Chapter 2: Meeting Xiao Che and Xia Yuanba

Even though he had reined in his greed and didn't make as much changes as he wanted to on his body, the pain he was dealt with was still immense. He gritted his teeth and fought through the pain to at least be able to sit up.

The youth with the disproportionate body size would likely come back to this place, and with some other companions. Raine was sure of it. He was not ready to encounter any other human beings, not with his current state being so poor.

Although the Creator had warned him about the toll on his mind and body whenever he used the World Creation System, he didn't expect it to be this dire. He was cautious, yet it seemed like he still had underestimated the cost of being able to give form to his imaginations by quite a bit.

His utmost priority right now was to recover and hightail it out of here before the giant boy came back. His regenerative ability would take too long to return him back to good health. By the time that happened, the boy would had returned already.

That left him only one choice he wasn't keen on doing. He closed his eyes, and entered his meadow of a mindscape. He quickly calmed his mind and focused. He held out one palm and a vial necklace in the shape of a teardrop appeared. The empty vial was soon filled with crimson blood.

With Raine's newfound heightened sense of smell, the sweet scent of the blood seeped from the vial and entered his nose, making him gulp. He hung the vial necklace on his neck before returning his consciousness back to his body, and out of his mindscape.

With his creation materialized in the reality, pain assaulted him once more, only on a much smaller scale. He winced, holding back a grunt. He immediately opened the vial containing blood and downed it in one go.

Instead of the disgusting metallic taste that blood had, the taste of sweet, and rich honey permeated his taste buds. The blood slid down his throat and into his system. The blood eased his pain and even invigorated him, another perk of being a vampire. However, it didn't help the exhaustion that his mind suffered. The pain wasn't completely gone, but he could move now.

"I need to get out of here--" Raine couldn't finish his sentence when he heard the sound of people running towards his direction from a distance. He focused his tired mind to listen in on their conversation.

"Brother-in-law! Quick, the angel is right this way!"

"Calm down, Yuanba! I can't catch up!"

Brother-in-law? Yuanba?

Raine turned his head in the direction where the two people were, and used his enhanced eyesight. He saw two boys. One was the giant boy who stumbled upon his weakened figure not too long ago, and the other was a handsome youth who had white and fair skin. The youth looked like a living doll, and though he couldn't come close to Raine's otherwordly beauty, he could easily charm the girls around him.

Raine's eyes narrowed. It seemed like the giant boy was Xia Yuanba...and he brought his rapist of a brother-in-law together with him. He didn't think he would meet two of the key figures in the 'Against the Gods' so soon. One was the protagonist of the story who had yet to be reincarnated, the other was his naive best friend.

This turn of events changed his plan. Perhaps he should stay here and wait for them instead. If he was still human, his heart might have beat out of excitement. His lips quirked to form a small smile.

He couldn't wait to play with that self-righteous, hypocritical piece of garbage.

....

..

.

That morning, Xia Yuanba decided that he would get some flowers for his sister. Ever since she started cultivating, her already cold personality became colder. Although he could still see the same kindness she had towards his father and him, she didn't interact with them all that much anymore.

Hailing from the Xia Clan, Xia Yuanba didn't lack money. However, his innocent mind believed that he would be able to convey his desire and sincerity to get along with his sister once more if he picked the flowers himself.

Naturally, he had brought along Xiao Che, his beloved brother-in-law with him. If his sister knew that brother-in-law helped him pick the flowers for her, surely his sister would like Brother-in-law even more. Besides, going into the forest alone was a little bit daunting for him.

When brother-in-law agreed to accompany him to the forest, he was ecstatic. Although his brother-in-law seldom went out because of the ridicule thrown at him, he still nodded without hesitance the moment Yuanba had asked him. For that, he admired Xiao Che even more.

Of course he knew his brother-in-law would have accepted his request though. He would never disappoint him!

Xia Yuanba and Xiao Che had first started looking for the flowers together, but then his brother-in-law suggested for them to split up in order to be able to harvest a variety of flowers faster. At first, Yuanba was scared to go alone, but he didn't want to look too weak in front of his admired brother-in-law, so he just nodded.

"Sorry bees and butterflies, but I have to take these flowers for my sister." He smiled apologetically at the small critters as he picked up the flowers.

"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Just then, a scream filled with pain disrupted the peace of the forest.

