HEING MEH
Chapter 21
Jade lifted her eyes when a shudder went through the wall and Hoyle stepped in. She frowned slightly.
"What now, card man?" she asked.
"Master Shin has announced that it is time." Hoyle replied. He didn't look quite happy with the fact.
And neither did Jade, but she kept a brave expression on her face and didn't let the fire in her eyes die. There was no way she could have let her enemies know what she felt.
"Come on now." Hoyle said shortly and Jade stepped on the floor. The man caught her wrist, pressed his hand against the wall and dragged the girl through after him.
"Why couldn't I do that?" Jade asked. She had tried to escape many times, but had had no luck. And now that crook did it with no difficulties? That sure was annoying.
"Master Shin has not given the wall the permission to let through alone." Hoyle answered.
Jade blinked.
"Given permission? So it lives?" she asked in surprise. The thought wasn't very nice. It was almost as if she was inside a living thing...
"I don't know. Ask him when he kills you."
"Maybe I'll do that. Though he won't kill me, something unexpected is going to happen." Jade stated.
Hoyle didn't say anything and Jade didn't feel like talking either. She concentrated in looking around herself. They were walking in a dark corridor made of white stone. Every now and then they met torches that burnt with sad flames, but didn't give quite enough light.
It even felt that the flames were corrupting the stone.
Jade tried to find something interesting in the walls, but it was useless. They had no decoration and nothing else than smooth surface.
She felt like sighing, but didn't want Hoyle to know how desperate she was starting to feel.
If something didn't happen soon...
... she would die.
They were gathered in the same place again and Origami was one of those who found the whole thing completely useless. He couldn't have been less interested in saving Jade and he didn't want to have part in destroying Heing Meh either.
If the demons' story turned out to be true he would be in danger as well, but he still wasn't ready to take part in an operation like this. Being a slave was embarrassing enough and he would never join his enemies voluntarily.
There were always alternate options.
He forced the dark thought in the back of his mind and concentrated in listening what Tso Lan had to say.
"We have located the place where Shin is hiding. As we suspected, it is a palace built of dark chi and it literally hums with energy. Finding it was not difficult." the moon demon said.
"Well, where is it?" Viper asked.
"Nowhere."
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Shendu asked angrily. It was a common knowledge among the demon family that he hated Tso Lan's habit of revealing small bits of information one by one. Origami found it amusing to see Shendu getting mad at someone else for a change.
"But we saw Jade! She has to be somewhere!" Jackie said and it was obvious how worried he was.
Origami had to sigh in frustration. He hoped that the annoying girl would have been lost forever.
"Shin gets his powers from Heing Meh, so we assume that he has built a palace in the middle of nothing. It is located between our world and the world where Shin comes from. Getting there shouldn't be difficult." Tso Lan said.
Viper snorted.
"I am starting to like this demon mess if travelling around is really that easy. Can you open a portal in Spain when this is over? I have always wanted to travel there." she asked in amuse.
"Our spells are not for having fun." Tso Lan scolded.
"Except if it's us." Xiao Fung added.
"Couldn't we just get going? I want to save Jade while she is still alive!" Hsi Wu announced. He understood that his siblings weren't interested in this quest as much as he was, but he was about to lose his nerves with them. Couldn't they understand that if Shin got what he wanted - whatever it was - things would not turn out good?
"So do I." Jackie stated and locked his eyes with the sky demon. He was horrible in his true form and clearly crueller and more malicious than Tso Lan, and yet he found Hsi Wu the most likeable of the demons.
Somehow Jackie felt that Hsi Wu was the only one of the demons who cared if they got Jade back alive or dead.
Tso Lan pointed at the wall behind him.
"When sister Bai Tsa has painted the right symbols we can step through a living wall in the palace." he said.
"A living wall? That doesn't sound nice." Finn said. Origami had to agree.
Tso Lan glanced at him looking slightly amused.
"Don't worry, you will not have to come." he said.
