Chapter Two
"Did you see the demoness that haunts the highest floor of the Golden Lion tower?" The noble man snorts, "What demoness? What nonsense are you sprouting now?" His friend insists, "I am not kidding with you! It is said that a demoness lives on the very top floor of the Golden Lion! They say the reason she lives there is because she is fed the sickly who will not be able to survive their injuries or illnesses.
And in return she gives the owner of the Golden Lion eternal life!" The noble man scowls, "Are you an idiot?! Still believing in fairy tales? Get out of my way! My father is about to beat me because you have delayed me with your ridiculous stories!" His friend chases after him complaining, "Its true though!! Hey! Li San! Wait for me!!"
A man sitting on the second floor of the Golden Lion tower laughs under his breath elegantly as his man servants serve him tea. "Humans believe the most ridiculous things these days." "My lord, it is almost pass noon." Ming An looks at the sky carelessly, "Ah? Already? So soon." He stood while the servants lower their heads as he walks pass them towards the stairs.
And he kept walking. Up and up and up and up. Till he reached the very top floor. Ironically, the top floor, was the darkest floor. At the very top a isolated room with iron doors as large as pillars were closed tight. His fan snaps close, his smile was beautiful but also terrifying as he stares at the doors. The iron doors as if on cue slowly swing open shaking the whole tower. In the crack between the huge iron doors a shadow that blends into the darkness of the room stood both hands on the doors.
The blue skinned demon with navy colored hair let their arms drop once the door was opened large enough for the man to enter. Ming An's eyes finally restore their amusement and loses the sharpness. "So you have not yet lost your mind. How reassuring." He strolls towards it and tilts its head up to reveal vibrant sad amber eyes. The woman, if her skin was not a strange blue and her hands were not covered in a handful of scales like a reptile.
Would of been a beauty. But her looks were ruined by the strange coloration of her skin and the physical oddities she posses. If her looks weren't enough, the black horns protruding from her head clearly marked her as a demon. One of them broken and never regrew. They were the color of onyx. Ming An lifts from his shirt a piece of horn similar to the one still intact on her head. He tsks, while tapping her cheek with it, on his face a tiny bit of disappointment shows as he examines the demoness's horn once more.
"And to think, I had thought I would be able to use this today." Qurin smiles lightly though her eyes do not change the emotion deep down. "Apologies." He scrutinizes her facial expressions and turns her head left and right. "Still able to show emotion and control your strength to some degree. Your eyes have yet to lose their amber color." Releasing her face, Qurin raises her hand for him to examine as if already use to this routine making him grin.
"What a good demon you are. Trained so properly." Qurin kept her smile even as he slowly uses her broken horn to rip a black scale from her hand. The place where he dug out the scale excretes blue blood showing no signs of recovery. Qurin was use to this as well, demons could not recover when injured by their own kind. Or more precisely, by demon horn/scales. Demon keratan/bones.
Although demons could be killed using cultivation weapons it took a long time before a group of cultivators would be able to slice up a demon enough to slow its healing enough to kill it. That is why demon products are highly sought after, even more so than cultivator items. Ming An examines her scale closely as if checking its quality. "I need some of your scales for a certain project of mine."
She again smiles mirthlessly guessing what the project was for. "Ok." Raising her hand her black nails grew long and sharp. Are you really doing this? Let me do it for you. "No, if you can do it, I can do it." Ming An watches her as Qurin places her claw where her scales begin. He doesn't react when the demoness casually slides her sharp claws the opposite direction in which the scales lined. Qurin winces a tad bit, even under Ming An's sharp gaze she couldn't completely pretend it did not hurt. "*Tink! *Tink! *Tink! *TinkTinkTink!*"
Qurin, how much pain are you willing to endure just to stay by his side? The sound of hard as marble scales drop to the floor like rain. Qurin doesn't wipe the blood that pours from her mutilated arm into a pool at her bare feet. Nor does she wipe the blood which drips from her amber eyes as she smiles at Ming An. Qurin.... "Is that all?" Ming An's smile had long left his face as he only continued to stare at the demoness with a stone like expression.
