Trickery and Seduction

"Please, you can use mine, I can share another with one of my comrades."

Hu Zong swiftly set up a tent, complete with a bed and a little lamp hanging from the top of it. The others didn't seem to mind but Xue Lan took them by surprise.

"If... if it seems too troublesome, I'm fine with sharing your tent with you", she said to the leader, "I would feel safer knowing that I'm with someone."

She gazed at him with the eyes of a kitten, looking fragile and weak in front of the Azure Flags.

"Err, uh..."

Hu Zong was at a loss for words, not expecting such words from her. It took him a few seconds to register it before straightening up and trying to keep his calm appearance.

"Are you sure?" he asked, "I don't think that it'd be a good idea, considering my appearance."

Gesturing towards himself, the leader of the Azure Flags wanted to remind her of his appearance. He did resemble more like a bandit with his bushy brows and sharp eyes. For someone like him, it was very rare to be treated like this.

Despite his hesitation, Xue Lan nodded with a warm look.

"I just think that I'd feel much safer having someone in my tent, especially someone with your strength", she said to him.

"I... if you insist."

He scratched his head, trying to hide the joy that he felt. Even then, he let a smile escape before walking up to the tent. Opening the flap for her, Hu Zong waited for her to get in first before going in himself.

Just as he closed the flap, he looked at the others, fully letting the happiness show on his face.

Everyone else could only shake their heads and smile before entering their tents. All but one of them, who had to stay out for night watch.

As Hu Zong closed the flap, he turned to see Xue Lan making herself comfortable, setting the bed for the both of them. As he took his side and she took hers, they had their backs against each other.

An hour passed and then another but his eyes were still wide open. He couldn't sleep, not when he was alone with her.

"Is my heart beating too loud?" he thought to himself, "Am I too warm?"

These thoughts continued to run through his mind as he laid on his side, not daring to move for fear that he would wake her up. Little did he know, Xue Lan had yet to fall asleep.

"Are you awake, Hero Hu Zong?"

Hearing her words, he stammered before responding.

"Err, ahh... I don't think that I deserve a title like that."

Xue Lan chuckled, it was quiet but cute in a way, practically melting Hu Zong from the inside.

"Have you... ever encountered an Evil Cultivator? Or anything dangerous like that?" she asked.

"This..."

He grew quiet at that moment, perhaps hesitating or perhaps he was suddenly reminded of a memory he did not want to relive.

"Once, the Azure Flags had come across an Evil Cultivator just once. It wasn't a direct confrontation, we were just there at the scene", he told her.

His large body suddenly grew still, even trembling a bit as the memories came to him.

"It was an experience that truly showed us that there will always be someone out there that's stronger. Someone more amazing, someone more terrifying", he said.

"We were transporting some cargo from one city to another, just some supplies from a merchant to a small clan. It was nothing too dangerous and the money was good, so we took the job. It was a simple one, we just had to walk through one of the major roads but... there was a storm the day before. The road was not only ruined by the flooding but blocked by several fallen trees so we had to take one of the side roads. It was longer but it was the only way."

He paused for a moment, recalling the scenes as he spoke.

"On our third day, we were traveling as usual, watching our surroundings and staying to close to one another. That was until we heard something in the skies, whistling through the air before crashing into the ground. Suddenly there was a pillar of flames shooting up from where the crash happened. All of us prepared for the worst, quickly hiding within the surrounding forests. From there we could only watch as two figures stood high above us, facing each other."

His body began to quiver at the thought of it.

"The pressure they exuded was unlike anything we've seen. From one, it was as if a boulder had been dropped on our shoulders. They wielded a small hammer, dressed in a green and gray uniform. But from the other, a feeling of dread, as if a single look could kill us. That was the Evil Cultivator, in black robes with a wooden sword, a master of seals and formations. Each clash of their weapons caused the ground to shake and the skies to shudder. It was a battle of true experts but that was just the beginning."

Hu Zong didn't say another word, his voice just grew quieter, trembling with each word.

"What happened?" Xue Lan asked.

"I'd rather not say, I'm afraid that it'd be too frightening for someone like you", he answered. "It would be best if we both got some sleep. It is important to rest."

But his words were received with silence from the woman and an eerie feeling rose up within him.

Something didn't seem quite right and when Xue Lan spoke, the feeling was confirmed

"If that's the case then... I suppose there's no use for you now."

"What do you- urgh!"

As his large frame turned around, he felt a sharp pain in his chest as Xue Lan pierced his flesh with her black nail guards. With a firm grasp on his pumping heart, she looked into his eyes which showed nothing but fear and shock within them.

"Yo- why?"

He could barely utter these words as Xue Lan's glowing red eyes seemed to make him freeze. And then a black aura emerged from her body, coursing through her arm and entering his.

The glow in her eyes grew stronger as she just stared at him coldly.

She could feel it, the draining of his life. Second by second, Hu Zong gasped for air, trying to call out for help but his body grew weaker. He was getting smaller, thinner, the large frame that he was so proud of left him.

And the red eyes seemed to pulsate with every breath he took as she absorbed more and more of his life.

"There is no reason why, it was an opportunity, one that I took", she spoke to him coldly.

Xue Lan watched as he became nothing but skin and bones in front of her. What came out of his mouth were nothing but groans and silent cries until the last drop of his life was taken from him.

And then, he was quiet.

Taking her hand out of his chest, she had his heart in her grasp, no longer beating but grey and lifeless instead. She let go of it, dropping the heart on the ground before looking at the tent flap. She then gave another look at Hu Zong's corpse, left in the same state as Shen Yuan.

She breathed out, feeling her newfound power coursing through her body.

It felt raw and uncontrollable, the glow in her eyes grew stronger as her body grew hot.

"Agh, this is... I need to get this under control!"

She closed her eyes and focused, forcing the rampaging energy under her control. After all, it wasn't her energy to begin with and that power wouldn't be obedient from the start. She had to make it hers.

"This must be what they were saying", she thought to herself, "The drawbacks of being an Evil Cultivator... I really am one."

She could feel it, a battle for control as if Hu Zong didn't want to be hers. She could almost hear it, his voice screaming and shouting. Her breathing was quick and sharp but slowly calmed as the rampaging energy was brought to submission.

Soon enough, Hu Zong's voice was gone. At first, it was muffled but as more and more of his power was taken, his voice grew quieter.

Once it was gone, she was finished, opening her eyes and looking back at herself.

She moved her body a bit, feeling the energy course through her body. Her face showed surprise at the improvement before turning her attention back to the tent flap where the others were outside.

"There's still six more of them", she thought to herself.

Suddenly she seemed less like a woman and more like an insatiable beast. She had a taste of it and now she wanted more of it.