Suggestion: LISTEN TO THE VIDEO (SONG, IT'S LIVE) FOR BETTER EFFECTS. If you have any questions about the song, I'll be free to answer them for you. Fun fact, the singer who sang in the video is the same singer who sang Xue Yang's theme song.
"It's cold." Jin Ling shuddered as he sauntered in the forest. Chills were sprawled up over his body, as if his heat was teleported far away and withered into thin air. "Of course it is, Young Mistress." Jingyi scoffed.
"Stop calling me that." Jin Ling had argued back.
"Why should I? You're acting like a Young Mistress, when you're supposed to be a 'Young Master'." Jingyi taunted.
"Both of you guys, please stop arguing." Sizhui began soothing them, like a mother caressing her newborn child. "We're here to hunt fierce corpses, not to bicker."
"But Sizhui," Jin Ling's eyes almost watered a bit. "Your friend is making fun of my gender."
"Jingyi." Sizhui changed sides immediately. "Don't make fun of Jin Ling's gender. Please and thank you."
"Hey, Sizhui!" Jingyi frowned. "Who died and made you Queen?"
"Cut it out, you lovebirds." Wei Ying had rolled his eyes sceptically. "You're going to attract all the fierce corpses—even though that is our goal."
The young cultivators had all shut up, as if their mouths were glued shut, with a fat spirit resting on them. They were travelling in the forest, with trees all around them as if they were participating in a ritual. It was dark—too dark for Jin Ling's liking. And it was cold as well, if he was blind, he would've mistaken the surrounding as the north of GusuLan. But instead, they were in the middle of the woods.
Wei Ying had told them they were between GusuLan and Lanling Jin, but it was like they were still in the Cloud Recesses.
Darkness swayed by their backs, with a shivering breeze lingering by. Jin Ling had to ignore his temptation of sneezing, and hide his swarm of swearings to Jingyi. "Let's see," Wei Ying began. "ZeWu-Jun had already split the two groups, so his group is all the way resting in Qishan Wen, around Shanxi, while us—the other group—is still heading towards Lanling Jin to lure out all the fierce corpses."
"Mn." Lan Zhan had nodded.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's hurry up and get this over with already!" Wei Ying squealed delightfully like a child, rushing on ahead from the group. A tingle of disappointment had settled in Jin Ling's heart. Don't tell me my step-uncle is still the same childish him from his adolescence.
Their footsteps collided against several roots and fallen branches, but mainly a straight pathway of dirt. Unfortunately, their group only consists of three younger cultivators and two experienced; Jingyi, Sizhui, Wei Ying, Lan Zhan, and Jin Ling. The Young Mistress knew that their group had formed from not their strengths, but from their relationships. Having a couple of cultivating friends as the ones who lure the corpses wasn't a bad idea—but it wasn't good either.
"It's freezing." Jin Ling shuddered. Although he was carrying a plump bag of stored arrows on his back, the furniture had preserved no warmth to the Young Mistress. And as a result, Jin Ling was freezing cold. The poor guy could only cling to his sheathed sword, Suihua, imagining a transfer of heat from the handle of the sword to his palms.
"That's the second time you complained, Young Mistress." Jingyi rolled his eyes.
Jin Ling ignored him and continued in charging behind his step-uncle's shadow—which wasn't apparent within the dark forest at all. "How about this. If you manage to shut your mouth for a day, I'll never call you 'Young Mistress' ever again. Deal?" Jingyi asked. If it wasn't for his mourning clothes, Jin Ling would've mistaken the cultivator as an old geezer playing the role of a gambler.
"Shut up. You shouldn't call me that in the first place." Jin Ling scoffed.
His ponytail swayed back and forth behind his back, trailing like a homeless puppy with nowhere else to go. It reminded him of his own spiritual dog, Fairy, aka Little Fairy. He knew of his step-uncle's fear of dogs for a long time, and hesitated to bring Fairy. In the end, he left his companion back at Koi tower.
"Uh huh." Jingyi sarcastically remarked. "What about Little Mistress?"
"You do realize that you're shorter than me, right, you idiot." Jin Ling had sternly responded.
It wasn't that he was angry. He'd been showered with thousands of insults before, and none of them had ever reached his ears or processed in his brain for any brief second. He was strong—but there was always someone stronger.
Jin Ling warily glanced towards Sizhui, who walked quietly behind Wei Ying. Sizhui was better...
"If you haven't noticed already, there's a rule I've written in my book of laws and discipline. Making fun of heights are a 'no-no' when there's something to diss about the personality." Jingyi snickered. Jin Ling ignored his comment, but he still couldn't bare to let it slide. "Shut up already." He groaned. I can't stand your voice. Why does Sizhui have a friend like you? What is so good about you? What is so special about you? Why do you have the right to stand beside such a good cultivator? Jin Ling cut his thoughts off as the mourning clothes in front of him had stopped abruptly.
