by A P Gore
So smart.
Their exchange of blows continued for five minutes, and Brother Jei used multiple dead bodies in creative ways to avoid getting injured.
Yet, every time that bastard Meng Ho attacked, her heart slumped further. Every time Meng Ho injured Brother Jei, her heart skipped a beat. Seeing Brother Jei in pain was the worst thing that had happened that day—even worse than being abducted by these Wei bastards. Did they think they would survive after doing this? No, her father would kill every last member of the Wei clan. Why couldn't they understand and let her and Brother Jei go safely?
Shaking her head in frustration, she focused on Brother Jei's fight. He had taken care of twelve men, so he would take care of this brute too. She believed in him. Her idol.
A man who excelled in painting and fighting. Seeing him fighting like a skilled cultivator made her heart flutter faster than before, and as he started killing those Wei fools, she knew he was the one she wanted to be with.
But something went wrong. Instead of targeting Brother Jei, Meng Ho charged her. She closed her eyes. Death had finally coming to claim her.
But nothing happened. Instead, a loud thump echoed not far from her.
She opened her eyes to find Brother Jei struck by Meng Ho's fist. Giggling loudly, Meng Ho pulled his hand out of the hole in Brother Jei's chest.
Brother Jei dropped like a dead man.
No, this wasn't possible. Brother Jei couldn't die.
"Brother Jei," she cried and tried to get to him, but the ropes around her were too tight. Struggling against them, she tried to untie herself, but nothing worked. Maybe Brother Jei played dead, so she had to play tied-up?
She let her hands go limp. Her shoulders slumped, and her chin touched her chest. She could do nothing to save brother Jei.
How could he die, leaving her behind? How could he die when she had so much to say to him? How could he die without spending a calm evening on the bank of the river with her?
How could he?
Tears clouded her vision, but she pushed them back. Opening her eyes, she stared at the wicked bastard patriarch laughing at her. If she’d had her spelled dagger with her, she would have put it through his heart right away.
The patriarch bent down, staring at her. "Do you want to say a final goodbye before you meet him in hell?" His lips spread in a sinister smile.
She nodded.
Soon, she would die by his hand, but if she could say a final goodbye to Brother Jei beforehand, then maybe her heart would feel less pain.
Wait. Brother Jei had the dagger in his spatial bag! Maybe she could take it and finish his kills before dying. If she had to die, she’d rather die by her own hand and not give the wicked Wei patriarch the satisfaction.
Yes, she would kill that bastard Meng Ho and then kill herself. That would be her revenge for Brother Jei.
The patriarch loosened her ropes, and she took off toward Brother Jei.
As his pale face came into view, her knees trembled, and she dropped on the ground next to him.
Even in death he looked cute and innocent, just the way he had while painting. Looking at him like this, she realized what she’d missed out on by losing him. When he’d painted that tiger, he planted a seed in her heart, and now seeing him dead...
Well, she was happy she wasn't going to live much longer.
Her fingers brushed against his long, slender fingers which moved a brush like a sword in battle. Fingers that brought a painting to life. Why had he come here? Why couldn't he live off well for her?
She pulled his head into her lap and memorized his final expression. This was the first and last time she could do this.
Her eyes traced the spatial bag attached to his belt. Extending her hand slowly, she tried to brand the bag with her soul power, but failed.
It shouldn't have. When one dies, his soul signature vanishes from his spatial things. Why couldn't she brand the bag?
Was brother Jei still alive?
Her eyes shone with a bright light of hope.
"Brother Jei," she whispered, lowering her mouth to his ear.
His brows twitched, and a breath blew out of his nose.
Chapter 59
Refreshing energy burst from his second gate of limit and rushed into his blood stream, reaching his first gate of healing. Something had fundamentally changed in his Gate of Healing; it poured out healing energy as it worked on overdrive. The healing energy entered Jei's heart and it beat with a new pulse.
First, his stuck breath released. Second, his senses came back to him.
