(10) Surprise on the Mission

A girl wearing lavender robes ran towards a water figure that was standing at the edge of a pond and slashed her sword across the demon's chest, creating splashes of water that splattered outwards, sparkling like pearls as the sunshine was reflected back.

It roared from the pain and enlarged its body. This was his domain. No one could defeat him!

"QiaoHua! Retreat!" Wei SuSu pulled Wu QiaoHua to the side as a sword stabbed the area she had stood and then dissipated and turned into water. Both rolled to the side and their robes absorbed the pond water that splashed on the ground, wetting their skirts and sleeves.

The demon smiled and raised his hand. But before he could do anything, a sword pierced through his chest from behind.

"Get away from the water!" an older male cultivator, who looked to be around twenty, yelled. He had flown behind the demon while the demon was distracted.

"Senior Brother ZiHao! Be careful!" Wei SuSu pulled Wu QiaoHua up and they flew out from the water's edge.

The demon screamed and grabbed Chai ZiHao's neck, choking him. "How dare you cultivators try to get in my way?!" The water coming out of his eyes dripped down his pale face like greasy oil.

"It's their fault I am like this! They killed me and threw me in here after torturing me for refusing to hand over my daughter! I will find them and kill them! Make them suffer!" Ominous energy emitted from his body and stormed around them as he fed on his own anger and his tears turned to a muddy black.

Chai ZiHao struggled to breathe and his trembling hand managed to hold onto the sword embedded in the demon's chest. He quickly gathered chi into his sword and tightened his grip. At the same time, Wei SuSu put two fingers up and summoned her sword, as it flew in the sky towards the demon.

"Ha!" She swung her fingers to the side and her weapon attacked the demon first. Chai ZiHao managed to take out his sword and he fell once the demon screamed from the pain of sword chi invading his body.

"Ahhh!" the demon screamed with his pale lips and staggered in the water. His pupils tainted in black glared at them and his body dissolved into the water.

"Don't let him get away!" Wei SuSu yelled and jumped upwards, grabbing her sword and stabbing into the surface of the pond. But it was too late.

When they regrouped at the edge of the water, all of them looked disheveled and were wet from head to toe.

"What do we do now?" Wu QiaoHua asked worriedly. "I thought my attack would have defeated him, but the cut was too shallow."

Wei SuSu frowned and was lost in thought.

"We have to somehow lure him back up again," Chai ZiHao said.

"But it would be hard. The water demon is injured and won't come back up so easily."

Wei SuSu was silent and just as she was about to express her opinions, she noticed the wet ground. As they were chatting, they didn't realize that the water was slowly rising towards them.

"QiaoHua!" Before she could push Wu QiaoHua aside, the water caught its prey, circling around her leg and dragging Wu QiaoHua towards the pond.

Wu QiaoHua bit her lips nervously and held her sword, slashing at the water that constantly regenerated. Soon, her body was going underwater and she coughed as she struggled to breathe. She had to hold her breath as water entered her ears and she closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, she could see the demon holding her ankle and smirking evilly. Her movement underwater slowed and she struggled to swing her sword properly. She also felt a sudden dark pressure, weighing her body down that made her movements stiff and disconnected.

Wei SuSu and Chai ZiHao glanced at each other, then jumped into the water to fight the demon. Once the demon let go of Wu QiaoHua's ankle, she hurriedly swam back up and coughed as she breathed for air, like a baby bird chirping for their mother in hunger as she flapped her arms. Tears emerged from her pupils and her body shook from having almost drowned. She glanced toward the shore but remembered Wei SuSu and Chai ZiHao were still underwater because of her.

She took a deep breath. She could do this. As she floated, she closed her eyes and gathered the chi inside her body and spread it to her hands and feet. She tried to remember the feeling of warmth spreading through her meridians and circling back to her core, then opened her eyes. She held a big breath and went underwater, swimming towards the demon. Her movements were more fluid, but at this moment, she regretted not exercising much more! She gathered the chi in her body into her hand and it transferred to her sword.

