The rest of the night ended, despite the tension from yellow moon reflecting eyes, guttural growls, and multiple murderous presences, rather anti-climatically. As the sun lightened the sky the fear of another attack waned. The beasts that ran rampant through this forest scarce once the sun rose, their bloodlust halved with the light of day.
Even with these assurances, Nastasia still felt uneasy.
There was something watching them as it hounded their trail from some unseen location. Though she held this concern, the others seemed unbothered by the hounding or simply didn't notice it. On more than one occasion she had tried to discretely deliver the message of her suspicions to Li Yu Rong without alerting whatever it was that hung on the edge of perception.
Unfortunately, Li Yu Rong thought it nothing more than her imagination acting up due to her lack of sleep. She had been reassured as he combed his hand through her hair comfortingly. After being treated like a child fearing the nonexistent monster under the bed, Nastasia didn't mention it again.
Even though she didn't mention it, it didn't stop her from worrying about it. The presence was so thick and suffocating that she didn't understand why the other's couldn't feel it. As her thoughts anxiously turned their little group came upon the next resting point.
As soon as they stopped, Hui Se Ying pulled his master to the side, speaking between them. "Master, aside from that, there should be no further dangers before you earn your way to the village. I would like you to keep your promise and let me go. If I'm to go and return in the time I should, then this can't be delayed."
Li Yu Rong nodded, agreeing with his words. "Don't be impatient." He warned as Hui Se Ying moved to leave. "take the clearer path to avoid the beasts."
Dropping a gentle smile over his master's concern, Hui Se Ying agreed before dashing off as fast as he could without the use of his abilities. The clearer path was a path easier found and traveled. From this point it would take a bit of time to get to it, however, it was a path that would never find its way to Paoxiao's village.
One could walk this forest for an eternity and never find the village. Even knowing the correct path to take, the one fraught with dangers and minimal moments of peace, wouldn't necessarily have you through Youyun Village's entrance. The longer one stayed on the path, the greater dangers one would eventually have to face.
Therefore it was important to be privy the secret of passing through this barrier disguised as a forest. Even without Paoxiao quietly spilling the secret as they alighted from the boat, Li Yu Rong already knew what needed to be done from archives detailing the Spirit Realm kept in his study.
Armed with the knowledge and understanding what to do next, Li Yu Rong turned toward the resting group after seeing Hui Se Ying off. The longer they stayed in the forest brought them closer to being besieged by things they couldn't handle while restricted from the use of their abilities.
Before he could speak to give out his orders, to put his plot underway, Paoxiao's voice spanned the distance to his ears. "Where is Hui Se Ying going?"
"To handle his own affairs," Li Yu Rong threw out offhandedly and then pounced ahead before the questions dying to fall off the demon's tongue found sound. "It's been more than a day since we've had a meal. While the rest of us can handle that, Nastasia is a normal human. You and Lu Se Ying look around and see if you can find anything nearby that can be made into a meal."
Sometime during the moment they stopped, and his seeing Hui Se Ying off, Nastasia had fallen asleep. This made everything all the easier to undertake. Li Yu Rong would never do anything to put Asya in danger. If he wasn't completely certain that his aims would strike true he would never even consider making this move.
"An Ying and I will scout around to see what beasts are lurking around. Perhaps we could spread the scent of the blood of the beast An Ying had slain to further convince the weaker ones to stay away. This might help buy us some time to find the entrance of Youyun Village."
"But, Nastasia will be here alone, what if-" Paoxiao was interrupted, his words fading out quietly without finishing the sentence.
"The rest points are perfectly safe so long as we return before the hour is up." Li Yu Rong assured. His dual colored eyes, especially that gleaming red one, shined with a deep confidence. Although Paoxiao had his reservations about the man, the overbearing aura of self-assurance that fell off and choked a person brought him to biting back any complaints and reservations he had previously wanted to speak.
After biting back those words, Paoxiao had a sudden epiphany. He thought back to the trick of entering his village, that annoying little trick that gave him a headache every time he wished to return home. Thinking about it the fastest way to lure out that devilish guy, who had likely been tailing them the moment they entered this forest, would be Nastasia.
That guy, his greatest weakness was a pretty face and delicate curves.
So, all that had been said out loud had been nothing more than a show to lower the guard of that guy and make it easier to lure him out.
Even so, Paoxiao didn't like the thought of using her as bait. That guy was as starved for women as Hui Se Ying, but knowing that he got his pleasures from flirting than actual sexual contact, he reluctantly marched off to do ask Li Yu Rong asked without further comment. Lu Se Ying, on the other hand, had no such troubles as he followed after. Though he didn't know the full extent of what was going on, his master was always in the right and he would carry out his orders without question.
While he was confident Li Yu Rong still felt a bit stifled to leave Asya on her own though he honestly didn't plan to go beyond the generous range of eyesight his demon blood offered. To quell that queasy feeling in his stomach, he lightly scraped his nails down her cheek before brushing his lips across it.
Ah, there was nothing to do about it. Warmed in the heart with love by his intimate action, he still felt worried. A helpless smile in her direction was his last parting action before turning to walk off with An Ying.
-------------------------------
A/N:
My grandmother and aunt, who I haven't seen since I was six, with my two cousins who I've never met flew in at the beginning of the month. She had been battling lymphoma for a couple years and now that she's finally in remission she wanted to spend time with all of her relatives who she hasn't seen in years.
So, I've spent the past week going on family outings, showing her, my aunt, and cousins all the awesome things near where I live, catching up and going over old memories. It was fun and I was sad to see her go when it was finally time. Especially my two cute, much younger, cousins even though watching them, along with my younger sister, was a handful at times. o(^^)o
For some reason, the author note box isn't showing up, so I'm gonna thank you all here for your comments, reviews, and power stones in support of ISAW. You guys are awesome!
https://www.patreon.com/saoirse24