Chapter 63: Crown Prince's Birthday ( 1 )
It had been a few minutes since Jian had met Jin Hee....Although 'met' wasn't totally correct. They merely crashed into each others, stared for a few seconds and then moved away.
But Jian couldn't forget her. She had that aura about her, like everything revolved around her. But she wasn't arrogant or anything. If anything she didn't speak in the way a young heiress would, nor did she walk like a young heiress would...In fact, she did nothing like a girl of her status was expected to.
She was quite beautiful however. Jian always had a thing for older women, so she wasn't entirely his type, but then again she was truly a beauty worth waging wars for....Which begged the question, why hadn't he heard about her ? Uma should've known about that girl since she went to a party where most of the heirs had been present.
He would need to ask the older woman about that later. But now all he could do was concentrate on Jin Hee as she left the contestant's room and wait to talk to one of the referees. He had no idea what they were talking about, but even said referee, who was a disciple who couldn't be older than 16, had a lot of troubles keeping a normal face in front of that embodiment of everything a goddess should be.
And yet, anyone she looked at would still get that feeling...That sinister feeling that told a lot about what she was able to do. Not only did she seem powerful, she also seemed like a predator....And everyone around her was considered a prey.
However was a sight to behold on his own. Draped in that somber looking cloak of his, his eyes of the blight shining under the darkness casted by his hood...He looked like a proper villain whilst he was actually just observing Jin Hee.
Surprisingly enough, she made her way towards Jian right as she finished talking to the referee who bowed and left the area.
"You must be the little Crow." She said as soon as she got close enough.
Jian was stunned to hear this, not that he was supposed to be hiding...But she was insanely direct. Then again, he didn't really like turning around the topic.
"I am....Who asks for me ?"
"Jin Hee of the Jin Family. I have been searching for you ever since I entered the arena, but I didn't get a description of you. Quite risky of you to call yourself Little Crow when a guy with a crow symbol is running around, getting hunted by anyone with enough strengh to lift even just a pitchfork. " She said as she sat besides him. It was clear from the way she spoke, she wasn't getting fooled like the others. As they said, the bigger it is and the smoother it will go. It was too obvious for it to be right, and so no one would suspect Jian of being the same crow everyone was searching. Sadly, that Jin Hee already knew apparently. But she didn't do anything.
'A proposition, a threat....Maybe blackmail.' Mara proposed as Jian sweatdropped.
' Way to reassure me, Mara.'
"I have always liked Crows. I won't change my name just because some random guy is running around, litting up mansions on fire." He joked. Jin Hee however remained stoned-face..Or at least she tried to. The slightest of chuckles escaped her lips and she was quick to act like it never happened.
But that was enough to have a lightning bolt pierce Jian's heart.
'Dear Satan....The kid is really falling for her.' Mara exclaimed, not believing his eyes. Not only was Jian insanely young, even though he proved many times that it didn't mean anything, and also...He had just met her and she knew about other self.
[ No. I am just detecting physical attraction and a desire to possess that girl. It doesn't match my datas on 'Love' ]
Jian was too lost in his own little world to listen to what the system and mara were saying. But if he could hear them at that moment, he would hear them discuss what Jian's feelings were exactly, and how it would affect them.
" Well, I don't think it should be a problem. You aren't the one who could match the description of this Crow guy. I saw another contestant with a huge crow tattoed at the base of his neck, so trust me it won't be a problem to anyone. I wanted to talk to you about another matter however. " Jin Hee said as she looked at Jian's eyes and focused on the way they moved every words she spoke.
"Speak then. The event will start in a few minutes." Jian said as he noticed some of the other contestants getting up and moving towards the door that lead to the arena. Jin Hee merely sighed and retrieved some sort of blanket from her pocket. It was teared apart and had been painted red by blood, however what truly shocked Jian was the use of that blanket. It became apparent just as the source of all that blood showed up.
Jian stared at the slightly charred hand and nearly puked.....He had obviously seen corpses before, but the smell added to the sight of a burned limb....It was a bit much for him.
"T-The hell is that ?!" He asked, trying his best to keep his voice down, even when facing such a thing.
Jin Hee sighed as she put the blanket on the bench, right between her and Jian.
"This is the only part left of Sun Wang, the grandfather of Sun Cheng. At least this is the only part we were able to retrieve. By exploring the ruins that are now the buildings the Sun family family had created, we discovered that the explosion occurred not only in the main house...It happened exactly at the same time, in every parts of the huge compound. " Jin Hee said. Jian was horrified to learn, for this meant that not only Sun Cheng had been that close to actually dying...Everyone must've died a painful death too. Not just the ones in the main house, no....Everyone that was in the mansion at that time.
" My reason to reach out for you was to get some informations about Sun Sheng as you two are very close. However the referee explained that you spent an entire hour interrogating Sun Sheng yourself and looked quite disappointed at the end." She said, smiling at him.
And now he was forced to reveal some things. She was surely playing aggressive. But she was also revealing too much. He already knew not to trust and she hadn't even tried to manipulate him yet or something.
"Oh I can assure you I did learn some things and I can definitely share the informations with some dear friends, however my mouth just so happened to require a little bit of good will on your part...Before it can start talking. I am sure you understand me." He said, matching her smile with one of his own.
No one knew what the content of their discussion was, but it seemed quite intense, and for many people it had been the longest Jin Hee had been talking to someone, so this was definitely getting a lot of attention.
She still went back to the other contestants' room and left Jian alone to think. She knew her aggressive ways wouldn't give reasults immediately...But she wasn't counting on that anyway.
In the end, her encounter with Jian had left a deep impression on the boy, and even just as he entered the arena with the other contestants, his heart beating quite strongly due to the stress.....He could smile by remembering Jin Hee's face. It seems like the hostility she held towards him had been lost on the boy himself. She was simply too enticing for him to even notice.
'Brat ! Focus, the event is starting." Mara reminded Jian who took back the control of his body which had been on auto-pilot mode so to speak.
He should've went back to normal a bit faster however, so he could have heard what the organisator said...And so he wouldn't have found himself in the middle of something so chaotic.
It was his fault really, he hadn't paid any attention to what the announcer had been saying, and so in the end, as all the contestants who wanted to show their powers but who also didn't wanted to fight got to go on the sides and watch the onslaught, Jian was right in the middle of it.
He failed to see it too.....How this could be an even remotely good idea. This was good for a show, but as one who had to live through it, it was quite literally hell.
The participants numbered in the thousand, and hundreds of them decided to stay in the middle of the arena to prove their might as opposed to simply do a show and end it at that.
And all the ones who stood at the middle knew what was happening, except Jian of course who had to dodge a few strikes and slash attacks before he understood.
Ennemies on all side, hundreds of potential targets and threats....This was, a battle royale !