Zhou RenShu stood close to Liu Yong inside the elevator but curiously stared around the small space with his large eyes, when the elevator dinged he went to exit thinking they had arrived at the lobby but Liu Yong held him back. Two people entered then the doors closed again. “Handsome, I got held up last night so I wasn’t able to meet. I hope I didn’t break your heart too much.”

 

Liu Yong looked at the woman and gave a cold smirk before turning back ignoring her, Zhou RenShu only saw the exchange between the two as flirting instead of Liu Yong not being bothered to deal with the annoying woman. The woman stepped closer so that she wasn’t talking over someone and caught sight of Zhou RenShu. “Oh, who is this? Don’t tell me he’s your son, you don’t look a day over 30.”

 

“I’m not his son.” Zhou RenShu spoke softly as he tried to sound intimidating, he also stepped closer to Liu Yong leaving no gap between their arms. The woman looked at Zhou RenShu with a sweet smile as if she was introducing herself to a child. Zhou RenShu was the same height as the woman but in heels the woman looked down at Zhou RenShu. “You're very cute, tell me, how do you know Mr Handsome?”

 

“Leave him alone.” Liu Yong’s cold voice chilled the elevator and once the doors opened the quiet stranger was the first to leave. The woman quickly closed the doors and stood close to Liu Yong, her breasts almost touching the expensive suit on Liu Yong’s slim yet firm CEO body. “I haven’t introduced myself, I’m Wang Ling. I can feel how strong your cultivation is and I believe we would make a good pair since I also have strong cultivation. Here’s my card and you can contact me anytime, for any reason.”

 

Wang Ling pressed the button to open the elevator and lightly patted Zhou RenShus short hair before stepping out. Liu Yong didn’t bother to look at the card as he slid it into his pocket. Outside the hotel Liu Yong called a taxi and they were dropped off near the C&D protection unit Precinct where Liu Yong worked. “We’ll be driving to another city so we’ll take my car.” Walking down into a parking garage Zhou RenShu walked with rushed steps to keep up with Liu Yong until they arrived at a sleek 2 door Bentley. “Is this a company car?”

 

“No, I bought this.” If this is living comfortably then what’s living in luxury? Both men entered the car and they made their way to S city. When Zhou RenShu asked why they would be driving to S City, Liu Yong only answered with Wu Yun.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _

 

The drive took almost 2 hours, this was the first time Zhou RenShu had been out of the main city and he kept his wide eyes open, not wanting to miss anything. The scenery around them changed from busy city life with tall buildings to sparse shops and housing, large paddocks filled with either livestock or crops filled in the space between each house. Liu Yong knew it was going to be a waste of time coming all the way out to S City for a case that was 450 years old, but he needed to at least see the site for himself and find what happened to the parents of the dead snake demon. At the end of the road, Liu Yong turned towards a small group of houses sitting next to a stream. 

 

“Stay in the car.” Liu Yong didn’t wait for a response as he stepped out of the car, locking the doors. Zhou Renshu could only fiddle with the various buttons and look around curiously. A handful of people came out when they noticed the expensive car sitting by their house, no youthful faces appeared and instead Liu Yong stood in front of a crowd full of wrinkles. “Who is the oldest person here?”

 

“Tell us who you are first.” An elederly woman with a hunched back craned her neck, but could only see Liu Yong’s chin. The crowd eyed Zhou RenShu sitting in the car by himself before turning to look back at Liu Yong. “I’m an officer working for C&D protection, I’m here working on a case involving this piece of land.”

 

The group whispered to one another before two new people joined the crowd, unlike everyone else they looked no older than 45. Liu Yong took one look at the couple before he was ushered to the side and led into a small house. There was only one room and Liu Yong had to keep his back hunched if he didn’t want to hit his head. The couple looked at each other before the woman burst into quiet sobs. “Your Wang She’s parents.”

 

The middle aged man tearfully nodded as he wiped his wifes sobbing face but more tears fell. “We, I. We were wrong in doing what we did. I thought that Wang She would return to us but instead we were given stones and money with a thank you note. A-And then on the news….”

 

“Tell me from the beginning, don’t leave out any details.” Liu Yong took a seat at the small table next to the door while Mrs Wang excused herself and walked outside, Mr Wang sat down with an empty face while a recording device was placed on the table. With a heavy heart Mr Wang opened his dried lips and told the story from the beginning.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _

 

A few days before Wang She’s 16th birthday a woman came to the small house the Wang couple still resided in. She looked young but older than the Wang’s son. She came very late at night when people should be sleeping, not wanting to disturb their son’s sleep, the husband and wife followed the stranger out to a clearing next to the stream.

 

“I am a cultivator looking for snake demons. My Master is willing to give money to the family that agrees to our terms and when the work is done your son will return to you, if he wishes.”

 

Mr and Mrs Wang looked at one another confused, during this time snake demons weren’t targeted as heavily as the future but they had heard of some bad cases involving snake demons. Mr Wang spoke up first. “What sort of work is this? We won’t send our son to somewhere he will bear ill treatment.”

 

“My Master is a scientist, he works in the anatomy of demons. His work involves running tests on various demons to find a deeper history of how they came to be. His tests are nothing more than a few blood tests as well as other DNA testing procedures.” 

 

The woman held a very serious business tone that almost didn’t suit her youthful face, the husband and wife looked at each other again, the wife then took her turn to share her thoughts. “This seems too suspicious, why come here during the darkest hour of the night and why send only one woman to handle this affair? We won’t send our son somewhere we can’t guarantee his safety.”

