"Isn't this year's summer much warmer than usual?" A white-robed swordswoman flicked her sword to get rid of some black sticky substance it had suffered from the earlier skirmish against a pack of dogs.
The man by her side, good-looking with a gentle appearance, gathered his qi to summon a Fire Phoenix. The spirit beast soon enveloped the carcasses of the dogs. To the pair of cultivators' eyes, the fire burnt unprecedently bright, that surely anything touched by such intensity would be ground to ash. However, when the spirit beast dissipated into the air along with its flames, the corpses of the dogs looked the same, as if they had never been burnt at all.
Nevertheless, by tacit understanding, both knew that the leftover malice had been purified from the dogs' bodies.
"You have been saying that every year, Ah-Zi." The man's lips were pulled into a tiny smile as he chided her gently. Nevertheless, he took out a green coloured piece of cloth, bearing his name, and handed it to the female,
"You can use this." As he watched his female companion proceed to use his handkerchief to wipe her blade, he hastily gripped her arm, "Not to clean 'Xiang', Xiao Mei Zi!"
Xiao Zi flashed her white teeth and laughed. She sheathed her sword and looked up at the older man, gently wiping the small beads of sweat on his face using the handkerchief,
"I was just toying with you, Ao Xiang-shiong. Of course there's only one 'Xiang' I would ever dare to use such precious item to clean... ." Her laugh turned more mischievous as she noticed the tip of the man in front of her getting redder.
"I cannot believe that I have to watch my own shimei flirting in daylight!" A grumpy voice was heard. Xiao Zi quickly lowered her hand and bowed towards Cao Lu. The latter glanced at her quickly in disapproval,
"Just make sure you will not lose that cinnabar mark on your elbow before you seek for your Shifu's approval!"
Both Xiao Zi and Ao Xiang's heads lowered their heads further as they understood the implication of Cao Lu's words.
"Whatever." Cao Lu sighed and waved her hand, before poking at Ao Xiang's chest with her index finger,
"Remember that if you ever take advantage of my Shimei, you would make an enemy of the whole Ping sect."
"I won't dare, Madame!" Ao Xiang laughed in response, before his expression turned serious, "How did it go at Ru'An?"
Ru'An was a sizeable town that they had made their base since a few nights ago. Xiao Zi and Ao Xiang left on their own as amidst the chaos they were suddenly facing in town, a pack of deformed dogs had gone loose. The domesticated animals-turned-daemons, were no longer uncommon ever since they took the journey together, sometimes separated with their friends and fellow peers in groups. In fact, for a good number of months since they first left their sects to the Imperial's territory, the only malice they encountered was in the forms of animals and plants. It was pretty easy to spot too, as they were always deformed.
That was, until the last fifteen or sixteen full moons. Princess Zuo Shan'er apparently possessed an innate perception of this peculiar threat to humanity.
Normally it was impossible to tell if a human had turned into a Daemon, as their physical appearance remained the same. However, Zuo Shan'er had been able to lead them to the different locations where malice had corrupted some humans. She did not go as far as to point her fingers at the exact Daemons, but with the assistance of Ping sect's miraculous pills, it turned out that her ability was not false at all. After consuming the town's water source, the people possessed by malice started to go berserk, making it easy for the cultivators to locate and incapacitate them.
And because she was useful to pinpoint the general locations of human Daemons, Zuo ZhouLei did not have any more excuses to not want her in the journey.
"It's as what Zuo Shan'er has claimed. A small family of farmers are Daemons." Cao Lu's brows were knitted in discomfort, "I don't know if it's anything to condone what we have done, the farmer's son is barely a teenager after all. But how could someone, with supposedly no cultivation base at all, be able to face JinHai almost at the same level of strength."
