*swoosh* a woman dashed through the air, her crimson eyes glancing around at the thick forest, her monochrome gray and black hair fluttering in the wind.


    "where is that bastard voss hiding?"


    a mutter escaped velnorah’s lips as she continued flying through the great tianhe forest, and soon she sensed the familiar smell of vampiric blood.


    looking at a specific part in the forest, she raised an eyebrow ’bloody mist...’


    *flick* with a flick, her figure vanished, reappearing silently within the mist’s confines.


    her boots made no sound against the ground as she landed.


    as the haze parted, her crimson eyes fell on the figure of a man leaning casually against a tree.


    theron voss, with his chiseled features and predatory grin, looked every bit the rogue he was.


    his dark hair fell in loose waves to his shoulders, and his deep-set crimson eyes sparkled as he met her gaze.


    "young lady," theron voss said with a flourish, bowing deeply.


    velnorah gave a faint nod and muttered "you’ve been careless, voss. because of you, ji shuang has increased the protection around the jade eclipse sect."


    theron voss straightened, the smirk never leaving his face. "careless? hardly. a mere... complication arose. a young man, to be precise, appeared following the disciples we planted from the coven of the black heart."


    "he was hiding his face, so i couldn’t see him."


    velnorah’s gaze narrowed upon hearing this "a young man?"


    theron nodded, brushing an invisible speck of dust from his sleeve. "i came out to deal with him personally, thinking it would be an easy matter." discover hidden tales at empire


    "but the boy... he had tenacity. even though i wasn’t serious, he managed to withstand several of my blows."


    "well, at that time.. because of the commotion, ji shuang soon appeared there, so i had to run away from there."


    velnorah’s had a thoughtful look on her facee ’a young man? maybe someone from the inner wing?’


    theron voss shrugged as a smirk appeared on his face "and young lady, don’t you think this is the right time to do our mission?"


    "the sect is in total chaos because of this zhao tian disciple, who crossed the 9th degree of the heavenly tribulation."


    her eyes narrowed as she folded her arms. "and what makes you think that makes it easier for us? if anything, it’s more troublesome"


    "the sect and he are in the center of attention, we have been waiting for ten years... wait a little more."


    theron voss tilted his head, thinking about it "hmm, yeah... but this zhao tian disciple, should we let him grow?"


    "he might be a future threat you know? not only for us, for other h-"


    "uh..." he let out a deep groan of satisfaction as her hands worked with surprising strength.


    "your shoulders are like boulders," she muttered, pressing her thumbs into a particularly stubborn knot.


    "how do you even manage to get this tense?"


    "carrying the weight of my charm, of course," zhao tian replied, turning his head slightly to glance at her with a cheeky grin.


    her fingers paused momentarily before she delivered a playful slap to his shoulder. "be serious for once."


    "ow!"


    "by the way," yao jing began, her fingers pausing briefly on his shoulder blades, "what’s going on with little jia? she seemed... off this morning. grumpy, even."


    zhao tian’s body tensed slightly under her touch before he let out a long sigh. "ah, so you noticed too."


    "of course i did. she barely said two words, and she practically glared at you through breakfast," yao jing said, her fingers resuming their work but with a lighter touch.


    "what did you do this time?"


    with a dry smile, he asked "why do you immediately assume it’s my fault?"


    yao jing let out a soft laugh, her hands sliding down to knead the tight muscles of his lower back. "because it’s always your fault when little jia’s upset. now spill."


    he turned his head to the side, resting his cheek on his folded arms as he stared at the dimming light from the window. "honestly, i don’t know. she just snapped at me out of nowhere when i sat down next to her. she even told me not to touch her."


    "hmm..." yao jing murmured thoughtfully, her hands pausing again. "did something happen recently? did you say something to upset her?"


    zhao tian rolled onto his side slightly, peering up at yao jing with a half-smile. "i swear, i didn’t. at least, not that i know of."


    hearing this, yao jing raised an eyebrow "maybe she is on her period?"


    zhao tian thought about it, and he also remembered zhao ying getting mood swings when she is on her period. ’maybe that’s the reason?’


    yao jing frowned, sitting back as she muttered "maybe tian’er, she is angry you are not doing anything."


    huh? zhao tian glanced at her "what do you mean?"


    "well, she was crying a lot that day when you crossed the 9th degree... so i am sure she loves you."


    "and these past three days, you have been with me most of the time not giving her any attention."


    "so, i think.. she is angry because of it."


    --------------------------------------------------


    i hope you guys liked this chapter!