The forest trembled the female demon's rage igniting the air. Flames spiralled, devouring everything in their path, leaving only a searing mist in their wake. She wanted to burn him to a crisp. How could she, a demon who had lived for hundreds of years, lose to a half-blood, a weakling's cub with the strong stench of humans? Her flames grew stronger swirling around her like a hurricane.
Xiang Yu managed to escape in time but not unscathed. His arm and neck were blistered his clothes sticking to his wounds.
The firestorm soon waned, and the forest settled into an eerie calm. A thick mist from the snow evaporating obscured her vision. With no strength left her knees softened and she staggered forward. She believed she had defeated him. Her lips quirked with laughter in her eyes. Who would have thought one day she would be forced to use all her strength for a half-blood?
Suddenly the smile on her face froze when she met a pair of red eyes glowing in the mist. Terror flickered across her features as he emerged from the mist with an oppressive aura. He exuded a sense of malevolence and power his glowing red eyes piercing through the darkness. As he moved closer, the air grew heavy and suffocating, and a feeling of dread washed over her. She felt the urge to kneel and submit to the strong.
Xiang Yu's arm and neck were scorched the material of his robe etched into his skin. But he was indifferent to it all. He lunged forward his blade slicing through the haze.
The demon retreated but she didn't make it far. She staggered, her back slashed open by his blade. She fell forward her hair dishevelled and her breath heavy with exhaustion. Her fingers dug into the damp ground crawling desperate to get away from him.
Xiang Yu stepped on her back not caring for the wound on her back. She grimaced in pain her eyes teary. She appeared pitiful and weak, a deceitful act to invoke sympathy but Xiang Yu was unmoved.
He took back his foot and stood over her, his red eyes coldly staring. With the tip of his blade on her chin he forced her up to her knees and asked, "Seeing that you use flames you must be from the southern realm. You are a long way from home," he said the sound of his voice making her tremble in fear.
"I... I was cast out. I wanted to seek refuge in the northern realm but I was injured. My lord... please spare me," she stammered her body almost prostrating to him.
Xiang Yu didn't care for her pleading. He was more interested in why she sought refuge in the northern realm. "Why the northern realm?" he asked his head tilted to the side slightly.
She accidentally met those eyes and found herself captured by their mesmerizing crimson glow. For a moment, the fear that had gripped her heart was overshadowed by a strange sense of fascination. She found herself drawn to those alluring eyes, unable to look away as though bewitched. But the spell was quickly broken when the blade sank into her skin.
"Speak," he commanded exuding an aura of dominance and authority that made her cower instinctively.
"Be-because the Lord will take in any beautiful demon who wants to be a part of his harem," she said feeling a great sense of shame for some reason.
Xiang Yu chuckled softly the sound of his laugh unsettling. So it turns out his mother was one of many. He probably didn't even remember her name.
The smile on his face vanished in an instant replaced by a cold-blooded expression. With a swift motion, he drew his blade across the female demon's throat. Blood sprayed, warm and sticky, splattering his face and chest.
For a moment, he stood over her lifeless body his muscles tense. His gaze fixated on the dark and viscous blood pooled around her.
But it wasn't just her blood that stained him. It was something deeper, something... primal. An ancient hunger awakened, urging him to absorb every drop, to claim her power as his own.
For a heartbeat, Xiang Yu hesitated. The demon's essence beckoned him, promising him strength beyond measure. Whispers clouded his mind and he found himself sinking into its seduction. Just as he was about to surrender to his primal instincts he heard the distant rustle of footsteps. The cultivators must had already begun hunting down the demon and if they found him here things would undoubtedly be bad for him.
He snapped out of his trance and swiftly retreated. He leapt through the forest like a shadow and soon returned to the enclave.
He burst through the wooden door of his room, gasping for breath. Just as he took a step forward his body froze. His master was sitting in the chair the flickering candlelight casting shadows on the old man's wrinkled face.
Like him, Yue Buqun froze. Xiang Yu's robe was now soaked in blood. His brown eyes now glowed like molten rubies, their intensity unnerving. The oppressive aura emanating from his disciple was unlike anything he had encountered. He now understood where his uneasiness stemmed from. Xiang Yu was half demon.
"Master, I...," called out Xiang Yu but he lost his voice. It was over. He was going to be handed over to the cultivators and slaughtered for prestige. He wanted to flee this place and save himself but his body felt weak his vision blurred. His fingers loosened and the blood-covered sword fell to the ground with a clatter. He swayed forward but swiftly supported himself with the door frame.
"Master," he whispered before his knees buckled, and he collapsed. Yue Buqun moved swiftly, catching his blood-soaked disciple before he hit the floor. He quickly closed the door and helped Xiang Yu to the bed.
He knew that the cultivators would come here to investigate thus he helped him change out of the blood-soaked clothes. When he finally noticed the burn wounds his face turned grim. His hands moved deftly, removing the pieces of cloth stuck to his skin before treating the wounds. Xiang Yu winced in pain, but he didn't wake up.
Yue Buqun burnt the robes in the kitchen furnace getting rid of the evidence before wiping the blood from Xiang Yu's blade. He had raised this kid for six years and there was no way he would abandon him even if he was of demon lineage.