When he does speak his voice was full of displeasure. "Do you expect me to pick them up?" You!! But Qurin laughs softly, "I suppose not, my lord." Bending down with her uninjured arm she starts picking up her scales one by one. Her useless arm swung pitifully from her shoulder completely unusable currently. After picking them up she holds them out to him like an offering while smiling humorlessly. He holds out his palm as she drops the handful of scales in it. His eyes were cold and unsympathetic to the demoness.
"I change my mind. I think you have indeed lost your mind." Qurin softly laughs, his fingers curl around the scales in his hand and tighten till the whites show in his sleeve. "As you wish." He spares her mutilated arm one more look before turning around with the scales in his hands. Qurin watches Ming An leave without a word. She takes a single look at the dawn for only a fleeting moment. Then the Golden Lion tower groans and moans once more as the iron doors slowly swing close leaving a pool of smeared blue blood in its trail.
Ming An grabs his handkerchief and wipes his hands of the blood before folding the black scales inside it. Tossing it to his attendant he snaps his fan open and strolls away with his other hand behind his back. "Send them to the blacksmith to be turned into a dagger. He already has the blueprints." The attendant bows low, "Yes my lord." He opens the handkerchief and was surprised to see red blood mixed with the blue. He was hesitant, Was my lord injured by her ladyship? There was no way. Remembering the gentle eyes that show a hundred stories of sorrow and a kind voice he shook his head. No, her ladyship is not so weak as to succumb to the demon call like his lord expect.
Qurin sat in darkness where only her amber eyes glow in the windowless room. "To see him is already a blessing." You are more silly than I imagined, Qurin. She closes her eyes and took solace in the silence. "Perhaps." Ming An plays with the broken horn in his hands while thoughtlessly walking. How has it not lost its mind yet? He did not understand. She was his longest lasting subject. A mere noble lady outlasted men who screamed and begged him to end their life after only taking a single drop of Blue Fire poison.
"What an interesting subject indeed." He places the horn back into his inner pocket and begins strolling towards Zhu Rong's estate. She is not the only interesting thing that has popped up recently though.
~
"Lord Ming An, it is a pleasure to see you again." The woman with pale skin like the moon and lips as red as blood smiles at him warmly. Her eyes like that of ice sapphires show friendliness and kinship towards him. The woman's hair was as black as ink and although long she had it styled like a man's as she held a pot of medical herbs in her arms while greeting him. Her delicate brows were lined with sweat while she bravely show off her arms since her sleeves were pulled up to her elbows.
The maid servants seeing him enter unannounced panic and move to take the pot in her arms away. "Lady Yue!" They hurry to cover her skin while Ming An continues to fan himself with a amused smile. "Lady Yue is as manly as ever." She looks down at her dirt covered clothes and blushes with embarrassment. "I've shown you an unpleasant scene." He waves his fan, "No matter, this lord saw nothing." She blushes even more red before bravely inviting him to the pavilion. Her smile refreshing and lovely was directed at him.
"If Lord Ming An has time to spare, this humble one has had the maid servants prepare some tea made from jasmine flowers I have dried myself the day before." Oh ho? How bold. "Where is Zhu Rong?" He asks making her embarrassed and scratch her pink cheek awkwardly. "Ah, of course you do not have time to spare. The wangye left to do some errands and will not be back until later on." When she shows such a pitifully awkward expression he did not understand why but some part of him felt bad. So without thinking he replies with a gentle smile.
"Since Zhu Rong will be back soon I will wait and have tea with Miss Yue in the mean time. Please feel free to also drop honorifics with this commoner as well, Lady Yue. I am not worthy to be called a lord by someone of your prestige." Her eye brighten as she claps her hands with delight innocently, making his expression unconsciously soften. He pretends not to see a maid servant sneak off when he declares he was going to stay for tea.
"Yue'er will not disappoint Ming An!!" As the girl hurries to go get changed Ming An is escorted to the pavilion where the maids sneak looks at his handsome visage. When Lady Yue comes back she was dressed in more presentable clothes. For some reason unknown once more there was a strange thumb in his chest as the beautiful woman smiles at him with clear joy on her face. The man watches with surprise as she begins to brew the tea personally. "You know how to brew tea?" She shyly ducks her head when he asks this. "Asking Ming An to not laugh at me for this.
