"The Little Things"

The Shadow Beast

The day was drawing to a close ane evening mists came down on the Dragon City. Shen Wei was returning home from work, carrying some books to study. The first lights began to appear in the house windows. He turned to the park, always preferring the longer path among the trees to the noise of busy streets. A couple of minutes later, he stopped abruptly, feeling an uncanny sensation of being watched. He looked around but saw no one. There was an uncharacteristic silence, no crickets chirping, no birds calling, and a shiver ran down his spine. A thick fog gathered, and it obscured the nearby trees and forage. Shen Wei outstretched his hands and closed his eyes. Dark energy swirled and swept through the park as Lord Black Envoy examined the surroundings. There was a faint... something. A force so well compressed, he was barely able to sense it.

"Who are you?" he asked firmly, opening his eyes. He looked around, anger rising in him. He heard a burst of low laughter.

"Shen Wei?"* the voice was like ice "Ahh... Shen Wei?"* it teased.

"Who are you? Reveal yourself!" A long blade appeared, and Lord black Cloak prepared to swing it.

"One door closes, the other opens. Soon... we shall have some fun soon." The voice faded, and with it, the fog cleared, and Shen Wei realised that the lanterns in the park were already lit. His robe vanished, replaced by the smart attire of the university professor. He fixed his glasses, frowning. He hadn't heard that name in thousands of years. Who could possibly still know it?

Deep in thoughts, he returned to his apartment and sat at the desk. That voice... It sounded familiar. He lifted a hand to his collar, seeking reassurance in the only thing that mattered to him. He didn't find it and sighed, a cold, familiar sensation of foreboding filling his veins.

The beer was cold, and Zhao Yunlan took a long first sip enjoying the tingling sensation on his tongue. He put his bare feet on the coffee table and relaxed on the sofa. He had some documents to look through, a missing person reported to the police two days ago. The case was forwarded to them when that person turned out to be from the Yashou tribe. Chu Shuzhi and Guo Changcheng were already on it, interrogating witnesses and searching for clues. Zhao took another gulp from the bottle when suddenly he heard a loud noise of broken furniture coming from the apartment opposite him. He froze, then put down the bottle quickly, jumped from the couch, grabbed his revolver and dashed out. He broke through the door as another loud crash sounded.

"Shen-" He froze at the scene before him. The desk and chair were upturned. A massive shadowy black creature with claw-like talons and an elongated head of a beast held Shen Wei up by his throat, pinning him to the bookcase. The talons of the other hand were raking his chest. Shen Wei's sword was lying useless on the floor.

"YOU LEAVE HIM RIGHT NOW!" Zhao roared and emptied the revolver into the monster's head and torso. The creature screeched and turned to face him, dropping Shen Wei. Zhao tensed, ready for a fight, but Black Cloaked Envoy slashed with his elongated weapon cutting the beast in half. It vanished in clouds of black smoke, and only a pile of ash remained. Shen Wei fell to his knees, the robe and the sword disappeared. Zhao was next to him in seconds, preventing him from crumbling down.

"Why don't they heal?!" He asked, horrified, looking at the deep bloody gashes on his friend's chest.

Black energy appeared in Shen Wei's shaky hand, and he slowly lifted it to his wounds. He lowered his head and clenched his jaw in pain. There was cold sweat dripping from his face, and he fought not to make a sound. After what felt like ages, the wounds on Shen Wei's body started healing and soon, only the torn, bloodied clothes were a reminder of what had happened. Shen Wei lowered his hand, clearly spent. He was breathing heavily, still keeping his eyes closed, and Zhao got suspicious.

"Are you still in pain?" he asked.

"It will pass," whispered Shen Wei and slid down to sit on his heels. He was getting paler with every second.

"When?!"

"In a day or so." Shen Wei looked up and tried to smile, letting out a breath. "You don't need to worry."

Zhao Yunlan swore. He had taken for granted that Wei's healing abilities were an instant fix. Now, however, he began to understand the naïvety of his thinking. "Come on, I'm taking you to my place," he said and ducked under Shen Wei's arm, then heaved him up. He saw Shen Wei squeeze his eyes shut at the sudden motion. "You need to lay down."

"There is no need, just-"

"Shut up! I'm not leaving you here. You don't even have a bed!" Zhao steered them very slowly to his apartment and sat Shen Wei on the bed. He looked at the pale face and into tired eyes. "We need to take off your shirt," he said softly. "Let me help." He tried to be gentle when he removed the torn garment but still felt when Shen Wei tensed, his breath catching. "Your trousers are also stained." He reached for the buckle, but a surprisingly strong hand stopped him.

„I can do it myself," Shen Wei said stubbornly, and Zhao raised his hands in surrender.

"Then I'll take your shoes off." he offered. Afterwards, he went to the bathroom and returned with a bowl of water and some towels. Shen Wei managed to deal with his trousers and was now sitting with his head lowered, looking at the ground. "I'll get that blood off of you. I can't put you to bed in this state." Zhao took a wetted tower and started cleaning all the blood from his friend's chest. He felt a steady gaze on him and began to feel nervous for some unknown reason.

"What was that thing," he asked.

"A shadow beast. They were once a threat to people, but that was thousands of years ago. I believed them extinct."

"It knew who and where to attack." Zhao was in his detective mode. "It didn't seem sentient, which means somebody sent it. Do you know who?"

"I, I have my suspicions. I thought him dead..."

"Can he send more?" Zhao automatically looked around, as if checking if another beast wasn't lurking at his home.

"No, I believe it was just a warning. He is still too weak. After sending that Shadow beast, he will need a lot of time to recuperate. We are safe for now." Shen Wei squeezed his eyes in pain when Yunlan accidentally put more pressure while clearing away the blood.

"Sorry," he said. "Once you get better, you'll need to tell me everything. I have to know what we're up against."

"I will," whispered Shen Wei.

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Hello dear Readers!

*The mystery guy is using the older version of the name so instead of the lofty 巍 Wēi, he says 嵬Wéi. I added the question mark to indicate the rising tone. In the future, I will try to write it this way: Wéi.

Thank you very much for reading. I really appreciate that you are here.🤗

Stay safe