by A P Gore
Her gaze lingered on the painting of the tiger, his seamless killing intent, his unmoved jaw. The painter had captured it perfectly, and she wanted to imitate him, to learn to paint. But her father hated it.
Painting as a profession was a hard job and required immense talent. In other towns, there were schools teaching painting to artists. But her father considered painting a disgusting profession, and only weak people worked in it. But how could he know that his Xi'er had fallen in love with painting the day she’d received the gift of a painting set on her seventh birthday?
"Whatever, Sua. Make sure to carry the painting supplies with you, and once I slip into the ghost house you run out of town for two days," Xi said in an authoritative voice. The ghost house down the alley was her hiding place. Whenever she felt like painting, she would go there and hide—especially when her father went out of town on some official business. That way, no one would bother to search for her, and she could paint to her heart’s content. If someone went looking for her, they would never go near the ghost house. It was a taboo place.
Of course, she didn't care about that. It was a calm and nice place. She had even placed some painting supplies inside a cabinet for emergency purposes, along with some bedding. She carried food with her in her spatial belt.
"Okay young miss." Sua bowed slightly and then started collecting the ceramic pieces scattered on the ground.
Half an hour later, both were sneaking out of the house and moving toward the ghost house.
Chapter 40
Chu Xi
Xi walked toward the ghost house. Sua followed her, holding some supplies and a food container.
The ghost house was an ancient house, hundreds of years old. Her father once told her that a peerless talent used to live there, but he defiled a Chu family female. So, he was killed straight away and buried inside the house. Of course, that bastard deserved to die for touching a Chu family woman, but he at least did one thing good by leaving a nice empty house for her to practice her painting. Still, it shouldn't have been at the expense of her distant aunt.
Xi stopped in the backyard. "Sua, come back in two days. I'll tell my uncle that we went hunting. Make sure to capture a couple of stage 1 beasts."
Wei Sua's face darkened. "Understood, young miss." She trembled a little. It was always like this; Sua feared her father.
"Don't jump into any danger. Even if you don't bring anything, I'm prepared." She pulled a small one-colored bee she had brought from the market out of her bag.
When her father heard that she’d trained in the woods near the hunting ground, he wouldn’t ask for more details. It had worked for the last four years. There was no reason it wouldn't work this time as well.
"Thank you, young miss." Sua bowed and vanished.
Xi turned back to face the dark gray house. Over the years, only few scraps of white and red paint remained on the walls. What remained was covered by dust and soil.
Her dark eyes widened when she spotted a footprint in the dust on the back porch. It looked like someone had rushed over the dust trail. It couldn't be hers, because she hadn't been here for two weeks.
The footprints looked fresh. Someone seemed to have approached the house recently.
Xi's delicate thin brows furrowed. She pulled a blue dagger out of her spatial belt. It was an inherited weapon of the Chu family. There were four of such weapons in the family weaponry, given to all main family children. Her dagger stored one high-level spell which anyone could use. It was expensive to get it recharged, but it had sufficient life-saving power. That one skill could injure a level 6 Qi Condensation expert or kill a level 4 directly.
Holding the cold dagger near her chest, reassurance slipped inside her heart.
First, she observed the half-open window carefully. There was a handprint on the window frame. Someone had jumped inside through the window. The handprint was bigger than hers, but not by a huge margin. An inch or two. The person inside wasn't much older than her. But what was he doing inside? Planning to attack the Chu family?
Should I inform the guards?
But that would expose her training place. No, she couldn't do that. She had to take care of this person by herself. Of course, she had confidence because of the icy dagger in her hand—unless there were many people inside.
No, there was only one handprint, so it should be one person.
She peeked through the half-open window. Everything looked faint, dull, and the air smelled like paint. But she’d practiced here for countless hours mixing colors, so it should smell like paint.
Whoever was inside, he or she wasn't in this room.
She pushed her hands on the window frame and jumped inside.
She expected to land on a rough surface, but instead she landed on something soft. She almost toppled, but her martial arts training came in handy and she caught her balance. She would have hated to get her white and blue robe dirty.
Xi extended her dagger in front of her, ready to trigger the spell at any instant. "Whoever you are, get up and show your face." She ordered, slipping some fierceness into her voice.
No one replied, and the body lying on the ground remained motionless.
Is that person dead?
She moved closer and flipped the person over.
It was a boy with long hair. She slapped him lightly. "Get up, boy. Don't try to play dead. I know you aren't dead." She was about to slap him again when she noticed a bloody green cloth squeezed in his mouth. And there was blood oozing out of his mouth.
He didn't seem to be conscious.
Xi pulled a small lantern from her spatial belt and lit it to view the boy more clearly.
He had a youthful face, sword-shaped brows, a sharp nose and a pale face. He didn't look much older than her. Maybe sixteen or seventeen. He had a slender body, but the contour of well-developed chest muscles was visible from his disheveled robe.
Heat rushed to her cheeks. Turning her eyes away, she adjusted his robe. A tingle ran through her fingers when she accidently touched his cold, bare chest.
