"Daozhang Xie, We lost the south gate."
Xie Ra nodded at the panicked Azaelia sect disciple and looked at Tang Niu in his arms. She clung onto him like a lifeline, wrapping her little arms around his neck. Her little body was shaking with all the sword clatterings and screaming in the burning Phoenix city. Xie Ra patted her head gently. Tang Niu raised her little head and looked at him with teary eyes.
Xie Ra felt cold as the wind swept past his shoulders. He knew it was because of the wet patch on his robe where little Tang Niu hid her face.
Sniff. "Where's my gege, Xie gege? I want gege." Tears started to flow through her pink cheeks.
"We'll find him soon, little bun. Your gege is strong. He's probably fighting the bad guys."
"B...But, I want gege."
"Yeah, Let's go. Let's go fast, okay?"
Tang Niu nodded as tightening her grip around Xie Ra. He started to search for Tang Zihao again. It's almost midday but, he couldn't find a trace of the fire demon. Xie Ra couldn't help but worry whether something happened to him.
He recalled the bizarre events that occurred from the dawn break. It was all peaceful until he found a dead body in the middle of the street. Then sudden wailings near the east gate made him dump his original mission to find Tang Zihao. He reached the east gate only to see a band of masked people slaughtering innocent mortals left and right. He sent a warning signal to the air before starting to fight the intruders.
It took a while for Phoenix sect disciples to arrive for help. Even though there were no elders, Xie Ra was glad to receive this aid. If they didn't reach there in time, Xie Ra wouldn't be able to save Tang Niu at all.
Xie Ra found her in the basement of a tavern. Thanks to his exceptional hearing as a cultivator, he found her before the enemy. Now, his sole purpose was to take her to the Phoenix sect for protection and go back to the city and aid fighters. But, the commotions around slowed him down as he tried not to get involved in fighting with a small kid in his arms.
However, he couldn't understand why he didn't see any Phoenix, Azealia, or their jade sword sect elders in any battle he witnessed. And they already lost all gates except the north gate, which was near the Phoenix sect and governor's castle.
Is there something bloody going on? Is he doing the right thing by taking a defenseless girl there for safety?
But again, what should he do? Xie Ra felt dizzy by thinking about all these. Tang Zihao, where are you?
Xie Ra halted as he met another gap between his current and next hiding spots. He had to sprint forwards fast before the enemy detects him. His heart thumped against his ribcage even though he succeeded in this multiple times already today. Yet, he never crossed this kind of wide opening before. And it happened to be across the front gate of the governor's castle.
Please! If there's a God, please don't let them get caught!
He took a deep breath before gripping the girl tight to sprint. But, then,
WHAM!
A heavy something landed on the floor and rolled to the street. That thing looked like a sack made out of expensive fabrics. Red, gold glimmered in the sunlight where it wasn't tainted with mud and blood. Xie Ra crept back into a more hidden spot to see what was going on.
The sack started to move slightly. Then it whimpered before slowly extending a head and arms out.
A human.
Xie Ra couldn't see the person as their long hair stuck onto their face, hiding it from the view. He couldn't even tell if they were a man or woman by looking from afar. It tried to crawl away from the city gate using his bruised, battered, weak pair of arms.
At the same time, he heard the heavy footsteps of someone approach the pitiful creature. The whimper of the other increased as it tried to crawl away faster, which was a futile attempt. A blood-red pair of boots stood right next to the creature's head.
Xie Ra couldn't see the newcomer from where he was hiding without giving away his hiding spot. It was so painful to watch the torture but, he couldn't leave Tang Niu to help the person on the floor.
What if the attacker was stronger than Xie Ra? They all will be dead.
Xie Ra gritted his teeth as he continued to watch. If this newcomer proves he was weaker than Xie Ra, he could help the man. But he shouldn't rashly act until he assesses the enemy. However, his instincts told him the upcoming scene wouldn't be nice to see by a little kid, so he closed Tang Niu's eyes with his hands.
The creature gave an unearthly wail when they sensed the presence next to him. It seemed like it was sacred to look at the intruder. Xie Ra saw a boot lift into the air slowly before stepping on the hair of the creature.
"UGHHHHHHHHHHHHH."
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA."
One screamed in pain as the other laughed like a maniac. At this moment, Xie Ra realized something.
They both are men.
Red boots bent forwards and grabbed the hair he was stepping on. Then he slammed the head on the ground hard repeatedly.
"L..Le..Let me..go..bastard."
The attack stopped.
"Why?" Someone said calmly. Even if it was one word, it rang a bell in Xie Ra's mind. That voice? He heard it before. But who?
"Why should I let you go? Did you let them go when they asked for mercy?"
"I...I'm Sorry. I didn't..."
"DIDN'T WHAT?"
Then someone started to cry aloud. Both victim and the attacker were stunned as the injured man turned his head in Xie Ra's direction.
Shit. Xie Ra tried to stop Tang Niu from crying. The little girl couldn't bear the things she heard longer. It was natural for her to cry.
And it was dumb of Xie Ra not to realize the state of the kid faster. He took Tang Niu in both arms, jumped from the hiding spot, and started to run away.
Suddenly he felt a knife-edge right before his windpipe. Xie Ra didn't have any choice but to stop running. Then someone whispered in his ears.
"Little bro Xie Ra, It's better if you don't plan anything stupid. I won't hesitate to send this blade through your neck if you do. Think about the little girl in your hands."
Little Bro?
There was only one called him "little bro" in this city. Xie Ra's eyes widened with shock.
"You?" He stuttered as he turned around to face his captor.