When Xu Zhijian becomes a full-fledged demon hunter, he is given a talisman to summon his familiar. However, he ends up calling forth the sleeping 'Demoness' and finds himself bound to her without a choice.
Days go by and he begins to discover that...
Zhijian was ruthless when it came to killing demons. Whilst others would tremble, he would slay them – even the stronger ones – without mercy and hesitation. In the face of his enemies, he would not flinch away at the thought of getting hurt.
He was that brazen, making him feared and envied by many of his fellow comrades. Often, whispers would go about behind his back saying that he was trying to prove himself to succeed his adoptive father as clan leader.
They were just being overdramatic. He wasn't that ambitious to desire for the highly sought title. All he ever wanted was to eliminate as many demons as he can and save the innocent from getting manipulated and killed by them.
After all, he had experienced firsthand losing the people that he loved.
In the early morning, he dropped his younger brother off at elementary school before making his way to the training ground. Climbing the steps, Zhijian met his best friend, Jinlong, at the entrance.
The charming fellow grinned at him and pulled him in a brotherly hug before slapping his back. "Congratulations, Zhijian. How does it feel to be the only one in our class that graduated?"
Zhijian jabbed him in his ribs and his friend yelped in surprise. "You could have passed the exam as well if you hadn't goofed about."
Jinlong rubbed his bruise and whined loudly. "It was extremely hard. I swear the exams are scripted in a way that was impossible for normal humans like us to complete. The passing rates are like – what? One in twenty people?"
The last part was true. Many juniors had to retake the exams several times in order to pass them, and the exam sessions were conducted twice a year. This only showed how serious the clan was in ensuring that their disciples were well-trained and qualified before becoming full-fledged demon hunters.
Fortunately for Zhijian, it was a miracle that he had passed it on his first try. But then again, his achievement inevitably aroused jealousy. There were people saying that he had gotten his promotion simply because he was the adoptive son of Leader Xu, which was completely gibberish.
Except for Jinlong. He didn't seem to harbour the same thoughts as the rest. This is evident from the way he behaved around Zhijian by constantly being a pain in his rear.
"So, Mr. Eradicator," Jinlong started saying, throwing an arm over his left shoulder. "Where are you hurrying off today?"
"The hill behind the training ground."
Understanding lit up in Jinlong's eyes. "Oh! Are you going to summon your familiar now?"
When Zhijian nodded his head, his friend's grin widened. It was funny how he was even more excited than he was. "Can I watch? I'm always curious about how this whole summoning thing works. Besides, what would you like to summon? A wolf? A raven?"
They walked through the training ground, which was already littered with a few juniors warming up and practising their swordplays. They paused whatever they were doing and watched the older boys, especially Zhijian. Their curious, admiring eyes were glued to him.
Returning to the conversation, he mused hard at the question Jinlong had thrown at him.
To be honest, he wasn't sure what he wanted either. From what he had heard, no one could control what kind of familiars they would summon, but one thing was for certain – the familiar would greatly resemble its owner.
He shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't really have much of a preference, except that it would be good if my familiar can fly."
Jinlong rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well then, I actually think a fruit fly — no," he coughs when Zhijian glared. "I mean a hawk would suit you."
Reaching the hill, they went to their usual hangout spot – the waterfalls. Plopping down on one of the boulders, Jinlong watched him from the side with an eager smile. As if he was excited for a show to begin.
"Come on then," he urged. "What are you waiting for? Let's watch you do this!"
Zhijian arched an eyebrow at him pointedly, before pulling out the talisman from inside his robes, letting his eyes run across the magical rune again.
Strange, were his eyes playing tricks on him? Or were there a few extra strokes on the talisman now?
"Quit staring at it! Your eyes are going to fall out at this rate–oof!" Jinlong yelped when Zhijian walked over and wrapped his arms around his neck, dragging the poor boy around playfully.
"Don't kill me please," Jinlong choked. "Sorry, I'll keep my mouth shut now."
Zhijian released his hold on him with a triumphant smirk. "I'll shove your head into the waters if you interrupt me again."
Jinlong snorted and sat back down on the boulder again, relaxing slightly at his friend's joke. "For heaven's sake, your uptight attitude is the reason why people avoid you. Even maidens flee at the sight of you despite your ridiculously handsome looks. Tsk, what a waste."
Zhijian merely sent a glare in his direction and Jinlong took the message. He made a motion of sealing his lips and gestured for him to start the Summoning Ritual.
Returning to the task at hand, Zhijian closed his eyes to concentrate and placed the talisman between two fingers.
"Come forth, my familiar," he whispered.
At first, there was only silence. It was only after ten seconds when he felt a vibration in the air. The talisman burned into ashes suddenly, its magic taking immediate effect.
Following that, Zhijian could feel his blood surging to his head and a heat in his chest. The birds chirping in the background grew louder, reverberated in his ears, and made his head hurt.
However, in the next second, everything ceased to exist.
And darkness greeted him.
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