THE TWISTED blade of the sword gleamed with even more gripping darkness, the spirit’s lifeless physical body lying at Ayden’s feet. When he raised his head to stare at them, the creatures fled in a din of rambling sounds: Ayden’s irises glowed with the red of blood, with a thirst that begged to be quenched.

      A-Hui came out of his shock and gave his orders. “A-Ling, A-Jiao and A-Ming, chase them!”

      “Yes, elder brother!” said the three youngers, before pursuing the ghouls.

      Ayden turned to A-Feng, who was still on the ground. The boy stared at him, eyes wide, and only reacted when the redhead held out a hand. He jumped to his feet and stepped aside. His sword returned to his fingers with a flick of his wrist. They seemed to control their weapon from a distance, thanks to the energy Ayden had felt them exert.

      He held Ayden at sword point, ready to strike. “What is your name, demon?!”

      The redhead man stared at the younger one, unmoved.

      “A-Feng... I don’t think he’s a demon,” A-Hui said.

      The young man winced and pointed at Ayden. “A ghoul hit him, but the plague did not take hold! If he’s not a demon, how do you explain that?”

      Frowning, Ayden turned his head to look at his designated side as he lifted his shirt: cuts decorated it freshly, biting into his flesh and drawing blood. But that was all. A-Hui, who was now behind Ayden, moved slowly closer, stepping around the man so he could face him and his friend at the same time.

      “Ghouls don’t go after demons; you know that,” A-Hui said in a calm voice. “They went after him. They felt the pulse of life in him and chased after him.”

      Ayden watched them as A-Feng and A-Hui stared at him, and the redhead planted his cursed sword on the ground. He raised both hands in peace.

      “Honestly, I don’t understand half of what you’re saying. But I can assure you that I am absolutely human, as are you two. And for this... plague, I don’t know what it is, but I’ve always been pretty resistant to diseases and poisons.”

        The two young people exchanged a glance.

      A-Feng looked like he’d swallowed a snake. A-Hui obviously didn’t know what to say, and Ayden sighed heavily, running a hand over his face. He looked at them once more, his irises gradually losing their aura and turning black again as the bloodlust subsided.

      He crossed his arms over his chest. “I am Ayden, son of Orchar, Free Man of the Plains. There, is that better?”

      Again, the two boys squint at each other, looking hesitant.

      “By the Mother...” said the redhead.

      Ayden could feel the despair coming over him. They might speak the same language for some reason, but they couldn’t understand each other at all.

      But to his surprise, A-Hui reacted: the young man joined his hand against the other and bowed slightly to him. “I am Lu Chen, courtesy name Dehui, from the Beiming Lu clan. Thank you for helping us and for rescuing my brother.”

      Ayden frowned but had no time to reply when A-Hui nudged A-Feng with his elbow. The latter gave him an angry look but saluted him before receiving another blow. “I am Lu Bao, courtesy name Xiaofeng, from the Beiming Lu clan... Thank you for saving me.”

      The words had clearly bitten him in the ass, and Ayden held back from hitting him, too. But after a moment of staring at them, he ended up letting it go and instead asked: “Why are you giving me false names when I’ve heard you call each other ‘A-Hui’ and ‘A-Feng’?”

      The two young ones exchanged a look, no longer even hiding their confusion. Seeing them, Ayden closed his eyes and ran his hand over his face in frustration.

      “By the Mother...” he said again, exhausted, feeling the headache coming on. “May Heaven help me.”

~*~

      “So ‘A-Hui’ is a kind of friendly little name? You just have to add the suffix ‘A’ to the first name?” repeated Ayden. “And you have a first name at birth, but... another one for society as you grow up? That ‘courtesy name’? The one that has to be used, then? Because the birth name is more intimate.”

     Lu Dehui nodded with a smile, clearly pleased that the man was understanding. After the first few complicated moments, his comrades had finally relaxed slightly and stopped taking umbrage at every word the warrior said. But he was the only one with Lu Xiaofeng to discuss with the redhead, the other three younger and more intimidated ones keeping silent while following them.

      One had to admit that besides his boorish language, Ayden was out of the ordinary. His flamboyant hair stood out, flapping lazily at his shoulder blades as he walked, and a warm glow filled his phoenix-like black eyes, set off by long, dark lashes. If he shared some of their characteristics, it was also possible to say that he was not from here. He was a handsome man of tall stature, and his well-tailored face had solid and expressive features. And from the top of his one metre ninety, he could not fail to be spotted. A remarkable figure whose muscularity could not be masked by the shirt cut here and there—a curious and totally incongruous presence in the boys’ environment.

      The redhead finally sighed, running a hand over his face. “Your system is... complex.”

- Lu Dehui's name is written: "綠德輝" in traditional Chinese, "绿德辉" in simplified Chinese.

His first name uses "Virtuous/Morality/Kindness" and "Brightness/Brillance/Radiance". His birth name means "Dawn/Morning" and uses the character "晨" in both Chinese writings.