"And why is that?" was indeed the question of the century. This was the thing about Ji Yao he normally wouldn't say much but when he spoke his words were as heavy as the hand of death. It would be the type of words that could have one tongue-tied and at a loss.
This time it was Rui Fei's turn and he was no exception. Ji Yao had him so dumbstruck you would think he was stupid. All the smugness from earlier was gone replaced by a blank expression. He wanted to confess but not like this, not right now especially when he wasn't prepared.
He wasn't even emotional prepared but here he went stuck in a small space with his crush asking him why he treated him differently..
At this point, he didn't know that Ji Yao had figured out everything. He just thought Ji Yao still regarded this as an innocent brotherly relationship and nothing else.
So he went with it replying, "Because we are brothers. You are my Yao-ge that's why." Ji Yao's face froze for a moment before a mocking smile appeared on his face.
"Brothers?" he said with a throaty chuckle, "You aren't my brother." He didn't mean to be rude but he had to say it. Rui Fei couldn't be both a brother and potential lover. Rui Fei could only pick one.
Rui Fei didn't understand what he meant. He just thought he had been demoted again after all that hard work. He was about to ask Ji Yao what he did wrong when Ji Yao spotted a crack in the wall that wasn't there before.
He pointed at it and Rui Fei was left with no choice but to look in that direction. It was as though something they couldn't sense was burrowing through the walls like a tiny beetle making it very difficult to hear.
Rui Fei furrowed his brow uncertain of what to expect. In tacit understanding, the two of them engaged their aether anticipating anything at this point. They had to give it to this punk controlling the entire place. He was armed with a whole bunch of weird creations and also had the backing of a Hundun. It was as though he was preparing for war.
The thing finally showed itself. Actually no, it showed an ugly dark claw with human-like appendages. Rui Fei looked at Ji Yao and mouthed, "What the fuck is that?" How was Ji Yao supposed to know? He had read plenty of books and his father had shown him plenty of creatures but this was new even to him.
Anything in this place was new to him. It was as though the mastermind of this place was a mad scientist creating weird monsters just to get back at a single person.
The thing retracted its claw and a black eye peeked through the hole, looked at them before it disappeared replaced by a mouth full of nasty cavity filled canine teeth.
Rui Fei had had enough. He engaged his aether ready to strike this ugly beast and give it an early ticket to Valhalla.
But they had no idea what they were dealing with. The creature was much faster than them spraying some type of green gas into the hole. The vomit-inducing smell filled the tiny space but lucky for them it didn't take them long to pass out.
As soon as they collapsed to the ground the creature collapsed the wall revealing its ugly self. It was bald with greenish-black skin that could be mistaken for gangrene and sure as hell smelt like putrefaction. Its back was hunched back with ears pointed down and its arms were drooping almost touching the floor.
It licked its sharp teeth as it walked past Rui Fei heading for Ji Yao. His bamboo hat with his veil was long gone so his gorgeous face was just there for all to see. It seemed to like his face very much that it mumbled, "I will have your face after my master is done with you," as a glint of red flashed by its eyes. Its claws brushed against Ji Yao's skin as it giggled like a fiend taunting its victims in a haunted house.
Satisfied with all the touching it grabbed a leg each and dragged them out of the crevice. Using the twisted tunnels in the mountain it dragged them both up to its master's layer. The Qilin was sitting with his feet up looking all swanky like he had won the lottery.
He seemed to be pleased with his Hundun pet's progress. It had brought that kid to his knees as it should and he was very pleased about it. He had always lost to Qilin Hao but it was good that he had finally won even if it was against her son.
He was relaxing into the seat tossing a grape into his mouth when he heard the sound of something being dragged on the floor. With a slight turn of his head, he saw his loyal subject dragging the two knuckleheads that had been giving him a headache ever since they stepped on his port. Actually no, ever since they entered his waters.
With a malicious smile on his face, he got up and walked over to them. It was such a shame they were knocked out otherwise he would have loved to introduce himself. "Make them sit up," he said to the creature as he scratched his temple with his index finger.
The creature quickly complied making Rui Fei sit up first but when he got to Ji Yao it was especially excited. It touched his face a couple of times expressing its intentions clearly. "Master, can I have his face after he's dead," it said brushing the smooth skin with its rough claws. Ji Yao's head was leaning forward when the creature pulled up the top of his head from behind.
Hearing this the guy raised his brow a little confused but he could understand why. I mean the kid's face was transcendent but why keep his face? To wear it as a mask or what? "Sure, that would be your reward, " he said as he turned his seat around to face these two cubs.
He sat with his leg crossed over the other and his arms across his chest waiting for them to wake up. He was really curious about this fine pair and couldn't wait to ask them a couple of questions before finishing them off.
It didn't take long for the pair to come around. Surprisingly, it was Ji Yao who woke up first and he didn't look too happy. He wasn't tied up or anything but his body was paralyzed from the shoulder down. He raised his head with a dazed expression.