Wu Xie

Thunders keep flashing in the sky above them, illuminating the desert every few minutes while an unnatural fog formed all around their small temple, making it quite cold instead of the previous hot, so typical of the desert right in the middle of the day. The lighting storm had taken him by surprise, as he expect it to be further inside the Devil City, not so close to the outline of the ruins.

Regadless of why they had encounter it it so soon, there was still the need to see if they could pass it or they were going to be stocked in there for who known how long. As the most experienced experts there, Qiling and Xiazi had gone out to try see whatever or not it was safe to move on, but deep down Wu Xie knew there was no use. They were in the outskirt of the Devil City and it was not going to be easy to find their way into the tomb, especially one that was apparently not meant to be disturbed by humans.

Thinking about that, Wu Xie sat on a corner, as far as he could from the others and took out his grandfather's notes. All the information about Tamutuo was there to begin with. So he hoped that as he looked over at it one more time, he may find something he had failed to notice before that could be of use to decipher the mysteries of the place. However, there was nothing he had missed in all the years he read the content.

First, it was the sandstorm, then the lighting storm, which could be the one they were going to face next and finally, the northern lights that will open the way inside the tomb through an illusion. Aside from some vague information on corpse eating bugs and some other natural guardians of the tomb, there was nothing about a sudden fog after a red wave of ants that could eat you to the bone in no time.

"Grandfather... I wonder if that was all you encounter while in here, or hide the rest for me to find out on my own." Wu XIe whisper to himself, putting the notebook on his lap in resignation. However, as he did, something caught up his attention. At the other side of his resting place, there was a faint glow that didn't seems to come from the fire they had make to dispel the cold that had spread from the fog into their empty temple.

Driven by curiosity, Wu Xie put the notebook in his backpack and glancing at the others sat on the ground, having something to eat while they rested and waited for Shades and Qiling to return from their scout, he sneaked closer into the wall he saw the glow. For some reason, it seem to appear with the light of the thunders as they stroke above their temple, creating some kind of flare effect as the light from the outside came in through the small holes in the temple.

He sat there, staring at the wall, as lightings flashed outside and he could swear that each time one resounded around them, the image of a beast formed over the wall. Because the time it lasted was just a few seconds, he came even closer, just to try to distinguish the beast shape and the closer he looked the more he thought it resemble an ancient mystical one. A Qilin, a heavenly beast consider one of the four noble beasts along with the dragons, a protector of the innocent, gentle by nature yet, a fierce punisher of the evil-doers whatever human or otherwise.

It he goes for the legend of the Qilin's, in the moment he was born, it should signal him as a sage. Qilin's were associated with birth of benevolent rulers or sages, also bringers of good luck, but the last time he dreamed with one, it had been quite painful, as its fire was consuming him from the inside out... but still, he was certainly attracted to the flare of its image as a moth to a flame. He was so compelled by the strange phenomena, that he extended his hand toward the flashing flare, almost like in a slow motion.

"Wu Xie! Don't!" Zhang Qiling shouted as soon as he enter the temple and saw him slowly extending his hand over a lighting flare. Instantly Qiling ran toward him as fast as his inhuman body allow him, but too late to prevent Wu Xie from touching the Qilin mirage on the wall, that trigger a trap under his sitting body.

The ground under Wu Xie open in two panels, pretty much swallowing him in a free fall inside the trap, that closed again just when Zhan Qiling had hestily dive in along with him. Thus both of them were prey to gravity, even when Qiling had somehow manage to catch the young man and hold him as they fell into a more narrow tunnel toward the unknown.

Both of them slide inside the circular tunnel for a few minutes, with Wu Xie grabbing into Zhang Qiling for dear life, until their tunnel ended with another free fall, thankfully not too high. Just because Qiling was holding Wu Xie, he manage to land on his feet first over a sandy stone ground while keeping his charge in bridal style on his arms. By then Wu Xie's heart was beating so hard in both fear and excitement at the same time that it took him a few seconds to realize he was no longer falling, but steadily held in the arms of the still Poker Face.

Wu Xie looked up to Qiling, quite embarrassed for once again fell into danger all of the sudden and dragging the stoic man along with him. If Pangzi were to be there, he could imagine saying, 'you are such a danger magnet, we can't let you alone even for a few minutes...' which was, unfortunately very true. His grandfather must had imagine that Qilin at his birth, because certainly he was proving to have no luck at all.

"Hum..." He try to voice a thank you, but Qiling put him down at that moment and intensely looked at him in the semidarkness.

"Were you hurt before?" Qiling asked.

"No, you did take most of the fall on your back. Are you alright?" Wu Xie asked in turn, but Qiling only nodded, looking around into where they had landed. There was a faint bluish glow on the walls that make Qiling feel a bit restless. He saw the image of the Qilin that Wu Xie was so mesmerized into touching without any awareness of the danger hidden beneath him.

There was a long corridor on both sides with a door at each end. In between them there were remnants of what looked like human skeletons scattered all around. To Qiling, it was obvious they had fall into the dark side of the temple above. It was called the Devil City for a reason after all and probably many sacrifices were committed into the darkness by the ones that were later punished by the Qilin of Tamutuo, one of the three in existence, as far as his memory allowed him to remember.

All three Qilin's served a purpose to the gods and in ancient times, they walked among men to help the people in need and punish rulers that crossed the line and were wiped from the human history. Thus was the destiny of the Devil City and Wu Xie had been involved in their war without a clear role on it. From what had happen before, he was more inclined to believe Wu Xie was perhaps called to become one of them, but usually, a Qilin choose its helping guardian and did not interfere with other Qilin's chosen's.

