"Jiujiu!"
"Jin Ling?"
Jin Ling ran into the Sect Leader's Hall at Lotus Pier. "Jiujiu, did you get the news? Daddy's found Liu Zhongliang!"
"Yes, he sent a letter to me, too."
"Daddy sent you? That's great! Nie Shushu sent me one. So what are we going to do now?"
"First sit and calm down," Jiang Cheng pointed to a chair. Once he was seated, Jiang Cheng continued. "A-Xian has spotted Liu Zhongliang in Dazhou. I think the two are still there now. Though people all know Xingguang Xian, they've rarely seen him. So he's well undercover. He won't tell me more than that should the message be intercepted and also because he's still wary of Lan Wangji finding out. The most we can do now is track his path to Dazhou. It's been a week since the first sighting. I wonder what the Lius are planning on doing there..."
"A week?"
"Yes. He'd wanted to make sure it was him and he'd seen him again this morning walking into a tavern. With another tall man. Might be Nie Jiuyue."
"So when do we set off for Dazhou?"
"I only got the facts and information from A-Xian. What did your Nie Shushu say?"
"He told me to contact you. Perhaps the few of us sect leaders and a couple more disciples could gather and head for Dazhou. But first, he asked to give him a few hours, his scouts will check on Dazhou and be back within the day."
"Within the day? All the way to Dazhou and back? Huaisang's scouts really are one of a kind. Okay, then we'll wait."
"Then, Jiujiu, shall I go to Gusu and let Father know–"
"NO!"
"Ah? Why not?"
"Er..." Jiang Cheng crimsoned and looked away as he stood. "I... I'll go myself."
"But–"
"GEGE!"
"Meimei!" Jin Ling beamed as Meilien ran to him and hugged his leg. "Gege came to see me, woohoo!"
"Aww, yes yes, I came to see meimei. Meimei, can I ask you something?"
"Mn?"
"How long has it been since you last went to see Lan Shushu?"
"Daddy?" Meilien counted and replied, "Lost count! Couple of weeks, I think."
Jin Ling grinned at his uncle. "No wonder someone badly wants to grab the first opportunity to go there..."
"Speak a word more and I'm BREAKING YOUR LEGS!"
"JIUJIU MISSES HIS A-HUAN!" Jin Ling laughed and ran out with Meilien.
"Why that rascal! Learnt too much from A-Xian," Jiang Cheng growled and set off for Cloud Recesses.
**********
The inn was empty except for two men gathered with their wives at the main table. The innkeeper had cowered behind the counter long ago when the flashing red lights had appeared. By now, he had gone all the way out of his tavern and into his home behind. Goodness, they dare to handle demonic energy out in the open? Yingxiong Laozu, we need Yingxiong Laozu! Please, God, the innkeeper looked up at the sky from the window in his bedroom, please send Yingxiong Laozu to savers from their wrath!
"HAHA!" Liu Zhongliang cackled. "Jiuyue, you're incredibly fast at catching up! Is it a trait of the Nies?"
"Hmph, I've long since defected from the Nie sect, stop calling me that."
"Defected?" An alluring and cunning voice, laced with evil, chuckled. "Or kicked out?"
"ZHANG HULI! Zhongliang, you better control that woman of yours!"
"Huli."
Zhang Huli, the traitorous Mistress Vixen, snickered and looked away.
"Your wife's too talkative, Zhongliang."
"At least not too silent and dull like yours!" Zhongliang huffed and downed his wine.
"Xiaolian isn't dull, she's just more understanding and all-enduring."
"Hmph, all-enduring. Must be a Wei trait," Huli mumbled.
Wei Xiaolian, Wei Wuxian's long lost sister, sighed and looked down at her own bowl of wine. I wonder if Wei Wuxian knows he has a sister... Even if I do meet him, he'll probably ignore me. He's a hero. I'm a villain's wife.
She gulped down her all her wine. Not that I care, I can't help but weirdly love this man. So who cares if he's my brother? I'll kill him if Jiuyue wants me to, she thought as she grabbed another jar from the counter.
"SO! Now that I've mastered all the demonic skills you know, what am I to do? I want to know how far this last skill of yours works. Arousing corpses sounds interesting!" A wicked grin stretched across Nie Jiuyue's scarred face.
"Well, you could always test it..." Liu Zhongliang winked.
The wicked grin grew wider at the thought of sheer massacre. "Hm, since the people here have bee eyeballing us for a long time now, better let them know who we are, eh?" Nie Jiuyue smirked, rubbed his palms with evil excitement and walked out of the inn.
**********
"You mean to say Wuxian-di is undercover?"
Jiang Cheng nodded.
"But why on earth is he going around spying?"
"Well, what do you expect? He'll sit around doing nothing for months? He's doubtlessly bored to death! Been over two months now. We all know Wei Wuxian's not the one to lie back and relax when a villain's on the loose."
"Mn," Lan Zhan nodded.
"Lan Wangji, are you up for it?"
"What?"
"Going to Dazhou?"
"Mn. When?"
"Wait, Wanyin, exactly which of us are going?"
"For now it's us sect leaders. Jin Ling has already informed Lan Sizhui. Obviously, Lan Wangji and Chen Xuanji too. Other than that... We better take some disciples from our sects."
"Mn. Leave Jingyi to take care of things," Wangji told Xichen.
"And we'll take Lan Hao and a troop of seniors. We won't need much if the Nie troops are coming, right Wanyin?"
"Yes."
"Then... When do we set off?"
"Nie-xiong said as soon as possible..."
Knock! Knock!
"Come in!" Xichen called out and Wangji opened the door with a swing of his hand.
"Zewu-Jun," Lan Hao came in and bowed.
