The Crimson Serpent

ZHAN WEI STOOD in the center of the training courtyard. His eyes were sharp and his movements precise as he demonstrated his techniques to a group of disciples. The sun beat down on the stone courtyard, casting sharp shadows across the ground. Zhan Sheng was a mess when he approached his father, his mode sour and bristling with anger.

Zhan Wei lifted a brow and scented the air, his eyes narrowed at him but he didn't comment on the fact that Lei Bo's omega scent clung to his robes. Another man was standing beside him, upright and stoic, he wore a black general uniform and he was facing the group of disciples. Zhan Wei smiled warmly and gestured for Mao Xia to come forward.

"Mao Xia, I'd like you to meet my son Zhan Sheng," Zhan Wei said, motioning to a tall, muscular man standing nearby.

Mao Xia saluted him with a fist-hand gesture. "The honor is mine."

Zhan Sheng regarded Mao Xia with interest. Mao Xia was large and slender, with a shock of black hair that fell in waves around his face. His eyes were bright and alert, scanning the courtyard for any potential threats. He wore a simple black robe, but it was evident from the way that he carried himself that he was a skilled warrior. Upon closer inspection, Zhan Sheng couldn't help but be struck by his beauty. He moved like a dancer, his steps light and graceful. His skin was smooth and unblemished, like a porcelain doll. But his was also a fierceness in his gaze that suggested He was not to be underestimated. The beta's scent wasn't at all threatening, like the sweet and floral scent of lotus. It reminded him of distant farmlands, and an overwhelming sense of purity and enlightenment engulfed him. This man would serve him well.

He's like a bird of prey. Zhan Sheng thought to himself, admiring his delicate but deadly form.

"Where are you from?" Zhan Sheng asked.

Mao Xia looked startled. "This servant does not know where his family originally is from, I've lived in the Emperor's Shadow Guard my whole life, but I'm happy to be employed here."

The Emperor often employed guards that were raised from birth to watch over the empire, they were commonly known as Shadow Guards, but the Emperor's group of elite soldiers were specifically from the Moonlit Guards, a sect of well-trained assassins that remain only loyal to the emperor.

After a few more words were exchanged, Zhan Sheng knew that Mao Xia was the perfect choice for his shadow guard. He was quick, agile, and incredibly skilled with a blade. But this was something else about his that Zhan Sheng couldn't quite put his finger on. It was like there was a hidden depth to him, a quiet strength that lurked beneath his surface.

Mao Xia bid them both goodbye and Zhan Wei turned to him. "What's got your mood all twisted up? Is it Lei Bo?"

Zhan Sheng gritted his teeth. He knew his father didn't want him to be with Lei Bo, but Zhan Sheng didn't want anyone else. "He rejected me."

"Oh." Zhan Wei didn't seem all that interested, almost like he expected it.

Zhan Sheng turned to look at his father. "You knew he would?"

Zhan Wei doesn't respond immediately, but Zhan Sheng could tell that his father knew Lei Bo would've never agreed to marry him, hence why he didn't do more to stop him from getting attached. "Omegas are often fickle. Turn it from your thoughts. There will be others."

"I don't want others."

"So, you're determined to force him?"

Zhan Sheng's anger erupted like a volcano, sudden and violent. "Is that what you both think of me? That I would dare hurt him just to get what I want? That I'd attack the person I love just because he denied me?" Rage sparked inside his core like a match, a familiar black aura threatened to swallow him whole. Zhan Sheng's body trembled as the devil's blood threatened to take control, but he fought against it with all his strength.

"What's wrong?" Zhan Wei looked alarmed, he grabbed Zhan Sheng's wrist, helping him circulate his qi. "Breathe. Don't let it overtake you."

Zhan Sheng's eyes slipped close, he circulated his tumultuous qi, trying to wrangle to darkness back in. It took several deep breaths to return to normal and his body finally stabilized.

"When did this start happening again?" Zhan Wei demanded.

"Today—I—I don't understand what's happening." It was the second time today his body went ballistic like that. This hasn't happened since he was young.

"Have you imprinted on Lei Bo?" Zhan Wei's mouth drew into a hard line.

Good question. Zhan Sheng wasn't sure how to answer that. Lei Bo had been gone for ten years, and he never thought he'd have such a visceral reaction to the omega coming back, but he felt like his feelings for Lei Bo were unlike those he's ever had in his entire life. He wanted to process him in the worst way possible and felt like he'd die if he didn't. If Lei Bo ever left him, Zhan Sheng knew he'd follow him to the ends of the earth.

"I don't know…"

"You mustn't there are things about Lei Bo…" Zhan Wei regarded him for several moments, then sighed through his nose. "Come with me. We have much to discuss."

●

ZHAN WEI SLUMPED DOWN in a chair, his face lined with age. Zhan Sheng opted to stand, not sure what his father was going to say, but he knew that whatever came next wouldn't be good. Zhan Sheng had been suspicious and had questions regarding his devil's blood, but his father had always brushed it off, and then Zhan Sheng stopped asking. For years, Zhan Sheng had wondered about the strange powers that ran through his family's bloodline, powers that had always been whispered about but never openly discussed. Now, he hoped that his father would finally reveal the truth.

"Lei Bo isn't who you think he is."

Zhan Sheng's heart nearly skipped a beat at his father's words. "What do you mean?"

"He was gone for ten years under the disguise of business…but in reality I had him moving precious cargo from the devil's realm into the mortal realm and vice versa."

"What cargo?" Zhan Sheng demanded.

"People."

Zhan Sheng's brow furrowed as he tried to understand what his father was talking about. People? It didn't make any sense. Zhan Wei sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair. He stared off into the open bay windows as if he knew that this moment would come eventually, but he had hoped to delay it for as long as possible. "People on the run, like your mother. Refugees caught between the two realms, mostly omegas, and other alphas but they are the majority of disciples that make up the Burning Fire sect today."

Zhan Sheng's brows climbed his forehead. "You mean there are devils within the sect?"

"Few but their numbers are growing," he said slowly, " The devil's blood is a gift and a curse. It is the power of the demons that once roamed the earth, the same demons that we fought against in the great war that raged centuries ago. That's why devils are forbidden from the mortal realm."

Zhan Sheng's eyes widened in shock. "The demons?" he echoed. "You mean the devils that we were always taught to fear?"

"Yes," Zhan Wei confirmed. "Those same devils. Their blood contains a power that is beyond anything that humans can imagine. It gives us strength, speed, and agility, and it allows us to harness the spiritual energy of the world in ways that other cultivators can only dream of. But it also comes with a price."

"A price?" Zhan Sheng asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Yes," Zhan Wei said gravely. "The devil's blood is tainted with darkness, with the same darkness that the demons themselves embodied. Those who possess it are always in danger of being consumed by that darkness, of losing themselves to the demonic forces that lurk within. That's why for their own good, they were barred from ever entering the mortal realm. For over a thousand years, the stronghold has remained unbreeched. But I am different. I am a devil who has chosen to stay in the mortal realm, despite the consequences that will inevitably follow. By breaking the rules of the heavens, I am going against the norm."

Zhan Sheng stared at his father in horror. "And you never told me this?" he exclaimed. "You let me believe that our powers were something to hide, but you never explained why!"

"I had my reasons," Zhan Wei said quietly. "I did not want you to be burdened by the knowledge of what you carry within you. I did not want you to fear yourself, or to be afraid of what you might become. But now, I see that my actions were misguided. You deserve to know the truth, and to make your own decisions about how to use the power that you possess."