Chapter 14

She finally spoke after she had sat down, her hands under the table in her lap. “My poor daughter. Ai Guiyang. She is a stunning girl. Very beautiful. One of the most beautiful in the city.” She says with a sigh, shaking her head in dismay.

Tai Xinbing looked back at Ba Yihan, who gave him a simple tilt of his head to the lady. “She is beautiful? Do you think she could have been a target because of her beauty?” Tai Xinbing asked, leaning forward onto the table. Target? We both know it is some sort of creature that is killing everyone. How could she be a target?

Madam Ai gave Tai Xinbing a look before shaking her head in disgust. “A target? Ai Guiying was going to be one of the beautiful young ladies at the Fu Mansion. She looked the part definitely, and Fu Guanying had a liking for her, I just knew it. She was so excited, but then disappeared the night she went to see him. This must be some sort of training for the ladies. Maybe that is why she has disappeared.”

As Madam Ai looked at Tai Xinbing, Ba Yihan took his small pouch of herbs and plopped it into the steaming water, watching the thin bag disintegrate and the tea begin to turn a deeper shade of brown. The green and blue herbs dispersed across the liquid's surface.

“So she disappeared at night? Do you know where she was supposed to be going? At least the direction?” Tai Xinbing seemed more than pushy on the subject, but Madam Ai never seemed uncomfortable about his questions.

She answered swiftly. “Ai Guiyang was going out to the beach to find shells. She was planning on making Fu Guanying a bracelet in hopes of him taking her in. Her father and I looked around the beach area for months, but to no avail.” She answered. The beach?

Ba Yihan looked at Tai Xinbing, and the young man seemed to have the same answer. One that had placed each individual piece together to create a solved puzzle of what was happening in Chun Hai.

But, as Tai Xinbing stood to inform the others, Ba Yihan raised his hand, still having one more question to ask the old lady that lost her daughter. Not that she knew. “Has there been a recent murder? In the past few months?” Ba Yihan questioned.

Madam Ai was unprepared for that question. She stared at Ba Yihan with yellow-hazel eyes. She squeezed the fabric that covered her chest. “Recent murder? No, no murders. Do you think my daughter was murdered?” She asked, her voice breaking and squeaking with each word. Ba Yihan’s heart’s plagued with regret.

“Murdered? I do not believe she was murdered. Not by a ghost.”

__〆(￣ー￣ )

Ba Yihan was, for once, actually motivated to do some good in his life.

The walk to the dock was long and tiresome. Tai Xinbing had sent a note to Yue Mingkun and Ru Zhaozhi to meet up with them at the dock. It seemed to have taken all of them a very long time to get there, since they had arrived in time for the sun to disappear fully behind both the tall green trees and the horizon entirely. But that wasn’t known, as it has been almost thirty minutes since the sun had disappeared and the moon had started its own race.

Yueliang time was in full effect.

As soon as Ru Zhaozhi, the last disciple, arrived, it was time to start the meeting.

It was Ru Zhaozhi’s idea for them all to see what was happening, so everyone waited for Ru Zhaozhi to start it. Since the disciple from Liu Bai He Clan saw that all eyes were on him, he spoke up. “Yue Mingkun. Did you set up all the buildings with a concealing talisman?” He asked, looking over at the disciple with brown hair. He crossed his arms and leaned on one of the sturdy poles at the dock.

“Did I? Of course not. I didn’t have enough time, and definitely didn’t have enough materials. Chun Hai is a large city where many people live.” Yue Mingkun seemed agitated about his job and how he wasn’t able to finish it, but no one pushed him or whined back at him.

“Well then, Tai Xinbing will help out. Speaking of, did you two find out anything about the creature we will be fighting?”

Tai Xinbing’s eyes turn to Ba Yihan, but the young man didn’t say anything. He was still creating a well thought-out answer. One with no flaws.

Ba Yihan was good at being creative with both his resolutions, as well as his reasoning. He was always good at that. Finding holes within certain situations as well as certain rules. That was why he didn’t like the rules that the cultivation world enforced, and why he made Wo Zedong angry that day. To the point his face turned purple, hehe.

“It’s a water demon. One that is both weak and hunts close to the shore. They also only hunt good looking people.” Ba Yihan answered, his voice staying gentle yet strict and monotone.

Ru Zhaozhi narrowed his eyes. “A water demon? A weak water demon? How do you know?” He asked, changing his stance to one slightly challenging the idea Ba Yihan had cultivated.

Tai Xinbing gave a curious look. “Hunts only good looking people. Like Ai Guiyang and Fu Fanying?” He seemed a lot less hesitant of the idea than Ru Zhaozhi.

Yue Mingkun didn’t show much interest, but he still looked at Ba Yihan for clarification. Each of the disciples' eyes were on him.

“Precisely. Ai Guiyang and Fu Fanying both died near the beach. It could only be something that hunts in the water.” Ba Yihan reasoned.

Yue Mingkun, who remained quiet, finally spoke up. “But a demon? Do you think that Wo Huangchun would send us to fight a demon?”

Ba Yihan answered just as quickly as before, not hesitating for the slightest of moments. “Wo Huangchun said he didn’t know much about the creature, and even warned us to contact the nearest Lv. 4 cultivators if something went astray. Not only that, but the demon only hunts once a month, meaning that it could only be powerful enough to get up and suck the humans dry of their souls during yueliang hours monthly.”

Ru Zhaozhi turned his back to look out at the sea of still water. It was indeed a beautiful night, with stars sprinkling the sky like rice in ink. The reflection of the sky was perfect during this hour. “So, what you are saying is there is a weak water demon, feasting only on the souls of the beautiful in Chun Hai?” He asked, his question targeted at Ba Yihan.

“Exactly.”

Ba Yihan felt like he was facing Wo Zedong head on, and not one of the many disciples of Liu Bai He Clan. He still stood up straight, his face only twisting in slight amusement when Ru Zhaozhi turned his back to the frigid waters.

Though the ocean was still, the wind had only picked up. Coming in from the east and flooding the streets of Chun Hai like a tsunami. Yet, none of the disciples moved at the jostling of the air. Instead, Ru Zhaozhi lifted his hand, and flicked a stray piece of hair that landed comfortably on his shoulder. He cleared his throat and spoke up.

“Ba Yihan, you are intelligent. The Wo family strives for intellect and resource management.” He compliments, a subtle smile on his face.

Ba Yihan was not trying to impress Ru Zhaozhi in the slightest, but he didn’t take the other’s compliment for granted. Instead, he looked over at Ru Zhaozhi, before down at the boat. “Intelligence runs through not just the leading family of Liu Bai He Clan. Do not belittle yourself, Ru Zhaozhi.” Ba Yihan said with a low voice. After all, as long as you can beat people to the pulp, it doesn’t matter what family you belonged to.

Yue Mingkun groaned and stretched his body out, already seemingly bored of the conversation between the other three cultivators. “Aya, we get it. Let’s go fight this dumb demon and be done.” Yue Mingkun didn’t hesitate to go straight to the boat Ba Yihan was peering at, and pulled the rope that was tied to the wooden piece closer, yanking the boat as well.