"If JinHai did not have his 'Muhou', that kid would have done some damage." She shuddered as she recalled the fight her brother had earlier that day and narrated them briefly for Xiao Zi and Ao Xiang;
The nails of the young teen, longer than how a normal human's nails should be, had raked across Zuo JinHai's chest, ripping his outer robe. Zuo JinHai was fortunate that he only suffered a tiny wound and in his retaliation, his sword reached longer, effectively ending the teen's life.
Xiao Zi and Ao Xiang looked at each other in silence, neither wanted to ask Cao Lu to elaborate her experience with how's and why's. They felt both guilt and relief that they opted to kill and purify the animals rather than dealing with the human Daemons in town.
Ao Xiang was the strongest beast-master and they were generally accompanied by a few other beast-masters, including Lu Bing. This time at Ru'an, there were four beast-masters in total, excluding Ao Xiang. Therefore, previously he did not have a guilty conscience as he followed Xiao Zi to hunt the escaping dog daemons.
Even with Shen Wei's and Zuo ZhouLei's qi boost, the Fire Phoenixes of the beast-masters stationed in town were not enough to purify the human daemons. Or perhaps, no one had expected that the least harmful adolescent boy, the son of a farming couple, would suddenly go berserk, possessing strength and agility on par with that of an Enlightened. While his parents were writhing in the flames of the beast-master's Fire Phoenixes, the boy managed to almost mortally wound Zuo JinHai.
At the end, Zuo JinHai's sword reached him faster, effectively killing the boy in one stroke. Though it was not the first time Zuo JinHai had killed, it was certainly the first time for him to take the life of such a young boy.
After being purified, the parents, just like Long TianShan years ago, ended up mentally crippled. Everyone just wished that it would be a long-lasting condition, lest they would find out that their only son had left the world.
The trio returned to Ru'an, and saw the crestfallen expressions of their friends. They were all standing in front of the only inn in town. Shen Wei, Zuo BingTan, Zuo ZhouLei, Zhen Zhu, Lu Bing, Ding Shun, Yu Mei, Zuo Shan'er, and a few other cultivators were present.
Cao Lu noticed the only person that should be there, but wasn't,
"JinHai?"
"His wound festered all of a sudden. The physician that examined him had returned home, merely saying it's an infection and there's nothing to worry about." Zuo BingTan replied to his sister's question, but even he sounded doubtful of the physician's verdict.
Before CaoLu managed to go in the inn to check on Zuo JinHai, a man with a number of servants flanking behind him approached their group. The group recognized them as the town's vice-magistrate. Shen Wei was about to greet the man who had personally welcomed them into the town days ago, but he quickly stopped in his steps.
The middle-aged official's steps were quiet, much too quiet for one who did not have an ounce of cultivation. If one would pay closer attention, his and his followers' breathing was non-existent too. The six people behind him also looked at them with expressionless eyes. Their physiques were scrawny and thin, but perhaps by instinct, the cultivators and beast-masters present felt that they were actually dangerous.
Dread fell upon the young cultivators as they exchanged glances with each other. They thought the farmers and their son were the only Daemons in town. Who would have thought that the town's officials turned out to be one?
"Lei... ," Zuo Shan'er trembled in fright, wishing to clutch onto Zuo ZhouLei's arms for support. However, the latter evaded her and quickly unsheathed his sword to meet one of the servants' sudden attack. The howl that came out of the otherwise normal looking servant sounded inhuman.
Zuo Shan'er looked on with her palms gripped tightly under her sleeves.
Shen Wei soon provided support as the Daemon magistrate jumped towards his Shidi, with a move that could even rival a Sage ranked cultivator. As his own 'Wei Feng' made contact with his opponent's fist, his own arm trembling,
"These Daemons have been getting stronger every passing encounter. They used to be susceptible to blades. Now, even their skins became hard as rocks."
Xiao Zi and Zhen Zhu shot forward, exchanging blows after blows with the men. Although they were both only lower-ranked Enlighteneds, their skills should have been more than enough to kill normal humans. However, their sword attacks might as well be merely passing wind, as with each passing time, they could only try to evade incoming assaults instead. Ding Shun and Yu Mei were still Martial-Artists, and they were both already struck unconscious.
