Cang Ji tightened his arms around Jing Lin and picked him up. The lean muscles on his back rippled like a beast that would burst out of the shadows any time in an attack. With a slight tilt of ear, he could hear his heavy breathing.
Zong Yin leaned over to enter the room. He was tall in his human form, blocking even the last ray of light. He was lost in memories, looking at Cang Ji with a gaze that was part scrutiny and part speculation.
"Who are you?" Zong Yin asked.
Zong Yin's intimidating presence stimulated Cang Ji to the point that his spiritual expanse was unstable. The aura of the Hai Jiao1 saturated the surrounding air, holding Cang Ji captive at the corner with nowhere to run. But Cang Ji had no intention to flee. His extreme greed and terrifying desire were rekindled, hiding an insatiable thirst in his heart.
(1. 海蛟 literally Sea Jiao (Dragon), a 蛟龙 Jiaolong (Jiao dragon), or Jiao, is a mythical, aquatic creature capable of invoking storms and floods; sometimes also known as a flood dragon.)
Cang Ji did not reply. He pressed the back of Jing Lin's head to bury Jing Lin's face in his neck. It was easy for him at the moment to even break Jing Lin's waist by exerting a little more force. His displeasure was reflected in his eyes as he stared at Zong Yin's every move. It was as if he had already expressed all he wanted to say with the word "scram".
"Zong Yin." Fu Li sighed behind him. "As you have seen, this isn't an evil being but a brocade carp that has cultivated enough to evolve into human form. What else do you want to do?"
"That's not right." Zong Yin countered. "You said he is a brocade carp, but I saw a reverse scale2 below his neck. There are countless things in the world, but only the dragon is born with a reverse scale. He is not a fish at all."
(2. 逆鳞 reverse scale; a piece of scale that is reversed on a dragon's throat or neck that's considered to be precious and important to them. It's said that the dragon will kill anyone in fury if they touched that scale. It is now used to refer to someone's weakness, sore spot, or most cherished and important thing. For example, touching one's reverse scale is an idiom that could be said to be touching someone's sore spot, attacking their weakness, or rubbing someone the wrong way, etc.)
There were no longer any dragon and phoenix in the realms between Heaven and Earth. Even after a hundred over years of hard work and cultivation, Hai Jiao Zong Yin had yet to see the Dragon Gate3, nor had he gotten the opportunity to pass through it, so he had remained in the Eastern Sea, unable to ascend to the Nine Heavens Realm. It was because of this that he was sure he was right. Cang Ji was an oddity. Zong Yin had looked at Cang Ji's original form; even his spiritual expanse was built in the form of a brocade carp, and he did not have the bearings of a dragon at all. More importantly, his eyes were full of malice and ferocity. He was clearly a demon that had yet to set foot in the mundane world - it was evident that he would not listen to reasoning nor play by the rules of Heaven and Earth.
(3. 龙门 Dragon Gate, mythical dragon gate where a carp can transform and evolve into a dragon.)
Strange.
Zong Yin could not help taking a step closer.
This was too strange.
"Zong Yin!" Fu Li grabbed hold of Zong Yin's arm. "How could you get close to him? Have you forgotten what you are? Take a good look again. He's just a brocade carp. The spiritual energy of this garden is blocked off, even more so for the inner chamber. If you go closer, he will not be able to withstand your tremendous power and die. You have no grudges or enmity with him, so why hurt the innocent?!"