But since young, making and brewing tea has always been an interest of mine. This humble one use to serve tea on the daily for my grandfather.." Her eyes show sadness reminding him of a certain pair of amber eyes. Suddenly his sense were restored and he frowns as if recovering himself. What am I doing? "I see." His smile is recovered as he shows sympathy for her situation.
"Lady Yue must miss her family dearly, this lord apologizes for bringing sorrow to Lady Yue." She brings her sleeve up to wipe her slightly red eyes. "No, it is my fault for once more showing you such an unsightly scene." "Who made you cry?" Ming An snaps his fan open as he smiles apologetically at Zhu Rong who angrily enters the pavilion. He glares at the leisurely Ming An. Lady Yue seemed startled and saw Zhu Rong had the wrong idea.
"Wangye, it is not Ming An's fault!" Zhu Rong instead of being reassured narrows his eyes at her familiar use of his name. "Ming An?" Lady Yue's eyes widen in shock as she notices her mistake. Ming An butts in seeing as Zhu Rong looked about ready to blame Lady Yue for the situation. "Zhu Rong, dont blame an innocent. It was I who told her to call me without honorifics. I had thought to share a cup of tea with Lady Yue and have a chat about medicines with her. But when brewing tea Miss Yue recalled her home town and grew sad." Zhu Rong heard this and his eyes show concern as he holds her shoulders gently tilting her face up. Her eyes begin to drip tear drops almost at the perfect time making everyone's heart ache.
"Yue'er...." He wipes her tears calling her name intimately which she doesn't stop him from doing. The woman only lowers her head as if guilty for missing her home town in the presence of Zhu Rong. Ming An's eyes narrow at the couple as he fans himself, he knew he should of felt irritation. But instead he only thought this overly sweet scene was not his taste.
"Zhu Rong, I only came to inform you what you ordered will be ready by next week." Zhu Rong although worried about the sad Lady Yue in his arms turns to him with confusion. "You obtained them so quick?" Ming An smiles mischievously, "I too have my own resources, Zhu Rong." He politely gave them smiles as farewell. "Till next time, Lady Yue." Lady Yue calls out anxiously as he turned to leave.
"Lord Ming An!" He pauses and turns to respond patiently, "Yes? Does Miss Yue have something to say?" She blushes and bows slightly, much to everyone in the courtyard's distress. "The next time Lord Ming An visits, please allow me to brew tea for you to make up for today." He smiles gently back at her making the woman turn bashful again. "It would be an honor." She looked disappointed and a tiny but sad to see him leave.
But in Ming An's mind, she couldn't compare to the permanently sorrowful expression of the demoness at the top of his Golden Lion tower. His smile becomes full of humor as the gentle look in his eyes become sharp. "If you are sad, at least properly play the part. Tut, what a jinx."
With the fog in his mind cleared, his soul was cleaned of the dangerous seeds that woman tried to secretly plant in his heart. He happily hums to himself while twirling the broken black horn in his hand. The next week a box was sent to him the day before the banquet. Opening the box he inspects the black dagger shaped to perfectly fit a woman's hands. On the flat side of the blade was engraved its name, Hēi liánhuā, Black Lotus.
Its edge was sharpened so well he could cut his finger even hovering near the blade. He tried picturing the woman the dagger was meant for holding the blade and chuckles. "Had Zhu Rong lost his mind? What would an woman who studies medicine know about using a dagger?" Still he sheaths the dagger carefully and hands it to his attendant. "Wrap it in the best silk, pay the blacksmith very well." This meant Ming An was satisfied with the result so his servants were relieved.
"Yes my lord." He looks up at the sky, "Is it almost dawn already?" "Yes, my lord." They all move aside to let the man walk towards the staircase like he did the day before. "Do you think Lord Ming An is going to check if the corpse turned into ash yet?" An older attendant glares at him and anxiously smacks the younger inexperienced servant over the head. He snuck a look to make sure Ming An was gone before breathing a sigh of relief.
He scowls, "You fool! Don't you know never to pry into your master's private matters?!" The younger attendant grumbles arrogantly, "Its just a demon, so what if we talk about its corpse? Where else would Lord Ming An get demon scales? He most likely slaughtered that demon because it went crazy and harvested its scales already." The older attendant held his chest feeling faint, the middle aged ones worriedly hold him up.
