Chapter 13 - 12
This pomeranian named Ji Yao had quailed for the first time in his life. He had gone head to head with vicious beasts on their voyages across the sea including Xiang Liu a cruel monster with a snake body and nine heads.
But in all those experiences he had never been this terrified to the point of being paralyzed in fear. His heart stopped as a chill ran down his spine. As the face got closer to him he even forgot to breathe with his face blanched in dismay.
He was like a tiny dog that was cornered by a ferocious beast and his first instinct was to run if he survived this.
As soon as the youth covered in dirt vanished, Ji Yao finally recovered but his heart was racing like he had just run a marathon. He clenched his trembling hands into fists as he got up from the ground. The words echoing in his mind right now were, 'I need to leave..... leave like right now..... yes, yes now.'
He dashed out of the dungeon and found those kids still standing there seeming stupefied. Ji Yao rushed over and said, "Let's go," after suppressing the look of fear that was on his face a minute ago. To prevent the obvious trembling of his hand, Ji Yao's nails dug into his flesh till his knuckles turned white.
He was about to lead the way when his sleeve was suddenly tugged by the little girl. He turned around and looked at her only to hear her ask, "Why is Jiejie's chest uneven? Is that normal?"
All three of them lowered their gazes to the chest that had the left one higher than the right one. This made Ji Yao also take a look at his fake chest.
Ji Yao, "...."
He lifted the right one itching to scold her. Who cares about boobs right now when that beast can return at any minute. But when he raised his head and saw that innocent look with her finger on her lips, he swallowed back the scolding and turned to leave.
The three followed behind and when they reached the exit the sound of anguish and torment intensified. Ji Yao gulped in fright with all the hairs on his body raised. His nails dug deeper as he braced himself. He pushed the cracked door open and stepped out only to be met by a violent warzone.
There were bodies lying on the ground, blood and torn flesh everywhere accompanied by wails and screams of the dying. A metallic smell of blood filled the air as the culprit tore at his enemies like it was nothing.
The steward was surrounded by half-Nocru guards defending him against this tyrannical bloodthirsty creature that didn't resemble a human being anymore. Ruthless, vicious and aggressive like a beast that crawled out of hell to wreak havoc.
Ji Yao subconsciously wanted to take a step backwards but he knew he had to leave. Inhaling deeply he stepped out intending to lead these kids away from this place but before he could go far the children stopped following.
They had chosen to stay and fight alongside their half brother. Since birth, they had been oppressed by these people and wouldn't give up this opportunity to avenge themselves and all their deceased siblings.
Ji Yao naturally understood and leapt over the wall landing right in front of his father who was just about to enter the Pavilion. From his pale face, Ji Yao could tell his father also felt the oppressive formidable force coming from over the wall.
The group didn't dally making their exit in a timely fashion. Who knew if that powerful Nocru would come after them after finishing Prince Rui's people? With that thought in mind, they made a clean exit and as soon as they reached Shangxin city Ji Wen finally relaxed and asked, "Rui's son?"
Ji Yao nodded his head as he could only assume so. He pressed his lips into a thin line thinking he was the one who released him. Though he was almost terrified to death by that kid, he didn't regret his decision. Given the opportunity, he would gladly do it again because no child deserves to be treated that way. It's just that he had a lot of unanswered questions.
"Father, how did he go into berserk mode when he was under latrion suppression? I, it's just that I don't understand," he asked Ji Wen who was busy looking him up and down like an overprotective mama elephant checking for injuries.
At his question, Ji Wen finally stopped with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Superiority..... your grandmother once told me that there are different ranks in the Nocru race and that kid was a result of that asshole breeding with a superior Nocru woman. Their women appear weak but the men in that rank are the most powerful. It's best to never associate with that kid but if you do you should be on his good side otherwise if he unleashes that beast we'll all be finished," earnestly explained Ji Wen with an expression more serious than the time he told him about his mother.
Ji Yao gulped unconsciously before picking up his pace. They had to leave before the beast was done tearing apart that Pavilion. He took off the face veil and threw it away before entering Red Bane. Ji Wen seemed to understand the seriousness of this situation as he immediately issued orders to his crew. He stood tall on the quarter deck of the Red Bane with a vacant look on his face.
"Hoist the sails!" he bellowed as he looked down on the busy crew. It was easy to tell that something was off from his expression alone rousing the curiosity of some crew members.
One of them actually had the balls to tap Xunshi Zhe on his shoulder and ask, "Xu-ge, what spooked the captain? I mean, he looks like he has seen a ghost.... Ouch," but he ended up getting smacked upside his head.
"That translates to mind your own damn business," replied Xu-ge unwilling to delve deeper into this issue. He also felt it earlier and just wanted to leave this place as fast as possible.
While Red Bane left the shores of Shangxin city, Prince Rui's Pavilion was set alight with four youths standing atop the great wall looking down at their prison since birth.
They stood there silently watching it burn to the ground honouring their fallen siblings who died at their father's hand. The little girl tossed the decapitated head of the steward into the fire and asked, "Gege, where do we go now?"
She was asking Rui Fei who had finally extricated himself from his ferocious state. Right now, he was wearing a despondent look on his face as he blankly stared at the flames.. One can only imagine his expression when he found out that the pretty lady in the white dress left without saying a word not even a name.