Episode Thirty Two

    The fog got extremely thick, and the wind howled spookily. Making the highlands look like somewhere, where evil comes to reside.

Kai nervously looks around, as he tries not to shield himself behind Taio's back. The only thing that could be heard or seen was the creepy whistling of the wind and the splish, splash now and then of something breaking against the surface and diving under again. And also, some weird looking shadows. Maybe from trees and other stuff rustling about.

Kai's teeth sank into his bottom lip as he felt the strange feeling again. His palms suddenly became sweaty, and his body shook from unknown fright.

   "Kai, are you ok?" Taio whispers to him, when he sees how pale and sweat covered Kai is getting.

Kai nodded his head, too afraid to even open his mouth to respond. Taio smiles at him, still not convinced. But he doesn't want to pressure Kai into talking, maybe he was just scared because this was his first mission. Because he too was scared, and this uneasy queasy feeling he is getting doesn't make the situation any better.

    Halfway up the highlands, and the group hasn't seen any signs of the missing cultivators. When Kai saw a dark shape dashed across the foot trail, right beside the one they are currently on. Making him gasp in fright, alerting the entire group.

   "Everyone, don't make any sudden move-" 

   "Are you ok Kai!" Taio shouted, making Chen Liang cringe after being interrupted.

    "I told you, no sudden moves!" Chen Liang shouted out of frustration, which woke up the entire highlands. "Everyone, armor up. Liang instructed, as he pulled out his own sword.

Everyone did as they were told, except Kai who doesn't have a sword or any form of weapon yet.

   "Behind me." Taio and Qing yuan said to Kai at the same time. They look at each other, Qing yuan with an annoyed scowl and Taio with an embarrassed frown.

   "Kai, stay behind me." Qing yuan pulled a stunned Kai behind him, as he gave Taio a once over before pulling out his sword and turned to face the direction they had walked from.

A few seconds passed, and the mountains had gotten silent again. But the feeling of them being watched, still lingers in the air. Kai anxiously stood his ground behind Qing yuan, the rapid thudding of his heartbeat loud in his ear. He is scared beyond belief, and really wished that he was at home with his family, instead of being out here. The safest thing he was glad for, was that he was in the middle of the group. With everyone forming a barrier around him, because they are on the lookout in every possible direction to avoid being ambushed.

The wind suddenly picked up, and held his breath when he heard something shuffling through the bushes. His eyes involuntarily followed the direction of the sound, and he came eye to eye with red glowing ones. His hand shakes as he slowly lifts it to touch Qing yuan's back, ensuring that his eyes never leave the glowing ones.

   "Yes, what is it?" Qing yuan whispered, but got a response from Kai. "Kai?" He called his name.

    "L-l-look." Kai shakily said. Making Qing yuan turn to the side and glance at him, his eyes following where Kai is looking, before his face morphed in alarm and he gave out a warning shout.

   "Look out!" He shouted, as the creature leaped out of the bushes towards them.

Qing yuan pushed Kai out of the way, as he slash the thing with his sword.

   "W-what is that?" Kai asks, scared out of his mind. As he could now see the creature, which had two feet, four arms, a dismantled face and two horns on each side of his head. The ripples in its face look like cracks in a volcano and you can see the lava through them. And it was also black, and looked to have soot all over its body.

    "It is a fire demon." Li Jie answered his wondering question. As he grabbed Kai's hand and led him to safety under a tightly two centimeters cave, and stood at the entrance with his sword out.

Kai watched as the demon used his powerful arms and hit the disciples to the ground. Something tightening in his chest, when he saw all that happening, but knew that he couldn't not help because he was trained. His fingernails dug deep into his palms, and a small whimper left his lips after he saw Qing yuan charged at the demon. Water is emitting from the blade of his sword, only to be swat away like a fly to the edge of one of the mountains they are on. And the demon advanced towards him

   "Qing yuan!" Kai cried.

   "Kai, no!" Li Jie called out to him, but it was too late. Because Kai already ran out, attracting the demon to him.

With determination rushing throughout his veins, Kai ran in the direction of the demon, as it did the same. Everyone watched on with different emotions, wondering what is about to happen. Qing yuan tried to get up, but part of his robe is caught on a pointy rock. That is becoming loose every time he pull on his rob, so the only thing he could do now is to look on in horror, and hope that Kai knows what he is doing.

In Kai's mind, he is screaming no. Trying to will his body to stop, but it wasn't working. It's like his body had somehow gotten a mind of its own, and started to move on auto pilot. After seeing all the disciples suddenly started to be overpowered by the fire demon, something just set a blaze in the deepest core of his body. And before he knew it, he had run passed Li Jie. Adrenaline rushed through his body, and he locked the demon in his line of vision. Skidding to a stop, waiting for it to come to him. Which it did. 'Well, I guess that it isn't so smart afterrall.' Kai had thought, when he saw the demon coming at full force. It's sharp claws extend, as it jumped in the air. It's shadow looming over Kai, as it come down over him. But in a swift motion, Kai dodge to the side and did a side kick. Hitting it in its side. The demon made an angry growl, before it breath fire from it's mouth at Kai. But he quickly did a backflip, and two front flips to avoid the oncoming fire.  Kai saw what he was doing as an opportunity to get the demon tired, which worked for the first few minutes. But it wasn't as dumb as Kai thought. Because it made Kai thought that it was running out of energy, before it out of nowhere. Flew up in the air in a ball of fire and then regaining its form as it's right foot slammed into face jaw, twisting his head sideways.

