7 Chapter 7: Who are you?

"You did what?" Lin He exclaimed, limping after her as she sped off.

"I said, I gave him a good beating and tied him up on the tree in his courtyard when his body guards weren't around." She stopped in her tracks and yelled at him, who was busy catching up with her.

Mayor Jiu truly deserved the beating for his horrible acts. But for Xuan Yi to do things on her own accord like this, it was a little risky for both of them. Especially when Mayor Jiu was a man of power.

"Next time, please give me a heads up of your plans." Lin He suggested as he wiped off the beads of sweat on his forehead. "So, are the Lan Sect disciples alright?"

She gave a nod before she continued walking, this time at his pace. "They are fine, mostly some superficial wounds."

"Oh, did the count on your arm increase?" He questioned, after remembering about her promotion exam.

Xuan Yi rolled up her sleeves and showed him her arm. This time there were nine dots, which meant that last night's hunt was a success.

"Actually," Xuan Yi paused, a hesitant look grew on her face. "Yesterday… What the Vine Demon said about you, was it true?."

A red light flashed in Lin He's head. He knew what she was asking about - the conversation he had with the Vine Demon.

He swallowed thickly as his mind rummaged for an appropriate answer for her.

He didn't have his powers with him right now, else he would have wiped off her memories. Ah, he should have just pretended that he didn't know what that demon was saying and denied everything. He was so caught up in the moment when the demon called him a 'punished god' and he just admitted it right in front of Xuan Yi.

Was being punished something to be proud of?!

Thinking that Wei Yong probably would have some idea on what to do for such a situation, Lin He just nodded his head quietly. Either way, he'll find a way to make sure she would forget about this conversation before they part ways eventually.

"I knew it!" An unfamiliar voice shouted from behind, causing both Lin He and Xuan Yi to spin around quickly.

Xiao Long?!

Xiao Long quickly jogged closer towards them, his eyes were sparkling with admiration as he looked at Lin He. "You're a... god?"

"Hah, I think you heard it wrong."

"Yeah, he is." Xuan Yi quickly interrupted him mid-way, earning a glare from Lin He. "And he's my travelling companion." She declared proudly.

Xiao Long pushed her away hastily and stood in front of Lin He.

"Wow… I just… Never in my whole life had I dreamt that I could meet a god in person!" Xiao Long exclaimed as he grabbed Lin He's hands tightly in his. "Can you be my Shifu?"

"Hey, screw off, I was the first to meet him! If you want to get a new teacher, wait for me to get accepted as his disciple first!" Xuan Yi protested before putting her hands over Lin He's as well.

Lin He took a step back in disbelief and pulled his hands away from them. "What?! No way! I'm not here to start a Sect or have disciples!"

"Then what are you here for?" The two Lan Sect disciples chimed as they eyed him curiously.

Lin He licked his lips nervously, "I'm… here to get punished."

As ridiculous as that sounded, it was the truth. It wasn't something that he should be showing off to anyone. Nonetheless, he was hoping that maybe by painting himself as a 'bad' god, it would decrease his popularity among these two Slayers in front of him. From the way things were going, he was… no, he would be receiving a lot of attention from them.

Especially this boy here staring like him as if he was made of gold.

Xiao Long's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish as his head tried to formulate a proper question before he finally asked, "What crimes have you committed to be sent down here?"

"Did you steal someone's demon as well?" Xuan Yi butted in and questioned.

Xiao Long frowned at her question, "Hey, shut it. Can't you see I'm talking to Shifu?"

"What Shifu? Excuse me, I didn't hear that he has accepted you as a disciple."

"What if I say I want to be his disciple, can you stop me?"

"Oh, so you want to betray Lan Sect now?"

"Says the one who's tarnishing Lan Sect with her slow learning ability."

The two Lan Sect disciples were about to get physical at this rate. Lin He quickly slotted himself in between the duo and stretched out his palms towards each of them, setting them apart from each other. "Hold on, I haven't spoken and yet the both of you already have tons to talk about."

Xiao Long looked down on the ground sheepishly while Xuan Yi held her stubborn fiery gaze on Xiao Long.

