Book 2: Chapter 44: Innocent Troubles |
Yin Hu sighed as he looked back towards Shui. The little girl refused to look back at him as she sat at the campfire, arms crossed, and her face red and puffy. Every time he moved closer in one direction, she shifted to the other, making it as obvious as possible that she did not want to speak with him anytime soon. He could even hear her mutter to herself, even from a distance about the lack of loyalty in the next generation and more.
Yet, the main cause of all of this were none the wiser to the problem they caused.
Each one of the dragon hatchlings busied themselves around the camp, though thankfully none of them were attempting to murder themselves just yet. It was too early in the morning for those shenanigans. Those seemed exclusively midday troubles instead.
The little girl had woken up in a huff, nearly breaking down the entire pavilion as she charged out with her weapon ready and rumbling to search for the dragons. He still remembered how she snarled and squinted her eyes with the intent to kill something clear in her expression.
Only to stand there shocked and betrayed when she saw the bundle sitting in his lap. Dropping her hammer and staring slack-jawed for an entire minute, her brain unable to compute what she was seeing.
Had Yin Hu known this was going to happen, he would have kicked all six of the dragons back into the pavilion to sleep with Shui in a bundle, as they usually did. He had enough headaches and little problems to deal with. Adding on to it the fact that Shui refused to talk to him only made the entire situation worse.
Of course, he could have forced the issue, but that felt wrong.
He had to give her her time and hope for the best outcome, and if things got worse, he would send Jun to take care of it. She knew how to deal with these situations when they cropped up.
The dragons squeaked back and forth between each other, attracting Yin Hu’s attention, as they gathered around the bouncy ball they tended to play with.
All six worked together to pick the ball up and rushed towards Yin Hu. Throwing it at him to initiate playtime.
Said ball bounced off his head and landed on the ground while each dragon blinked and gave him an innocent look as they waited for him to pick it up and kick it, or start their strange game of points and goals.
“See!” Shui shouted. She jumped to her feet and pointed at the ball as though it was a mass murdering monster. “They don’t even want to play with me anymore!”
What the fuck do I do? How the hell do I make this right?
Yin Hu stood there frozen and unsure where to put his hands.
He had never had to deal with something like this before. Jun took care of all the more personal conversations and issues, and even then there hadn’t been many problems so far in the few months he had taken on the role as their Ancestor.
Worse yet was that there was nothing to teach him or show him the ropes on how to deal with what amounted to a great betrayal. There were no manuals in his rice bag. No techniques or cultivation books to indicate the next step he should strive for.
He had checked multiple times for any such guide.
The only solution he had remained the single thing he did best above all his other attributes. Yin Hu would wait patiently until she recovered. He trusted Shui, and indirectly Jun, to find her way through this quagmire and join the dragon hatchlings back in their usual play sessions. Especially if he did his best to not entertain them. Their need for attention, games, and endless energy would solve this for him.
Shui would as well since she matched them pound for pound in relentlessness.
Yin Hu couldn’t imagine her staying upset long enough to fight her irrational urge to run, play those Qi games, and strive to beat Rong in anything they did together.
It was only a matter of time.
Yin Hu looked away from Shui, out of the camp and into the obscured forest line not too far away. A frown graced his face and eyes narrowed.
Something feels… odd?
He used his perception skill once more. Scanning the entire forest around them for what gave him such a weird feeling.
Yin Hu sensed Rong hurtling toward them.
Ever since he joined, it had been obvious to Yin Hu's senses where he stood exactly as it did for Shui and Jun. He assumed it had something to do with the system pointing out where his disciples were.
His frown only deepened as he noticed how fast Rong was moving toward them, tearing through the forest at a speed he had never expected from the Spirit.
So, he moved closer to the forest edge and pulled out his DragonsWrath in case something untoward had happened. He wasn’t sure what caused Rong to run, but it couldn’t be anything good. Whether it was a monster or an urgent situation that needed his attention, it promised to be an issue.
