"Don't forget, if anyone asks who we are, try avoiding saying your actual name, staying low in this village especially will do us good, and please, don't trust anyone along the way, you never know whether they are secretly working with the Nuh clan or not." Liu Jia speaks softly, her voice near a whisper. This reminder marked the beginning of the group's journey through a long, lonely, and narrow path that was surrounded by a forest of bamboo.
It hadn't even been five minutes of walking on the path when Min Guiying hears rustling in the trees. After hearing the out-of-place sound, he stops abruptly to listen closely and see if his ears might have imagined the noise. Zhao Hui, who is next to him, and Liu Jia, who's ahead, do the same. Liu Jia pauses for a second, however, she doesn't hear any more rustling, so she motions Min Guiying impatiently, to continue walking. Min Guiying replies by holding out his palm, telling her to wait.
"Hold on… " Min Guiying bites his lips deep in thought, looking around analytically, "There's someone following us I am sure of it-"
"GUIYING GEGE!" A childish voice calls out from above and Min Boquin comes into view. He was balanced on the blade of his sword, which was levitating midair. Zhao Hui attempted to hide his shock of seeing Min Boquin resting on a sword that was literally off of the ground and had no strings attached to keep it up.
Flying or being able to float midair was considered normal in the cultivation realm, but in Zhao Hui's realm, which he agrees to call 'The Void', this wasn't normal at all.
"Second Childe Boquin?!" Zhao Hui yells loudly in disbelief, not able to comprehend how Min Boquin could've escaped the palace. He was thankful though, as Min Guiying would have one less person to worry about. Hopefully, that would brighten his spirit a little bit.
"Finally, I found you guys! Mom told me to escape and join you guys, I thought I'd never find you! Does anyone know what's going on back home? Nobody would tell me anything and I was forced off the palace grounds, but I know whatever it was, it wasn't anything good." Min Boquin lands softly on the dirt path, hopping off of his sword, looking worried.
"DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS?! SO IRRESPONSIBLE! YOU SHOULD'VE RAN TO THE BOAT IMMEDIATELY! ONE OF THESE DAYS I'M GOING TO WHOOP YOUR ASS YOU DUMB BITCH!" Zhao Hui watches in shock as Min Guiying takes long strides to his brother while scolding him, and then not hesitating as he whips out his sword, using the butt of it to mercilessly attack Min Boquin's back.
"Sto-STOP! HELP! ZHAO HUI! PLEASE!" Min Boquin agonizes in pain, attempting to run away from Min Guiying's reach, which he fails at miserably.
"Come on Young Master Min, leave him alone! Come ON!" Zhao Hui practically pries Min Guiying off of his brother and hugs Min Guiying to stop him from moving, which works as Min Guiying gets embarrassed from the sudden touch, "Young Master Min, please don't break Second Childe Min's back, his lover is responsible for doing that, understand? And for you Min Boquin, I'm interested in knowing how you got out and what the condition of the palace is." At this point, Zhao Hui lets go of Min Guiying, who now patiently waits for Min Boquin to begin speaking, even though anger is still evident on his face.
"WHA- WHAT THE-" Min Boquin's eyes widen at Zhao Hui's comment about breaking the back, but he shakes this off and instead explains himself, "I didn't know what was going on, I was teaching the disciplines one second and then left to go to the storage room to get some training gear. While inside, I heard people yelling and went to look out but the door wouldn't budge for some reason. After a minute I saw flames seeping into the room and ended up using my sword to break down a wall. At first, I suspected the disciplines were playing a joke on me, but then when I saw the flames, I knew we were in trouble."
"Well, it's good you joined us while we were heading to Feng Village, RIGHT, Min Guiying?" Liu Jia stares down Min Guiying as if daring him to test her patience, which she obviously did not have.
"I guess." Min Guiying grits his teeth and remains to the side of Zhao Hui, not sparing even a glance towards Min Boquin, keeping his head high.
