Liu Yang froze. His throat bobbed. He pulled in a long breath, then lowered his eyes, making his voice shake as he spoke.
She looked at him with her red glowing eyes, waiting for his answer.
But Liu Yang's lips twitched, his breath caught. He could not let her press too deep into his story, not yet.
So he coughed again, rough, dragging his voice to sound strong. He raised his hand, waved it once like he wanted to push the question aside.
"Forget my story...," he said, shaking his head, forcing a frown. "Tell me instead… how did you end up with those filthy bastards? Those pervy brothers…"
He was steering her away, turning the weight back on her, hoping her anger would burn so bright she would not look back at his lie..
Her jaw clenched right away and her eyes shook like the memory came back, her face twisted with rage, dark and tight, and her lips curled slow like she was about to spit poison out.
Liu Yang lowered his head a little, his chin dipping down, and the shadow covered his eyes so she could not see them, and inside his chest it felt a little lighter as he had dodged it, at least for now.
"As I told you master, I was running from the Demon Hunters and went inside this forest, but got caught with Bill and his brother," she said, her voice low.
She had already told him about Demon Hunters, how they chased her, how they wanted to capture her. But not to kill her right away. No, they wanted to use her, to drag other demons out of hiding.
She leaned closer, her voice softer now, like she was speaking of something that was not meant to be said out loud.
"Master, maybe you forgot… maybe the humans made you forget. But I will tell you again. The truth. The thing they call forbidden."
She lowered her head, her red eyes glowing faint in the dark.
"The goddess Mu Yao made the humans. She loved them. Too much. She called them her perfect creation—"
Liu Yang's eyes twitched. Inside his head he groaned. "Ahh, not again. Didn't the System already give me this dump? Why the hell does everyone keep copy-pasting the same story? At this rate I'll die of boredom before swords."
He bit his lip, his chest shaking, trying not to sigh out loud. "No, no, better idea. Just fake it. Pretend the memories are coming back. That way she'll stop before I fall asleep myself."
He cut into her words, his lips moving slow, shaky. "Yes… yes… I remember now… it's coming back." His eyes twitched again, forcing them down like he was dragging the words up from some deep hole. "Mu Yao… Cang Ming… yes… I remember now....."
Her eyes lit up, her face glowing with relief. She leaned forward, her hands pressing on her knees. "Yes, Master! That's it! You remember!"
Liu Yang lowered his head fast, hiding the smirk tugging at his lips. "Heh, smooth save. Guess I'm not just good at lying—I'm good at cutting speeches short too."
"So, Master, you also remember Demon bloodline as well?"
Liu Yang's face froze. His lips twitched. His smile was awkwardly stuck in his lips, like his brain went blank. "Bloodline? What bloodline?" His eyes darted left, then right, then back down.
"Blood… line… mmm…" he rubbed his forehead hard, pulling a pained face, "ahh… my head… it hurts…"
He groaned louder, clutching his temple like someone had just stabbed him there. "Those bastard humans… what they did to me… my memories… damn it…"
His words cracked, half acting, half stalling, hoping she would stop digging.
"Oh! Master, don't worry, I am here!"
Her back straightened. Pride swelled on her face. She lifted her hand, made a fist, and thumped it against her chest with a loud thud. Her red eyes burned with determination.
"I will tell you everything. I will make you remember. You won't be alone in this, not while I live."
Her fist slowly dropped back down to her lap and stayed there, her shoulders relaxing a little as she leaned her whole body closer, and her lips began to part slow, like she was ready to spill out more words that had been waiting inside her.
Inside, Liu Yang's face was already melting. "Wow, great, another history lesson… if I don't get killed by humans, she'll kill me with history."
He sighed in his head. "I wish I had paid attention in my history classes… nah, who am I kidding, I was always drooling on the desk, waiting for the bell to ring. History class was made for naps, not notes."
He rubbed his temple, his awkward smile twitching more. "And now, look at me, front-row seat to Demon History 101, with no way to skip class. Great. Just great."