Qing yuan gasped in terror, and tried to pull his robe loose. But part of the mountain side he is on, broke away. And now he is half hanging over it. He looked to the others for help, but they were either unconscious, or too sore to move. The only person that was standing was Li Jie, and Qing yuan stared over at him with pleading eyes. Li Jie got what he was saying, and ran up behind the demon, jabbing it with his sword. The fire demon growls in pain, as it spins around and uses his hand slapping Li Jie into Qing yuan, knocking him over the edge. Li Jie eyes widened in shock, as he quickly used his wind powers to grab ahold of him before he could hit the ground below.

Kai spit out the blood that gathered in his mouth, and steady his balance. But didn't have time to recover as the demon slash his abdomen with it claws. Kai stifle a cried, as he hold his stomach in pain.

Qing yuan flaps around in the air like a headless bird, trying to get Li Jie to put him down but he would.

    "What are you doing?!" He shouted down to Li Jie.

   "He needs to learn." Was his response.

   "He isn't trained yet. And who gave you the authorization to make that kind of decision?" Qing yuan was getting angier by the minute as he watched the demons tossed around Kai.

   "He is a Prospector in training from the Dragon Kingdom, so I have all right to make that decision." Li Jie spat back.

   "No! You just want to see him hurt! You are still angry just because you still believe that he has done something to your sister!" Qing yuan angrily yelled.

   "That's not true!" Li Jie yelled back, putting down his hand in spite of rage, and Qing yuan fell from where he was floating. But manage to levitate himself in the last minute, but he hit his foot on loose piece of sharp rock. Making him slumped against the mountain side in pain. "Shui, I am sorry. Are you okay?" Li Jie ask in concern.

   "Yes, don't worry about me. Just help Kai!" He yelled back up. 

Li Jie nodded, and scooted back from the edge, searching around for his sword.

Kai crawled away, trying to get out of the reach of the fire demon. But his body is already giving up the fight. 

     "Kai, do a right foot sweep!" Li Jie yell, when he saw an opportunity for Kai to knock the demon off his feet.

  "A what?" Kai barely could answer, as his body protested against the pain.

  "A right fo-you know what. Over here you ugly thing!" Li Jie yelled in the direction of the demon, he even threw some pebbles, but the evil thing only had eyes for Kai. "I got to get him away." Li Jie mumbled. He tried his luck one more time, but the evil thing only had eyes for Kai. "Gghahh, come on. Get away from him!" He generated lightning, and threw it at the creature's head. But it came to him like nothing, it just shook his head and grabbed Kai's feet and bent them under. And Li Jie could have sworn that he heard something crack. 

   Meanwhile, Qing yuan is healing his foot, he grit his teeth in annoyance, as it took too long for his liking.

Kai breathing became laboured, and his feet burned from unbearable pain. Tears filled his eyes, and he sent a series of imaginary goodbyes to his family. He closed his eyes, with his last thing being Li Jie telling him not to give up. But he did the opposite, he  gave up to the fire demon.

    "Wang Lei." He heard someone calling, but he ignored it as he submerged more into the darkness. "Kai!" The voice yelled this time, making him look up and into eyes that mirror his.

   "W-wh-o are you?" He asks, as the sense of familiarity washed over him.

 "Nevermind that my brave warrior." The woman who the eyes belong to said to him in a sweet voice. "You need to go back, you can't give up. If you do, Fong Woo wins and all the hard work the master Prospector did will just go down in vain.

   "M-my f-father's…. brother." Kai mumbled the last part. The feeling just didn't sit well with him addressing someone else as his father. And the mysterious woman looks like she understands, for she knelt down to face him and said to him.

    "It doesn't matter what you think right now. But your fellow disciples are counting on you. You need to reach within, and unleash your true power. You need to reach in." Her voice got more frantic. "It's killing you Wang Lei, you need to reach within!" Her voice echoes as she pushes Kai into a bright light, and his eyes snap open as he gasps.

  He gritted his teeth when he felt a sharp pain take down his back, making him swing his fingernails into the ground. The pain went deeper, as he started to get angier. As he felt something pushed from way down inside his core

Li Jie sighs in relief when he sees Kai's eyes snap open. But all the relief went into amazement, when he saw Kai burst from under the demon with a mixture of white and light blue light around him. Sending the fire demon flying forward, landing him on his back. Kai walked up to it, and grab it by the throat with one hand. Lifting it high in the air, as he raised his other hand. Which sparkled with pure white energy, which he use to do an open hand strike against the chest of the fire demon. Making it obsorbe into it's body, and his body started to crack until it crumbles to the ground. 

Kai turned to the edge of the clift, where his eyes met an astonished looking Qing yuan. Who had climb his way up, but stopped when he saw the beauty surrounding Kai. It was a series of different colors, but what stood out more was his spirit animal, or the Prospector's aura as it is known. It was a Dragon intertwined with a Phenix, and aura around it was a series of orange-red and blue fire. With the Dragon being blue, and the Phenix being orange.

   "Beautiful." Qing yuan muttered, as he look at Kai with a smile. But it suddenly faded when he saw Kai fell to the ground unconscious.