Chapter 13

The sky began to dampen as Ba Yihan and Tai Xinbing made it to the Ai household. The sun dipped behind the large trees that surrounded Chun Hai on one side, with the beach being the first part to see the dark night sky.

Ai Guiying’s family lived rather close to the beach, their small shed being adjacent to the rolling waves of the ocean. Ba Yihan subtly noticed as the wind began to pick up, as it seemed to do every night at Chun Hai. His hair pushed out towards the trees, the winds flowing westward with the sun.

Tai Xinbing knocked on the door. “She could have been going out to catch fish.” He theorized, also looking out at the bustling waves. Ba Yihan turned his attention towards the other cultivator. Yintao Leng Empire was Northeast, whilst Tiancha Dynasty was Southwest. Which meant the two were on the opposite sides of the country. It was rare to see blue and purple standing next to orange and red, but here they were.

Tiancha Dynasty, the Southwestern province, was known to have similar teachings to Yintao Leng Empire. With the ideals of strength and defense being the two main strategies the disciples displayed. Which is quite different to Liu Bai He Clan’s teachings, which work with inner knowledge and seclusion.

Anjing De Hua Sect was one of the most mysterious groups, as it was formed and rose in popularity during an unwritten time in history. Unlike the other three groups. Anjing De Hua Sect disciples, like Yue Mingkun and Yue Taishun, were only a small sliver of what the sect had to offer. The group focused on teachings from Confucianism, compared to meditative practices like shown at Liu Bai He Clan.

Ba Yihan had noticed the slight tension between Anjing De Hua Sect and Liu Bai He Clan, as is common when two cultivation groups differ in teachings. However, it didn’t seem the two organizations would go to war with each other. Since, in the end, they have the same goal.

At least, Ba Yihan hoped they did.

The old and creaky door slid open to reveal an old woman, wrinkled and gray. However to say she was wrinkled in the same way the corpses were, would be an incorrect description. As she was nowhere near the ugliness of the dead.

She was surprised to see two cultivators at her door, with swords at their sides, both their hair in tight ponytails. Though, Ba Yihan’s was a little loose, with two strands of hair falling down his face.

Even though the two were technically of higher rank than the lady in front of them, both men stepped back to bow, their bodies lowering in respect. After all, cultivators were there to serve the people. “Madam Ai. I was wondering if we could speak to you about your daughter's disappearance.” Tai Xinbing asked gently. Ah yes, we are lying to those that we are supposed to serve. Really great, Xiao-Tai.

After bringing up the daughter, the lady at the door sucked in a deep breath, a hand going to her mouth. In shock perhaps? Ba Yihan didn’t know, but he slowly stood straight again. He spoke caringly to the mother who had yet to know she had lost her daughter.

“I am Ba Yihan, a son from the leading family of the Tiancha Dynasty.”

“I am Tai Xinbing, a son from the leading family of the Yintao Leng Empire.”

After the two men spoke, the lady stared at both of them. She had a starstruck look on her face, and Ba Yihan knew what was going through her mind. ‘Two leading family cultivators from two astound cultivation camps going to look for my daughter? I know they will find her!’ Ba Yihan couldn’t help but feel sympathy.

She lifted a shaking hand to the door knob once again, and opened the door wider. “You two are going to find… Ai Guiying?” Her voice was just as brittle as her hand was. She was touched that they would look for her in the first place. Ba Yihan felt sympathy, knowing that they had already failed their duty as cultivators. THIS is why I love being mediocre! No one would expect anything of me!

Tai Xinbing also had a look of sadness on his face as he turned to Ba Yihan, expecting the other to answer. Ba Yihan nodded. “We will try to find your daughter.” He answered, before stepping inside the shed.

Ba Yihan had never known what living in a shed felt like, but seeing this, he knew more than well. The pillows looked like they were hard as rock, and there was no where to sit besides the floor, where only three pillows were placed down. Ba Yihan had technically lived in worse living conditions, including that one time his mother had placed him in a meat box for creating an error in one of the three-thousand prayer scripts he had to memorize.

“I will brew you two some warm tea. It gets cold at night, and those layers will not fulfill its duties if you continue to wander.” She speaks from experience, Ba Yihan could tell. He didn’t dare say a word otherwise, and sat down at the table only a meter away from where she gathered water from the bucket.

The young man slipped his hand into his leather belt, where he took out a small piece of fabric that had specific herbs and spices in them. Tai Xinbing saw him do this, and after giving Ba Yihan an odd look, he decided to turn back to the lady.

“Madam Ai, do you remember what the last thing Ai Guiying was doing before she left?” He asked, looking up at the lady standing, who was reaching for two tea cups with saucers. Ba Yihan patiently waited for the lady to speak, but she didn’t, instead placing the two steaming cups of hot waters in front of them, herbs floating at the top.

Ba Yihan didn’t grab the cup.