Yao Xiaofan made his way through the winding tunnels as he headed towards the deepest areas of the 5th level.
Upon reaching their hideout he saw Deng Li waiting for him with a worried look on her face.
" Where were you and where is Zedong?" she asked as worry was stamped across her face.
Yao Xiaofan filled her in on what happened as her face drastically changed.
"We have to move, where is LingYue?" she stated.
"He's not with you??" Xiaofan shot back.
********
Xiao LingYue was currently in the lower regions of the 5th level as he harvested Jadeite Iron, he had found a sizeable deposit as he mined away unaware of the trouble that had come knocking.
Over the previous years, though he remained quite slender, his body had gotten used to the mining and his eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness.
Soon he heard a clamour of voices and footsteps as they were quickly approaching.
His first guess was that the humans were up to something again so he hid in an outcrop of the wall which was covered by shadows.
He held his basket and pickaxe close to him as he stopped moving and slowed his breathing, his presence becoming near undetectable.
This skill of his was learnt after his constant brushes with death over the years as the humans constantly tried to kill him to lessen the mouths to feed or steal any Jadeite Iron he had acquired.
The angry mob of humans were like a school of fish as they dashed forwards through the tunnels; the noise scaring away any cavernous creatures as they radiated a cruel bloodlust that even he felt.
Eyes reddened and crazed as they pushed on, looking for anyone to vent their hatred and anger on.
"Kill the Faes!" Some shouted,
"Slaughter those animals!" Others responded in kind.
LingYue stayed still as his red eyes peered from beneath his dishevelled hair, the anger in his heart soaring.
Suddenly a young man around the age of 15 with brown hair, slender sword-shaped eyebrows and a crafty look in his eyes turned to the shadows as he saw a slight glint of light; he has the thought to alert the others but didn't since it may be due to a Jadeite Iron deposit on the wall.
He smiled slyly as he slowly made his way to the cover of darkness where the glint originated from.
Upon reaching the shadowed area he searched around for the origin of what he saw.
*Whoosh*
Xiao LingYue fell from the ceiling as his legs wrapped around the torso, while his arms wrapped around the neck of the young man.
The two fell as LingYue continued to lock his legs while choking the man which stifled him from screaming.
He rolled and struggled to get out of this hold, his nails scratching at LingYue's arms but to no avail.
LingYue's movement was similar to that of a snake, the more his prey struggled the more he tightened his grasp.
The young man began to slowly slip away into unconsciousness as his arms and body fell limp, even still LingYue didn't release his hold until he was sure that the man had died.
Upon realizing that the man was fully unconscious, he got up took his pickaxe and stabbed it into the man's chest.
Humans were crafty and to avoid revenge, it's best to know they were completely and utterly dead.
LingYue searched the man as he removed his robes to wear them since his clothes were 2 sizes too small.
LingYue now dressed in a grey and semi-dirtied robe, tied his hair up with a piece of cloth as he laid out his loot.
Aside from a rope fashioned out of multiple pieces of cloth, there was a roughly sharpened dagger-like piece of Jadeite Iron which had a ruggedly tied cloth handle, as well as some sharp needle-like pieces of an unknown metallic ore.
LingYue tied a cloth tightly around his thigh as he fashioned a way to hold the needle-like objects. Xiao LingYue covered his face with a makeshift hood and mask as he then chased after the humans.
*********
Deng Li and Yao Xiaofan were escaping amongst the tunnels, their breathing laboured as they ran.
"Xiaofan, we both aren't going to make it, go ahead while I keep them here!" Deng Li said as her heart hardened to fight to the death.
"Aunty Li, this was caused by me and I can't turn my back and leave you, we'll fight these demons together. If we kill one, we break even, if we kill two we make a profit." He stated as he held his pick axe at the ready.
The humans began pouring into the small passageway coming face to face with the two.
"You fucking animals!"
"You pieces of trash, we'll kill you today as the judgement of the heavens!"
"We will be cleansing the world of evildoers like you!"
All sorts of self-righteous bigotry were spouted, a normal excuse of humans when aiming to commit any type of crime or injustice.
" C'mon then ya fucking bastards, if I take one or two of you I'll gladly reincarnate into the next life!" Xiaofan shouted as he was provoked beyond belief.
As tensions flared, one person lunged forward forcing Xiaofan to swing his pick axe.
The pick axe pierced through the man's temple as blood splattered over the cave as well as himself.
The angry mob of humans stood in shock before a cacophony of shouts was heard once more.
"Kill! " "Kill!" "Kill!"
The mob rushed forth as Xiaofan dived in amongst them swinging his pick axe left and right, heads were torn open, ribcages were smashed, and he was like a Demon God as he spearheaded through the unruly group.
Jumping and dodging, slicing and chopping, he danced with his pick axe as the blood pooled at his feet.
Deng Li was slightly startled by his visage before she too jumped into the fray, her claws swinging as lives were stolen.
The crowd soon settled in a ring around the two as they trodded through blood, guts and limbs. Tired and bloody, with all sorts of wounds crossing their bodies they panted as they caught their breath in the brief respite.
The flickering flames from the wall lamps cast an eerie shadow on the two as the flames reflected in the crazed eyes of the crowd.
"STOP!" A shout was heard as a tall slender man walked out from the shadows; the human mob quickly parted with fawning and differential looks on their faces.
This man was. . .
. . . Kong Xiaobo...