His Demoness

12 ⚔️ The Dungeon

When dawn arrived, Zhijian was starting to feel the early signs of fever. His skin was slowly heating up and he could sense an impending headache.

After getting dressed, he met Jinlong, Dukai and Leader Xu at the entrance of the dungeon. Before they set foot inside, his godfather passed him a simple, silver bracelet.

"Put it on her later," the old man instructed. "If she's following you around, we can't have her walking around like a ticking bomb. It's inscribed with a stronger rune to seal her powers. She won't be able to take it off – only the one who puts it on her is able to remove it."

"I understand." Zhijian tucked the bracelet into his sleeve pocket, noticing how Dukai was smirking for whatever thoughts he was having. "What's wrong with you?"

"It's nothing. Let's go." Dukai turned away, humming away a cheerful tone. Someone certainly seemed to find Zhijian's pain his joy.

The two men led the way, the boys trailing after them. They passed by the guards, who dropped their heads in a bow in acknowledgement of the Elders' presence.

Jinlong fell into step next to Zhijian, nudging him with a knowing grin. "Why do you look so uptight?" he said. "You shouldn't be that upset. Think of this as your second mission – you get to watch over the world-renowned villainess. Exactly how many Eradicators would get a chance to do this?"

Zhijian's grip tightened on his sword, the words spilling from his lips revealed his honest thoughts. "It just feels...strange. I usually deal with demons, but now I have to watch over a girl? And how would you feel if you find out your life is in someone's hands? No matter where I go, she has to follow me."

Jinlong placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze. "I believe it won't be that bad, given that she's your soulmate. Who knows? You might end up liking her instead."

Zhijian scoffed at the idea. "Liking her? Never."

Even if that truly happened, no matter how he sees it, there would be no future for them anyway.

The group continued walking through the badly-lit passageway, hearing all sorts of eerie grumbles and moans coming from the rows of cells. The people contained here were those that had committed heinous crimes with the use of black magic. As punishment, their powers would be removed by force and they would serve their sentence here. Even the entire place was charmed to nullify any magical powers of others, preventing the prisoners from breaking out.

Zhijian shot a questioning look at his friend. "Why are you coming along with us? You're just here to enjoy the show, aren't you?"

Jinlong puffed out his chest proudly. "Of course I ought to be present! After all, I was the one who solved the mystery for you. I've to witness this whole thing myself," he answered and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I wonder how close the contact must be? Would a mere touch on the hand suffice? How about a hug? Or something more than that–OW!"

Jinlong held his poor shoulder where an embarrassed Zhijian had just pinched him. "Stop babbling nonsense!"

"I've such a shy friend! If I were you, I would be happy to make friends with a maiden."

Zhijian had the urge to ram his head against the wall in frustration. "Why don't you just summon your own soulmate?"

Jinlong stopped in his tracks, his jaw dropping in astonishment, clearly favouring the idea. "That's a fabulous idea, Zhijian. Why haven't I thought of that before–eek!"

He screeched when one of the prisoners managed to tug the end of his pants through the wooden bars of the cell. Begging for freedom. "Aaah, let me go!"

Zhijian deliberately sped up, making his frightened friend chase after him. "Zhijian, don't leave me behind!" Jinlong whimpered. Catching up, he huddled close to Zhijian for protection, casting anxious side glances just in case another lunatic might attempt to touch him again.