Chasing You (Arc 8+)

Beneath the Heavens (XXI)

Rushing like a madman, Fu Yemu went through his entire place and flipped it upside down. He checked all the places that Fu Aozi liked to hide... Behind the doors of the gate, in the peach tree, on the roof of his room, in his wardrobe, underneath his bed, under his desk, and even hiding in the pond in his courtyard. Causing a mess in his once orderly place, Fu Yemu left no stones unturned but his search bore no fruit. He mentally forehead smacked himself. He should've known better than to trust his younger brother! He remembered all of the previous time this devilish imp would smile at him and nod as if he understood, only one out of nine chances led to them actually listening. The other eight out of nine was him disobeying. Thinking that this would be just like the other times, Fu Yemu only hoped that his mother would give him a lenient punishment.

Clenching his teeth, Fu Yemu was forced to expand his radius in his hunt. He began to investigate outside of his courtyard, starting with the nearest buildings. He then, gradually went further and further out as he would fail to spot a trail. Searching high and low for this imp of a brother, Fu Yemu attire became disordered and unkempt looking.

Staring at the forest that coiled itself around the Qingcheng Fu Sect, Fu Yemu's eyebrow wrinkled forming a '川' in between them. He combed through the entire sect and he has yet to find Fu Aozi. The only reason would be because they went into the forest.

Running his hand through his hair, Fu Yemu felt exasperated beyond belief. The forest went on for miles and he could be in any direction, it would be like searching for a word but only knowing the first letter of it. He decided to go with the most traveled paths first and went to the most frequented one.

Hidden behind the bush, Fu Yemu finally finds something; a hawthorn candy. Scavenging around the area, he finds another one not too far. Like a breadcrumb trail, he gathered that Fu Aozi wasn't too far away as the beasts in the forest would have already eaten the candied hawthorn if it had been there any longer. He also seemed to be in a hurry as his brother was known not to waste any food, the only logical thing that would make him drop the treats was if he was in a rush to follow after something and wasn't careful.

Fu Yemu continued the pursuance and the candied hawthorn became more spread out. Coming upon what seemed like the end of the trail as there was no other candy within a mile radius, he would have to choose a direction in which to go. Rubbing his neck, Fu Yemu carefully observed the environment to see if there were any artificial disturbances like branches breaking or the shift in the plants' natural growth. Looking over the place twice, he finally comes upon an answer; a piece of blue cloth stuck on the branch of a bush.

He squatted down and picked up the small piece of cloth. Feeling the material, he concluded deduced that it was the same material as his robes. Fu Yemu also compared the colors and they were a match.

Judging from where the cloth was found at and the design on the small piece of fabric, he's certain of the direction in which they were headed to. Not wasting any more time, he walked in the northwest direction; heading up Mount Qingcheng.

As he wandered, he espied a familiar head and strode over. He was sure to make his actions as light and soundless as possible lest they startle the rascal and they run off. Slowly creeping his way closer, he found them crouching down behind a bush and suspiciously looking in front of him. His eyes naturally drifted in the same direction.

Fu Yemu's eyes widened with disbelief. At first, he had to concentrate his eyesight to see what was in the distance. But once he realized what it was, his heart sank. His hands were shaking uncontrollably and the feeling of dread drilled into his heart. What was going on? Why was his mother here? Who was that person that was in her arms?

Hearing the movements of the person before him, Fu Yemu's attention snapped immediately to them. He reached out and grabbed the collar, pulling them to him. Opening their mouth to yell out, he was prepared for their actions and covered Fu Aozi's mouth. Solemnly whispering into his ear with a grating voice, he asked, "What are you doing here, younger brother?"

Staring blankly at his older brother, Fu Aozi became entranced. Only when the prickling feeling of his (FY's) gaze penetrated into his (FA's) mind, did the young boy regain his mind. He nervously let out two 'hehe' and touched his nose. He wasn't going to be forced into writing scriptures again will me? Or perhaps, they will have him memorize another scripture and recite it from memory? He hadn't noticed his heavy gaze as he had trouble looking at what Xiong Yanzi was doing.

Fu Aozi softly mumbled, "I only wanted to walk around, older brother. I was going to come back right away."

Seeing their paralyzing skeptic eyes, he shrunk back, "It's-It's true..."

Pointing behind him, he explained, "It was only that I saw mom... And I ended up following after her."

Fu Yemu pressed his lips into a thin line, "Why didn't you show yourself to her?"

Fu Aozi scratched his head, "Because mom was sneaking around. I saw her looking around wearily as if to make sure that no one else would be around."

Fu Yemu, "So you chose to follow mom and see where she was headed to, not returning because you were too curious."

Summing up the rest of their experience, the temperature around the two dropped. Fu Aozi, "..." I didn't mean to...

Fu Yemu, "What else did you see, Zizi?"

Before the two could even continue discussing, they heard a deafening roar that shook the Earth to its core. Both of their cognizances darted over to where the sound had originated from and they both fell flat on their asses.