A sensitive soul, a heart of wildness
You grew up thinking you're a cursed child
Embrace your blessing, it's not a curse
Because you've been kissed by the universe

*****

Shelters

Xiao Hua never knew what happened. He couldn't wake up from his slump. Unable to control the brutal suction of his sharp fangs on the veins of the black man. Quite deep lines etched into Hei Yanjing's forehead as he allowed the vampire queen to bleed sufficiently, then with a loud growl, he jerked his hand away. The fang bite released the wound so that he could avoid death by satisfying the dark desires of the vile creature that possessed Xiao Hua's body.

Hei Yanjing hissed loudly once again, enduring the intense pain. His legs staggered a step backwards, although they didn't wobble. The same thing happened to Xiao Hua. More than staggering, the young man felt the earth he was standing on as if spinning. There must have been an earthquake, because he felt his legs were unbalanced. His black eyes, gleaming beneath his beautifully arched eyebrows, burned with the taste of the blood that had just flowed through his body.

"I am your victim! Goddess!" Hei Yanjing grinned deviously, showing his hand which was still dripping with blood right in front of Xiao Hua's face.

"You can suck my blood as much as you like, but your newly awakened dark power will be weakened."

A guttural growl escaped Xiao Hua's throat. Suddenly he couldn't see anything in the light flickering behind his eyelids. The sounds around him faded except for Hei Yanjing's words, which he could neither hear nor fully understand.

The black man's blood had flowed into him, reaching his heart and flooding its chambers, then sending heat through his cold limbs. It was beyond memory, this glorious sensation, and the overwhelming passion, the desire forcibly severed. One wave of painful heat shocked him, leaving him breathless. He felt it enter his brain. He was blind, groaning. Then suddenly, the effects of the blood paralyzed the clarity of his vision.

"My blood is not as pure as the ancestors." Hei Yanjing's words echoed in the wind. Flat, arrogant, cold.

"But still, it can weaken your damned dark energy."

Xiao Hua let out a pained growl, then a storm of anger and resentment surged within him, centered in his heart and swirling, spreading throughout his body, resisting the influence of the silver blood within him.

He charged forward at the black man, eager to crush his ribs in a hurry, and sank his long, sharp nails into the man's chest, and ripped out his fresh throbbing heart.

But the speed is not as great as before. Hei Yanjing could still deal with his attack. Everything happened in an instant, like a bolt of lightning in the rain. When Xiao Hua's body began to tremble and was about to fall, Hei Yanjing's strong arms hugged his shoulders, holding him from falling to the ground.

"Xiao Hua, please become the sweet young man you used to be." He said this right in his ear, so that Xiao Hua could feel Hei Yanjing's breath on his skin.

Then he said something he couldn't hear clearly, about purity and goodness being destroyed. He could see that this man in black was not evil, as the evil spirit that controlled him thought. However, even in this state of lucidity, the weight of the terrible past falls on him with full force; and now, on the verge of the fall, which he fought with all his might, could do nothing to lighten the burden of that resentment.

Hei Yanjing stared back at the pair of red eyes whose brilliance was slowly dimming, then leaned close to him now, whispering his name, a soft whisper.

"Xiao Hua ..."

The young man in his arms slowly slipped down. But he held his arm tightly, holding him to life's hope, as if he was being pulled under by the dark ocean waves and only Hei Yanjing himself could save him.

When Xiao Hua slowly opened his eyes, what he first saw was a shapeless pile of bricks and vines, lined with wisteria that bloomed profusely like in spring, wild roses, moss glistening on the half-open dull shutters, and cobwebs twist in stone arches.

The smell of the place overlapped the smell of dust and damp earth as well as fresh wet grass, leaves and flowers. A cool breeze blew from the window, and more coolness from one side of the wall that was about to collapse and reveal the view outside. There was a flash of golden red in the sky, indicating that dawn had arrived. Xiao Hua blinked, this time with ordinary human senses. It took him a while to realize where he was. This room is not very spacious, it looks like an abandoned empty house and is almost collapsing at the front. There was lots of grass, rocks, and it was very quiet. He was lying on the cracked floor. Grass grows between the cracks. When Xiao Hua struggled to sit up, he could move quite freely but he saw that his hands and feet were tied. This time it wasn't a chain. Perhaps whoever tied it couldn't find a stronger tool than a long, tough tree root. Even so, with ordinary human strength, it would be difficult to sever the flexible roots of this tree without the help of sharp weapons. His hands and feet were tied separately and then the ends of the rope were nailed to the wall on either side. So, even though he could change position, he couldn't step more than two meters. At least it wasn't a heavy chain pressing painfully on his wrists.

