Human or Demon

The fifth consort of the Demon King walked right next to the prisoner. They threaded the breaking hallways of the Huanjing castle, making him crumple his face in disgust. It was such a dilapidated place that deserved to be taken out of the castle bracket. To Huang Huale, it was the Huanjing Ruins, and no one could tell him otherwise. In fact, the Demon King might even adapt the name if the prince was ballsy enough to talk. However, with the king's tail around his neck, he could only walk their pace and hope to be rescued.

Fan Yusheng knew she was not supposed to be walking around after what happened, but it seemed that it did not bother the king as well. She also wished to stand in witness of the prince's fate. His capture was her doing after all. She followed them all the way to the throne chamber, where Cheng Lamei was waiting alone. The oasis wielder was surprised Zhao Mouye was not with her. Instead of asking directly, she just stood next to the first consort.

Seeing that Zhao Mouye was not around, the Demon King huffed and let go of the prince before he ascended the steps. "Run, and I will kill you," he said to the prince. He walked to the throne and sat down. He watched the prince glare at him with a sobbing face, confused if he did pick up the right person from the field. The prince he saw was fearless and cunning; this one was a chained animal who had already lost its will to fight. He glanced at the first consort. "Where are the others?"

"My deepest apologies, my king. Lady Zhao was injured in the battle, and was asked to stay in the infirmary. Lady Cao is in the baths, while the bird looks for Lady Lu." Cheng Lamei bowed down and raised her folded arms as if asking for mercy. She often did that stance even though the king seldom grew impatient.

"Fine then. Lamei, what do you know about this one?" The Demon King leaned on his hand with the elbow against the arm rest.

"His name is Huang Huale, and he is the first prince of the Kingdom. Heir to the throne, and eldest among three siblings. He possessed no magical affinity, and yet he was the most brutal among the members of the royal family. He spent years in a prestigious school in Zhang Xingfu while taking mentorship from the Kingdom's most talented generals." Cheng Lamei almost snorted as she paused, showing grave dislike to the human. "He is responsible for the bounty on your head, my king."

"Huale, huh." The king glared back at the boy, causing him to shriek and look around for anything to defend himself. "I don't like locking up children in my dungeon. What should I do to him, Yusheng?" His eyes flew to the fifth consort who was surprised by the question. "Any suggestions... other than sending him to his next life?"

The oasis wielder turned to the prince who was staring back at her. Instead of whining, the prince kept his lips pursed as if confused and tried speculating for himself. Fan Yusheng answered after a discreet deep breath, "keeping him alive would be useful to us, my king. We could use it to bargain with the Kingdom to stop attacking if they want him to be safe. However, I doubt such long term peace would be attained by this. I suggest we ask for the bargain... to buy time to rebuild our defenses.

"In case the Kingdom resists and attacks once more, let us send the prince's severed hand as a warning." She bowed as if recommending a bolder move. "Niao Yi told me that they recovered the hand, and was kept in amber for storing. The anti-demon sword that came with it was also stored in the castle."

"Where should we put him then?" The Demon King hummed as he looked around the throne chamber as if it helps. "Yusheng, make me a bird cage in the gardens. There should be a shed big enough to house it from rain. Cheng Lamei, lace the human prisoners' food with Eterna. I can't feed them as it is. Tell Mouye to put guards in the shed." He then leaned against the seat and waved his hands to dismiss the first consort. "Lamei, chain the prince to the shed. I'm talking with Yusheng."

"Yes, my king." Cheng Lamei was shocked to be dismissed first. However, she was loyal to the king. She went to the prince and held him by the arm. "We should be going now."

"Wait! Not yet!" Huang Huale started pulling his body away from a demon's hold. He turned to see Fan Yusheng standing nearby and the Demon King on his throne. His gaze flew to the woman again. "Sage Fan! Sage Fan! Talk to me!"

Before Fan Yusheng could react, Cheng Lamei pulled the prince to her body and waved her hand in front of him. A strange pinkish smoke came from her fingers, and it only took one second for him to inhale the smoke. Huang Huale fainted, and the horned demon lady had no choice but to carry him like a sack hanging from her shoulder. The oasis wielder only watched them go, scared of any side effect it might have on the prince.

"You haven't answered my question just yet," -the Demon King's voice took her attention back to him, who sat on his throne with a cold look on his face- "and here we are again. Sage Fan? You're being called Sage Fan by the prince of humans. Who exactly are you?"

Fan Yusheng could only lower her head and keep her silence. She had no idea what to say that will help her keep her head on her neck. The Demon King was far more powerful and dangerous than she initially thought. He was able to kill half of the accounted deaths of the human army, and he did not even join from the start.

"I am Fan Yusheng, one of the sages of the Kingdom." The oasis wielder began to speak, hoping that her words would be enough to keep her safe. "I relinquished my duties to the court of Zhang Xingfu to come home to my village. I returned to a demon-sieged Hongtu, and gave my life to the bird demons to free my people. I was designated as a consort from the clan without any clear objectives from Yemaozi." She took a deep breath after dropping a name. She stared at the floor longer, her heart pounding loudly as she waited for his response.

