I'm really not the Saviour! (我唔係救主囖!) [danmei/BL xuanhuan]

31 - Is this really the hill you've chosen to die on?

A flurry of sounds, of words, burst from the demons. Harsh hisses and growls were directed at the image.

"Seems they've met her," Gou Dzing said lightly.

"Is that excitement or anger?" Maan Dzi King muttered, her dark blue eyes narrowed.

Cheng Baak-hap bravely approached the table of demons alone. Everyone's eyes were on her, and almost imperceptibly, Gaam Yuk Ying shifted his weight in preparation.

She placed the two pieces of paper on the table.

The red demon snatched the page with the likeness of Tim Djeung-bak, and tore it to shreds.

"Anger, then," Wong Tang remarked.

Cheng Baak-hap was beginning to back away from the table when the red demon stood up. Before she could even blink, she was suddenly standing next to Gou Dzing again, Gaam Yuk Ying on her other side. His arm was around her waist; he had pulled her back in less than a heartbeat.

The red demon stood with its hand still outstretched, long-nailed fingers partway through a grasping motion around the height of Cheng Baak-hap's head.

Gong Lau Yan strode forwards, so firmly and rapidly that the red demon took a step back. It caught itself almost immediately, and so the two were almost nose to nose, equal in height. The loong smiled brazenly, without blinking. An air of tense caution blanketed the still-seated demons.

Sliding past the red demon, Gong Lau Yan approached the table. She picked up the picture of the red-haired woman and tapped it.

"Ling Gwong," she said. "Where?"

The demons exchanged looks. The bright blue demon rose and floated out through the entrance of the room. It returned not long afterwards with several objects – boxes, pots, baskets. It presented them to Gong Lau Yan, pointing at the interiors.

Empty.

Empty.

Empty.

"They want something." Maan Dzi King sniffed. "A bargain, huh?"

Chan Bik pulled her pack from her back, but Gaam Yuk Ying stayed her hand as she tried to open it.

"Gaam Si hing-"

"We need to discuss this first, Bik Si mui," Cheng Baak-hap said. "You want to give them food, right? Of course, we can see that they're suffering, so you'd want to help them. But we don't know what might happen. What if we give them food, and they don't tell us where Lady Ling Gwong is? What if they demand more food? The food we have, too, isn't very much. Who gets food and who goes without?"

Gou Dzing groaned and scratched his head. The demons eyed Chan Bik's backpack avidly.

"Well, what do we all think?" Wong Tang asked. She sounded less certain than usual.

"I think we should give them food," Chan Bik said. "We might not be able to help everyone here, but we can help some of them, at least."

"I don't think we should give them anything," Maan Dzi King disagreed. "We can't communicate with them properly, and know very little about them. How can we trust them?"

"Maybe if we show trust, they'll also show trust back?" Gou Dzing suggested. "I think we should try."

Gong Lau Yan grunted. "I don't know. I can understand what you are all thinking. I too want to give them food, but at the same time, it may not be the best idea. A-po? Little Gaam?

Wong Tang's troubled eyes drifted over the waiting demons. "Why do you think I'm asking you all, brat?"

"Give them food," Gaam Yuk Ying said plainly.