Bei Shang felt the aura straight away. It wasn't gentle, it was harsh , pacing and violent, it made hairs stand up and instincts tingle.
Sliver looked around, his ears twitching at every sound " This is not an ordinary aura"
"It's the aura of a spirit animal "
The aura despite it's danger gave him a sense of familiarity, it called him closer, whispering.
Sliver grabbed him by the wrist "Where are you going?"
"Don't touch me" Bei Shang slapped his hand and started to move forward "I know that aura"
"It's dangerous"
" I know that aura " They saw a small cottage in the middle of the forest "The aura will not hurt me"
The cottage looked lonely but the three auras circulating the house made it dangerous.
One aura was full of nostalgia, it's yellow and dances around, yet it was dangerous as if trying to fool people, the other was quiet and meek but it lashes out every time the other aura touched it , the last one was agitated; fierce and pacing around.
The people in that cottage were in a guarded state , they are willing to attack at any sign of trouble.
Sliver stepped back despite his intentions "I don't feel good about this "
"Summer is in there we can't leave him " Bei Shang looked around and stepped into the courtyard, seeing no one came out , he frowned.
He walked closer until he was in front of the door. He tried opening but it was locked. He had no other choice but to use his dao to open it.
Immediately he opened it , the three auras came at him.
"Look out!"
Bei Shang felt a blow on his chest and he flew a distance before landing on the floor. A bloodied woman pounced on him , she held a broken ceramic over his neck.
"You - …." She stopped and blinked " Shixiong?"
Bei Shang raised a hand to stop Sliver from attacking his eyes stared back at her.
"Shimei"
"Taohua Shixiong…" Her eyes slowly filled with tears , she tossed the broken plate and hugged him " You remember me"
Bei Shang hugged her back , feeling the warmth of his younger sister, he couldn't help but feel like crying.
He had left the heavens for so many years because of love ; he didn't stop to think about how hard it must have been for his younger ones and his Shifu , how his Shimei would have had so much burden over the years.
Time have passed so much now ; things still seem the same.
"Xuan hua , why are you here ? What happened to you? What happened to your powers?"
Xuan hua sniffed and stood up , she helped him stand up as well " We will talk later , let's help the people inside , they need your attention"
The inside of the cottage was even more eerie. A bunch of tails laid helplessly on the floor; a cloaked girl was sleeping but her ankle was chained to the wall ; Summer was lying on the bed , he wasn't chained but his eyes were blanked, as if he was dissociating.
Sliver carried Summer , while Bei Shang broke the chains with his dao and carried the girl. The girl stirred but didn't wake up.
" What happened here?"
"Its a long story Shixong" Xuan hua rubbed her eyes and started to drag him out "Let's get out of here first"
Bei Shang swallowed all his questions until they left the place. It was only when they were far from the cottage that Xuan hua finally relaxed , she almost collapsed as she leaned against a tree.
"Xuan Hua what happened?"
She pushed him forward"Let's talk as we go okay?"
"You are safe Shi Mei " Seeing her eyes fill with tears , he sighed and pat her hair "I will walk , just at least let me know what's happening"
"Shixong, Shifu threw me out of the palace"
"What?! …Why?! "
"I was the one who threw the thunder bolt at Hong jin"
Seeing Bei Shang didn't say a word, she sniffed and rubbed her eyes.
"I thought I did it out of good intentions but the truth is that I was angry. Shifu have deteriorated and she barely takes care of the palace and herself anymore. I do everything to keep the palace afloat but Shifu never acknowledged me always talking about you. I knew you would try to save that mortal so I threw it down. It was only when Shifu banished me I was able to look at the ugly side of myself"
"You did nothing wrong Xuan hua"
Tears fell down of Xuan hua eyes "I was jealous, I am sorry Shixong, I am so sorry"
Bei Shang lowered his eyes , letting her confession sink in.
He and this little shimei never got along really well. Xuan Hua tend to keep things in , allowing them to overflow and burst into consequences; who knew how long she had been holding in that resentment, how many centuries had passed where she cried herself to sleep with no one to comfort her.
He had thought that leaving will at least make this shimei a little liked, who knew that his shadow still continued to follow her.
Which finally cumulated to that faithful evening.