Her sword glowed with spiritual energy and after she was closer, she raised her weapon to aim. But it was difficult when the demon was constantly moving and fighting Wei SuSu and Chai ZiHao. The demon was twice as fast compared to them who were used to land.

'Aim properly. Aim properly,' she muttered in her mind. Her eyes followed their movements and when there was an opening, she swung her sword with all her strength and a great amount of chi was released, hitting the wound on the demon's chest and creating large waves that pushed Chai ZiHao and Wei SuSu back.

The three of them coughed out water as they lay on shore. After the demon weakened greatly with Wu QiaoHua's attack, Chai ZiHao used a sword formation technique taught by his master, Master Ruan, to defeat the demon and destroy its body and soul.

Wei SuSu turned to look at Wu QiaoHua. "Your chi concentration has improved." She smiled, "You're even able to release a chi attack now!" Only those who were extremely skilled in the way of the sword or had an abundance of chi were able to release a sword chi attack before reaching the Third Tier. (a/n: Body Enhancing Realm)

"Yeah… I don't know how I even did it," Wu QiaoHua said. This was the easiest that she ever had with absorbing and gathering her chi.

Chai ZiHao drew a small spell with his hands, and they instantly dried up with only their hair still slightly damp.

"Wow!" Wu QiaoHua touched her sleeve that was no longer dripping. "Senior Brother Chai! This is such a useful spell!"

Chai ZiHao smiled. "It's just a small spell, anyone can learn."

"Then let us return," Wei SuSu said. "The other three who went to investigate will probably have some information regarding this water demon."

Wu QiaoHua nodded. "Yes. It seems there was a story behind this incident."

They all were too exhausted to use the flying technique so they walked back to their inn.

Once they arrived, three other Moon Sect disciples were already there.

A girl with a long side-braid noticed them first and her eyes brightened as she took a few hurried steps over. "Where were you guys?" Xin Mei asked. "We have been looking for you."

Wei SuSu glanced at Chai ZiHao, the main disciple in charge of this mission, and he answered, "While gathering information, a woman came and asked us for help when her son was suddenly dragged into the pond. We didn't have enough time to inform you guys."

Xin Mei's eyes widened and she suddenly realized that their clothes were crinkled and a little dirty. Not only that, they also had small scratches on their hands. "Did you defeat it? Are you guys okay?"

Wei SuSu nodded, "What did you guys find out?" She added in a grave tone, "I believe the demon was human at first. But he was probably consumed by hatred and unable to reincarnate, so he used the yin energy in the pond to become a demon and create havoc." When they fought underwater, they could feel the dark energy under there. (a/n: yin energy here is bad/evil energy)

Xin Mei sighed and nodded. "Indeed. It was well hidden, but we found out that a blacksmith by the name of Lu Shan had a beautiful daughter. She was pretty and kind, well-liked by many, and liked to help the elders complete small chores. Her cultivation level was also decent considering her conditions. However, there were bandits who lived in the nearby mountain and when they heard of her beauty, they came to take her away."

"The blacksmith and his daughter managed to escape so he hid his daughter with an elder who they trusted and ran away by himself. Since then, he hasn't been heard of and the daughter eventually ran away by herself to find her father. It was only until a few months later that a fisherman fished out a cold body and the villagers determined it to be Lu Shan. His daughter returned and wanted revenge, so she asked the villagers for help, but they were too afraid. As a result, she entered the mountain alone and… sigh. You can guess from there."

"After his daughter died, these events started to occur?" Chai ZiHao stated with a frown. Anything can turn into a demon if there was enough hatred and evil energy for them to feed on. Lu Shan had turned into an evil ghost, but by absorbing the bad energy in the pond, his soul became able to turn into a ghost demon that could manifest a real body. However, this caused him to be stuck inside the pond, unable to go after the bandits, and he took out his anger on the villagers who didn't stop his daughter from walking to her death.

