(Sonny)
My master sent me on an errand to look for a celestial root that grows deep in the forest. The same forest where my demon mentor trains me once every month, then I went to the spot my master instructed me.
My eyes observed the Celestia root that grows on the tree. It's a rumor that it grows when a cultivator dies protecting an innocent. The root must be soaked in karmic purity and celestial qi for hundreds of years.
But it can be harmful to demons if they aren't emotionally calm, and if they carry harmful intent, the Celestia root is very useful for the heart, so Sonny has to repeat the heart—silence mantra.
Sonny is to remain calm and emotionally undisturbed. He walked deep into the forest searching for a green leaf with a tint of redness.
I smiled when I found it. It was sitting on the branch, but I frowned when I realized I needed to climb the tree to get it.
Then something happened. A black furry creature entered my sight with long ears standing upwards, staring at me with curious eyes.
I smiled. It was Raika. My friend, who was known as the shadow fox. He's a fox with a mischievous side who likes to play.
Raika came close to me to my ankle and sniffed me before he purred deeply in his throat.
I petted him by the back of his neck, which he liked since he purred and licked my hand. I grinned and smiled, my heart warming like an icy cage about to melt.
"Hey, Raika. Haven't seen you in a while?"
I slightly frowned. "What are you doing here? Don't you know it's dangerous to be here on these lands surrounded by cultivators?"
But I knew the fox was stubborn to a degree, not willing to leave my side. I rescued him when he was a baby, and he was nearly eaten by a group of hungry wolves.
The fox was sitting in the hole with bleeding ears nearly ripped out, and my heart tugged at the time, and I killed the hungry wolves with my demon powers. Thankfully, the righteous sect wasn't around at the time, so I was about to save him.
The fox jumped into my arms like a cat, and I held onto him tightly, "Hmm? Are you going to help me?"
The fox let out a soft growl from its throat, and I smiled. I pushed the fox toward the tree, carefully holding the back of his hips so he wouldn't fall out of my hands.
The fox jumped on the branch and bit carefully on the root so he wouldn't damage it.
Yeah—he was a smart fox with human intelligence.
Then the fox jumped back into my arms with the root in his mouth, and I took it with a slight disgust on my face, for it felt slimy in my hands.
"Ew! Why is it slimy?"
The fox nipped my cheek with a lick, which made me laugh and nearly gag. I wiped the slime away and placed the Celestia root away and said loudly, "Hey, want to hang out for a bit, but I can't stay for too long."
The fox let out a soft growl, and I grinned. The fox jumped straight out of my arms like a graceful creature and ran in a direction—the long, broken, broken-in-half wood that's attached to the ground curved like an oval.
I followed the fox with a joyful, simple laugh that hadn't come out for a long time, then I calmed down.
The fox walked dangerously to the edge of the waters where the dangerous animals lurked beneath the water.
I cautiously looked around, and nobody was around. "Raika. Stay away from the waters."
I whispered, but the fox ignored me and his tail whooshed back and forth. Then he turned around to stare at me with silent black eyes that stared deeply into my soul.
I wanted to ask, 'What is it?'
The fox moved away from the water and walked toward me. He bowed his head, pushing against my legs.
I kneeled to the ground, petting his head, and nearly whispering to his ear, "Hey, wouldn't it be nice to go somewhere else where nobody judges us?"
All of a sudden, years of training kicked in—my instinct made my body sharper than my brain.
I dodged to the ground!
I looked to my side, and a gleaming silver sword deeply embedded in the ground.
My eyes twisted with wariness and sharpness. Who wanted to kill me?
A deep voice, smooth and calm, with no ripples like the moon. "Who are you?"
My skin nearly shivered. I turned to stare at the person. It was someone very familiar. His icy blue eyes. His sharp sword. His white robe was filled with drawings of a jade swan.
My heart pounded like a trapped cage, and I grabbed the fox into my arms into a protected hold, and I turned to stare cautiously at the man.
The same man who's abandoned me for ten years and didn't even look back or look for me to check on me.
I knew it was a fleeting moment, but fuck, that still hurt.
The man wore long silver hair gleaming with wetness and a shiny glimmer in the sunlight, and his white robe was soaked through where it clung to his body.
The man's face gave me a stormy, cold look. "Who are you invading this place?"
I nearly wanted to scram and leave this place behind. I didn't want to be near this man who abandoned me and gave me a look so cold it sent a chill down my spine.
I swallowed hard, trying to come up with something to say, "Oh. It's just that my name is Sonny and I'm a disciple of the Righteous Sect. I came here because it's a free territory and I like to explore around sometimes."
—
(Current time)
Author's note, sorry I don't remember the dialogue b/w the characters, so I'm going to move the timeline to the current.
—-
My eyes blinked innocently at the cold man who watches me intently, and I waited for an opportunity to escape.
"Hey. I got to go. And please don't harm the fox, he won't hurt anybody."
I pleaded because most self-righteous cultivators are assholes and needed to be pleased with to get their way.
Although this man saved me many years ago, the fact that he doesn't remember me and left me in the care of an abusive man who treats me like trash and dirt says a lot.
I smiled like I was happy to see him and had nothing to hide. But the man had a cold, flat expression on his face, and the long hair around his shoulder was distracting for me, so I looked elsewhere.
"Hey, why are you wet?"
The man speaks roughly, "I was injured."
I turned around and looked at him with a furrowed brow, "Injured where?"
The man narrowed his eyes suspiciously but calmly said, "It's none of your business."
I pursed my lips. What an asshole. I was just asking. Fine, I will help him one time since he saved my life, but I won't bother him anymore.
"I can help you."
The man turned around and walked ahead.
I frowned, "Where are you going?"
The man turned his head, his blue eyes glinting like the moon.
"Come with me."
I followed him, and the fox jumped out of my arm with fur hissing up in the air.
I petted the fox to calm him down. I don't need him to attack to defend me.
The man walked through the forest, which took ten minutes, and he caught me off guard. He moved his robe from his shoulder, and my eyes widened.
His pale shoulder was slim and scarred like the kind that survived a bloody battle. But upon the scars were more scars.
My heart ached slightly for the man.
I turned my eyes away and told my heart, Don't you dare turn soft now.
The man wrapped the white robe around his waist and slid into the water, which rippled around his waist.
I walked carefully to the man. I didn't want him to attack me out of nowhere, and the man tensed his back, the lines curved where I could see his shoulder like an Angel's wings.
I carefully held my breath and knelt and asked. "How much pain are you in?"
The man calmly said in a cold voice, "I don't feel a thing."
I narrowed my eyes at him. Really, he doesn't feel a thing. Everyone feels something. Without a warning, I squeezed his shoulder, and the man hissed through his teeth.
"You!"
I laughed, loud and boisterously.
"What? You say you're not in pain, but your body knows it's in pain."
Then, without a warning, the man turned around. His bony hand wrapped around my hand, tightening with a sharp warning from his eyes. "Are you here to help me or not?"