The fox spares his opponent
Luo An first appeared to the public as a male concubine of the late Emperor Taizu at the age of 13. The emperor took a liking to his looks when the little boy was brought in front of him after being caught trying to steal in the palace as he resembled the beauty of a young girl.
His eyes were upturned and looked as if they belonged to a fox. They were black as coal, yet shone red at the slightest bit of light. His long inky hair made his soft features look even more beautiful than they already were, making him present as a delicate maiden, perfect for the wealthy and powerful emperor.
The emperor favored the boy over his other concubines and let his guard down every time he was around him as he was shy and obedient, always doing as he was told.
Unfortunately that turned out to be a huge mistake when he was found stabbed 71 times, with Luo An nowhere in site, after spending the night with him. The entire room was splashed with blood, the white bed sheets stained deep red at the emperor laid upon them, his chest reduced to chunks of flesh. Only thing left after the concubine was a dagger on the floor that has been used for the murder. No matter how long the guards searched, there was no trace of the him. It looked out as if he vanished into thin air.
After that, many people believed that he ran away and possibly got sold as a slave. Others believed that he got eaten by stray dogs after escaping onto the streets as the small boy, that turned 15 not so long ago, wouldn't stand a chance against them.
This incident shook the whole kingdom, but as every thing in the world, it has been forgotten after some time. There was nothing anyone could do about it so after 2 years it has been blown away by the air.
That was until one day, a family has been found all wiped out. Residents of the village said that the horrible crime has been committed by a young boy with fox like eyes and soft feminine features, who arrived at the village the same day. He was identified as Luo An by some villagers that used to work for the late emperor when he was still alive.
Since then many people met the same fate and their lives have been taken by that vile beast and there is now a huge bounty on his head to any lucky man that captured him dead or alive.
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"Ah, shige, do you really believe all this crap? There's no way a kid like Luo An could be as dangerous as you say!"
Long Xiang crossed his arms and glared at that man. "Every I said is the truth! That rabid fox really is quite the pain in the ass."
"Whatever you say, shige. If it's really the case then he must be a demonic cultivator or some shit like that. Either way it's just some brat that didn't get beaten enough as a kid!" Han Junjie laughed before taking another sip of his wine. Long Xiang laughed along with him, pouring both of them more wine.
"You couldn't be further from the truth."
Both of the men turned towards the voice, facing with a youth of about 17 with a veil on his face that sat in the corner of the room with his eyes closed. "What was that, kid?" Han Junjie shot back, sounding annoyed. "Who are you to say what's far from the truth." As he was talking, he made his way over to the boy, wanting to punch him for disrespecting him like that, but before his fist could make contact, the youth opened his eyes, the red glow flashing across them. Suddenly Han Junjie let out a scream as his arm was twisted and broken in multiple places in a matter of seconds. Long Xiang immediately shot to his feet and pulled out his sword, but he didn't even make a step before he also let out a scream, dropping the sword. He took a hold of his injured arm and glared at the boy, his eyes widening at the sight. His gaze met with pitch black fox eyes. Luo An kicked the sword into the air and caught it, handing it to Long Xiang. "Get out of here if you value your filthy life." Both men quickly gathered their things before they ran out, disappearing in an instant. Luo An watched them before he turned around and smiled at a couple of ladies sitting at a table nearby. "Those creeps won't bother you anymore." The two ladies were about to shower him in praise but he stopped them. "It was this one's pleasure to get rid of them."
Luo An left after paying his tab, making his way through the street all the way to the edge of the city. There stood a building, completely covered in moss. Upon entering, he was greeted by an old woman. "An'er, you came just in time! I just finished making dinner."
"Thank you, da ma. Is there anything you need help with?"
"You've done enough for me already. Just come sit down and eat."
Luo An sat down at the small table, looking at the plate placed in front of him before taking off his veil. "It looks amazing. You're a great cook." The old woman chuckled and gave Luo An a pat on the back. "Then you better eat it all up!" She smiled at him the whole time he ate, happy at the sight. It was more than obvious that he liked the food and that made the old women fill with joy. Not many people visited her inn so she was grateful for every single person that stopped by. Unlike others, Luo An also helped her with many things such as fixing a few broken doors and windows and cleaning. Along with that he also kept her company and didn't have a problem listening to her talk for a long time. "You remind me of my grandson." Luo An looked up from his plate.
"Really?"
"Oh yes.. He was just like you! He'd always help me around and talk to me all day long. I've been struggling with taking care of the inn ever since he's gone." What happened didn't need to be said. From those words, Luo An understood that her grandson wasn't just away but dead.
He gulped, looking down to avoid eye contact. "I have to get going tomorrow."
"So soon?"
"Yes. I already stayed for longer than I wanted. Hope da ma will understand."
The old woman looked sad but even through that she still smiled. "It's not like I can hold you here forever."
Early the next day, Luo An departed for his journey. Before leaving, he left a full bag of money for the old woman, paying for the nights he stayed along with something extra to help her out. He wanted to stay but after the incident that happened yesterday, the Shengkai sect would definitely come looking for him. When he held the sword that belong to one of the men, he noticed that both of the men were disciples from there. If he stayed any longer, he'd be putting the old woman in danger as she could've been executed for letting him stay in the inn. He was still the same Luo An that killed the emperor two years ago after all, but she didn't know that as he made up a different surname.
He got a horse and soon left the city on it. There was not a place he could ever stay at for longer than a month because someone always came seeking for him. In that case he'd have to either tun away or fight. It's not like he couldn't beat them but it was much of an inconvenience because he would always rather stay low and not draw any attention to himself. If he got into a fight there is no way the other person would get out of it alive so for their own good it was the best that he didn't even get into a fight in the first place.
After days of travel, he finally arrived at a small village. He headed straight to the nearest inn and got a room for the night. There was nothing interesting so he planned on leaving the next day after getting some rest as he didn't have a chance to sleep in a bed the whole way here.
As he laid down, he finally felt relaxed. It wasn't the most comfortable but the bed sure did it's job. Luo An started drifting to sleep when he suddenly jumped off the bed, a knife piercing the pillow he laid on.
Shit! They found me!
He quickly got out of the inn, running to his horse to flee on it but before he got to it, he was stopped. A man jumped right in front of him, holding up his sword, aiming it right at him. His eyes were sharp, shining under the moonlight even though they were black. His tied up hair looked just like silk when it blew in the wind. It was obvious that this guy was from the Shengkai sect as his robes were just like theirs.
The man was no one other than Qin Yaozu, a well known cultivator, one of the strongest from his sect. "Surrender, Luo An." he said coolly, keeping his eyes on his target. "Ah, gege, it's very rude of you to just barge in here and not even let me rest, don't you think?"
"You attacked my shidis. I am here to capture you but also take revenge on their behalf."
Luo An rose an eyebrow. "I'm guessing they didn't mention that I did that because they were harassing a couple of ladies."
"Why should I believe your filthy lies? Surrender now!"
Luo An smirked. "You look quite handsome. It would be a shame if this world lost you. Maybe you should step down and let me leave." Qin Yaozu growled and immediately attacked.
All of his attacks failed to hit the target but he kept trying. Luo An was just too fast!
That bastard!
He replaced his sword with a palm strike. Luo An took it head on and to Qin Yaozu's surpise, it didn't do anything. Before he could send another one though, his opponent got behind him and hit him in the back of the head, making him pass out. As he stood over him, about to deliver a fatal blow, he stopped and looked at his face. It really would be a shame if this world lost such a handsome face...
He hesitated but at the end all he did was get on his horse and get away from there as fast as possible.
Just why didn't he kill him?