Xue Xiangsi started frantically checking all the deceased's faces, terrified he'd see Bai Yunkai among them. At his side Zui Chunlai took a more pragmatic approach, inspecting their eyes and mouths, trying to find more information about how exactly they died, and more importantly, who killed them.
"Come look at this," Zui Chunlai said, pointing at two dead bodies who had their collars undone.
He came closer and looked at where Zui Chunlai was pointing. Below the left collarbone of the two victims there was a bright cinnabar crescent moon mark. At first Xue Xiangsi thought it might be burnt onto the skin, as if it were a brand, but when he touched the cold skin it wasn't raised. The mark, then, was likely a result of the array, and a consequence of the technique that had syphoned all the victims' qi.
"Madam Sisi said something about a "Crimson Shadow", they could be related to whatever this is," Xue Xiangsi said.
"We'll need to go back to the Red Peony and ask some more questions they might not want to answer." Zui Chunlai looked around the room with a distant look. It was hard to tell if he was trying to avoid thinking about the gruesome scene in front of him, or if he was desensitized to all of it.
"Shizun isn't here," Xue Xiangsi said. For his part, he only wanted to find his shizun and leave the Lei estate. Whatever else they needed to investigate about the massacre he wanted to do far away from all the carnage.
Zui Chunlai nodded. "We keep looking."
The mood had grown somber between them. Xue Xiangsi was disturbed by the dead people. Who could have done such a thing? They were without a doubt related to the masked men who attacked them in the Red Peony. Only demonic cultivators would need to harness spiritual energy in this way. Cultivators who followed the Dao could meditate and harness qi from the natural world. Demonic cultivators relied on corrupted techniques that either destroyed their golden core, or prevented them from creating one. Since they had no way of refining qi, they had to use it in its raw impurified state. Most demonic sects harnessed qi from ghosts, using their strong resentful energy to fuel their powers, or from demons and fiends they either kept at their side as a constant supply, or bled dry if they couldn't be tamed. He had never heard of them draining qi from common people. Notably, people without a cultivation base didn't have a strong qi to begin with, so it was more trouble than it was worth.
Maybe these demonic cultivators were draining qi for other purposes? But which ones? He wished desperately that his shizun were there, he would know what to make of the whole mess.
The house seemed deserted. Which led Xue Xiangsi to conclude that the dead bodies were all the Lei family members.
Except...
"Didn't you think it odd that we didn't find any children among the dead?" he asked Zui Chunlai.
"That is odd. I very much doubt the Lei family only had adult members, considering there were about fifteen dead adults in the other room. At least a few of them should have young children."
"I think the youngest of them must have been as old as Ji Shuren." Xue Xiangsi thought that must have meant something. He just wasn't sure what, yet.
Suddenly they heard the distinct sound of swords clashing. Xue Xiangsi immediately took off in the direction of the sound, flying to the house's upper level. Soon he realized the sound wasn't coming from any room in the house, but from outside, and above. They were in the roof.
He jumped into the nearest windowsill, and up to grip the glazed tiles covering the roof. He hoisted himself up, and came face to face with a battle happening in mid-air.
Bai Yunkai was floating on a wind current, using his xiao flute to control his sword which was parrying attacks from a figure clad in black and wearing a red veil hat. The veil went down to his chest and completely obscured his face. The veiled figure was a man judging from his broad shoulders and narrow waist, and he moved with incredible speed. His sword was graphite black, and tendrils of dark energy coiled around the blade like living things. Bai Yunkai wasn't only controlling his sword with his xiao, but also the wind currents holding him afloat. The winds would rise up to protect him from the strikes when his sword couldn't keep up with the speed of the veiled man.
Xue Xiangsi hadn't mastered any techniques that allowed him to stay suspend for such long periods of time. But there were other ways he could help his shizun. He unsheathed Heavenly Frost and holding the side of his left palm in front of his face concentrated his qi into the sword's blade. Heavenly Frost froze over, but this time Xue Xiangsi wouldn't use it to attack the veiled man. He called upon the ice shards to detach from the blade, and using the wind currents protecting his shizun, flung them into his direction.
The wind reacted to the threat to Bai Yunkai, and sent the shards flying away from him. Xue Xiangsi held Heavenly Frost in front of him, as a protective barrier. And standing his ground, called back the ice coming his way into Heavenly Frost's blade.
The veiled man wasn't as lucky. Several shards pierced him. One of them lodged in his chest, just above his heart, another in his thigh. A third shard, cut through his veil slashing it under his chin, revealing a slender neck.
