Chapter 9

The walk back to the hut felt strangely long. Qiang Feng was feeling slightly tired. Maybe it felt long because of the extra burden he is carrying? He glanced back at Kai Xia who was quietly following his steps. Since he hadn't said anything, Qiang Feng continued taking the path they were on. After about 400m, Qiang Feng finally turned around to ask Kai Xia about the direction. He was sure that the walk from the hut to where they were at preciously was about a 5 minutes walk and now, he was quite sure it had been more than 5.

"Kai Xia ge, are we walking in the right direction? We have been walking much longer than before and it seems like the sun might start to set soon," Qiang Feng asked.

Kai Xia jerked and stopped walking. He looked around and was dumbfounded to find that they had walked the opposite direction of the hut. How could he have not noticed at all? A small voice in his head teased him saying that he was infatuated by Qiang Feng and didn't even notice a single other thing except for that man. Kai Xia quickly shut out that voice deep within his mind and pretended it never happened. Now, what excuse can he give?

"Erm yeah right direction because I wanted to err pick fruit. Yeah fruit!" He exclaimed with false enthusiasm and awkwardness.

Qiang Feng nodded in understanding and asked him if the place to pick fruit was still far away because he was getting quite tired and hungry. Unsettled that Qiang Feng was feeling uncomfortable, Kai Xia took the lead and quickly brought them to a small clearing that had a crystal clear lake. It wasn't very big but it wasn't very small either.

"Drink up. I'll get the fruits close by here. Just take a rest here and have a drink. I will be back soon," Kai Xia said with an awkward but sweet smile and left in a rush. He could not stand another moment with Qiang Feng because he felt so ashamed about his thoughts. Qiang Feng had just recovered and he can't possibly take advantage of that fact. Qiang Feng wasn't bothered about the fact that he was attracted to a man because it seemed normal enough to him. What's the difference with love between a man and a man and a man and a woman? To him there was no such difference. He very much wanted to try and make that man his but again, Qiang Feng just got well and also, he had no idea who that man really was and he was sure that Qiang Feng would want to leave the mountains. Unlike Kai Xia who was bound to the mountains, Qiang Feng would most definitely want to leave and explore. After making a firm decision that he would most definitely not act on his attraction, Kai Xia made a return to the lake, carrying a variety of fruits.

Qiang Feng was greedily drinking up the lake water after he placed the beast Kai Xia had slayed down. He was a lot more thirsty than he had realized. After drinking his fill, Qiang Feng sat by the river, enjoying the slight spring breeze. The setting sun was shining a warm light on him. *crackle* A sudden crackle sounded from the woods surrounding the lake. Qiang feng was immediately on alert. He heard the sound again, it came from his left. He stared intensely at the spot where it came from. After a few short moments, the branches and leaves rustled as another person walked out from the greenery. He was a short, bald man. However, that did not mean he wasn't menacing. One of his eyes was covered by a patch, he had a rough mustache growing and an evil smirk on his thin lips.

A bad feeling washed over him.

"Ah... I haven't expected to see you here young master," he said with a twisted grin, "I was sure that I had killed you before. The resilience of the Qiang Family surely does flow in you."

This strange man's eyes held a glint of killing intent. He inched closer and closer to Qiang Feng. Qiang Feng was frozen. He, a modern peace loving man, has no idea how to fight!! Cold sweat started to form. The cogs in his brain were working at full speed. How oh how would he escape this situation? He doesn't even know how strong his own self is but what he does know was that the man in front of him had a very very domineering aura. This man had on such a sick and twisted grin, it made Qiang Feng's stomach to twist and turn. The man was so so close to him now, his hand reaching towards Qiang feng.

Just as he was going to grab onto Qiang Feng, a strong force pushed the man away. Qiang Feng had his eyes shut tightly, anticipating the man's strong grip. The man who had been blown away about 50m from where he was standing previously looked up to find the source of the blow. Hi eyes landed on a young boy. He looked sharp and domineering with his large build and onyx eyes. Despite the young age, he seemed strong and mature. This man was no other than Kai Xia.

Upon seeing Qiang Feng was in danger, he dropped all the fruits he had collected and attacked the man who was so so close to grabbing Qiang Feng. His luscious black hair flew in the wind's direction. He had on a small, confident smirk. He ran at full speed and stopped in front of Qiang Feng who was still cowering. Qiang Feng finally opened his eyes and he caught side of Kai Xia's familiar robes but the person he was seeing was unfamiliar. Kai Xia seemed cold and murderous. His aura was sharp. Kai Xia's intense gaze was on the short man who was not some distance away from him. Kai Xia ran up towards the man without hesitation, his sword in hand. He swung his sword strongly. The man narrowly made an escape but a line of blood was dripping from a cut on his face. His face turned ugly.

He took out his own sword and charged towards Kai Xia. Unblinking, Kai Xia too charged towards him. The fight was intense, swords clanging against each other, no one willing to back down. However, after some time, it was obvious that the short man was beginning to fall behind Kai Xia's pace. His moves were sharp and decisive. He looked ever so graceful. A moment of carelessness was all that was needed for Kai Xia to deliver the final blow. A clean strike on his neck. The short man fell down onto his knees and finally flat onto the grass. Blood dripping out in a smooth line out of his slit throat, staining the grass red where he lay. The life in his eyes slowly disappearing.

Kai Xia calmly wiped off his sword and kept it away again. He turned to look at Qiang Feng. The boy eyes held wonder, fear, amazement and much more. He grinned slightly and walked toward Qiang Feng.

"What would you ever do without me? A few minutes of me gone and you almost get yourself killed," Kai Xia said and ruffled his hair.

Qiang feng's face started to burn ever so slightly. He was slightly afraid seeing Kai Xia fight. His eyes were full of coldness and killing intent. However, despite that, it was attractive. He was so charismatic and strong. "Scratch that, it was only cool because I erm wanted to learn it too. Yeah that's it!" Qiang Feng muttered to himself. Qiang Feng had also firmly decided that he would not act on any desire or attraction he may have found towards Kai Xia because he was sure that a man like that would most definitely have girls dropping their panties every step of the way. Qiang feng also wanted to fool himself into thinking that he was straight. After that experience with Ping Jun, he would have rather not to ever go through gay sex again because it was such an excruciating experience.

Seeing Qiang Feng was so intently thinking, Kai Xia flicked the other's forehead. "Ouch!" Qiang feng exclaimed. He glared at Kai Xia who was trying to hold in his laughter. He then proceeded to shrug and started walking away. He picked up the fruits he had dropped earlier and gestured for Qiang feng to follow him. The day was about to end and night was about to fall soon. Kai Xia really did not want to subject Qiang Feng to the horrors of the nights in this forest so he picked up his pace and had Qiang feng follow suit.

This was the end of a rather eventful day. After seeing the outline of the hut, Qiang Feng sighed out of relief. He can finally take a rest after the hectic day.