4.8 I won't be in your care

After seeing off Mira and Ariya, Shu XinYi travelled north. He had already planned a route he wanted to take, before coming back to the purple tree by a few 100 hours. Shu XinYi had advised Mira to stay together with Ariya during their journey, but it seemed like he didn't have to say anything at all. Ariya nad Mira didn't leave each other's side for a second. For their safety purposes Shu XinYi had asked Snow to keep recording Mira's PoV. And warn him if it sensed any danger.

"Ah.. I am so lonely. If only I had a travel companion like Ariya, then I wouldn't be so lonely." Shu XinYi said after watching them for a while. He had been walking for hours in the dense forest which only became denser as he walked forward. This time he wasn't afraid at all that he might lose his way.

Hearing this, Xiao B who had been peacefully sleeping on his ride named Shu XinYi, suddenly woke up. Instead of sticking to Shu XinYi's wrist, he sat on his shoulders. Seeing that Shu XinYi still seemed depressed, Xiao B floated in front of him to get his attention. He changed it's form to a hand, then wings, then a heart. Trying everything. Xiao B didn't want to lose this man's focus. Never.

Shu XinYi really couldn't hold back his laughter anymore. "Hahahaa, are you trying to say "I can also be recognized as a travel companion" hmm, Xiao B?" Seeing Xiao B jump in his view Shu XinYi said "We'll see in 4 days, if you really are capable of being my travel companion. As for now let's just be. You hungry?"

Xiao B was excited but he still indicated a no. He wasn't hungry. Well atleast not for Pure flame. Xiao B sat back on Shu XinYi's shoulders and looked at the white ear that would turn red if he teased it. It looked even more beautiful to watch up close. He wanted to taste it. He wanted to taste every part of that man's skin. But right now, I don't even have a tongue. How the f*ck am I supposed to taste him. Please let the white moon arrive quickly. Xiao B silently prayed to non existent gods.

The purple moon would set in a few hours. Shu XinYi fastened his pace to reach a secure area for resting. The density of beasts had decreased as they moved north. It seemed that lower level hunters were afraid to hunt in the north. Which also meant that only higher level beats would attack them, the more they moved towards the north. Shu XinYi though, wasn't afraid. He carried his bow and quiver as he climbed to rest on a huge tree.

It was not difficult to climb it, Shu XinYi rested on a thick branch looking up at the dark starless sky. Except from the glow of trees, the dense forest was shrouded in darkness. Shu XinYi wasn't worried about Mira or Ariya, since both of them could see in the darkness.

Shu XinYi gave one last look to what the protagonists were doing, before he went to sleep. Luxin was going through the painful process of growing his limbs. Since there was no moon in the sky, Luxin had to stop the process of using forms. He just used some medicines to ease the pain.

Shu XinYi watched for 10 minutes before it became boring. He said goodnight to Xiao B and went to sleep. If any other human, even the protagonist, saw Shu XinYi sleep ever so peacefully in this part of the open woods, they would crown Shu XinYi with these words, Brave but Stupid.

Meanwhile, Ariya and Mira had collected 15% of the list. They now had to find a blue liquid that could be obtained from certain trees. The leaves of those trees would, overtime, form glowing blue dew drops. In the bag, Shu XinYi had given several metal bottles and containers to store different stuff. So it was easy to collect all sorts of items.

"Did you ever imagine that you'd be here with me like this? Never have I felt so alive, doing something so simple. To me it all seems surreal. How do you feel?" Ariya opened naturally.

All this while, they didn't have any conversations except for when they had to plan and discuss important stuff. Ariya spoke out because she really did feel this way. She was never one to have conversations, much less discuss something so personal to her. She wasn't sure if it was because her body felt lighter with the blue form wrapped around her, or because of the beautiful travel companion beside her, but Ariya felt relaxed and safe.

Mira looked at the innocent girl beside her who seemed more mature, the more time she spent with her. She had beautiful emerald green eyes, Mira was unconsciously looking to see where those eyes would focus. She thought carefully about what the girl had said. The blue dew drops had fully formed on scarcely scattered leaves in a small tree. Mira slowly started to collect drop by drop.

"Plip, plop, plip, plop." The glowing blue liquid slowly dropped into the dark bottle. "I don't know how I feel. I never knew how I felt. I don't think I am capable of feeling. I just do everything that is required of me. I guess that is enough." Mira said honestly.