"What? Really? Dude, that's the first thing I like in this!" the Irishman said in relief. Huh, he had already been afraid of having to endanger himself and experience all kinds of horrors because of Chan's niece. No thanks!
"No, it would be stupid to include those who are no use to us. The only mortals that will assist us are the Chans, their friends and Valmont."
"Why me? Couldn't I stay here too? I am no use at all!" Valmont objected immediately.
"You will come. In order to accept yourself and release Ni Tang you need to be in touch with demonic powers." Tso Lan pointed out.
"I got enough of them when I was possessed by Shendu and when I was a demon. I don't want that in my life again!"
"We still don't have time for this. Stop arguing and do as you are told." Po Kong said sharply. Valmont frowned, but didn't say anything else.
He didn't even bother to glance at his men when Dai Gui took them away. He wasn't on the mood to care about anyone else's problems.
Tso Lan could feel that the room was full of confusion and suppressed anger. He knew that Valmont was frustrated, Origami hated them all and Finn, Chow and Ratso had not been fully told what was going on.
The moon demon didn't care about the mortals and wasn't interested in their fate. The only thing he found important about them was how their negative behaviour would affect the others. He wasn't worried about his siblings, but he was afraid the Chans or their friends would lose some of their determination when they saw other humans suffering.
Mortals are fools, he though darkly to himself. He had to admit that they could be wise at times, but he usually just despised them because of their habit of making decisions by listening to their feelings.
But, unlike his siblings, he knew how to hide his feelings - he had always thought it was one of his best traits - and he didn't let them control his life. They existed, but he didn't pay much attention to them.
"We can leave soon." he said floating next to Hsi Wu. The sky demon glanced at him sharply, but answered then.
"Yes, I can save Jade." he said.
"Are you not interested in the survival of our family?" Tso Lan asked. He knew he was just annoying his brother, but he wanted to make him see things as they were.
Hsi Wu frowned.
"I am interested in my own survival." he stated. "My family is dead to me. I have to find a new place to belong to."
"Do you think you will find it with the mortal girl? She might learn to accept you one day, but her relatives? Never."
"I don't care about them. Besides, they already work with us. Why couldn't they learn to like me too?" Hsi Wu asked.
"So you admit that you would rather take them than us?"
"I... Yes. I have no place in your family." Hsi Wu replied and his voice shook just a little.
For a short moment Tso Lan's eyes looked gentle, but then they were cold again.
"You will always have a place with us. The mortal world has made you forgot one thing." he said.
"And that is?"
"It doesn't matter who you were or who you are going to be. Only what you are now is important." Tso Lan glanced at Bai Tsa. "Ah, our sister seems to be ready."
Hsi Wu watched as Tso Lan floated to the others, and he shook his head.
Shin snorted.
"Dear Jade, the time has come." he said softly. His voice wasn't tenderly soft, it was soft like a sharp razor, and ready to make a nice cut in the skin on someone's wrists.
Jade bit her lip and glared at the older man - though she wasn't that sure was he even a human - eyes blazing.
"You will not win!" she snapped.
"But I already have." Shin said. He gestured at Hoyle who started to drag Jade towards the altar. The girl struggled as much as she could, but it was no good against a grown man.
Hoyle made her lay down on the altar and when she felt the cold stone under her back Jade let a drop of desperation sink in her heart for the first time during this.
She glanced around herself.
Something had to happen!
Bai Tsa looked at her work pleased and drew back. She had had to take her true form to be able to paint and the tip of her tail was covered in black liquid.
It took a while before anything happened, but then the pictures she had painted started to glow faintly. And then they disappeared.
"We can travel through now." Tso Lan said.
And so they did.
Shin lifted his gaze and smiled.
"They are here."
Stepping through the wall had been much easier and faster than Viper had thought. She had believed that they would have to struggle through some black material or something, but they had appeared on the other side almost immediately after touching the wall Bai Tsa had painted.