"What happened?" He asked.
"We've reached... somewhere." Wei Ying's voice was uncertain, and held a current of anxiety.
When Jin Ling peeked from behind his step-uncle's back, he was hit with a wave of astonishment. Before them was a cabin—a wooden cabin with moss and vines spread all over it. And that wasn't all. Outside in front of the cabin was an old man with a walking stick. He grew a thick white-haired beard, which rustled in the frigid cold air.
"How come there's someone out here?" Jin Ling asked.
Instead, he was completely ignored by Wei Ying, who took the initiative.
"Hello there." Wei Ying began. The old man crookedly looked towards the Yiling Patriarch and gave a toothy grin. "Hello." His voice had shaken as he stammered. In fact, his lips were all dry as his clothes were all ragged up as well.
"What are you doing out here?" Wei Ying asked.
"Well," the old man's face had softened. "I've always been an independent guy, and I can't stand taking part in large crowds. In the end, I had decided to live in the woods. It's not like I'm an important person. I'm just an old man looking for a quiet place."
"What's your name?" Wei Ying asked, reaching out his hand to shake on. The old man gladly took it before shaking it as well, "Huang Li, courtesy name, Huang Jinhai."
"We've been sent notice of many escapees from Qinghe Nie. It turns out that they might be nearby. So please be cautious when outside." Wei Ying babbled, as Huang Li's face had paled to a drastic tone. "What! Are you guys cultivators? Can you guys protect me?"
"It depends." Wei Ying sighed, arrogance flooding his words. He shared a look to Lan Zhan, while the young cultivators all ended up looking confused.
"We're planning on luring away the fierce corpses, but some of them might not listen." The Yiling Patriarch exclaimed. "If you're planning on staying safe, we suggest you to stay put and board your cabin up. There's no telling where they'll come from."
"If I'm staying, will I be safe?" Huang Li asked.
"I dunno." Wei Ying giggled. "We're cultivators, so if you want protection, you could always find it from us."
"Really?" Huang Li's face had brightened by a margin. "Could I ask for someone of you guys to... protect me from them? I really... can't stand a chance against fierce corpses."
"Sure." Wei Ying chuckled. "Jin Ling, you're up." He shoved the Young Mistress towards Huang Li, whose face had brightened like the sun during a sunrise. "You need this guy—a virgin with a loudmouth to protect you. There, you'll feel so much more safer!"
"Thank you so much, I don't know what I'd do without him!" Huang Li began to shower Wei Ying with thanks and praise, but Jin Ling could feel a pair of eyes scarring into his back.
"What are you looking at?" Jin Ling scoffed towards Sizhui.
"Nothing." Sizhui mumbled nonchalantly.
"Yeah, right." Jin Ling frowned. "You were looking at me. I already know it."
"N-no, it's not like that." Sizhui had flustered, embarrassment piling on top of him with ease. "It's just that... will you be alright? After all, I did say I'd protect you..."
"Huh? Are you looking down at me again?" Jin Ling scowled.
And with that, Sizhui had shut up, with no more words left to say.
"Nevertheless," Wei Ying had sent Jin Ling a subtle wink. "Make sure to protect Mister Huang Li with all your might. I better get paid for this."
*****
"Do you think Jin Ling will be okay?" Sizhui worriedly asked his adoptive-mother.
"What about you? Do you think he'll be okay?" Wei Ying responded.
Sizhui fell silent as he processed down the question. "Just let the child play for a bit. It's not like he'd set the entire forest on fire just to get rid of one fierce corpse." Wei Ying chuckled. The Yiling Patriarch walked beside his husband, while Sizhui and Jingyi followed behind their footsteps. It wasn't simple for Sizhui to let go of his rival. He wanted Jin Ling to leave with them, but that wish—of course—couldn't be granted so easily.
"What are you now, Sizhui?" Jingyi sighed. "A mother? I doubt the Young Mistress would want someone worrying about him. Especially you."
"I get it." Sizhui nodded, but his rash of uneasiness did not fade.
"Hmm... shall we begin the session of luring?" Wei Ying's face had darkened. His hand reached towards the gorgeous flute by his waist side, and held it within his milky palms. He nudged towards his husband, who unsheathed his sword, Bichen. A blue glare had flared from the blade, shining beauteously like the moonlight. "Unsheathe your swords." Lan Zhan had ordered.
Sizhui and Jingyi simultaneously unsheathed their swords, revealing a beautiful blue glare with the sounds of iron against iron ricocheting in the night.