Upon seeing Xiao Zi's pressing condition, Ao Xiang gathered whatever qi he had left – he had used considerable energy before when he purified the dogs after all. Lu Bing was similarly concerned about Zhen Zhu; along with the other beastmasters' summoned Fire Phoenixes, they concentrated their qi to direct their fire at the servants. As if knowing his intention, Shen Wei and Zuo ZhouLei assisted Xiao Zi and Zhen Zhu to gather the six people in one area, cutting their path of attacks between them. This was so the Fire Phoenixes could burn them all at once.
Shen Wei breathed out a sigh of relief as the beastmasters' Fire Phoenixes finally finished purifying the six servants, who – despite their coordinated attacks – seemed to be lesser skilled Daemons as they were easily tricked to be caught in their battle array. The servants' bodies slumped into the ground, but everyone in their group could not be bothered to check on their condition as they had to hold back the other Daemon from reaching Zuo Shan'er.
Regardless how they felt towards the Princess who was almost a dead-weight, due to Zuo Shan'er's ability to guide them to Daemons' location, they had to protect her. The cultivators' attention now turned to the vice-magistrate, who was still fighting with Cao Lu and Zuo BingTan.
With a screech, the Daemon met Cao Lu's 'Muqin' with his leg that had twisted beyond the normality of a human's limb. The violent contact caused Cao Lu to stagger backwards, feeling sudden dread as her eyes helplessly saw the reaching claws. She twisted her body nimbly, but she knew it would not be enough to escape unscathed. However, at the last split second, Zuo BingTan intercepted with a kick, utilizing his qing-gong to boost his speed. He grunted as he made contact with the Daemon's claws, tearing a patch of skin off his right ankle. Even the sturdy boots he wore was not enough protection.
"BingTan-ge!" Zuo ZhouLei's eyes widened as he noticed his older brother's predicament. The Daemon on the other hand, seemed to happily change his target to Shen Wei and himself. He shouted at the beastmasters, "Everyone! How long until your Fire Phoenixes can be summoned again?"
To incapacitate the servants, the other beast-masters had already fully exhausted their qi. And Lu Bing was also already wheezing in fatigue as he regulated his breath. Ao Xiang was slightly better, but he was not sure if he could purify the stronger Daemon on his own. Not only that, he had also summoned the Earth Tortoise to set up a barrier around Zuo Shan'er and the inn where Zuo JinHai was still lying inside. The barrier's vicinity was not small, and it had taken considerable energy to sustain it for this long.
"Tsk!" Zuo ZhouLei looked at the pale countenance of the Hui Lin sect's senior disciple, and he knew that it would be impossible for Ao Xiang to purify this Daemon himself.
(The current Zuo ZhouLei. Mmmm)
"DaShixiong!" He jumped lightly to Shen Wei's behind, plastering their backs to each other, "Help me hold this Daemon back."
Shen Wei nodded without qualms or question as Zuo ZhouLei retreated to Ao Xiang's side, while Shen Wei himself proceeded to exchange blows with the Daemon. As the Wu Shan sect's most senior disciple, he had exchanged blows with plenty of strong opponents, but they were all cultivators that were renowned in the continent as geniuses. Who would have thought that he would have difficulty holding a mere non-cultivator back, malice or not.
Having just harboured the passing thought, he did not even dare entertain his mind further to imagine what the world would be like if every normal human were to be possessed by malice.
Ao Xiang and Zuo ZhouLei exchanged a knowing glance at each other, and Ao Xiang summoned his Fire Phoenix immediately. The bird decisively flew towards the Daemon, but its movement was slow, and the manifestation was not as grand as it had been before. Zuo ZhouLei concentrated and aimed the cluster of his qi, pooled in his Dantians, and willed it towards the flying spirit beast.