The ex-thief looked around herself. The corridor was spacey and every demon could easily be in his or her true form. She wouldn't have normally liked that, but now that they shared their enemy she was glad that she was teamed up with a bunch of cruel creatures.
Right next to them was a strange torch that gave them a little light. The corridor opened in two directions and both looked just as dark. They could see small light in both directions and knew that another torch was waiting for them.
"Maybe you shouldn't have come." Viper said to Xu Lin. She wasn't as overprotective as Jackie, but she didn't think this was the place for young girls.
"I have to be here. I want to help saving Jade." Xu Lin replied with determination. "And I am not unfamiliar with dangerous things." she added.
"Well, what are we going to do?" Jackie asked and looked at the others. Viper and Xu Lin concentrated in him now.
"We have to find Shin and kill him. That is the mission of my family, you can do whatever you wish to." Shendu said. Then he suddenly thought of something and turned to look at Viper.
"I hate saying this, but you must stay alive. Without you we can not open a portal in Sha Fuju." he said and sounded like admitting it was very repulsive.
Viper snorted and brushed some of her hair behind her ear.
"Don't worry dragon. You need something special to get rid of me." she said with self-confidence. She noticed how a small smile appeared on Jackie's face. Viper felt a warm wave inside herself, but forced herself to think about something else.
Jackie was not for her. Someone else was.
"Which way are we going to go? We have to be fast and it's no good standing here." Jackie said.
"Maybe we should split up?" Tohru suggested.
Uncle shook his head.
"No need to. Uncle can sense a current of dark chi coming from there." he said and pointed left.
"The old man is right. We will find what we seek there." Tso Lan added.
"Why don't I ever sense chi anywhere?" Viper asked from herself. She didn't expect anyone to reply, she had meant the question as a joke, really. That was why she was slightly surprise when someone bothered to answer. Especially because the answer came from a demon that she had never thought of having a conversation with.
"Because you have not taught yourself to sense it." Xiao Fung pointed out. Viper looked up so that she could see something else than just a huge paw. She walked right next to the wind demon and they were the last of their group.
"I see. And you are the expert?" Viper asked in amuse. She didn't know Xiao Fung, but she didn't think he was a demon to be taken seriously.
"I am a demon." the wind demon replied as if it had explained it all.
"And yet you always fail in even the simplest of chi spells!" Bai Tsa stated in front of them. Xiao Fung glared at the back of his sister, but didn't reply.
"My powers are something else than magic." he said to Viper.
"Uhhuh. Do you study much?" she asked.
"No."
"Are you strong in combat?"
"No."
"Intelligent?"
"Yes."
"No he's not!" Bai Tsa interfered again.
"Fine, fine, I am a comedian. I say or do something stupid that makes the enemies underestimate everyone of my family, and then my siblings rip them apart before they notice anything." Xiao Fung said to Viper.
The ex-thief blinked.
"Well... that is a strategy too." she said uncertainly.
Jackie had never felt as determined as now. Saving Jade was more important than anything else and now that they were this far he didn't doubt their success.
Uncle and Tso Lan were ahead of them and had a quiet conversation. Jackie didn't even try to listen, he knew he wouldn't understand their talk. He was an archaeologist, but hadn't read enough ancient legends to catch the meaning of the old man and moon demon's conversation.
He drew a breath. His whole body was tense and he kept a continuous eye on his surroundings. The corridor was empty save them and it did seem quite unlikely that anyone would attack them there.
"You can not take Jade with you." he said to Hsi Wu, who flew with slight difficulties above him. It was very difficult to fly indoors.
The sky demon glanced at Jackie.
"We'll see about that later." he said sharply. Jackie felt anger growing inside him, but he didn't let it show. He was not about to waste his energy in a fight with Hsi Wu.
"Jade is a free soul, you can't keep her as your prisoner even if I am not there to stop you." he said.
"How do you know she doesn't want to be with me? I am her friend."