What is he doing here? And why is there a cloth in his mouth? Did someone beat him and drop him here?
It didn't look like that. There was no sign of a beating on his body, but his face was twisted in pain.
There must be internal injuries. Shall I report him to the guards?
No one was allowed to enter the alley where the Chu family and their servants lived. Not even the town officials. If she reported him, the guards would kill him straight away. But that would also expose her training place.
No, I have to take care of him.
She pulled a thick rope out of her spatial belt and tied the boy's hands and legs, but she made sure not to bind them too tightly.
JEI WAS LOST IN A GRAY fog when throbbing pain overcame him, forcing him to open his eyes. The first things he noticed were bone-chilling cold, intense pain, and a dim light hanging over his head.
Where am I?
The light came from an unfamiliar lantern. Glass covered the flame, and it was painted a metallic white color. Both of these things were unheard of in Poor White's District. Where he lived, they could only afford wax candles or makeshift torches. Where did the lantern come from?
A wave of relief passed through him as the healing energy from Gate of Healing traveled through his muscles. Yes, the Gate of Healing was back in action. He closed his eyes to relish the sensation. Having the power to heal his own injuries was one of the best things.
The memories came back as his pain lessened. He was at the ghost house. The Chu clan patriarch had chased him here. He’d had to break his Gate of Healing and had ended up here. In the forbidden area. However, there had been no lanterns inside the ghost house. Or were there?
Jei's mind seized with fear, and his forehead thumped in pain. When he tried to lift his hand to rub it, he found his wrists were bound with a rope.
Oh no. Was I captured by guards? Am I in prison?
Fear coursed down his spine and numbed
his legs. What gave him up?
He scanned the surrounding area carefully. It was a small room made up of loose stones. A window opened to some alley, but its position was such that no direct sunlight entered inside. There was a door that lead to a dark area, but a hint of light sparked from a distance.
Where am I?
Judging from the dust and broken material lying on the floor around him, he wasn't in prison. He doubted the Chu clan's prison would look this bad. And if he was in prison, why would they hang an expensive lantern over his head?
However, if he wasn't in prison, why was he tied with rope? Rope, he could easily break.
With a slight push, he broke his hands free and then his legs. Rising slowly, he glanced out the window; it opened into an ancient, grimy alley. That’s right, he had entered the ghost house from this alley.
But then who tied me up?
A ghost?
Jei almost choked on his own saliva.
"Kid, it’s good to see you awake. There's a girl in the next room. She’s painting something," the senior said.
"Painting something?" Jei didn’t understand what was going on. He woke in the ghost house, tied up, and if he hadn’t been tied up by the ghost or the Chu clan's guards then who else was there? Who dared to walk in a forbidden area?
"Kid, let's get out of here."
"We can't. It's still daylight outside. If we leave now, we’ll die. We have to wait until dusk."
"Are you planning to go and check on that girl?"
"Yes. I'm curious now." By this time, Jei's body had returned to peak condition. Gate of Healing had worked marvelously to restore his health. The backlash hadn’t lasted as long as the last time, and he didn't need the medicine to ward it off.
Is it because of the golden marrow?
Jei slowly walked through the ghost house, toward the room where the girl was painting. With the senior's Soul Sense, it was quite easy to find her. The girl was in the late stage of Qi Condensation level 2, so he didn't have to worry. She’d only managed to tie him up because he was unconscious. Now he wanted to know what she was doing here.
When he peeked inside the room, he was dumbfounded. A beautiful girl with long black hair stood there, pointing a dagger at him.
"If you take a single step, I'll kill you," she said in a soft, mesmerizing voice.
Chapter 41
Her thin brows flicked as she gritted her beautiful white teeth. Her jade green eyes had a hint of fear and anger mixed up, making her look more beautiful. Her white hands held an intricately patterned blue dagger pointing at him. She wasn't holding it properly, and that made her look more cute than fierce.
Jei's heart skipped a beat as she brushed her nose with her left hand. She looked like a fairy descended from the heavens. He had never seen such a beautiful girl before.
She shivered slightly when he opened his mouth to reply. Her eyes blinked rapidly, mesmerizing him further.
For a moment he forgot why he came here.
"Little sister, who are you?" Jei said when he finally got his wits together.
"First, tell me who you are and why you invaded our forbidden area," she roared back, her red lips moving magnetically.
Our forbidden area? Is she someone from the Chu family?
Jei's face hardened. What was a Chu family member doing here? Wasn't this a taboo area for them? Indeed, she looked like someone from a noble family, something unreachable. Her blue and white robe, made of fine silk, accentuated her beauty. The pattern was a favorite of Chu family members.
"This is bad." He sent mentally to the senior. "Please lock on her with your Soul Sense as I take her down."
"What? What are you planning to do? I thought you were soft and mushy, with respect for woman. But taking her down here? God, how could I be paired with such an evil soul?"
Jei's forehead pricked with pain. He instinctively rubbed it. What nonsense the senior was talking about. Evil soul? "Josh, will you help me or not?"
