WangXian Forever 5

Chapter 109 Exchange

It was pitch black.

Hui Gai looked around, searching for something.

Even his spectacular eyesight failed him now, as the darkness grew deeper, suffocating and consuming.

He thought hard.

Was there nothing good inside this person? It seemed her insides were just dark, no light and happy thoughts could exist here.

He walked forward. This may take longer than he thought.

There were things a person would never say out loud, things they may be ashamed of, or more likely in this case, things they had locked away in the deepest, darkest recesses of their minds, and Hui Gai was looking for one such place.

In the darkness, and given his preoccupation, he banged into a foreign object on the floor.

Colourful language exploded out of his mouth as he hopped around on one foot, holding his other one trying to rub away the pain.

I need light, he thought, and his pinky finger lit up. He grinned to himself, thinking there was so much more he needed to find out about himself.

He crouched down ignoring the still throbbing toe, to see what it was that had hurt him.

It was a silver chest.

Old and tarnished with a rusty padlock.

Hui Gai disintegrated the obstructive metal and opened the lid, only to be sucked in completely.

When he opened his eyes, he was in a red space. There was a massive screen on the opposite wall and what looked like a projector. Boxes and boxes lay scattered around the room, some old and open, with reels of film unwound carelessly.

Nothing was labelled.

Hui Gai scowled and kicked the box closest to him. The rotten cardboard gave way and more reels ran out, freed from their confinement.

He looked around despondently, and realised he had a long job in front of him.

******

What seemed like hours later, he thought he found the right piece of film.

This woman was hiding so many bad things, he was stunned at her callousness and ability not to care. The beginnings of a tailor-made punishment was starting to grow in his mind, but he put it aside to watch the film.

How to learn on making the projector work in the first place was an entirely new issue, but Hui Gai was extremely proud of himself for that one.

The screen lit up.

Jian Ci was leading her sisters down a dark path. They were pulling a cart that had a wrapped body balancing precariously on top, half spilling out on the sides, where blue scales were glimpsed.

She waited outside of a black door that wore yellow talismans and under them, intricate wards and hexes appeared in blood red writing.

This was a dangerous place.

The air around him was stagnant and weighty. Hui Gai watched as fire greeted the sisters, followed by a silvery cackle of amusement when they scattered.

But Jian Ci stayed exactly where she was.

A tall, dark and foreboding man, no, demon, came out from the doors. He stood in front of Jian Ci.

"Show me."

When Hui Gai heard his voice, dread crept into his heart. Had he heard that voice before? Where? His own head began to thrum with the beginning of a headache, but Hui Gai made himself concentrate.

Jian Ci pulled off the covering and the Dragon King was revealed. He was unconscious, his lustre dimmed and scales no longer shining with vitality.

"Why is he in such a bad condition? I won't pay for damaged goods." The voice was deep and so, so familiar.

"He just needs water. He's a sea dragon, after all." She replied confidently.

"If that is a falsehood, I will come and find you. There is no escape from a blood oath."

"As if I didn't know that." She scoffed, but even Hui Gai could tell it was false bravado.

The tall demon handed over a pouch.

She threw it lightly up and down in the centre of her palm.

"Is this what we agreed?"

"If you're daring to doubt, then perhaps a lesson is in order."

"No! No, that's...that was my mistake." Jian Ci bowed hastily.

Little demon minions came forth and rolled the cart inside the doors that were heavily guarded.

"I'll take my leave now. Pleasure doing business with you." She bowed low.

"Wait." He said. "Give me your hand."

It was useless to refuse him anything. For the hundredth time, she wondered just what she had gotten herself involved in.

Hesitantly, she held her palm up.

He held it gently in his, before scoring a character into her wrist, just above the pulse.

She screamed and fell onto her knees, tears pouring from her eyes, her scorched skin making her gag.

He let go, smirking.

"Just in case you decide to "disappear". This way, I can find you wherever you are."

When she next opened her eyes, she sat alone on the cold ground, her wrist still bleeding.

When she wiped away the blood, the single character stood out.

"Mine".

Even Hui Gai shuddered.