"No you are not. You are just a demon who wasn't as dangerous as the rest. Jade was a child five years ago and considered you her friend because she wanted to find safety in someone. Now she is almost an adult and can think sensibly." Jackie said.
Hsi Wu snorted.
"You humans are strange. You turn into different creatures in a time that is just a blink of an eye to a demon." he said sounding thoughtful. He didn't continue the Jade conversation, he knew it would have been useless. Mortals were known of their suspicions. "Maybe that is why Jade is so special." he said quietly to himself.
Jackie heard what the demon said, but didn't comment it. He felt odd in Hsi Wu's presence. The sky demon was as cruel and horrible as his siblings, and yet he knew how to behave when he had to. And his strange desire to protect Jade was... well, strange. It seemed like the girl was one of the most important things in Hsi Wu's life.
If he hadn't been a demon, Jackie just might have wished them good luck.
"Hey, why did you stop?" Viper turned to look at Xiao Fung who had stopped walking. The wind demon stared up at the ceiling and tilted his huge head.
"What is that?" he asked in interest.
"What?" Viper asked and glanced at the rest who hadn't noticed that they had stopped. "We are going to lose the others."
"Wait, wait. This is interesting." Xiao Fung said.
"What? There is nothing."
She didn't get a reply and frowned in worry. The others had already disappeared in the dark and Viper didn't really like the idea of being alone with a demon.
"You are not the only mortals here. There are more of you." Xiao Fung announced sounding surprised.
"How do you know?" Viper wanted to know. Xiao Fung nodded up.
"There is a weak breeze up there. It tells me things." he said.
"Didn't Bai Tsa just say that you are an idiot?" Viper pointed out and Xiao Fung grinned at him.
"She and others can say whatever they want to. I am still a wind demon."
"I should have remembered that..."
Viper had been watching Xiao Fung when she had had the chance and had come to the conclusion that he wasn't a very serious demon. At least no one took him seriously. She didn't think it was odd, the wind demon didn't look very intelligent with his huge head and paws and he never took part when decisions were made.
"Yes you should have. It is very dangerous to underestimate me." Xiao Fung said cheerfully. Then he glanced up again. "Let's go and find the extra mortals." he suggested.
Viper stared at the demon. She didn't think she had heard right. Xiao Fung was acting like a spoiled school boy!
"What? Shouldn't we go after the others and help them in the fight against Shin? Besides, I want to save Jade too!"
Xiao Fung looked at her in slight despise and snorted loudly.
"Only mortals care about such matters. If you really want to help you can do it by learning to know this place and what is going on around here. My brothers and sisters and your friends are already on their way to the battle. No one needs us." he said.
Viper suppressed her desire to snap that no one would need the wind demon, and settled with frowning angrily. Xiao Fung was probably an idiot, but an idiot of dangerous size anyway. The ex-thief didn't want to see what it looked like under his paw.
There were only two directions to choose and since the one the demon chose was the one where they had been going anyway Viper decided to follow the slow demon.
"I can't believe that they left me here!" Hak Foo raged at the walls and walked in a circle in the middle of their prison.
"Come on, Hak. You should be glad for not having to go there." Finn said lazily. He sat on the floor and leaned his back on the stone wall. Chow and Ratso were next to him, but Origami had decided to stay as far away as possible from them.
Hak Foo glared at the Irishman.
"I would have been useful for them!" he snapped.
Finn rolled his eyes.
"Don't tell me that you really want to help the Chans. Or the demons. Both have been nothing but trouble to us." he said.
"And if one of them dies just because you weren't there, we can all be happy. The less of them, the better. Wouldn't it be good if the water demon died?" Chow added.
"
Huh? What do you mean? She is the most tolerable of them." Finn said.
"Yes, but if she dies you wouldn't have to be her slave anymore." Ratso pointed out.
"That is true." Finn stated. He felt stupid for not thinking about something that even Ratso had realised.