Out of shock, Xia Yuanba dropped his flowers and looked at the direction where the scream came from. His huge body shook; an act that was clearly dissonant with his gigantic figure.

The scream sounded near to his current place. If someone were to scream that loud, they must be in extreme pain. His father had always taught him to be kind to others, but he wasn't sure he wanted to help the person in pain, nor did he want to know what caused the person such pain.

Maybe he should get his brother-in-law first, then go help whoever it was that needed help. Surely the kind Big Brother Che had heard the scream as well? But his brother-in-law went to the opposite direction as him and perhaps didn't hear it? If he were to get him, wouldn't it take too much time?

There was also the issue of him not being brave enough to go there. But if he didn't go, he would have nightmares tonight if left to his own imaginations about what had happened. And he couldn't just betray his conscience.

...He determined that he needed to go help the person.

Using his lifetime's worth of courage, and with shaking legs, he moved. After a few moment, as he pushed aside bushes and shrubberies, he came upon a small clearing. There, he found someone lying on the ground, unconscious. When he laid his eyes on the mysterious young man, he felt that he was hallucinating.

He was the most beautiful person he had seen, like an angel that had descended from the heavens. He was even more beautiful than his peerless sister, Xia Qingyue. His beauty didn't make him look girly or feminine, however, the young man was capable of attracting both male and female.

Although Xia Yuanba was a man, his heart skipped a beat in awe, and he appreciated the beauty that was before him. He had forgotten all thoughts of helping the unconscious young man. He lasted in that state until the figure on the ground grunted.

"Ah!" Xia Yuanba subconsciously let out a sound and woke up from his reverie. He immediately ran away from there.

He needed to get his brother-in-law, and fast! He had to help the poor angel!

Going back to the place where he was picking his flowers, he ran into a worried-looking Xiao Che. "Yuanba! Where did you go? That scream, I thought it was you, so I rushed here, only to see flowers scattered on the ground!" He was angry and worried at the same time. He would have blamed himself if anything happened to Yuanba.

"Brother, brother-in-law! You need to help me!" Xia Yuanba spoke erratically while gasping for air in between his speech.

"What? What's wrong, Yuanba?" Seeing the frantic look on his best friend's face, Xiao Che inspected Yuanba's body, looking for any signs of injury.

"No, not me, Big Brother Che. Please, come with me! An angel, the angel needs our help, brother-in-law!" Xia Yuanba grabbed Xiao Che's hand in his, and almost began dragging him.

"Wait! Who is this angel you are talking about?" Despite Xiao Che being weaker than Xia Yuanba based on both their profound strength and raw power, he easily took his hand back from Yuanba's grasp. Yuanba wasn't gripping his hand with too much force and that allowed him to have his hand back.

"Father always tells me to help those in need. Brother-in-law, we need to hurry." Xia Yuanba stared steadfastly at Xiao Che. It was unlike his usual timid self. He knew this, but he was compelled to protect the perfection that he saw.

"Xia Yuanba, that doesn't explain anything." Xiao Che's eyebrows furrowed; his younger best friend wasn't acting like himself. Usually he would answer his questions with enthusiasm. Now, he was just hurrying to save whoever this 'angel' was. He sighed, "Okay, lead the way."

Xia Yuanba's eyes beamed in happiness. He knew he could count on his brother-in-law! He nodded his head and began running towards the place where the angel lied.

"Brother-in-law! Quick, the angel is right this way!"

"Calm down, Yuanba! I can't catch up!"

When they arrived, Xia Yuanba saw the angel sitting, and leaning on a tree. Although the angel wore a slight smile which mesmerized him, it was clear to Yuanba that he was tired and still in pain. Xiao Che on the other hand, now understood why the younger brother of his soon-to-be wife was referring to the young man as an angel. He really did looked like one.

"To whom do I have the pleasure of meeting?" Still having a smile on his face, the young man who looked like an angel asked.

"My name is Xia--" Xia Yuanba was about to introduce himself, but a hand on his shoulder made him stop his sentence midway. He sent a confused look towards Xiao Che.

"My brother here wants to help, but I don't know if that's possible...?" Xiao Che probed the young man before him. Although he was not as strong as Xia Yuanba as he was still only on the 1st level of the Elementary Profound Realm, and considered as trash in a lot of people's eyes, he at least wasn't stupid.

