บท 11: Envy
Fan GuiRen was biting his nail and glaring with gleaming red eyes at The Eyesore.
Just as he wondered the best way to kill her, he saw her move closer and throw her arm over Sect Leader's clothes. He growled lowly and bit his nail harder, trying to keep in the urge to cross the distance and tear off her arm.
As much as he wanted to, he knew that Jin ZiXin wouldn't appreciate it.
He had seen her when she had been standing in front of the gates, demanding entrance and claiming that she was a friend of Sect Leader, but he hadn't believed her.
Jin ZiXin, after all, was incapable of keeping a secret.
This was a proven fact. Despite the many, many times that he had been ordered, pleaded and even begged with to keep quiet on his belief of cultivation, he never did. At any opportunity, he would loudly claim that it wasn't real and that he didn't believe in it. He had pissed off many a cultivators like this.
And now this woman — this demon — was claiming that they were friends and that Jin ZiXin had voluntarily kept this secret.
Abruptly, Fan GuiRen bit through his nail.
He spit out the piece of broken nail on the ground and switched fingers, pacing where he was hidden and watching their interactions. He couldn't deny that they looked comfortable with each other, as if they had known each other for a long time.
But he refused to accept it!
Jin ZiXin and this woman couldn't be.... couldn't be romantically involved. He wouldn't allow it!
He kept in the growl that wanted to escape and paced harder, almost tearing a hole in the ground. He saw them smile at each other, and then Jin ZiXin said something and the woman burst out laughing, leaning her entire weight on him. Fan GuiRen scowled and bit through yet another nail.
Truly, the woman was like a work of art, seductiveness in her every move. She was beautiful, but she had nothing on Sect Leader.
However, they made such a compelling couple.....
No, Fan GuiRen's plans had been in progress for years now, he had earned Jin ZiXin's trust and he had to have faith in the man. His plans wouldn't be undone so fast, and he had many, many more backup plans formed. He was prepared.
Fan GuiRen wasn't going to lose Jin ZiXin to anyone.
Unless Jin ZiXin didn't want him. In which case he would make damn sure that only the very best of the best were able to even get near him.
This was not up for debate.
But still, losing Jin ZiXin to another man, he would at least be able to stand, because than there was always the chance that he could win him over, but a woman.... Fan GuiRen had banked everything on Jin ZiXin being a cut-sleeve, and if he wasn't, then what was he supposed to do?
Stand back and watch him marry a woman and have children?
He wouldn't be able to stand it.
"A-are you al-alright?" Wen ZiHao didn't know what he was doing. It was as if he was possessed by something. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he realized what a fool he was.
He actually interrupted Fan GuiRen's thought process!
When Fan GuiRen's shining red eyes glared at him viciously, he sank down and paled drastically. Wen ZiHao gulped and offered, "Sorry?"
"Sigh."
Hearing the heavy sigh coming from the demon in human guise, Wen ZiHao swallowed air and started hacking, as he almost suffocated while coughing loudly. All the while, Fan GuiRen just watched on with savagely amused eyes, not offering any help at all.
Finally, Wen ZiHao could breathe normally again. He coughed, "So-Sorry."
"It's fine." Fan GuiRen said, scaring the living daylights out of Wen ZiHao.
Fan GuiRen's eyes were glued to a specific spot, and once Wen ZiHao no longer felt as if he was about to die, he followed the demon's gaze. He saw Sect Leader standing with a woman, the both of them talking and laughing together, but he didn't understand why that made Fan GuiRen so mad.
Wen ZiHao spoke before he thought, "Who's that?"
"A demon."
"You mean she's your mother?!" Wen ZiHao stared with wide eyes at Fan GuiRen. Now that he thought about, he supposed they looked kind of similar.
"No." Fan GuiRen deadpanned. "Why would you even think that? I'm human."
"Ah..... right." Wen ZiHao laughed nervously and scratched the back of his neck.
Silence descended on them like heavy rainclouds.
For several minutes, neither of them said a word. Fan GuiRen continued staring at Jin ZiXin and trying to murder the demoness with his eyes, while Wen ZiHao wondered how long he had to stand there before he could leave without getting murdered.
In the end, it was the arrival of Wu Mei that stopped any murders from taking place.
"Fan GuiRen!" she shouted across the short distance, her face marred by a heavy scowl. "You've been gone from training for three hours! What have you been doing?!"
Fan GuiRen stared at her, his face utterly expressionless. Then, in the blink of an eye, he smiled brightly, his eyes glittering like stars and his whole being emanating warmth and kindness. Wen ZiHao crumbled to the ground in a dead faint from the sheer amount of terror he was in the middle of.
"Taking in the view." Fan GuiRen said with a completely innocent face.
Wu Mei sneered, picking up the young boy with one hand and leaving him sort of just hanging there. "Mhm. Get back to work."
"Yes, Shifu."
Wu Mei didn't spare Jin ZiXin so much as a glance as she walked past him and his paramour, and instead hurried back to her Peak.
Soon after, Fan GuiRen lost his appearance of innocence, and he once more radiated killing intent. Yue, who was in the middle of a delightful conversation of gossip with Jin ZiXin, rose an eyebrow and looked back over her shoulder. There stood a glaring, pissed off young man, his entire attention focused on where she was touching Jin ZiXin.
Yue smirked at him, enjoying his look of outrage and anger, and bent her head even closer to Jin ZiXin's.
