She had been following them for a few months, desperate to prove herself. To prove that she was worth his interest. Worth his love. The day that she left home, her father shouted at her and her mother cried. She was determined to prove herself to Dashi no matter what it took. Now, months later, all of the training and traveling were taking their toll on her body. She was not used to fighting or walking such long distances, traveling through such perilous areas.

It was one of the things that he admired about her; that intense determination. He had seen her go through horrific battles against wildlife, monsters, and warriors. Each time, she emerged victorious, but battered. Jiayi fought until she had no strength left and even then, she refused to give up. The times when she was unable to defeat her opponent, he or Guan would step in to protect her and finish them off. While Dashi ignored her completely, he and Guan made sure that she survived.

He watched as the girl collapsed beside the river, breathing hard from her latest fight and trembling with fatigue. Determined to prove herself, she had joined their battle against monsters and insisted on defeating the last one on her own. Even with a wooden sword, she had somehow managed to destroy the beast. Dashi, who had been sitting on the edge of the riverbank, stood and walked away from her without a word. The expression on her face was one of such melancholy that it made his own heart ache a little. Guan was soon at her side, offering her their leftover food. She gladly accepted it and the man moved to follow Dashi, presumably to chastise him.

Now he allowed himself to wander over to where she sat in the tall grass, her body shaking with sobs of despair. He had come prepared to help her; he had seen how badly cut up and bruised her hands were becoming. With a glance over, he gently took her hand in his and started to bandage her wounds. "You're getting callouses," he quietly pointed out.

"If this is what it takes…"

"Why do you care about the opinion of someone who couldn't care less about you?" He saw tears run down her cheeks and frowned. Reaching over to wipe them away, he sighed in frustration. "If you insist on endangering yourself-"

"I am becoming stronger!" she growled, trying to pull her hand away.

His grip on her hand tightened painfully for a moment and he saw her wince. Loosening his hold, he continued to patch up her wounds. "I don't like seeing you get hurt. And I'm certain that Guan feels the same way. You should take precautions. Work on your speed so you can dodge attacks."

She tilted her head and offered her other hand when he finished wrapping her right one. Watching him work, she bit her lower lip in anxiety. "Where did you learn to take care of wounds? I never thought you would be the sort to patch up other people."

He raised an eyebrow and was soon smiling kindly. "I didn't exactly learn. I've just watched enough people do this." Reaching over to wipe away the remaining tears from her eyes, he felt his heart beat faster. Her face was close to his and she blushed pink. With a small smirk, knowing that Guan was watching them, he plucked a flower from the riverbank's tall grass and tucked it into her hair. "Don't let it get to you. I can see that you're getting stronger. If you ever need anything, you can ask me. Now let's work on your speed."

Present day

Chase had not thought about it in a very long time and now the memory was making him eager to have her again. She was cute back then, but now her beauty was breathtaking and he knew that it was the evil that flowed in her veins. The runes and markings burned into her flesh, the scars, the evil spark that was always in her bright amber eyes. All of it added to her beauty in a way that made him desire her. He walked out to the main part of his lair, already planning his next move, when he spotted Jiayi. She was standing at the entrance to the lair, hips swaying in anticipation and grinning wickedly when he came into view. The man smirked down at her, standing at the top of the stairs. "To what do I owe this gracious visit?"

"I need to take out my frustration on someone," she started, watching him slowly descend the staircase. "So I thought…who better than the man I most despise?"

"I suppose I should be flattered. To be the first man you thought of. In what way do you intend to release your frustration?" Chase looked her up and down, his smirk growing. She was wearing a short black skirt, a black t-shirt with a low neckline, and calf-high black boots. Coupling these clothes with the feral look in her eyes proved a delightfully evil and tempting sight.

Shift P.O.V

Jiayi spread her arms, letting her grin evolve into a smirk. "I come unarmed."

"I can see that." He was at the bottom of the stairs now, lust clear in his gaze.

Feeling her evilness spike, she swayed her hips in a more tantalizing fashion. "Tell me…just what are you thinking? I can see it in your eyes. Calculating, planning, but what? What could be going on in that wicked mind of yours, Chase Young?"

