CHAPTER EIGHT

The ride to Qingcheng had become awkward and filled with silence. After their kiss, the two males had gotten back on the horse and never spoke of it again and that made Zixin sad.

Was Jian Qiang regretting the kiss? If not then why hasn't he spoken of it.

On the other hand, Jian Ji was fighting with his mind, Zixin had dominated the kiss, could it be that their roles had switched?

"Brother Ji Ji....you can stop the horse now" Zixin whispered.

Jian Ji looked around and they were in the deep forest.

"Why?" He asks. Zixin hopped off the horse with his satchel and sword.

"I think it's best we part ways here"

"What? Why?"

At this point, tears were stinging Zixin's eyes making them red.

"You can't look at me and can't even speak to me, you clearly regret that kiss" he says making Jian Ji frown.

"What? So it's because of that you want to leave?" He asks perplexed that Zixin would even be like this.

"Yes! How do you think it makes me feel when i open my eyes to see you waiting on the horse huh? You couldn't even lie and say it was amazing"

This was ridiculous, he hopped off the horse and held Zixin by the shoulders, their lips connected again, he pulled away and looked him in the eyes.

"The kiss was great, a real eye opener"

A slap echoed in the forest and before Jian Ji could even say anything, Zixin spoke up with a trembling voice.

"You don't play with people's feelings just because your are insecure about your own!" Zixin says, his eyes had glassed over with unshed tears.

Before Jian Ji could respond, Zixin turned around and ran into the forest.

"Wei Zixin! Wait!" Jian Ji called out holding his stinging cheek.

Zixin ran deeper and deeper into the forest, his mind racing with unrealistic expectations, he had expected Jian Ji to apologize for being cold not treat his feelings like that.

He stopped. Feelings? Did he already have feelings for Jian Ji?

Jian Ji used a light talisman to light up the path, he couldn't see or hear Zixin anymore, it was like he had disappeared into thin air.

"Zixin?" He called out but got no response.

"Where could he be?" He asked himself.

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Zixin found himself at an abandoned cove, the lake water had turned a murky black and the trees dripped with black sap staining the soil.

"What happened here?" He says to himself before walking further into the small cove premises.

He opened the doors and his face turned grim when he saw the remains of a man kneeling down before a statue, it was the statue of the God of fertility.

He closed the doors and shook his head with sadness.

"That man must have died praying for a child, he must have been desperate to do that until he died"

He walked towards the pier, the wooden floors had gotten old because it creaked with each step he took.

The scent of rotting fish filled his nostrils making him cover half of his face with the sleeve of his robe. He looked into the dark water and shuddered.

The fish were boiled alive and if he were to speculate, he thinks the lake had became a large pot of boiling water cooking everything inside it.

Something flashed inside the water catching his attention, he drew his sword and stabbed the body of water, as he pulled ot out he noticed the metal was rusting making him frown.

"Toxin? Who poured such a dangerous thing in this water?"

"Wei Zixin Dian...."

He looked up and saw no one around, who called him then?

"Wei Zixin my dear"

It was a female voice, he was sure of it.

"Who are you?" He called out and received a giggle in response.

An evil seeking talisman was flicked into the air and it was engulfed in flames in two seconds, he gasped.

"This whole place is evil"

He started to run, behind him the wooden floor of the pier collapsed into the lake, the wind rattled the trees vigorously, the sky got darker and darker.

Zixin started to feel scared, his heart pounded on his chest as he couldn't see the way back to the forest.

He was starting to lose hope when he heard a distant voice call out to him.

"Zixin!"

He opened his eyes.

"Jian Ji! Over here!"

"Stay right there I'm coming!"

He took deep breaths to avoid panicking, this was something he wasn't used to, he is not a cultivator so such things were new to him.

"There you are"

He sighed in relief when he felt a strong hand on his shoulder, a light talisman was lit up and what he saw was something he didn't expect to see, a rotting corpse smiling at him.

"Ahhh!"

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Crows flew away feeling startled by a scream that echoed through the dark forest. A pain panged in Jian Ji's heart as he heard Zixin scream in fear.

This was all his fault, why didn't he acknowledge Zixin's feelings back then? Why? A tear dared to escape the corner of his eye and it was granted permission.

"Zixin?!" He called out walking further into the forest but he still couldn't find him.

The further into the forest he went, the darker it became, could it be that he was getting nearer or further away from Zixin?

"Zixin?!" He called out once more.

His lips trembled with the thought of Zixin losing his life, it would be his fault but mostly importantly, he would miss him, he wants to explore this new found relationship between them, he wants to know Zixin more.

"Help!" A voice called out in panic.

With swift movement, he drew his sword and charged towards the direction of the voice.

He froze when he saw Zixin being pulled towards a lake by walking corpses.

"Zixin don't worry, I'm here!" He says before summoning his Zheng.

The mystical instrument was placed vertically on the ground before it's cords were plucked releasing blue beams of energy destroying the walking corpses setting Zixin free.

"Ji Ji " Zixin cried out before running towards him. A smile was plastered on Jian Ji's face as he opened his arms for Zixin to fall into.

But what happened next, took both males by surprise. Zixin was pulled back into the lake by a large green snake.

Jian Ji froze in shock as Zixin's cries for him filled his ears. He called out to him in panic,

"ZIXIN!!"