The trials of fire part 2

The blazing Hinoe uma burst out into a fright at the move. Xiao Lan had thought that the horse had been bad before but it was downright terrifying right now with his blue-green flames spreading everywhere.

He was trying to escape by burning down the spell holding him in place. And if he did escape then they would never be able to capture it again. It would be lost in the world as a calamity.

Then slowly he would lose his true name and purpose and become a real agent of chaos. Xiao Lan did not want that for the other since none of this was his fault. It was the fault of those evil cultivators who used him.

Who were also high-post personals in his kingdom? So ultimately, it fell down to Xiao Lan to correct it all.

"Yuhan, just put it down there. I will take it myself when I can but do not come near. It is not beneficial to us right now" the horse was totally out of reason right now. He would attack if and when Commander Yuhan came closer to it.

Even though Xiao Lan had confidence that commander Yuhan would be able to avoid that hit, he would rather not take the chance if that was possible.

"Are you sure?" the commander asked with doubt in his voice. He looked at Xiao Lan, then at Hinoe uma and then back to his hand. It was obvious that he was debating with himself over this issue at hand.

"Of course I am. Put it there and shit -" Xiao Lan's voice broke at the last curse. Commander Yuhan had taken an unconscious step forward that had send the fire horse running. To make matter worse, a small bush at the corner had been caught on fire and now it was slowly spreading along the dry grass.

With such a catalyst, it would not be long before other trees would get caught in the aftermath, they had purposely chased the horse through the wet areas with fleshy trees but the fire had been caught to an almost-dry batch.

Once a tall tree caught fire that would be it. The whole forest would burn as a result.

Xiao Lan needed that vial and he needed it right now. He angled his body to run in the direction of the vial but he was seen by the rabid horse who neighed in protest. The fire burned even brighter.

Just as Xiao Lan's hands closed over the vial, the fire reached the arch of the other part. It was only the current seal that was holding the whole place together and fire-free but it was beginning to crack now.

Small dents could be seen to the naked eye, the flashes separating the green and blue into different parts.

"FU HUA!" among all the flames laid a body that had been forgotten by everyone. Fu Hua had lost consciousness in that part and the only one who had remembered had been detective Song who cried out.

Xiao Lan could see the tree with Fu Hua's unconscious body being caught on fire. His magic burned with a sensation of heat that was not his own. Fu Hua was the one feeling that heat and he was the one who would be burning.

The fire was almost upon him now and the branch gave way under his weight which caused a free fall. Xiao Lan felt his heart skip a beat as another body collided with that fast-falling one causing both to collide with the barrier.

"Young master? Your highness? Xiao Lan? XIAO LAN! BREATHE! XIAO LAN" there were hands on his person, the young king knew that but he could not feel them.

He felt numb, his senses taken over by the heat and fire and guilt. The fire raged inside him, of rage and guilt mixed in equal part.

"He's not dead, he's still breathing so you need to breathe too" The magic was raging in Xiao Lan's ears but there was also a certain tightness in his chest which made it difficult to focus on anything.

"Get your head together" then there was a sensation of something hitting Xiao Lan and a breath was forced out of him. Suddenly, the dizziness was not that bad for him. He could breathe regularly now.

"Fu Hua! We need to check on him" Xiao Lan cried out, his voice almost on the verge of breaking. His desperation was showing clearly on his face right now.

He took a few steps before he froze. There was a small and disturbing voice that was calling out to him to stay back.

'Do not come, do not chase. You've shown your resolve. Now it's time to chose your path' what chance? What path? The fire horse came out with Fu Hua's cloak held in his mouth. He was carrying that unconscious body in a painful way.

And the burned clothes showed a condition no one wanted to wish even on their worst enemy. The skin was burning and corroding faster than it could heal. The scarred body below no longer held only scars.

It was now littered with burns of all kinds. Burns that would have killed a normal human and yet Fu Hua had lived through it, but not for long. His unconscious face was losing its colour fast.

He was dying.

'Now choose. Me or him. You only get one chance. The divine water can save his life but it would not fully cure him. It can bind me but not forever. Make your mind now' What mind? What choice?

Did Xiao Lan really need to make that decision? Wasn't it obvious that he would choose Hinoe uma over the traitor anyday?

After all, if he let the Hinoe uma go then the whole kingdom would be in danger. Fu Hua was important to no one but him and he could put his own need behind the kingdom's need. He had done it before and he could do it again.

He just had to open his mouth and say it. He just had to say it.

But why could he not say it? Why would his mouth not work when he forced those words to appear? What was wrong with him all of a sudden?

'Speak up or you will lose us both. I'm not a patient person at all' a person? Well, yes. Divine beasts did have a consciousness to them that allowed them to take human forms as they liked but Xiao Lan had not thought that Hinoe uma was at that level yet.

The horse was still coming closer to him which made him freeze up. Xiao Lan only now realised that he was not able to move period.

In front of him, the shape of the horse changed into that of a tall and well-built woman. Her robes covered her up from the neck down which made it difficult to tell many details but Xiao Lan could still make out the sharp way the woman carried herself.

Fu Hua felt small and vulnerable in her arms at that moment and a huge part of Xiao Lan did not like the female at all. He especially did not like how she held the other in her arms. She had no right to do so.

"Unfortunately, you lost your chance when you did not answer. As for this vile? I will be taking it with me for now" Xiao Lan did not get a chance to reply back. In his best condition, he might have been able to take on that female but not right now.

His magic protested but most of it did not respond to his call. For all the changes it had to rebel, it certainly chose the worst of them.

"You have no right to take him away. His life is promised to me. And you? Why did you do all this? To kill and maim so many if you still had your consciousness" Xiao Lan growled at the other, his face twisted into fury.

Hinoe uma was a wild and unpredictable horse deity, whose reasoning was lost to it in the corruption. But this deity here was lucid enough to hold a conversation with him, to challenge him and even test him out.

"I'm regretful for what happened the first night but nothing after that. The corruption did make me lose my reason and even now I can feel myself slipping into that headspace now and then. Being made to re-live that corruption again and again. Those people deserved what happened to them and yet they were foolish enough to continue to try" The female took the vile from his hands.

"The villagers did nothing wrong. They were the innocent party you tormented again and again" Xiao Lan's voice was borderline yelling but the female just tilted her head with a small smile.

But her eyes had hardened with raging flames.

"To see a wrong and do nothing is also a crime as big as participating. As such, they were accomplices of my captors I could not forgive. Now, I believe I'm running out of time for today and hopefully, this will be the last time I will be forced to do something like this. I will make sure the world remembers my wrath to never do anything like this again" the flames liked her steps and she turned away.

She was gone and yet Xiao Lan felt like he could not move at all.