"Hao? What is it?"
"Just got an immediate call from Chief Cultivator. The mission you're about to set off on has to be brought forward to 'right now'."
"Goodness!" Xichen gasped.
"What's happened?" Jiang Cheng stood, Sandu already unsheathed for flight.
"Sect Leader Jiang, the Dazhou town is in danger. Attacks from armies of fierce corpses and normal living corpses."
"What!"
"Let's go," Bichen shot out and the three flew up into the sky. Lan Hao ran out, gathered a group of his Lan friends, and followed.
**********
Lan Wangji landed at the centre of Dazhou Town to find Jin Ling and Lan Sizhui already there with Huaisang, Xiyuan and the Nies. Nie Zhilan, Xuanji and Jiang Meilien were here, too.
"Meilien, what are you doing here?" Xichen shouted.
"Daddy!" Meilien shouted while she pulled out Baishan and her friend pulled out her lyre. Both Meilien and Zhilan ignored the flowers of shock from the seniors. They weren't babies, they were going to fight.
"Jiang-xiong, Ji-xiong! Er-Ge, come quick!" Nie Huaisang called as he sent his fan flying in the direction of the incoming onslaught of corpses.
While dozens of heads were slit off, Lan Xichen caught up with him. "A-Sang?"
"Er-Ge, they keep coming!"
Lan Sizhui hurried around helping the townspeople get safely to hiding spots along the streets. Jin Xiyi and Lan Qiang covered them up with all sorts of clothes, sheets, whatever they could find. Once the people were safe, the three returned to join in the battle.
Golden fan Zhiming, zithers Wangji and Ningjing, flutes Liebing and Taoqi, Xiyi's harp Hexie and Zhilan's wonderful lyre all relentlessly attacked the corpses stumbling into the city from the woodland and hills all around. Zidian crashed back and forth, sending hundreds of the undead flying onto the treetops. Suihua, Baishan, Zhipei and the rest of the countless swords and sabres slashed their way through the undead armies, merciless, incessant. Having received the news from Lan Qiang, Wen Ning hurried to Jiang Cheng's side and helped him by shooting his chains as fast as the Purple Lightning.
The fight was, indeed, ruthless.
And yet the corpses kept coming.
At some point in the battle, bursts of energy from Lan Wangji's immortal core did the trick and kicked up a sandstorm strong enough to whizz the entire army of corpses running in from all around away. But only for minutes.
"Hm? Are they gone?" Jiang Cheng wondered as he looked around.
"That easily?" Xuanji's tone burgeoned with doubt.
Lan Wangji stood close to the edge of the forest, his back turned to the woods while he checked that the people were fine. Their shelters had been tossed away by his storm but they were still huddled up in the corners, safe for the moment.
"FATHER! BEHIND YOU!" Jin Ling shouted.
Bichen crashed through a fierce corpse headed straight for Lan Wangji. And with that, the fight resumed: more corpses returned, in larger numbers than before, staggering into the town. Slowly, a fog began surrounding the fighters and the common people, choking some, irritating others.
"Tch, what the hell?"
"Wanyin, careful. Corpse poisoning."
"Right, and that's the last thing we needed," Xuanji grumbled.
Sizhui grinned at the memory of his father's too-spicy congee as he flung his hand over Ningjing, sending forth a massive blue wave to scrub away the smoke from the atmosphere. Lan Wangji sent out his own energy, and together, they eradicated the threat.
But the people had already been affected. The cultivators fought on, whereas the commoners began coughing and spluttering blood.
Sizhui hurried over to the people with Lan Qiang. "Auntie Qiang, they've all been poisoned?"
"Seems like it," Lan Qiang sulked as she checked on the people. "We need to stop this fast," she concluded as she gripped her sword and went back to join the rest with Sizhui.
"Zhilan, watch out!" Jiang Meilien cried, leaping in front of Nie Zhilan to stab a living corpse reeling towards her sworn sister.
"Goodness, thank you, was too absorbed in the melody," Zhilan nodded. "This is going too far, Jiejie. Where's Susu?"
"Where's Xingguang Xian?" They could hear the people muttering.
"Susu... We need Susu..." Meilien thought and thought. Should she do it? Should she? Could she?
I should. I can, so I shall, she nodded firmly to herself and brought out Xinqing from her sleeve.
"Xinqing?" Zhilan asked.
Meilien grinned and placed it on her lips.
The sound of an eerie tune to sharply contrast the united melody of Rest everyone else was playing made the entire battle halt for a while.
"Yingxiong Laozu?" The people cried out, searching wildly for their saviour.
But instead, they saw a ten-year-old girl standing right at the front, black smoke wafting around her as she desperately called on the fastest demon ever.
___________________________________________________
A/N:
Yes, Meilien's playing Heroine.
And yes, Xiangxiang, everyone's adopted daughter 😂 is about to play Heroine's Heroine.
And also yes, Wei Xiaolian is a yandere 😈 Which, to those who don't know, means, as Google says, "A yandere is often sweet, caring, and innocent before switching into someone who displays an extreme, often violent or psychotic, level of devotion to a love interest."
Psychotic. Geddit? Somewhat of a Xue Yang killing people to avenge Xiao Xingchen. There, you've got five heroic women [Jin Xiyi, Jiang Meilien, Nie Zhilan, Lan Qiang, Jiang Qiao -- busy taking care of Lotus Pier right now] and two meanie-weenies: Zhang Huli and Wei Xiaolian.
Oh, and one BADASS demoness, Xiao Xiang!
Yes, this author's feminist, and yes, she thinks women deserve to be both heroes and the bad guys 😁
And sowwy for the cliffhanger! 🙃
🖤 WXLL.