"Shall we go and defeat the bandits, then?" One of the disciples suggested.

Chai ZiHao was silent for a moment and made a decision, "Even if we already killed the demon, we should kill the bandits and prevent them from creating more trouble. but first, we need to purify the large amount of yin energy inside the pond." His master always said, to nip the bud before it blooms if it was going to cause future problems. These bandits have probably done a bunch of immoral things to the neighboring villages as well and will continue to do so until someone eliminates them.

While they were talking, Wu QiaoHua pulled Xin Mei to the side and held her hands nervously. Xin Mei stared at Wu QiaoHua, confused. "What is it?"

"Xin Mei… I've been thinking about it a lot and I realized I didn't properly apologize for the events in the Disappearing Forest." Her head was down as her voice became quiet.

Xin Mei blinked.

"I said I was sorry but I didn't want to admit that it was my fault." Wu QiaoHua's eyes watered. "I was too ashamed to even apologize to our teammates. I realized we could have all easily died without my cousin because of my decision. I hope you'll forgive me for being so foolish…" She had been bothered since they returned and knew she made a dumb move and regretted it. Coming on this mission also allowed her to think further and admit to her mistake.

Xin Mei stared at Wu QiaoHua, wide eyes for a moment. Then she grinned and hugged Wu QiaoHua warmly. "Of course! Since you properly apologized and realized what you did wrong, then all is well! I didn't hold it against you, but it's good you're reflecting on your actions. Just remember to apologize to the outer disciples once we return, alright?" She patted her friend's back gently as Wu QiaoHua sniffled.

"Mm!" Wu QiaoHua wiped her tears. She had been afraid, so afraid that Xin Mei wouldn't want to be her friend anymore if she brought it up. But she was glad she did. "Mei, thanks," she whispered with red rimmed eyes.

After discussing what they were going to do, they exited their rooms to go down and grab lunch. Just then, they ran into someone they recognized and saluted respectfully.

The handsome man wore a magnificent yellow uniform and emitted a bright impression. When he saw them, he smiled and saluted. "Are the Moon Sect disciples here for a mission?"

Chai ZiHao smiled and nodded. "We were here to deal with a water demon." Most inner disciples recognized Mo ShiLan, the direct disciple of the Bright Venus Sect, since he was engaged to Wu LiJing, one of their own direct disciples, and has visited many times.

"Oh? Are you already returning?" he asked as he glanced at Wu QiaoHua. He smiled at her and Wu QiaoHua smiled politely back.

Chai ZiHao shook his head. "There are some problems. We heard there were bandits nearby, causing constant trouble and have plans to infiltrate their foothold."

Mo ShiLan frowned. "Were they the cause of that water demon?"

Chai ZiHao nodded. "Yes. They have probably killed too many people and dumped them into the pond, gathering a great amount of bad energy."

Mo ShiLan nodded and smiled. "Then how about we go together? I actually came here with my junior brother to deal with the bandits, who have also caused problems within our borders. I have already informed Sect leader Wang about it."

Chai ZiHao nodded. "Very well then. When does Sir Mo plan to leave for the mountains?"

"Two mornings from now." They agreed to a time and went their own ways.

"Sir Mo is quite handsome," Xin Mei whispered to Wei SuSu with a smile. "Befitting Eldest Senior Sister."

Mo ShiLan heard that whisper and paused. He turned to Xin Mei and walked towards her. "Excuse me. I don't mean to be rude, however I just want to let you know that my engagement with Wu LiJing has been annulled." He glanced at Wu QiaoHua, whose eyes widened along with the other disciples.

"S-sir Mo… Is this a joke?" Xin Mei whispered, almost forgetting to ask.

Mo ShiLan shook his head with a serious expression. "I have already returned the engagement papers. LiJing is a wonderful person, however, I can only see her as a friend." Then he showed a small smile, with his gaze staying on QiaoHua for a moment before he walked past them to his room.

Xin Mei's mouth dropped. The other two disciples looked at each other in disbelief and gossiped among themselves.