What if the person in front of him was an enemy? Xia Yuanba and him could be held hostage to threaten their families. After all, his grandfather, Xiao Lie and the Xia Clan was influential in the Floating Cloud City. Even if he has no value, he still could be used against his family.

Thinking about this, Xiao Che unconsciously clenched his teeth. Why was he so weak!

"Are you afraid that I'm an enemy?" The younger man stood up, still leaning on the tree. This caused Xiao Che to take a step behind, dragging the large Xia Yuanba with him.

This made Xia Yuanba to finally return to normal and not be too affected by the angel in front of him. He didn't even think that the angel was a possible enemy until his brother-in-law stepped in. What would have happened if his brother-in-law was not here?

"I see. Is my appearance that suspicious-looking?" The young man smiled bitterly, unconsciously making both Xiao Che's and Xia Yuanba's heart clench in sadness. They wanted to refute the man, but he continued, "Then, shall I tell you my name first? After all, trust comes by earning it, not expecting it. My name is Raine." The bitter smile was wiped off, and in its place was the same small smile they saw when they first arrived. The young man's eyes crinkled gently.

Xia Yuanba looked at his brother-in-law. Should they introduce themselves?

Xiao Che, upon seeing the beautiful young man's sincerity, spoke, "I'm Xiao Che. This is my best friend, Xia Yuanba." He gestured towards the brother by his side.

The angel's smile deepened.

....

..

.

How foolish.

Upon seeing Xiao Che introducing himself and Xia Yuanba, Raine almost wanted to laugh. If he had already reincarnated, he won't have given away their names so easily. Yun Che would have scoffed and demanded his origins without even giving his own name. Yun Che was more domineering, cynical and distrustful of others, especially ones of unknown identity and character.

Alas, Xiao Che had yet to become Yun Che. He had the minimum caution when faced with an unidentified individual, but he and Yun Che was really different.

It was amusing.

"I'm a traveler. I was taking a rest here to recover from my long journey, before continuing. I also heard that a city called Floating Cloud City was near here, therefore I decided to go there to replenish my stolen supplies after taking my rest, however..." His eyes drooped.

"But...?" Xia Yuanba questioned, concern obviously lacing his voice.

"I take it that you must have heard a scream, and that's why you came here?" Raine's smile returned once more.

Xiao Che and Xia Yuanba nodded. "As disgraceful as that was, it came from me. You don't need to be alarmed; I was not attacked by anyone. It's just a simple occurrence in my life."

"Is it...an illness?" Xiao Che asked, carefully picking his words.

"Unfortunately, yes. Including you two, only a total of three people know of this condition that I have." The other person was the Creator. Although, it was not an illness, rather a cause brought upon by his use of the system. But, they didn't need to know that.

Xia Yuanba, being the naive and trusting person that he was, was simply sad for him. Xiao Che on the other hand, had questions. "Why are you telling us this? Especially when only one other person knew about your illness before you told us."

"If I didn't explain, it would still come to light. There was clearly no signs of attack, so what had caused me pain? It's simple if you just think about it. I might as well just tell you. Besides, the fact that you came here meant that you were concerned, even though you could have just left. Or perhaps, it's just curiosity. Either way, I'm sure that you mean me no harm."

Xiao Che nodded and smiled. "Yuanba was the one who had found you and brought me here. We both aren't of much assistance because we aren't knowledgeable in the field of medicine, but Doctor Situ might be able to help."

Raine noticed that hidden in Xiao Che's smile was a deprecation for himself for being useless, when he talked about having a lack of knowledge in the area of medicine. Little did he know, that a year from now, he would be a master at medicines.

Although Xiao Che carried himself better than he expected, it seemed like it was true that he had an inferiority complex.

Raine just smiled, silently indicating that treatment was impossible. Xiao Che, and even the usually slow Xia Yuanba knew what his single smile just conveyed.

"I would like it if you two were to keep this illness of mine a secret. It's not a very good thing to be perceived as weak in a world such as this one."

Xiao Che and Xia Yuanba nodded. Xiao Che added, "We understand."

Of course he would. After all, he was the infamous trash of the Xiao Clan. Raine simply continued wearing his slight smile.

"I-If you would like, we can help you get to the city...? S-Since we live there." Xia Yuanba spoke for the first time, his heart beating fast. He was anxious of talking to such a person like Raine.

