The smoke covered the city in a blanket of opaqueness. One could not move forward while paying attention to the surroundings. But despite such problematic circumstances, life in the city continued.
The rustling sound disturbed the serene atmosphere as the cloaked person limped down the street. Everyone knew the person had some kind of injury but no one moved to help the person out.
After all, the noble who walked behind the cloaked person was not someone who could be offended. Despite his ugly face and even uglier personality, somehow the person had found a friend in the present emperor.
Noble Lee was a person everyone feared and wanted to stay out of the way of. They all pitied the cloaked figure, most likely a slave who had to bear such a person as master. The poor person must have really suffered under such a harsh noble.
"Keep leading me to the den. After all, you are a dog and nothing more" The noble was not tired of degrading the other. This made him feel better, elevated and overall good.
This person had been a thorn in his side for so long that it felt magnificent to see him in such a state. The feeling of power was intoxicating, to say the least. It did sometimes make him wonder how he had landed such a wanted person in his grasp but he couldn't complain.
Imagine his astonishment when the emperor granted him his request and gave him a slave on top of that to make work easier. When asked how he did it, the rumours that would past his lips would say the same thing over and over again - 'Because I was lucky'
Since he had forwarded his request as a joke, he had never expected to end up in such a position. The feeling of relief and annoyance filled him in equal measures.
"I really think you should not follow me any further. I don't want to be held responsible if anything happened to you" Fu Hua would really prefer it if the other went away.
The more he followed the tracks left by that body, the heavier the air got. From noble Lee's condition, he was sure the other had not yet felt any disturbance. That was to be expected since the other had no actual practice in magic at all.
If this was under normal circumstances, even Fu Hua would have avoided such a place but the restrictions placed on him and his shackles prevented him from fleeing. He had to follow orders because that was the only thing he could do in such a situation.
"Me? Go away and allow you to do as you please? The emperor gave you to be and not the other way around so you follow what I say" noble Lee was pissed. Who did Fu Hua think he was now?
He was just a slave bound by magic to do his will. He might have been a big shot once but he had lost that right a long time ago.
"Follow me if you wish but don't blame me if anything happens to you. You all heard him right? I warned him and he did not take my warning seriously" if Fu Hua was going to take this idiot with him then he needed assurance.
But he should have known better. These people were not on his side and the averted gazes told him so.
"As if. If I die you will die with me. You will be responsible for my life, not that I need it. If I'm in danger then you'll be the shield for me. That is what your life amounts to, you traitor. If his highness was here I'm sure he would agree with me as well" the noble barked, his tone cutting.
His words stung Fu Hua a little because he was right in a way. The royal highness, Xiao Lan, surely hated him. His last words to Fu Hua had been a question, his lips begging for a reason but he had not said anything.
The very next day he had been captured and only saw the light of the sun a day ago when he had been gifted to this noble. Most people would complain about being in the company of such a terrible person but Fu Hua did not mind at all.
It beat the cold dark cell of his prison. That place and the activities that took place there was his personal hell. The time stopped having any meaning and he was not even sure if he had been alive or not when he got out of there.
His body would bear those scars forever, the imprint on his soul itched forever in blood. But he had survived that hell and he would make sure he never had to go back. If the shackles were the price he had to pay then so be it.
"....." the noble was still going on and Fu Hua let him. The other was far too absorbed in himself to realise Fu Hua had already walked forward by a lot.
"Hey, what are you doing exactly? I'm watching you and I won't hesitate to use that on you" Fu Hua tensed, knowing what 'that' meant. The spell noble Lee was referring to was another reminder from his hell.
But his body soon relaxed, catching on to the buff in the other's voice. The spell that had been cast on him, the obedience spell had a specific way to be set off. The only ones who knew were the emperor who had hitched it on Fu Hua, Fu Hua himself and Xiao Lan who had created it.
There was no way noble Lee was given this authority or trust by the emperor at all.
"You think I'm bluffing? I'm not and I'll show you right now" the noble came nearer to the other, his expression pissed off because how dare Fu Hua? How dare he ignore his superior?
Noble Lee had been born in the aristocracy, the highest class there could be except the imperial family. Fu Hua was a slave and even his name was not his own but a gift from high highness when he had served him.
It was only out of courtesy to Xiao Lan that anyone even used that name at all and not degrade it to just Fu. The slave was pissing noble Lee off by his behaviour and he might have bluffed a little to scare the other but it had not worked at all.
And just when noble Lee had been about to punish him, the other had stopped cold. What was with this behaviour?
"There is a kid here and from his clothes, he looks like a nobility. Do you know which family that kid could belong to? He has royal yards with him too" Fu Hua pointed out to the kid who was walking around unaware of the danger.
The kid was brave for sure because even the guard looked tense. The guard was likely a cultivator who could feel the dense and dark aura around this place.
"A kid? Nobility? Weird, he doesn't look like any of the kids from any noble family I know of. But if he indeed is a noble then we need to get him back home" for the first time Fu Hua agreed with the noble's words.
Not with the noble part but with the child part. The kid looked almost 13, borderline 14 which was still young in a way.
"Should I follow him?" Fu Hua asked this question but it was already too late. The next time he looked at the location the kid had been, it was empty. The kid had disappeared completely, not even his shadow visible.
"Looks like the kid is on his own. As for you? Don't try to divert my attention from this case. You are not getting away that easily" that had not been Fu Hua's intention at all. He had just been worried for the kid who was defenceless out there.
For some reason, he felt worried at the familiar silhouette of that kid but he was sure he did not know any noble who was supposed to be that age. Noble kids were kept away from slaves for a long time barring a few exceptions.
That separation became even more prominent once Fu Hua deflected. The influence of a slave on a kid was considered to be too great to be allowed after all.
"I will still advise you to leave this place" Fu Hua tried one last time but it was no use. Noble Lee was determined to see his operation through by hook or by crook.
So Fu Hua led him deeper into the demon territory. The energy but away at his senses but he still prevailed in his journey across.
They moved across in the harsh sunlight till it no longer penetrated the thick miasma of fog. They had reached the point where the earth was no longer pure but had descended into the demonic territory.