𝐓𝐨 𝐓𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲

↡ƒℓοω οƒ ƒαιτн↟

Dull dark clouds gathered on the afternoon sky, covering the majestic sun behind its inky black curtain. yet the air round him pulsated with buring hot. Wiping off the drop of sweat rolling down the side of his face yibo hauled the neatly tied bundle of firewood on to his shoulder while other reached for the axe on the ground. He walked along the narrow trail that will lead him out of forest, then towards the small circle of residents that sheltered on the outskirts of forest shenmi. When he steps into the clearance a black steed tottering around stopped its wandering upon spoting him and hopped up and down on its front legs with an happy neigh.

setting the bundle of firewood and axe nearby yibo approach the happy steed, who lowered its head down when yibo reached to pet its dark curly mane.

Master is back!! hungry!! hungry!! master hungry!!

A voice said on the back of his head, yibo chuckled and undid the knot of the pouch that attached into the waistbelt of his robe and took out a ripped red apple out, tossed it to the steed who hoped into the air to catch it by his mouth and munched on it quite hurriedly.

you must be really hungry sying. Here have more

yibo opened the pouch wide open and feed the rest of the apple to the delighted steed.

yummy!! apple!! really yummy!! more!! give more master.

hao hao, you can have it all. No need to rush.

he let the pouch down where sying could eat it comfortably and sit down next to her. Taking out a well packed bun he stored for himself out of his sleeves yibo took a small bite from it, Savouring the delectable taste of ren shi jie's cooking, he leaned against sying and once again gazed upon the dark sky above him. on the back of his head he could still hear remnants of sying's happy inner thoughts. Yibo sighed and thought back the first time he discovered his ability to read minds. Beacuse of the red moon symbol carved on his right inner wrist the villagers of pingayo always looked at him with aversion and fear, he is a peculiar child they says, beacuse of him his father even refused jobs in the village, merchants of pingayo never liked the sight of both him and his father in the market, they thought yibo as this curse, said that he born with bad luck , anyone that shown kindness to the family of two would be infected by it too. The villagers simply casted away his family from the residential area.

To feed both of their stomach his father has to look for job on shanwei, a village that reside other side of the forest shenmi, he would leave earlier in the morning hour and return only when midnight strikes. Slowly he managed to practice the house chores and to prepare delicious dishes for them in early age. No matter how late his father comes home yibo will wait for his return eagerly, prepare warm bath for him to wash off the remnant of his hardwork and then serves him dishes with so much love. That too until he waited for his father till midnight, but even when the first ray of early morning hour painted the sky, his father never returns. He runs into the downpour outside and knocked on so many door for help but ever single one of them slam shut in his face. So a young and helpless yibo walk into the darkness with only eerie glow of fire lamp accompanying him.

What waiting out there in the pouring rain wasn't his father, he doesn't smiles ever so warmly when yibo walk closer to the shade of tree he is lying, never looks up and call him A-bo when yibo kneeled before him and his shaky hands turns his body that lying with front down on the floor, he never reached up to secure yibo in a hug when he scrambled back with a scream like he do when he have those nightmare. Lying on his hand wasn't his father but a corpse with ghostly pale eyes that wide open, veins on his neck was dark and visible against his skin, skin dry and his soul was mercilessly sucked out of him.

The villagers refused to conduct his father's funeral there. Yibo was compelled to warp his father's body in clothes and leave the village for good. No guardians that said to be serve their people showed up to put an end to the injustice the whole village had done to the young boy and his innocent father, they laughed and thrown things at him as he leaves. He gives his father back to the nature and let him peacefully sleep on the lap of shenmi. But as fate presumed, every outcast have a place he belongs,that's how he found a group of kind and outcast people on the outskirts of shenmi. They took him in, mend his wounds, gives him the taste of Home that he lost and in return he took a oath to be their guardians, to protect them at all cost.