Two Thousand Promises (Kings of Chaos #5)

4. Huli

Chapter 4

Huli

963 CE

Luoyang, near Zhang manor

D aytime was the very worst time. There was nothing worth doing. Gege couldn’t come out to play with him. Vampires were stuck inside, away from the sunlight.

All except for that one annoying vampire who liked to chase him and threaten to cut off his tail. It was nice to tease him and lead him around the orchard, but it made Gege frown, so he tried not to do it too often.

There was nothing good about the daytime other than naps stretched out in the sunlight, warming his fur. All the good hunting came at night when he could slink through the shadows and find himself a tasty rabbit or a nice, plump pheasant.

With a heavy sigh, Huli threw himself down on a pile of leaves and peered up at the sky through the trees. How many more hours until he could seek Gege? Until the beautiful vampire with the sweet smile would sneak out of his home and wander through the forest looking just for Huli?

Too many.

Huli curled his tail close to his body and placed it over his nose, preparing to settle in for a nice, long nap.

But there was a smell.

A new smell.

Huli poked his nose up above his tail while holding the rest of his body entirely still. He sniffed the air. It was clearer but foreign. Dangerously foreign. This scent carried a heavy hint of magic.

What other creature could be in the woods smelling of magic?

As the scent grew stronger, Huli tensed all his muscles, preparing to pounce. His ears perked up as he strained to hear the movements of the creature, but there were no sounds besides the chirping of birds and the soft rustle of the trees as the wind skipped through the woods. He could only guess where the intruder was.

The moment he was sure the monster was near, Huli leaped from his comfortable nest of leaves, teeth bared and ears flattened to his head. But the growl died in his throat.

It was another fox.

Not just any fox. A large fox, white as if it had been born from starlight. It had the faintest touches of black and orange on its feet and face. The magnificent creature sat on a tree stump, its chin tilted up. Huli had the feeling that it was smiling at him. Yet he barely noticed. His eyes were locked on the fox’s tails.

Tails!

It had multiple tails fanned behind it. They shivered and moved slowly, as if made of dandelion fluff.

This was another huli jing. One who was much older and more powerful than his meager fifty years.

“Hello, huli jing,” the white fox murmured.

His flattened ears popped up and his eyes widened. The fox spoke. The huli jing could speak like Gege.

“Can you not talk yet?” she inquired.

Huli’s ears drooped this time as he gave a shake of his head. He’d never spoken. Wasn’t sure how to form human words with his tongue. Gege had always been happy with his barks, laughs, and other noises, but he wanted to do more. He wanted to have an actual conversation with him. Tell him things he saw and did through the day. Ask Gege about the things that made him happy.

“That’s a shame,” the white fox said with a sigh. “It’s been a long time since I’d encountered another one of our kind in this area. I would have enjoyed speaking to you.”

Huli sat with a huff. He irritably flicked at some leaves and sticks with his tail. It would have been nice to talk to her as well. She could tell him what he needed to do to get such lovely tails of his own. Not to mention, learn how to talk so he could surprise Gege.

I guess we’ll have to chat like this.

The voice that whispered through his head was both sweet and smug. Huli jumped to his feet, teeth once again bared at the white fox. It was only when her laugh echoed through his mind that he realized that she’d used her magic to communicate directly with his mind.

“You are such a young thing. But very adorable.”

I’ve seen fifty summers. Not so young. He pushed the thought at her, hoping she could understand him.

“No, not too young, but little better than a pup among our kind.” The warmth of her words spread through him like a gentle pat on the head.

You’re the first of our kind that I’ve ever met.

The white fox’s amber eyes widened slightly. “You’ve never seen another huli jing?”

Huli shook his head. He wrapped his tail around him, covering his toes, while embarrassment burned through him. Just one tail. He didn’t know how old this other huli jing was, but he was envious of her tails. He wanted that. If he had tails like that, Gege would never look away from him. He would admire Huli for his beauty and powerful magic.

“Do you have a name?”

Her question jolted him out of his swirling jealousy, and he blinked at her. When he was young, there had been only himself. And then one day, there was Gege. The beautiful and perfect Zhang Xiao Dan. There had been no one to give him a name at the beginning of his existence. His Xiao Dan called him Huli or Little One.

But he didn’t want her calling him that. The name was precious to him because the words coming from Xiao Dan made him feel like a precious treasure.

Huli , he replied.

The white fox’s nose twitched like she was wrinkling it in distaste, but she said nothing for a second. “Very well. I am called Min.”

That wasn’t a bad name. At least it was easy to remember. Min of the Many Tails.

How had she gotten those tails? Had they been stolen off other huli jing? There was no way he was going to let her steal his one tail. But what if he stole one of her tails? It looked as if she had at least five. There was no way she’d miss one of them.

“Huli, I think you should come traveling with me.”

That jerked him from his wandering thoughts. Traveling with her? Was she insane? Why would he ever travel away from this place? This was his home. Most importantly, this was where Xiao Dan lived. He didn’t ever want to leave the vampire. Sure, he might wander about and go on hunts that took him away from Gege for a few nights, but never for long.

No. Absolutely not.

“Really? Why not?”

Gege is here. I’m not leaving him.

“Oh. Gege, huh?” Her voice was so smooth and sly that Huli could feel his hackles rising while cursing himself. He should never have mentioned Gege. Min of the Many Tails couldn’t go near Xiao Dan.

The white fox climbed down from the tree stump and slowly approached him, her tails slithering back and forth behind her like snakes. “Who is Gege?”