A soft palm rubbed against his cheek, followed by a familiar mesmerizing sound.
"Brother Jei, are you alive?"
Chu Xi.
Jei popped open his eyes. Two beautiful jade green eyes gazed down at him. Two lush lips were a mere inch away from his. He could kiss those red lips just by raising his head.
His breathing quickened.
Get yourself together, Jei.
With a thought, he disappeared from Xi's lap and moved behind Meng Ho who was chatting with the Wei patriarch. Meng Ho didn't even notice anything was amiss until the patriarch cursed.
But it was too late for Meng Ho to react. Jei's fist pierced his back, passed through his heart, and came out the other side.
When Jei pulled his fist from Meng Ho's body, Meng Ho was already falling.
"You!" the patriarch shouted and pulled a pill out of his spatial belt.
Same pill.
Same fate.
Before the patriarch could do anything with the pill, Jei had appeared in front of him, twisting his hand at awkward angle. Surely, he had broken it beyond repair, because it hung from the patriarch’s wrist like a pendulum.
The patriarch emitted a pained roar. "What did you..." His face aged ten years in that one moment. He stepped back. "I'll..." His eyes wide and mouth wide open, the patriarch stared at his right hand.
Then the patriarch popped the pill in his mouth using his good hand.
"Kid, this is bad. You only have five more minutes before you crash. To save your ass, I'd suggest you break open the Gate of Limit."
Jei rubbed his forehead. His heart had been burned, and he had already broken his Gate of Healing, so there was no miraculous healing energy present in his body. The Gate of Limit had done wonders by putting the Gate of Healing in overdrive and bringing him back from the brink of death.
Of course, that was only thanks to the senior for activating it. Jei’d had no sense to do it himself.
Pushing those thoughts away, Jei dashed forward. This was not the time to reflect on what had happened or what would happen. He had to fight on. As he closed on the patriarch, he activated his Drunken Master Tiger fist attack with both hands. Previously, when he tried to activate the divine art with both hands, he failed. But today, with his Gate of Limit broken, he had strength to activate and endure it.
Air swirled around his fists as he traveled the short distance between himself and the patriarch. Today, the Wei patriarch had invited his death by putting a hand on him. Soon, he would meet his ancestors.
But little did Jei know that his plan was doomed from the start.
He had greatly underestimated the power of a Qi Condensation level 6 master. It was a level that was just a finger away from Xiantian realm. In every cultivator's life, Xiantian was referred to as a qualitative change. Getting to qi level 6 gained a cultivator many benefits from the realm, and speed was one of them.
The Wei patriarch deflected his attack with only his left hand and pushed Jei backward. His fist attack failed like hitting a boulder with a stick.
Jei couldn't believe it at first, but when the patriarch charged him with a Fire Fist attack, similar to Meng Ho’s, he had to believe and prepare for the inevitable.
Without any other choice at hand, Jei defended himself with crossed hands. One mistake had shown him his foolishness, and he wouldn't repeat the same mistake again.
The Fire Fist hit his arms pretty hard, breaki
ng bones and setting his flesh on fire. The insane attack force sent him flying backward. After flying through the air for a breath's time, he crashed into a tree.
Pain simultaneously shot from his hands and back, threatening his consciousness. At that moment he realized a hard truth about himself: even after breaking his Gate of Limit, a level 6 qi master had overpowered him like a tiger fighting an ant.
Hopelessness filled him, but he couldn't give up yet. Pushing his elbows against the ground, he tried to get up. But before he could move, the patriarch moved like a breeze and appeared next to him. He raised his right foot and stomped on Jei's chest, crushing it beneath his heel.
Jei felt like thousand-kilogram boulder had fallen on his chest.
The pain was so intense that he wanted to die to escape it, but he couldn't because pain wouldn't let him do that.
"You little brat. You'll die here, today, after I defile your lover." His wicked eyes shot toward Xi.