Throughout the entire trip down the dirt-ridden road, the group walks in silence, the only sound coming from their feet trudging on the ground and the occasional breeze that would make the bamboo sway elegantly. Birds were also performing in the forest, their melodic singing being soaking in cheerfully by Zhao Hui and, although he would never admit it, Min Guiying. Zhao Hui tried multiple times to start some conversations here and there, however, the atmosphere was choking so much that Zhao Hui abandoned his attempts.
Zhao Hui could understand why nobody wanted to speak. The entire cultivation realm was on the brink of war from this act of rebellion, and according to the comic, a war HAD occurred for this reason. The plot of the comic consisted only of this war, which Zhao Hui disliked the simplicity of, but the couple, Min Guiying and Liu Jia, easily made up for it. However, there were times that the comic got so surprisingly deep that Zhao Hui was caught off guard.
But there was a small spark of happiness in Zhao Hui which wouldn't wash away. It was that Grandmaster and Grandmistress Min would make it out of the battle alive. This had happened in the comic, and since Zhao Hui didn't change too much of the comic at this point, he expected greatly to see Grandmaster and Grandmistress leave the battle nearly unscathed.
DAMN IT! I probably jinxed it didn't I?! Zhao Hui sighs disappointedly at himself and worry begins to resurface in him, his heart beating faster and faster with fear.
"Catastrophe number one: Min clan gets attacked by the Nuh's. You did your job and took them to safety, but the danger doesn't end yet. You will meet a girl and two boys who will join you in your adventure. WARNING: One of them has a secret, but you'll find who and what that secret is later on." A familiar voice speaks into Zhao Hui's head, exciting him.
"Penelope! Thank goodness you're here! There's more danger?! WHY?!?!?!? I'm putting my life at risk for this shit and I'm not even getting paid for it!" Zhao Hui curses in his mind, sighing painfully.
"You do realize you can't die, correct?"
"I- I can't die?! WOW, that's cool! I was so worried about that-" Zhao Hui stops mid-sentence as he hears Penelope laugh in his mind, "You… fucking bitch!"
"I can't believe that you trusted me that quickly! HAH! If you were immortal Zhao Hui, what would be the fun of putting you through this pain and suffering? Nope, we gotta make this interesting, so yeah, if you get killed in this world, you'll get a heart attack in the real world and die."
"Fuck you and your crusty dusty system settings!"
"You can keep insulting me, but that ain't going to change the fact that you are able to die." Penelope laughs more before Zhao Hui hears a beep, which he realizes means she left. Hopefully, she continued doing this so he could know when she left because when he talks and nobody answers, he feels like the whole ass circus.
More people are going to join our group? Interesting, I look forward to meeting these bitches…
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.
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Min Boquin was confused, especially as to the tension between Zhao Hui and Min Guiying. What had happened during that time that he wasn't there? Clearly, it seemed as if it was something that improved their relationship. Min Boquin concluded this when he witnessed Min Guiying retreating to Zhao Hui's side at the beginning of the trip. This was a very suspicious act, especially since Min Boquin was his brother and the closest to him. Nothing like this had ever occurred between them, but that was most likely because Min Boquin wasn't Min Guiying's soulmate. BLEH, who could even imagine?!
.
.
.
Does this mean I'm free? ARGH! That's such a bad thing to think about!!! Liu Jia mentally slaps herself for thinking such a rotten thing, Grandmaster and Grandmistress Min were so kind to me, why would I hope they would die?! I don't treasure freedom THAT much! They deserve to live, they do! Anyways, we need to find some rest here, and then hopefully find a way to get where Grandmistress wants us to get to.
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The sun was starting to hide behind the green hills, teasing the group with its bright orange rays, taunting them about the moon rising. Without knowing, they had begun picking up their pace, racing the setting sun as they continued their journey to the village. Alas, they had lost, the moon was in the sky, smiling down with its raindrop-delicate light. From just beyond, Feng village came into view.
