The Demonic Clan of Yiling (MDZS Fanfic)

Some Snowy Support (Pt.2)

A-Qing sat on a stump at the edge of the small river, the sun beaming down on her pale skin as she waited for company to arrive. It was weird being alone, normally when she was stuck in a waiting period like this, she would have her clan to mess around with. A-Yuan would sing, Xue Yang would tease everyone. Sitting there with only the bird song to fill her ears was strangely unnerving and for the first time she found herself missing her rowdy bunch of adoptive brothers.

"A-Qing?" A gentle voice called from behind, making the young girl's pale eyes look around. They came to rest on a pair of men, one in elegant white robes and one in neat black ones. The sight of them briefly reminded A-Qing of Wei Ying and Hanguang-jun, but she knew it wasn't them. Nope. They were too young to be them and mildly less intimidating.

"Xiao-gongzi, Song-gongzi. It's nice to see you again. I hope you are well." She gave them a respectable bow as they approached, and they retuned it politely. 

"Very well thank you." Xiao Xingchen smiled. "How are you? How is your clan?"

"We're doing alright. Shifu has been a bit stressed lately with all of the rumours going around." A-Qing replied with a wave of her hand.

"Ah, yes we've heard." Xingchen nodded.

Silence fell, awkward and tense. A-Qing could tell that the men wanted to ask her questions on the matter but had decided to keep a professional image and held their tongues. She appreciated this; she didn't want to make the situation worse when she refused to say anything as she wasn't sure if she was allowed to. Besides it was more important that they completed the thing they were sent here to do, rather than talk politics and rumours. 

"Do you know where we are going?" Song Lan asked, speaking for the first time since they saw each other.

"Oh yes, Shifu gave me a map." A-Qing nodded, pulling a scroll from her sleeve and opening it to show them. "We're going to that little farmhouse, right there. Apparently, the spirit of a neighbouring farmer put a curse on the old man's land to stop his crops growing. He said it was bringing wildlife in too." 

They both nodded as they listened to her, while also examining the map thoughtfully. It seemed like there were many farms in the area. Though the one they were going to had to be the smallest. Song Lan took the map and rolled it up before handing it back to A-Qing, who took it with a smile.

"If it is just a minor curse to get rid of, why were we called here?" He asked the girl while she tucked the scroll back into her sleeve.

"Shifu wanted me to have backup in case something went wrong. Last time we got a letter about a crop killing curse, two sect leaders were injured, and a few junior disciples were killed. Not to mention that all the leading sects were drawn into a trap only a few weeks ago." She said in such a carefree tone that it surprised the men.

"I suppose it is better to be safe." Xiao Xingchen eventually said.

"Exactly!" A-Qing beamed with her hands on her hips. "Shall we get going then gentlemen?" 

---<~>---

The two men stood back as A-Qing knocked gently on the door of the little farmhouse and waited patiently when the sound of rustling from the other side greeted their ears. Then there was the sound of slamming and someone shouted for them to get back, just as the door burst open and an old, muscular man panted against the frame.

"Fucking door always gets stuck." He grumbled croakily.

Once he had regained his breath and steadied himself on his feet, he studied the faces of the cultivators in front of him and let a snort of irritation. Crossing his arms over his chest he addressed the men, ignoring A-Qing completely.

"Took you long enough. The whole reason I asked demonic cultivators was because I wanted it done quickly. I know people don't want to be associated with you lot, so don't bother saying you were busy." He rambled glaring down at them.

"Actually-" Xiao Xingchen began.

"We are not demonic cultivators." Song Lan finished, glaring straight back at the man angrily.

"I am!" A-Qing added, stepping into the man's vision with a frown and something fierce in her eyes. "I'm the one you called."

the man looked her up and down with his lip upturned, before glancing back at the two men and scoffing. His eyes rolling and croaking voice chuckling.

"Get lost little girl. No one likes an attention seeker. Besides, what's a sightless freak like you going to do?" He laughed. Making Song Lan step forward, his hand curling into a fist. 

However, before he could punch the living shit out of the man Xingchen put a hand on his chest to stop him. The white clan man's eyes fixed on the young girl's calm expression.

"Are you finished?" A-Qing asked softly once the man stopped laughing. She didn't wait for an answer. Within a flash she had grabbed him by the neck and had him pinned to the floor with just one hand while he spluttered for air after having all of his winded out of him. 

Song Lan took a step back, blinking furiously while trying to process what he had just seen. The man struggled, but A-Qing's grip wasn't hard, and she knew that if the man thought of it then he could just swipe her hand away and sit up. But he was a dumbass and acted like the world was ending because a 'little girl' had just floored his ass.

"I'm not here to get bullied by a miserable, ungrateful, old prick. I'm here to do my job and get rid of a curse. So, unless you want me and the far nicer men behind me to leave, I suggest you get your ass up and take us to your field. So, we can complete our work. Do you understand?" Her pale eyes were terrifying. Her tone even more so. It made the man gulp hard and nod, unable to speak do to shock and fear.

A-Qing let go of her grip with a smile. Getting to her feet and dusting herself off while the man spluttered and stumbled to stand up next to her. Xingchen and Song Lan were still staring at her, mildly shocked at how quickly her attitude changed. She beamed at them.

"Sorry about that. I don't like dickheads."