Blood Feud

Blood. All he could smell was blood. It trickled down his hands and onto the floor, as he held the bloody corpses of his family.

"Father! Mother! Yan'er! Don't leave me!"

The boy cried out through a face full of tears, but it would be in vain. They were already gone.

"... Blame your unlucky stars, boy."

A black-robed man looked back on the boy callously, shaking his head as he walked out the open doorway, away from the bloody scene.

The boy's hands clenched in anger, the warm blood like fire on his skin as he clutched the still body of his little sister. Why...? Why did this happen?!

He gently laid his sister's body on the floor, shoulders trembling, before jumping up and charging the black-robed man with a guttural roar.

However, before he could even take two steps, the man turned and threw a palm at him, creating a fiery palm imprint on the boy's chest. The force of the blow was enough to send him flying, crashing into the wall and coughing up blood as the flaming qi scorched his body.

Without another word, the black-robed man turned to leave once more, this time disappearing without a trace.

The boy could only weakly glare at the open doorway, vision blurred by his tears and rapidly fading consciousness. The blood in his mouth slowly dripped down his chin, the smell of it overwhelming his senses as the darkness took hold.

Blood... There was so much blood...

 ---

Hu Long's eyes shot open as he awoke, gasping, in a cold sweat. That dream again...

Before he could even lift a hand to wipe his forehead, a sudden shock of cold coursing through him made him cry out in pain, bolting upright on the soft sofa he was laying on. Right, he had collapsed after trying to refine the entire Netherworld Ghost Flower pill.

A snoring to his side caught his attention, and he glanced over to see Ryker sleeping peacefully on the other sofa next to him. Was he still in Sir Caelus's room?

'You're awake, foolish disciple.'

The voice of his master sounded in his head as her apparition appeared beside him, wearing a severe expression.

"... Sorry, Master," Hu Long muttered, clutching at his chest and panting heavily. The bitter cold made the breath catch in his lungs, and even worse was the painful scar next to his heart; the mark left by the black-robed man, along with the still-present burn across his eye.

His master had also warned him, earlier, but he had stubbornly persisted. This freezing sensation was simply the result of that, he supposed.

'Hmph, so you know when you've done wrong, at least,' the crone scoffed, shaking her head disapprovingly.

'What were you thinking, acting so recklessly? If it weren't for that Caelus kid's quick actions, you'd be a frozen corpse, by now.'

Hu Long scratched his cheek awkwardly, eyes downcast.

"I... I'm not sure. I was too focused on becoming stronger..."

The crone shook her head again at Hu Long's words, sighing in resignation.

'Well, lucky for you, that Caelus kid's methods are powerful, indeed,' she continued, dissipating on the spot and returning to the ring on his necklace.

'I thought for sure you would have crippled your cultivation after that little stunt, but he was able to perfectly expel almost all of the cold qi in your body in an instant. There's still a trace of it left that's embedded itself into your meridians, but you can use that to help cultivate ice-attribute techniques, so it's not all bad...'

Hu Long grimaced. So that's what was causing the cold flashes he was having.

"Don't worry, I won't lose my composure like that, again." 

"Nn, like what again?"

He had just settled into a meditative state when he heard Ryker's groggy voice from the other sofa, and Hu Long turned to see the young man stirring from his mess of blankets and pillows.

"Yo, you finally awake?" Ryker asked him, rubbing his eyes.

"Yes, thanks to Sir Caelus stopping me before it was too late. How long was I asleep for?"

"Around two days, give or take."

"Two days..."

Hu Long rubbed his temples in frustration. The temptation of power had really clouded his better judgement. How was he going to explain to the servant overseers why he was absent for two days?

"You good, bro? You were really tossing and turning, these past few days," Ryker asked, throwing off his blankets and sitting to face him. 

Hu Long just let out a deep breath, slowly getting the frozen qi in his meridians under control, before nodding with half-lidded eyes.

".. Yeah, I'm good."

