Betrayal Among Brothers

Chapter 2: Betrayal among brothers

Two disciples of the Tiaya sect are been chased in a forest by a handful of masked warriors who are shooting arrows at them. One of the disciples is a relatively young man and the other a young woman. The man holds the woman's hand and leads the way. As they both run, they see a pit before them.

"Zhansun Shan, I don't think we can make it anymore, I am tired" The female disciple says tiredly and collapses on the ground

"Come on Qui si, if we are able to get to the mountains, then we would be safe"

Qiu si sobs a little and shakes her head "we can't continue running, they will catch up with us before we get to the mountains"

Zhansun Shan looks at her concerned. He had just recently married her and they were yet to have any child. She was beautiful, skilled in arts, very sociable and also a gifted fighter. She had once made him bleed in training even when he was a Martial Disciple and she was only a sixth stage Qi refining student. Deep down in him, he knew that she alone would have been able to fight off the masked warriors but she was Qi drained and had become very tired. He looks up and see the masked warriors now walking slowly towards them. He inhales deeply and kiss Qiu si on her forehead.

Drawing from his innermost energy, he is able to form an energy shield around Qiu si. This meant that he was now a little weakened. Despite this, Zhansun Shan is no longer afraid, him and Qui si had being running since but they had not taken the time to look at the level of soldiers that were chasing them. These soldiers were just normal disciples. Defeating them would be quite an easy task.

The masked warriors knowing how powerful and dangerous Zhansun Shan was did not take any chance in their attack. Zhansun Shan having received rigid training from a military officer who adopted him when he was little had now become very skilled in martial arts. The effects of this training could also be seen is his well built physique.

The warriors began to shoot their arrows simultaneously at him. Zhansun Shan performs different kinds of stunt and dodges all the arrows until no arrow is left in their bag. Now angry and annoyed, the warriors rush at Zhansun Shan with their swords and knives. They try to cut him but Zhansun Shan is able to handle them with his hands. In a matter of minutes, the masked warriors had been defeated and the remaining few scurried for safety.

He cleans his blue robe, which is the dress robe for a Martial Disciple. Other levels also have their different colours of robe which signifies their level. Zhansun Shan kneels down and removes the mask from one of the warriors face. He sees a tattoo in the warriors neck and is shocked. His hand also trembles.

"This can't be"

"I admired each second of the fight dear." Qiu si says smiling

Zhansun Shan turns and looks at Qiu si. She seemed to have regained all her strength just by watching him fight. He chuckles and walks up to her. She looks at his face and hugged him, her hands clutching tightly at his robe.

Zhansun Shan is still bothered by the tattoo he saw. His eyes look straight and his body is stiff. Qiu si notices this

"Are you alright"

"Our sect, the invasion.... Zhansun Shan stammers

Qiu si is perplexed "What about the invasion"

"The Ashen sect are behind it." Qiu si eyes widened on hearing this.

The Ashen sect was regarded as a brother sect to the Tiaya sect. The leader of the Ashen sect was Master Shen who was a close friend to Rui Hongchang, the leader of the Tiaya sect. It was very evident that the Tiaya sect was the most powerful set filled with great cultivators and alchemists of different levels.

Zhansun Shan remembers the occasions when he had been invited to train the disciples of the Shen sect, he never knew a day would come when these disciples would use his lessons against him or the Tiaya sect.

"But why would the Ashen sect do such evil against us"

"I can't tell Qiu but I perceive that the Ashen are not alone in this massacre."

Qiu si looks at him not now knowing what to say, her expression reveals anxiety

Come on dear, we need to get to the mountains before dusk, the enemies may still be around." Zhansun Shan holds her close to himself. They both begin to head north towards the mountains.