I need his blood.

The disciples gathered again, now battle-worn and tense. The survivors - Feng Wu, Jian Wei, Bai Lu, Mei Ling and the rest - had finally regrouped inside a cave that felt like safety... until it wasn't. They had barely settled, catching thier breath and trying to piece together a plan, when a chill swept through the cave. The air thinned.

A pressure settled over their skin like something unseen was watching them. Then ⁠_ it stepped in. Not as a whispering shadow like before. No. This time, the assassin revealed itself. A dark cloaked figure emerged from the far end of the cave, eyes glowing like cold embers. Without a word,it surged toward Jian Wei.

" Jian Wei!" Mei Ling shouted, reaching out - but too late.

The figure vanished. Jian Wei froze, his body jerking once, and then he slowly looked up . But something was wrong. Very wrong. His eyes had changed, shadows swirling in whites, and his aura..it was suffocating .

" I can hold it off," Jian Wei ground out through clenched teeth, veins bulging,sweat dripping. He staggered back, pushing everyone away. " Don't... come closer."

"Should we restrain him ? Knock him off ?" Feng Wu asked, already reaching for his blade.

" No!" Bai Lu's voice rang out. Everyone turned, she stepped forward slowly, fingers pulling out a sleek sliver pin from her thick dark hair. Her hair loosened and fell gently over her shoulders, catching the flicking light of the touches. Even amid the tension, Liu Yang muttered," she's...wow..." .

" This isn't a time to drool," Mei Ling hissed.

" What are you doing?" Li Hua asked, alarmed.

" I need his blood," Bai Lu said calmly. She stepped closer to Jian Wei, who trembled, teeth clenched, fighting the possession like a storm raging inside him. She reached his hand and pricked his palm quickly with a pin. A bead of crimson swelled.

"Bai Lu, stop! You'll kill him!" Liu Yang shouted, taking a step forward.

"No..I won't" Her voice was steady,eyes locked onto Jian Wei's.

The drop of blood was collected into a small bowl. Bai Lu then lit a flame beneath it. The bowl hissed,a smoke curled upward. As it burned, black vapour began to me - not from the bowl,but from Jian Wei himself. The shadow inside him was reacting.

"He's... it's working!" Feng Wu exclaimed.

The shadow inside him was slowly being dragged out, pulled by something deep and ancient in the fire, reacting to the power in Jian Wei blood. The shadow hissed, screeched, and clawed at the air as it was ripped from Jian Wei's chest like black smoke being exorcised.

Jian Wei gasped, knees buckly, but the shadow wasn't done. In one final burst , it leapt from the bowl. And Bai Lu moved. In one elegant motion,she slashed through the rising form. The silver pin sliced through the shadow's body like it was flesh. A shriek. A burst of dark light . Then ashes. Black particles floated down like burned feathers. Silence.

Jian Wei collapsed into Feng Wu's arm, breaking hard but alive. The cave was still. No one spoke for a long while. Then Liu Yang said softly. " Bai Lu.. remind me never to make you angry. "