"You really did nothing wrong Xuan hua " He smiled at her " Shifu should have appreciated you , I should have been kinder and more thoughtful before leaving, I should have said thank you for keeping the Hua palace and allowing it to still be dignified up till this moment. I appreciate you Shimei"
Xuan hua smiled underneath her tears "Shixong, you have grown so much"
The Shixong who didn't care about the world, who only did what he liked, the Shixong who jumped around the celestial mountains, who broke the demon God ceramics, the Shixong who provoked the Jade Queen and who was indifferent have grown so much.
They had thought love was a calamity, a force to be destroyed but her Shixong was kinder now , a little more …. Mortal.
He smiled before adjusting the girl in his arms "How did you end up with this two?"
"Oh " She rubbed her nose, her voice was clearer now " After shifu threw me down, I found myself at the demon realm, close to the borderlands. I wander around a bit in the borderlands. I met a old demon who told me he needed a maid. I didn't have my dao again, and my meridians were blocked; Since I needed to eat now , I said okay. He took me here and showed me the cottage. At that time, the young girl you are holding wasn't there, but i was still frightened. I told him I didn't want to anymore and he locked me up with him "
Bei Shang nod his head "Was he cruel?"
She shook her head " He wasn't. He came to drop meals and water but he was so hard to beat up. One day, he just brought the girl in and chained her. He continued to bring food then he just stopped coming, no explanation, just locked us in and stopped coming. The girl fell into a deep sleep this morning, I couldn't rouse her no matter how hard I tried "
Sliver walked forward and touched the cloaked girl's head " She's probably from the formless demon tribe "
"Formless demon? Kate fiancee tribe?" Bei Shang asked.
Sliver nodded" They tend to enter coma like states when they undergo starvation or extreme physical stress. It's like hibernation. It's hard to wake them up , She will probably do well with the Hunter's tribe taking care of her"
"I didn't feel anyone around the cottage though, I could only feel three auras"
"He already passed away " Summer finally spoke , his voice was hoarse as he pulled himself out of Sliver arms.
Sliver tried to hold him when Summer stumbled but he snarled at sliver before walking slowly "The man who took us was already at the end of his life when he took me "
Summer doesn't look like he's dissociating anymore,Bei Shang wondered how long he had been conscious. He looked weak but for some reason he was still intimidating and scary.
Just like the female wolf from his first life.
Bei Shang hesitated before following quietly behind him "Why did he kidnap the others?"
"He just wanted me. He probably took them because he didn't want them to tell other people about my whereabouts " He looked at the girl Bei Shang was holding "Be careful, that's the formless demon princess"
"Kate's fiancee?"
"Yes"
Bei Shang subconsciously hugged the girl closer.
"Why did he take you?"
Summer paused briefly before walking, he didn't respond to the question.
The journey back was tiring. They spent three days on the road due to the weak patients.
Summer walked but he barely talked or ate , everytime he ate , he vomited it out , he could only tolerate porridge so they made a lot of fruit and leaves porridge. Sometimes Bei Shang will transfer a bit of dao into his body but his body rejected it , Bei Shang had no choice but to hope for the best for Summer.
Xuan hua tried her best to be active but she haven't eaten well in a week so she got fatigued easily , with the addition of an unconscious paitent, Bei Shang would have to grind leaves with his mouth to feed the princess.
With each hour passing, Bei Shang felt more and more restless, every second passing meant that he would spend less time with Nick.
On the second night , Bei Shang had a long dream. It was a painful dream but it revealed everything that he had tried to push down in his subconsciousness for years. It trashed against his heart roaring out his crimes.
When he woke up , his eyes was red with tears.
He couldn't hide from it anymore, he didn't have a choice.
Sliver noticed the change in him ; he was more ethereal, more softer and…bitter . However he didn't probe , only providing support from afar.
On the third night, they got home. The guard ran to them as soon as he saw Bei Shang coming.
"Princess peach blossom"
Bei Shang heart quickened ; he had left in hopes of finding Nick but Nick wasn't waiting for him at the gates and even a guard looked panicked.
As if noticing his distress , Sliver grabbed the girl from his arms and signaled to the others to give him space.
"I can hold her…"
Sliver shook his head and carried the girl.
The guard bowed before kneeling in one foot ; his voice was like hammer on his heart.
"The general have gone unconsc
ious; the queen is in the palace and general windfall is still a child; we asked you act as reagent and care for the fortress till our general is awake"