17 Demon Girl

"Did it work?" Zhu Tingyao asked, curious.

For the first time in centuries, Lune could see. For the first time since he gave up his sight for his younger sister, he could see, without having the draining, qi-generated spiritual field substitute for his missing eyes.

As much as he despised having to possess another's body, he could not say that he did not miss seeing the flash of colors that flooded into his vision, lessened of the burden of having to exert his qi-made map to figure out his surroundings.

It's been so long since he'd seen the bright sky, the ground he stood on, the clothes he was wearing, the people he talked to... However, this was temporary. He'd have to return Channing his body when he was done fulfilling his promise.

Besides, a mortal body like Channing's could not host his presence for long, especially when even Lune's own immortal body could not hold his own power well without inconveniencing him with the endless need for rest.

Lune turned to the little girl that patiently awaited his answer and smile. "Indeed, it did," he answered, Channing's voice replaced his own. "Though, I will have to hurry."

It hadn't been a minute, yet he could already begin to feel a natural force struggling to push his unprecedented presence out of the host.

Zhu Tingyao cast an almost pitiful glance at Lune's motionless body as it was left alone, leaning against the wall without a soul, seemingly dead. She then turned back to Lune's consciousness in Channing's body and said, "I feel bad for you. How can an immortal live with a body that can't hold their essence?"

Lune glanced back at his physical self, a sad smile written across his face as it was also the first time he had seen his own appearance in almost forever. "You're right," he said. "I do look like a wreck... but it is not of importance at this moment."

The girl gave a regretful smile, her human form dissipating into a purple-winged demon, a sharp horn sticking out on each side of her black hair. "Let me guess, the reason an immortal came to find me today is to force me to go back to the underworld...," she mumbled with a sigh.

Lune looked kindly down at the demon, one that had been living a mortal life by the given name of Zhu Tingyao. It wasn't until the girl first appeared in front of him that he realized that she never had cancer like her grandmother suspected, but she simply a young demon suffering the side effects of maintaining their human form for too long.

And after more than thousands of years of existence, he knew well, not all demons were evil, just as not all immortals were good.

"Do you like living here?" Lune asked, taking the little demon by surprise. "Do you like living as Zhu Tingyao, even living in such poor circumstances?"

Flustered, the demon began fumbling with her fingers. "I- I'm okay with it. A- all I need is Aunt and Grandma," she stammered.

"They aren't your real aunt and grandma..."

"I know," she said desperately. "But they treated me well even while they are struggling and adopted me... I want to stay and repay them."

Lune let out a sigh and knelt on the ground in front of the demon, looking it straight in its glossy eyes. "You're right. Zhu Zhen loved you like her own biological child."

He held out his palm, and suddenly, the silver necklace that belonged to her conjured on top of his hand. The demon's eyes widened in surprise.

"Why- why do you have that?" she stammered, accepting the necklace with both hands as Lune held it towards her.

"I promised your grandmother to give this back to you-"

The demon suddenly reached out with its scaled hands, grabbing Lune by the arm in distress. "You met Grandma? Where is she? Tell her to come back!" she pleaded, clutching the necklace in a tight fist.

Lune remained silent, and she figured the rest on her own, wide eyes beginning to well with tears. She lowered her head, hand still holding onto his wrist, and for a while, it was only the sound of her stifled sobs.

"...why?" she whimpered. "She l- left without a word, and now she's not coming back anymore? Is it my fault?"

"You are not at fault," the immortal gently chided. "Zhu Zhen died of old age."

"S- still," the demon hiccupped. "I should've said something at that time... I didn't even get to say goodbye..."

Lune pressed his lips into a thin line. He was running out of time, his consciousness barely hanging on. If he didn't leave his host soon, Channing's body would start to collapse.

"Zhu Tingyao... would you like to send your grandmother to the afterlife?" he asked.

She looked up, her hopeful eyes searching his in case he was telling a lie. When she saw he was being serious, she sniffled and wiped her tears with the back of his hand. "C- can I really?"

He smiled. "Of course," he said. "But listen to what I have to say..."

And she listened intently.

.

.

The demon's name was Sha-Sha, that was what she told the immortal before he exited the mortal body he possessed, returning the stray part of his soul back to his original self.

Once the transfer back was complete, neither the moral nor the immortal woke, leaving the young creature to watch over two men herself. Sha-Sha wasn't sure what to do, standing with her wings wrapped around herself in insecurity.

She didn't like being alone, especially in silence...and it wasn't long before her eyes lingered back to the blind immortal that promised to let her meet her grandmother once more before she was gone forever. She was yet to know his name.

Despite struggling to cope with her own feelings, she felt bad for him. She felt guilty, in fact, for the wound on his shoulder. It was she, who had released the undeads into the capital city, in hopes for them to find her missing grandmother...