Sizhui intensely watched Wei Ying hold the flute, Chenqing, to his lips, holding his breath quietly. Then, he blew. An uncanny but melodious tune began playing, encircling the fellow cultivators in a cage of shivers and goosebumps. Sizhui's grip on his sword's handle had tightened as the tune tickled his ears with an eerie sensation.
And then... growls had echoed in the distance.
"They're coming." Wei Ying's lips had parted from the flute. "Mn." Lan Zhan nodded.
Out of the blue, roars had exploded in all directions of the forest. Shivers had spiralled down Sizhui's chest as cold sweat slid down his forehead. Rustles of bushes and grasses had enacted around, with fear unearthing itself.
Finally, two fierce corpses were in his sight. "Two at the left!" Sizhui announced.
Wei Ying brought Chenqing back to his lips as he blew furthermore notes into the flute. The music flooded the forest with its deadly sound, bringing ten more fierce corpses to the group. "Follow me, we're heading to Qishan Wen!" Wei Ying had abruptly stopped his playing, dragging the sleeve of Jingyi and Lan Zhan before they dashed. Sizhui trailed after them, sometimes peeking glances at the menacing fierce corpses that followed.
"Senior Wei!" Sizhui called. "Why aren't we mounting our swords?"
"It's so we can scavenge the area. In the meantime, we can also lure out any wondering-around fierce corpses to cultivate. It's a win-win situation." Wei Ying laughed.
Their legs pushed against the dirt pathway as they continued to run towards Qishan Wen. "But isn't it a long way from Lanling Jin to Qishan Wen?" Jingyi whined. Lan Zhan darted him a neutral glance, "if you're tired, then mount your sword. We'll take turns, starting from the worst in agility to the best."
Despite the danger that kept chasing their footsteps, Sizhui couldn't help but worry for the Young Mistress that stayed by Huang Li's side. It wasn't that he didn't trust Huang Li, he just couldn't shake off the feeling that something bad would happen-
"Sizhui! Jingyi! Mount your sword already, damnit!" Wei Ying swore.
Sizhui blinked. He finally realized the situation he was in. While he was pondering deep in his thoughts (and running at the same time) the fierce corpses had doubled and were pouncing on each other in order to chase them. And they were catching up. "Of course!" Sizhui yelled, before unsheathing his sword, using his fingers to direct it upwards, jump on the blade before it was too late and flew up in the air. Jingyi followed after him.
"Make sure to catch up to us." Wei Ying winked. Just then, Lan Zhan had thrown Wei Ying into his arms, with his mourning clothes flailing in the back. Sizhui noticed what he was watching. HanGuang-Jun was princess-carrying his wife!
"Let's go!" Wei Ying laughed.
And just like that, they were able to keep a well distance from the fierce corpses. In the midst of their luring attempt, Wei Ying called, "Sizhui! Did you know that your uncle had once ran from Qishan Wen all the way back to Lotus Pier? Without his sword as well, can you believe it? And here we are, running from Lanling Jin to Qishan Wen."
"Wait, Uncle Ning did that?" Sizhui was alarmed.
"You have two uncle's, have you forgotten?" Wei Ying sighed. "Wen Ning and Jiang Cheng."
"So... Jiang Cheng is my uncle?" Sizhui gawked. "No, he's your mom's brother," Wei Ying sarcastically remarked before continuing on. "Since Jiang Cheng and I aren't blood-related, I can't exactly call you his nephew. Jin Ling is his nephew by pure blood, but you know..." Wei Ying wore a silly smile that seemed to taunt Sizhui, "you guys can still... bang."
Lan Zhan wore a disapproving face. "Wei Ying. Not now."
"Only if you give me a 'please'." Wei Ying whined. "Please." Lan Zhan obeyed.
"And with a cherry on top!" The Yiling Patriarch had sunken deeper into Lan Zhan's arms. "And with a cherry on top." Lan Zhan followed. "This time, say the entire sentence!" Wei Ying laughed. "Wei Ying. Not now please, and with a cherry on top." Lan Zhan obediently followed.
Wei Ying had applauded for him before beginning to play with his flute. "Okay, you win."
Sizhui couldn't help but weakly smiled at the sight displayed before him. Senior Wei has quite the dynamics to make his husband swoon. Sizhui snapped out of his trance when he began imagining himself and Jin Ling in that pose. A layer of blush folded onto his face, and he stumbled a bit on his sword before returning to his original stance.
As Wei Ying played furthermore notes on his flute, more fierce corpses had added in the mix. About... seventy, as Sizhui had counted. Eventually, even Wei Ying and Lan Zhan had to mount their swords—with the two lovebirds sharing one.
"Where are we now?" Jingyi asked.
"Probably around the middle of Lanling Jin and Qishan Wen. We're almost there, so no worries." Wei Ying smiled. His smile was more like a toothy grin, but Sizhui didn't mind. He was so familiar with his mother and father's lovey-dovey moments, so nothing had came as a surprise for him. Wei Ying would occasionally pick up his flute and blow some more notes, attracting more and more fierce corpses.
