A Sage of the Human Kingdom

Courtesy calls were not new to Fan Yusheng when she was still a student of the magic school. Being blessed with the power to breathe life or the legendary oasis magic was an honor to mostly everyone. However, this nothing that gave her any good relationship with the crown. She knew the king was strong-willed and decisive, while the queen was considerate and benevolent. It was the first prince that was a downfall to the perfection of the Crown.

The first prince, Huang Huale, was nothing but a childish brat who enjoyed stepping on others and seeing them in pain. He had a knack for war and mayhem, and he wished the war would go on so he would not get bored. When he was twelve, he learned about the Demon King's existence, and urged everyone to hunt him down for a price. This caused hunters to sprout from time to time, only to fall prey to the hands of the Demon King. He cared too little about those who died; he was more satisfied by the crying of people who lost stupid men to greed... or need.

Her first encounter with him was during a courtesy call with Huang Jiang, the king of the Human Kingdom. Fan Yusheng displayed her magic prowess by raising an apple tree from a pot and bearing fruits for the king and the queen to enjoy. Huang Huale, who was fourteen by then, came to her at the throne's stage.

"Your magic's amazing!" The snotty prince roared in excitement. "Can you grow a tree from inside a human!?"

Needless to say, the court was surprised. The king frowned at his son, while the queen asked him not to say worthless things to the sage. However, since Fan Yusheng was a naïve sixteen-year-old by them, she entertained the prince.

"Not entirely without help, Your Highness, but I do not encourage such act." Fan Yusheng bowed in respect. "However, to answer your question, only where seed and dirt lie am I capable to grow trees."

"Oh..." Huang Huale stopped bouncing on his spot. His nanny took him away, but he slipped from her hold. "Sage Fan! Sage Fan! How old are you?"

"Uh, I'm sixteen, Your Highness." She bowed to him, the court nodding at the impression of her power.

"When I'm sixteen, I will be known across the entire land! I will destroy the demons and bring their king down to his knees!" He had quite a faint blush on his face. "And then... and then we'll get married and rule the world!"

"Get him out of there," Huang Jiang whispered, and watched as the boy was ushered away from the sage. He turned to the shaken girl. "Ah, please, don't mind him, Sage Fan. We know that you have chosen the path of magic. We cannot bother you with worldly needs such as a husband or royal power."

"Might you be interested in the position of Court Sage instead?" The queen pressed her hands together in anticipation.

"I am flattered, my queen, but I have duties to my school and to my village. Perhaps when I am free to spend my days in leisure." Fan Yusheng replied politely.

However, the days of leisure never came. Fan Yusheng continued to watch the war from their spot. It seemed like Huang Huale was serious when he declared the eradication of the demons. However, at this rate, it looked like he was counting on only one battle to decide the victor of the war. She turned to Cheng Lamei who was whispering in an alien language once again.

"Are you planning to kill the prince?" Fan Yusheng asked the first consort. "He's just a child."

"So was the Demon King when he was crowned king." Cheng Lamei answered her.

The oasis wielder turned to the battlefield again. Even though the demons were more lethal, they were still outnumbered by the humans. Fatigue was also factored in, and the only sumptuous meal they had in a while was the feast last night. Fan Yusheng was scared that the demon army might lose. She then closed her eyes and prayed for them.

Actually, she had no idea why she would take the side of the demons at an assault like this. It was her purpose to protect the humans from the demons, and yet she wanted them to lose. Perhaps it was pity; perhaps it was nothing but her innate bias towards her kind. Her kind? Was she a demon or a human? Fan Yusheng kept her eyes closed tightly, trying to drown the sounds of war at a distance.

"Demon King!"

Cheng Lamei's cry made her rip her eyes open. Fan Yusheng flung to the first consort who was making such a worried face. Even the other two consorts were doing the same. The oasis wielder flung her gaze to the battlefield, where the sides seemed to have frozen. The Demon King was fighting the First Prince, after he had knocked out the cannons.