However, as he see it, Wu Xie was now at the center of attention of two, the fire Qilin as well as the thunder one in that place. He has been the main guardian of the fire Qilin in Mount Changbai and giving the fact that he had dream with Wu Xie for so many years, he thought the man was called by the fire Qilin, but the lighting Qilin, which had Wenjin as a guardian, was also manifesting interest on him as well, which he doubted had happen before, as all of them acted independently, while occasionally crossing paths as they were doing now.

"Xiaoge?" Wu Xie asked him, taking Qiling out of his thoughts.

"We need to get out." Wu Xie almost sighed.

"Of course, but which way?" Wu Xie asked as he looked at the two doors they needed to choose. He was new to tomb raiding and he had the feeling that the place they had ended to was not even a tomb to begin with, so this time he needed to rely in the other man expertise in the field.

Qiling looked at both ways and trusting his sharp instincts, he was sure the one on the right was going to lead them out the safest, yet as he was going to voice his decision, something unexpected happen, as the door he had already choose for them to go in, suddenly burst into blue flames with the appearance of the thunder Qilin mirage crossing it from the inside, like a sprit.

"Oh damn it! Run!" Wu Xie yelled as he grabbed Xiaoge's hand and pull him toward the opposite door, caring not about hidden traps or what could wait for them into the other side of the closed door. His survival instinct screamed at him he needed to get away from that translucent phantom in the form of a Qilin and so he dragged Xiaoge along with him.

"Wu Xie stop!" Zhang yelled, a bit stunned for the sudden dash. To be honest, as far as he remember this kind of things had never happen to him before, for him to be dragged away by someone else weaker than him, like if Wu Xie could actually protect him instead of the other way around. He would had laugh if Wu Xie had used less strength to pull him as he run ahead, but to his surprise, the grip was quite strong, probably out of fear.

Nevertheless, the Qilin was not going to kill them, it was not even the real thing, just a reflection, a shadow of the original and Wu Xie was running too fast to notice the light sand top over the stone path was blackened by the absorption of blood caused by either cruel tortures or hidden traps Wu Xie was going to activate at any step now.

So he forcefully pulled Wu Xie back and then push him into the wall as gently as he could, covering him with his body, as the Qilin mirage passed them without stooping toward the other door, activating some traps along its way as several ligthings camera out of its body as it run on the passage. Fortunately, the many spears that crossed from one wall to the other all over the walking space were still a few yards from them, sparing them of what could had been a certain death.

"You are too reckless..." Zhang Qiling whisper as he looked at the dozens of spears on the ground, slightly charred by the Qilin's mirage doing.

"That Qilin it's hunting me." Wu Xie said on his defense, although it sounded quite weak as it looked now like the semitransparent beast was actually trying to save them, instead of harming them.

"No Qilin, real or not will hurt without a reason." Qiling said as he looked down to Wu Xie, still protectively held on his arms.

"I'm sure I felt one burning me last night."

"It was an illusion."

"You drew a seal for an illusion? Try again, I will not buy that one."

"Its not hunting you."

"Oh, it shouldn't, since I don't remember to had sin strongly enough against humanity to receive heaven retribution directly from its guardian."

"You are not a sinner. It will not harm you."

"How are you so sure?"

"I just know."

"You just met me."

"I know you."

"From where?"

"The dreams."

"So you have them too?"

"Yes."

"Then I was brought here for another reason, right?"

"Maybe..." Wu Xie fumed again.

"Maybe? What the hell does that mean? What really happen to my uncle? Is he alive?"

"I don't know." Wu Xie pushed him away.

"Just what the hell is this all about? How is it that even a heavenly beast that is supposed to exit only in legends is running around scaring newbies?"

"I can't tell you." Wu Xie let go a groan of frustration.

"So you know what's going on, right?"

"Not entirely."

"How so? Did you just forget the important parts of this game?" Wu Xie asked ironically.

"Yes. I lose half of my memories long ago and it's not a game." At that Wu Xie stared at Zhang Qiling for a while, trying to determine whatever or not he was lying to him or not. At the end, he had the feeling that such a Poker Face will not come to lie to him so bluntly.

"Why I am here? At least answer me that." Wu Xie insisted.

"You were chosen." Qiling said simply, fully knowing he expected a more detailed description he didn't offer.

"For what?" Came next.

"That is for the heavens to decide." Qiling said honestly.

"Then who are you really?" Wu Xie asked as he came closer.

"Your protector. It's why I had been dreaming with you for so long and so have you." Qiling answer. Wu Xie sighed, passing his hand through his hair.

"Was my uncle involved in this mystery of yours too? What about my grandfather?" Wu Xie asked, not really expecting an answer.

"In a way, both of them yes." Wu Xie widen his eyes in surprise.

"What? Please don't tell me my grandfather was killed by that Qilin for raiding forbidden tombs..."

"No. He was not punished."

"My missing uncle?"

"No so far, but his disappearance was the reason you are here and we met."

"So it was planned?"

"Not planned, fated."

"Fated... what that's supposed to mean? Its sounds so... like we were meant to be toge... ah, never mind, let's go out of here and find our way to the others first. Then I will corner you until you give me real answers. And so you know, I came here only to find my uncle third fated or not." Wu Xie said, turning to leave the same way the Qilin did before them. Now that the traps were trigger, there was less dangers to face on his own inexperience tomb raiding.

Behind the half angry Wu Xie, Zhang Qiling smiled slightly at the visibly rush of blood on his charge ears. He was perhaps too innocent, but then again, that was not a bad thing at all.

Not at all.

AN: Thanks for reading, hope you like it.