Ultimate Note: The Calling

Outer Circle

Zhang Qiling

Qiling was glad that Hua Yuchen made Wang Pangzi leave them alone, even if the latter was reluctant to do so. In a way, he had to thank Shades for helping him disperse the crowd with the hand that Master Hua extended when he understood Shades better, thus trusting his intentions as if it was his own. They had known each other for a few years and at times acted as an extension of each other and even when Shades claimed that his Master Hua had no heart, it was actually the complete opposite. Master Hua cared for Shades, more than he really wanted.

His case was different from Shades' in that he had no other interaction with the man still beneath him, other than those dreams they had shared for years. Qiling had watched him grow up, from a boy to a teenager to the man he was today, although his face became blurry after he turned twelve, he knew the feeling of Wu Xie, faceless or nameless. His heart knew his essence by heart and he knew that he had been chosen by the gods for something he still couldn't remember.

However, being chosen wasn't exactly equal to being out of trouble or being safe. The Qilin guardian was sometimes too fierce or impatient when he needed to do something. The dreams he shared with Wu Xie were a sufficient indication to Qiling that Wu Xie's call for whatever purpose was true, but since he had been held back for unknown reasons, the young man was not yet ready to face it. The gods know that finding him had taken him nearly two decades of searching, making him a more permanent tomb raider with the sole purpose of finding him among the many grave robbers that plagued the ancient tombs.

Now that Qiling had finally found him and clearly knew his face and his name, he was worried that Wu Xie's call would hurt him from the start. Thus, he needed to make sure that Wu Xie was okay after being burned with the Qilin fire, even if it was for a few minutes, since the heavenly fire was not something to be taken lightly, whatever you were chosen or not.

Wu Xie's shirt was still up and since no one was around anymore, he used his long fingers to touch his porcelain white skin, right over the symbol he had drawn with his own blood, which was not pure Qilin's blood, but was close enough to push back the fire. Then, closing his eyes, he secretly used his own Qilin fire, which can be used to heal, completely harmless and colorless, to check whether Wu Xie had been seriously injured internally and after a careful search, he sighed in relief that he had intervened in time to stop the Qilin fire to do real damage.

However, he sensed some changes in Wu Xie's human genes, specifically in the way his body transmitted electricity between cells, which was now very slightly enhanced. His own body had gone through that same reconfiguration centuries ago, becoming a hybrid between a human and a Qilin through both his fire and his blood. Now Wu Xie had a hint of the Qilin fire upon him as well.

Seeing that after a few hours of rest, Wu Xie was going to be more than fine, he pushed himself off Wu Xie and sat next to him, once again covering him with his sleeping bag and letting him have the necessary rest that had previously elude him. A little later, after everyone had settled into their own little camp, Shades sat down next to him and looked at him.

"Is he fine?" Xiazi asked.

"Yes." He whispers.

"That was the Qilin?" Xiazi asked again, although he already knew the answer to his own question.

"Yes. It improved some of Wu Xie's cells." He offered and Shades frowned.

"Wait ... San Xing's nephew will become a guardian like us and Wenjin?" Shades asked him, but he remained silent. It wasn't like he knew the reason why the Qilin had an interest in Wu Xie in the first place. The mythical beast only acted by the will of the gods, going between realms at will, fulfilling the duty that had been imposed on it.