Lan Zhan immediately stood up and in front of them, facing whatever would come at them. The Flowers of Venus stood tense, ready and waiting on one side, while Hui Gai grabbed all three children and Oge and disappeared, but he returned in a flash.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you..." He grinned at Wei Ying. "I've been exploring other abilities. Watch this." He turned into a black swirl of smoke with smoking red eyes and charged ahead, powerful and strong.

"Be careful!" Wei Ying called out.

"No need!" Hui Gai shouted out in jubilation.

He felt exuberant, filled with the gleeful satisfaction of one who has expected good results and gotten them. He shot forward and raced towards Wei Ying's ward, sensing it as he got closer.

And then he saw them.

Nearly a hundred men stood with spears standing ready attack, trying to get in. They wore loincloths and nothing else, spears, bows and arrows in their hands and the fiercest expressions made them look frightening. They had piercings all over their bodies and some even had pictures, similar to tattoos drawn upon their skin in a dark colour. Tiny bones were pierced into their nasal ridges between nostrils, making them appear harsh and hostile.

A gasp rippled through their ranks before they stood their ground, bracing themselves for what they thought was an attack. But then, they parted slightly and from the centre of their men, a figure was thrust forward.

Hui Gai recognised him straight away: Xiao Zei had gotten himself captured.

His eyes were apologetic even though he struggled to release himself out of the firm grip of the hand on his shoulder. His hands were tied together.

The man holding him wore a necklace of bones strung together, smaller but no less creepy, rather like chicken bones.

And as Hui Gai rushed towards them, a plan forming in his quick brain, he saw another man come forward, this time standing in front of his man and Xiao Zei.

This man was taller and broad-shouldered, muscles rippling across his bare chest as he raised his bow and arrow to let loose his first attack. He wore many necklaces made from bones and one in particular from tiny skulls, all assorted in size, all that strange dirty white colour.

At the last minute, Hui Gai changed direction and entered the ear canals of all the lesser ranking soldiers, tweaking the nerves that led to their consciousness and making them pass out, including the one holding Xiao Zei, and Hui Gai even managed to slash his bindings so that he was free.

This all happened within the blink of an eye, and Hui Gai had to remember to thank Li XiWang, for she was the inspiration behind his plan when she had suggested removing their thoughts.

The obvious leader, on account of his necklaces, stood alone and defiant now as the men surrounding him collapsed all together.

Hui Gai could tell, he was unnerved.

Especially as Hui Gai was standing next to Xiao Zei, their former prisoner.

"What do you want?" The man asked, his voice rough and grating.

"Shouldn’t I be asking you that? You're the ones trying to breach our wards." Hui Gai drawled.

"Only because you trespassed on our sacred grounds!" The man shot back.

Hui Gai looked around himself, feeling a little bit pissed off. The ruins of the temple were what he must have been referring to, and the grounds where they were standing.

"What if we didn't know they were sacred? We were looking for shelter." He explained.

The man was wearing a snarling grimace.

"Entrance here can mean only death. The reason for crossing our land matters not." He let loose arrow after arrow again, without warning and Hui Gai held out his palm, simultaneously deflecting the missiles.

The angry man collapsed on the ground, knocked out.

"What are you going to do to him? Xiao Zei asked, his voice trembling.

Hui Gai made a face.

"I haven't got the patience personally, but I know a man who does." Hui Gai let out a length of spiritual energy, red and powerful, whisper its way to the man and tie itself around his ankle.

He briefly thought about dragging the man's body through the gravelly path back to Wei Ying, smiled at that but in the end, he let the chief's body float in front of them while they walked back.

"Do you think there's more of them?" Xiao Zei asked, walking that much closer to Hui Gai.

Hui Gai shrugged, unconcerned. "So what if there is? We'll deal with them. Plus the ward is still in place." He eyed the slightly shorter man next to him. "How did they catch you?"

Xiao Zei was still in admiration for Hui Gai. He couldn't believe what he had just seen, right in front of his eyes. All this time, he had been wary of the demon, mostly because of their reputation as mischief makers, untrustworthy and rotten to the core. But Hui Gai was different.

Xiao Zei didn't understand it.

"Um...actually, I fell into their trap." Xiao Zei rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "And they're skilled hunters. One of them snuck up behind me and knocked me out. When I woke up, they were carrying me back here, and if tones are anything to go by, they seem quite upset." He laughed softly. "Thanks for helping me out back there."