Even though the demon king was fast and accurate with his hits, Huang Huale managed to keep up with him. The bratty First Prince seemed to have become an excellent swordsman as well. He kept on blocking the king's attacks with his sword before attacking relentlessly. Blocking might not be enough to boot, but he was wielding a blessed sword that burns through a demon's skin. All he needed was to make the Demon King touch the blade to hurt him. Also, they were in the middle of a war. The soldiers started attacking the king as well, giving the prince more opportunities to strike.

"Shameless humans." Niao Yi growled as he gripped on his sword lightly. He wanted to swoop in and gain recognition for his clan, but protecting the consorts was a secret duty given to him. That night the Demon King walked out of Fan Yusheng's room, he told Niao Yi to never leave the consorts' side during battle. The only exception was Zhao Mouye who was a general of the demon army.

Aware of the cries of his subjects and his consorts, the Demon King tried his best not to get caught by the swords and spears of the humans. He could hit one and kill that very person, but some of them go all the way like piercing through the dead just to get a hit. He evaded a spear and then came three swords. He swiped his wings to get them away from him, but Huang Huale got into an opening and went in for a strike. The Demon King stared at the first human who managed to threaten him. However, he could only frown in pity.

The Demon King's tail shot out from the back and threaded through the flesh of the soldiers to get to the prince. Huang Huale moved his head to evade the sharp hook end, but the tail wrapped around his right arm. It was too late to notice that the tail had smaller hooks on its length. With a flick of the Demon King's body, the tail ripped through the prince's arm, sending half of his forearm and the sword in the air. Huang Huale cried in pain as he collapsed to the ground. Along with his wings, the Demon King swiped through the crowd with his most lethal weapon, slicing through thick crowds of human flesh and armor around him. Since Huang Huale was on the ground, he did not get hit.

Even with all his weapons outside and ready to kill, the Demon King felt harder to fight. Now that his wings and tail were out, it got harder to balance his body which forearms were hardened and head heavy with the horns. The sway he needed to control the tail was being compromised by his weight, and his wings were not enough to keep him standing. More humans came as they tried to retrieve the prince on the ground. Spears and swords were not a problem, but the humans had managed to erect and load one cannon to aim at him.

"He can't die!" Fan Yusheng screamed as she saw both royals of the two sides where in deep trouble. She glanced at Cheng Lamei who was commanding the other demons. And then to Niao Yi who started fighting off humans who got far enough to see them standing there. "I have to do something. Or else... both of them will..."

Fan Yusheng reared her horse, distracting Niao Yi who just killed an enemy. She rode towards the battlefield, causing the bird to scream for her name. The oasis wielder became an apparent target to other humans who tried to hit her with their swords. Her nameless demon horse ran side to side to avoid them, even jumping over someone to get her as near as she could. The two faced a blockade of three archers which the horse tried to jump, but they shot him down after being able to send Fan Yusheng past them. The woman rolled along the ground. She lifted her face, and saw that she was close enough to see the Demon King without her owl vision. Their eyes met, and he froze for a moment, knowing that he might be too late to get to her.

The wielder did not plan on dying. She kept herself on the ground and invoked her power as fast as she could. Before the cannon got ready, branches rose from the ground to slap it away. Vines had come out to wrap around humans as well, and around the machines that were destroyed effortlessly by the vines that thickened around them. One vine also grabbed Huang Huale in place, and another wrapped around his wounded arm, sealing the wound with a leaf. The forest that had been destroyed rose from the ruins of its land, Fan Yusheng soon standing in the middle.

However, unlike normal plants, the trees and their vines were blending green and purple. The barks had been blackened, and the vines that were cut by blades spurt red juice and sap. The vines which held the human soldiers tightened to restrain them, enough for them to surrender. Those who had not been caught fled through the remaining of the plains, but were caught by the winged demons. The fighting stopped, and the Demon King recalled his other weapons, only left with horns.

The oasis wielder started breathing heavily in exhaustion. Growing so much in a matter of seconds drained her; the magic thread only helping the speed of growth. At least she could see the Demon King approaching her, unhurt. She would talk more, but she failed to keep her consciousness. Her body fell, but the Demon King caught her. Since it was high-grade magic, the purple forest stayed even though the caster was knocked out.