Ariya looked at the Mira who although looked like a mature women, she had actually not come to terms with herself. "Then tell me, do you still not understand how you feel.." Ariya moved in closer to Mira. Her face was directly below Mira's, she looked into her eyes and closed the distance even more. She whispered into her ears in an innocently seductive tone "Right now, do you still not feel anything?"

Mira's whole body had started to heat up, her heartbeat had involuntarily fastened. She didn't know what this reaction meant. It was like her heart was squeezed. And her face burned. Mira felt hungry. "I.. I don't know. This.. can you.. can you move away?"

Ariya smiled and slowly kissed Mira's neck then obediently moved away before whispering, "Sure, Sensei."

Mira didn't react and just stared at nothing in particular with her wide angular eyes. She was only broken out of the trance when Ariya said "Sensei, the bottle is full. You should move it or it will start to spill."

Mira was embarrassed as she capped the bottle. "Just call me Mira. Don't call me Sensei like that." Mira seriously said. She felt something weird in her stomach whenever Ariya called her Sensei with her voice like that.

Ariya chuckled saying "Then should I call you Sensei like this? Sensei.." Ariya said in a drunken whisper. "Or do you like it better if I call you..." Ariya moved in closer and said in a dazed, slightly out of breath voice "Mira."

This time Mira definitely felt her heart skip a beat. Multiple times. Her palms had started to sweat and her body felt strangely hot, in this cold night. If Ariya kept calling her Mira in that voice then.. then?

When Mira first met Shu XinYi, she had told her that she liked girls so Shu XinYi wouldn't feel uncomfortable around her. Truth was that Mira had never truly felt anything for anyone for a long long time. She had forgotten that she was capable of feeling emotions and sensations. Right now though, she felt too much of everything. It was overwhelming.

Ariya wasn't experienced in this feild but she knew that she liked Mira. The Mira from before and the Mira now. She liked every version. Seeing that Mira was reluctant for some reason, Ariya backed off. It was necessary to have a careful approach. There was no need to rush into things.

Until the red moon rose, both of them had collected 25% of the list. They hadn't encountered any actual dangers, only some low level beasts. Shu XinYi had carefully given them things that could be found south. He didn't want them to face any unnecessary dangers. The air around them was subtle, Mira was still trying to process her feelings and emotions, while Ariya was just excited to collect new items alongside Mira.

------x------

Shu XinYi woke up when a gloomy red covered his eyes. The sky was still dark. It seemed like he had entered hell or a set for an ancient Chinese dramas. In the planet he was in, it was more probable to say, it was hell. The temperature last night had been cold, Shu XinYi didn't feel it lot since Xiao B kept him warm. But now he could feel the air become humid and hot.

The first thing he did after realizing this was to check up on Xiao B. He seemed to be doing fine, resting on his wrist ever so peacefully. The second thing Shu XinYi did was, see how Mira and Ariya were doing. They too behaved leisurely as they strolled through the bloodied darkness. Shu XinYi relaxed himself after knowing this.

He didn't climb down from the tree, instead he used the red form to make hell fire. Unsurprisingly, hell fire was a blend of crimson red flames, with occasional orange hues. Since the tree had no leaves or stems, the fire wouldn't spread unless it was intentional.

Shu XinYi said "Come eat." He kept the fire burning and let Xiao B have his meal, while Shu XinYi also absorbed the red form. It was difficult to absorb and directly use the form at the same time but Shu XinYi had become used to it after several attempts. After an hour, he extinguished the burning flame but he kept absorbing the red form for the next 5 hours.

Xiao B had his meal so he sat on Shu XinYi's shoulders being on a lookout. As soon Shu XinYi finished absorbing 100% reserves, he jumped down from the tree, in a noiseless landing. Shu XinYi's next goal was to save this man, who should be trapped in a cave, on his way forward.

The man was Luxin's step brother. Luxin had been unaware that his brother too had come to Sivaal. In the original story this step brother named Hector was saved by the protagonists. Hector was an S class Scientist. He taught Luxin how to work with electronic signals, as a pay back for saving him. This was the only reason Luxin was able to make a radio in the future. Although by that time he had already betrayed and killed Hector.

Shu XinYi had 2 reasons to save him; 1.to prevent Luxin from repeating the original storyline. 2.to make Hector join his team.

It was not that Shu XinYi didn't know how to make a radio and set a feild. Shu XinYi just needed all the help he could get. Although the situation may seem calm right now, Shu XinYi could feel a crisis approaching. If that does happen, Shu XinYi would not only have to face the protagonists. There would be thousands of beasts and humans he would have to face. That would require multiple brains to work together.

