Betray Gods

Chapter 4: Siblings

"What did you say?!" "I said，I'm going to save them, those siblings." Feng Shanshan looked at Leiyin with a face full of righteousness. Leiyin glanced at her determined little expression and calmly nodded, "Alright, go ahead then." Feng Shanshan was taken aback, her eyes widening, "What do you mean by that? Aren't you coming with me? They're so pitiful. Don't you feel a bit of sympathy? Aren’t you worried about my safety at all?" "You're rushing into danger yourself, so what's the use of me worrying about your safety? Besides, you're the granddaughter of Elder Leibaichen. Even if you get caught, they won’t do much to you." Leiyin’s face was expressionless as he crossed his arms, "Didn’t I tell you someone knocked us off the tree from hiding? That must have been a warning. Someone among the elders must have noticed us there. If we rush in recklessly to save them, we’ll probably end up getting punished without saving anyone."

"Weird. Who hit you, anyway? It definitely wasn't Grandpa’s style!" Feng Shanshan shook her head, "Grandpa never gives me any warnings. Of course, I’ve never successfully meddled in his affairs either. Really, if those elders and hall masters discovered us, why didn’t they just show up and scold us? Oh right, didn’t you say just when I fell asleep, they disagreed? Elder Zhichen and Uncle Leijingyang from the Xin Yao Hall were in favor of helping those kids go to Dayan’s capital, right?" Leiyin was startled. Feng Shanshan seemed to catch on, continuing her analysis, "Maybe this is a signal. Given Elder Zhichen’s character, he likes to play the good guy but doesn’t want to take responsibility. Him hitting us with a rock to knock us off the tree must have been deliberate. He wanted us to know that we were noticed but didn’t want to expose us outright, nor himself openly. This is—"

"A hint. Hinting that he’ll help us save them?" Feng Shanshan raised her chin, "Not too dumb, Leiyin!" Leiyin ignored the girl’s taunt, his dark, deep-set features softening into a smile as he tapped the top of Feng Shanshan’s head gently, "I’m going to scout out where they're being held, and make a round at Elder Zhichen’s place. You will just wait at home for my news." With that, Leiyin was off, gliding swiftly away.

The Chilei tribe had five elders—Leibaichen, Leimiaochen, Leisangchen, Leizhichen, and Leilingchen, among whom Leimiaochen and Leisangchen were half-brothers. All the elders were highly respected, mastering both wood and fire spirit powers to great extent, achieving the grand state of Tongling. Tongling allowed a cultivator in combat to harness free-floating spirit powers from the environment, unlike lesser cultivators who were limited by their body’s capacity to contain spirit power. Thus, reaching Tongling signified a transcendent leap in cultivation, a step closer to becoming an immortal.

These five elders decided on major clan matters together and helped Elder Leibaichen’s wife, Tree Granny, in conducting spirit consultations and rituals. The clan also had six hall masters; Leixiao of the Fu Mu Hall, who was in charge of construction; Leichun of the Shui Zhou Hall, responsible for food supplies; Leijingyang of the Xin Yao Hall, overseeing medicine and caregiving; Leiqingnu of the Xi Ji Hall, managing military affairs; Leifang of the Feng Zhu Hall, handling intelligence and defense; and Leichou of the Qing Wang Hall, in charge of punishment and imprisonment.

At that moment, in the prison of the Qing Wang Hall, two pairs of young, bright eyes reflected clear light under the dim moonlight. They were siblings; the brother, Bai Ya, looked to be in his early twenties, tall and straight-limbed, with a well-formed brow, straight nose, and eyes that carried both a roguish charm and a hint of indomitable spirit. His long black hair was tied into nine fine braids, all gathered high behind his head. The sister, Han Zhi, in the prime of her youth, bore a resemblance to her brother but with a demeanor as cool and clear as an autumn moon. A bunch of fine braids gathered below her right ear were adorned with intricately carved colorful stones, reminiscent of ancient customs from the deep mountains of southern Xiaoming Great Land.