"Manager Su!" Manager Su gasps for breath and points at the arrogant servant boy completely red in the face. "You-You! Insolent bastard!!" He roars as the boy runs away fearfully while the other attendants hold the old man back from beating the boy. "Manager Su! Calm down!" "Manager Su!! Please control yourself!" "Manager Su!!!" Ming An tsks hearing a commotion three floors below him.
Would he have to teach his servants a lesson again in manners? Making a plan for it on a later date, he focuses on reaching the iron doors ontop of the Golden Lion. At the very top of the tower a dark figure that doesn't blend in perfect with the rest of the darkness surrounding it slightly moves. It heard the sounds of approaching feet even through a whole foot of solid stone and metal.
Qurin opens her eyes after the foot steps reach the floor of where she stayed. You're not in control yet. A few more seconds Qurin. She closes her eyes again to meditate the fire inside her body that continued burning even after the months she had it. Only after it calms and she could sense the man's ire did she slowly get to her feet. Ming An's smile was stiff and annoyed when even as he arrives on the top floor. The doors had yet to open for him.
Just as he was about to call for his men the tower shook and groans. The iron door, the right one, swings open slowly but surely to reveal the same figure as before. But this time her arm that had been mauled the day before was gone. His brow twitches seeing her empty left sleeve as it sways with the wind. "Its taking you longer each day to open up the door for me. Have you lost your mind yet?"
He didn't step forward waiting for her to look up and answer. The demoness's lips pull up into her signature smile. "It as you wish it to be." Her eyes still glow the same amber color they did when he first met her. He steps forward and she doesn't stop him from once more examining her eyes and scales. "Theres barely any change, except your pupils seem to dilate faster than before. Your scales grew by half an inch too."
He taps her horn marking the changes in his mind, "It seems your horns have no change though. Still in the mid stages. Perhaps your horns indicate the speed in which you lose your mind?" Qurin chuckles, "Perhaps." When peering into her eyes he suddenly felt an annoying itch in his chest. It didn't make his heart thump but for reasons unknown, looking at her irritated him right now.
"What did you do to your arm?" Qurin smiles patiently, "It was not listening to me." He finally frowns, "What did you do?" Qurin only smiles at him in response so he does the same but his was filled with a dangerous aura. "Bring it to me." She again laughs, "I cant." His eyes flash, "Why?" Her smile was beautiful but the look in her eyes didn't match the beautiful smiling demoness. "I tore it into tiny pieces."
He studies her face when she reports this in an very casual manner. Like it was just a joke. Although his mind took a more surprising blow than he thought he would when the woman begins losing her mind. On the outside he was calm and calculative. "So in the end you only last this long huh?" Qurin's lip curls into a half smile, "I suppose so."
He reaches into his sleeve to bring out her broken off horn. When she sees it her eyes faintly gleam red until she blinks it away looking back at him with her annoying insincere expression. He doesn't flinch when raising the horn above the woman's chest allowing her own horn to dig into her skin. She allows him to do this without putting up a fight. He felt her skin give a little as he presses it deeper into her chest.
He felt something cold and wet sprout from the place where he pressed the horn into her skin. And as soon as he makes contact with her blood he jerks back feeling oddly disturbed. Ming An frowns at his hand that was faintly smeared with demon blood. Qurin looks down at the horn left in her chest and pulls it out. Slowly with horn in hand she steps towards him, the light red gleam in her eyes much more present.
Ming An knew he should stab her right now. Before she gets closer. Before she could reach him. Her amber eyes were not as clear as yesterday. Today they looked to be glazed with a shade of red. Kill her. The woman was within a foot now and her right arm slightly raises towards him. Kill it. Ming An's hands finally move but not before a single cold hand grasps his that was covered in demon blood. Her voice was light and forgiving, gentle and calm. She wipes the blood from him and cleans her broken horn.
"You forgot this, you should aim for the neck instead. Its easier to snap and takes longer for me to regenerate from." Her eyes curl into crescents and her smile was directed at the cold faced Ming An who could only stare at the one armed demoness who steps back after handing him back the most dangerous weapon against demons like herself.
Her only weakness. His gaze was sharp and dangerous, but Qurin only smiles before walking back towards her isolation. "I will see you tomorrow, my lord." Ming An was still only watching the woman retreat back into her dark cage. Her smile never faltering, not even for a second.