Bab 20: Daddy

Juhua was possessed by a childish fit. She could not stop herself from hurling rocks at this person who had treated her with more kindness than her own mother and any other person she had ever met in her life.

It might have only been a few days, but she fears and hated so vividly the idea of parting with him.

Which was why when she overheard this man trade her off to Beast Master Wnei, she was overcome with fear, sadness and anger. "I hate! I hate you!"

Zhang Wang cursed, swerving to dodge the pebbles that were thrown with a strength and power and speed too great for a normal eight-year-old girl.

And with each hurl, it was only increasing in power, "Hua'er-ah! Please calm down. If you're unhappy we can talk about it, okay?"

Zhang Wang tried to approach her as he dodged the oncoming rocks. But the flying horse was an intelligent and nimble creature. It could tell that its rider was not keen on Zhang Wang's approach and easily weaved out of his reach.

"Shut up! You're a meanie! I hate you, you don't even like Juhua'er!"

"Ahhh, why are you saying such crass words!" Zhang Wang scolded as he continued to chase after her. He was trying really hard to drive her away from the nest site, however that dumb horse kept circling back. He was infuriated by the thing and began to panic as the seconds ticked by, "How could you think that? Of course, I don't hate you!"

His fears came into fruition as a large shadow passed above. A squealing sound caught their attention, but not before Juhua shot a stone into the nest.

The flying hog reared up and paddled its stubby legs as though preparing to run. It dashed through the air, aiming at Juhua.

Zhang Wang cursed, with one arm occupied with holding the fat egg, he wasn't able to use his bow and arrow and instead was forced to bring his hand in to cast spells.

He was much too slow to match the charging hog! But the flying horse was much nimbler, and even with the last second notice, it made a sharp turn and whinnied out of the way.

Juhua yelped, unprepared for the sudden jolt. If the horse had been given the chance to settle she could have had the chance to grasp onto its mane.

But the hog was not going to wait while these trespassers messed around its nest! So it reared up, brandishing its sharp tusks at the horse's rear. It's squealing was deafening, a surge of spiritual energy pushed through the air.

The horse panicked, startled by the sudden attack and bucked wildly, throwing the little girl right off its back.

She wasn't even given the chance to scream when her pouch full of stones tumbled down out of her reach. The forest floor stretched out beneath her.

"Juhua!" Zhang Wang hurled a ball of water behind the hog, only angering it further. Though it was intelligent, it was busy challenging the flying horse that was neighing and kicking its hind legs out desperately.

He ignored the beasts and whizzed off into a dive, catching Juhua before she plummeted to her death.

Thin arms wound around his neck, her small body trembled against his.

"There, there. It's okay. Big brother's got you." He muttered comforting words to the poor quivering girl. She ducked her face into his shoulder, muffling her cries.

But unfortunately for them, the coast was yet cleared. Though the flying hog was busy duelling with the horse above them, soon there was a second squealing cry that echoed loudly after them. It was coming from below. A large boar burst through the canopy with curling tusks pointed at them.

Zhang Wang gritted his teeth, tightening his hold on both the egg and Juhua. "Don't let go, okay?" He said to the girl as calmly as possible.

In terms of flying sword skills, Zhang Wang would never claim to be the best. In fact, out of the entire Virtuous Phoenix Sect he probably only ranked about 11th or 12th on a good day. It was a miracle that he was able to evade the thing barreling at them at frightening speeds, just barely.

And just as the hog was behind him, struggling to maneuver itself back around, Zhang Wang took the chance to rush down below the canopy and into the cover of trees. He thought that he'd be able to gain an advantage with all the winding branches that would obstruct the hog's way. But apparently, he was underestimating the beast.

A dark brown body barreled through leaves, branches and even tree trunks with absolute abandon. The sound of cracking wood and violent rustling chased Zhang Wang's heels. "What the fuck! Fuck this!" He screamed, uncaring that Juhua was still in his arms and could hear his panicked howls.

Zhang Wang descended to the forest floor before hopping off his sword. He had no hands to wield it with but unlike a bow, he could at least command it with a spell, offering him a bit of offensive power even when his hands were full.

Plus, the Immortal of a Thousand Blossoms was a lot more confident with his footwork than he was with a flying sword.

The hog was equally undaunted by the ground and sunk its hooves into dirt as it huffed at them angrily.

"..." Zhang Wang's smile was strained. He just wanted to run. Fleeing would be a simple solution if only he could actually run faster than the damned ugly ass hog.

He could also skewer the thing with his sword, but then Beast Master Wei might skewer him in turn. Something, something about preserving the endangered wild population of flying hogs or something, something.

But he was really busy contemplating this! In the end, wasn't his own life and Juhua more important than some stupid winged boar?

Just as the wild pig stopped its stomping, its snout lowered ready to charge.

Zhang Wang braced himself as well. But just as he was prepared to face off with the damned boar, something rustled from the canopy above.

A sudden pressure held them down, sending shivers of both panic and excitement down Zhang Wang's spine.

He knew this power.

A black shape dropped down from the canopy, landing on top of the unsuspecting boar below.

The beast froze and did not cry nor struggle beneath the new weight atop its body. A clawed hand was splayed atop the back of its neck, a silent promise of death at the slightest of movements.

"Ah!" Zhang Wang suddenly shook himself out of his shock and stupor and ran up to the captured boar, "You can't kill it."

The boar, who was huffing and puffing at him with red rage not moments ago was now looking up at him with sad pleading eyes. If it were human, surely the thing would have broken down into tears by now.

Yu Yanlin did not let the beast go so easily. His hair was silver, sparkling with the dots of light that broke through the mosaic of leaves and branches. The blindfold was still secure around his eyes and somehow only added to his charms, giving him an air of mystery and enigmatic power. He only got off slowly, and when the boar was finally free from the demon's grasps, it wasted no time to turn tails and flee for its life.

Juhua peeled her wet face from Zhang Wang's shoulder and looked at the tall demon king who saved them from one angry pig.

"D-Daddy…"

"..."

Wait, what?

Yu Yanlin coughed into a fist, "I'm not your father…"

This was the wrong response. Because Juhua, who was finally recovering from her shock, suddenly began to sniffle all over again. Her little chest heaved as more tears tumbled out of her big, violet eyes.

"UWWAAHHHH!"

Zhang Wang shot the demon king a pointed glare, "What have you done!?"