Dance of the blades

Chapter 15 The Doctor Has Arrived

A middle aged man approached towards Lan Sizhui and the waiter turned demon, his face twisted into a scowl when his eyes landed on the scene in front of him. Pinching the bridge of his noise, the man whom Lan Sizhui presumed was the owner of the restaurant, grabbed his shoulder to pull him off the waiter.

"That's enough kid you can get off of him now"  

"I can't! I'm the only one who can restrain the man!" Lan Sizhui yelled in frustration, adding more strength into his elbows to keep up with the demon's struggles. 

"Look kid if you don't get off him now I'll have force you off!" but when the man raised his hand, he was stopped by Lan Wangji. 

The man's gaze was met with bright golden orbs, the frightening strength of Lan Wangji's hold cause the man to pause in his actions and retreat his hand.

As the man stepped away from Lan Sizhui, the heavy scent of flowers started to make its way throughout the restaurant. The patrons surrounding Lan Sizhui dropped unconscious to the ground, with needles sticking onto their bodies. The boy's vision was soon obscure by an array of iridescent flowers, the constant movement of the flowers was nauseating.

'Is this a demon's blood art?' Lan Sizhui paused his pondering when the sound of footsteps approached. In front of him stood a young woman in scarlet robes, on her arm were deep scratch marks bleeding small drips of blood. Following behind her was a young man with similar features as her, his head head low oppose to the woman. 

"As a demon slayer isn't it your job to deal with demons?"

"And yet here you're wasting your effort to save him" the scarlet robed woman said, leaning down to stick a needle into the man's neck, knocking him unconscious.

"Wouldn't it have been a mercy for him if you had just done your job"

Surprised by what the woman was saying, Lan Sizhui turned his head towards the woman in front of him, trying to comprehend what she was impleing.

"How can say that! Aren't you also a-" 

"I'm a demon and I am a doctor"

"And as a doctor I need to state the truth so that idiots like you don't try risking yourselves for stupid stunts like this!" she exclaimed, her brows furrowed while examining the unconscious waiter's pulse.

"Honestly-" she paused before turning her gaze towards the table where Wen Ruohan and his 'family' had sat. 

"Instead of jeopardizing your safety you could of knock the man out first!" 

"Did your master teach you noting about locate basic qi points!?"the woman continued to mumble about the 'idiocy of junior demon slayers'. Lan Sizhui remained silent through it all, not well equipped enough to respond without inciting the woman's anger. But he did feel that the woman was justified in her response as the boy had forgotten his knowledge on qi points to detain the demon. 

"Jie that's enough I'm sure he was taken by surprise so he acted without thinking" the man behind his sister said with a small voice.

"A-ning, why are you trying to defend him? You shouldn't encourage this sort of behavior"  as his sister turned to face him, A-ning tried to make himself smaller to avoid her ire. Seeing her brother's distress, the woman redirected her attention to the unconscious waiter. She help her brother carry the demon and exited the restaurant, leaving a confused Lan Sizhui behind.

The boy stared at the entrance of the restaurant in a daze, the spectacle that occurred prior left him filled with many unanswered questions. Gathering his bearings, Lan Sizhui left the restaurant with his father in tow, throwing the pouch of money for his meal on the counter to pursue the two the demons.

"A-die aren't you going to come with us?" the little girl asked Wen Ruohan with tears threating to fall from her eyes. The girl's mother sighed at the sight and wiped her eyes with a delicately embroidered handkerchief.

"I'm sorry I still have some business I need to attend. I'll be back soon okay?" Wen Ruohan said while patting the girl's head. The girl and her mother's silhouette faded into the background as Wen Ruohan walked further away from them.

Silence surrounded the dark streets of the alleyway, the vendors and shopkeepers were starting to pack up their wares, the number of people lessening as they scurry back into their homes. The remaining people who still roam the streets were the drunkards that had too many booze from the nearby inns.

Wen Ruohan paused in his steps when the one of the drunkard men slammed into him. The sound of the man's groans echoed throughout the alleyway. The stench of the man's breath left Wen Ruohan feeling irritated. 

"What the hell you bastard!" the drunk man yelled, his balance uneven due to the alcohol, stumbling as he tries to stand up.

Wen Ruohan looked at the drunkard in silence before walking away from him without responding. Before he could leave, he was stopped by the drunkard placing his hand on his shoulder.

"Hey get back here! I was talking to you!" the drunkard grip on Wen Ruohan's shoulder tighten when he did not acquired a response from the man. But just as the drunkard was about to insult the man, he punched towards the nearby wall, the sound of his bones cracking from the impact echoed throughout the dark alleyway. Alas, no soul could pity him as they were the only two around.

"Damn i-it h-hurts you..." the drunkard couldn't mumble out the next few words as Wen Ruohan approached his mangled body. Wen Ruohan raised a finger and stabbed his nail into the drunkard's forehead, filling him with his blood. Unable to move, the drunkard sat there until he started to feel the agonizing pain of his flesh melting apart, his body turning mush.

Wen Ruohan silently stared at the drunkard's dissolved remains, a frown hanged on his face as he snapped his fingers. At the sound, two demons appeared from the shadows behind him, ready to head his command.

"Bring me the boy who wears a red ribbon around his hair" Wen Ruohan said with the aura of a leader surrounding him.

"As you wish" two demons said simultaneously.

"Oh and kill his father while you're at it. That stray has been an eyesore." Wen Ruohan added before the two demons walked away.