Vol 3 Book 3 Chapter 21 (1/2)

Book 3 Chapter 21 – Liu Meng’s Disappearance

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The volume of the television was turned to a loud volume, but the incessant noises from a group of musicians dancing on stage did not prove to be enough to distract Liu Meng. She stared blankly at the emergency escape route map next to the wooden door of the hotel as she remembered something far, far away that evoked a mixture of nervousness, shyness, and antic.i.p.ation. She had put on a white one-piece, and black laced underwear underneath. She had no time to do her makeup properly, but at least enough time to put some perfume.

Liu Meng thought about the first time she met Li Yiming, four years ago, about that crazy night two years ago, about the silent wishes for bliss during these past two years, and finally for what had unfolded just recently. She was suddenly very grateful for it all, grateful for what Heaven’s Laws bestowed upon her. If it were not for her becoming a guardian, her secret might have been buried forever. However, today she would have a chance to dig up those words hidden for so long, and to shed light on a secret she had decided to never think about again.

Before she could get to the end of her thoughts, she was suddenly pulled back to reality by the loud noise of the window’s shattering. A small, red bird, about the size of her hand, came flying in through the breach. It had a white beak, a long neck, a single leg and blue specks on its feathers.

“Can you save me? There’s someone coming after me,” the bird said.

“You’re a beast?” Liu Meng looked at the little animal and at the sparks of fire that flew off from its feathers. Oddly, instead of being scared, she felt an urge to approach and help.

“Yes, I’m Bi Fang.”

“Bi Fang? Someone’s after you?”

“Yes.” Bi Fang had just barely escaped Li Huaibei’s attack. According to the legends, he was to be on the same level as other mythical birds, such as Zhu Que, or Qing Luan. His natural pride and ferociousness prompted him to fight to the death rather than submit to Li Huaibei. Now grievously wounded, he knew that it would not be long before Li Huaibei came for him again, and, during his search for a hiding place, he b.u.mped into Liu Meng. ‘What? A human with a body of fire purity? And this scent, the phoenix?’ he thought, very surprised by his discovery. 1

“How can I help you? I’m just a newcomer, and I’m powerless.” Liu Meng felt a natural and inexplicable urge to help Bi Fang, but she also knew her limits very well in the present circ.u.mstances.

“Let’s form a pact. From now on, I’ll live inside your body.” Bi Fang knew that it would be very difficult to escape Li Huaibei, and, he would rather risk it all with Liu Meng than become his sword spirit.

“A pact?” Liu Meng suddenly remembered the monkey earlier who feigned submission and became more suspicious of Bi Fang’s intentions.

“We’ll have a master-servant pact. You’ll be the master and I’ll be the servant. Your talent is fire, and I’m a high-level fire beast, everything is in your favor.” Bi Fang turned to stare at the window, a little impatient when he saw Liu Meng hesitate: he knew that it would not be long before Li Huaibei tracked him down. Little did he know that Li Huaibei was being distracted by Li Yiming, at least for the moment.

“Alright.” Liu Meng decided. The nature of such a pact had been taught to her by the Stage of Ascension, and although she was not completely sure yet of the benefits, she knew that she could suffer no loss.

A beam of red light rippled across Bi Fang’s body. He spat out a small flame that traveled slowly toward Liu Meng. A paragraph of brazen runic glyphs suddenly appeared inside Liu Meng’s mind. The characters were completely unknown to Liu Meng, but somehow she could understand its meaning: it was about accepting Bi Fang as her combat summon. She accepted and the small flame melted into her forehead. The next moment, Bi Fang disappeared with a flash of red light.

“That’s it?” Liu Meng blinked and focused her attention on what was going on inside her body. She could not feel anything being different.

“High-level beast subdued, Bi Fang. Path progression awarded: 50 points.”

“High-level battle pet acquired. Talent upgraded.”

A familiar voice was heard in her head.

“Upgraded talent?” Liu Meng was bewildered. Unlike the heavenly vein, the opportunities for upgrading one’s talent were mostly dependent on one’s perception, and, most importantly, luck. It was a true feat for Liu Meng to be able to upgrade her talent in her first domain.

Liu Meng “saw” a new frame appear near where the details regarding her own status were. “Bi Fang (hibernating)”. Also, an addition was made to her talent. “Fire control II”. ‘Fire control II? What does that mean? So everyone is ‘I’ by default, and you only get to see the number behind it once it levels up?’ Liu Meng closed her eyes and tried her best to feel the improvement that her upgraded talent had brought about.

Clank!

Another loud noise came from the window’s direction. This time, the window in its entirety, along with the frame, was shattered. A man wearing a grey sleeveless jacket with the zipper open appeared on the sill in a crouched down stance. The muscles around his abdomen were clearly defined, and, with the tight bell bottom pants, and his white pointy leather shoes decorated on the rear by metallic cogs, he seemed like someone straight out of a fas.h.i.+on magazine. His brows were narrow, just like his eyes, below which one could find a high nose bridge and scarlet lips. There was an odd feminine charm to his features and his stylized short-cut hair. Liu Meng would surely have mistaken him for a woman if it were not for his bare chest.

“Who are you?” Liu Meng sat up from the bed with a red spark between her fingers. The man’s appearance was abrupt, and, most importantly, unlike Bi Fang, he conveyed a feeling of ominousness and ill-intent.

“You took him?” The man jumped down from the sill and brought his hand to his chin in a pondering stance.

“You’re a guardian?” Liu Meng was surprised by her own lack of reaction at the evident mismatch between the body and the features of the man.

The man stayed silent and shook his head, seemingly amused by Liu Meng’s question.

“You’re a beast?” Liu Meng asked. ‘I don’t think that humans would look this way…’

The stranger still kept silent and shook his head.

“Well then…” Liu Meng’s alertness grew. ‘Someone who can break through a window on the thirteenth floor, and he’s not a guardian or a beast… then…’