Surprisingly, Hector didn't have a human source code. He was an important cannon fodder, so Shu XinYi was expecting it. This man should have a human source code before this world was completed. Shu XinYi had been advised by Xiang Li not to trust people. So he had learned to be vigilant. If this man proved a threat in anyway then Shu XinYi would directly abandon him.

Finding the cave was the easy part. Inside the cave, 10 beasts were sitting around a fire. All these 10 beasts were high level, considering how far north Shu XinYi had traveled. On the fire, was a human being slowly cooked.. These beasts were roasting an actual living person. It seemed that they had just started the process, So Shu XinYi had made it in time.

Shu XinYi didn't feel the need to fight these people. Although they were all high level beast, their intelligence was still more instinct based than logic based. Shu XinYi found a palm sized hole through which he could see all inside the cave.

Shu XinYi spoke in a low voice that strangely echoed through the whole cave "Oh, this is but one meal for me. How shall I share this with all of them?"

The beasts inside the cave heard the sentence and fell in thought, how would this small meal be shared anoung all of them? In this side of the woods, the humans would rarely venture, and they had finally caught a fresh and whole human. "Oye, I am happy with just an arm. You can have the rest." One of the beats spoke after some thought.

"What? No. I'll have both the arms. I haven't eaten for a day." another beast argued.

"Yeah, and I'll have the ribs. I haven't eaten for 2 days." Someone else joined in.

"No. I will have the ribs, I had my last meal in the black moon." Soon enough one after another, the beats started fighting amongst themselves. They didn't even bother to question who spoke the very first time. They took their fight a little further away from the man.

Seeing an opening Shu XinYi swiftly rushed in untied Hector, and helped him out. He didn't stop to rest, since the beast would soon enough realize that their meal had been stolen. Shu XinYi didn't want to use the blue form on this man, so he just gave him a cloth to wipe his blood off. Shu XinYi had already thought of a route back to safety. They also passed through a lake to dispel their scents.

Once Shu XinYi finally reached another cave that he had marked as safe, did he finally sit to rest. Shu XinYi wasn't going to be generous enough to offer the blue form to Hector. Moreover, the blue form was used the most, out of all. So he had to be efficient when using it. But Shu XinYi was also not okay with leaving the man in his current state. He helped the man bandage his wounds and offered him some food and water.

Throughout this time, Hector was silent. He just took everything Shu XinYi offered with a nod. It was unscientific that Hector would trust Shu XinYi like this. Hector finally spoke up "So what use do you have for me?" Shu XinYi understood where this blind trust came from, Shu XinYi leisurely replied "Make me a space pod."

Hector finally showed a human reaction, asking with a face of horror "Are you joking?"

Shu XinYi looked at him in the eyes and smiled politely saying "Yes. I am joking. Don't ask stupid questions. Currently I have no use for you."

Hector focused on the word, currently, and said "Oh. Then.. Am I allowed to leave?"

Shu XinYi was sitting cross legged, lining up rocks on the empty ground making who knows what, he paused his hands to reply to Hector "Surviving alone did you real good out there, didn't it? I won't kill you unless it becomes absolutely necessary for me. If you prove useless to me, then I'll just abandon you. You can leave if you want. I don't like to force things." Shu XinYi then focused on placing different rocks on different sides of a dividing line.

Hector had never met such a simple and honest young man in his life. He didn't had plans to stay but looking at how calm and collected the man seemed, he changed his mind. He looked at what the man was doing with rocks. It was like placing players on 2 sides of the court. Hector pointed to the right side, where more rocks were placed saying "Enemies." Then he pointed to the left side, having only 3 rocks but all of them were palm sized, saying "Freinds."

Hector could make out this much. There was a solo rock that was in the middle of the feild. Neither left or right. Hector wasn't a narcissist but he still asked pointing to the rock in the middle "This is me?" Since he was new so he couldn't be labeled yet.

Shu XinYi said "No." Then he pointed to the pile of rocks outside the feild and said "One of them is you." He picked up a random rock from them pile and threw it towards Hector and said "Place yourself. Do so carefully. I am ruthless to my enemies but I am a nightmare to friends who stab me in the back."

Hector was intimidated being stared by that young man, still he trusted him. Although, he didn't know why but he trusted this man. It was okay to follow him. He carefully placed himself on the friends side.

Shu XinYi said "I am Sceptor. I won't be responsible for your well being. Nice to meet you."

Hector chuckled at this peculiar introduction and said "I am Hector, I won't be in your care. Hope we get along."