Demonic Seed 8

Ouyang Xueqing gasped. "Your face!" She ran her gaze on every inch of his skin. There was a large gash of wound spanning from his cheek to his jaw. His right eye was bruised and his robes was dirty, tattered and splashed with blood here and there. "Are you okay?" She asked worriedly.

He coughed softly. "Princess…"

"I heard that Ren Yupei is as strong as you when he got serious. What should we do?" She grew panicked as more wound was found on his body.

Even when smiling hurt like hell, An Zhengnan willingly lifted the corner of his lips and grinned. "I am okay," he comforted her.

Seeing her worried and anxious face up close, he felt a gush of warmth growing in his heart and the hellish pain he went through just now flew away in a blink of an eye. Even the headache he got from dealing with the aftermath seemed like nothing at all if he could get her to be more caring toward him.

"What's okay?!" She frowned. "Your face is the only good point about you! If it's scarred, you won't be able to get married!"

"…"

An Zhengnan's veins throbbed. The pink flower on the background wilted away instantly. Likewise, he felt like a bucket of cold water had just been thrown over his head.

He yanked her palm away and folded his arms. "This is nothing. Ren Yupei?" He snorted mockingly. "I can deal with him as easy as a snap of my finger!"

Unexpectedly, the knight that was standing a step behind him interrupted. "But Captain, we need two dose of the usual tranquilizer to make him faint. He was as strong as bull, you were almost killed, remember?"

"Shut up!" He roared. "No one will think you're mute if you don't speak! Go away!"

Ouyang Xueqing pursed her lips to hold her laugh. She patted his shoulder in a carefree manner. "I am joking. Don't be mad. Of course I'm worried about you."

He harrumphed and turned his head away. But not after a few seconds passed, he glanced at her sideways and scanned her from head to toe. "You're not hurt right?" His palm tightened when he saw the bluish mark around her neck.

Realizing his line of sight, she lifted her collar and beamed. "I'm okay. This will heal tomorrow. Is Ren Yupei okay?"

He answered lazily, "At least, he is alive."

She glared at his sloppy demeanor. She knew that he was trying his best not to injure Ren Yupei, especially because the man was sick with high fever. Moreover, dealing with a turning strong beast certainly drained all his strength.

To get out of it with only a few gashes and bruises could be considered amazing. He truly lived up to his title as the strongest knight in the mainland.

Ouyang Xueqing turned back and spotted Ling Xiaochen among the crowd. "Xiaochen!" She called out and walked toward her. "I forgot to ask, you're not hurt right?"

The girl had turned back to her human form. She quirked her eyebrows and joked. "Worried about me, eh?"

Ouyang Xueqing strolled away casually. If she could still tease her like this, then that meant she was okay. Ling Xiaochen stared at her retreating back then her gaze fell on An Zhengnan who was busy commanding his men.

As she rolled up her sleeves, there was a long stretch of wound that was started to heal. She had gotten it because she covered An Zhengnan's back from Ren Yupei's attack.

She thought that he would notice she had gotten injured. Or at least, he would asked whether she was fine after withstanding Ren Yupei's attack.

Alas…she sighed in forlorn.

Seemed like she had raised her hope again for naught.

It took almost an hour to compensate the inn, searched for a new place and settled down. By the time she went to bed, it was almost dawn. Ouyang Xueqing chose not to sleep at all as she inspected her belonging thoroughly including the small weapon she got from the warehouse she used to hide in, as well as the life-saving talismans and Meridian Protection Talisman.

She knew now that the talisman's effect couldn't last long because the ghost qi had already became the spring water for demonic seed to grow. But then, if she stuck it on herself before she ventured into Ghost Town, she could prevent ghost qi from affecting her.

Ouyang Xueqing lowered her gaze and stared at her hands. Her nails were neat but bloodied, it was Ren Yupei's blood. She had clawed him so strong that it tore his skin. After all the chaotic events, she had forgotten to wash it away. She clenched her fist as she took a deep breath for a few times to calm her anxious heart.

Nothing would happened. She would surely come back with victory and cured Ren Yupei!

She had to. This way, she could use her wish to go to human world to find Mo Yujian. That meant, she couldn't fail no matter what!

***

Early as the sunrise shone through the horizon, illuminating the cloud with bluish orange that reminded people with new hopes, there stood a team on the border of the town.

Ouyang Xueqing greeted the knights back with a nod as she inspected their faces one by one. They were Imperial Knights, so of course they had capabilities above average. "Please protect this town while we're gone," she asked.

They saluted respectfully. "Yes, Princess!"

An Zhengnan stepped forward, his face stern as he commanded. "Look out for the night. The ghost qi has thickened considerably, so it's not weird if that guy awaken again. You know what to do right?"

The knights: "Shot with three dose of tranquilizer!"

Ouyang Xueqing's mouth twitched. What have you teach your men, hey!

An Zhengnan nodded proudly. "Look out for yourself. It was weird that the guard standing outside his door went missing exactly as the chaos ensued in the room. Investigate it before I return. If you don't get anything…" He trailed off and grinned.

The knights simultaneously shivered and answered twice as loud. "Yes, Captain!"

Ouyang Xueqing glanced at him sideways, and for a moment, she thought that he was kinda cool. He could notice last night's miniscule anomalies which she had forgotten and didn't leave it hanging. Contrary to his appearance, he was truly sharp and witty.

As if sensing her gaze, he suddenly turned and their eyes met. He grinned widely. "How is it? I'm cool, right?"

Ouyang Xueqing rolled her eyes and pulled out her tongue as if she wanted to puke.

"You little!" He gritted his teeth and harrumphed. "Stay close to me and Miss Ling, okay? I don't want extra burden in this trip."

She smoothed down her expression and nodded solemnly. "I won't." Then, she took out a roll of talisman from her sleeves and handed it to them. "Here, put it on yourself, don't let it off ah!"

Ling Xiaochen sneered jestingly and tucked two talisman inside her robes. "I should return it back to you, Princess. Remember who always have a bad luck?"

Ouyang Xueqing pouted grumpily, yet she couldn��t said anything to refute. "I have thought about it, don't worry, I have much more in my possession so that I won't run out of it."

They armed themselves fully, especially Ouyang Xueqing who carried a small and sharp dagger in case of emergency because she didn't possess the full strength of a beast like Ling Xiaochen and An Zhengnan. 

Ouyang Xueqing: "Ready?"

They nodded.

She took a deep breath to steel herself. This was her first task ever, and the level of difficulty was considered high and dangerous. She couldn't help but get nervous. Suddenly, she felt warmth on both of her hands.

She blinked rapidly, on her right, An Zhengnan was holding her hand and snorted. "Don't be a coward, okay?" On her left, Ling Xiaochen swung their hands and pumped her fist while her eyes danced with excitement. "We can do it!"

Ouyang Xueqing was slightly stunned. The next moment, her lips lifted into a bright smile and she straightened her back. Staring at the desolate and dark town in front, her eyes were filled with conviction and determination. "En, we can do it!" Together, they stepped through the border of the town with the cries of well wishes from the knights behind them.