The Hunter

The dust rose and covered Hei Yanjing's figure, standing upright in a true thug-like manner. Shaking his head slowly, he chuckled coldly, feeling annoyed and helplessly angry.

"What are you guys doing here?" It was clearly a rhetorical question. He really intended to act stupid in front of them.

"To make sure you're okay," one of the hunters replied, and to avoid the attention of the people in the truck and the rest area, they finally stopped their motorbikes. Hei Yanjing coughed loudly as the dust choked his breath before the clouds subsided, and every time he coughed, the pain in his wounds throbbed again.

"Nonsense! Do you know who you're attacking?!" he snapped.

"Yes! We know the Chief very well. Lao Wei is confident that you can survive the waves. Our guess is right!"

"So that's why you haven't returned to Batulage."

"We have to make sure the mission is successful. It's not you we're after. You know that well, Chief. Now tell me where the young man is?"

At this point, they sounded extremely foolish. There was no way he would reveal Xiao Hua's whereabouts after being nearly killed by the waves and struggling to swim out. Hei Yanjing frowned deeply and said, "He won't transform into the Rose Queen. I've put up a shield on him."

"It won't last long."

"I found another way. Can you stop this?"

"We doubt you, Leader."

"Whatever!" Hei Yanjing snorted loudly.

"How about we go back to the beginning? We're a team, and you're the Leader who has been carrying out your responsibilities well."

"If you agree to give that young man a chance, I'll return to the team."

The two hunters looked at each other in confusion. They had always had respect for Hei Yanjing, and he was not to be underestimated. However, there were differences of opinion about the vampire queen case this time, where the leader had inexplicably taken so many risks. As the two of them were thinking, Hei Yanjing retreated and darted like a cheetah towards a truck that was passing by at moderate speed.

"Hey!" one of the hunters shouted.

Hanging for a moment on the edge of the container, Hei Yanjing managed to push himself up onto the cargo. He did a light somersault before landing on one knee pressing the cargo beneath him. He waved his hand towards the two hunters on the motorbike who were staring in amazement.

"See you in Phoenix!" he shouted over the roar of the truck's engine. He would have been content to taunt anyone with his trademark grin, but then his expression changed quickly and he touched his scar again.

"Aahh, damn it..." he hissed in annoyance.

"This is troublesome."

The truck roared further and further, traveling hundreds of meters until it became a small dot and disappeared. The two hunters just sat stiffly on their motorcycle, staring at each other before one of them took out his cell phone and called Lao Wei.

"We found the Chief. As we thought, he survived the ocean. But the young man is not with him."

"Do you know where the Chief went?"

"He said he was going to Phoenix. Could he be taking the young man back there?"

"How stupid," Lao Wei snorted.

"The Chief mentioned one place so we can focus our pursuit there. I'm sure the young man was injured and the Chief hid him somewhere in Gris Gris or the surrounding villages. Investigate the area, even to the hidden caves in the high cliffs."

"We will do it."

The hunter stared at the phone that had dimmed black as the call ended.

"I sense serious chaos in the team," he said to his partner.

"What do you mean?"

"Lao Wei instructed us to comb the Gris Gris area to find the young man."

"Good idea."

"Yes. But right now, who exactly is our chief?"

Shaking his head in disbelief, he immediately started the motorbike and sped off. His partner shrugged and followed him.

*****

Fuck! Why didn't he just kill him from the start?!

Lao Wei grumbled inwardly as he stared at the open sea below. He was currently standing on the Gris Gris cliff where they last clashed with the Chief.

Even though he saw with his own eyes how the two people plunged into the roaring waves, he still couldn't be sure before finding the remains of his target. As for what happened to Hei Yanjing, it was beyond anyone's expectations.

His hunch was right, Hei Yanjing was tough and stubborn. He was not surprised when he heard that his companion found him on the streets.

He had protected the young man several times. What kind of help was this?

Lao Wei snorted. Acid rose in his stomach as he shifted his steps on the large rock. One of his companions stood about three meters behind, also staring into the distance. His brow furrowed every now and then, thinking of a possibility or two.

"Do you think they'll be in Phoenix?" he asked Lao Wei.

"That could be the Chief's plan, to move separately. You know how I feel about the Chief's sporadic and unreasonable actions. Anyway, this is urgent. We should move separately too."

Lao Wei stepped down from the rock he was standing on and walked to the edge of the cliff. There he could feel the strong wind blowing, and the roar of the ocean waves crashing against the rocks far below.

"Tell me where I should go. Should I continue searching in Gris Gris or should I follow you to Phoenix?"

"Focus on searching for that young man in the Gris Gris area. Our target is him, not the Leader."

He paused, then sighed uncertainly. Really, they had to be stopped. He even dared to say that this team couldn't continue. It was wrong and messy and the longer it went on, the more complicated it felt. The Leader was working with the target, for fuck's sake. They were a cursed pair.

*****

A drop of water landed on Xiao Hua's forehead, falling from a leaf or branch somewhere above him. It had been drizzling early, and the scent of the earth and trees would have been refreshing if not for the dire situation. Xiao Hua hadn't been out in the wild for so long in over five years.