"I would be in your debt." Raine nodded and pushed off the tree. His throat had long healed; if not, he wouldn't be having such a lengthy conversation. Most of his pain was gone thanks to his natural vampiric regenerative ability.

When he got close to Xiao Che and Xia Yuanba, they widened their eyes. The young man had such a peculiar pair of eyes. Strange as it may be, it added more charm to the man's appearance. However, realizing that they were being rude by staring for far too long, they averted their eyes from Raine's face.

Raine knew that his appearance was eye-catching, in more ways than one. Fortunately and he had done this intentionally, his pointed ears were covered by his hair; that was one of the things he didn't want people to see. Him being mistaken for a demon was not going to be a funny situation.

"Shall we go?" He prompted them. Being stared at by men wasn't exactly what he wanted his newfound beauty to achieve.

Xiao Che and Xia Yuanba nodded. They all walked away from the forest and into the direction where Floating Cloud City is located. Xia Yuanba's original intention of picking the flowers for his sister was long forgotten...

Arriving at the city gates, the guards greeted them. "Young Master Xia, and Young Master...Xiao. Welcome back." When they addressed Xiao Che, their disdain was badly concealed. "Who is this young man...?"

Their eyes were glued to Raine and they suddenly became tongue-tied. Xiao Che answered, somewhat able to ignore the looks they gave him. Even though it had already been years since he received them, but they still hurt. "He's our friend."

With that one sentence, the guards just dumbfoundedly nodded their heads and allowed them to pass while still remaining speechless.

When the three was long gone, the guards finally snapped out of their stupor. All that they had thought at that time was, 'Fuck, was that even a human?'

....

..

.

"Raine, your stuff had been stolen? Do you have money to stay at the inn?" Xiao Che asked, still remembering about Raine briefly mentioning about his stolen belongings.

Raine smiled awkwardly. "I got a bit careless during that one time I wasn't looking, and a street beggar stole all of my things." Of course, that was a lie.

"If you want, you can stay with me, Big Brother!" Xia Yuanba called out from the side.

Raine had been genuinely surprised when Yuanba had referred to him as 'Big Brother' when they were en route to the city, but he was getting used to Yuanba's innocent nature. To think that he would become a ruthless and arrogant person in the future, the change was really drastic.

"That would be best." Xiao Che smiled self-deprecatingly. "Yuanba, Raine, I'll go visit you two tomorrow.

"Brother-in-law..." Xia Yuanba wanted to comfort his brother, but Xiao Che just patted Yuanba's shoulder, and waved his hand before disappearing into the crowd. Yuanba then turned towards Raine, and beamed. "Hehe, we should go. If we wait any longer, I think you would be eaten by the hungry wolves, Big Brother."

Raine simply nodded. Feeling the gazes of the crowd on his body, he felt like a piece of fat, juicy meat...

Arriving at the Xia Clan's compound, he thought that the Xia Clan was really worthy of being called the most prosperous clan in Floating Cloud City. The compound was large, along with its tall walls acting as a deterrence to petty thieves and intruders.

Entering the clan's compound with the guards having the same reactions as the ones at the city gates, Raine could not wait to meet with the female lead of the novel: Xia Qingyue. It was also one of the reasons why he had gotten close to Xia Yuanba.

He had planned it from the start. From Xiao Che's personality, reputation and background, it was unlikely that he would be invited to stay at the Xiao Clan. Although the plan was not a hundred percent bulletproof, if one didn't take risks, one couldn't create a future.

Raine admitted that Xiao Che wasn't very smooth before his reincarnation. How could he have agreed to let a man with an appearance like his to stay at the same place as his future wife? He was really asking to be given the green hat.

"Oh, Yuanba! You're back!" A slightly overweight middle-aged man of a normal stature came out of the main house and hugged Xia Yuanba.

It was obvious to Raine that it was Xia Yuanba's and Xia Qingyue's father, Xia Hongyi.

"Who is this...?" Seeing the incredibly beautiful and handsome man standing quietly just behind his son, Xia Hongyi was both confused and speechless.

"Greetings, I'm Raine." He introduced himself.

Now that Raine met Xia Hongyi, he's going to prevent his daughter, Xia Qingyue, from ever having any feelings towards Yun Che. He would make sure of it.