"And if things go well, even Shendu will kick the bucket. I don't think I hate anyone as much as I hate him. Hey, maybe that Shin kills them all." Chow continued. Ratso glanced at him.
"But what about that Heing Meh? Without the Chans and demons there will be no one to stop him. Besides, Valmont is there. Do you want him to die too?" he asked.
Chow thought about it.
"Not really." he admitted. "But none of us is magical so Heing Meh will not come after us." he said then.
"But what if he takes over the world?" Finn pointed out.
"Oh yes, I didn't remember that." Chow said.
"How could you have forgotten it? Wasn't that like one of the most important things that Tso Lan said?" the Irishman asked in slight irritation.
"Well hey, you have had enough time to adjust in all this, but I just got here. I can't accept everything at once!"
"Those idiots are going to wish for that they'd have taken me..." Hak Foo muttered angrily not really paying attention to what was going on around him.
Damn, the Chinese girl had been allowed to go! He felt a pang in his warrior pride.
"Sit down and be still for a while. I can't bear to look at you." Origami's voice broke the flow of the warrior's thoughts and Hak Foo stopped.
"Excuse me?" he asked sharply.
"You heard me. Some of us have real problems and I couldn't be less interested in what you are angry at." the Japanese thief said.
Hak Foo glared at Origami on rage and for a while it looked like he might have attacked him. Trying that wouldn't have been too intelligent, because the thief wasn't actually unable to defend himself.
But the warrior settled with turning his back on him. Hak Foo knew that at some point the others would have to start to respect him.
"Hey, Xiao Fung and Viper aren't with us anymore!"
Bai Tsa's exclaim made everyone stop and look behind them. Those who were in front of the group couldn't see much through the rest, but they realised the situation too.
"Where could they have gone?" Jackie asked in worry. He wasn't worried about the wind demon, but the thought of Viper being alone with him was disturbing.
"They must have been left behind. We have walked past only one crossing and it was only a few minutes ago, so they can not have got lost." Tso Lan reasoned fast.
"Left behind? How is that possible?" Jackie asked. He looked at Uncle and hoped that he'd get an answer from him. The old man said nothing, though.
"Maybe something attacked them?" Hsi Wu suggested.
"We would have heard that. Xiao Fung screams like a girl when he is in danger." Shendu said dryly.
"Well maybe he didn't have the time to do that. Maybe Shin finally decided to succeed in getting rid of a male demon. And if you were right and he tries to do it in the born order Xiao Fung would have been the next on his list." the sky demon replied.
"Should we go and look for them?" Xu Lin asked. Tso Lan shook his head.
"We have no time for that." he said. Jackie looked at him in shock.
"What do you mean? They could be in real danger!" he said.
"They probably are, but we have more important events to attend to. Stopping Shin means more than anything else at the moment." the moon demon said.
"He is your brother!"
"Never mind Xiao Fung, but we can't open the portal in Sha Fuju without Viper!" Shendu added.
Tso Lan glared at Jackie.
"And so what? If Shin has found them there is no reason to look for them. And if they are still alive they will find us. Xiao Fung can do it, though he doesn't look like it." he said turning to talk to Shendu.
Jackie could only stare at the demon mouth open. A moment ago he had dared to think that maybe demons felt something after all, but now Tso Lan had reminded him of how things truly were. If the wellbeing of his own brother meant nothing to him there was little chance of anything breaking his hard shell.
"If they still live Xiao Fung will take care of your mortal friend. We are in a hurry." Tso Lan continued and turned around to continue on. The other demons hurried after their brother and after a moment of hesitation the mortals did the same.
"I really hope you are alright, Viper..." Jackie muttered to himself.
They continued to walk seeing doors and crossings at time to time, but most of the time they walked straight. Nothing tried to attack them or stop them and it made them grow slightly worried. They had hoped that all would be easy, but everything had its limits.
And then they arrived at a huge arch door which opened into a hall lit by candles.
They stepped in.
"Which way did they go?" Viper asked when they stood in front of a crossing. Both directions looked good to her.
