"Zhu Yan! Zhu Yan!" Zhuo Yi Chen shouted at the unconscious great demon in his arms, but he was completely out cold, so Yi Chen carried him back to the room they shared and placed him on the bed. The rest of the demon hunters followed, though not too closely, for they shared a great sense of guilt for what had happened and what was yet to come and dared not anger their commander further.
"Xiao Zhuo..." Wen Xiao said from the open door of the room, but Zhuo Yi Chen stopped her by raising his hand as he sat on the bed next to Zhu Yan's weak body.
"Not now Wen Xiao... let me take care of him first, then we talk. I will expect a full explanation from all of you, because that was not his real core and if Zhu Yan faked this, then you..." Ying Lei shudders when he sees him stare at them with such a cold gaze, and he bows unconsciously to ask for forgiveness.
"I'm sorry, Commander Zhuo... please don't get too angry. We have the best intentions at heart, I swear." Ying Lei pleaded, unable to bear his harsh glare as he felt the icy energy emanating from his enraged boss.
"I said later... his energy is still unstable, and that's the priority right now." Zhuo Yi Chen said as he directed his attention to man in bed. The fool, why get to such extremes to forge a false core? How did he miss the silent message they all share in that look that baffled him for an instant, but he dismissed it while arguing with his great demon? He'd been so blatantly deceived it was embarrassing.
"Alright, you take care of Xiao Zhao and I'll take care of the princess. This fake core, created under these conditions, should be enough to convince her of its authenticity. After all, it was still made from his malicious energy, and his pain while creating it was not feigned at all." Wen Xiao said as she turned to leave with the small red orb that cost Zhao Yuan Zhou to further weaken its power gently pulsing in her hand.
"Wait... Why, Wen Xiao? Why put on such a show for a fake core?" Zhuo Yi Chen asked, and Wen Xiao smiled sadly.
"They were watching us. Princess Longyu can communicate with all creatures in the water, and when I sat down by the pond, I saw many fish gathered near us. She was spying on us from the pond. If we want her scale, we had to convince her that Zhu Yan was willing to die first."
"That was too extreme..."
"I know, but if it works, we'll get the scale while keeping the great demon alive. A good deal for us, Xiao Zhuo... Surely you understand that forgiving is better than losing and we will ask for your forgiveness." She said, and Yi Chen sighed, closing his eyes and focusing on stabilizing the great demon's energy.
Leaving them alone, Wen Xiao walked away, followed closely by Pei Si Jing and Ying Lei. The apology could wait, but not the princess action. If she was deceived, as Xiao Zhuo had been, then they win, if not, then they lose far more than she was willing to let go.
The core felt real enough to give her hope, but if that failed, she wasn't above pushing the princess into a wave of guilt by telling her all of her years-buried feelings about her father's death and how it had destroyed her world and changed her destiny. If there really was nothing else, then at least she could make amends for the irreversible damage caused by the princess's careless actions. If the princess thought her revenge was justified, then Wen Xiao would ask her to justify hers.
"Wen Xiao... are you alright?" Pei Si Jing asked, reaching out to take her hand, as if to reassure her that everything would be okay.
"I am. It just doesn't feel right to deceive my best friend even if it's for his own sake. Heaven knows he has more than enough to deal with without us adding to it."
"I know, but I'm sure he will think about it and understand why we did it." Pei Si Jing tried to comfort her as she gently squeezed her hand.
"Yes, he will. His kind personality doesn't allow him to hold grudges for long, but we should still prepare for a lot of cold stares until he can swallow it down." Wen Xiao said and Pei Si Jing smiled in agreement.
"How long do you think he'll be like that? To be honest, it's a little scary when all his cold energy is focused on you as he stares at you." Ying Lei confessed, his skin crawling just thinking about it.
"I don't think it's going to be for long with us... for Xiao Zhou though..."
"Yes, the great demon is definitely doom." Ying Lei agreed with Wen Xiao's suggestion.
"No doubt." Pei Si Jing confirmed.
