Once, long ago, a deity fell in love with a human.
The deity was highly respected, for he was the first deity who ascended by the unique involving blacksmithing. Countless series of weapons and accessories are now legendary, many of then were made by this deity. Even the current deities are known to wield weapons he had made.
A quirk he was widely known for, is that he would make entire series of weapons before dropping them off at random temples—ones that beong to him. Because of this quirk, his believers made a patrol system where every part of the temple is watched at all times.
Even including the bathrooms, yes.
The human, on the other hand, is a normal human. She lived a relatively normal life, until she met the deity in his mortal form. The deity had been travelling from temple to temple to drop his newest series of weapons and she had joined him on his travels, gaping plot hole number one.
During their travels, the two of them were met with many dangers and the deity soon fell in love with the human.
By the end of their journey, the deity makes a point to walk the human back to her home. He proposes to the human and offers to make her a vassal deity—what?—so they can be together forever, but there was just one teensy problem.
The human is engaged to her childhood friend, gaping plot hole number two. And, like any sensible person would, married the childhood friend instead of the random stranger.
Of course, this means that the deity is so angered he turns to the demonic arts and makes a whole other new cultivation method, founding the blacksmithing method demonic arts cultivators now all use. In other words, the demonic arts side told him, 'we have cookies'. Cookies being humans who he didn't fall in love with.
Because he turned to demonic arts, most if not all the deity's followers left him. Then, at some point, he for some reason nearly dies—gaping plot hold number...four?—and instead of getting treatment, instead makes a whole series of swords, named the Demonblade series.
His temples are either burnt down or destroyed with the passage of time.
The ruin that Leiji and Zhang Xuanhe will be exploring is apparently one of the biggest temples during that time. It is also highly suspected that the ninth sword of the Demonblade series is in this temple because one to ten have all been collected and noted except for number nine, so hooray? Leiji isn't looking for a new sword though?
Hall Master Ling had barely given them a glance before approving and giving them a timeframe of seven days. If the two weren't out of the ruin after three days then a search and rescue group will be brought out.
"You couldn't find anyone who wanted to join?" Leiji questions Zhang Xuanhe. The boy shakes his head no. "Not even your sister?"
"No way!" He immediately says. "There is no way I'm asking my sister for help!"
"...if I remember correctly," Leiji says slowly, incredulous. What is with males in this world and not admitting their need for help? Don't they know that their safety and health are far more important things than their pride? "Your sister is one of Hall Master Ling's best fighters."
Zhang Xuanhe shudders. "I know."
Leiji continues, "Then why didn't you?"
"She would never let this go." Zhang Xuanhe makes an almost pitiful expression. "Please don't make me!"
...Leiji looks behind Zhang Xuanhe, back at him, and almost feels pity. Zhang Xuanhe's sister asks with a dark expression and cracking knuckles, "I would never let what go, Xuanhe?"
Watching the almost comical brawl the two siblings promptly have, a smile quirks at Leiji's lips. They...would have liked to do something like this with their siblings too. It's just that, Light would never deign to act like her physical age; Hongyun would take it as a real fight and Tian Lanbing...Lanbing?
They really should spend more time with her. Speaking of, she's been growing relatively nice, even though she's become more quiet and contemplative lately.
By the time Zhang Xuanhe is on the ground, both arms being twisted painfully up by his sister and crying about her being unfair, the girl herself finally has had enough.
She looks at Leiji, because being unfairly tall means that even though she—Zhang Binghua—is using her brother as a seat and Leiji themselves is standing, they are face-to-face. She tells them, blunt like her brother is, "Hall Master Ling decided to add that a minimal of three people have to go. I'm coming with to make sure this idiot doesn't die. Also, you don't count as one."
"But I'm still allowed to come?" Leiji questions. Zhang Binghua lets go of Zhang Xuanhe and keeps him upright by the collar. Leiji might be thinking too much or someone may be messing with them, but they could almost swear that swirls replaced his eyes.
She tosses Zhang Xuanhe onto a wall, the boy sliding down almost comically. "There was an odd beast, Spirits and an ancient sort of presence. The biggest threats."
...spirits? The question must have shown on their face, but Zhang Binghua took it the wrong way and explained, "Don't worry, the beast was dealt with. Probably not dead but incapacitated enough to not be a threat to us. The ancient presence whatever is probably some sort of intimidation factor."
"In other words, we just need another person to join us." Leiji concludes.
"That's going to be hard," Zhang Binghua laments. "Most of the disciples right now are worried about the situation and don't want to take an eye off it for even a single moment. The two of you chose a rather nice time."
The last part was so obviously sarcastic that Leiji rolls their eyes in return. They ask, "Who would you recommend?"
"I would say Jiao Zimu," her eyes flicker to her brother's form then, and Zhang Binghua shows something like an exasperated expression. "He is a respectable warrior and is a very well-rounded individual in general knowledge. However, considering the circumstances, it is perhaps best to bring Zhu Mei instead."
