemy as it could. It scratched the ground with its paws growling while other beasts outside howled as they paced up and down in restlessness.

The character on its forehead shone brightly as it gazed at them menacingly with slob dripping from in between its teeth. Big Hei was the first to launch an attack. From within his sleeves, long dark chains covered in fog appeared striking towards the beast.

Sensing the impending danger the beast standing on one leg lunged forward brainlessly falling straight into the chains. The chains wrapped around the beast like a boa constrictor restraining it. The beast howled once more but the cry of distress soon turned to a cry of determination similar to a battle cry.

It suddenly opened its mouth and blue flames blew out of its mouth like a dragon aiming at the crowd. "Shit!" swore Big Hei as he ducked down. His chains were bright red as though approaching a melting point.

Uncertain if they would melt he retracted them freeing the beast. Lady Ching Sei approached quickly and wrapped her ribbons around the beast before clobbering it to the ground several times. The flames from the beast's mouth extinguished immediately but it wasn't giving up. It was waiting for the opportune moment to attack. Seeing their fellow compatriot fallen to the ground. The others became restless using their bodies to take down the barrier.

Blow after blow the barrier maintained its integrity but the strain on Xunshi Zhe was ever so real. A drop of blood was seeping out of the corner of his mouth as he exerted much of his strength. It seemed this was going to be their first true battle on their conquest to find the keystones and rescue their boss.