Xiang Yu closed his eyes suppressing the violent emotion bubbling inside of him. His breaths steadied, the snowflakes melting on his lashes.
He opened his eyes and the old man who was watching him intently saw the struggle in them. After a long silence, Yue Buqun said, "We have sent for the cultivators," his voice sombre. "They will deal with the demon." This demon shouldn't have reached the imperial city in the first place. That's because the righteous sects were expected to maintain the protective barrier around the city. They had failed to do their job and now the imperial city was compromised. Xiang Yu said nothing more but his master knew him too well. He wasn't the kind to let things go.
His master was right. Xiang Yu wanted blood. He wanted to paint the snow red with the demon's blood. His lowered eyes burned with fury, as he nodded to his master. That night, he slipped away his movements agile and almost invisible.
In the snow-laden forest, Xiang Yu's breaths formed frosty clouds as he halted his boots sinking into the snow. His fingers clenched around the hilt of his sword his knuckles turning white.
His demonic aura stirred his red eyes flashing with an ominous light. He closed them shutting himself from the world. He focused on the sensation stirring inside of him. Xiang Yu felt a strong malicious force towards the east of the forest.
His lips quirked into an evil smile the blood thirst in his eyes palpable. He headed east. After twenty minutes of walking, he spotted a flickering flame dancing at a cave entrance. His breaths formed frosty clouds as he approached his sword in his hand.
A figure sat by the fire wearing a blue mink fur cloak, its luxurious pelts shimmering like moonlight on water. Her amber eyes met his, and a smile curved her lips.
Xiang Yu stepped forward his blade unsheathed, its edge reflecting the ethereal light. His red eyes dripping with animosity bore into the female demon.
She smiled with a malicious curve on her lips her eyes gleaming with amusement. "A half-blood," she taunted, her voice like shards of ice. She spat on the ground her expression shifting to that of disgust. Xiang Yu's expression remained stoic, the coldness in his gaze unyielding.
She was injured but a half-blood was nothing to fret over. She had already killed a homeless man and a courtesan, draining their life force to fuel her recovery. But those souls had been weak, their essence barely a flicker.
She needed more which was why she attacked one of those young men. She had initially mistaken them for cultivators thus she didn't dare attack them at once. Her injuries had left her in a vulnerable position but she was tempted by their golden cores.
Absorbing just one of them was enough to heal most of her injuries. When they separated she followed the weakest one and struck him. She was disappointed when she realised it was just a mere mortal with no golden core at all. He might have not been a cultivator but he wasn't easy to deal with.
That brat's movements were slippery. At his last breath, he smiled and sent out a signal alerting the other two young men. In the end, she expended so much energy and didn't even get to taste her prey. That's because a group of men dressed like these three appeared.
She could subdue these three but in her current state, she couldn't withstand an attack from seven trained martial artists. In her desperation, she unleashed a firestorm and fled. After expelling so much energy, a weak half-blood demon was what she needed to recover. It was like he had dropped himself into her lap. This was what she would call easy prey.
Thinking of absorbing this halfling's core, she licked her lips with her long tongue, her unsettling eyes gleaming with hunger. "How about we stop wasting each other's time and you kneel in surrender? Maybe I will be merciful and award you a quick death," she said fire dancing along her fingertips.
Xiang Yu didn't answer. His blade reflected the moonlight, its edge keen. She tilted her head, studying him. "You are brave," she said. "Unfortunately that will get you killed."
Xiang Yu's lips quirked evilly. "We will see," he said his murderous intent shaking her resolve for a moment.
Annoyed by it she unsheathed her sword, and fierce flames danced along its blade. She lunged forward. Their swords clashed the impact jarring Xiang Yu's bones. He staggered back into the snow, the cold seeping through his boots but he held his ground his expression just as fierce.
She attacked again, her strikes relentless. Xiang Yu could feel the searing heat from her sword. His arms trembled, but he refused to yield. With a malicious smile, she taunted him. "Give up," she hissed, her voice like the crackle of burning wood. "Your half-blood lineage makes you weak."
But Xiang Yu was stubborn. He lunged forward his blade slicing through the snow. The demon dodged, agile as a shadow. And then, she kicked him back with strong force sending him sprawling into the snow.
He coughed up blood, but his expression remained unchanged. He was like a resentful spirit, fuelled by vengeance. He wiped the blood with the back of his hand while gripping his sword with the other.
She faced him the flames on her swords burning fiercely charged by her wrath. She thought he would be easy to deal with but he was like a cockroach, he was hard to kill.
His movements were fluid and his strikes were precise. She fiercely swung her sword the flames searing at his chest. Xiang Yu gritted his teeth his demon blood surging and on the verge of eruption. His retaliation was so fierce that she was overpowered and lost grip of her sword sending it flying across the snow. Surprise flickered in her eyes but it was soon replaced with raging fumes.
Erupting in anger, she unleashed fire storms. The ferocious flames consumed the forest and scorched the snow. Xiang Yu ran, dodging behind the trees, his purpose clear. He wanted her to exhaust herself and then take advantage of the opportunity.