While his third disciple was capable, Yin Hu had learned he was more powerful than him physically. Faster, stronger, quicker, and the whole nine yards.
Shui perked up when she noticed him move away from her, forgetting her entire debacle. She stood up and ran to his side hammer at the ready.
“Master?” Jun appeared a second later, blade unsheathed and equally prepared.
Yin Hu didn’t respond. He kept his head forward and stared into the forest.
Even the Warg prowled back and forth behind them, rumbling like an engine. The hatchlings flew around them, baring non-existent fangs and puffing out little flames that wouldn’t light a candle, much less hurt anything that wanted to kill them. The only one that hadn’t moved was Da Ruis, his entire focus and attention remained on the Sparring Instance ever since Yin Hu had threatened him.
The poor old man had gone back and worked harder than ever before from the very start of the instance to make it perfect. He had taken Yin Hu's words a bit too seriously.
I’ll need to give him some positive reinforcement or the old coot is going to die from exhaustion.
Yin Hu blinked as he refocused on the urgency that filled Rong’s pace. He was still a few seconds away, even at his speeds, before he broke into the clearing.
“What’s going on?” Shui said as she swung her hammer around. “Is it an ugly monster? Can I bash its head in? Don’t tell me Rong got to it first–”
Hu Rong broke into the clearing in a form that was different from the usual one he took. More a deformed blob of slime that covered a large circumference and looked to be filled with branches, leaves, ferns, bushes, and… blood. More blood than what looked possible for any living creature that was a normal size.
For a brief moment, Yin Hu felt his anger flare at the thought something had hurt another disciple of his.
Thoughts of why everything tried to target his three kids flashed with white flames that could have eaten the world entirely. His hand tightened around DragonsWrath.
“W-Wait, master!” Rong shouted as he came to a dead halt before him.
It was only a moment later that he noticed the tub full of vibrant blood wasn’t Rong’s, but rather the two individuals obscured by all the debris, lifeblood, and slime around them.
Rong dropped them, making sure the blood splashed away from the group and toward the forest. He returned to his little boy form and fell to his knees, breathing hard and shaking from the effort he had put into getting them here fast enough. Rong pointed behind him and moved out of the way.
Yin Hu's eyes widened as he recognized the bruised form of Wu Xui. Never had he seen her so haggard and weak–
“Rong. What happened?” Yin Hu stepped forward and towered over the couple.
He got a clearer look of the state Zhong Da was in. The missing arm that was still gushing blood even with Wu Xui trying to cover it, the lame and purple leg, the bone exposing injuries, and the near death state he was in. Wu Xui and Zhong Da had fought a battle within something or someone. A battle they clearly won or they wouldn’t be alive at all, but at what cost.
Wu Xui turned around to him, eyes red and puffy. Dried trails of tears stained her cheeks and bruises covered her face. “L-Lord Yin. Senior Yin. I beg you, help my Dong…” she paused, eyes snapping back and forth. “Err… M-My Zhong Da. He sacrificed himself to save me.”
Yin Hu felt everyone’s attention snap to him, including Da Ruis who had woken up from his intense focus when Rong crashed into the clearing.
They were all waiting for him to speak.
His very first decision that involved life and death directly for his Hu Clan and not for them personally.
All of his fights before felt more along the lines of his own survival or someone targeting the girls.
He’d killed the Black Widows and a few weak bounty hunters. Let others escape including YagWan and his two disciples, Dong ZhenKang, Cai Xuefang, and Jun’s nemesis Shao Yating. Yet, all of those decisions were more personal and directly correlated to himself or the little girls.
This wasn’t.
Yin Hu could say no and the couple would likely die. Or he could say yes and figure out how to solve this issue with the resources he had in his Vagrant’s Rice Bag.
Neither decision would affect them in the long run directly. Yet, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t have some lasting consequences.
How would my girls look at me if I let them die?
Yin Hu turned to look at the girls, their eyes trained on him and nothing else. Neither one had their weapons up and prepared.
What would they take from this situation? What would they learn from it?
His decision was already made for him.