And all three other soldiers nodded in unison, agreeing that they couldn't sense me and my pure qi at all.
Brenna turned her attention to Aria and asked, "You can sense Alfie's qi, Aria?"
Aria nodded. "It's very weak, but it's there."
So apparently, I had pure qi, and though it was so weak that most couldn't sense it, it was still there, nonetheless. And Aria went on to explain why it was important these four most trusted and strongest soldiers were here with us in the first place, which was to protect us, since my pure qi would likely attract the unwanted attention of wild beasts in the woods.
Brenna said, "You must be very careful, Alfie, especially when out in the woods and, of course, around the lords."
I cocked my head to one side. I understood that I should be careful when I was in the woods, but why when I was around the lords? And I assumed all seven of them.
"Why?" I asked because I wanted to be clear on what they meant. I mean, I assumed they were watching out for me, after all, and thus they were warning me in case shit hit the fan in the future.
Allan explained. "They have what is called dark qi. It's rare and only exists in some very powerful beasts. At its core, the qi is malicious and is always attracted to what is pure."
I remembered Aria and Brenna explained to me about dark qi and beasts this morning.
And the seven lords had dark qi. But they weren't beasts, were they? To me, they were very human. Or at least as human as could be in this realm.
Aria said, winking at me with a grin, "They can attack you at any time if you're not careful."
I blushed in response. I asked, "Attack? Like actually killing me? Or something else?" After all, I wanted it clarified to me so that I knew in the future.
Brenna said, "Our lords wouldn't kill you, Alfie. They like you, after all." She giggled delightfully. "Especially Lord Felix. Anyone can see that he's smitten with you, obviously. What we mean is that they'll draw your qi from you, which would make you weak."
Aria said, "Without your qi, you'll die in this world, Alfie. There are some out there that will kill to get their hands on pure qi."
Peter said, "Once they draw your qi completely out of your body, you're as good as dead."
I paled at the thought that there were people out there who'd want the pure qi so much that they'd go as far as killing. Did that mean that I could be a target? I thought that from now on, I had to be more careful.
Aria said, "Qi can leak out of your body if you don't know how to control it. In the same vein, qi can also be drawn out of you via the mouth, and of course, the more dangerous route is straight from the core, which is where your heart is."
That would explain why Felix had kissed me. Because he was drawing my qi via my mouth.
I was dumbfounded. No wonder the man was behaving so strangely since the first moment I had met him. He was reacting to my qi, and when he kissed me, it was because he was merely sucking my qi. That bastard! And he even went further as to make a deal with me, offering me a promise of returning home in exchange for a daily morning kiss.
I decided that I'd have to have a chat with him, because there was no way I was going to let him suck my qi on a daily basis when my level was already so weak. I mean, what if my qi ran out?
It was some half an hour later when we finished our meal and resumed our herb gathering. I was concentrating so hard on doing my job that I didn't know the time had flown by. When I next raised my head, I heard footsteps running across the field. I looked around and saw Michael, Peter, Allan, and Travis racing toward us. The apprehensive expressions on their faces scared me. Suddenly, my body and mind were on high alert, and I felt in my gut that something was very wrong.
I turned and shouted, my voice shaky, "Aria! Brenna! Something doesn't feel right."
Both Aria and Brenna, who were a few feet away from me, hastily stood up and looked around, too.
"Stay low!" Michael shouted commandingly at us. "Stay low!"
Aria and Brenna crouched down in reaction and hid themselves amongst the tall wildflowers. I hastily did the same, my eyes alert as I searched around me.
My heart was racing as I used my lenses to zoom in on our surroundings. All I could see were wildflowers and, beyond that, the woods of tall trees and bushes. I zoomed in a bit more, narrowing my eyes, and then there they were.
I sucked in my breath, my stomach going hollow.
There was a horde of men I had not seen before, armed to the teeth with weapons. And they were heading our way.
Michael said, "I count forty men."
Peter said, "Five trucks. Ten men on horseback. Thirty on foot. Maybe five to ten more in the trucks."
Allan said, "Weapons are rifles and swords. A few axes."
Travis said, "One healer. Three mages. A few archers. The rest looked ex-soldier." He paused. "And one very fucking powerful warrior."
Michael said, "Shit! He has dark qi."
The four soldiers turned to look at me, which freaked me out even more.
Aria tapped on my shoulder, drawing my attention to her. "Alfie, if anything happens, run."
I asked, confused, "But what about you and everyone else?"
She shook her head. "We're outnumbered."
Suddenly, my body started shivering. For the first time in my life, I felt real fear settling in me.
What is Aria saying?
I asked, "What do you mean? I don't understand."
Aria took my hands and said, "Run. If anything happens, just run and don't look back. It's important that you're safe."
Suddenly, loud banging noises erupted, and bullets, bright and glowing, flew straight at us.
I screamed as Aria pushed me down low to hide amongst the wild bushes. Brenna crawled over and asked, "What's happening? I thought we were safe here."
"Get down, everyone!" Michael shouted at us as he fired his rifle, round after round.