"No..." Jei tried to get up, but his life energy was slipping away. The same thing had happened when he broke open his Gate of Healing.
No, this can't be happening right now. I have to save Xi, no matter what.
"Brother Jei, the dagger! Put your essence in the dagger you took from me." Xi shouted as the patriarch moved toward her.
With the right side of his chest crushed completely, Jei had to use his left hand to pull the dagger out. He didn't know if it would work or not, but if Xi was sure then he would at least take a chance. What else could he do?
He poured all of his remaining natural essence into the dagger while pointing it toward the Wei patriarch.
A bright blue light shot from the dagger and leaped at the patriarch like a tiger leaping at its pray.
Before it reached him, the patriarch noticed it, but he was too late. Blue light swiftly wrapped itself around his body and pierced his heart.
With a shocked expression, the patriarch died like an insect crushed underfoot.
In the end, he got what he deserved.
"Brother Jei!" Xi ran to him. Pulling him in her lap once more, she lightly rubbed his temple. "Don't worry. I'll get you to my father, and he will give you the best possible medicine."
"No! Just take me and the pearl to the hunting gr—" Jei lost consciousness.
Chapter 60
Wind brushed past Jei’s face as he worked on his house, filling up wall holes with stones and then applying sticky mud to patch the gaps between the stones.
A soft hand wiped his sweaty face with a cloth. “Brother Jei, why don't you let me call few workers to help you?" Xi asked, bending forward. The fragrance of roses invaded his nose and his mind. She always smelled like roses, and he knew it wasn't a fragrance she used.
He shook his head. "Sister Xi, I must refuse. It's not appropriate to use your father's authority."
She blinked cutely. "Trust me, Brother Jei, he would help you wholeheartedly. It's just that he's out of town, so I can't tell him that I found you." Her jade green eyes shone with an inner light, like she wanted to introduce him to her father.
But why would that be?
"Go in and check on Xue'er for me?" Jei asked, hoping she would go in and leave him alone. With her standing next to him, people kept lurking around his house. He wouldn't have minded it normally, but their eyes... Ancestors, they had greed dripping from their eyes. Seeing them lick their lips while watching Xi, he wanted to pull their tongues out and cut them in half. Hadn't they ever seen a beautiful girl before?
She smiled, a beautiful sunshine smile. "Okay." Intertwining her fingers behind her back, she hopped inside his house.
He sighed. As soon as she disappeared from view, the crowd disappeared too. Now he could work in peace.
It had been a week since their fight with the Wei clan patriarch. After he passed out, Xi took him to the hunting ground with the help of other hostages. The mother queen had healed him and brought him back to his former self. Then she’d thanked him with an intense, body-crushing hug. Basically, he was welcomed in the hunting ground and Unknown Lands any time, with free protection guaranteed. But she reminded him about coming back after a hundred years. To marry her daughter.
Hell no.
Snake babies. No way.
While saying goodbye, she gifted him a container filled with 500 different poisons and asked him to keep his Poison Body cultivation art secret from others.
It had ended well, so it went well. He’d nearly died, tore apart his muscles, and saw Xi getting defiled.
Fortunately, everyone had survived and came back home safely.
According to the senior's words, it was a wild ride. Though Jei lost his ability to open the Gate of Limit for few months, he still gained important battle experience.
More than anything, he gained a good friend in Chu Xi, who stuck to him like glue after the battle. Daily, she would come to his house before the sun rose and stayed with him until the sun went down. In just two days, Xue became her best friend.
Crazy girls. He shook his head. What did they really need to talk about that much?
"Jei'er, come in. I brought some soup," Aunt Bei called, poking her head out the back door. The smell of chicken reminded him of his growling stomach.
Jei slightly bowed his head to show his respect. "I'll come in after I finish this hole." He slipped more mud into the gaps; he couldn't just leave this unfinished. First, he would patch this hole completely and then go in to feast on the tasty-smelling chicken soup.
