FEotRS Chapter 3 – Jin Feihong

A small boy, not much older than Luo Zhirou, around eight years old, was staggering towards her. 

His white clothes were drenched with blood; his extremely handsome face was as pale as snow. Blood trickled down from his lips, but he did not give up, he continued to move forward, one step at a time, his eyes filled with unwavering determination.

Contemplating what to do, Luo Zhirou looked at the boy before she took a deep breath and stood up.

“Who is there?!” the boy was filled with hostility when he suddenly sensed an aura that had been completely hidden before, but when he looked towards the aura, he found it was a mere mortal — a small girl of five years old at most. Her features were delicate, and she looked exactly like a little doll. Anyone who saw her could not help but become unbearably fond of her.

“Run away! The reapers are coming soon!” the boy said through gritted teeth, as he staggered slightly, almost falling to the ground.

“I know,” Luo Zhirou said, her childlike voice utterly different from the seriousness in her face.

“Let me help you,” she said. She had shown herself for the sake of helping the boy. She did not know why she wanted to help him; she just knew that helping him would be the right decision.

“You?” the boy looked at her with scorn, “What can you do?” he asked, filled with loathing, but by then, Luo Zhirou had already reached him. 

She took her own invisibility powder and used a significant portion to smear on the boy’s body.

“Come with me,” she said, and dragged him to the grass, where they lay down, and suddenly the boy realized that his aura had vanished, even the scent of blood was gone.

“You can’t move,” she warned him before she sprinkled some powder on herself and then lay down next to him. The amount of powder he needed was even more than a tenth of what she had needed, since she had to get rid of the stench of blood, not just his aura. 

The boy was in some severe pain, his body was on the verge of collapsing, but because of his willpower alone, his body stayed still, as he was gritting his teeth, trying to endure the pain. At the same time, he could not help but look puzzled at the child by his side.

She was younger than him, but her intellect could rival the children even where he came from. He stayed still as he saw her perfect face looking around alertly, and her eyes were filled with vigilance. 

“They’re here,” she said through a hushed voice, “don’t move at all and keep quiet.”

The boy dared not even nod his head, he stayed quiet and looked at this little girl who was looking at the reapers without even showing the slightest hint of fear.

A strange feeling welled up within his heart. He did not know this young girl, but he had a feeling that she was wholeheartedly helping him. She seemed innocent when he looked at her, but he could see the intelligence in her eyes. It was clear to him, and obvious to her as well, that if they got caught, she would lose her life alongside him.

There were seven killers, but since the boy had called them reapers, Luo Zhirou understood that they were not normal killers but from a specific faction. She then realized that this was what reapers were, and from now on, she would never forget their appearance. All of them were wearing black clothes and black masks. They reached the place where the powder had been smeared onto the boy, but when they reached this point, they stopped.

“His aura has disappeared!” one of them exclaimed, shocked.

“I can’t even follow the scent of his blood anymore!” another said through gritted teeth.

“Calm down,” a third one said. This man had a much more domineering voice, and the others listened to his words.

“He was likely to be picked up by his Dao Protector. We only had a chance because he was alone, as soon as his Dao Protector appeared, we would’ve all instantly died.”

The other reapers felt a chill run down their spine, but they were not willing to let go just like that. “What do we do now then?” 

“What can we do?” The domineering voice sounded again, “he has reunited with his Dao Protector, we can’t do anything. Retreat, I am sure that the Emperor of Death will be disappointed in our achievements, but at least we injured the kid severely.”

After this, they vanished into thin air. The young boy looked at Luo Zhirou, and he saw her take a deep breath of relief. It seemed that although she had seemed cold and unfeeling, she had still been nervous. This small gesture made her seem much more human.

A twinkle appeared in the boy’s eyes. He was quite curious about this girl who had saved his life, but before he had the chance to ask any questions, his entire world turned black.

When he woke up again, he saw that the sky had turned dark. A childlike voice suddenly sounded by his side, “Big brother, are you feeling better?” 

The naivety in the voice was adorable and made one want to protect the child, and when he looked over, he saw that the sound came from the girl who had saved him.

Next to her was a big and stoic man. He glanced at the boy with wariness, but he said nothing. 

The wariness instantly made the boy understand that this man and girl did not live a simple life.

