She was the only difficult puzzle he desperately wanted to solve. His first sight of heaven with her warm body against his, amber-toned hair and eyes with the color of honey. She was beautiful and vibrant, and so clearly feminine that she stirred every masculine instinct within him.
Surprisingly, she had fought to stay by his side. He had even realized just a few minutes ago that she had tried to protect him from his brothers. He didn't completely understand why, but he liked the idea nonetheless.
He might not have known what he wanted to do with her earlier, but he knew better now. He wanted to have her completely. Whether she was bait or not. Whether she was a Hunter or not. He simply desired to have her. After all his suffering, he deserved a small piece of happiness and passion.
Even when he had been a top warrior for the gods, he had never desired one specific woman above all others. Afterward, he had always taken the girls that he could get, when he could get them, those who loved to throw themselves at him.
But Xu Ling, he wanted just to see her specifically. Xu Ling, he wanted her now.
Where had Feng Yue placed her? In the room next to his? Was she lying on the bed, her naked body wrapped in silks and velvets? That's how Jiang Lang decided he would take her. Not outside as he usually did. Not on cold ground covered in twigs like all the past women. But in a bed, face to face, skin to skin with him, with slow and deep movements.
His body burned with the thought of having her, there was a burn inside her that had nothing to do with the flames.
She intends to harm us. We will harm her first, and it will be better for us, the spirit urged.
"Do not even suggest it," he commanded, trying to ignore Violence - who, surprisingly, seemed content to discuss Xu Ling calmly now, rather than rage. "I am not a monster."
We are the same, and that woman means danger.
Yes, she did. Yet he had never met a woman quite as vulnerable as Xu Ling. Alone in the forest, holding secrets hidden in her pretty eyes. Killers following her. Whether they had meant to ignore her, kill her, or use her to kill him and the other Lords, he would find out.
In the morning, when Luo Chen the Lord of death returned his soul to his healed body, Jiang Lang would find her and question her. No, he would touch her first, he decided. Kiss her. Experience her entire body as he so desperately wanted to right now.
Despite the pain, he grinned with anticipation. The woman had looked at him with intense pleasure in her eyes the very first time they met; she had tried to follow him, to save him. Yes, she had made her own choices. And now she would face the consequences. With him.
Only after they had been intimate, had sex or fucked, that's when he would question her. And if he discovered that she truly was Bait - a pang went through his chest - he would deal with her as he had dealt with the Hunters.
"The courtiers have overthrown Lords of the West ," Yan Lie announced. He had known this since returning to the fortress an hour ago, but with all the commotion, he hadn't had a chance to share the news. Until now. Things had finally quieted down - but he knew the peace would only last until his words sank in.
Frowning, he plopped down on the plush red couch, no longer worried about Jiang Lang's human. If only his words could be dismissed so easily - and what was suddenly making all that noise?
He looked around, scowled, and grabbed the TV remote, turning off the "movie" Feng Yue had just put on. The loud Titillating moans stopped. The wet slapping sound of skin to skin of a man and woman faded from the screen. "You have to stop buying this trash, Feng Yue."
Feng Yue snatched the remote from him and turned the sexual film back on. Thankfully, Bai Long pressed the mute button. "Not pay-per-view, bro," he said without any regret. "This one's from my own personal collection. Oil Wrestlers Gone Wild."
"You become more human every day," Bai Long muttered. "It's embarrassing. You know that, right?"
"Bai Long, you can't just make an announcement like that and change the subject. You mentioned the... courtiers?" Luo Chen said in his usual calm voice.
Usual calm. Yes, that perfectly described him as the Lord of Death. The immortal had complete control over his temper - over all his emotions, really - because when he lost it, he was a force even Wrath feared. More than a beast, Luo Chen became a true demon. Bai Long had only witnessed the transformation once, but he had never forgotten it.
"I thought I heard something like that too." Lin Fan shook his head, as if that would help him understand. "What's going on here? First, Yan Lie tells us the Hunters have returned, then Jiang Lang comes home with a woman. And now you say the courtiers have taken over? Is something like that even possible?"
"Yes, it is." Unfortunately. Bai Long rubbed a hand over his short hair, the short spikes scratching his palm. How he wished he could deliver good news next. "Apparently, the courtiers spent their centuries in passing knowledge to their generations making their powers stronger. In recent weeks, they escaped the East border, and ambushed the West, before they enslaved them, and took the throne. They control us now."
There was a heavy silence as everyone took in the shocking news. There was no love lost between the warriors and the courtiers, the very people who had cursed them. But...
"Are you sure?" Feng asked him.
"Very." Until tonight, all Yan Lie had known about the courtiers was that they had ruled Mount Yunnan during the Golden Age, a time of "peace" and "harmony" - two words spouted by the Hunters who had risen in the East of Yunnan all those years ago. "They placed me in some kind of judgment chamber, their thrones surrounding me. Physically, they are smaller than the courtiers. Their power, however, was unmistakable. I could almost see it, like a non- living thing. And on their faces, I saw only unwavering determination and dislike."
Several tense minutes passed.
"Dislike aside, is there a chance the courtiers can free us from the demons without killing us?" Feng Yue asked the question they were undoubtedly all thinking.
Yan Lie himself had wondered. Had hoped. "I don't think so," he said, hating to disappoint them. "I asked that very question, and they refused to discuss it with me."
Another silence, this one even more strained.
"This is... this is..." Luo Chen trailed off.
"Unbelievable," Feng Yue finished for him.
Yan Lie rubbed his jaw. "If they won't free us, what do they plan to do with us then?"
There would be no break from the bad news. "All I know for sure is that they plan to actively control our lives." The one good thing about the courtiers was that they had ignored the warriors Lords after cursing them, allowing them to have some kind of life - even though it was tormented.
Again, Yan Lie shook his head. "But... why?"
"I wish I knew."
"Is that why they summoned you?" Luo Chen asked. "To inform you of this change?"
"No." He paused, closed his eyes. "They ordered me to... do something."
"What?" Bai Long demanded when he didn't explain further.
He looked at each of his friends, trying to find the right words.