"Excuse me, ma'am, can we have 2 rooms for the night?" Liu Jia asks a girl behind the counter, who she assumed ran the room rental. The girl looks back in confusion, wondering who asked her the question. When Liu Jia sees her face, she freezes, blinking a few times in surprise.
"Oh, sorry, but I'm not the manager of this room rental. I'm just a visitor, I was looking for the earring I dropped earlier, so I was behind the counter searching for it. Want me to go get the manager for you?" She offers politely, but Liu Jia doesn't answer. She continues to stare.
Liu Jia doesn't think she ever saw someone as beautiful as her, and her heart bubbles with confused feelings. This girl, she- she was a goddess! Although her face was simple, there was mischief hiding behind her rosy pink lips that lifted softly seeing Liu Jia blushing mad. Her large, coffee brown eyes bore into Liu Jia's skin, which made her feel as if she were on fire. Liu Jia's body shudders from the feelings, and it felt… good.
And suddenly those feelings went away.
"ALERT! ALERT! ALERT! CHANGE IN CHARACTER! CHANGE IN CHARACTER! SELF-PROTECTION MODE ACTIVATED!" Penelope's voice, along with sirens, blares into Zhao Hui's ears, forcing him to cover them, which doesn't help soften the loud noise.
"Zhao Hui! Are you okay?" Zhao Hui looks to the side, where Min Guiying is bent over, worry laced in his eyes. Min Guiying's hands tenderly hold Zhao Hui's body.
"I-I'm fine." Zhao Hui breathes out painfully, and the noises stop, remnants of the siren echoing emptily, till that ceases as well. He releases his strong grip on his ears, but Min Guiying's touch remains on Zhao Hui.
"Liu Jia, did you get the rooms?" Min Guiying asks Liu Jia, who walks back with her face contorted as if she were deeply thinking about something. She quickly sums up her thoughts, paying full attention to Min Guiying.
"Yes, I got two rooms. Min Boquin and I are sharing, while you and Zhao Hui can have a room to yourself." Liu Jia nudges Min Boquin, sharing a look with him.
"Well gege, it seems you and Zhao Hui can do ANYTHING, right?" Min Boquin wiggles his eyebrows, looking at Min Guiying touching Zhao Hui. Min Guiying immediately lets go, dropping Zhao Hui.
"F-FUCK!" Zhao Hui lurches forward, falling face forward on the wooden floor, "MIN GUIYING! WHAT THE FUCK??!"
"Min Boquin you little piece of shit-" Min Guiying lunges to attack Min Boquin, but is stopped by Zhao Hui.
"Monkey headass." Min Boquin sticks his tongue out, taunting Min Guiying. Min Guiying makes another attempt to jump him.
"Hey, keep the anger in check, pumpkin. When your parents said to protect you all, I never expected to go against you, I thought outsiders would do shit."
"Why don't you save your mouth for other things? Like maybe sucking me off bitch?" Min Guiying was so angry that he blurted out anything to get Zhao Hui to shut up. It worked.
"What the- Young Master Min, I- are you okay?" Zhao Hui appeared to be genuinely worried about Min Guiying blurting out such a thing.
"Oh fuck this! I'm heading out. You, Min Boquin, are dead to me." Min Guiying takes his thumb, motioning it across his neck, before he walks away angrily.
"Wow, did you all hear that?" Liu Jia whispers, smiling, "He said that! He's never said ANYTHING like THAT before!"
"Well, it seems that Zhao Hui was a good thing for Min Guiying, am I right?" Min Boquin nudges Liu Jia, smirking.
"Oh shut up Min Boquin! Why do you sound so proud, this is nothing to be proud of!" Zhao Hui scolds Min Boquin, a smile shining on his face as well.
"Time to go to bed, we'll meet up in the morning for breakfast. Good night Zhao Hui!" Liu Jia grabs Min Boquin's arm, shoving him away.
"Good night Zhao Hui!" Min Boquin waves as he gets dragged into his room shared with Liu Jia.