Chai ZiHao was also greatly shocked. What… had just happened?

Wei SuSu, Xin Mei, and Wu QiaoHua were all silent, thinking that perhaps this was a dream? Why did this happen so suddenly?

Chai ZiHao turned towards Wu QiaoHua and opened his lips, but thinking about Eldest Senior Sister's cold eyes, he stopped and decided to just keep quiet even if he was curious.

When they sat down at a table, Xin Mei asked Wu QiaoHua curiously, "Do you know what happened? Did Eldest Senior Sister agree to it too?"

"I don't know…" Wu QiaoHua seemed out of it, still shocked.

Wei SuSu sighed. "Senior Sister treated Sir Mo so well… I don't understand either."

Everyone in the sect knew that besides Wu QiaoHua and the sect master, the third person their second direct disciple treated the best was her fiancé, Mo ShiLan. After all, he had permission to enter the sect and Wu LiJing's manor whenever he wanted to. That was a privilege in itself. Disciples had even witnessed their Eldest Senior Sister see Sir Mo off at times, which was already quite shocking.

Sir Mo also visited at least twice a month and almost always sent gifts. Everyone was sure that they were in love. But what just happened now? Did their Eldest Senior Sister have a one-sided love all this time?!

Everyone's minds were preoccupied, but they still had a mission to do.

…

Long delicate fingers struck the strings of a pipa, with a melancholic melody resounding from the instrument. The woman playing such melody had her eyes closed. Having played for so long, even if she could no longer see one day, she would still be able to play any melody.

"Su YiJu, your playing always helps calm my mind," a deep voice echoed from the bed in front of her.

There was a man, dressed in dark grey robes, laying down casually on the bed. His features were blurred due to the darkly tinted, translucent curtains hanging from his bed, but his deep eyes could slightly be made out and his overwhelming presence could not be hidden. One arm leaned onto a pillow, while a cup of wipe was held by one of his hands, as he gazed at Su YiJu's unearthly beauty.

"I'm glad I could be of help, Master Gu." YiJu was sitting on a comfortable chair, facing the master. She continued to play.

"You must miss your lover," he said, lifting his cup.

Su YiJu displayed a mild smile. "He will always be with me." She suddenly stopped playing and opened her eyes, with her full lashes fluttering, drawing in Master Gu's attention.

"When will my revenge be complete?" YiJu's hand crushed the pipa's handle. She had to kill the person who caused her situation to escalate herself. "I already told you where he disappeared to. When are you going to give me what I want?" Even if she sold the man who helped her in the first place, she didn't care. If she could kill the one who killed her love, it didn't matter what methods were used.

Master Gu laughed and drank the rest of the wine in one gulp. "Don't be impatient! Your eleventh victim will let down his guard soon. You will have your chance!"

Su YiJu stared at the man in front of her for a moment and smiled seductively. "You are a man, yet you react differently to me. I can't say I don't appreciate that." She glanced at the broken pipa and sighed. "What a shame." Yet, her expression showed no sign of remorse.

He laughed. "If I let myself fall for you, then I wouldn't be worthy to be your master!"

Su YiJu stared at his figure. "You've let me stay close to you, yet so many haven't been able to. If you tell me you have fallen for me, I might believe you even if it was a lie."

The sound of wine being poured into a cup could be heard behind the curtains. Even if Su YiJu could not clearly make out his expression, she could tell he was smiling right now. "Well, I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy admiring your face." He chuckled. "Who doesn't like seeing beauty?"

Su YiJu threw the instrument to the side and the servant who had exited earlier, entered again to give her a new pipa. He stood on the corner with a lowered face, erasing his presence. She started to play another melody and smiled. "But no matter how great my beauty is, it seems it cannot beat what you are after."

Master Gu was silent, but once again, she could tell he was smiling behind those curtains.

"I like you, Su YiJu."

A laugh echoed within the room and the servant felt a shiver in his heart.