A powerful vampire. He and his clan live close to here. Don’t go near him. He and his clan are very dangerous. They don’t like anyone. Each word as it left his mind for Min’s was a snarl. This fox needed to stay away from Xiao Dan.

“Ah. A powerful vampire that you’ve tamed.” She prowled around him. One of her tails brushed his cheek and Huli bared his teeth, barely holding in the urge to snap at it. “I’ve seen him walking in the woods and in the market. He’s very handsome.”

He is mine.

“Yours?” she said with a giggle. “Does he know this?”

Huli clenched his teeth and growled low in his throat at the huli jing. He was starting to not like Min of the Many Tails. No, he didn’t like her at all. His stomach tightened and knotted at the thought that she’d seen his gege.

“If you are going to claim this vampire, you will need to be able to talk to him. Wouldn’t you like to talk to this gege?”

Huli’s growling stopped in an instant, and his ears perked. Okay. Maybe she had a good point. Talking to Xiao Dan, using actual words he could understand, would be amazing.

Min strolled to the stump and lightly jumped up. Yet, just before she landed, a sharp white light enveloped her entire body. The light faded, and a slender woman with long black hair and a brilliant blue robe sat on the stump.

Was…was that Min?

The woman smiled at him. “Would you like to appear to your gege as a human so you can get even closer to him?”

Huli’s heart pounded so hard in his chest that it felt as though it were going to break through bone. His tongue was tied into a knot, and his thoughts frantically raced along.

Human! She could turn into a human!

When she first spoke, he thought it would be enough to learn how to speak like humans do, but to change shape, to look like a human, would be so much better. He could walk in their world, pretend to be them. So many more tricks could be played on them if they thought he was human.

How? he demanded.

“You wish to shift as well.”

Yes! How? How do I learn to do this? How do I learn to speak and shift into a human form? Huli pushed to his feet and walked to her, shoving his face close to hers. I must learn to do this. You must tell me how to do these things right now.

“Oh, Huli, these things take a long time,” she cooed at him. She reached out and scratched under his chin, but Huli jerked his head away from her and huffed loudly. She didn’t seem to mind because her smile never wavered. “It took me centuries to reach this level, and I’m already more than three hundred years old.”

Huli grunted and flopped his ass on the ground. Three centuries. That was too many years. He wanted to do these things now . He wanted to run up to Gege and surprise him as a human.

“A few centuries aren’t that long. Your gege is a vampire, right? They live for many years. He probably won’t even notice you’re gone.”

Huli’s ears flattened, and his body slumped. Would Gege really not miss him if he left to learn how to shift? He wanted Xiao Dan to miss him terribly.

Min reached out and put her hand under his chin, forcing his head up so she could look him in the eye. “Don’t you want to do more than simply talk to the vampire? In a human form, you could seduce the vampire. With a beautiful human form, you could wrap Gege around your finger. Get him to do anything you wanted.”

Oh, that sounded even better.

He knew of the intimate things people did. More than once, he’d followed noises of pleasure and found people naked and entangled in each other. He wanted that. He wanted to feel Gege’s kisses and to do things that could wring such noises out of him. As a human, he could win over Xiao Dan so that he loved only Huli and not the rest of his clan. He’d belong to Huli at last, and no one else.

“In this form, the humans find us irresistible. They are drawn to us and do whatever we wish. Like this, we can more easily steal their wealth, ruin their lives, even steal their souls for our own power.”

That sounded like fun.

Not that he wished to harm Xiao Dan. He would never harm Gege.

But he could always play with the other humans. They didn’t matter.

Okay, I wish to learn.

Min gave him a pat on the head. “That means we must leave this area for a time. For a huli jing to become stronger and to earn more tails, you must cultivate your powers in places of great magic. There is little magic in these forests and mountains. I know of spots in secret caves in the Kunlun Mountains as well as hidden springs in the deserts to the west. This is the only way to become a true jiuweihu.”

Huli flicked his tail. This meant leaving Xiao Dan for a very long time. Can I return to see Xiao Dan each time I earn a new tail?

For the first time, Min frowned at him. “That means it will take even longer. Traveling to and from these locations will take months.” She paused and stared at him before continuing in a thoughtful manner. “But the journey would be good practice for both of us. Very well.”

Huli leaped up and spun in a circle, chasing his tail. Soon, he would have more tails. Big and fluffy orange tails that would be the envy of everyone who saw them.

When do we leave? Can we leave now?

He had no desire to leave Xiao Dan or the forest he’d been born in, but the sooner he left, the sooner he could return to his gege.

“But we haven’t discussed payment yet.”

Huli stopped his spinning and gazed at the delicate woman. What? Why?

“Learning how to properly cultivate and grow your powers is no simple thing. It’s even harder without someone there to show you the way. My help will shave years off your time in the magic caves and springs.”

But I don’t have anything.

“Yes, you do. One day, you’ll win your gege completely. I just want his soul. You get to keep the rest of him.”

He didn’t want her to have any part of Xiao Dan. But he had little use for the vampire’s soul.

Would you take his soul right away?

“No, I promise I will wait until you’ve become a jiuweihu and you’ve earned all nine of your tails. Then I will come to claim his soul.”

Huli glared at the ground as he turned over her offer. Min had only five tails now, and she was more than three hundred years old. For him to earn eight more tails, it would take many centuries. Even if he was better at studying than her. That was plenty of time for him to come up with a new plan to protect Xiao Dan’s soul, even if it meant killing Min.

Besides, what if he stopped at eight tails? Min could never touch his Xiao Dan.

Yes. This was a good, crafty plan. He would use Min to teach him magic. And when he was done using her, he would kill her to protect his Xiao Dan.