Night had fallen.
Though they were mere feet from each other, Li Yu Rong had not seen Asya. The conversation, the laughter between her and Paoxiao, would drift to his ears every now and again. Even so, he managed to last through all of it with a passive frown, his eyes staring out into the distance.
He was the very picture of diligence as he watched the surroundings as if nothing could tear him away from his vigilance.
Hui Se Ying, on the other hand, could see the truth of it from the minute details screaming silently from his person. His master's clenched jaw, his tense frame, his tapping finger on the small table next to him and his restless foot spoke subtly of his want to dash into the enclosure at their back.
A rueful half-grin couldn't help stealing across Hui Se Ying's face as he suspired a heartfelt breath. Indeed, he had given the advice to place a distance between them, but he hadn't meant it as an outright expulsion of their presence from each other.
He meant it as the type of distance where his master held back from her. Aloof in their interactions while stemming his hand from his deep seeded impulses to be intimate with her. His master was always in close contact with Nastasia, giving his touches to reassure her, to comfort her, to show the unbridled affections he had for her.
If just that part was taken away while his master's presence was shoved in her face, she would be forced to think of him constantly while missing the pleasant contact between them. Soon her heart would be surging for want of getting close to him.
This plan of distance... putting an actual hundred or so li between them rather than a wall of indifference stunted the effect of the plan by half. Hui Se Ying lamented in his oversight to explain this concept properly. His master, though many of his actions spoke otherwise, was rather innocent when it comes to matters between men and women. Most of Li Yu Rong's knowledge came from either his sparse observations of others or from the tidbits Hui Se Ying managed to slip past Lu Se Ying's stalwart guard.
Thus, his master wasn't too well versed in schemes to capture a woman's interest.
However, at the moment, this was probably for the best. Considering the precarious state of things and the well conceal plot brewing in the dark, it was good that Li Yu Rong wasn't distracted by the warmth of a beauty behind closed doors.
Just as he was thinking this something moved in the darkness of the night, rippling along the water at an incredible rate. A quick trilling splish, splish, splish accompanied the movements of the strange humanoid creatures as they rose to the surface to run on all fours across the water as if it were solid ground.
The three Ying spirits moved to defend the boat should it become necessary. However, Hui Se Ying noticed that his master was slow to react, his attention still on the other side of the boat in deep thought. Horrified, he bellowed out,"master!"
Looking over, Li Yu Rong immediately jumped to his feet, infusing his fingertips with his energy. In the time it took to blink he made a horizontal slash in the air, sending out multi-colored rays of shimmering energy to sail into the arrays carved out at various points. The symbols glowed and a barrier burst forth to cover the boat from top to bottom.
Yet, due to his momentary lapse, around ten of the hundreds of creatures that slammed against the barrier managed to make it within before the protection zoomed into place. Their figures were hunched, their hair a dark, sparse, and straggly mess. The pallid color of their skin was as frightening as their hollowed out eyes that lead into a vortex of darkness. Their mouths were twice the size of a human's and bore wickedly sharp serrated teeth.
That Shaqi had been gathered and used against them was out of Li Yu Rong's expectations. In fact, the idea of even attempting to contract such volatile creatures was absolutely insane. The backlash from trying to contain the murderous desires of such lowly creatures would destroy a person's mind. Yet, the proof of their being among the contracted was clearly displayed across their bulging and pulsating necks.
The minute these murderous spirits, transformed into ghastly apparitions from their unwholesome desires in life and in death, landed on the deck the boat thrashed about the water threatening to capsize. Were it not for the fact that Li Yu Rong foresaw they would likely be boarded by outside forces and put protections in place, from the heavy landings of these vicious spirits, the boat might have really turned over. Or, even split down the middle from the strength of their feet colliding with the deck.
The tumultuous rocking of the boat toppled both Nastasia and Paoxiao. The clamor of thumping footfalls, the snarling grunting groans human throats couldn't produce, and the sounds of sudden fighting drifted into the ears of the overturned pair. It caused their breaths to catch in their throat as they froze in shock at the unexpected event.
Paoxiao immediately disentangled himself Nastasia as he got to his feet quick as can be. The space of the boat's enclosure wasn't very large, it took him five steps to get to the door their fallen position. He threw a firm, "stay here," over his shoulder before exiting the room.
He felt his blood run cold.
Shaqi!
These creatures, they didn't know fear and couldn't feel pain. Even if their bodies were torn down piece by piece their frenzy couldn't be stopped. These were creatures born from the deepest reaches of the underworld.
Even though his blood ran cold, even though he'd rather fight anything else this realm had to fight, Paoxiao joined in the ruckus of fists, swords, and teeth. The creatures came at them with sword-like claws and razor-sharp teeth. Their speed a frightening blur. It took everything Paoxiao had to circumvent losing a pound of flesh.
The Shaqi were creatures of insanity, their insatiable greed was the only thing holding them to this world. Such creatures, Li Yu Rong couldn't use his soul binding techniques on thus adding a whole other level of difficulty to this fight.
The creatures were fast. This fact could, for the most part, only allow for them to defend against the teeth and claws suddenly appearing from one angle and then another.
Though it was difficult, it wasn't impossible to win.
After a bit of time, watching the disjointed yet swift movements of the Shaqi, Li Yu Rong was finally able to sever the arms and legs from the body of one. That one was then kicked from the barrier, the severed limbs tossed first.
For, even severed, their body parts could run amok on their own.
The battle was beginning to drag out to a dangerous length. Hundreds of upon hundreds of these creatures were hacking away at the barrier, hoping to find their way inside. Li Yu Rong's attention was divided between managing the barrier and fighting the, now nine, creatures that managed to slip inside.
Prolonging the barrier was draining. All the more so due to Li Yu Rong's body containing two conflicting energies. If one energy exhausted more then the other the stronger energy would start to attack his body.
Between maintaining the barrier and fighting he also had to carefully use his energies to make sure neither was drained beyond the other, keeping them balanced. This put a heavy strain on his body the longer he was forced to sustain this precarious state.
The Shaqi were light on their feet and, though they were single-minded, they could adapt. After watching one of them be severed of limbs and tossed aside, they seemed to learn from the experience and changed their movements accordingly. This made it necessary to spend a bit of time watching their quick, but disjointed, motions.
As Li Yu Rong went to make his move from the defensive to the offensive, a horrid crack was heard from the back of the boat. The wall of the small room had been smashed in and a struggling Nastasia was slung across one of the creature's shoulders as it balanced itself on a ledge ready to jump off.
This chilling turn of events distracted Li Yu Rong as he froze a whole second or more upon recognizing the scene before his eyes. Though it was only a short time, it was enough for one of the creatures to embed four sword-like nails into his right shoulder.
He felt his world going dark as panic squeezed his heart while he struggled to make his way toward Asya.