Weak flapping of the wings awakened Fan Yusheng. She soon saw herself in her room, wearing the light green hanfu she was planning to wear that day. Her eyes opened and saw Niao Yi by her balcony. He was flapping his wings as if stretching them. The sun was low, and the sky was red. It was already afternoon, but she had no idea if it was the same day. She sat up and looked around for her hairpins.

"You're not supposed to be getting up." Niao Yi heard her movements and went to see her. "Since you're still weak, I'm not going to hit you for charging in without me. I'm not going to lecture you about how reckless that was." He stood before her and reached out a hand. "Do you need help to get up?"

"No, I need to you help tie my hair." Fan Yusheng chuckled, as if used to passing out. She watched Niao Yi collect the hairpins from another nightstand and tried his best to roll and pin the consort's hair. She sighed in relief. "Is everyone okay? Did the Demon King say anything?"

"In fact, he said take her to me when she wakes up." Niao Yi stared at his amateur work, but was pretty satisfied that it held the hair up altogether. He got off from the bed where he sat. "Do you want to go now?"

"Yes, I want to see him." The consort picked herself up despite the weakness.

Fan Yusheng walked with grace through the hallways, the servants bowing as she passed by with a wave. Instead of being led to the seventh floor where the king's room was, she was taken to the dungeon. The cells were now occupied by the humans who were reserving energy. Though some of them yelled and banged at the bars as they cried for freedom. Niao Yi gestured to the furthest cell, where the Demon King was standing. She went to his side, only to see the First Prince cooped at the corner. There were no lights in the place, and so it meant Huang Huale could not see that there were already people next to his cell.

Even though he was a swordsman, he was still a pampered child. He was coiled up at the side, scared of the darkness around him. He had his arms around his head, even one of them was trembling in pain. The leaf that wrapped it was now replaced by proper bandage.

Fan Yusheng looked at the Demon King who only looked back at her. She then sat on her heels and reached out to touch the prince's shoulder. "Your Highness..."

Huang Huale gasped at the sound of her voice. He turned to the direction of the hand and reached to it using his left. "Sage Fan? Sage Fan, are you really here?"

"Your Highness, why did you attack the demons like this? Did you really think you can defeat them?" she spoke in an inquiring tone, angered by his recklessness and stupidity.

"Don't call him 'Your Highness.' He's a prisoner." The Demon King huffed as they continued to talk.

"T-That was really you, Sage Fan!" Huang Huale squeezed her hand. "Did you come to save me? Wait, who was that guy I heard? This can't be my imagination..."

The Demon King pulled the keys from his pocket and unlocked his cell. He grabbed the prince that started crying, invoking violence from the soldiers incarcerated in the dungeon. He dragged Huang Huale by the collar across the hallway. He passed by Niao Yi. "Tell the bird clan to send guards for the dungeons. Ones that can see in the dark."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Niao Yi bowed just until he was out of sight.

"Ah! Let me go! Where are you taking me!? Take your hands off of me!" Huang Huale kept on screaming until he was thrown into the part where there were candles lighting the way. He rubbed his eyes with his left hand, only to see the Demon King gazing down at him in scorn. The prince shrieked as he crawled back, only to be caught by Fan Yusheng.

In surprise to the two other males, the prince's eyes widened in glee. "Sage Fan!" He threw himself at her and hugged her tightly, burrowing his face at her chest. "Sage Fan!"

"Your-! Okay, please remove him from me." The consort could only push him away weakly.

The Demon King called forth his tail and wrapped it around Huang Huale's neck. He continued to cry, but then shut up when it grew tighter. "Keep quiet if you want to keep your head on your neck." He turned to other two. "Come with me to the throne chamber. Niao Yi, gather the rest of the consorts before you deliver the message to Yemaozi."

"Yes, my king." Niao Yi bowed and glared at Fan Yusheng before leaving. He knew that she knew he meant no reckless decisions should be done in the presence of the king.