Hao Xuan finished reading through the introductory page of 'Demonic Steps' and opened his eyes. Zhurong was still sleeping beside his pillow, his little tummy going up and down several times a second. It seemed he really liked sleeping a lot. He had spent most of the time of the last two days sleeping in Hao Xuan's shirt. He had made a little hammock at the back of the shirt and would cozily sleep there.
And because of Hao Xuan's long hair, no one even noticed the cute little thing, otherwise, he was catnip to females and any other adorers of the cute and cuddly.
After washing up Hao Xuan went out for breakfast and met some of his other brothers. Fourth who he hadn't had much interaction with before came up to him himself and struck up a conversation.
Hao Xuan took out some of the meat from the flood dragon and started grilling it for everyone. You would think that the meat from such a high-level beast would be tough but it was the exact opposite. Everyone present gulped when they smelled the alluring aroma of the meat, making Sixth even drool.
The meat slowly cooked on an open fire with no other condiments like a steak. A min and a half on each side, that was the best and only way to cook a piece of meat like this. Anything else would be considered blasphemy.
The smell of the grilling meat brought out the rest of the group as well, including their Fifth sister. Hao Xuan was more than happy to take out as much meat as they needed because that was the reason why he had kept so much of it. It would be enough to feed the group for weeks to come.
When Hao Xuan took his first bite, he zoned out for a few seconds. It was the most delicious thing he had ever put in his mouth and he was even scared for a little while that he might get addicted to it. But he still wanted to share it with everyone, seeing the look on their faces as they indulged themselves was absolutely worth it.
"___ loves big brother" he heard a phrase and saw a small silhouette skipping away from him. He couldn't hear anything else or see much clearly, it was all very blurry. And suddenly he felt a pain in his chest, his heart was hurting. He got a feeling that he was forgetting something very important and he stood up looking around startling everyone else.
Hao Xuan looked around panicking, it was a feeling he had never experienced before. His heart started beating really fast and droplets of sweat starting coming down from his forehead. He felt like the sky was going to collapse.
"Brother, what's wrong?" asked Third and First in unison. Everyone else got up as well looking at his strange behavior.
His chest was still hurting a lot, like a needle piercing it over and over again. He suddenly fell down to his knees and grabbed his chest and started breathing heavily. Seventh and Eighth came running up to him and checked his vitals.
"It's not poison," Eighth said with a deep frown.
"Something strange is happening to his body. It looks like a normal panic attack but his Qi is in complete disarray," said Seventh while bending down and putting his hand on Hao Xuan's chest.
Eighth specialized in poisons and Seventh was the most experienced when it came to cultivation and its side effects. He was a true scholar and loved to read and understand the mysteries behind everything.
"AARGGH!" Hao Xuan suddenly shouted while holding his head. There was a sharp pain and he could feel something moving inside. The more he tried to see what it was, the more it hurt, and then his nose started bleeding.
"Brother!" Shouted everyone at once. First ran up to him and put his hand on Hao Xuan's back, channeling his own Qi into him.
Hao Xuan could feel a cold energy enter his body which suddenly brought him back from his daze and he opened his eyes.
"Eh? What's going on?" he asked while looking at everyone surrounding him. He barely remembered anything that happened in the last few mins.
"You don't remember?" Seventh asked with a gleam in his eyes.
"No, I thought I saw something and then my head started hurting and then nothing."
"Don't worry, it wasn't anything special. I think the meat from the spirit beast affected you in a strange way. If I'm not wrong, this was your first time eating something like this right?"
"Yes, I think so," Hao Xuan replied while trying to remember.
"Like I thought, its normal, don't worry about it. Just rest for a little bit and you'll be fine," Seventh said as he patted his shoulder.
"Thank you senior brother," Hao Xuan bowed to him and slowly left for his quarters.
When he was out of sight, everyone looked at Seventh as if looking for an answer. First moved closer and asked, "What was it?"
"What is Ninth Brothers background?" seventh answered the question with one of his own.
"General Yue recommended him personally. He was in an accident and has no memory prior to the day he came here." When Seventh heard that he was even more certain of his hypothesis.
"It's being done on purpose. His memory, someone is locking it away," he finally said after taking a deep breath. Everyone was startled by the statement.
"Are you sure?" First asked as if he expected the answer.
"Almost a 100%, and if I'm not wrong, Ninth brother has a special body as well" Seventh said while looking straight at First.
"Mhmm. Bury this matter for now. Don't bring it up in front of Ninth Brother again. It's not gonna change anything even if he knows, but might hinder his cultivation instead," said First while looking at everyone present.. They all nodded in response, even Sixth who was reluctant to do so at first but knew this was the only way for now.
