Bei Shang hated going to court.
Apart from the sleep it stole from him and the lunches he misses ; The stress of always feeling like his head will be chopped off at any second was irritating.
Why was Kate so much like those bossy CEOs ?!
Today topic was a debate on how much funds they should use on the banquet; Kate suggested spending lavishly so as to make the other demons respect their power while Summer was against it giving opinion that the money should be spent on better things.
Both weren't wrong.
Demons were naturally attracted to wealth and power ; if the Huli Jing clan should put up a front of wealth , it will draw other clans into investing in their fields in aim of profit .
But at the same time the money could be used to improve technologies which in exchange improve yield.
The court were naturally confused on what to choose.
Bei Shang, as usual, stayed silent watching and listening ; Nick attracted to his serious deamour couldn't help but tease him.
"Aiyaa so serious today"
Bei Shang didn't spare a look at him " If you bother me , I'll hit you "
Kate raised her voice, her face was flushed ; Summer was laughing but his clenched fists at the side said another thing.
"You look so good when you're serious"
Bei Shang glared at him " You're annoying ,you know?"
Nick cheeks turned pink and he cleared his throat before refocusing on Kate. 5 seconds later , he turned back to Bei Shang.
"I sometimes feel like you are the one using enchantment magic"
"I don't want to hear your voice"
Nick trembled slightly before facing the front; he seemed annoyed now.
Bei Shang felt a twinge of guilt and he rubbed his forehead .
Nick was a frustrating character; he is a ruthless type but he was also sensitive to criticism. Bei Shang originally had a sword like manner of talking which worsened whenever he's annoyed so he have been unintentionally hurting this general.
At first, he wasn't all that bothered, he was even telling himself to be happy that he could hurt this demon ; however, everytime Nick would tremble or his eyes went down with sadness, Bei Shang would feel like he was stabbed in the heart instead.
He was really doing his best to control his mouth but 3 weeks of staying in the Huli Jing realm and being frustrated by all manners of situations, his harsh words have gotten worse.
Someone pulled on his sleeve "Mitch mom, I don't think Mitch feels so good ...."
Bei Shang placed a palm on Mitch forehead; it felt so hot , it was like his skin was scalded. Without thinking twice,he pulled Nick face back to him almost wringing his neck .
"I know you dislike me but trying to kill me is going too far "
"Mitch has a fever"
Nick blinked and placed his hand on Mitch forehead " These are times I remember he's half mortal ; the lack of sleep and stress is taking a troll on him already "
"What do we do ?"
"All he needs is some rest and some warm rice porridge " He patted Mitch hair and put him into Iran's hands " Just go , Queen Spring will understand"
Bei Shang pulled on his sleeve " What about me ? I want to go with them ..."
Nick shook his head "No … You stay and listen with me ; You need this more than them "
"Why ?"
"Outside, you're my partner, a part of the Royal family; there are people watching you , you can't afford to make a mistake "
"But we are not even married "
Nick tightened his lips and looked at Iran, his voice was soft " Take him to his room , give him some fluids and wipe him down once in a while okay? I'll come and check on him once we're done "
Iran nod her head and made her way through the crowd then opened the door quietly before slipping away.
The meeting continued dragging on , Bei Shang eyes started to lower. He was about to doze off when he felt the hair on the back of his neck rise.
He sat up at once ; he looked at Nick , Nick seemed to be engaged in the meeting, Kate and Summer were still arguing; only a inch along their paitence to start throwing fists at one another, the attendants and officials are constantly on their toes to prevent the two from fighting.
Whose malicious intent was in the air?
He felt a sharp object on his back and he blanked , a second later, the mechanism released a substance into his spine. The substance was so hot , a sigh left his lips.
Nick looked at him in alarm and pulled the object; Bei Shang groaned again . Nick's eyes turned purple and he threw it back towards the far end of the court.
There was a soft "umph" before everywhere went silent.
Kate and Summer stopped their argument and looked at the end of the room in alarm.
"Who is that?"
Nick didn't answer the question , he put Bei Shang in an attendant arms then went though the crowd.
A minute later, he was carrying a 10 year old boy by the neck , the boy struggled but it was no use , at last he stopped fighting and relaxed limply.
A child assassin.
Despite the look of prosperity in the demon realm ; it's often beisegied by war and famine. Children of such tragedies were often made into assassins or prostitutes by Masters or pimps.
Summer looked a bit confused, his voice was soft.
"Qing yan…is that you?"
Nick raised a brow " You know him ?"
"Yes, he works as a servant boy for the brothel down the street "
Kate eyes sparkled with electricity " So you sent him "
Summer recoiled at the attack "Of course not! I won't deal with you using a child…"
"You're talking like you care about children, are you not the one who made him homeless in the first place? Are you not the one who is not for peace ?!"