"Pei Si Jing, Ying Lei, I think I need to deliver this core on my own, so stay here and wait for me to come back. Right now I'm sad enough to play the role of a devastated woman who loses her lover. It will be fine..." Wen Xiao offered, but Pei Si Jing was not quite willing to let her go alone.
"I should go with you, just in case she was not convinced." Pei Si Jing said, as even if the princess looked weak, that was not the case as her true nature was wicked enough to want to kill even a pregnant woman out of heartbreak and jealousy.
"I think she was. Even a fish should understand the raw feelings Xiao Zhuo show there. He's too much in love and too afraid of losing him and that can't be faked. Their feelings and struggles were real and Xiao Zhuo's desperate yell when the great demon fell... even I could not hold my tears."
"But then she'll know that you two lie to her by pretending you're a real couple. She will realize that those in love are the two great demons." Pei Si Jing tells her worriedly.
"Maybe, but I still have a hidden card."
"But even so... it will be too risky, Wen Xiao..."
"Please stay here, Si Jing. There will be a time in where I need to walk this path alone, so let me do this... and if anything goes wrong, you can step in and save me." Wen Xiao smiled at her as she gently kissed the back of their clasped hands and after a moment of silence, Pei Si Jing let go of her hand.
"Fine, just be careful. I will be watching."
"Sure... wish me luck." The goddess whisper to her as she came closer to the huntress and give her a soft kiss on her lips.
"We need to be more proactive, so next time is our kind of love the one I describe." Wen Xiao softly caressed the huntress beautiful face. Despite her stoic look, Pei Si Jing was a kind soul that had unfortunately carry too much painful weight in the past.
"Ying Lei, please turn around..." Pei Si Jing warned the young mountain god before taking the goddess in her arms and kissing her back, not with a fleeting kiss like hers, but with a passionate one that made Ying Lei spin on his heels so fast he almost tripped with his own feet.
"I swear there are lovebirds everywhere! Bai Jiu, I miss you so much and I hope you can come back soon..." Ying Lei whispered as he walked away from all that pink madness.
Back in the room of the two great demons, Zhuo Yi Chen transferred some of his energy to Zhu Yan, to try to replace the one he had lost. The transfer had given him time to calm down and process everything that had happened, along with Wen Xiao's explanation. It had been bold of her to even think of that solution, but he had to admit that it wasn't wrong for the goddess to use whatever was necessary to save lives. Yes, both Wen Xiao and Zhu Yan had taken advantage of his feelings, with Ying Lei, mainly, sowing guilt in his heart, but under the circumstances, it was a well-thought-out plan with a good chance of working.
Although the act was embarrassing, he could deal with it, but Zhu Yan getting hurt was not something he could easily allow. It was frustrating to see him like this, always putting others first, always taking unnecessary risks, always believing himself unworthy, which was a complete nonsense.
"Zhu Yan... please stop doing this to yourself, it's unhealthy and I hate it..." Xiao Zhuo whispered to his unconscious demon as he continued to work on his energy in the hopes to make him a bit stronger for him to wake up.
Ten minutes later, Zhu Yan finally stirred in his bed, and Yi Chen stayed with him until the great demon opened his eyes and looked at him. Only then did he leave his bedside and get up to leave the room, knowing that he was in no mood to be around his foolish demon. He need some time to cool.
"Xiao Zhuo, please don't go. I'm sorry..." Zhu Yan said faintly as he sat in bed, and Yi Chen stood for a moment before the door without turning to look at him.
"That's exactly the problem, Zhu Yan. You always regret your actions, but you never stop doing them. You should also think of how that makes me feel..." Yi Chen said before he opened the door and got out leaving a sad demon behind. He knew that what happened was probably inevitable, yet he wasn't sure for how much longer he could take it, because each time Zhu Yan put himself in danger it killed something inside him too.
Out into the hall of the strange place, half submerged in darkness as only illuminated by the endless candles he wandered around until he got to the place where a big dry tree stood tall. The place of power, the place of promises, the place that got the strongest hold of the Wilderness and just as he thought in putting his hand over the rectangular stone, someone else showed up and called his name from behind.