Leiji's expression must have shown something because Zhang binghua sighs.
She looks at them in the eye and says slowy, "You should really learn about the people around more. It is more convenient. Zhu Mei is my brother's Second Martial Sister, the one who people think will be Jiao Zimu's intended."
"And she is better because?" Leiji prompts Zhang Binghua. The girl sighs again, says, "She's got common sense," gets up and leaves.
After that confrontation, Leiji drags Zhang Xuanhe to the closest disciple she recognizes and tells them to bring him to his room. They then slip outside and is immediately swamped with relieved bonds reconnecting.
Light is sending thoughts of murder down while Lanbing only gives them a general sense of happiness and mother is suspiciously blank.
Hongyun's is, as always, filled with the constant ramble of how annoying everyone is.
Leiji walks, mind wandering through everything and feeling so, so small. Two steps is one meter, they've taken more than twenty, thirty? Forty steps, twenty meters. One, two, three, four...
They find themselves in where they and that Tian—Tian Li, probably—had fought. The ground still looks scorched and there is a faint smell of rotting flesh. That little tidbit niggles at them. Why would there be the smell of rot here; did something die here? But, looking around, Leiji doesn't see any corpses.
Something is wrong here, they realize belatedly—Lightning rolls her eyes in the back of their mind. There is the vaguest sense that something is wrong, something not connected to the rest.
What is it?
Leiji squints, looking and focusing at one particular spot. They lean down and take a rock, throwing it into that spot and seeing it vanish. An illusion.
They didn't expect illusions to also be in this world. It seems that they should stop underestimating the world anytime soon, but it truly isn't a concern. Sure, an illusion is useful, but only if one of them uses them wisely. For example, using it as distraction while fighting, or not using it to hide a corpse in plain sight.
A sudden bad feeling hits them and Leiji jumps away, watching as a sword once again lodges itself into the soil they had been standing on. This situation again, that old bastard really has no original ideas!
"You really are not bad as my descendant," A voice drawls out and the illusion burns away, revealing that old bastard, still sitting up on the ground and looking pale.
He is at the exact place they had last seen him. Still looking singed and Leiji finds such a thing very oddly disturbing. Had he just...waited here? They unsheathe their own sword, the thing itself buzzing at the speed.
"Cut the nonsense," Leiji barks, "Tian Li died a year ago, who are you?"
"Where did you get such nonsense?" He sighs, as if disappointed, "Aren't I your ancestor, the one you just said? Or are you angry that this ancestor attacked you like that? It is this ancestor's responsibility to punish the younger generation."
Leiji frowns. What is this old man getting at?
The old man—Tian Li, presumably—continues with his speech. "What you did to our family is simply unforgivable, but this ancestor can presume you had reason to believe that your father did not like you. Therefore, this ancestor can still lighten your punishment and leave you alive..."
...after a moment of staring at the old bastard as if he has gone insane, Leiji rethinks their stance of being polite and having manners. What would mother do? Mother would...probably turn around and walk away. Ling Hongyun would kick the man and then leave.
Tian Li continues talking as if Leiji was listening, "Not only that, I can teach you the Tian family's cultivation technique!"
"No thanks," they say after a moment, realizing that Tian Li was waiting for an answer.
"Give it another moment of thought; after all, you can't really trust that Ling boy." Immediately, Leiji's attention is on his words with a high sense of amusement. They can't trust Hongyun? More like they can trust him too much.
Seeing that Leiji hardly believes him, Tian Li asks, "Aren't we family? Don't you know that blood runs thicker than water?"
They can't help but laugh, move closer to where Tian Li sits and kicks him to the side, watching the body fall and blood suddenly spread. "You? You're blood? I may not know the stages of decay very clearly, but I don't think a corpse of someone I've never met before qualifies as family."
Tian Li's corpse laughs and it is such an odd and disturbing thinf to see.
"Very good," his grin is full of malice. "Very, very good. You brat, taking advantage of my unrepaired state..."
Leiji shifts their eyes away, looking around until they catch a flash of white before turning back to the talking corpse. They stomp on the joints, using Lightning elements to fry the flesh of the corpse. Tian Li's corpse doesn't give any external reactions, eyes simply following them.
It would be a far more nerve-wracking experience if Ling Fengbao wasn't watching. Honestly, what is it with Ling-s and their protective tendencies? Leiji wanted to sigh at them, curbing those tendencies have proven nigh impossible.
After Leiji leaves the corpse, Ling Fengbao catches up to them with an odd look. He scans them for...something, Leiji still isn't sure what it is he is looking for in them.
Ling Fengbao smiles after a moment, "How did you figure out the body possession?"
...how does someone word the answer of 'a soul that has been living in my body with me for my entire life told me' to someone else?