Rong Yizhan turns away from him. Xin Linhua clenches his fist.
He really wants to beat Rong Yizhan. Just one punch is enough for him. Just one.
"Damn you–"
Xin Linhua staggers slightly as a hand pulls him forward.
"What the–" A loud shriek echoes above him, cutting his words off.
Turns out that while he was fuming, a Yokai had sighted them from afar. It deems them a target and possibly supper.
Rong Yizhan has noticed its approach and pulled Xin Linhua out of the way. The man is the main target.
The Yokai missed, its webbed feet grab onto thin air. It let out another screech before flapping its wings and taking into the skies. It couldn’t take off.
Rong Yizhan grabs onto one of its legs, yanking it down to the rooftop. The creature screeches continuously, trashing and clawing, trying to break free.
Its screeches are enough to make one go deaf so Xin Linhua, who has snapped out of his reverie, quickly grabs its mouth shut and pin the head to the ground.
"Okay...now what?" He asks his companion.
"You want to enter the rift. Here’s the ride."
Xin Linhua glances down at the creature that’s still quietly struggling. He blink in utter disbelief.
"You cannot be serious about this."
Rong Yizhan glance down at the Yokai, then at Xin Linhua. A gesture of ’Do I look like I’m joking?’
"I am not getting on that...thing."
"Meet me at the institute."
Rong Yizhan moves to leave, his hold on the Yokai loosen a bit. The creature growls, flapping its wings and waiting for a chance to escape.
"Fine! Fine!" Xin Linhua caves in "Whatever you say. Just don’t let go of it."
Rong Yizhan moves back to his original position.
"But, how are we going to get inside that rift with its help? The Sentinels will see us."
"They won’t. When monsters retreat, they do it in full force. The Sentinels will be too busy tending to their own injuries, they won’t mind the retreating enemies."
"Wow..."
"What?"
"I never knew you were capable of saying so many words." Xin Linhua teases "You usually say one or two words, mostly ’get out’ or ’move’ whenever I’m near you. This is improvement."
Rong Yizhan fingers twitches. He hadn’t noticed it himself. He turns away from Xin Linhua, not willing to give a reply.
"Hey!" Xin Linhua points at the rift "They’re retreating already."
"Get ready."
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Xin Linhua’s feet touch solid ground, something he didn’t think was possible.
The Yokai lets out a loud shriek, but Rong Yizhan holds it down, splitting its throat.
Xin Linhua hiccups. Actually hiccups at the sight of the brutality.
Rong Yizhan tosses the corpse aside, flicks the blood off his blade and tucks it back in place.
"You are more dangerous than I thought." Xin Linhua mutters "But where the hell are we? This can’t be the rift, right?"
Xin Linhua had expected a massive space of nothing but darkness and bleakness. What greets him is a large cave, something that looks straight out of a history textbook.
Jagged rocks protrude out from the cave walls. Stalagmites covers half of the ground, making it hard to move and above them, water drip continuous from stalactites. Glow worms crawl around the caves walls and wrap around the rocks.
"Woah..." Xin Linhua ogles "If this wasn’t home to some bloodthirsty bat-human crossbreeds, I’d savor the moment."
The two walk through the maze of rocks, avoiding the sharp edges.
"Is it a wise decision to venture deeper into their stronghold?"
Rong Yizhan stops walking. His mood takes a nose dive as he turns around to face Xin Linhua.
"You wanted a rift, you got one. What you don’t get, is to change your mind after dragging me here against my will. We’re going to clear this rift, and then we’ll leave."
Xin Linhua nods like a chicken. He can’t even find the words to retaliate.
He’s the one who broke the rules and dragged his unwilling Sentinel here. Honestly, he’s lucky Rong Yizhan came with him and didn’t kick his ass.
"Okay, fine. I’m sorry for complaining. All decision making power is in your hands from now on."
The two walk through a series of channels, turn around corners and climbed a small hedge.
"What the fuck!" Xin Linhua rage "We’re right back where we started! The hell is this!"
Rong Yizhan glances around the cave. He crouches, placing his hands on the cave floor. He tilts his head a bit, running his fingers across the surface.
"What are you–"
"Quiet."
"I don’t understand–" his eyes suddenly widens "What the fuck is that?"
Xin Linhua rush to his feet, his eyes glued to the cave interior.
Even without touching the rocks, he can feel it now. A quake. Hurried footsteps. Dozens, if not hundreds. All coming this way!
"Well, this spiralled fast." Xin Linhua laughs.
Rong Yizhan doesn’t. He draws out his knife, his attention falls on the shadows approaching.
Yokais! Dozens! So many, they look like a swarm of flies approaching.
Their shrieks echoes and bounces off the wall, the cave structure helps intensify its effects on the human ears.
"Fuck!" Xin Linhua covers his ringing ears "I’ll go deaf at this rate."
Something enters his field of vision. Earplugs. He glances up to see Rong Yizhan looking perfectly calm and unaffected.
"I’m not even gonna ask why you have this."
Xin Linhua snatches the earplugs, blocking out the loud screeches.
"Heavens, that’s better." He stands to his feet "Okay, new plan."
Xin Linhua breaks into a run. Not to towards the approaching Yokais, no. He runs towards the rift entrance!
There’s an old saying– if you can’t beat them, run like your life depends on it, cause it actually does!
Rong Yizhan stares at his companion’s fleeting back. He should follow, but he doesn’t. He turns back to the fleet that’s closer now, his fingers around his blade.
"Damn!" Xin Linhua runs back "I have bad news and bad news."
"What?"
"Bad news one, we have Yokais out for our heads. Bad news two, the entrance is very much alive and still open, but we can’t get out for some reason."
Rong Yizhan stays quiet for a few seconds. He takes out another blade and passes it to Xin Linhua.
"Why are you so calm?"
"Xin Linhua. Did you learn nothing from the institution guide classes?"
"What’s that supposed to mean!?"
"If a human ventures into a rift, it won’t disappear even if the human dies. The rift will have to be cleared. If it’s cleared, the entrance will open and one can go and come. If not, it’ll remain here till it’s cleared."
"Woah..." Xin Linhua blinks "So what now?"
"What do you think?"
Xin Linhua stares at the blade. He sighs, taking it.
It’s been a while since he last fought. He’s used to close combat and long range, not flying bat humans and sonic screams. Then again, it’s him or them. His grip tightens on the blade.
"I hate this world."