"No problem. But I think we've found our archers. Did you see their bows and arrows?"

"Yeah, I guessed as much." He sighed quietly. "Sometimes I think I'm more trouble than I'm worth."

"Why?"

"Well, I tried to help and I only made things worse. Got myself caught, you know?"

"It doesn't matter. One small mistake does not define you." Hui Gai shook his head. "You should concentrate on what is happening in front of you, not what has passed. It's useless thinking that. No help to anyone but your enemies."

Wei Ying saw them and ran past Lan Zhan to Hui Gai, ignoring their captive who was still knocked out.

"Are you alright?" He asked before enveloping him in a warm hug.

"Not a scratch." Hui Gai told him proudly, hugging him back.

"What about you?" Wei Ying held Xiao Zei's shoulders and checked him out. "Are you hurt? What happened?"

They gave him a short version, and that's when Wei Ying turned to Lan Zhan.

"So, it's no wonder that they thought to attack us. This is their sacred grounds."

"Mn. But to attack without seeking the truth..." Lan Zhan’s golden eyes glittered dangerously.

Wei Ying went up to him then, and put his palm against a warm cheek.

"I'm alright, my love."

Lan Zhan leaned into it, and then kissed the centre of his palm. Pulling Wei Ying close to hold him tightly, he whispered, "But Wei Ying was out for days."

Wei Ying hugged him back, just as tightly.

"Everyone makes mistakes, my love. They don't know us and it looks like they're easily spooked. Plus they have a point; we are on their sacred grounds." He turned to  Hui Gai. "Shall we wake him up?"

"Alright, just be careful. He's not a happy bunny."

Wei Ying snickered at that.

Hui Gai entered his ear canal and jump started his brain, coming out of him just as quickly. He then had his red spiritual energy wrap around the chief's arms, effectively making him unable to attack.

But when the chief opened his eyes, he looked around himself with a terrified expression and cowered into himself.

"Why have you brought me here?" He cried out.

Wei Ying realised that they could understand him because they were all still wearing the earwigs from the Netherworld, on account of Rumi and being able to know what he said to them. Though of course, Rumi was naturally quieter in nature.

"Firstly, I wish to apologise to you." Wei Ying bowed to him, deep and graceful.

"What? Why are you doing that?" The chief fell on his knees.

"We had no idea these were sacred grounds. Where we come from, temples are places of sanctuary and we needed shelter. That is the only reason we came here." Wei Ying explained. "We can untie you, if you promise not to harm anyone." There was nothing but pure sincerity in his voice.

"These lands belong to our ancestors. Many of whom attained spiritual awareness on this very ground. But one day, a young cub from our family unknowingly killed a deer here, where it is forbidden to spill blood. That was a terrible day." Tears poured from his eyes.

"Why? What happened?" Wei Ying asked, stepping forward.

Lan Zhan placed his hand on Wei Ying's shoulder, holding him in place. He stepped closer to Wei Ying too, just in case the stranger tried something.

"There was a hurricane. Fast and furious winds blew, breaking down hundreds of year old trees, loosening the rocks of the nearby mountains, hurtling them down the sides to fall upon these grounds. This temple lies in a valley, so it suffered the brunt of the storm. We knew we had angered the Gods, and had to repent. So we closed off this place and hid it from view. How did you find it?" He looked at Wei Ying curiously.

"As I said, we needed shelter." Wei Ying was reluctant to explain fully. If they didn't have to introduce Dunshi for any reason, it would be good. "We are going to leave in a few hours anyway."

Before they could continue, there was shouting inside the temple and an almighty crashing sound that seemed to go on forever. Dust and rubble flew out behind them, and Lan Zhan turned Wei Ying into his arms to protect him, just as Wei Ying's wings flew out suddenly to wrap around his body too, to shield Lan Zhan.

They waited for the dust to settle.

******

A/N

Thank you lovely Readers for your wonderful patience with me. Lori and I were laughing yesterday that we felt worse for not being able to update than you guys do. We've been running around London having a great time, and there's not long to go, so we must make every second count.

Thanks also for this book reaching 24K reads. You guys are amazing!

Eat lots of chocolate and please enjoy this update.

Charlie.