The fire from the bird grew unprecedentedly bright all of a sudden, quickly engulfing the Daemon. Zuo ZhouLei maintained his concentration while everyone looked on, listening to the screeching howl of the now burning Daemon. From the core of the fire, a rotting stench permeated the air.
For Zuo ZhouLei, whose cultivation seemed to have stagnated at Enlightened level, the ability to sustain a summoned spirit beast seemed to be his talent. Shen Wei could also sustain the Fire Phoenix for a period of time, but considering their sturdy opponent, he had decided it was better for him to do the qi boosting himself.
Besides, he trusted Shen Wei that the Daemon would never reach Ao Xiang and himself to disrupt their summoning of the spirit beast.
After a few passing moments of vigilance and other townspeople finally started to walk out of their initial homes or stores they had hid in before to avoid the commotion, they could finally relax. The Earth Tortoise also returned to the elements, removing the barrier surrounding the inn.
Zuo Shan'er ran towards Zuo ZhouLei with a worried expression. The latter, once again, evaded her touch,
"I am not hurt, Shan'er."
For some reason, he had been constantly avoiding her direct contact. He knew he was probably exaggerating, but ever since he was re-acquainted with Zuo Shan'er after leaving Wu Shan sect to assist the Emperor with this malice issue, there was a part of him that did not want to be close to this harmless looking and kind childhood friend.
Perhaps it was due to his promise to YuLan – whom he had not seen since they parted ways in Hui Lin sect years ago as well.
Zuo Shan'er had become clingier too, and although he felt a bit guilty, he still decided to avoid her touch. Fortunately, they had never travelled alone, and there were plenty of excuses for him to not entertain her wish to get close to him. He always made sure he was never left alone with Zuo Shan'er as well.
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Zuo Shan'er looked with grievance at the retreating figure of the young man she had been coveting while biting her lower lips. She did not want to dwell on it further though, knowing that she would have more chances in the future.
Or so she had been telling herself. Truthfully, she was vexed; how could it be that although she had managed to tag along with their group and integrate her existence as an irreplaceable one, that man still gave her the cold shoulder.
If only he would let her touch him... just to plant the seed of 'want'... .
She glanced towards Cao Lu and Zuo BingTan, who were both sitting on the ground. Cao Lu was applying bandages on Zuo BingTan's ankle that was bleeding from the Daemon's attack.
Zuo Shan'er smiled. She had the opportunity to attend to Zuo JinHai in the inn under the pretence of changing his dressing. It ultimately caused his condition to deteriorate. She had felt weird, as she could see Zuo JinHai's qi battling the malice she had imparted onto him during their contact. She decided that she had thought too much though, Zuo JinHai was an Enlightened after all. It would probably be harder to bless him.
But the seeds had been planted. No matter how stubborn one was, no matter how high one's cultivation was, they would sooner or later join her cause. Just like how the Emperor had started to be corroded by Qing Lian in the Imperial Palace. After Zuo ZhouLei became hers, then she could look for another exciting thing to play with.
Usually with a normal human, she only had to touch them, and they would immediately be blessed with liberation.
It had been all too easy to just pick a random town or village, lead the group of cultivators there, and touch random townspeople and villagers when no one was looking. The Ping sect's cultivators would dissolve their so-called miraculous pill into the water source, and Zuo Shan'er only had to wait until her newly blessed toys consumed the water, went berserk, and caused trouble.
Everything and everyone had played like puppets on strings, attached to her fingers.
Zuo Shan'er walked towards her older distant cousin and gently rubbed Zuo BingTan's wound with a substance from a bottle she had taken out of her robe,
"BingTan-ge, this is a rare ointment only meant for the Imperial family. It should do well for your wound."
She watched the streams of blackness seeping from her fingers towards Zuo BingTan, and she gently smiled as the latter mouthed his thanks.
"You will have a lot to thank me later, dear cousin brother." She chuckled inside, but her outward smile was tender.