"How should I know?" Xiao Fung asked.
"You are a demon! And you also know where those extra mortals are." Viper snapped impatiently.
"Maybe, but I am not interested in finding the others just yet. I want to have a look at this place." the wind demon replied.
Viper said nothing, but something in the demon's words made her think of Jade. And that just increased her desire to help her.
"Tell me which way they took and do whatever you want after that." she said and Xiao Fung tilted his head in thought.
"They went there." he said and pointed at the direction that he had been about to choose. Viper looked sceptic.
"Are you sure?" she asked. She had the feeling that the demon was just trying to get her with him.
"Of course I am. It is not my problem if the mortals I look for are there too. You don't think that I would need you to assist me?" Xiao Fung asked sounding amused.
"You never know." Viper said. She decided to trust the demon this time - as ridiculous as it sounded. If she didn't go with the demon and found out that she was lost things would not be any better.
So they turned left and Xiao Fung took the lead. Viper had no difficulties keeping up with him because the wind demon was very clumsy and not fast. Now that there were only the two of them she noticed that she kept a closer eye on their surroundings.
The corridor started to get smaller without them noticing it. At first Xiao Fung walked his head bent down, but then he had to take his human form.
"If something big and dangerous attacks us you are going to have to change back and fight." Viper said.
"What do you think I am? A Digimon partner who defends you against monsters?" Xiao Fung threw back.
Viper wasn't sure if it was a good thing that a demon watched children's cartoons. She didn't really even know what the plot of Digimon was.
"Yeah, whatever." she said. Xiao Fung snorted.
"You are funny." he said.
"Funny?" Viper repeated. She didn't feel funny at all. On the contrary, she hadn't been as serious in a while. They were all in danger, for Heaven's sake!
"Compared to my siblings, at least. They take everything so seriously."
"This is a serious situation."
"Yes, but not that serious that all attention needs to be on Shin and Jade. There are other interesting things here."
"What exactly? What does that... wind tell you?" Viper asked.
"Not much, just clues. It reminds me of my old friend Loki. He knew how to have fun. Do you know the story of how he gave Sleipnir to Odin?"
"No. Tell about what the wind says to you." Viper said with a sharper tone.
"Hmh, it only tells me to come here and that we'll find a mortal here. Who says it's not Jade?"
Viper hadn't thought of that. She was suddenly glad for going with the wind demon. If it really was Jade they would find the others too.
And then they noticed they were standing in front of a door. They glanced at each other and then Viper pushed in open.
They stepped in.
Hoyle hadn't been asked to join the ceremony and he was glad because of it. Killing was nothing new to him, but when it involved a ritual death he didn't want to have anything with it.
There was a good side in this too, though. Maybe he and Necrosis could leave once this was over. That was all he wanted at the moment.
And then the lifted his eyes when two humans stepped in.
"Who are you?" he asked in surprise. He had never expected to meet anyone in that place.
"And who are you? Where are we?" the first of the two, a woman, asked. Her last question was made for the strange man who was with her. He just shrugged.
"I told you I was looking for mortals." he said.
The woman didn't reply, but frowned. Then she concentrated in Hoyle again.
"What are you doing here? And how did you get in?" he asked on guard. Even though the duo looked like they were humans that didn't mean that they were on the same side with him. Who knew how many partners Shin had?
"We have come to free Jade and kill Shin. Like it or not." the woman said. Hoyle saw how tense she was and reasoned that she couldn't say what she thought of it.
"Good." he said in relief. "It's about time to get rid of him."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard what I said. You don't think I am voluntarily here?" Hoyle said.
"Oh... Well that's good. I am Viper and this is Xiao Fung. He is a wind demon." Viper said.
"You can call me Hoyle. How are you going to destroy him?" Hoyle asked. He felt much better now that these two had arrived. Especially since the other one was a demon. Shin couldn't stand against a demon, right?