"Firstly, what I was punished for, I don't want to tell you. It's a right that I at least have. If you want to ask about it, you can do so when you're a ghost. I might share it then."

Lin He could definitely share what he had done but who would tell others of a horrendous crime they had done? Maybe the pirates and thugs would brag about their loot and kill count, but not Lin He.

The Lan Sect disciples' expressions ashened at his words and pressed their lips together into a thin line. It was finally quiet after the past few minutes of non-stop bickering from the both of them.

"Secondly, call me what you want but I'm not taking in any disciples. However, I can teach you a thing or two if you'd like."

Lin He paused, waiting for any of them to speak up if they would like. But they continued to purse their lips and nodded their heads at his words.

"Thirdly, if you had heard from the Vine Demon last night, I'm currently a bounty among the demons. In other words, I'm a dangerous man to be around. For Xuan Yi, I'll still help you with your promotion as contracted by the binding spell. As for Xiao Long..."

Xiao Long saw how Lin He was hesitant about his pleas to join them and quickly interrupted. "I'm willing to join you on your journey! I'm a really skilled Slayer unlike someone. I'll help to fend off the demons!"

Lin He gave his words some thoughts.

If he let Xiao Long off now, who knows what this guy would say and tell others about him? It's better if he stayed around under Lin He's watchful eyes, in case he does something foolish that could bring more harm than good to Lin He.

"Hm, alright." Lin He agreed and Xiao Long beamed in excitement.

To meet a god would be a dream come true, let alone travelling with one! Xiao Long was beyond elated that Lin He had accepted his offer. With this opportunity to stick by a god and learn from him, he could pick up new things that he could share with his fellow Slayers in Lan Sect. Perhaps, even propelling Lan Sect to the top as the best of the best Sect in the entire world!

For a moment, he thought he had heard things when he was pretending to be knocked out in the cave last night. But his curiosity and gut feelings were absolutely correct when he decided to follow them after seeing them leave Liquor City in a hurry. It was a good idea to listen to that mayor last night to go into the cave to catch the dangerous demon. It was a blessing in disguise!

Xuan Yi's expression darkened at the idea of having Xiao Long around and immediately protested. "No way! Lin He, you know how annoying he is to me. How can you ask him to join me in my promotion journey?"

Lin He rubbed his temples and let out a sigh. It's tough to be the middleman and even tougher to exist between these two enemies.

Were they enemies from their past lives as well to be always bickering?

Xiao Long snorted and crossed his arms. "Then, I can join in to help you in your promotion exam. I bet you needed some help anyways."

Xuan Yi turned quiet as she looked at her fellow batchmate, her mind was probably thinking through things again after hearing what Xiao Long had offered.

"Hmph, up to you." She said briefly before rubbing her nose, acting as if it wasn't a big deal to her.

Lin He let out a soft sigh, secretly glad that there might be some sort of peace now. "Lastly, if any of you mentioned anything about me being a god to anyone else, please be prepared to face punishment from Heaven."

It was just a small scare tactic. The punishment would most likely be cleaning off their memories, nothing serious for a mortal. Afterall, gods were not allowed to meddle with a mortal's business unless necessary.

"Can we all do that?" Lin He asked as his gaze flickered between the duo in front of him.

Xuan Yi's just nodded silently while Xiao Long looked like he was drunk on admiration as he looked at Lin He with adoration.

"Good." Lin He smiled at them before proceeding on to walk. "Oh, and Xiao Long. Weren't you knocked out last night?"

Xiao Long scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. "We were overpowered quickly by her vines, so I pretended to be unconscious so I could find a chance to attack her."

"You were pretending?" Xuan Yi yelled as she glared at Xiao Long, her eyes were wide and round.

"It's called working smart. Learn it." Xiao Long answered with a smug grin.

"Do you know how heavy you are?!"

"I'm quite light! Don't try to accuse me of being heavy when you are weak."

"Oh, do you want to carry me all the way to the next town since you're that strong?" She snapped sarcastically.

"Don't try to be smart, idiot."

Lin He just sighed and shook his head at the duo bickering in front of him.

Here they go again…