The layer of mist moved slowly, fading with the wind. Xiao Hua squinted at the shutters, guessing the surrounding environment. This looks like it's on the edge of the forest. Then his gaze stopped on a figure of a black man sitting cross-legged across the room. Looks calm, not disturbed. His expression was cold, looking unapproachable. For a moment Xiao Hua felt his heart sink. The man's aura seemed foreign and not like the one he had known before.

"Hei Ye ..." Hesitantly he called out, not sure his throat could work properly and make a sound. It seemed that Hei Yanjing was deep in meditation. Sunglasses make it impossible for anyone to know whether he is asleep or awake. His face looked paler than usual. And the lines of his thin lips tightened at the corners. Maybe he's in pain?

Xiao Hua blinked again, slowly. Not sure about the effort. Maybe Hei Yanjing didn't hear because his voice was too low. Maybe he was just unconscious. But the strong urge to know whether he was okay or not made Xiao Hua gather his voice once again and call his name.

"Hei Ye ..."

The sound of leaves rustling in the wind answered his call. Xiao Hua did not take his eyes off the black figure, waiting with a pounding heart. Finally he saw his face move. It looked like the faint startled reaction of someone whose sleep was disturbed. His head turned to Xiao Hua, then frowned slightly.

"How are you?" Xiao Hua asked worriedly, when his own condition was more worthy of worry.

Hei Yanjing did not answer immediately. Just giving him a faint smile, melted the frozen and foreign aura that had been radiating from him earlier. A smile that warmed Xiao Hua's heart in the cold morning.

Slowly, Hei Yanjing raised his body to stand, and one arm held his old waist. His smile quickly faded and was replaced by a grimace.
"Aaah, gosh ... my bones," he muttered with the expression of an old grandfather suffering from toothache. Then shuffled over to Xiao Hua.

"I didn't sleep last night and only fell asleep an hour ago. And now you're disturbing my sleep. What a shame ..." he sighed, looking at Xiao Hua who was sitting weakly on the floor with her back against the mossy wall.

Sleep? Xiao Hua was stunned. It felt too heroic when he thought the man was meditating. But a feeling of relief flooded his chest.

Hei Yanjing squatted with one knee touching the floor and one hand on his thigh. Meanwhile, his other hand touched Xiao Hua's forehead, smoothing his messy and sticky hair at his temples.
"But I'm glad to see you're awake," he said, smiling again. This time his smile lasted longer.

"I'm sorry," Xiao Hua said, filled with guilt.

"What for?"

"Because I disturbs your sleep."

Hei Yanjing let out a bored sigh.
"I thought you wanted to apologize for this." He raised his injured hand. Two red dots were visible on his veins, marks from sharp fangs. Xiao Hua looked at him with dark eyes.

"I hurt you?" his voice trembled.

"What a boring expression." Now the hand moved back to Xiao Hua's head and stroked his hair briefly.

Xiao Hua closed his eyes, diving back into the dark ocean of his memories. All he could see was his figure flailing as he sank deeper into the black hole. The voices overlapped, there was a lot of noise, and there were lots of screams and flashes of light. Then a voice called his name. It made him want to wake up and wake up, but his soul was too weak for that. Gently, his head shook, surrendering to the scattered memories.

When he opened his eyes again, Hei Yanjing was still staring intently at him, and immediately looked away as soon as he met his gaze.
"I don't know what I'm doing."
Xiao Hua's voice was weak and full of frustration.

"Don't think about it," Hei Yanjing said. "Your body is tired and injured. You need to recover."

Xiao Hua observed himself. What Hei Yanjing said was true. All his joints ached and ached. Very messy and sad appearance. There were traces of fighting everywhere. His clothes were covered in dirt stains.

"You brought me here?"

Hei Yanjing nodded. "I couldn't find a better place to temporarily hide from Lao Wei. If I take you back to the old church on top of Batulage hill, I'm afraid they will finish you off right then and there."

"Why don't you let them do it?"

"Nonsense!" Hei Yanjing now tried to stand up, holding his waist again. Last night's brutal fight made several parts of his body throb with pain.
His body loomed by the window, his back to Xiao Hua. A ray of morning sunlight slipped through the trees and fell on his face.
"I've thought of a way to eliminate the Rose Queen without killing you," he said after a long silence.

"Are you sure?"

"We have to try it."