"We are doing nothing, actually. We have many allies who must be taking care of him as we speak. We were supposed to be there too, but we got lost." Viper said and glared daggers at Xiao Fung.
"I see." Hoyle said. He didn't really know what to think.
"Jade!" Jackie and Hsi Wu exclaimed as they saw the girl on the altar. Jade lifted her head as she heard her name. Her eyed widened when she saw the group that had come for her.
"Jackie! They have tied me here with a spell! I can't move!" she shouted and it was now that Jackie paid any attention to the others who were there.
Shin stood right next to Jade looking pleased. His hands were on his sides and it didn't look like he was about to do anything. Next to him was Necrosis looking very uncomfortable.
Jackie slit his eyes.
"Let Jade go." he said. He had taken the lead without noticing it and took a step forwards. Hsi Wu followed, he was not about to let Jade think that he didn't care.
Shin chuckled softly.
"I could do that if my master didn't need her that bad. Or her blood actually." he said.
"If you hurt Jade..." Hsi Wu growled angrily and when Jackie glanced at him he saw that the sky demon looked scarier than ever before. The demon's every muscle was tense, he had spread his huge wings and there was a murderous glow in his eyes. Jackie was suddenly glad for having the sky demon by his side.
"What are you going to do, demon?" Shin asked. He gestured at Necrosis. "Be ready."
"You have no idea of what I can do..." Hsi Wu said coldly.
"Or what we can do." Shendu pointed out behind Jackie and his brother. Only now Shin bothered to look at the others.
"Are you trying to tell me that you are all interested in this girl?" he asked lifting a brow in mock surprise.
"If her death makes Heing Meh stronger we will do everything to save her." Tso Lan replied for Shendu. The moon demon's voice was cold and revealed only little of his passion.
"Heing Meh? Who is this Heing Meh?" Jade's curious voice cut in, but Shin glared at her and she shut up.
"Quiet, girl. Your life will not last long so you don't need to know that." he snapped. And then, to everyone's surprise, he drew a long dagger from his robes and raised it above Jade.
"My master will love your blood!"
Everyone watched in horror as Shin thrust the dagger in Jade's chest.
"No!"
Hsi Wu rose on his wings and charged at Shin, knocked him down and slashed him blindly with his claws. He didn't care what he hit, Shin's suffering was all he cared about. He would suffer more than ever before, Hsi Wu would make sure of that.
"Die, die, die!" he shouted, more like screamed and pushed the bloodied and injured Shin away from him. The sky demon was on his knees, covered in the blood of his enemy and watched as Shin made a shaking attempt of standing up. He hadn't screamed even once during the time Hsi Wu had slashed him, but now he said something.
"She is... still alive..." Shin said and a cruel smile played on his destroyed face. Hsi Wu flinched and turned to look behind him where Jade lay in her own blood. He stood up and walked to her trembling.
"Jade...?" he asked hoarsely. Jade stared at the ceiling and only the faint twinkle in her eyes revealed that she was still live. Her wound was deadly, Hsi Wu knew that she wouldn't make it.
"Hsi..." Jade didn't have the strength to say his whole name. She was shocked and didn't feel any pain, she barely understood what had happened.
"Shh, don't say anything. Po Kong can heal you. I know she can." Hsi Wu said and caressed Jade's face with his claws. Jade smiled weakly.
"I..." she started, but said nothing. The light in her eyes died.
Hsi Wu stared at the sight in shock not believing his eyes. He didn't notice that Jackie ran to them and paid no attention to that Shin teleported himself away in a blink.
"No! Jade!" he screamed and anger, sorrow, bitterness and desperation filled him at the same time. "No!"
Hsi Wu pressed his head against Jade's chest. Tears fell down his cheeks, but he didn't cry because of sorrow. Just shock.
And because he had never learned to feel real love.
His tears were mixed with Jade's blood...
... and the Nameless spread his red feather wings and stretched his muscles. Then he screamed in victory.
He was back!
To be continued...