Ryker narrowed his gaze, tilting his head as he tried to appraise Hu Long's mental state. He eventually shrugged his shoulders, though, apparently unable to find any abnormalities, and threw Hu Long a jade token from out of his pocket.

"What's this?" Hu Long asked curiously, catching the token out of the air.

"It's an, uh... 'emergency response token'? C made it while you were out. Apparently it'll break and notify him if your condition flares up again."

Hu Long nodded as the two of them settled back down into their respective sofas, and he once again fell into his meditation.

The sound of Ryker fidgeting around, however, slowly grated on his nerves as the minutes passed, and he couldn't help but crack open an eye in irritation, only to find Ryker staring back at him contemplatively.

"What is it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Soooo... you trying to get into the Pill Saint Mystic Realm...?"

"... Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Y'know, C mentioned it, and I thought it might be something you'd be interested in..."

Hu Long narrowed his eyes as Ryker suddenly found the ceiling very interesting, avoiding his gaze. The silence seemed to press down around them as the moment dragged on, before Hu Long finally spoke.

"... Ryker, I'm going to ask you a question, and I want you to be very honest," he said, causing Ryker to look at him curiously.

"Yeah? What's up?"

"Do you have any ulterior motives in becoming friends with me?"

Ryker's eyes widened, lips pursing suspiciously as he waffled with how to respond to the sudden question.

"Well, uh... there may be *some* ulterior motives that I'm not at liberty to tell you, at the moment..." he trailed off, looking off to the side.

Hu Long's stare remained on Ryker for a few moments more, before he simply sighed and shook his head, smiling ruefully.

"I see. That's fine, then," he said, closing his eyes with a peaceful expression on his face.

"That's it? You're not gonna ask what they are?" Ryker asked, to which Hu Long merely chuckled.

"Most people wouldn't tell you their motives just from asking for them, don't you think?" he said.

"Knowing you have them is enough. It would have been weirder if you were trying to get so close to me without any reason, so this actually puts me more at ease."

Ryker thought over Hu Long's words with a contemplative hum, before breaking into his usual mischievous grin.

"Well, alright. Then I've got a question for you!"

"Hm?"

"What's got you tossing and turning in your sleep?"

"... You're really nosy, you know that?"

---

It was already close to dawn by the time Ryker and Hu Long finished conversing. In the end, Hu Long relented and told him everything; about his family, the man in the black robe, and his quest to get revenge.

Ryker, for his part, sat in solemn silence, taking it all in. He'd always felt that Hu Long had a chip on his shoulder, but he never would have expected this chip to be so huge.

"I see... so you're looking for this man in the black robe, then?" Ryker asked once Hu Long finished his story, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Not yet. It'd be a fool's errand to go looking for him when I'm still this weak," Hu Long answered, fist clenched tight.

"I have to get stronger, first. That's the only way I'll be able to take my revenge."

Ryker nodded, eyes closed in thought, before, suddenly, he jumped off of the sofa onto his feet.

"Okay! It's settled!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands and pointing at a confused Hu Long.

"Me and C are gonna give you the superstar training course! We'll get you jacked in no time!"

Hu Long simply raised an eyebrow, then shook his head, smiling wryly. Simply volunteering for testing had already almost killed him; what kind of crazy training would a personal training course entail?

Granted, almost dying was mostly his fault...

"Anything I should be wary of in this 'superstar training'?" he asked.

"Just remember: whatever C says, goes. If he tells you to stop, you gotta stop, this time," Ryker answered, to which Hu Long nodded solemnly. He didn't want a repeat of last time, after all.

At this moment, the crack of sunlight through the villa's windows caught in their eyes, signaling the arrival of dawn. Ryker just started stretching his arms, jumping in place to warm up as he threw a glance at Hu Long.

"Well, you've already had enough sleep, right?" he asked, grinning, "Let's go find C and get started!"

Hu Long nodded again, this time with a confidant smirk. He was looking forward to just what was in store.

---

| Relationship with Hu Long became: Confidant |

| Received: Tianshang Lightning Palm Technique x 1 |