Summer clenched his fists " There will always be war , War is what makes advance in technology and saves lives; if there's a need for it , we have to "
Nick ignored the two and raised the boy to his face ; the boy face was pale , the poison seem to be working on him too.
"Where's the antidote?"
The boy looked up and let out a chilling smile "There's no antidote "
Nick blood froze.
"General autumn, She's not breathing properly again"
Nick looked at Bei Shang, his lips were turning blue and his breathing was starting to get slower ; he looked a lot like a corpse.
Nick could feel his heart starting to pound awire.
"What's the name of the poison?!" Seeing the boy refuse to open his lips; he shook the boy like a rag " I promise I won't go after your work place, it will end here"
The boy eyes brightened for an instant before dimming " it's starlight "
Starlight… Starlight … Yes, Starlight can be suppressed using the heart of demons.
Without thinking twice, he pushed his fingers into the child's chest and pulled out his heart ; the child sighed softly before closing his eyes and turning to ashes.
Kate almost ran mad " You killed him without asking for who sent him ?!"
Nick wasn't listening, he went over to Bei Shang and tried to force the still beating heart into his mouth.
Bei Shang slapped his arm weakly; his eyes were bloodshot "I won't canibalize "
Nick tried to place it near his mouth again, this time Bei Shang felt a string snap and he raised his hand.
Pa ! The slap echoed in the ballroom. Nick lowered his head for a minute before trying again.
His voice was pleading " If you don't eat it in the next 20 mins , you'll die a painful death "
Bei Shang pushed it away, seeing it kept touching his mouth, he groaned in discomfort and pushed Nick with all his strength.
"NO !!!"
"Bei Shang!!!"
"If I would eat anyone's heart , it's yours okay?!"
He had said it as an attempt to verbalize his discomfort but Nick placed his fingers into his chest and started to dig in, his eyes were empty like he was just grabbing a cup of drink.
Bei Shang felt a chill down his spine.
"Stop it !!!" He pulled Nick's hand , his eyes were filled with fright " Are you an idiot?!"
There was a thick silence between them before Nick looked at the attendant. The next thing he was caging him in his arms.
Bei Shang struggled and glared at Nick "I swear on my fucking life , if you do something stupid, I'll grab a dagger and stab you multiple times in the heart … Nick Storm Park listen to me !!!"
Nick bit into the heart and started to chew ; he then grab Bei Shang and forced his mouth open.
Bei Shang felt a mixture of blood , flesh and saliva in his throat, he wanted to struggle but the grip was tight, he wanted to puke but there was someone pushing his tongue against his palate , he wanted to breathe but all he could breathe in was a mixture of blood and Jasmine.
Bei Shang let out a muffled sob , his throat was burning.
Nick put the rest of the heart aside and pulled Bei Shang into his arms ; his eyes were panicked as Bei Shang body went though a seizure.
"Bei Shang…it's okay.."
Bei Shang felt his throat burn all the way to his stomach, then the pain of his spine started bubbling giving him the urge to tear his skin and get out of his body.
A long while later ; the seizure stopped and Bei Shang relaxed in Nick's arm. Nick sighed in relief and hugged him tight.
"Bei Shang…"
Bei Shang eyes lowered slowly before he fell into a deep abyss.
💕💕💕💕
When Bei Shang opened his eyes, he found himself in another place. He looked around, he was sitting at the shore of a lake , the peach blossom trees covered every inch of the land ; the petals twirled along with the wind.
Bei Shang looked at the lake , the reflection looked at him .
Strange yet familiar.
The reflection looked just like him but his skin was smooth and paler, his chest was flat and muscular and there was a weight in between his legs.
His hair was also black instead of brown.
Bei shang pulled the hair crown, the hair tumbled down and graced his face luxuriously; it gave him an ethereal look…like that of a god.
His head started aching and he held it; something wanted to come up but it was as if something was pushing it back. The two forces fought for dominance in his head.
"Taohua "
Bei Shang raised his head up ; there was a person looking at him, they wore a green dress and there was a small horse whisk on their hand.
They looked familiar but Bei Shang didn't know where he saw them.
Their voice was soft yet firm.
"I want to help you remember but there's an energy in your head ; it's put there by no one else but you…so it's not like you can't remember, you don't want to remember "
Bei Shang headache worsened and put his head into his arms.
"Who are you?!"
"I can't say much because the secrets of heavens are not to be revealed " They looked up to the sky , mummered some strange words and turned to leave " I'll tell your teacher not to get involved in this reincarnation "
Bei Shang wanted to chase after them but they already disappeared. His pounding headache worsened and he did what he did best.
he went to a nearby tree and slammed his head.
He took in a big gulp of air as he opened his eyes; he felt a big weight on his chest and he looked down.
It was Mitch clinging to him like a koola , his eyes were bright as he raised his head.
"Mom …hold me "
Bei Shang sat up and rubbed his hair , his body still trembling from the dream he had earlier.
He doesn't remember much details anymore from the dream but the words they said rang at the back of his head.