"Commander Zhuo, is the great demon okay?" Ying Lei asked and Yi Chen was a little surprised that the one who went after him was the young mountain god. He expected Zhu Yan to crawl out of bed if necessary and follow him to beg for forgiveness until he relented, however, Ying Lei was the one standing there with visible nervousness at that.
"Yes, at least what happened this time can be fixed. He will be fine once he rest and regain his lost energy." Yi Chen said, and Ying Lei smiled slightly.
"That's good... Wen Xiao and Pei Si Jing went to see the princess on their own, so I thought of..."
"What? Why didn't you tell me? That woman is dangerous, I swear, no one respect me anymore..." Yi Chen said as he was about to leave, but Ying Lei grabbed his arm to stop him.
"It's not that we distrust or disrespect you, Commander, quite the opposite of that, because we care for you more than what you give us credit. Before, when you were still a mortal, you also used to do things on your own to protect us and ended up in trouble. The great demon worried about you too, we all do..."
"I can handle myself Ying Lei."
"Of course you can, but what I want to point out is that in that aspect, the two of you are quite similar. Zhao Yuan Zhou wants to protect you as much as you do, but it's not just you two who want to protect each other, we all want the same thing. It's not something we plan to do, it's not something that can be prevented either, Commander Zhuo, it's just in our system, it's instinct for all of us. That's what makes us the family we are now..."
"Ying Lei... you..."
"To be honest, if I could do anything to protect Bai Jiu, I would have done it, even if it meant putting myself in danger, getting hurt, or losing my life. I admire and cherish that kid with all my heart, so if I can help, there's nothing to think about, I will do it, just like the great demon does, whenever something goes wrong. So please don't be too angry with him or us... Protecting those we love is in our nature, and I apologize for what I said earlier, I meant not harm." Seeing Ying Lei's sincerity, Yi Chen could only sigh as his heart warmed. That young mountain god, just through words alone, made him feel better and part of something bigger. For that, he was infinitely grateful.
"Apologize for what, Ying Lei... what you said to me was not wrong and I know it was not meant to hurt me. It was your own feelings that you have hide deep within you, like the rest of us. I shouldn't have been so angry, but I guess... I guess I'm too overprotective of Zhu Yan, but it's not like he gave me a break either." Yi Chen sighed and Ying Lei smiled as he rubbed his nose.
"Indeed, he runs head on into the first sign of danger..."
"He is an idiot."
"That too for sure..." Ying Lei played along, but when he realized what he had agreed to, he looked at Yi Chen and after a moment of silence, they both laughed.
"I'm sorry Ying Lei, I tend to be too serious, but I assure you I care for all of you."
"I know, you had show it enough times already."
"Then let me promise you that regardless of whether we get the scale or not, I will find a way to not only bring back Bai Jiu, but also to protect the rest of you. Sword or not, I am a demon now and no matter what, you are all my people, my friends and my family and I will not give up any of you without a fight."
"Same here... damn, you're too cool to be true, no wonder he admire you so much... me too I guess." Ying Lei confessed a little embarrassed and Yi Chen smiled fondly at him as he walked over to put an arm around his shoulder.
"Don't ever say that out loud again, or a great demons will give you a hard time." Yi Chen teased him as he pulled him back to the way they came.
Zhu Yan, who had actually followed him from a distance, smiled at them. He certainly did not deserve such ties and family, but he gladly accepted them with all his heart. A great and pure lover, a goddess best friend, a caring mountain god, a protective huntress, and a childish yet adorable young doctor that all of them cherished a lot. To ask for more was outrageous...
AN: I wanted a chapter for the team to bond, so they can trust and understand one another in a way is beautiful and I think Ying Lei is the perfect candidate for peacemaker aside from Wen Xiao. Hope you like it, more fun stuff for the next one, as Yichen will still be cold to Zhu Yan for a while and then more flaring emotions. By the way, what Yichen told Ying Lei stands, he will indeed save them all somehow. Until next time, take care.