Facing death

"Shouldn't we act? What if something happened to young Master Zoe?" Waiting for Chen Zeon's command to attack the place, Xi Shen worriedly asked while leading them to the location.

"Don't act recklessly; we are here to catch the mastermind behind everything. Until he appears, we have to wait." Observing the place from a distance, Chen Zeon tried to explain the situation.

"But, what about young Master? What if his life is in danger?"

"Why are you worried about him when I'm not? Even if it's a life-threatening situation, he must know how to handle it. If not, he isn't worth being a member of Chen Long sect." The words of Chen Zeon completely left him speechless. He knew that in Chen Long sect, power was the only thing that decided someone's worth, even if they were a member of their family or not.

Chen Zeon continued. "Don't worry; I'm not planning to put my nephew in any danger. He is the only heir left in our family anyway."

Xi Shen disgustingly looked at Chen Zeon for a moment after hearing the words from his father and turned his face away, as he had never expected anything from such man in the first place. He doesn't want to even be recognized as Chen Zeon's son, not in this life.

Meanwhile, inside the underground prison...

The men took the girls in the prison to a ritual hall. The prisoners were all females, and there were not just one or two; it exceeded a hundred. Chen Zoe couldn't understand what they were about to do with them. The little girl was also by his side, holding his clothes tightly.

Creating a magic circle on the ground, five black-cloaked people stood at five different corners of the star drawn inside the circle. They began chanting in an ancient language under the sky. Watching the ritual, a man stood in a dark corner of the large room.

Not taking too long, a black smoke surrounded the place and gathered in the center of the circle. It slowly took the form of a female, and its darkness capture few girls from the prisoners. The fog started to take human form, and the girls fell to the ground as an old skinny lady.

"More… I need more…" A female voice echoed around the place, and it quickly began to capture its preys.

Having no other option than acting alone to protect them, Chen Zoe stepped forward. He used the blue flames to release the girls from the darkness's grasp.

"Hide somewhere safe." Letting go of the little girl, he went to fight the darkness and the men surrounding the area.

"How dare you cause trouble in this ritual?" The man who had been watching everything came forward and confronted Chen Zoe.

His attacks were stronger and faster than anyone Zoe had ever faced. It was even hard for Zoe to keep up while defending. However, when the man came into the light, Chen Zoe realized something: the person he had been fighting wasn't a human. Just like the severed face he had witnessed five years ago, this person had scales on his body and face, and a forehead mark, it also exactly the same.

Unable to hold back any longer against such a strong opponent, Chen Zoe got defeated.

Slowly moving back as the dragon keep coming toward him, Chen Zoe hit a wall. Realizing it was the end, Chen Zoe looked at him in a pathetic way. The dragon's eyes were filled with rage, it seemed like only after killing Chen Zoe, he would be satisfied. When he raised his sword to end Zoe, the little girl suddenly stood between the dragon and Chen Zoe.

She was trembling from head to toe, but she stood her ground in front of the dragon. For some reason, the dragon hesitated to attack the little girl, but the commotion created by Chen Zeon and his disciples totally destroyed that hesitation in a moment.

He aimed for her brave heart that had allowed her to stand in front of him, but pulling her backward, Chen Zoe got pierced by the sword.

"Z-Zoya…" In a trembling voice, she called out.

"They came; now we don't have to worry. Everything is going to be okay." With a fading smile, Chen Zoe comforted the little girl and his consciousness slowly faded away.

Chen Zeon couldn't help Zoe; he could only helplessly witness the scene because the summoned darkness blocked their way. To avenge his nephew, he went to fight against the dragon.

"Zoya… Zoya…" Trying to wake him up, the little girl desperately called out his name several times. But seeing no response made her feel more nervous, and his blood was leaking non-stop.

How it happened wasn't clear; maybe it was because the little girl was desperately trying to save him from death. A golden glow appeared from her hands, her black hair and green eyes into shine brightly like the sun.

Because of the dark smoke that covered the area, this scene wasn't visible to everyone except for the dragon and Chen Zeon. However, witnessing the scene brought a smile to the dragon's face, as he found something more precious. But he had no choice but to leave the place because of Chen Zeon.

Xi Shen had also successfully defeated the darkness, they men had summoned and went towards Chen Zoe worriedly. Surprisingly, the wound on Chen Zoe's chest had completely healed, but he remained in a deep sleep even after they tried to wake him up. The little girl also lay unconscious next to Chen Zoe, still holding his hand tightly.