His Demoness

4 ⚔️ Relentless Dreams

Zhijian was wrong.

Ever since the first dream, it carried on tormenting him for many nights afterwards. The ice cave. The orb. And the pale-looking girl.

On his fifth night, he finally had enough.

Throwing his covers aside, he headed for his study table and picked up a brush, dipping it in the ink jar. Trying his best to remember, he drew a rune on a piece of paper – the very same one that was on his first summoning talisman – before he forgets.

He left his room with the intention of doing his own research at the Library Pavilion. But having read almost every single book there before, there was no recollection of seeing this rune in any of them.

Did this mean he had to research elsewhere? As far as he was aware, the Library Pavilion was the only place on this land that held the most knowledge about demons and runes.

But this did not deter his motivation.

An hour later, Jinlong found him back in his room surrounded by piles of new books that he had gathered from the bookstore in town. Shooting him a weird look, he then eyed the paper which Zhijian had drawn the rune on.

Clearly he was wondering if his best friend had gone insane. "Erm, Zhijian? What are you doing? You drew a tree?"

"Actually," Zhijian snapped the book he was reading shut and placed it on the table, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I'm learning to draw a rune to curse someone. What do you think would be good? Should I send a spirit to haunt the person? Or make him feel constantly tickled at his most ticklish body part?"

With that being said, he eyed the other boy with a smirk.

Retreating to the door, Jinlong realised then that he was the only potential candidate in the room to be Zhijian's experimental subject.

"On s-s-second thoughts, it looked like a pretty flower. Would you like some tea? I can get you some–"

Jinlong tried to escape from the room but a hand grabbed a fistful of his clothes and pulled him back in. Releasing a pathetic cry, he turned back to face his scary friend. "Have mercy, brother. I don't want to die while I'm a virgin."

Zhijian rolled his eyes before letting him go. "I was just joking, Jinlong. Let's put aside the jokes and talk about serious business now. I really need your opinion on something."

"No!" Jinlong protested but under his friend's intimidating stare, he surrendered quickly. "Okay, fine! I'll listen!"

Drawing a deep breath, Zhijian began, "Remember how I fainted a week ago? Ever since then, I started having the same dreams every night." And then he started describing what he had experienced in the cave and meeting the mysterious girl.

Jinlong rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe you were drunk or sick when you fainted. But tell me – is the girl pretty?" He grinned widely and waited eagerly for a response, only to be swatted on the head so quickly that he couldn't dodge in time.

"You know," Jinlong whined as he rubbed his bruise. "It's perfectly normal for men to dream about maidens. I don't understand why you can't simply appreciate them." Having lost interest in the subject, he decided to laze on Zhijian's bed. "Wake me up when you're sober, okay?"

But before he could close his eyes, he was dragged off the bed and landed on the ground with a loud thud. Wincing and rubbing his sore bum, he pouted. "Meanie!"

"Don't worry, your butt is still intact," Zhijian reassured him with a snicker. He always found it entertaining to see his friend being the one annoyed instead. "Listen, there's something else I need to ask you about."

Knowing that despite how daft Jinlong looked, he was pretty resourceful in knowing things kept confidential by the Elders, especially when he had many connections and often broke the curfew to explore the clan grounds.

"No," Jinlong refused and crossed his arms. "Why should I?"

"It's something that I know you can't refuse me." Zhijian placed a hand on his hip with a glint of amusement in his eyes. "What do you say if we break into the Forbidden Chamber of Dark Arts?"

He had heard about this secret room from others but not many had the chance to enter except for the Elders. Whatever rune this was, he figured that the forbidden room was his best shot.

Jinlong froze, turning to him in disbelief. Seeing that Zhijian was deadly serious, he couldn't stop a grin forming on his face. His eyes shimmered with excitement, obviously fond of the idea.

"Finally, Zhijian. Now you're making sense. But if we do get caught finding that rune of yours, you do know that your reputation will be tarnished, right?"

Zhijian frowned. "Since when have I ever been concerned about my image?"

Jinlong snorted at his nonchalant attitude and grumbled under his breath. "Trying to act both innocent and arrogant at the same time? I hope you get your ass whooped by someone else in the future."

Dismissing his nonsensical rambles, Zhijian continued on by making a declaration. "Tonight," he decided. "We'll do it tonight."

"Deal! Finally, we're back to being the Notorious Brothers." Jinlong grinned excitedly and stood up, smoothing the creases on his clothes before stepping towards the door. "I have to go now – I almost forgot that I'm supposed to meet my cousin for lunch at the Qingpeng Tavern. Would you like to join us?"

Zhijian shook his head. It wasn't the first time that he had declined such offers; hanging out with strangers wasn't really his thing.

"Your loss," Jinlong shrugged his shoulders casually and turned on his heels. But before he made it past the door, he was stopped mid-stride by Zhijian's voice.

"Tell anybody about my dreams and I'll give you the nastiest curse ever."

The warning sent a shudder down Jinlong's spine. He glanced back, stuck out a tongue at Zhijian childishly, and fled from the room.