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Demonic Master
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Chapter 2: A Father's Wish
Unconditional love. The bonds of a family. These were things Tang Haotian had never experienced in his short life. The closest thing he had to it was his foster family. Yet now, all his heart had was an empty void and the heartache that came with it whenever he remembered them. Despite having lived with the fact for a year, the pain had not reduced and was as agonizing as it was when he first experienced it.
However, he was okay the pain. Grateful even. It was mark of his love and care for those who had given him a home. Should this pain be his punishment for his inability to protect them in their time of need, he would gladly accept it.
"She grew up on me. Wormed her way into my heart, she did." The tavern owner had a bittersweet smile on his face while saying this.
The man continued, "You must know about the Red Butcher's fetish, Master Demon."
The red-eyed demon's eyes widened. The Red Butcher's fetish was well known in the Red Vine City... however, that meant-
"Yes, that's right. My daughter is a demon." The tavern owner revealed.
"What?" Tang Haotian's voice went a pitch higher. Demons and humans couldn't procreate, neither could demons be born from humans. The bodies of humans were much too fragile for that.
The man had the gall to chuckle. When Tang Haotian pinned the man with another one of his 'stares,' the man quickly started speaking again.
Tang Haotian hadn't known how to influence people with just his actions, the fact that he could suddenly do the same with such ease unnerved Tang Haotian. Nonetheless, it seemed to help him here, so he wouldn't question it. Despite his opinions on the matter, Tang Haotian already had a pretty good idea as to how he was able to do so.
"My brother fell in love with a demoness, he did." The man explained with a bitter expression on his face. "The demoness had a daughter. She was cute, willful and kind. The demoness left me her daughter when she went back to her clan. What about the child?, I had inquired."
The tavern owner slouched, his shoulders weighed down by an unseen burden. "She left her to me, she did."
Tang Haotian nodded faintly, his movements measured and graceful. He understood the mother's decision.
For a demoness to live so long and healthily as the man has described her, she had to be from one of the hidden clans. If she had to go back to the clan due to whatever circumstances she had, then the child and her husband might have been in danger. After all, it had only been some time since the War for the World and hostilities were quite rampant. People might not discriminate between the elderly and children. The demoness would most likely face quite a lot of dangers for falling for a human.
"She was taken by the Red Butcher yesterday. She was showing some decent talent and had been found practicing martial arts by some people. What was more important was that she was discovered to be a demon."
The man had a look of despair on his face. His fists were clenched and his body shook from repressed emotions.
Tang Haotian nodded again. He now understood the man's seemingly crazy decision to barge into a cultivator's abode. He was desperate and pushed into corner. He knew how it felt. To be unable to do anything as your loved ones were hurt in front of you. It was one of the most ugly feelings he had ever felt and he didn't want to feel it again.
The man inclined his head just enough to be able to view Tang Haotian but stay respectful all the same. His eyes were full of despair, yet there was a hint of expectation and hope blooming in them.
"What's your name?" Tang Haotian's voice was not loud in volume, yet it carried with it an immovable majesty.
"This one's name is Yuan Hong," replied the man now named as Yuan Hong.
"And your daughter's?" A pause "Her real name, I mean."
The man trembled and hesitated for a second, before speaking, "Xiao Yue."
Tang Haotian nodded his head as if unsurprised. He had already expected the fact that the demoness was from a hidden demon clan.
Demons were now a dispersed force. Should they attempt to form groups, they were quickly hunted down by the Holy Light Sect. The only major demonic factions left were the hidden clans- the Mo, Xiao and Tang Clans. These clans had pretty big foundations and could manage to hold their own, yet stay hidden in the Eastern Disputed Lands.
The Mo Clan of the hidden clans was also now destroyed. Tang Haotian felt his heart ache again, as it always did when he remembered his foster family and what remained of them. However, now was not the time to dwell on the past. So, he shook his head and pulled the man by his shoulder.
The man sweated as he looked into Tang Haotian's eyes. It made him think of the times when demons were feared and when humans were suppressed. It reminded him of just how dangerous they could be.
"You're going to tell me all about this Red Butcher, am I understood?"
The man gulped and quickly nodded. Yet, the smile on his face could never be any bigger.
(Xiao Yue - POV)
"Ha! What a catch!"
"I'd like a taster of her myself!"
"Sigh... What a shame! She won't last with the boss!"
As soon as the last sentence was spoken, the leering and lewd smiles around me dropped. The captors who had surrounded me, broke apart- the lewd smiles splitting their faces now dimmed.
The leering, cursing and foul stench nearby didn't affect me, however. I had already experienced much more than these people could ever imagine. I abruptly stopped my thoughts. I shook my head with a bitter smile on my face. I had become quite arrogant hadn't I? Hadn't that been what got me caught in the first place?
My eyes darkened at the next thought in my mind. I hadn't known the specifics, yet wouldn't 'that' man have taken care of these scourges sometime this year? I glanced disdainfully at my 'captors.'
I stopped my glances the next instant as heavy steps sounded in the dungeon I was kept in. The captors around me all clammed up and stood straighter. It seemed I would finally be meeting the Red Butcher. I hadn't seen him in my past life. 'That' man had already taken care of him by then. However, even then, with his relatively insignificant strength, the man was notorious. It was said that his vile and brutal methods of taking 'care' of his victims could shake even the strongest of hearts.
(3rd Person - POV)
The man soon came into Xiao Yue's view, and she gagged. All she could say was that he truly deserved his reputation. Even she, with all her experience could feel the smell of the blood that stained him suffocating her. His long black hair was coated with the dried blood of his victims. His teeth were blackened and she could see them clearly as he sent a cruel smile her way. He had a plain average face, one that people could easily forget. His fingers kept twitching- as though unable to wait to inflict whatever act of sadism this man who had lost himself to insanity wanted to inflict.
However, she wouldn't start crying just because of some lowly Foundation Realm Cultivator. She had the pride of an expert, and she had reached heights that a man like him could never reach in cultivation. Now, she had to just find a way to get out of this hellhole.
However, the next second, her eyes widened. The man wasn't alone. A few subordinates trailed behind him, each dragging a child her age by their hair her way. The children kept screaming, their cries muffled by whatever was put in their mouth. They were brought in front of her cell and roughly shoved on an obsidian table, one that was clearly set up for them.
The Red Butcher came into her view once more, his blackened teeth and cruel smile on full display.
"I know your type." His voice was 'unholy,' and she would have identified him as a demonic beast if she hadn't seen him. "The strong-willed, always a difficult one to break."
She gritted her teeth as she forced herself to endure listening to his foul voice without lashing out. This was the best time to collect information.
"But I know how to break you." His cruel smile grew wider. "I learnt it during the war. My wife and child were brutalized and killed before me by those accursed demons. I'm about to do the same to these children in front of you."