Xiao LingYue awoke to the sounds of screams as the villagers were thrown into cages.
Due to his small stature, they had him in a smaller cage stained with the strong smell of urine.
His nose wrinkled as his brow furrowed.
"Ack..." A sharp pain permeated his small body as he raised his hand to his face, though still tender, the bleeding on his face had stopped and the blood had dried into a dark, brown crust.
His body went limp and frail after the adrenaline receded like a tide and he slumped to the floor of the cage. As he raised his head tears soon began to form in his eyes again as he recalled the events of earlier in the evening.
He recalled how the slavers burnt his village, killing and capturing people as the villagers ran in fear of the men carrying sabers and machetes.
Blood dyed the village as limbs and heads flew, it sprayed from the necks of his friends and relatives and fell like rain as blood began to run like rivers.
As the tears trickled down his little face he bit his lips and reminisced on how his mother and grandfather took care of him within their village, how he played with the other children, how the aunties baked coconut bread as a snack for him and his friends.
The more he remembered the more sadness and remorse he felt, wondering why it couldn't go back to those days...
As he looked up he remembered his mother who laid bare in the dirt after the slavers had gotten a hold of her...
He remembered his mother's features, her gentle violet eyes, long ivory hair and pale skin.
His mother as well as his village were a part of the Snow Fox Clan, a small clan of fox fae descendants, who would normally stay secluded in the Barbosa Forest in the Barbaric South.
But after today that clan of fox fae in Barbosa Forest shall be no more. . .
He stared up through the cage as his fingers grasped the cage bars so tightly his fingers bled.
"I..hate them!" he growled through gritted teeth as his red eyes peered between his mud-caked and blood-soaked unkempt black hair.
Soon enough with the reflection of the moon on his pupils, he succumbed to the exhaustion of his little body as he fell into a deep sleep.
*****************
"Get to fuck up you mangy bitches!!" The bearded man roused everyone by kicking and slamming a long metal rod into the cages.
" Time to get y'all ready for the auction!" He sneered as he watched them roused from their sleep.
The bearded man was Zhao Lei, the right-hand man of The Smiling Tiger and vice-leader of the Black Tiger Group.
He ordered the group of 42 bandits to gather buckets of water as they made the women slave wash while only throwing water upon the men.
A cold torrent of water splashed over LingYue as he gasped for air; startled he looked around and he panted only to hear a burst of laughter from his captors.
"Isn't he a mutt? " One laughed as he said.
"Ha! He more looks like a drowned rat!" said another as they roared in laughter again.
Xiao LingYue could only huddle his 4-year-old body in the wet clothes for what little heat he could muster as he trembled in the cold, dew-filled morning air.
*********
A cacophony of voices was heard as the carts slowly rolled into a town through the slums. The poor and downtrodden were everywhere but even they despised the fae races.
After some twists and turns through back alleyways, they came to a rolling stop as the cages were offloaded and sent into the back of a big black wooden building.
Fear filled the air as they were being taken away and through the dark doors one by one, tears stained their faces as they realized they would probably be slaves for the rest of their lives.
As he watched the last villager get taken away, he saw The Smiling Tiger speaking with a very thin man with a stern face, darkened eyes and a gold guan dressed in black with gold trimmings in the shape of dragons.
The man looked around and he saw the intense start from LingYue as he turned his nose up at him.
"Hmmph, surnamed Jin, you should train your dogs properly..." he disdainful said.
The Smiling Tiger's face was filled with smiles as he bowed fawningly as he said. " You don't have to worry about him, Blood Gate Cult is always looking for new miners, heh heh"
The two talked and made their way after payment was settled and the horse-drawn cart slowly began to move away from the auction house.
The town receded as it made its way through rocky terrain, and as the sky got darker more and more humans stood in similar black and red robes with sinister looks in their eyes.
Soon they were at a checkpoint where The Smiling Tiger had to go through.
"STOP!" A young man around the age of 20 with a ghastly aura came up to them. "This is Blood Gate Cult's territory, state your purpose! " He barked.
The driver at the front of the caravan, Huang Hong answered swiftly with fear written all over his face. "We brought some miners for the Cult, your greatness. "
The young man looked over to the covered caravan as they lifted the sheets to show the multitude of different races all stuffed in cages.
Huang Hong came forward and bowed ingratiatingly as he said, " Your graciousness, we do hope you find these appealing. "
The young man's cold, reddened eyes passed over them and as it passed over LingYue, he felt the back of his scalp tingle, like death had wrapped its cold bony fingers around his neck.
"You, you and you..." The young man singled out three brawny and strong-looking men, as he licked his lips. " These three should have flourishing Blood Qi."
Huang Hong quickly hastened to release the three from the cages, immediately they ran off in three different directions as if it was all planned.
The young man snickered as he left the spot, moving as swift and as agile as a swallow.
The first man had his head torn off and as the ghastly young man breathed in, the blood turned into a red gaseous form and flowed up his nostrils.
His eyes turned a deeper shade of red as he once again moved after the escapees, cackling and sneering on the way.
Xiao LingYue was beyond fearful as he saw the second man drained of his blood.
The third fell, chains clattering as he tried to crawl away, full of fear and despair.
"Noooo. . ."
His screech echoed in LingYue's ears as he watched the brawny man crawling desperately as he slowly turned into a dry husk of his former self. . .