"Of course, I'll help you. Though she doesn't have any meat in the right places, I'll help you wholeheartedly." The senior chuckled.
"Meat in the right places?" This time Jei said it aloud, and then realized his mistake.
The girl's left hand instinctively covered her chest area.
"You— You..." She frowned. "I'll kill you if you dare to think about defiling me."
Jei's headache increased tenfold.
"What? Why would I defile you, little sister?"
Viciousness filled her blockade green eyes, and her hands tightened around the dagger.
"I'll kill you, moron! What do you mean by meat on the right places? Do you want me to talk dirty to you?" She stepped forward, thrusting her dagger at his face.
Jei stepped to his right, avoiding her attack. She was too slow for him.
She stumbled through the empty place where he’d stood. With her left arm wrapped around her chest, and the right hand awkwardly extended forward, she toppled over a small stone and fell on her face.
He spun and lunged for her. Before she smacked her beautiful face on the ground, his hand wrapped around her abdomen and pulled her into his embrace. At the same time, he pinned her right hand with his left hand.
"Wow kid, you sure are a player. Though she doesn't have nice boobs like the lady in black we saw earlier, she’s got her fierceness," the senior said in an overbearing voice. "I like cats."
Now Jei understood what the senior was implying by meat in the right places.
"Oh, no. Senior, please. I'm not one to take advantage of a girl like this." Jei was embarrassed and ashamed. Ashamed of his own actions.
"What the heck are you talking about? Holding me in your arms like this, and yet you say you don't have a deviant mind." Rage sputtered through her magnetic voice.
Jei suddenly realized the compromising position they were in. His hand was wrapped around her abdomen, almost touching her chest, and his other hand had locked her completely in his embrace.
What am I doing?
All his state of presence lost, replaced by panic. This was the first time he’d ever held a girl like this.
Let her go, Jei.
Her sweet fragrance invaded his mind, sweeping away noble thoughts. His pounding heartbeat filled his ears. Desire took over him; the desire to lower his head and inhale her fragrance until his lungs couldn't take it anymore.
No, let her go Jei!
He released her. After prying the dagger from her fingers, anyway.
"Why did you let her go? She’s so hot? Just fuck her." Senior chuckled.
"Fuck?" Jei involuntarily repeated the senior's word.
CHU XI
"Fuck," the guy said, staring at her with vulgar eyes.
Xi stepped back, her whole back drenched with sweat. He was too strong for her. He’d easily untied her ropes.
If only I'd killed him when I had the chance.
Regret filled her, for not stabbing him in the heart when she found him. If she had, her virtue wouldn't be on the line. The thing she’d fiercely guarded for the last fourteen years would be defiled by a mere commoner.
"Please." She dropped to her knees. "Kill me, but don't defile my body." Tears rolled down her face and tremors wracked her slight form. The guy had looked so innocent a few moments ago, but now he was going to do man and woman things with her.
Why? Why did I come here today? Why didn't I kill him in the first place?
The stranger stared at her with confused eyes. "What virtue? Why would I take your virtue? Have you gone mad, little sister?"
Was this guy mad? Just a moment before, he’d said the F word, and now he was denying any ill intent.
No, I must be careful around him. I can't let him touch me. I must kill myself before he touches me.
But she had nothing in her spatial belt. Nothing but paint brushes.
I can use the pointed end of the brush to pierce my throat.
She pulled a brush out and pointed it at her own throat. "If you come closer, I'll
kill myself and haunt you as a ghost."
His sword shaped brows furrowed a little, and he rubbed his temple. "What are you saying, little sister? It doesn't make sense. You can't kill yourself with that brush. I can stop you before it enters your skin." And, just like that, he lunged forward and snatched the brush away.
Hopelessness spread across her heart; he was too fast for her. For the first time in her life, she regretted skipping out on the training regime set by her father. If only she had advanced to level 4 or 5, she would've been able to protect her virtue. Or at least she could have used her mother's amulet, which could teleport her out, but it required a Qi Condensation level 3 or equivalent Body Cultivation expert to activate it.
In the end, she only had herself to blame.
"Even if I become a ghost, I'll haunt you."
The boy snorted coldly and pulled her closer. Being a mere inch away from him made her whole body go limp. He grabbed her hands with one of his and pushed them behind her. His manly scent indulged her senses.
Please, save me father. Please.
He swiftly tied her hands with her own rope.
Panic rose in her throat. Her breathing became erratic.
"What kind of demonic things are you planning to do with me?" She tried to step back from him. His scent was invading her nostrils, and she hated it.
He let her go, then pulled a cloth from his spatial bag. A bloody cloth.
Is he going to shove that dirty bloody cloth in my mouth? What is he really into?
She remembered the dirty cloth in his mouth when she first found him.
"Shh. If you make another sound, I'll put this in your mouth. Just shut up for few hours. I'll leave at dusk," he scolded her, then sat cross-legged on the ground.
Just like that, he went into cultivation.
"What?" Didn't he want to do things with her? Was he cultivating some demonic art?