5 - Qing BaHu

"Master Qing! We are in big trouble, Master Qing!"

LiuChen stumbled over the threshold of the door that leads into the main Qing family meeting room, panicking over the bad news that he had to bring.

Just this morning, as one of the level six martial art servants that served the Qing family, he was tasked to bring back the unfilial son Qing ChaoTian.

LiuChen thought it would be an easy enough task with the experience that he had and the advantage of having three times more levels than Qing ChaoTian.

So did his master.

"Well LiuChen. What's the matter? Such a man of your powers should not be panicking like you are. I'm sure that whatever news that you have shouldn't be an immense problem."

A small man sat in the jade chairs facing the front of the room, sipping tea from a teacup made of the highest quality that one could purchase in these parts of town, silently showing off his financial status to all that would come before him.

Qing BaHu, the head of the main branch of the Qing Family. He wasn't the first choice to be lord, but he was the ultimate choice since all his fellow brothers died one way or another.

Being a mere level seven of the martial arts, he wasn't exactly the most talented in his family. Nor was his intelligence the highest. But he had a huge gathering of followers that supported his claim as lord of the Qing family. The rest who denied his claim or defied him perished or disappeared.

He wasn't the strongest, nor the smartest, but with his cunningness that outwits most of the old foxes of his time, and a strong iron grip on the weakness of the elders, he gained the powers that he hold now.

LiuChen took a deep breath and rolled his eyes internally at the small man in front of him. If it wasn't for the fact that he owed the Qing family a favour, he would not be serving this rat of a man.

Qing BaHu's appearance did not live up to his name as a fearsome tiger, a small man compared to the rest of his peers and with a rat-like face, it was hard for him to get wedded at first, but after his teenage years, he now had over eleven concubines and six mistresses waiting to serve his needs.

Even with so many ladies serving him, he was unfortunate in his low sperm jackpots. With only two sons to his name, one would think that he would be a loving father to both.

But LiuChen knows the difference in treatment of both young masters and silently smirked at the irony, bowing his head even lower to prevent Qing BaHu from noticing.

This rat kicked onto an iron board. Maybe now he might finally break some toes.

"Young master ChaoTian…"

A teacup smashed onto the ground in front of LiuChen.

Bouncing off the ground from the force that Qing BaHu threw it. Broken pieces barely missed LiuChen's face by mere inches, but he did not move. He silently glowered at the indignity, and swears that Qing BaHu will get it coming when the time comes.

He could hear a chair toppling back as LiuChen stood up and paced back and forth in front of his bowed head.

"He is not young master! A sow birthed that piece of filth. He should be glad that I'm gracious enough to allow him to breathe, but how does that ungrateful child repay me? By killing my son!"

Like a boiling kettle letting off steam, Qing Bahu roared at LiuChen with all his might.

Knowing how Qing Bahu gets when he is on a roll, LiuChen cut him off before he could go on another rant.

"With all due respect, the death of young master Yuan is the least of our worries now," said LiuChen.

Qing BaHu's chest heaved heavily as he stared intensely at LiuChen. But knowing who he really reports to, Qing BaHu did not dare to bare his fangs at him and merely waited for him to continue speaking.

With everything that had happened between him panicking till now, LiuChen had finally calmed down and spoke as a matter-of-factly.

"There is a deity in town. He's taking ChaoTian under his wing and wants to meet you tomorrow before sun down. He did not give an exact timing, but it would be wise for you to go as soon as possible.

We don't know what the deity wants, but he asked us why we were capturing ChaoTian. He even carried him in his arms and looked protective. He saw the scars.

You should be more careful tomorrow.

He's fucking pissed."

… … … …

Qing ChaoTian didn't even notice that they had crossed the fields and crystal lake, as his entire mind was being swamped by the fact that he was being carried.

The deity is carrying me! The deity is carrying me! The deity is carrying me!

Like a broken record on replay, that was everything that Qing ChaoTian could think of as LinYu carried him in his arms and hurried back into his house.

"What's your name, little one?" LinYu asked softly, trying to not scare Qing ChaoTian.

"I…Name…My…" Qing ChaoTian's mouth was impossibly dry as it had been two days since he drank any water. Between escaping the Qing family and the shock of meeting a deity, he didn't have time to think about it anyways.

Trying to generate some saliva to wet his mouth, Qing ChaoTian thought of the sour plums that his nanny had once given him as a treat and swallowed quickly.

But that seemed to be a mistake, as his mouth was too dry and mixed with the air that was heavy with spiritual Qi, caused Qing ChaoTian to choke and cough.

"It's okay little one," LinYu said as he continuously pats on Qing ChaoTian's back, comforting the poor boy, "I won't hurt you."

Even thou Qing ChaoTian was very nervous, he trusted LinYu and could not understand why he kept repeating that he wouldn't hurt him.

But then again, it was really nice of the deity to assure him, and it made Qing ChaoTian even more ashamed than he already was.

"Qing ChaoTian," unable to bring himself to look LinYu without stuttering, he resorted to stare at the ground instead, "I… I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for, ChaoTian? Now, that's a powerful name for a brave boy like you. Even the heavens wouldn't dare oppose you, huh."

LinYu stopped in front of the medical bay and smiled at the child in his arms.

"Thanks for trusting me enough to share your name, ChaoTian. But I need you to trust me just a little more. You see this thing here? It's a magical place where all your pain will fly away. So don't worry. I promise I won't hurt you."

What Qing ChaoTian saw next shocked him.