"Then why are you still here?" The Demon King glared at her. "I gave you a chance to run. Why did you stay?"

Fan Yusheng took a deep breath again. This time, she refused to speak or to even raise her head. Niao Yi warned her about talking with the Demon King, and it seemed that she knew nothing of how it should be done. Then again, her primary reason favored the humans, and would have meant controlling the demonkind. She was certain she will lose her head if she dared utter those words to the king.

The double doors opened, and the two other new consorts came to report. They went next to Fan Yusheng and gave their honorary curtsey to the king. Cao Daimeng noticed her friend's trembling, and so she looked at the king with apologetic eyes.

"My king?" the tailed consort began to speak, "may I ask what happened? Are you punishing Lady Fan?"

"Punishment? What for?" The Demon King huffed and leaned against the seat. He looked at the camellia on his wrist before casting his gaze at the consorts again. "You two had come later than expected. We've already decided what to do to the human prince. Daimeng, I can't grant your request. We would need his hand for another purpose."

Fan Yusheng twitched and raised her head to take a look at Cao Daimeng.

"I... I see, my king." The tailed consort bowed in acknowledgement of the denied request. She lifted her head again. "May I ask for something else, my king?" She was allowed to talk with a hum coming from the king. "Am I allowed to visit the prince? I am still one of the scribes of the tailed demons. I wish to ask him a lot about the human kingdom."

"Why don't you just ask Yusheng?"

"I, uh, wished to talk to a royal blood, my king." She bowed again for her insistence. "I have noted a lot of information about the human kingdom from warriors and citizens. The customs and etiquettes of the royal family are too much to be missed."

"Then I won't stop you. Yusheng, make the bird cage and watch Daimeng." The Demon King waved his hand to dismiss the two. "Lamei has more important tasks. Take that brat off of her hands."

"Yes, my king!" Fan Yusheng exclaimed with her friend. She was able to evade the question again, but she knew that one day, she would have to come up with an answer to please the king. She walked with Cao Daimeng towards the garden where the shed should be.

The tailed demon then took a hold of Fan Yusheng's arm to snuggle. "Yusheng! I saw what you did earlier! It was amazing!"

"Thank you." She smiled back, uninterested to speak. She was weighing the sides of the war; talking with another demon with intimacy might affect her decision. However, she felt the tighter hold on her arm. Fan Yusheng turned to see a sadder Cao Daimeng.

"Yusheng, I might be really bad in walking, but I do well in counsel. Let me help you in what crumples your forehead. Wrinkles on your face would be bad for your image as one of the consorts." She hummed, holding onto the oasis wielder for balance. "We must stay as models of youth and vigor, the symbol of the Demon King's era. Please, I wish to wipe away your doubts, my friend."

"Hahah, are you going to record this chat as well? You're a scribe, right?" Fan Yusheng tried to play it off as a joke. She meant no disrespect, but she wanted to stay away from the topic.

"Ah, not really, this will go to my diary." Cao Daimeng smiled sweetly at the other consort. She held on her tighter as they went through the slippery marbled floor of the lobby. She turned to the side and saw some demons from the Hall bureau wiping and polishing the remaining marbled area of the castle. She watched some tailed demons wave at their representative. "Look at them, Yusheng. My people so enthusiastic like usual..."

Her tone changed as they passed by the sub-demons. "You saw them, didn't you, Yusheng? My people, the tailed demons. Moving around with their funny, little bodies." She chuckled in a bitter tone. "Unlike the horned demons or the armored demons, we look weak and small. Only a few of us gets drafted to the militia, and fewer than that could have cultivated enough energy to gain a superior form." She looked at her own hand, taking one away from Yusheng. "It's weird, isn't it? To other demons, humans are seen as puny and a waste of time. But to the small tailed demons, this is a much superior form.

"Can you imagine, Yusheng?" She held on her friend tight again. "The tailed demons fending for themselves using those fragile frames that were less of humans?" She turned away and looked at the walls. "I maybe clumsy and weak, but I want to make sure my people will taken care of. I became a consort not because I want to escape, but because I want to serve the king... and so he would serve me back." Cao Daimeng stared at Fan Yusheng's human eyes with hers that were comparable to a lizard's. "Earning his appreciation will give my people a better stance in the Demon Nations. More when it comes to the priority and security of our clan."

Fan Yusheng smiled back with a bitter one as well. She used her other hand to pet her head. "Why are you saying things like this to me?"

"I don't know why you seemed to be prized by the Kingdom, but there were chances that you were sent here to harm the king." Cao Daimeng held on her tighter. "You are my friend, Yusheng, but if the king orders us to dispatch you... I..."

"Oh." The oasis wielder only kept her smile. "Don't worry about that. I'm not really a spy. I'm just a glorified human who happen to know strong magic." She sighed and looked ahead of them, seeing the doors leading to the garden. She opened the door for the two of them, before staying still under the soft light of the drowsy sun. "I understand your conviction, and I, too, know the heights of a woman's heart to protect their own.

"So when I become queen, there won't be any more need for protection..."