10. Xiong Fei, The Red Panda

A boy is lying unconscious in the depths of the Siming forest. To be precise, in a certain cave which is where the red panda lives. The boy didn't notice that he was surrounded by several red pandas and a bonfire which kept his body warm even though his clothes had been taken off revealing his wounds where the wound on his waist seemed to be covered in a moistened spiritual herb mixture.

The boy was none other than Ji Long.

When it was mid-day, his cheeks and eyebrows twitched one after another as if he was dreaming of something. But not long after, he began to wake up.

As he regained consciousness, his eyes were working on focusing, trying to make sense of the visual stimulus as his eyelids fluttered open. When his hazy vision cleared, he jumped in surprise after seeing many meter-tall red pandas surrounding him.

He began to calm down since he vividly remembered that there was a huge red panda before he fell unconscious.

If he didn't get killed even in front of a spiritual beast as strong as the giant red panda before, then he wouldn't need to worry about the group of red pandas in front of him.

When the red pandas saw that Ji Long had regained consciousness, they made noises that sounded like a mix of duck and pig voices. This was the first time he heard a sound from a red panda. In his previous life, he only knew that the red panda was a special animal only found in the Tibetan plateau of China and its surroundings. He didn't know whether the red panda in this world was considered rare or not.

Still, he was surprised that they couldn't speak since he saw that one of them could speak human language. He wondered if the spiritual beasts in his current world that could speak the human language were only limited to high-level spiritual beasts.

One of the red pandas walked out of the cave. It seemed it wanted to call its boss, the huge red panda he saw previously. When he was about to stand up, he looked at the wound on his waist.

"They can even concoct medicine from spiritual herbs. It's amazing I would say." Ji Long muttered.

He grabbed his slightly tattered clothes and his short katana, then walked out of the cave. He didn't want to linger in the Siming forest for too long.

He wanted to become stronger to take his mother back at any cost.

He still clearly remembered the previous event where he was too powerless against his mother's family. He knew the fact that one of the two men who picked her up called her little princess. That meant, those two should be his grandfather's subordinates. Moreover, from what he saw, the two of them should be demons. And what was even more surprising and unexpected was that his mother was from the demon race as well.

As Ji Long stepped out of the cave, he was greeted by a huge red panda.

"Hey, human. You haven't fully recovered yet. You better get some rest!"

"I'm fine already. Ummm, how should I address you? In the first place, does the spiritual beast have a name?"

"Of course we do. Demons have their own names, how could we, spiritual beasts, be left behind by them? Anyway, you can call me Xiong Fei."

When Xiong Fei mentioned demons, Ji Long's expression turned gloomy. But then, back to normal after a few moments.

Ji Long bowed his head 90 degrees. They didn't know each other, but Xiong Fei still helped him and even treated his wound. He would not forget that and vowed to return the favor.

"Thank you for helping and taking care of me, Lord Xiong Fei. I am called Ji Long. By the way, how long have I been unconscious?"

"You don't need to be so polite. Right, let me see, you've been unconscious for 5 days. Your wound was so deep. *Yawn* Moreover, you exhausted your spiritual power. I roughly believed that you exerted your willpower alone to arrive at this place. If I left you alone, you would probably die in no time." Xiong Fei replied while yawning as he laid his stomach on the ground.

Ji Long was flustered when he heard that. His father might be worried about him since he and his mother disappeared without him knowing.

"Five days? I have to go back."

"Human, why are you in such a hurry to return?" Xiong Fei reached out his paw to block Ji Long's way.

"Senior Xiong Fei, although I'm grateful that you saved me, please let me go. I promise I'll return the favor in the future." Ji Long begged, but Xiong Fei shook his head.

"I don't need you to return the favor. Your condition isn't that good to get out of the Siming forest."

Ji Long clenched his fists.

"I have a problem with my meridians. If I don't get a Gold-level pill soon, my strength will never improve."

"Meridians, huh? Are they blocked? No wonder. But, why are they blocked? Do you mind if I check them?"

"Since senior Xiong Fei ask me to, feel free."

Frankly, Ji Long also wanted to know the reason why his meridians were blocked.

Xiong Fei reached out his paw. By using his spiritual energy, he could sense the chi pathways in Ji Long's body. Then, he frowned.

"Wait, these meridians are blocked by two seals as if to prevent something from coming out." Xiong Fei was secretly shocked when he learned about Ji Long. Then, he turned his head toward Ji Long while asking.

"Ji Long… Was it?"

"Yes."

"Let me clarify beforehand. Are you a human?"

Ji Long put on a straight expression before he widened his eyes. His reaction was too slow.

"Ummm… Well… In a sense, I'm human, I guess…"

Xiong Fei twitched his whisker when he heard that.

"Why are you doubting yourself?"

"How should I know?" Remembering the previous event was so frustrating for him, and he could only sigh while trying to forget it. "Actually I have a lot of questions, but I don't know who to ask."

"What do you want to know?"

Ji Long was silent. He wanted to know more about the demon race. From his conjecture, he assumed that his mother was a demon. But, he didn't want to believe it.

Her mother didn't have horns, sharp teeth, or fangs just like the two demons he saw the other day. Her racial traits were no different from humans. On the contrary, his mother was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life. And he hated to admit that his mother's race was a demon.

But then, he pondered it again. From what he previously thought, it was as if he considered the demon race to be a vicious race which made him reject the fact that his mother was a demon. However, he didn't think so after knowing his mother since the day he was born in the current world. He should not judge before knowing the ins and outs of the demon race. Just like the red panda, Xiong Fei, in front of him, which is undoubtedly better than he thought.

As Ji Long let out a breath, he asked.

"Is it possible for the demon race to have human-like traits? I meant, no horn, fangs, or whatsoever."

"No. It's impossible." Xiong Fei replied.

"So…"

Ji Long was so confused. He wanted to say something, but Xiong Fei interjected him.

"Unless…"

"Hmmm?" Ji Long raised his head to look at Xiong Fei.

"Unless, if that demon uses a certain technique or not a pure-blood demon."

Ji Long widened his eyes after hearing that statement.

"Crossbreeding. Is that even possible?" He muttered.

Xiong Fei heard his mutter, so he carried on.

"That's right. Crossbreeding is not uncommon for us, spiritual beasts. Even mythical beasts such as dragons, phoenixes, qilins, and so on also did the same. If you're a human from the eastern continent, you might find that term was uncommon. But, from what I heard, the western continent was different. If you go there, you're bound to find a lot of people of mixed blood because crossbreeding between humans x spiritual beasts or humans x demons is quite common."

Ji Long immediately held his head with his hands as he started to feel a headache after hearing Xiong Fei's words.

But then, Xiong Fei slapped Ji Long's head.

"Hey, don't try to think of something crazy! You should at least hear my full explanation!"