The girls had better leave his bowl untouched, or they would get a good scolding from him today.
"Li Jei, stop that and come here." An authoritative voice echoed in his ears. It was Master Hei. He’d been out for the last few days and had returned only last night.
Jei dropped his equipment and washed his hands. It would be disrespectful to ignore Master Hei. He didn't want to do that at any cost. Once he’d cleaned up, he rushed to Master Hei's backyard.
Jei bowed deeply. "Master Hei."
Sipping wine and sitting on his usual chair, Master Hei opened his eyes to acknowledge Jei. The nasty smell of wine floated around him in at least a couple meters’ radius, but by now Jei had gotten used to it.
Master Hei sipped from the gourd. "I heard you met the mother queen of the black-striped snakes?"
"Yes, Master. It happened like this." Jei recounted the story in detail, bending it little for the senior's references and about his Poison Body cultivation art. Even the mother queen had warned him not to tell anyone about that rare art. It was kind of precious, and only a few people in whole world knew about it.
Master Hei's face turned hard when Jei talked about his last fight. "Are you stupid, or what? Why did you break your Gate of Limit?"
Startled, Jei took a step back. Why was the master angry with him?
"I had no other choice, Master." He bowed his head, his eyes scratching the ground.
"You had a better choice. That dagger from the Chu girl. You could have used that." He snorted. "Remember, if you take a thing from someone, spend some time to study it. I've seen that dagger, and it can store four spells. You could have used it earlier to kill those goons." He shook his head like he was extremally disappointed in Jei.
"I'm sorry, Master." Jei said. Well, the senior had had no choice but to break his Gate of Limit to save him, but Jei couldn't Master Hei that.
"This won't work. You have to go to the trial grounds and obtain a dragon contract."
Jei raised his eyes. "A dragon contract?"
"Li Jei, let me tell you something about your sister."
Jei swallowed. His ears twitched. What about his sister?
"Li Xue is a special child, and when she turns eighteen a calamity will fall up on her," master Hei said, his voice serious. It gave Jei chills. "Unfortunately for you, Bei and I will leave when she turns eighteen, so there will be no one to protect her but you."
Master Hei's words sank into Jei's mind like a thousand-kilogram boulder sinking in mud. It reminded him of the
mother queen's words. She referred to Master Hei and Aunt Bei as a deadly duo, and said they protected his sister. Why? Even she didn't know that. Was this the reason, because she was special? Then why would they leave when she turned eighteen?
"Master, tell me what I can do to protect her."
The master tapped his fingers on the arm of the wooden chair. "Grow strong and form a bond with a real dragon."
Jei clenched his hands. "Master, I'm ready for hard work and training, but how do I form a dragon bond? I thought dragons were extinct."
"Who told you that crap? Dragons are very real. There are hundreds of dragon recruitment trials across the White Phoenix continent. There's one in the Dark Forest as well." He waved his hand to call Jei forward. When Jei stepped forward, Master Hei placed his right hand on Jei's head.
A shot of qi invaded Jei's head and passed through his body. "As expected, your second Gate of Healing is blocked with black marrow."
"Is it?" Jei hadn't checked, but he remembered he had opened it by forty percent.
Master Hei smirked. "Your little adventure sent it back to the primitive ages. Anyway, it's good. If you had opened it, there would've been no chance of success and power for you."
Success and power. Lately, these two words annoyed Jei to the bones. Everyone seemed to be hungry for power. They were ready to steal and kill anyone who had something they could use. Everything seemed strange after stepping onto the path of cultivation. Even he, who despised killing or violence, enjoyed piercing people's hearts out of their chest.
Was it the right path for him? Did he make the wrong choice to follow it?
"Tell me one more thing,” Master Hei said. “What're you going to do when you meet that Ki girl. She was here few days back, inquiring about you."
Jei's heart sunk. Ki Yu, the devil, was here? Damn, when would this chain of revenge end? When would he be able to keep his hands bloodless for long periods again?