 

“I understand Ma’am, my master works during the night since this is a personal experiment, not one that is given out by his company. If you are worried about the safety of your son then I can arrange a meeting tomorrow with my Master and he can help you come to terms with allowing your son to partake in this experiment.”

 

“I’ll return at noon.” The woman walked away without allowing Mr and Mrs Wang to disagree.

 

By noon the family of three were waiting nervously when the woman arrived at their home again, escorting them in a black SUV. They drove for a short amount of time and arrived outside a large building. Seeing the workers dressed in suits or lab coats made the poor family feel out of place and awkward but no one gave them a second glance. “Master will be seeing you soon.”

 

The young woman left after placing a platter of fruit down, the room looked to be a small meeting room. Wang She looked around, he was less nervous compared to his parents and was more intrigued by all the new tech in the room. “Dad they have TVs embedded into the wall. Our one is only small and has the large box still attached to the back.”

 

“Xiao She, don’t wander around, we haven’t agreed to anything yet. Don’t go touching things we can’t afford to replace.” Wang She wandered around not listening as he looked out over the new city. Skyscrapers were being built while new and old cars drove on the cracked roads. “Sorry to keep you waiting, I’m Fan Lei.”

 

The man that had entered looked to be a little younger than Mr and Mrs Wang, Wang She turned after hearing the man introduce himself. Fan Lei had a slender build but not too skinny and although he was taller than the Wang family he wasn’t towering over them, instead he came off as a warm and inviting person. Fan Lei first bowed shallowly to Mr and Mrs Wang before completely ignoring them and walking over to Wang She. “I hope you weren’t bored during the wait.”

 

“No, we weren’t waiting long.” Wang She felt almost incaptivated when meeting Fan Lei’s eyes. Fan Lei held his hand out to Wang She as if he was wanting to shake his hand but instead he kept a firm yet tender grasp as he led the youth back to the table. Sitting opposite the confused parents with Wang She sitting close beside him. “I hear you have your doubts about my work, please don’t hold back when voicing your questions.”

 

To Mr and Mrs Wang it looked as if both men had their hands on their seperate arm rests but Fan Lei hadn’t let go of the cool hand since taking a hold of it. Wang She’s parents asked question after question. “What is this experiment exactly about?”

 

“Finding the history of demons and how they came into existence.” “Why do you want to find this information?” “The same reason we dig for fossils or search for lost treasure, curiosity.” “Will there be any ill treatment during this experiment?” “No, the harshest treatment will be bone marrow extraction but this will be done with the assistance of doctors, in a controlled unit as well as anesthetic to stop Wang She from feeling any pain.”

 

“Your assistant said there was payment.”

 

Fan Lei smiled lightly, they had been won over. The payments were discussed thoroughly too, throughout the whole meeting Wang She hadn't spoken a single word or even looked at his parents, instead he was staring at Fan Lei’s face hoping the grip on his hand never loosened. By the time the meeting was over Mr Wang had to call his son’s name three times before he was brought out of his daze. “It is still up to you, do you want to partake in this experiment?”

 

Wang She turned back to Fan Lei, meeting his dark eyes, he felt like he was floating. If Fan Lei wasn’t holding his hand, he might have drifted away into the clouds. Wang She turned back to his parents and readily agreed, showing no sign of hesitation or discomfort. “Mr and Mrs Wang if you follow my assistant she will settle your first payment then once the experiment is over your second and final payment will be sent to your home.”

 

The family of three said a quick goodbye before leaving the couple left their son in the hands of Fan Lei. 50,000 Yuan was handed over in cash and the delighted couple were returned to their small one bedroom house. After that they waited, Fan lei had told them the experiment would take one month. During the month they looked around S city for apartments and houses that they could move into, they bought new clothes for their son from stores they never bothered to look through the window for fear of feeling ashamed by the price.

 

Slowly a month passed and like clock work at exactly noon, Fan Lei’s assistant came and gave them another case of 50,000 Yuan as well as two white jade stones. “The experiment was successful, please accept this gift from my Master.”

 

“Where’s Xiao She?” Both Mr Wang and Mrs Wang stared at the car nervously, the assistant smiled at them before stating he was having a farewell lunch with her Master and that he would return to them soon. The reason was understandable enough, Mr and Mrs Wang entered their home again holding the case tightly and began another wait for their son. By nightfall they called the number Fan Lei had provided them but an automated message told them the number was no longer available.

 

After a few more hours of waiting they drove to the building they had been escorted to but they couldn’t take one step into the building before security told them they were trespassing. At a loss the couple stood outside together the whole night, not once did they see Fan Lei, his assistant or their son. The couple stood outside for two days but could only return home when Mrs Wang fainted for the third time.

 

Mrs Wang was lying in bed sick with a fever when they saw a report on the news, a boy around the age of sixteen was found floating in the river. The bloated face appeared on screen causing both people sitting inside the small house to scream out in grief and horror. Their neighbours rushed out, some not bothering as they had also seen the news report and instead lit incense and dried their damp cheeks.

 

Mr and Mrs Wang never recovered after that night, the plans they had of bettering their son’s future had been ripped out of their hands, now they were only left with paper and pebbles that were worthless in their eyes. The couple had ripped the stones from the chain around their neck but the energy had already transferred into their bodies, leaving them ageless. 

 

The body was returned to the couple after it was inspected, they chose to cremate their son as they wanted to keep him with them, they had few pictures since cameras were expensive but where the box TV used to sit was now dedicated to their son. Not one day passed where they didn’t feel the guilt and sorrow of their son’s death, nor did the hatred towards Fan Lei disappear. “If we can look as young as we do after 450 years then I know Fan Lei is still walking this earth and I will find him.”