"Then what about the other hunter members? I know they are secretly against you."

Hei Yanjing let out a long sigh.
"They will understand. Our job is to eliminate evil spirits, not to kill innocent humans."

Xiao Hua grinned sadly. "Are you sure I'm innocent? If you weren't worried about Lao Wei and his anger, why would you hide me in these ruins?"

The terrifying scene of two hunter members burning to death seared into Hei Yanjing's memory. Their deaths inevitably sparked resentment in the other members. Even he felt worried about this unexpected incident. However, his heart did not weaken. In any case, he would not allow Xiao Hua to be punished for actions that were not his fault.
"If there is another way, I will do it. Now, you have to recover your condition first. At least during the day when the Rose Queen is not able to completely control you."

"Are you sure Lao Wei won't find us?"

"They have a magic compass. Within a certain distance, and towards evening, your energy can be detected. But not right now. Don't worry."

"I've stopped worrying about myself." Xiao Hua stopped his sentence, as if there was something hanging and could not be expressed. But his eyes flashed with worry towards Hei Yanjing.

The black man turned his face, feeling the genuine anxiety of this man. He repeatedly shook his head and sighed.
"Never mind. I have to go find food for us. You have to eat human food. Your body is very thin."
He turned around and approached Xiao Hua again, again crouching in front of him. Their faces were two inches apart, in the style of a parent who was worried about their child's health, Hei Yanjing traced the young man's cheek with his fingers.

"Last night I carried you here. Your body is very light. Even though my back ended up being quite sore," Hei Yanjing paused, grimacing briefly before continuing, "You have to eat a lot. Human blood is not fattening." Accompanied by a mocking grin.

Xiao Hua smiled crookedly, finding it strange to hear the sarcasm in his voice.
"I'm offended," he hissed.

"Well, it's no wonder. Vile deeds don't match your sweet face. That's why we have to stop it."

This time the tip of his thumb traced the corner of Xiao Hua's lips. He had seen that his lips had a different texture than vampire skin, that they were as smooth and soft as anyone's lips, only pale and seemingly deadly at first glance, and he had seen last night his terrible fangs. This time, returning to being a self-controlled human, Xiao Hua's face still had a trace of cold paleness. It's just that he has a way of smiling in such a way that it doesn't look completely scary, even the changing light in his eyes seems to hold a lot of unexpressed human emotions. At least, for some time which would probably pass very quickly, this young man would be the figure he really wanted to see, just like how he remembered.

"How to?" Xiao Hua's gaze was very serious, almost piercing, half threatening. But he let Hei Yanjing's hand on him.

"I'll think about it and plan it. Ok, now I have to go. Wait here."

The man in black got up and started walking.

"Wait! Can't we go together? Why tie me up like a wild animal?"

Hei Yanjing's lips held a smile.
"It's true. You know I protect you this way. It's not good for you to hang around with me when Lao Wei and his members have the ambition to eliminate you."

"Okay. I'll stay put and stay in this place. But untie the knot. It's very troublesome. The roots of this tree are quite rough."

"Come on Xiao Hua, at least I didn't tie you up with chains."

"It's not much different from chains," Xiao Hua protested.

Hei Yanjing wore an astonished expression. "Then what should I tie you up with? With a ring?"

He laughed briefly before turning away with a wave of his hand.
After being stunned for a moment hearing Hei Yanjing's bad joke, Xiao Hua was suddenly reminded of something, "Hei Ye!"
He tried to restrain it before the black figure disappeared outside.
He saw Hei Yanjing turning his head with his jaw clenched, pretending to be tired and bored.

"What's more?"

"I want to go to the Gris Gris cliffs."

"Gris Gris?" Hei Yanjing frowned deeply.

Xiao Hua nodded, his eyes gleaming with hope.
"I saw a vision. Crashing waves, rock cliffs, and the flapping wings of a white stork."

Hei Yanjing touched the edge of his glasses, now listening to Xiao Hua's words with caution.
"Vision?"

Xiao Hua nodded confidently.
"I think I remember now where the shield necklace you gave me fell and disappeared."

His words hung in the air, even the spiders clinging to their nests stopped moving.

"Roche Qui Pleure. Cliffs crying on the shores of Gris Gris."

Hei Yanjing's expression solidified again, and looked at him again. Don't know what was going on in his mind. But in the next second, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then raised his right hand, forming a symbol with his index finger and thumb. Resembles the shape of a heart.

Xiao Hua responded with a smile.

[TBC]

***Mauritian Moonrise***
By Shenshen_88