At the same time, he felt that his wounds were healing rapidly whenever the girl was close to him, a skill he had never seen before, and only heard about in the realms above. 

Even in the realms above it was impossible to have such ability, but he had heard of families in the Royal Sky having different innate abilities.

“What are your names?” He asked with a cracked voice, and Luo Zhirou quickly helped him sit up and found a canteen filled with water, which she placed at his lips and allowed him to drink some before she answered.

“I’m Luo Zhirou,” she smiled, “and this is my dad, Luo Bailong.”

“I’m Jin Feihong.” He said with a weak voice. The water helped soothe his parched throat, and he was feeling a little better, however, his body was still heavy like lead, and he was dizzy.

“Big brother Jin,” Luo Zhirou greeted him, her voice was very adorable, and the way she called him made him feel immensely accomplished and warmth was spreading in his heart. 

One has to know that he was someone that thousands of people looked up to. He had no friends in the sect, no one dared to consider themselves his friend, all of them were in awe or slightly frightened by him.

He had never felt such closeness before as he felt now, and for some reason, he could not help but mutter to himself, “I hope Elder Li is delayed.”

“What did you say?” Luo Zhirou asked curiously. She had not heard the words, but she could see that he had something in mind. However, instead of answering her, he just shook his head.

Luo Zhirou smiled sweetly, her smile was like a bright sun to Jin Feihong, bringing with it so much happiness that he was unable to look away, his dazed expression making the small doll laugh out loud.

She turned around and started running to her father’s side. “Daddy! Daddy!” she called out and reached her arms out and gestured for Luo Bailong to lift her up. 

Luo Bailong reached down and picked her up. He did not move, just allowed her to hug his neck, and praise him above the heavens.

“Father is the best, look how fast Brother Jin is healing!” she praised him. “Father used his best herbs to heal you, and father is so strong!” 

Jin Feihong looked at the two of them and felt a bit of envy when he saw the two of them being this close. He had no family, the closest he had to a family was his sect, but this was different from what he was witnessing now. 

Luo Zhirou saw his sadness and gestured for Luo Bailong to put her down, which he did, after which she found some snake soup from the pot, and hurried to Jin Feihong’s side.

“Brother Jin, taste this soup,” she said energetically. “I made it myself, it is my specialty!” 

The doll’s adorable smile and the scent of the food made Jin Feihong’s stomach grumble. Although he had cultivated to a point where he no longer needed to eat, he was now severely injured and had lost a lot of blood. 

Hearing his stomach grumble, Jin Feihong’s face flushed crimson, he was embarrassed, but Luo Zhirou pretended that she had heard nothing. Her smile never faltering. 

She sat down next to him and began feeding him. At first, he found it very strange, it was as if he was a weakling, but then he began enjoying it. The sudden feeling of being pampered was new to him, and he reveled in the feeling.

After finishing the entire bowl of soup, he suddenly felt warmer inside, his body was suddenly less heavy, and whenever Luo Zhirou was by his side, he was healing at a rapid speed. The closer she was, the faster he healed. This was something he noticed as she ran back and forth. 

Just the small distance towards her father’s side was enough for him to feel the change of his healing speed. He was quite sure that as long as he stayed by her side, he would be fully healed within a short period of time. 

But although he knew that he was being healed soon, he was not willing to be picked up by his Dao Protector. Being by Luo Zhirou’s side was so calming; he felt his own heart calming down, and a strange feeling of happiness that he had never encountered before had taken root in his heart. 

The following day, Jin Feihong was able to exit the bed, his body was nearly healed, and he could move around like a normal person. Seeing that he was better, Luo Zhirou was jumping around him with happiness. Her sweet and adorable voice was constantly calling out for “Brother Jin,” and he was over the moon, hearing her way of referring to him.

Luo Bailong was observing the two children interacting, and although he was not pleased with Jin Feihong suddenly barging into their lives, he was also unwilling to stop their interactions. It was a long time since he had last seen his daughter so happy and so energetic about something that he could not bear to stop them.

At night, Luo Zhirou refused to leave ‘Brother Jin’s’ side, and she was sleeping under the same fur as him, the two of them having become as siamese twins, the two of them becoming impossible to separate within a few days.