Chapter 5 (2/2)
Xiang Liu was much too smart and immediately asked “You knoho it is?” Xiao Liu s Liu’s hands went around his throat “This concerns the lives of thousands of soldiers, it’s not one of your loneliness dispelling gaht andLiu let hihtly “You can’t snatch, he has a lot of subordinates Plus he ought to have close ties with the Tu Shan clan If this gets big, the Tu Shan clan will side with hi Liu tossed his hand aside and Xiao Liu added “I have a way to avoid bloodshed and get theLiu stopped and turned around Xiao Liu jumped off the pallet and pulled on a robe “Xuan has a little sister cousin called Ah Nian Xuan’s very smart and also very protective of this little sister It’s hard to one up Xuan, but it’s easy to capture Ah Nian Use Ah Nian to exchange for the ets his sister back No one will need to fight”
Xiang Liu thought about it “Fine” The talked out and Xiao Liu said “You go distract Xuan and I’ll go capture Ah Nian” “I don’t have a lot ofot? You’re injured so keep two Xuan isn’t easy to deal with”
Xiang Liu ignored hied rides appeared and Xiang Liu ordered theet back, listen to his orders” “Yes!” The four men lined up and one flen to pick Xiao Liu up before they all flew up into the clouds Xiang Liu left on Furball and Xiao Liu called out “Nine-headed de Liu heard it but soon he was gone froht
Xiao Liu looked at the fourat him “Are you faestured and made plans “Understood?” “Understood!”
“Good, then see you guys in a bit”
Xiao Liu went to the back entrance to the wine shop and knocked loudly “Brother Xuan, Brother Xuan…” knowing full well he wasn’t there but wanting to wake the people inside Hai Tang walked out “Middle of the night, what do you want?” Xiao Liu rudely scoffed “Scra for Brother Xuan, not you” Hai Tang was furious but as a , but Ah Nian could and she walked out “Lowlife! If you don’t scram then I’ll teach you a lesson!”
“You want to teach me a lesson? How about I teach you a lesson! If it wasn’t on account of Brother Xuan, I would have slapped you a dozen tily wench, born with a pair of eyes like a dead fish”
Ah Nian had never been so insulted in her entire life and she was quaking with rage “Hai Tang, kill hietsi into action so Xiao Liu turned and ran “I’ Brother Xuan face If you dare then come outside Ah Nian, if you have the balls then don’t ask your maid to do your dirty work”
“This is preposterous!” Ah Nian ran after Xiao Liu “I’ll do it myself!” Xiao Liu hurled insults and Ah Nian chased after hih the list of all the dirty insults he heard in the o crazy She didn’t even realize that the Hai Tang behind her was already passed out and a masked man had taken her away
Xiao Liu lured Ah Nian to a desolate place but by the ti, no one responded She at least had so her hands and water blades sliced towards Xiao Liu One ainst one, it was an easy victory! Ah Nian was trussed up nice and secure and placed on a winged ride Ah Nian cursed the Liu
Arriving in the round while the four masked men spread out to keep watch Xiao Liu picked up Ah Nian who started cursing “Let o otherwise I’ll cut off your hands!” Xiao Liu dropped Ah Nian and with a splat she landed on the ground Ah Nian yelled “How dare you drop o” Ah Nian yelled “Who told you to carry me?” “Because you were tied up, if I don’t carry you, should I toss you?” Ah Nian was so furious she couldn’t speak
Xiao Liu knelt doith a laugh “A high born lady like you, probably ever been tied up before How does it feel?” Ah Nian really wasn’t scared and looked at Xiao Liu liked he was a dead rave” Xiao Liu was more and more impressed with Ah Nian’s parents “Girlie, look around, you’re the one tied up” Ah Nian coldly laughed “My older brother cousin will soon find ry You will die a very very painful death!”
Xiao Liu put his hands under his chin and looked at the rare species that is Ah Nian “You have that much faith in your cousin?”
“Of course Fa…father never compliments anyone but he complimented him”
“Your parents love you very much?” “Of course my parents love me!” “Everyone around you treat you well?” “Of course, how could anyone not treat me well?”
Xiao Liu finally understood whatrevolved around her She asked and it will be given In Ah Nian’s world, there was no hardshi+p, no darkness Re the way Xuan treated Ah Nian, Xiao Liu suddenly felt jealous of Ah Nian She irl wanted to be pampered to the point she was cluelessly self-absorbed and brashly rude How much love did that need, how many people to love her did that take, to create a world for Ah Nian that was filled with only rainbows and flowers and happiness so that she ended up with this personality
If a person could have everything go their ould choose to endure suffering? Who wanted to taste the pain of this world? Who would want to see the true darkness within people’s soul? Xiao Liu sat down on the ground and softly asked “Ah Nian, what are your parents like?”
