COURTED BY THE BANDIT...

CHAPTER 13 - WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS?

  JiaoLong followed along silently and soon they reached the entrance to a cave. JiaoLong paused momentarily and sniffed. "What business has A'Zhe got here? It smells worse than chicken shit!"

  The boss chuckled and continued walking inwards. "You must've had a happy childhood... every sect has one person who carries out special work, shall we say the world is full of dishonest people and when they cross us, that person tries to get the truth out of them. By all means." The boss glanced at the youth sideways but it seemed as if he weren't paying any attention anymore.

  JiaoLong's eyes wondered as he entered deeper into the cave, the boss was rambling on about something  but he had long stopped listening to him. the deeper they went into the cave the damper it became and the smell only intensified. He glanced along the walls and saw black traces of gooey liquid. His brows scrunched together as he continued, just what was A'Zhe getting into here? The boss suddenly stopped and said, "This is where I'll stop, your beloved is just a little bit ahead."

  JiaoLong "... BELOVED!? He's like my little brother, go eat your sock!"

  The boss chuckled and in a quiet voice said "I look forward to the upcoming show."

  JiaoLong followed his instructions and continued on wards until finally he came to a half rotten wooden door. Turning around he nudged it open with his butt and he was about to call out for A'Zhe when he turned back around but any sound was stuck in his throat.

  Red smeared across the floor like the red carpet, the room he was currently in looked like a bloodbath, literally there was a bath to his side filled with what looked like blood, unless they had food colouring in this world... even then what would food colouring be used for? chains lined the walls like Christmas decorations, manacles and spiked rod hung of the table in the centre of the room. JiaoLong swallowed his bile and thought the boss must've brought him to the wrong place. Just as he turned he heard a small cry. 

  "please...  please stop, let me go..."

  Gripped by curiosity, JiaoLong followed the voice disregarding the fact that curiosity killed the cat, and someone needed help, his conscience wouldn't let him sleep if he didn't try to help. lead to another door, he nudged it open with his foot. However he did not count on seeing the back of a familiar figure.

  Crash!

  MinZhe paused with sticking a needle into a painful puncture point of his victim when he heard a crash behind him. He slowly turned around with murderous intent shining in his eyes. first he saw shattered ceramic, then what looked like... congee, then a pair of shoes, slim legs, waist... dread had an iron grip on MinZhe's heart as his eyes continued to travel up to the face of the intruder. Fear and confusion was all over JiaoLong's face, his hands shaking in a position as if he were still holding a bowl of steaming hot congee. 

  MinZhe "what are you doing here?"

  JiaoLong's eyes travelled to the person behind A'Zhe and saw a haggard man with his head hung low, rasping for breath. He was caked in dirt and blood, if one dragged his nail across his skin it's be filled with it. But what horrified him the most was the leg that stuck out beneath the man, it wasn't only bent backwards but something resembling a bone peaked out from the skin. JiaoLong snapped his eyes shut as his trembling intensified and he took a step back wards.

  MinZhe followed a step forward with his hand raised.

  JiaoLong "Stay! Don't move... A'Zhe... what is this?"

  It felt as if the needles that had pricked his victim now pricked his heart as he watched JiaoLong go into a defensive stance. "Go back, I'll talk to you later but please leave for now. I hav-"

  "MIN ZHE! STOP FUCKING AROUND AND TELL ME WHY THERE'S A TORTURED MAN UNDER YOU HAND!"

  Now it was MinZhe's turn to step back, JiaoLong hadn't called him MinZhe since the night they met, and he's never shouted at him before either. MinZhe swallowed and felt a slight pressure on his head making him cast his glance down. "...I'll talk to you later, I must finish the job."

  JiaoLong "You!..You scoundrel! Do you not know the rights and wrongs of this world? Those years ago when I told you all those things about treating people humanely even though they've hurt you, to outsmart them instead, this is what you've learnt? You really-" He was cut short as his bout of coughing visited him again but this time even more violent than before. He fell to his knees as blood trickled through his fingers. MinZhe rushed to his side with his hands hovering around JiaoLong's back not knowing what to do.

  MinZhe "stop it, stop coughing, how can I help!?" He reached his hand out only to be pushed away. 

  It's time my child...

  Fuck, convenient timing dear ancestor. Thought JiaoLong. He pushed A'Zhe away and attempted to crawl to the wall but only collapsed in the process.

  MinZhe "Don't move!" He said and gripped onto JiaoLong despite his feeble struggles. He sat on the floor with JiaoLong's head cradled in between his hands. He stroked his hair gently as he too began to tremble with fear of what to do. And then things took a turn for the worse, his whole body started convulsing and MinZhe hugged him to his chest, tears gleaming in his eyes as his heart trembled. 

  And then from within his shut eyes, a glow entered, he opened his eyes to see a soft glow surrounding JiaoLong. "w..what's going on? JiaoLong?" But JiaoLong had gone limp and the light continued to glow until it became so blinding that MinZhe had to cover his eyes. Whilst his eyes were closed he felt a draft blow past his face with what felt like feathers. And in the next second nothing, nothing was in his arms anymore.

  MinZhe opened his eyes and glanced down to see nothing but a few colourful feathers. The tears within his eyes finally let out as they streamed down his face.

  The man in the corner chuckled as he said, "May what you want never fall into your hands...kekeke." MinZhe's eyes flashed with anger before the man's neck was snapped.

  "You've left me again A'Long... where are you...who are you?" He sunk to the ground head in hands as his heart felt the same aching pain all those years ago.

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The author tries to be coy...

MinZhe- Another fucking chicken feather...

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A/N- Hallo ppl, sorry I feel like this chapter is not the best of quality but hey... I do this as a hobby hehe.

On another note, Thank you for reading and voting! Just discovered the other day that ppl can vote on stories haha I'm a slow lil asian, but many thanks anyways! Muah!