WangXian Forever 7

Chapter 27 Courage

Wei Ying put a finger a finger on his lips and Lan Zhan nodded.

The creature came out out of the shadows and they were finally able to see what was causing the swishing noise. It had nine tails, but it wasn't a fox. More like a goat. And there were eyes all along its back.

And it had absolutely no fear at all, in fact, it sauntered right up to them. Wei Ying was so surprised, he fell on his backside, and Lan Zhan had to help him up.

"Immortals, I am honoured to meet you at last." He said, bending one hoof back in a sort of a bow.

What could they do but bow back?

"You seem to know us already friend, but who do we have the pleasure of meeting?" Wei Ying asked.

The creature did not seem to be violent in nature, and because of its tails, it looked kind of cute.

"Choose your words carefully, Young Master..." He laughed. "You do not know me...of me either, yet you say pleasure?"

"Are you saying it is not? Or will not be?" All the while, Wei Ying was trying to figure it out. It was definitely some type of hybrid chimera, but in all the books he had read, there had been nothing with type of description.

"Who's to say? But for the moment, please accept the greetings of Fu. I am of the Boyi tribe, and I have come to see." His nine tails swished softly.

"Did you say...Boyi?" Wei Ying tapped his nose.

"I did, indeed, Young Master." His brown eyes twinkled merrily. His face too was pleasant to look at and Wei Ying kept thinking there was something he was missing.

"Lan Zhan...do you remember reading anything in the library about the Boyi?"

Lan Zhan shook his head.

Wei Ying bowed again.

"Perhaps this one should be enlightened, Venerable one?"

Fu laughed boisterously now.

"You are quite feisty...I like that..." Fu sauntered away.

As he turned around, they saw his many eyes blinking at them.

"What do you think, Lan Zhan?"

But before he could reply, Fu turned back to stare at them.

"Are you not following? Come, there is much to discuss." He winked.

"Alright...alright." Wei Ying said. "Don't mind us, there's nothing strange about this at all..."

Lan Zhan took his hand and they followed. Fu waited on the edge of the clearing they were leaving until they caught up.

"My kind arrive in times of trouble...but we are not allowed to meddle in the affairs of mortals." Fu said, trotting along.

"Sort of like you." Wei Ying said to Lan Zhan. "Because you know, going wherever the chaos is."

"However there is one advantage our presence allows, and that is the increase of courage. We do not know why this is...but it seems to work."

"So...you came to give us courage?" Wei Ying really wanted to touch one of the tails, but Lan Zhan kept shaking his head, and besides, he didn't know how Fu would react.

"Don't get me wrong, Young Master...it is more like the courage is already there, but it is up to the individual if they wish to accept it or not. And it's really a by-product. We counteract bad luck, or if there is bad juju then it is neutralised." Fu gave him the once over.

"That's a noble cause." Wei Ying remarked.

Still he didn't know why exactly Fu had arrived, or for what purpose.

"You have successfully eradicated any prey on this side of the mountain. Now your only challenge remains at the summit." He stopped walking. "In the end, every choice we make leads to different consequences, but every life is important. Wisdom and compassion go hand in hand."

Fu audibly sighed, looking at Wei Ying specifically.

"Go on, then. You can touch my tail. Once."

Wei Ying did not have to be told twice, and he plunged his hands into the super soft fur.

"I shall see you around." Fu bowed again, and disappeared.

"It was so soft, Lan Zhan!" Wei Ying was crowing.

"Mn. Only a short way to go now."

"Do you want to wait for XiChen-Ge?" Wei Ying went back to him, and threaded his fingers together with Lan Zhan's.

"Xiongzhang will be pleased if we wait. Does Wei Ying have the tally?" Lan Zhan pulled him closer and kissed his forehead.

"I definitely do. With DangKang and the Gu, plus the odd ones here and there, and by the way, I'm counting every single insect, we have a count of twelve so far."

A yellow fire burned deep within those golden eyes.

"And us? What is the tally?"

Wei Ying grinned at him.

"So far, it's a tie. We have six a piece. I guess whatever is on the top will be the decider."

Lan Zhan had what could only be described as a wolfish grin.

They didn't have long to wait before the clear sound of Zidian crackling through the forest made its way to them. Wei Ying checked them out before they came into full view; Jiang Cheng had blood spatters here and there while his XiChen-Ge was impeccably spotless.

"Is there some kind of talisman at work...on your robes, Lan Zhan?" Wei Ying asked suddenly.

"Mn."

"Really?" Wei Ying was fascinated by this. "I should have worked it out ages ago."

"Sewn into the garments." Lan Zhan added, just before the other two reached.

"Have you been waiting long, Didi?" XiChen asked.

"No." Lan Zhan glanced at Wei Ying before asking, "and what is your tally?"

"Nine, although Wanyin made a fair contribution. We're sticking to a joint total." XiChen beamed, clearly assuming prematurely that they had won.

"What are you looking so happy about?" Jiang Cheng shoved Wei Ying's shoulder lightly. "How many did you get?"

"Twelve. Six apiece!" Wei Ying could not contain his mirth any longer and lifted his palm for Lan Zhan to smack. "I guess we beat you! Pay up, XiChen-Ge!"

"If I didn't know better, I'd say we were scammed." Jiang Cheng replied, grouchy.

"Are you questioning our integrity?" Wei Ying stood up with mock anger.

"Not at all." XiChen smoothed over, handing a pouch over to his little brother. "Next time, WanYin."

"We did meet something strange, though, XiChen-Ge." Wei Ying explained who they had met and what the Boyi had told them.

"I must confess Brother Wei, I have not heard nor read about any such being. But it just goes to show that one must exercise caution when facing anything unknown. Do you think it was an attempt to warn us for whatever is up there?" XiChen asked, sincerely.

"Is that what that was?" Wei Ying asked, thinking about it. "I hadn't thought of it like that either. And then, do you think we should have a plan?"

"On how to approach?" Jiang Cheng said.

"Yeah. Just in case it attacks us?"

"It might not. That's a real possibility. And truthfully, one which may not be in our favour. After all, the Jins have only shown us that pink sludge. We know nothing else about what's up there."

"Alright. Well, we can't stay here debating about what to do. The simplest approach might be the best approach. Shall we just try our luck? Fu did say his kind are known for good fortune...let's adopt a positive attitude. We have our swords in case we're wrong." Wei Ying grinned at everyone, and marched ahead, twirling Suibian.