Ah Nian glared at Xiao Liu and didn’t want to answer but couldn’t control her pride “My father is the world’s most handsome, most powerful man” Xiao Liu teased her “Then your cousin?” “My cousin is as well” “Both of them are? Who’s better?” “You moron! My father is the past, my cousin is the future!”
“What does your dad do with you normally?” Xiao Liu had no dad so he was curious what dads did with daughters Before Ah Nian could answer, Xiang Liu ca a white mask and dropped from the sky with his immaculate white hair and white robe like an ethereal snowflake from another world Theafter getting orders
Ah Nian curiously stared at Xiang Liu and was so fixated she forgot to be angry Xiao Liu chuckled “Do you want to know the face under that mask? It’s comparable to your cousin!” Ah Nian blushed “Humph, who cares!” She i to look or speak to such pathetic lowly people
Xiang Liu sat down next to a tree with his eyes closed to regain strength Xiao Liu walked over “Are you okay?” “Yes” “Do you want to heal?” “You knohat it’s like when I’, it’ll have to wait until this is finished”
“When Xuan gives the o find a place to heal”
Xiang Liu opened his eyes “Do you know Xuan’s real identity?” Xiao Liu shook his head “His earthly aura is too strong, not like one of the scions of the noble or powerful families But he’s very connected which means he has a lot of money which is hard to do if he’s not froot a good guess” “Who is he?” “I need a bit more proof first” “Oh——” “If it’s the person I think he really is, then you’re in deep trouble”
“Why?”
“That person is very protective of what is close to hi his faest no-no He will undoubtedly kill you It’s my fault this time, until I destroy him you can stay by my side”
“No!”
“You don’t believe er so it’s definitely dangerous But do you think I’m the type to hide behind another’s back until the trouble passes?” Xiang Liu shtly choked Xiao Liu’s neck “Really don’t die!”
Furball’s projection ca Liu who pat it a few times on the head “The medicine has been received and the men safely away” Xiao Liu stood up and stretched “I’ll take her back With this parting, the rivers are long and the mountains are wide If there is next ti Liu smiled “What I uffawed and went to pull Ah Nian up and drag her off aht about how to deal with Xuan He went through each and every detail about Xuan and realized that he couldn’t figure the man out
That man wore a complete and utter mask People ore masks, you can tell it’s a mask But his mask appeared to be a part of him, completely natural and effortless Lao Mu, Chuan Zi, Ma Zi, Butcher Gao, they all like him since he’s easy to talk to Tian Er and Chun Tao like hiht about it and realized he also like Xuan for being ss well But in truth, Xuan’s real personality, what he liked, how he did things……Xiao Liu couldn’t suss it out All he knows is that Xuan’s weakness is protecting those close to hio and was even willing to apologize so his sister cousin didn’t need to apologize
Xiao Liu suddenly wondered to herself – how could there be a guy like hih so that his personality was so odd Xiao Liu said to Ah Nian “I’ to be a little scared of your cousin” Ah Nian saucily replied “It’s too late to figure it out now!”
Xiao Liu looked at Ah Nian with a sh her “What…what do you want?”
Xiao Liu put Ah Nian on the ground and shoved three pills and a packet of powder in her mouth and forced her mouth closed until she sed “You…you…what did youamulet but I don’t believe you have such an amulet in your belly”
Xiao Liu took Ah Nian’s hair pin off and spread some powder on it and pricked her twice on the wrist Ah Nuan’s tears fell as she had never been so mistreated in her entire life as today Xiao Liu added “And I don’t believe your blood can ward off poison”
Xiao Liu thought so Ah Nian’s back with his hand “For insurance let’s put another poison Your spiritual power is of the water type ice skill, right? I’ve got to find the right pressure point” Xiao Liu’s hand touched froht all over Ah Nian’s back until her waist She was still a young girl and had never been touched by a man before This was the first ti to kill you! I’ to kill you!”
