26 Bound for Life (2/2)
A howl of pain echoed through the forest, and a silver-eyed wolf fell to the ground in a heap.
”Little Yan!” Her parents quickly arrived by her side. Each of them heaped her with questions of worry; both of them understanding that their daughter was not one who could easily show pain.
From the moment she had been thrown onto the ground, Little Yan's mind had been crippled into a state of shock. A hard wall of air had separated her from her brother; solid and unyielding. Its presence defied logic and law, but it was real.
”Mother! Father! You can't go to brother!” She choked out the words as quickly as she could; rushing to block their way. ”What? Why?” Her mother bellowed, itching to be by her son's side. Little Yan had the same sentiments, but she shook her head. Although she couldn't understand or make peace with the current predicament, she was certain that she was not mistaken.
But she dearly wished she was.
”You can't interrupt brother. He's set up a spirit barrier.”
Her words sent ripples through the hearts of all who heard. Beasts both large and small, high ranked or no, glanced at each other in shock; hoping they had misheard. Little Yan didn't repeat her statement nor did she clarify, simply staring at the two wolves she had addressed. Both of them had ghastly expressions on their faces.
Her own expression was likely a reflection of theirs. All of them had felt the viciousness that emanated from that human; causing alarm to run through their minds. Somehow, a lowly girl had unsettled them enough to feel like a threat. If there wasn't the threat of qi deviation [1] befalling her brother if she destroyed his barrier, then there was no doubt that the human would be breathing her last.
”What's going on? Why is he initiating a spiritual contract with her?” Little Yan's mother gave voice to the question everyone had.
Nobody except Little Ju would be able to answer.
°°°
[1] Qi deviation: an event where a cultivator or other being's spirit collapses, resulting in injury or death.