Once again waking up with his head hurting like he had been hit by a hammer, Jian paused as he looked around and noticed he wasn't in his little cottage. No this time he had woken up in a very simplistic white room, with barely anything in it except a bed and a desk.
However there was something else, or rather someone else.
Jian deadpanned as he watched Wei Lu sleep on the floor while blood flowed out of the many wounds she had on her body.
"Uhmm....Are you dead, Miss ?" Jian asked as he nudged her with his foot. Lu'er groaned and grabbed his feet before she frowned.
"Huh ?"
She blinked while looking at the foot she was holding, before looking up and seeing Jian.
"Ah, Jian ! I see you woke up ! You got me a bit scared last night. You wouldn't have been the first disciple to die from the pressure of the Patriarch's power. By the way, before you ask me anything about what happened...Your robe is just behind you. Dress up and then leave the room. Today is a very special day and I'll have need for you." She said before disappearing, leaving only a small rose behind.
Jian blinked and then started to dress up while the events of last night replayed in his mind. He was pretty sure that Giran was the strongest being he had ever seen. Even the unholy being wasn't that frightening. But something intrigued him...It was the tattoo that the creepy elite disciple had on her tongue....That and the behaviour of the patriarch.
Not a single patriarch on the continent would get so violent with one of their top disciples, and yet Jian could clearly recall it, he remembered it, the hatred in Giran's eyes.
A few minutes later, Jian emerged from the room and smiled nervously as his eyes met Wei Feng's who was waiting right in front of the door. Behind the old man, Wei Lu could be seen sweating bullets.
"So.....My daughter told me she required your help to go on an assignment. I don't know why the Patriarch told her to take you, but I shall come too. This shouldn't be a problem, I trust ? " Wei Feng said, glaring briefly at Jian, before turning around and walking away.
Both disciples looked at each other and sighed, deciding on following after the old master. It was only as they reached the main entrance, that Lu'er coughed and got Jian's attention.
"You have some questions for me, right ? I wouldn't have answered them normally....But this is gonna take a long time if my father wants us to just walk."
Jian looked at Wei Feng and just as the daughter said, the father had decided to simply walk instead of using a flashy way of transport.
"Well....What was that meeting last night ? Who were those two strange disciples ? What's the story between the patriarch and that creepy female disciple ? Also....Do you know where I could find Huang Lei ? I kinda received a letter from a disciple that was passing by, and it was from Huang Lei. I'm supposed to be meeting with him tomorrow, but I don't even know where to find the guy." Jian said. Lu'er smiled at him before closing in and talking in a smaller voice so her father couldn't hear them.
" I don't really know about that meeting. It was only supposed to be happening so we could receive our allowances, but Sabi was asked to stay behind...And from I heard by bribing a servant, something really dark is brooming in the shadows...I don't know much though, but it's about Zhao Shu, Li Kuo and you. So you'll know. when Giran decides it's the right time to tell you. Sabi is a mysterious mercenary that the patriarch brought back one day, no one knows a single thing about him. Now Karasu Shina is a different deal."
Wei Feng suddenly stopped and motioned for them to do so too. He then disappeared.
" Wha-"
"She's from the Land of the Everlasting Sun, just like Sabi. But she's also a priestess of thanatos, whatever that is. She joined because she was in love with the previous Elite disciple that held the seat she now occupies. That disciple is the biggest traitor in the history of our sect, and the one who killed the previous Sect Head, his name is..." Just as Lu'er was about to say the name, while Jian was still confused as to why Wei Feng had disappeared, the old master came back with a litteral army of disciples in tow.
" Mercury, also called Agent Mercury by his associates. A member of a secret organization who joined our sect to kill the Sect Head and seduce the first founding elder, Wei Xia, my mother." Wei Feng said. He then moved towards his daughter and talked in her ear.
" I brought them because of that. Your assignment was to go to the capital of the Li Zhang Kingdom to fetch some exotic food for Gecko. However we will be going through THAT forest on the way. I just received a mental pulse from the patriarch, and went to the inner pavillion....This is bad, my daughter. " Wei Feng said, while Lu'er started to understand what was going on.
"You mean...Something went bad with the demon extermination mission and it's linked to Mercury ?" She asked, her aura suddenly covering her body while the ground beneath her feet cracked.
"That's exactly what I mean. The patriarch already gathered those disciples for our new assignment. We will still go to the capital, but we will first try to see what happened in that god forsaken forest. Apparently the Akaryu Knight Order has sent an entire platoon of knights to destroy the forest. They should arrive an hour after us. So we only have an hour to save whoever is still alive. We need to go now, however."
The two looked at each other and nodded. Then they faced the gate and put their right hands on their chest.
"Two little wisps of energy, light as the Spider's threat, yet powerful as the Dragon's fire. Float, Fēng xuē ( Wind Boots ) " They both exclaimed.
"Woah !" Jian exclaimed while covering his eyes with his hands, the other inner disciples doing the same as the father and daughter began to float. What awed Jian were the little wind currents moving back and forth under the two's feet.
" Everyone, put your hands on us and use Qi to glue them to our bodies." Lu'er said. They all instantly understood what she meant and after a few seconds all the disciples had placed their hands on the two.
" It's time to go out. If we aren't back in two days, send a message to the patriarch and tell him we are dead ! He should see it when he comes out of his training room." Wei Feng said to a disciple who was sitting on a rock and drinking tea.
Said disciple smiled and waved at them as they took off and flew away fast enough to break through the barrier of sound.
" Ahhh.....How truly vexing Wei Feng. Can't even recognise your old student." The disciples said as the surrounding began to shake, a weird noise being heard, like someone was tapping on a drum.
Suddenly, the disciple lost his robe and wore an outfit like no one had ever seen on this continent. He was fixing the buttons on his sleeves when another figure dressed like him came out of the ground.
"Agent Mercury, could you fix your suit before the start of the mission next time ? This is becoming annoying." The figure said. It was impossible to identify them as they wore a wood mask with only a slit to breath through.
" Agent Wood Shadow, how truly disgusting. To be paired with you, It's as if they want us to fight. " Mercury said while still fixing his golden buttons on his dark red suit.
Wood Shadow looked him and snorted before jumping so high he could see the entire sect. He then landed back on the ground and took out a strange weapon from his own suit.
"Bringing out a gun ? Seriously ? You lot just aren't funny. You don't use guns to fight against cultivators, dumbass."
" Agent Mercury, I got a good look at this entire mountain. The Patriarch's mansion is located on the other side of the mountain now. We will need to go through the inner pavillion and then pass right by the servants' building to reach it." Wood Shadow said, but Mercury only smiled, some blood escaping his mouth before he wiped it away.
"And ? We will just....Kill our way through."
*****************
( Demon Infested Forest )
A sudden explosion wiped out a part of the forest, while a strange blue substance coated the rest of the forest.
Someone snapped their fingers and the substance turned to ice, freezing the entire forest and ending the fire that was threatening to spread outside of the forest, while killing every beasts in the vicinity.
A roar was heard, followed by a scream from a demonic voice that resounded throughout what was left of the forest.
At the same time, a carriage that was passing by was frozen, instantly freezing nobles that had been laughing a second before, while the man who had been driving it was turned into ice and broke into millions of pieces.
A few hundred meters away from the forests, the flowers in the plains were frozen, the roses turned blue as did the people living in small cottages at the gates of a gigantic city.
The city itself was spared by the ice, but no one inside that city would feel hot for the next ten summers.