"Brothe, are you sure someone will come to rescue us?" Han Zhi asked with a drawl, sounding displeased. Bai Ya, who had been pulling a vine from the bed to play tug-of-war with a nest of mice, shrugged at his sister's anxious question, "Chill, little Twig. Since old man Shuofeng told us to head to Regu Forest before he died, claiming someone would covertly help us reach the capital of Dayan, you should give him some trust, right? Otherwise, wouldn’t he be upset even in his grave?" Han Zhi's expression changed when Bai Ya mentioned the old man's name, and she kicked her brother in frustration, "Don't call him 'old man!' Having a brother like you, who's so carefree and loose-lipped, I really wonder what good fortune I accumulated in past lives. I said we should've hidden and observed these people for a few days first, but you had to go and poke the tiger, and now we both ended up caught!" The moon suddenly disappeared behind thick clouds, darkening the cell in an instant. As the howling wind brought the deep murmurs of wild beasts from the forest, Han Zhi involuntarily crossed her arms. With a cold face, she moved next to her brother, squeezing in with Bai Ya and the nest of mice. Just then, Bai Ya suddenly let go, and the startled mice tumbled to the ground. Bai Ya stood up, a flawless smile on his fair face, "They’re here." Han Zhi followed Bai Ya's gaze. The clouds moved westward, and as the moon reappeared, so did the faces of a young man and woman outside the window.

Bai Ya was taken aback, murmuring, "Jeez, a couple of kids? Younger than my little Twig, huh? Now I'm starting to doubt whether that old man's words were reliable." Leiyin frowned, asking, "Are you the two foreigners who were captured at the border of the forest?" Bai Ya raised an eyebrow, replying, "What do you think? Look at my sister, so noble and refined. Clearly, she couldn’t possibly be a local like you." Feng Shanshan, standing beside Leiyin, was immediately triggered by his words, and a stone flew towards Bai Ya's head. Just before it hit, the stone seemed to bounce off an invisible barrier. It was Bai Ya's Nanshan Zhongshan protective barrier, activated by his water spirit power. With this test, Feng Shanshan knew that the handsome youth, like Leiyin, was also a mid-level high cultivator, and she couldn’t beat him. Leiyin said, "Stop messing around, Shanshan. Isn’t this the person you were fussing to save?" "Who knew he’d be such a jerk? I’m regretting it now," Feng Shanshan rolled her eyes. Bai Ya heard this and quickly changed his haughty demeanor, clasping his hands and begging for forgiveness, "Hey, hey! Can’t a brother make a mistake? Don’t take it to heart, sister. You’re so kind-hearted, I even dreamed a goddess was coming to save me!" Bai Ya's cheeky charm, coupled with his good looks, made it hard for Feng Shanshan to stay angry, and she laughed, scolding him, "Stop talking nonsense! We don’t even know each other, and you’re already throwing around 'brother' and 'sister'!" "Exactly, let’s focus on getting out of here instead of flirting every time you see a girl," Han Zhi kicked her brother. Leiyin stepped forward, blocking Bai Ya's view of Feng Shanshan and said to the siblings in the cell, "Step back. I'm going to cut the vine net on the window with a leishi." He pulled a black stone from his pocket. This ordinary-looking stone, once bathed in the post-storm moonlight, instantly emitted several strange shapes of short lightning, buzzing around the stone and emitting a cold, dazzling electric light.

"Look at you, Leiyin, hiding a leishi and not telling me! Where did you get it?" Feng Shanshan reached out to grab it, but Leiyin pulled her back with one hand. "Stop it. I stole it from Elder Zhichen's place. I just got it, so of course you didn’t know." Feng Shanshan muttered, "Elder Zhichen must have let his guard down, otherwise, no matter how skilled you are, it’s not that easy to steal something from an elder’s house." Leishi, a treasure of the Chilei tribe, only functioned on moonlit nights, when yin and yang spirit powers stimulated it to produce lightning. The lightning emitted by leishi could cut through any weapon, naturally including the lightning-fearing elder vine. Without moonlight, it was just an ugly, stubborn rock. Allegedly, it was a trophy passed down after a major battle between the Chilei tribe and the Sea Demons five hundred years ago. Originally there were five stones, but one was lost; the remaining four were alternately kept by the clan's elders and hall masters. "Tsk tsk," Bai Ya looked at Leiyin, "Impressive that you could steal such a thing. Now I’m a bit more convinced you’re one of us." Leiyin's gaze turned cold, "Who’s 'us'? Once we get you out, just leave Regu Forest immediately. I’ll escort you to the border of Jianhua Swamp to the east of the forest sea. Don’t come back. Whatever’s going on in the eastern continent has nothing to do with Regu Forest." Han Zhi coughed softly to herself. Bai Ya listened to Leiyin's tone, not sounding like he intended to help them reach Dayan, and was puzzled, unsure whether Leiyin was just putting on an act or truly indifferent. He thought for a moment, then smiled and replied, "Fair enough. Thanks, brother and sister."