I shut her up with a dense glare before saying to her, "You will be punished later. How dare you trick me?"

  "Zhu-Zhuren." She wears that adorable face that comes with bulging, glistening eyes and pouting lips that make it impossible to stay mad at her.

  This little dragon must be reading my feelings. How else can she know that I am defenseless against such expressions? She almost makes me want to embrace and comfort her, even though she is in the wrong.

  I exhale, turning away before my weakness becomes visible to Xing'er or the stranger.

  "Where are they? And why was the little boy beaten?"

  He uses the back of his hand to wipe his blood while straightening to gather his composed aura. "You can call them bullies because that is what they do now that the Wang clan is gone. They think they rule this city after the city lord's daughter married their sect's chief disciple. It's disgusting really."

  I am not interested in the affairs of these sects, but if is something that concerns the Wang clan, I must know went detail.

  "And was it involved in the Wang clan massacre?"

  The man sits back in his seat. With a wave of his hand, the board disappears to be replaced by a cup and a jar of wine. Its scent quickly infiltrates my nose. It smells so sweet.

  I swallow secretly without staring at the wine.

  "Why don't you join me? I have heard from a little bird that you love drinking sweetened wines. I just happened to have this precious jar. It is three hundred years old. The sweetest thing you can find in this filthy place."

  My intense gaze lands on Xing'er. She curls behind me, using my left sleeve to hide her face.

  "You better be prepared for your punishment. I'm not paring you today."

  She whimpers, afraid, and I leave her be for now. "Go and look for Wang Fei and my little servant."

  "Right away!" she squeals as if trying to dispel my anger by acting over submissive.

  'I might as well recruit children and have little brats running around spreading their chaos.'

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Yan Xin laughs heartily, his shoulders quivering to the intensity of his laugh before he sticks a third paper strip to my face for losing. "How is the master so terrible at this while his follower is a genius? She said you could beat the best players in the human realm with ease."

  Her master must have been a genius above geniuses at Go, but I am just a demon who had no time to indulge in such activities. I spent every spare hour training, fighting, cultivating.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  This man is not as proud as I thought he would be. He hasn't even sought compensation for breaking his sect's array. All he has been doing in the past two hours is drinking and winning this game while I drink and lose.

  It doesn't matter. The wine is more important.

  But no matter how much I drink, I'm not getting drunk even a little. Indeed, being a god has its advantages and disadvantages.

  The only wine that can get me drunk can be found in Xing'er's bracelet. One cup would be enough to destabilize my mental barrier, and two cups would make me lose focus.

  Yan Xin would probably die from being drunk if he had even half a cup of it.

  I put the empty cup down beside the board. "You can tell me now, why did you draw me here? It wasn't a coincidence."

  Yan Xin's hand freezes midair.

  He puts the stone back in the bowl before raising his face. His cheeks have gained some color from his heavy drinking, making me want to pinch them hard just to add more color. "Ha! Hahaha! You're incredible. I was trying to make you drunk, but I'm the one who is intoxicated even though you have drunk more than I have. You can hold your liquor better than anyone I have met."

  Silence.

  I give him time to let out whatever he has been wanting to say while listening and watching him closely.

  We may have shared wine, but it does not mean I will throw my trust in him just because of this. Humans are cunning. Especially these old men. I would rather trust the children because they still have their innocence. Once they grow up, they become corrupted.

  The only human I trusted was Wang Yao. I knew he was my enemy and respected him for his nature just as he respected me.

  Yan Xin exhales, shedding his over-friendly nature. "I was curious about who the master was to such a talented young girl. It was only that at first. But when you came and I lost so miserably, I was interested in you."

  My right brow raises suspiciously.

  "Ah! I'm not interested in you in that way. I apologize for the misunderstanding. I am just curious about your secrets. Your existence. You feel like you don't belong here no matter how much you try to act like one of us.

  "I was hoping to learn more about your reasons for coming here. Which sect you belong to. Your true cultivation level and why you lose sweet things so mu-"

  "I'll break your teeth if you ever tell anyone about the last part," I extend a threat, but quickly clear my throat to hide my fury. "I'm sorry, but I have no answers to any of your curiosities. I am but a simple human travelling around to gain experience."

  Yan Xin bursts out laughing. "You're quite strange. Who calls themselves 'human' as if you're speaking about someone else?"

  Dammit! I almost let it slip that I am and I am not human. "Whatever. Thank you for taking care of my little servant." I rise, the hem of my robes falling to sweep the floor at my feet. "I do not take kindness for granted so I'll give you a small gift in return."

  "Oh? And what will that be? Perhaps you can leave that little girl in my sect for-"

  "Don't be so greedy. You might die faster like this."

  We stare at each other in silence for a moment before I turn my back to him. "Would you like to open your tenth meridian?"

  "Are you trying to make fun of me? Have you not heard about the rumors around here? I am the useless sect leader. Chosen by fate? Such nonsense. I just want to stay in my sect, drink, play, eat, sleep, and pass the time without worrying about anything. I am satisfied being a trash sect leader."

  His tone betrays him no matter how arrogant he wants his words to sound to anyone listening.

  "Are you saying this to me, or to convince yourself that you are fine where you are? If everyone stayed unmotivated as you are, how would the world gain enlightenment?"

  "Tsk!"

  Yan Xin appears in front of me before I blink my next. He raises a finger, bringing it to my chest to poke me. "You...do you think everyone is as lucky as you are to have such achievements? Do you know how hard I worked all my life just to earn my position? No, you don't know!

  "I became my father's blade. I did everything he wanted me to do. Steal a national treasure? Sure. Kill an elder? Why not. Marry the enemy's daughter? Gladly. Then what? What did he leave me before he died? A dying sect whose disciples don't even respect me, and the elders won't take me seriously.

  "You walked in here long ago yet no one has bothered to inform me that someone broke into the sect.

  "I live like a prisoner in my own sect. The only good thing is that I can live comfortably and in peace. But why? Why is it still not enough? It wasn't supposed to be like this."

  The tears clouding his black eyes finally roll down like two thin rivers. They do not stop even when he wipes them with the sleeves of his robes.

  "Ah," Yan Xin sighs, angling his face to the ceiling before he starts chuckling. "Isn't it funny how we don't get what we want most of the time? Why does the Dao play us like this? Aren't we supposed to be receiving rewards for everything we worked for?

  Look at the demon lord. He has been in power for hundreds of years yet he seems not to have what he desires.

  "What does he desire?" he derails from his own conversation.