It's not like you can't remember…you don't want to remember…
Remember what exactly? A Huli Jing that said he owes him , now a mysterious person saying that he doesn't want to remember who he owes.
"Mom…"
Thinking of it , he have a score to settle with Nick!!!
" Where's Nick and Iran?"
"They are at the weapons room "
Weapons room? " Did Iran do something bad again?"
"No … Dad just wants to counsel her"
"Counsel her for what?"
Mitch bit his bottom lip and hugged his mom tightly.
"Mom…you know how much I love Iran, you ,dad , and auntie Kate right? I won't do anything that will hurt you "
Bei Shang felt a bad premonition in his heart; Nick only say this stuff when he have fucked up big time.
It turns out Mitch adopted this bad habit too.
"Mitch , what did you do?"
" Daddy doesn't look like he's angry though, you won't be mad right?"
Yeah right! Like your dad is Normal!!!
Bei Shang held Mitch's face , he tried to look calm but his shaky voice gave it away.
"What did you do ?"
"I killed someone that hurt Iran"
💕💕💕💕 ( Earlier that afternoon)
Iran walked quickly to the kitchen.
Mitch rubbed his head ; his voice filled with discomfort " Iran, my head hurts so much..."
"Don't worry just bear with it..."
Mitch stopped all of a sudden ; Iran wasn't expecting it so she almost jerked backwards and fall on her feet.
"Ouch " She rubbed her waist which shifted with the pull " What's wrong?"
Mitch rubbed his neck; he wasn't complaining of an headache again "Tingling feeling"
Iran grabbed Mitch with super human strength then picked up her pace.
Iran was a cultivated demon so her danger alert wasn't as sharp as born demons; she often relies on Mitch when they were in the mortal realm to tell her when there was harm.
A dagger whizzed passed her making an injury on her cheek ; Iran didn't seem to feel the pain and only kept running.
Suddenly there was a sharp pain at the back of her calf and she fell down ; she used her arms to protect Mitch head and spine.
No ! No !! No !!! The room is only 3 steps away!!!
Iran wanted to scream for help but she felt her tongue was heavy and her lips was dry ; She blinked and tried again but it was no use.
"Wow I can't believe you are not dead yet " It was the voice of a little boy ; not more than Mitch's age " Even the dose will knock out a born demon for at least a few hours not to talk of a cultivated demon"
Mitch struggled against her but she refused to let go ; before anyone take him , they will have to go through her first.
"Well.... I guess I have to kill you first "
Iran breathed out in anticipation of the pain.
It all happened within a second.
Mitch eyes suddenly widen and he pushed her with inhumane strength; Iran have not even landed when she saw Mitch put his claws into the boy's chest and brought out a beating heart.
Then he crushed it.
She saw the boy shocked expression before he turned into Ashes; after falling heavily on her side , she stood up on her feet and went to hold Mitch.
She wanted to ask ' Are you alright?' but her tongue was swollen and her ribs hurt, instead she could only stared at him.
Mitch face was pale ; he stared at her for a long while before going down on his knees and throwing up.
He threw up like there was no tomorrow; Iran repeatedly patted his back.
She wasn't disgusted ; She have seen even more gory things than killings but it was Mitch first time.
A boy who doesn't even know what was called death killed someone for the first time.
She didn't know how long they knelt there for.
"Iran.... what happened?!"
Queen spring and General carrying a sleeping Mitch mom, ran to their side as soon as they saw Mitch lying down in her arms , blood in his hands.
Iran shook her head ; she can't speak yet.
Mitch was finally the one that answered "I crushed the heart of a boy"
Nick face turned pale and he held his shoulder " Mitch, are you okay?"
"I don't know " Mitch whispered then put his bloodied hand on his chest "It feels so familiar... "
Despite the pale looks on everyone face he gave a small smile " After the initial disgust , I felt good, it was like there was this hidden anger inside of me and I was able to use it to protect mom "
He looked at the tight lipped Nick , a blend of confusion and euphoria on his face " Dad ... is this feeling wrong?"
Like his father , Mitch was born under the star of destruction.. he's destined to be a general , a killing machine.
Nick was born under alkaloid star , he could only shine bright when Polaris was bright; Mitch was born under the bloodthirsty virgin star , he could only become bright under a purpose.
While he was born to be a tool , Mitch was born to be a sword to protect others.
But being a good general doesn't mean that blood lust wouldn't overcome them ; he had kept Mitch from all things death related because he didn't want to trigger his fate.
Kate sighed and looked at him "Autumn, we can't delay it anymore"
Nick nod his head " I know"
Mitch looked at his dad then hid his fingers behind his back. The look of Shame on his face was heartbreaking.
"I did wrong…"
"No …" Nick shook his head and patted Mitch hair , seeing him relax, his voice was soft "As from tomorrow, don't go to morning court ... we will start weapon lessons "