Xiao Liu was unmoved and found the spot on her back and pricked her It didn’t hurt but Ah Nian felt like death If she could, she would cut Xiao Liu’s hand off and cut her own back skin off Xiao Liu put the hair pin back in Ah Nian’s hair and fixed her clothes “Come on, your cousin wantsand refused to move Xiao Liu put his head in front of her “Do you want me to look for a pressure point on your chest?” Ah Nian started wailing loudly but startedbehind Xiao Liu
Xiao Liu listened to her loud cries and wondered if he really was too evil this tiirl cry like that Before he could reach a conclusion, a group of people arrived led by Xuan
“Gege——” Ah Nian rushed into Xuan’s ar Xiao Liu was surrounded by ently patted Ah Nian on the back and co so hard she couldn’t speak and her face was all red After some time, her sobs lessened and she was able to answer Xuan’s questions When she told hi poisoned and where Xiao Liu pricked her, Ah Nian started crying again and refused to answer his questions Even if she didn’t answer her tears said enough
Xuan’s razor sharp eyes glanced over Xiao Liu who brushed the goosebumps off his arms and tried to maintain a placid smile Xuan took Ah Nian ahile Xiao Liu was knocked unconscious and also taken away
When Xiao Liu woke up, he was in a sealed rooht other than two oil la they were under orders to keep him alive, but the rest was fine The decided on his hands so he couldn’t poison others They took out a torture device which was a rectangular stone box like a little coffin but with an opening on top
The men smeared oil on Xiao Liu’s hand and put his hand in the box Inside the box was dirt and once the oil sers The men shoved a cloth in hisbugs The oil is snal to them your hands are dead flesh to be eaten They will slowly burrow into your fingers and you will feel your flesh being eaten The fingers are tied to the heart and it’s so painful that people will try to gnaw off their own hands to end the pain So that is e have to seal your mouth shut Five days later when the box is opened, you will see two sets of finger bones as clean as white porcelain We’re turning off all the light so that in the dark you can feel the pain more Last tio crazy”
Before the light disappeared completely, Xiao Liu opened his eyes wide He knew the o crazy was to stay awake Xiao Liu felt the pain in the fingertips, like a bug burrowing into his body and gnawing on his heart
Xiao Liu started talking to himself, whatever he remembered he would say out loud In the painful darkness, the iely clear
The fire red phoenix floas bloo on the phoenix tree She liked to swing on the swing but her older brother cousin liked to practice his power training She loved to tease hi…” He never acknowledged her but if she accidentally fell down then he would always catch her in tireen forest she liked to play hide-and-seek Seeing Gege co to find her, she would juh She would refuse to get off so that he would piggyback her hoh and shake her head But Grandmother would point out that Mom was the sa of ith Gege and the loser would have their nose scraped When she won she would scrape really really hard, but when she lost, she would softly plead “Gege, Gege, not too hard!” Gege would raise his hand and come down hard, but the moment his hand touched it hisper soft
The red-robed Uncle gave her a cut off white fox tail to play with She loved it and so did Gege, but she would only allow him to play with it for a short while But each tie needed to steal some snacks for her One tirily scolded her But she felt wronged and told Gege “You learn how to make that snack, so that I can eat as e agreed and actually learned to make the snack but refused to row up and won’t have a stomachache when you eat it, then I’ll make it for you”
Grandmother’s health deteriorated and Moe People said that Uncle and Auntie died, and that Grandht she secretly clie answered “Death is never being able to see soain?” “Nope” “Like you can’t see your e eed hihtly “I will never die, and I will always talk to you”
Everyone said that Gege was very strong inside, even Grandfather thought Gege never cried But she knew Gege cried, but she never told Moht to keep hiot scolded that she was too old now and needed to learn to sleep alone She can’t go bother Gege and disturb his rest She said nothing and accepted the scolding, but every night she would sneak out to go find Gege
During the day Gege would study hard but only she knew that at night Gege would wake up and curl into a ball and shi+ver She knew that he was seeing the ie like cradling a doll, lightly patting hi Tears would fall froe’s eyes and one time she tasted it and learned it was salty and bitter
One tihtrabbed hie asked her “They all want me to not cry, why do you want me to cry? Don’t you know that I shouldn’t cry?” She tweaked her nose “I don’t care what they say All I know is that your heart hurts and tears can help the pain flow out of your body Once the pain flows out, the heart can slowly heal”
The night before she left for Jade Mountain, Gege asked to sleep with her She was sleeping all drohen she felt Gege eht he had a nightmare and was about to pat hie instead kept repeating “I’row up I will protect you and Auntie I will go bring you back…”
In the darkness the time passed but Xiao Liu only spoke to hiot what he was saying But every ti to himself Who kno rill fish various hen the door opened and a light shone in Being in the darkness for so long, the light hurt so Xiao Liu closed his eyes
“His expression…is different than any I’ve seen before” “He’s very unique”
The two jailers opened the box and untied hi to his hand, Xiao Liu moaned in pain, and in his consciousness he appeared to hear shi+ Qi’s voice That snapped the taut string in his mind and he fainted dead away
When Xiao Liu opened his eyes, it was still dark but he earing clean clothes and laying on a soft pallet Someone sat next to hi?”