She didn't mean for them hurt anyone...

Sha-Sha clutched the necklace the immortal retrieved for her close to her chest. When she first met him, she was scared.

He was an immortal of the heavens, she was a demon from the underworld. The moment he found her in her human form, she thought he was going to kill her as to how human cultivators and other immortals have done so to her predecessors in the far past.

Yet, he was kind to her, unlike the others. He helped her despite being in his weakened state...

That was the only thing she found strange about him.

How was it that an immortal was born with a body that wasn't compatible with his spiritual power?

It must be that he really was a pathetic, weak immortal, or he was simply just too powerful beyond imagination that even his body couldn't handle it...

Either way, she could somehow tell that the setback he suffered from, was an everyday struggle for him. From the way he talked, it sounded as if he expected this to happen, and that he was used to it.

He talked without too much care for his condition, as if it were supposed to be something normal.

She knew well that it wasn't.

It must've been extra hard for him as well without eyes, something that everyone else had but he did not.

Sha-Sha shook her head, trying not to dwell too much on other thoughts to remind herself what she must do, in order for her to meet her grandmother one last time.

With a slight shiver, her demonic form changed back to the human image of Zhu Tingyao, the human she had lived as for more than seven years.

Before he'd gone, the immortal told her that, the human's name was Channing Yue, an important figure. That they didn't come alone, that his bodyguards were looking for them close by. He said that once the bodyguards arrive, tell them that she-

"President!" a man suddenly shouted nearby, making Sha-Sha jump, her fear taking the best of her.

"The president's signal says he's just right here," another made known.

Countless pairs of footsteps thundered behind the wall that separated her yard from the outside street, and she frantically scurried to the immortal's side, for it was only within his presence that she felt safe.

Shadows appeared at the entrance to her yard right before figures in black suits came rushing in, and she cowered beside the immortal once seeing that each of them was armed with a loaded gun, frightened.

In one look she could tell there were more than five of them, and they fell into a panic seeing the human named Channing laying on the ground out cold. "President Yue!" they shouted, rushing to tend to him. "Can you hear us?"

None of them seemed to notice the little girl watching them as they tried to revive their charge, their attempts only ending up in vain.

"He's still breathing," the one kneeling beside the president announced, his voice sounding as if he were out of breath from running. "Someone contact Assistant He and bring the president back. The rest of you spread out. We still have to find Sir Lune- who's there?"

Sha-Sha let out a fearful cry and curled herself into a tight ball behind the unconscious immortal, trembling as the strong-built men whirled on her, guns drawn.

It only took them a quick second to lower their weapons once they found who it was.

"Good going everyone, we scared a child," someone grumbled under their breath.

"Heavens, someone go check if Sir Lune is alright," the leader of them instructed, concern and worry etched deeply into his voice. "Half of you step out and make sure there aren't any undeads around. Last time we barely survived thanks to Sir Lune..."

Sha-Sha flinched as she felt a hand lightly tap her shoulder, still shivering in a tightly curled ball. "G- guns," she stammered violently. Those violent human weapons that could kill in one shot...they terrified her, if not the thing she was scared of the most in this world.

"Ah...I- I sorry," a deep voice frantically apologized, his unnatural accent and broken speech giving himself away as a foreigner. "No gun, no gun... Okay?"

He tried to reassure her, gently patting her shoulder as he went on speaking in a foreign language rather soothingly. Though she couldn't understand a word he was saying, it was enough to convince Sha-Sha to relax her stiff muscles.

"Better?" the foreigner asked as she slowly turned around. He flashed a smile, his gray eyes holding a friendly twinkle. He held up both hands, evidence that he wasn't holding a gun.

Convinced that she wasn't afraid of him anymore, he pointed to himself and grinned. "Florence," he said proudly. "Me...Florence. You?"

Sha-Sha opened her mouth to answer but didn't when a rustle of movement right beside her seized her attention, and she found the immortal surrounded by three of the men in black suits.

Her eyes widened as she suddenly remembered what she had nearly forgotten from her short breakdown of fear. "No!" she shouted, taking all of them by surprise.

She pushed away the hands that reached towards the immortal's wounded shoulder with distraught, thinking of the consequences that could come if they were to come in contact with his blood.

The immortal had entrusted her with himself while he was in a state where he couldn't do anything for himself. At least, she should be able to do this for him.

"D- don't touch him!" she beseeched, firmly staring back at their confused expressions. She held out her arms, shielding the immortal's defenseless body from the human's guards.

"But we have to treat his wound-"

"No!" she insisted. "Leave it alone!"

They tried to persuade her again. "The wound will fester-"

"I said, no."

Little the others know, Lune's wound had already began slowly healing itself.