Jin ZiXin, who had no idea what his best friend was doing but was willing to go along with it anyway, just smiled slightly at her and continued talking.
Finally, Fan GuiRen could stand it no more.
He strode over the grass and passed a small collection of flower, crossing over to the middle of the bridge where Jin ZiXin and the mystery demon stood together, giving off feelings of intimacy. He smoothed over his facial expression and smiled brightly at Jin ZiXin.
"Sect Leader?" he asked, faking his surprise expertly. "Who is this?"
Jin ZiXin turned around until his back was to the water, and answered, "Yue, my best friend."
"Oh?" Fan's GuiRen's eyes flashed red for a moment. Only Yue noticed. "Won't you please introduce us?"
"Yes. You're right." Jin ZiXin nodded in agreement and waved his hand toward the demoness. "This is Yue. Yue, this is Fan GuiRen, the personal succeeding disciple of Wu Mei, my old Shifu. Once she retires, he'll be Peak Lord in her place."
Yue smirked. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
Fan GuiRen's eye twitched. He smiled brightly. "You as well. I haven't heard of you before, how long have you known each other?"
"About..." Jin ZiXin and Yue shared a look, and then Jin ZiXin shrugged. Yue finished the sentence. "since Jin ZiXin was twelve, so that'd be twenty years now."
"Twenty years? That's a long time." Fan GuiRen pretended to sound impressed. The only one to buy it was Jin ZiXin.
Jin ZiXin smiled at his favorite disciple and turned back to Yue. "Unfortunately, I do have things to do, so I can't stay with you any longer. But I'm sure that Fan GuiRen wouldn't mind giving you a tour of the grounds if you want."
"Yes." Yue smirked at Fan GuiRen. "It'll be fun."
His eye twitched again. Fan GuiRen completely ignored her, bringing his attention entirely to Jin ZiXin and smiled brightly. "I heard that we're participating in the Alliance Conference this year. What changed? I thought you didn't like it?"
Jin ZiXin scowled at the reminding of his stupid old sect leader, and his stupid demands. "The old sect leader demanded it."
Fan GuiRen smiled a little questionably, a hint of ridicule in his eyes. Yue, who was well-versed in the art of reading other peoples intentions, took the opportunity to sling her arm around his shoulder. She was only a few centimeters shorter than him, so this was fine. Grinning, she asked viciously, "How long have you been spying on us?"
Like she expected, this made Jin ZiXin startle.
Jin ZiXin sent a questioning look at Fan GuiRen, and the younger man gulped nervously, no hint of acting in his demeanor.
He bit his bottom lip and said, "Not long I.... I wasn't sure how to approach. You looked so comfortable together."
"Fan GuiRen...." Jin ZiXin gave the other man a warm look and smiled at him, his frosty demeanor practically melting off of him. "Of course you can come and talk to us. I'm always happy to spend time with you."
Fan GuiRen blushed slightly, just a light dusting of pink across his cheeks, and Yue didn't even bother to resist the urge to coo at him. He then promptly glared at her, with pure murder in his eyes, ruthlessness rolling off of him in waves of pure malice. Jin ZiXin had already been lost in his own thoughts, worries and complains of the coming Alliance Conference keeping him from noticing anything out of the ordinary.
Or rather, it kept him from noticing something very normal, because Fan GuiRen honestly wasn't very good (nor did he try to be) at hiding his vicious nature.
Yue hugged him tighter, pouring all of her power into it, and felt his knees buckle beneath him. Grinning in sadistic pleasure, she told Jin ZiXin, "We'll be going on that tour now. Try not to miss us too much!"
Jin ZiXin was so into his own thoughts that he didn't notice this either.
With her arm still around Fan GuiRen's shoulders, she lead the younger man away, over the bridge until they went out of Jin ZiXin's line of sight.
"So...." she gave Fan GuiRen a devilish look. "How long have you been in love with Jin ZiXin?"
He spluttered. "Why would you think—?! I'm not in love with him!"
"Sure~" she smirked at him.
"I'm not!"
"Mhm. And everyone at your Peak would agree with you?"
Silence. Yue smirked again and said, "Isn't it unfair to Xin'er, if you won't even admit that your in love with him. What does that say about him?"
"Sect Leader is—!" Fan GuiRen took a deep breath. "Sect Leader is amazing. I'm sure plenty of people are in love with him, as he rightfully deserves."
"And you're fine with this?"
He scoffed. "Jin ZiXin isn't very good at noticing things like that. It's fine. Besides, even if he does notice, he won't do anything, because he'll think i unfair."
With furrowed eyebrows, Yue asked, "Unfair?"
"He's sect leader, so he'll think it's unethical."
"Then won't he think that with you too?"
"That's why I have a plan." Fan GuiRen shook himself out of Yue's grip and stopped walking. He smirked at her, his deviousness shining through. "By the time he notices my affections for him, he'll already be in love with me."
Yue laughed. "Good luck with that."
Fan GuiRen's face evened out, as if he wasn't just contemplating her murder, and he said, "No need for luck."
Laughing out loud at the sheer confidence the kid was projecting, Yue ducked out of the way of the sword that almost took her head clean off. Surely, no luck would be needed. After all, Jin ZiXin had noticed the very moment that Fan GuiRen started watching them.
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hoodwinked
hoodwinked I have rheumatism in over a dozen joints (including all of my fingers and both my wrists) so the regular updates from before honestly scared me a little. Like whoah, how did that even happen?
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