It was already the end of the day, and he wondered if Hei Yanjing had safely reached Phoenix. If the hunters hadn't smelled them. Throughout the slow day, he had been plagued by a crippling anxiety. It didn't feel right to just sit there, waiting for an angel or a devil to come and get him.

Night fell on Gris Gris. A strong wind blew in from the sea, sweeping across the treetops. Flocks of seagulls were like black dots that disappeared into the mist that began to rise from the surface. Xiao Hua stared at the blood-red sunset at the edge of the horizon, holding the shield necklace reverently, feeling the clash of hot and cold energy in her body. His breathing began to become restless and irregular, while the powerful foreign energy became increasingly turbulent.

Hei Ye was right, I can't always hide behind the power of this shield necklace. The dark energy increased night after night, he monologued in his confused mind.

He avoided communicating with the old fisherman and his daughter as much as possible. Especially when night fell, he didn't want to do anything out of control, even though he was confident in the power of his shield necklace, he chose to be more vigilant. Fortunately, the fisherman left for the sea a few hours after sunset, leaving Xiao Hua and his daughter at home.

The girl was about seventeen years old, shutting himself in the only bedroom in the house, leaving Xiao Hua to be alone in the middle of the house.

The barred window provided an endless view of the moonlit clouds, and he saw the bright sparkling light spreading across the grass, rocks and leaves. His eyesight sharpened to the extreme, and he could almost see a pair of crows' eyes on the tree branches blinking at him.

No, his heart was anxious, touching the crescent moon pendant on his chest with a tumultuous anxiety.

His senses were already abnormal. The flapping of the birds' wings sounded like thunder in his ears, and he felt an urgent need for something. Even under this shield, his soul was still affected, although it did not erode his sanity. He could not imagine what would happen if he was still without the protection he had before. Maybe there would be another victim, and the fisherman's daughter was the most likely.

Closing his eyes tightly, Xiao Hua reached out to the window bars, squeezing them tightly. To clear the overlapping sounds that invaded his ears and seeped into his brain, he shook his head vigorously, as if that would clear his mind.

Maybe this slight change was a good thing, or maybe it was the worst part. Xiao Hua raised his head again when he heard threatening voices. It came from a distance. The sound of running feet, following a black shadow flashing in the moonlight.

He tried not to panic, and tilted his head to one side to catch a clearer conversation in the wind.

"The hunter's compass shows nothing."

"Maybe he's not here!"

"We're moving to the other side."

Xiao Hua held his breath. Sooner or later the persistent hunters would find hin. Especially if the fisherman or his daughter was unlucky enough to meet one of them and ask for information about the two disheveled men who were lost. He glanced at the door of the room, moved towards it and stopped two steps away. Maybe he should leave quickly, before dawn rose. Just as he was considering leaving without saying goodbye, the door to the room suddenly opened and the girl stood in the doorway with a shocked expression.

"Why are you standing in front of my room?" he asked suspiciously.

Xiao Hua did not want to explain anything, he quickly put his finger to his lips as a sign of silence.

"Listen carefully," he told the girl.
"I'm leaving tonight." He pointed to the exit reflectively.

"And there are things you should be careful of. Some men in black might show up in the village to seek information. Don't tell them anything."

The girl's expression was still stunned, looking at Xiao Hua questioningly as she was horrified to see the faint red spark in the young man's irises.

"Stop looking at me like that, I won't do anything bad to you," Xiao Hua said again. "And why did you open the door?"

"I want to get some water," the girl stuttered, still horrified. She had never stayed with strangers and it was safer for her to stay alone at home at night. Although she was brave enough as a girl, she was not prepared for such a big moment and to face the red-eyed young man who made him look scary.

Without another word, Xiao Hua glanced at her and then backed away from the door, returning to the barred window to scan the situation outside. He was ready to leave right away, sneaking into the dark. But just a few steps away from the door, his steps faltered. His focus blurred and he felt his body being thrown into disarray by the extreme hot and cold changes. He felt his body being bombarded by a powerful energy, as if he was being physically beaten. Unable to bear the strange quality of pain, he fell to the floor. His gaze was spinning, shaking like someone with a fever. The pain was not fatal, it was just-a terrible mess.

Xiao fell unconscious on the cold floor.

"Eh, sir... sir, what's wrong with you?"

The girl gasped as she saw her guest slumping on the floor like a wet noodle. Panicked, and confused, she rushed to Xiao Hua's side, and shook his body.

There was no reaction. He only felt the young man's skin hot but moist with cold sweat.

Oh my, did this young man have some kind of illness that he suddenly fainted, or maybe he was having an epileptic attack.

How troublesome, she thought tiredly and sleepily.

Before she had time to think about his next move, she heard footsteps in front of his house and then a knock echoed on the door. It was not her father's footsteps. Besides, he would only be home around morning.

Her eyes widened instantly, full of anticipation, feeling that another stranger had come.

"Who?"

[Tbc]

***Mauritian Moonrise***
By Shenshen_88