She was about to reach out towards Cao Lu to express her concern, but her hand stopped in the air as she stood abruptly. She looked towards a distant horizon, to the east. Her small nose wrinkled slightly and her brows knitted in frown. Soon, her eyes flashed with fear.
She was afraid. No, to be precise, it was not her that was afraid. It was the blessing inside of her that was afraid, urging her to run away, to escape from that incoming presence that she now could sense from miles away. But if she did not get away soon, this 'miles away' would soon be shortened in a blink of an eye.
"Princess, are you alright?" Xiao Zi asked slowly. Though she did not think much about Zuo Shan'e and though she was YuLan's love rival, it was true that the Princess had contributed much to their journey.
Zuo Shan'er's heart drummed wildly. She had not known fear for a long time, if that person got close, she would be exposed. That person was not the same as the one she had parted ways with at Hui Lin sect years ago.
What happened during that person's absence? That person was a pure Yin maiden, but even back then, Zuo Shan'er was perfectly hidden. If only she was able to bless Ji YuLan back then... .
However, Zuo Shan'er knew that the Yin maiden was getting closer, and that the latter had changed. She could not pinpoint exactly what had changed, she just knew she must not be seen or sensed by the Yin maiden.
If Ji YuLan was to see her as she was, everything would be for naught. She would be exposed, she would lose her blessing, Zuo ZhouLei would... .
Zuo ZhouLei would hate her.
"I... ." She stammered and found an excuse on the spot, "I ... sense presence of malice from a distance."
"Where?" Shen Wei asked, following her gaze towards the same sky she had been staring at.
"The Imperial Capital!" Zuo Shan'er replied hoarsely.
"Huh?" Everyone looked at each other. The direction she had been staring at – with her eyes widened, as large as two round saucers – was definitely not the direction of the Imperial Capital.
Zuo Shan'er finally composed herself and repeated, "Yes, I definitely just sensed malice from the Imperial City's direction!"
"Qing Lian-jie would know what to do," was all she could think of. Their toys, whom they had cultivated since years back, were all congregated at the Imperial City and the Palace. Zuo Shan'er could also create more Daemons from normal humans to protect herself from that person's attention. As long as that person did not see her physically and tattled, Zuo ZhouLei would not find out about her blessing.
He was not ready yet. Before he was blessed, he was not ready to know who she had become. That she was not the same helpless Zuo Shan'er; that she was not a little girl who could only sit uselessly. That with the blessing, the two of them would be happy together.
One day, when he was also blessed, the two of them could rule the world.
"It can't be helped," Cao Lu sighed, "Shen Wei, Ao Xiang, you should take the Princess and the rest and go to the Imperial City. I will stay with Zuo JinHai and Zuo BingTan. They are hurt after all, and I want to look after them."
Xiao Zi and Zhen Zhu both protested, each wanting to stay behind with their DaShijie, prompting Ao Xiang and Lu Bing to also express their intention to stay with their love interests.
Cao Lu's brows twitched; she finally lost her already short-fused temper as she chased her Shimeis away with the precious fire talismans she had been bequeathed with by her elders.
The next morning, Zuo BingTan's condition worsened, joining Zuo JinHai as they were now both bedridden. The physician, as usual, could only uselessly suggested for them to take plenty of rest. And Cao Lu almost could not resist to waste another fire talisman on the old physician's beard.
The following evening, both Enlighteneds were fully unconscious. Cao Lu let her tears fall as she constantly wiped their constantly sweating foreheads. Their wounds had healed, but their conditions worsened each passing second.
That evening, Ji YuLan arrived at Ru'an.
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Runexi's notes:
So... another timeskip. As of this chapter, Ji YuLan is roughly 28 y.o. Lei would be about 5 years younger in this lifetime.
Ripe for the picking, Hueuhuehueheuheue. But this fruit is being guarded by a Daemon called Zuo Shan'er
And perhaps Qing Lian
And perhaps Zuo JinLong.