Blood Bonds And Golden Ties

Chapter 8: Hatred & Animosity

[Luo Xiao Zhao]
He slowly opened his eyes.

On a table in front of him, a candle flickered, revealing a wall of sandstone. The wax flowed down the candle and filled the base. All around him was a sort of dimness. Striving to see past the dimness, he threw his blankets aside and quickly tried to get up. Gasping as a sharp pain hit his body everywhere, he collapsed back into bed and waited for the pain to subside. Once the pain eased, he propped himself onto his left elbow. His left wrist throbbed and for the first time, he glanced down at his left wrist. It was bandaged. Looking to his left, he spotted another candle on a square table. There, beside the candle was a white bowl full of food. As if on cue, his stomach suddenly rumbled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since morning.

In pain yet without choice, he slowly stood up. His joints screamed in pain. Wincing, he got to his feet and hobbled to the table. Though it was not far, to Xiao Zhao, it seemed like an eternity before he finally arrived.Once there, he pulled out a worn-down wooden bench and plopped down. Looking into the bowl, he saw white thin noodles and brown chopped up fried meat drenched in a brown sweet sauce with small pieces of thinly sliced green onions. He touched the bowl. The food was still warm. His stomach grumbled loudly. There was no time to waste.

He quickly picked up the chopsticks which had lain on top of the bowl and started to eat. The sweet brown fried meat was delightful to his mouth. Not after that happened. Xiao Zhao was just slurping up the last bit of noodles when he heard footsteps approaching.

Chen Ming entered the room first and when he saw Xiao Zhao, he rushed to his side, saying, "Xiao Zhao, you shouldn't have moved! You're just recovering and you're already moving! Do you want to die?" He grabbed his arm and led him to the bed.

"Chen Ming, step away from the Yan," a cold voice ordered from behind them.

"But–"

"I SAID STEP AWAY!"

"Oh," Chen Ming reluctantly backed away.

Xiao Zhao glanced around and asked, "Where is this place and why am I here?"

"This place is our house and you are here because you almost got yourself killed. You shouldn't run around this place. Especially since you're a Yan," Wang Jing Ling said sternly.

"What do you mean, 'especially since you're a Yan?' What does that have to do with anything?"

"The beast likes the blood of Yan people. All those dead bodies you saw were Yan people who entered this forsaken place by accident," Chen Ming explained.

"Wait. Where is this place exactly? I thought we left!" Xiao Zhao asked, surprised.

"We are at the heart of the land full of plant arms," Chen Ming replied.

" Plant arms? Are they part of a beast?"

"I'm not one hundred percent sure. All I know is that there are plant arms and eyes everywhere in the darkness," Chen Ming answered.

Satisfied with the answers, Xiao Zhao continued to sit down on the bed, pulled the blankets up to his chin, and brought his knees toward his chest. After a moment, he glanced up and spotted Wang Jing Ling leaning against the wall casually as if he were watching a play. He spun a white jade pendant around his forefinger.

" Well, well. You survived. You have been so lucky... Fate must be on your side. In all my years living here, I have not seen a single person survive this long after the plant has seized him," Wang Jing Ling said as he continued to spin the pendant.

"What do you mean, you're surprised I'm still alive?" Xiao Zhao questioned.

"He means that despite being captured by the plant, you still managed to survive this long. You are quite special in terms of blood," Chen Ming explained.