He swiftly closed the distance between them, grasping her throat and lifting her into the air. Her feet dangled a few inches off the ground. Despite this, she merely licked her lips and grinned. "You know what I want." The words held anger, but his eyes revealed only a desperate need. Drawing her face close to his, he stared into the girl's eyes. "What do you want?"

"Hm." She lifted a leg and planted it on his chest, pressing hard until he was forced backwards and she flipped back and out of his hold. Landing on her feet, she tilted her head. "I can only go all out with two people…you and Guan. The only difference is that Guan is stronger than me. So, tell me, what does that say about you? Are you just weaker than him?" She cackled and leapt away from his grasping hand, watching his mouth twist into a scowl. "You want me?"

"I will have you." Chase was suddenly right behind her, an arm wrapped tightly around her waist. She snarled and thrashed, but he refused to let go. "I can only go all out with two people, in a different manner of speaking." He was half-carrying her to the stairs now, not caring that she squirmed and growled. "You and Wuya. Do you know what the only difference is?" Her body was tossed onto the stairs and he immediately caged her in with his own body. "The difference is, I only want one of you and I've only had one of you."

"Cute. You really think you can lie to me and say you've never been with her?"

"You are my destined match. You can't continue to deny this when there is so much evidence." His fingers threaded into her hair and his teeth nipped at the side of her neck.

Jiayi leaned up, her lips brushing over his ear. His hips pushed hard against hers, a soft groan escaping him. "I have…this much of an effect on you, hm? It makes me wonder. It really does. I wonder how I might have effected Dashi." She felt his teeth close hard on her skin, one of his hands moving to her thigh and pushing its way up her skirt. The girl's body froze in place, heart pounding with fear and excitement. "Wh-what are you doing?"

"You must really enjoy angering me." He pushed the divider of her panties aside and quickly pushed two fingers past her lower lips. Her back arched, eyes closing tightly. Chase's eyes seemed to ignite with a terrifying mixture of rage and lust as he drew his fingers out slightly before pushing them back in, even harder. He felt her small, pale hands thread into his hair and pull. The groan that left him seemed to echo in the lair and he desperately wanted to get out of his armor. "I know you didn't come alone." She turned her head to the side, her teeth gritted. "You brought your little hero. I wonder what he's going to think when he finds me tainting his precious crush."

"He's not-!" Jiayi felt his fingers curl within her, hitting a particular spot that made her moan loudly. She was regretting having come to the lair at all, but remembered that Raimundo was in the middle of getting the Lao Mang Lone Soup. Once he had it, they could leave and then everything would be alright. With a vicious grin, she drew the immortal man's face to hers in a rough kiss. Her teeth closed on his bottom lip lightly and she heard a growl of pleasure leave him. Pulling away, his fingers still moving in and out of her, Jiayi closed her eyes. "You know…for having lived so long…you haven't learned much about women. What? Were you saving yourself for me? Like…some kind of weakling…saving themselves for their crush?"

"I'm going to make you moan so loudly that he will come running. How does that make you feel? Your pathetic little hero will come in and find me taking you over and over again." Chase kissed along her neck, feeling her back arch so that her chest pressed against his. "Does that excite you?"

She leaned up to his ear, her heart pounding in her chest. "Chase…I'm going to tear out your beating heart…and hold it in front of you as you die."

He moved back in time to avoid her trying to bite his face. "You need to work on your attitude. Is that any way to speak to your king?"

"You're not my king! And I'm not-!" She cut herself off with a low moan as he added another finger. Her hips subconsciously pushed up and to meet the thrusts of his hand. "Just…fight me!"

"Is that really what you want?" His fingers withdrew from her, a look of irritation on his face. "You want to fight me? What do you have to wager?"

"What do you want?"

Chase stood and crossed his arms as she straightened her skirt. "I think the more important question here is what you want." Now he recognized the hunger in her eyes. It was not lust. "You need Lao Mang Lone Soup. Alright. What I want is for you to stay here. When our fight is over, we can have dinner together and you can get what you need. So much easier than sending your little hero to get it for you."