“It’s ot up and opened theThelit a lamp and helped Xiao Liu up Xiao Liu looked at his hands which rapped like two balls, indicating the injuries were severe but with the ht a bowl of soup over and Xiao Liu was starving but forced hi took out a pill and told Xiao Liu to suck on it Xiao Liu sucked on the pill and looked around It was a siround and see ar Liu to help save you Xiang Liu took men to attack Xuan while I went to the cellar prison to rescue you” Fro explained it in a few scant words
Xiao Liu said “Actually, you didn’t need to co Shui Town so give me the antidote for Ah Nian”
Xiao Liu said “She wasn’t even poisoned! Ah Nian, with her background, of course she found the best doctors and can cure any poison so I decided to just pull a fast one on her Everyone around her is so protective of her They will be looking for the poison and if they can’t find it, they will keeplooked at his hands and in his eyes was unspoken pain Xiao Liu “That… fooling them will only temporarily save my life So even if I didn’t poison Ah Nian…I poisoned Xuan”
Jing stared in shock at Xiao Liu
“The poison was placed on Ah Nian’s body, I know Xuan would hug her, comfort her, and the poison would enter his body Once it went into the blood stream, it’s very hard to re these last few days and needing Xuan to comfort her often He would never suspect it was aiive him?”
Xiao Liu cautiously explained “Actually, it’s not really a poison, it’s best described as voodoo The voodoo ic is practiced by the Jiu Li tribe and is their secret learning A few hundred years ago, the Jiu Li tribe had a voodoo king as called the poison ic is considered evil stacked against mainstream medicine and poisons People have heard of it but very few actually understand it”
Xiao Liu explained “In truth, I raised a voodoo bug inside ofis now in Xuan’s body From now on, when my body hurts, his body will also experience the sa, must not have been easy to raise”
“Of course! Very hard to raise!” If it was easy to raise this reat wilderness Even with Xiao Liu’s special body, it still took hi?”
Xiao Liu sighed “It was all to control Xiang Liu that big dele poison can take hireat plan but before I had a chance to plant it in hi it on Xuan” Beasts are very instinctive and Xiao Liu orried Xiang Liu would cotton on to the voodoo bug, He was so compliant when he needed to drink his blood so that one day the voodoo bug would unwittingly be planted into Xiang Liu’s body
Jing asked “Is the voodoo bug harmful to the body?”
“No!”
“You certain?”
“Yes, withwasn’t so sure but he didn’t know enough about voodoo bugs so he would need to consult a doctor later Xiao Liu asked “How many days since I was captured?” “Four”
Xiao Liu looked down at his hands, thinking perhaps its time not to apply medicine “The time is almost ready”
“Xiao Liu, let“Xiang Liu already knew Xuan would deal with me viciously He offered to let me stay by his side by I turned hier, then I wouldn’t have let you stayindependent – I do what I want and handle ’s eyes were filled with care “You don’t have to be alone”
Xiao Liu coldly turned his head “I saved you once, you saved me once I fed you once, you fed me once We don’t owe each other any silently sat there for some time and then quietly walked out
Xiao Liu wanted to sleep but couldn’t so he struggled off the bed and walked out the door This wasn’t in the are in the mountains It was the only residence in the entire cliff, whichsave so Nong ar and the clouds were below his feet Xiao Liu stared for some time and it felt like the clouds would rise up and consu Liu, are you there?”
A bird called fro on the tree next to the hut Under the silver ht, with his white hair white robe, he was like a person et close but afraid to
Xiao Liu stared and then suddenly asked “How long have you been here?”
Xiang Liu lightly answered “Long enough to hear that you wanted to plant a voodoo bug in , he never tried to play word gaot that he was on Xiang Liu’s territory Xiao Liu laughed “But I didn’t do it, I planted it in Xuan”
Xiang Liu ca at prey “If you hurt, he hurts? When will the voodoo bug start working?” Xiao Liu i Liu would strike “The tiet off easy”
Xiang Liu stared out over the clouds “First you insult his cousin, then plant a voodoo bug on hi is impossible to re was prepared for you, I’m the only one in this world who can re Liu closed his eyes “Go back to sleep and hurry up and heal your hand”
Xiao Liu was too scared to talk back and went back to sleep even if he couldn’t fall asleep