Ch. 26 - I Tend to Hold Grudges

"Hahaha! Your attitude sure changes fast!"

"Hmph! So what? You are a genius! You are my little brother and you are a genius! Should I not be happy about it? Do you want me to yell and shed tears out of jealousy instead?

Which big sister would not be happy if she found out her little brother is an absolute genius? Only bad sisters would feel jealous over something like that!"

"Hahaha, you are right! Thank you, but I am not an actual genius…"

"What the are you talking about? I already saw what you could do. If you are not a genius, then who in this world would dare to call themselves a genius? You are way too modest little brother!"

"Thank you for thinking so highly of me, but I really am not an actual genius. I am just… gifted."

"Gifted?", Tian Mei asked curiously.

She knew that there was more to it than Xiao Huoyan had already told them. She knew that he had secrets that he had yet to tell them.

"I posses the ability to absorb other people's spirit essences. I can absorb all of it or part of it. If I absorb all of it, then the person that I absorbed it from will be left without a spirit essence."

"… Then does that mean that you can absorb our spirit essences to?"

Even after hearing about Xiao Huoyan's strange ability to absorb other people's spirit essences, Tian Mei did not feel frightened. She did not seem to care about whether he could absorb her spirit essence or not. She seemed to trust him completely! …Or at least enough not to feel frightened by him.

She did not ask out of fright, but out of curiosity.

"I do indeed posses the ability to do so, but I would never absorb your spirit essences."

"… Since you can absorb spirit essences, then does that mean that you can transfer your spirit essences to other people too?"

"I have never tried, but I am pretty sure I can."

"That is good, but promise me to never tell anyone else about your ability to transfer spirit essences."

"Why can he not tell anyone else about it? Is his abilities not a positive thing?", Tian Xin suddenly asked. She did not understand why her little brother were not allowed to brag to others about his amazing abilities.

"Sweetie… If other people knew about what he could do, then do you not think that there would be people out there who would capture him for their own use? People are selfish and greedy. If they knew that there were someone in the world who had the powers to grant them spirit essences, would they not take him away?"

"You are right, mother. I was too naïve…"

"Thank you for your concern, but I know better than to walk around the streets, telling random people about my abilities.

I believe there is only six people who knows about me being different."

"Who knows, other than us?", Tian Mei had a worried expression on her beautiful face.

"Other than you two, only my missing father, Jin Long and his brother, my uncle, Jin Niao, and I know."

"Good. Then they are all people whom we can trust."

"To be honest, I do nott trust my uncle…"

"Why?"

"I keep getting the feeling that he has bad intentions. I do not posses any proof of my speculations, but I just know that he does not have good intentions. He actually left me to die when the enemy attacked, haha!"

"Where is he now?"

"Rosewood City."

"That is not too far away. Since you do not trust him, what do you plan on doing with him then?"

"I will find him and then I will kill him before he gets the chance to do any harm to any of you or me."

"Why would he cause harm to us?"

Tian Xin was shaking. She was truly frightened. She knew how powerful the Jin Clan was.

The fact that they might come after us really frightened her.

"… Because you were kind to me. I know that I am just a child, but I am not stupid. I know that I can stay hidden forever if I so wish, but I am not confident in bringing you with me."

"But how would he know that you have been here?"

Tian Mei was worried, but she decided not to say too much for the sake of not scaring her daughter.

"Sooner or later he will find out that I did not die. When he finds out, he will simply track me down. When he sees that my traces ends here, he will become suspicious. If he suspects that I am still in this village, then he might burn down the entire village in order to force me to come out."

"But why would he be so eager to kill you? Is he not your uncle? He might spare you… I mean, blood IS thicker than water, so--"

"As I have already mentioned, he and I are not related by blood, and even if we were, I still do not think he would spare me.

Besides, he has already exposed his evil intentions by leaving me to die back at the mansion, so now he is scared. He knows what that I am dangerous when angered, so he will hunt me down out of fear for his own life."

"That does make sense…"

"… Then why do you not kill him first?"

Tian Xin, who had been silent for quite a while, suddenly spoke.

"That is what I had planned. I want to get rid of him before he causes trouble. That is why I need to go to Rosewood City."

"But do you really have to kill him?"

Tian Xin was just like an innocent child. Of course, she would not wish for people to die.

"Yes."

"But why? Can you not make peace with each other? There is not really a need for blood to spill, right?"

"You do not understand the determination of someone who knows that he might die at any moment. If I do not kill him, he will never stop chasing me."

"But--"

"Either he dies, or I die! He and I can not live beneath the same sky! Besides… I tend to hold grudges!"