"What do I get if I win then?"

"If you win, though I doubt that you will, then I will let you and your little hero leave unscathed with enough soup to tide you over. If I win, I can't promise that he will leave in one piece." He held out a hand to her, which she accepted as she stood. "Is it a deal?"

"I mean…I don't have much choice, do I?" Her hips were beginning to sway again and she half-grinned. "Alright. How do we know who won?"

"The first to concede defeat loses."

Her grin fell, giving way to a deep frown. We're both immortal. We have better endurance than mortals. This fight could last a very, very long time. Narrowing her eyes, she followed him up the stairs to the room they would fight in. That's what he wants though. Chase wants me to be stuck alone with him for a long time so he can try to tempt me back to the Heylin side. Well…I'm not about to give in. I'll tear him apart!

Chase stood with his back to her for a moment, hands clasped behind his back as he listened to her movements. The room they were in was more of a combat area and he could hear her standing just inside the door, running fingers through her hair. She was anxious, which meant she would be cautious. The corner of his mouth lifted. "Do you ever wonder what he would say if he could see you now?"

"Are you talking about my father again? Because I really don't care what he would think." It was not entirely true and it hurt her to say such a thing, but she was not about to be coerced into attacking Chase without planning first.

"Dashi. I'm sure he would be even more disappointed than your father." He knew that his words ignited a fury within her and wanted to push her just a little further toward attacking without thought. "Of course, he might not even care. I'm sure that if he was here now, in this room and watching our fight, he wouldn't lift a hand to help you. He never cared about you."

Her hands curled into fists and Jiayi fought the urge to rush at him. "I don't appreciate you using such underhanded techniques, Chase Young. Face me like a real warrior!"

"You spent so much time trying to make him love you. I doubt that you remember who bandaged your wounds after your battles."

"Chase." She was glad when the man turned toward her. In truth, she had forgotten because she simply did not care. All that time that she spent traveling and training with the three warriors, she had only remembered Dashi. The others did not matter. Now, she spread her arms and tilted her head, long blue hair falling to hide the left side of her face. "Chase Young…" He stepped toward her, smirking in satisfaction. A wide, evil grin spread across Jiayi's face. "Come at me, scrublord!"

Shift P.O.V

Raimundo was beginning to wish that he had brought someone with him to search the lair. The number of doors was bad enough, but the roaming jungle cats made it worse. Hiding in a closet, waiting for a trio of panthers to reach the end of the hallway, he frowned to himself. Jiayi would keep Chase Young busy for as long as she could. Having seen the way that Chase looked at her, Raimundo knew that the villain would be loath to leave her in order to pursue him.

When the panthers were gone, he slipped out of the closet and hurried along the corridor. Every other door he opened seemed to just lead to an empty room. The lair itself was almost labyrinthine in nature and he wondered if he would be able to get out once he had the soup. This concern was soon pushed aside when he realized that he had left Jiayi to distract Chase. The two were alone together and the more he thought about it, the more Raimundo started to worry. Jealousy started to settle in his mind and he ran faster. The worst would be if he touches her again. I know what he did last time! If he touches her that way again, I'll-! He scowled and shook his head, knowing that there was little he could actually do to avenge her if that happened. He won't kill her. He wants her alive. So at least I don't need to worry about that.

The young man felt like a knight working to save a princess. It felt good. It filled him with a sense of righteousness that pushed him onward despite his worries. Though the thought of Chase and Jiayi together, the villain coercing her into sleeping with him, made Raimundo blush faintly. He was ashamed, but he had had such thoughts about the immortal girl as well. Thoughts of claiming her in that way and how her skin would feel against his. The night that she slept beside him, he had dreams that made him sweat and definitely look at her differently. He hated it, but he felt almost possessive over her now. He wanted her to be his.

Finally, he came upon what seemed to be a dining room and beyond that a closet filled with cans of Lao Mang Lone Soup. Raimundo stood for a moment, countless thoughts forming. How many dragons did he kill to make that much? Where did he find them? How many should I take? What will happen if I take all of them for Jiayi? Will he die? This thought was what urged him to make the horrible, terrible decision that followed.