Dance of the blades

Chapter 35 Interrogation

After strapping the wooden box with the demon inside securely onto Ouyang Zizhen, the four of them set off, venturing deeper into the hallway. As they passed through the many opened rooms familiar to them, Jin Ling had came to a sudden realization. The demon causing the houses interior to change must be dead as the once twisted and large hallways have now turned back to what a normal size of what a house this size should be.

Jin Ling's thoughts were cut short when the door in front slide open, revealing his friends' figures and the ecstatic face of a younger boy, clinging onto the side of their robes.

"Dage!" the two young voices cried out, dashing into their older brother in open arms. Tears streamed down their chubby faces as they grasped tightly around their brother's trembling figure, ignoring the young demon slayers around.

"Jin Ling! Thank god we finally found you! I thought it was going to take longer after-" Jin Ling ignored Lan Jingyi's over enthusiastic reunion speech, stomping angrily pass him. 

In an instance, Lan Sizhui's head was pushed against the closed door behind. Lan Sizhui winced  in pain when the force of the impact caused a loud thud. Lan Jingyi widen his eyes in surprise at his friend's action, Jin Ling was holding onto Lan Sizhui's collar with blood shot eyes.

"Have you lost your mind young mistress! What do you think you're doing!" Lan Jingyi exclaimed, trying to free the hold Jin Ling had on his friend. His attempt foiled by Jin Ling's abrupt shove.

"What do you think I'm doing! Maybe you should be asking what this idiot is doing traveling with a demon of all things!" Lan Jingyi gasped at the revelation Jin Ling brought forth, his eyes trailed back to Lan Sizhui whom had remained silent at the accusation. His face turned from confusion at the Jin Ling's actions to a sudden realization.

Lan Jingyi wasn't the only one whom saw it as Jin Ling's anger seemed to have amplified. The grip he had around Lan Sizhui's collar tighten, his free hand curled together to form into a fist, creating small crescents on his palm.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, don't you. Tell me right now what type of tricks did you pull for that thing to follow you? Or did you make a deal with it to feed it whenever it wants while sparing you" Jin Ling said in a party retrained voice, hardly concealing the grimace he made at his own suggestion. 

However Jin Ling basked in success as his comment had done its intended purpose, gaining a reaction out of the silent Lan Sizhui. The pinned boy's eyebrows raised ever so slightly before softening into a strained smile.

"Jin gongzi my apologizes but I believe there is a misunderstanding" the sudden use of formality seemed to have caught Jin Ling off guard, allowing Lan Sizhui this brief window of time to continue his explanation.

"The 'demon' that you refer as is my father and he had never harmed anyone before. When he first turned, a demon slayer had arrived at my village and had tried to kill him. But after he realized A-Die wasn't a danger to me, he told me to become a demon slayer to find a way to cure for my father" at the mention of the other demon slayer, Lan Jingyi and Ouyang Zizhen perked up in interest, moving closer towards the two.

 Meanwhile Jin Ling remained skeptical to Lan Sizhui's tale, he furrowed his brows, contemplating its believability. In a split second his face shifted from suspicion to curiosity, obscuring the previous known hostility in his eyes.

"Alright if your really telling the truth then prove it. What's the name of the demon slayer who visited your village?" in the end curiosity outweigh suspicion. Without realizing it, Lan Sizhui could feel himself releasing a breath of relief as Jin Ling finally relented. 

"Thank you for listening to me Jin Ling. I'm not sure if you know him but I remembered that he called himself Wei Changze" in an instance Lan Sizhui's reply had sent a shock wave of silence to the three demon slayers. Jin Ling's reaction most prominent of the three as his eyes widen in pure disbelief, loosening his grip on Lan Sizhui's collar while muttering something quietly.

"Wei Laoshi out of all people...why didn't he-" Lan Sizhui could barely make out the rest of the words, his body was dropped to the ground in a thud as Jin Ling let go. 

The young boy in gold stared intensely at Lan Sizhui as if his face had the answer to his query. It seemed that something within the older had left Jin Ling party sastisfied, finally relenting in his anger.

He huffed and walked away from the group, leaving a bewildered Lan Sizhui on the floor.

"Uh Sizhui I'm so sorry about the way Jin Ling acted. Do you need help standing? He didn't hurt you badly, did he? Ouyang Zizhen asked, rushing towards him after Jin Ling had left him alone. He extended his hand to the back of his head, checking for any hidden injuires.

"It's alright Zizhen, I'm fine. Jin Ling had only reacted how anyone would in this type of scenario. It was only natural that he would some mistrust towards me after all" Lan Sizhui calmly said, mustering up a smile.

His nonchalant response though had left Lan Jingyi fuming.

"Even so that didn't give him the right to do that to you!" Lan Jingyi exclaimed, clearly sympathizing with Lan Sizhui's situation.

"I mean I would feel shock too if I found out someone had a demon companion, but I would at least ask them their reason for it, instead of attacking them!" he continued on, huffing at Jin Ling's lack of restrain.

At Lan Jingyi's statement, Lan Sizhui only laughed. His eyes trailing after Jin Ling's back, halting at his steps to turn to face his frieands.

"Well are you guys going to stand there staring or are going to come and send the kids home?"