In the end, Sizhui counted at least one-hundred fifty. "Are we there yet?" Jingyi had hollered.
Sizhui noticed how his friend's fingers were getting sore of sticking in the same old stance. "Almost." Lan Zhan added.
Out of the corner of Sizhui's eyes, he caught a small sight of the GusuLan's mourning clothes from the forest. "We're almost there." He gasped. Flutters of the night wind had raced alongside his back, with his robes flailing along the dark clouds. Sizhui knew it was night, but the darkness had blurred his vision from the sky. If only it was day, his eyesight would've been better by lots.
"We're landing!" Wei Ying hollered, parting his lips from the flute. Roars of the fierce corpses had radiated from below in the forest, as if they were thousands of war cries. Sizhui directed his sword to lower down to the ground, while the others did the same.
Finally, he hopped off his sword and sheathed it. The others followed along.
"Run quickly! We're almost there!" Wei Ying hollered, tucking his flute against his waistband. Sizhui worked his legs at the dirt pathway, trailing after his parents and friend. Exhaustion piled at his legs, struggling to drag him down. "Sizhui?" A familiar GusuLan ribbon had fluttered in front of Sizhui. He blinked. "ZeWu-Jun! They're coming right this way! About one hundred fifty..."
"We got it." Xichen nodded, with a tranquil but stern expression written over his face.
The original group had rested where all the other young disciples were displayed. The second group had charged at the following fierce corpses. Sizhui watched the two forces dash at each other with bloodlust twinkling in their eyes. The sound of unsheathing swords and roars had flooded the forest. "This will be over soon." Wei Ying had laughed before planting a kiss on his partner's cheek.
*****
"Your name is Jin Ling, right?" Huang Li had happily croaked, setting a small candle on the table. A small falter of the candlelight had wavered, washing the cabin with its bright light.
"Right." Jin Ling answered with no thought.
"Are you sure you'll be able to protect me?" Huang Li tested. "Even though your senior seemed to have faith in you, it wouldn't mean a thing if you can't meet our expectations."
"If you don't want me, I'll be leaving." Jin Ling scoffed.
A panicked expression plastered over Huang Li's face. "Wait, no! Come back! I'm sorry for being negligent!"
"Then shut up and act like a tree." Jin Ling spat. Huang Li had fallen silent, with no more noises coming from the old man. The Young Mistress understood how the old geezer felt. Having nobody and nothing to defend him in the middle of the forest was inexplicably dangerous-
Wait a second? Questions had poured into Jin Ling's brain. This is an old geezer. He can barely walk or run. He likes quiet places and is independent, so he lives in the forest. This doesn't make sense! Jin Ling bit his bottom lip as stress had clung to his knees. Huang Li doesn't have anything or anybody to protect him, so how was he fine in the middle of the forest? Shouldn't there be a chance that fierce corpses roam around at night?
"Huang Li." Jin Ling pressed. "Do you have any relatives?"
"I used to." Huang Li sighed. "She was a fine aunt, but passed away from lung cancer."
"That's too bad." Jin Ling frowned. He himself had no aunts, but still experienced the pain of having a family member leaving his side. "What about parents?"
"My parents? They up and died from a fierce corpse." Huang Li chuckled.
"How is that funny?" Jin Ling scowled. Irritation was written all over his face, with a vein popping out from his forehead. "Is death funny to you?"
"Yeah, because it's so close and yet so far away from me." Huang Li smiled.
Jin Ling was mad—how could someone take something like 'death' so easily? And the death of one's relatives... that had hurt Jin Ling the most. Just as he swiftly knocked over his chair by standing up, he noticed something peculiar resting at the bottom of his feet. It turned out that something was stuck within the wooden planks. As he had taken a closer look, he recognized that it was a corpse.
"I can tell one thing. You're a wicked person." Jin Ling unsheathed his sword, Suihua, pointing it fiercely at Huang Li. "Prepare to die."
"Didn't I tell you already?" Huang Li smiled, an eerie sensation crawling down Jin Ling's spine. "Death may seem so close to me, but at the same time... IT'S FAR AWAY!" He roared. And then, the windows crashed. A loud shatter had exploded in the room, deafening Jin Ling momentarily. "Huh?" The entire situation was outrageous. What is happening? The Young Mistress had pondered as his eyes widened at the sight before him.
A female fierce corpse was inside the cabin. And even worse, it was shielding Huang Li.
"Did I forget to tell you? My aunt, she's dead." Huang Li smiled. "But she's still alive. In fact, she's right next to me at the moment. And I can control her however I want. Ain't that cool?"