31 Thicker Than Blood

An expression akin to disgust was on the silver-eyed beast's canine face. It loosened its hold on the man; a thump and groan indicating that he hit the cold ground.

Yun Da Xia's pulse drummed against her temple. She knew that her bond to Little Ju would protect her, but that didn't extend to anyone else. With a quick glance, she knew that the person bleeding on the ground was not anyone she knew. If this was a tactic of warning; it had gone too far.

Before her mouth could fire scathing words, Little Yan beat her to the punch.

"Are you two incapable of being alert or are just stupid?" Amidst a mix of growls came the trenchant string of human dialect. The silver-eyed wolf didn't limit her glare on to the human girl but also directed it to her younger brother.

"Sister, what do yo-"

"What I mean is that this boy," A paw landed on the man's back. "Had been loitering around this place waiting to ambush you for a while now, yet none of you could sense him. If I hadn't caught him I don't know what kind of sorry state you would have been in." Displeasure shone through the silver eyes.

Beneath the large beast's paw, the figure let out a pained groan. Yun Da Xia's forehead creased. The fact that she and Little Ju were unable to sense the presence was alarming. Even if she was at the dregs of the cultivation chain, with her skill she should have been able to at least get the impression that the man was in the vicinity.

"You are a Sacred beast; the future of our kind. How could you not detect that human with malicious intent? Have you become so muddled by that bond to the point that-"

"Let me look at him." She interrupted the silver-eyed wolf's yapping. Yun Da Xia's peach blossom gaze landed on Little Ju for a while before she turned her head. The inside of her cheek bled iron under the pressure of her teeth.

Little Yan's fangs peeked through her lip as Yun Da Xia moved closer. The girl didn't care for shows of intimidation; only focusing on the figure on the ground. A frown marked her face. Now that she was aware of him, she could feel his presence through the waves of energy in the air. His aura was unpolished and unruly; something that would be hard to miss. Powerful cultivators all had auras that were finely refined so that it would make it easier for themselves to conceal their presence or magnify it.

Her initial thoughts were that the Wolfsbane Pavilion had figured out her identity and sent somebody to get her. She tried to look at the situation in many different angles, but in the end, the boy still did not seem formidable.

Was he an enemy of the Yun family?

When she made a motion for Little Yan to move her paw, the wolf stared back at her with disapproval in its eyes. "Would you even be able to handle him?"

"If you don't trust me then be by my side."

Pulling her paw away, Little Yan didn't dare move any farther than three feet. Even Little Ju came closer; just in case.

Before the man on the ground could sigh in relief; a dagger was at his throat. Yun Da Xia held on to a poker face as she scrutinized the unfamiliar person. Every one of his features seemed to have been meticulously carved from marble. Blood and dirt stained his face, but his eyes were twinkling. His expression didn't look like someone who was being threatened by death at all.

"You know, the big dogs threw me off. I swear I'm usually more impressive than this." His lips formed a self-deprecating smile.

Yun Da Xia ignored his words. She let qi build up within her and forced it over him; trying to gauge his ability by forcing it out. She harumphed with furrowed brows; there seemed to be no semblance of cultivation within him at all. "Who are you?"

She was infamous throughout the capital for being a waste. There had been no talk about someone else being in the same predicament as she previously was.

"Does that really matter?" He raised a brow.

Another dagger manifested on her opposite hand; its blade had bitten into her brother before. She looked at him meaningfully.

He maintained a smile. "Let's just say that I'm not your enemy." He shrugged, the skin of his neck just barely grazing the edge of her knife.

She shook her head. Wasn't he being a bit too nonchalant? "Then explain why you were going to ambush me."

"I wouldn't call what I was going to do an ambush. I was aiming more for more of a negotiation type of approach."

A red line appeared on his neck as she pressed the dagger in. "Can you cut to the chase?" Her lips tugged down. Was she not intimidating in any way? If not her, then were Little Yan and Little Ju merely gigantic stuffed toys to this man?

With her knife slowly sinking into his throat, the back of her hand rested on the junction of his neck. Soft thumps pulsed against her skin. Her eyes widened.

It had the same slight anomaly that she had felt on her mother.

"You need masiura leaves for an antidote." Shock colored her tone; cutting him off before he could say a word. A moment passed with her trying to figure out the implications of what that meant, and him doing the same.

In a split second, their positions had been reversed. From her point of advantage, Yun Da Xia found herself on the ground; pain shooting through her back. The man straddled her hips; holding her own daggers against her. Little Ju and Little Yan let out menacing growls, stalking closer.

He paid the dangerous beasts no mind. His eyes flashed. "How do you know about the poison?"