The man clutched at his bleeding chest, and in a flurry of black robes jumped down the roof.
Xue Xiangsi thought about giving chase but his major concern was Bai Yunkai, who looked exhausted from the amount of qi he had expended during the fight.
Bai Yunkai dissolved the wind currents with a flick of his wide sleeves, and descended gracefully to the roof, but as soon as his feet touched the tiles he collapsed. Xue Xiangsi ran to his side, and held him up against his chest. He placed two fingers under his chest, and extracted some of his qi, watching the blue current of energy flow from his golden core into his fingertips. He then held his fingers between Bai Yunkai's eyebrows and transferred the qi to him.
Bai Yunkai's eyelid's fluttered and he stared up at Xue Xiangsi with his unseeing eyes. "Xue Xiangsi? Are you alright?"
"Yes, Shizun. You managed to drive the veiled man away," Xue Xiangsi said, using his sleeve to wipe some of the sweat from Bai Yunkai's forehead.
"I think I had some help from you." Bai Yunkai's smile was self-deprecating, but he patted Xue Xiangsi's hand warmly.
"This disciple would never let any harm come to Shizun," Xue Xiangsi said.
Xue Xiangsi was still holding Bai Yunkai to his chest, when Zui Chunlai, Liu Zhuyu, and Yan Huaxiang found them.
"It seems Xiangsi had everything under control, we needn't have rushed," Zui Chunlai said, scowling.
Xue Xiangsi rolled his eyes. "Shizun is very weak, I transferred him some of my qi, but he needs a few hours of meditation to fully recover." He helped Bai Yunkai to his feet.
"Shizun, we followed Tan Fei, we discovered some of what might be happening in Qi An, it isn't good." Liu Zhuyu took up Bai Yunkai's other arm, helping him walk.
"Let's go back to the inn, we can talk more comfortably there," Bai Yunkai said. He seemed tired for more reasons than qi depletion.
---
Back at the Hare's Burrow, Liu Zhuyu helped Bai Yunkai into the bed, propping some pillows behind his back.
Zui Chunlai still looked like an unpleasant smell was permeating the air around him. Xue Xiangsi suspected the smell was himself, because every time they would exchange a glance, Zui Chunlai would be the first to look away. While he was beyond amused that Zui Chunlai really bought into his tale of being in love with Bai Yunkai, he had no patience for his hissy fit when they had bigger problems.
"Shizun, should we leave you alone, or would Shizun like to know what this disciple, and Yan-jie found?"
Xue Xiangsi was taken aback. How had Yan Huaxiang gone from young lady Yan, to older sister Yan in the span of an afternoon? He gave Liu Zhuyu a probing look, but she was pointedly avoiding looking at him. It seemed that was the theme of the evening.
"I'm feeling much better, please go on." Despite his words Bai Yunkai still looked frail, almost brittle. His pale skin was so colourless Xue Xiangsi could almost see his veins.
"We waited for Tan Fei to leave the restaurant and then we followed him, into what we assumed was his house." Liu Zhuyu looked at Yan Huaxiang, who nodded. "It wasn't his house. He was meeting with several other people; they were all practicing demonic cultivation together. They discovered us, and we had to fight them."
She paused, and seemed to blush before continuing, turning once again to Yan Huaxiang. "Yan-jie is a very talented fighter, she alone subdued five people."
"Liu Zhuyu flatters me. She also fought bravely; we wouldn't have made it out alive without her," Yan Huaxiang said, a ghost of a smile haunting her lips, to Xue Xiangsi's great surprise.
"After I questioned them, using the Clear Mind Inquest technique Shizun taught me, they revealed that about a month ago some cultivators showed up, saying that they could teach even those with weak qi flows how to cultivate, as long as they joined their sect. Apparently, they call themselves the Blood Moon sect."
"In such a short time, they already dominated advanced techniques. Of course, demonic cultivation always yields faster results than the righteous path, but their powers were very unusual. Different than what we learnt about demonic cultivation in the Flaming Pearl sect," Yan Huaxiang said, growing more apprehensive with each word. "It was almost as if..."
"As if they had a golden core," Liu Zhuyu said, finishing Yan Huaxiang's train of thought.
"Demonic cultivators can't maintain a golden core, their qi is too corrupted and unstable," said Zui Chunlai. "Demonic cultivation goes against the laws of nature; it causes disturbances to the universal balance of the Dao."
"What if what they are developing isn't a golden core, but a demonic core?" Asked Xue Xiangsi, turning to Bai Yunkai. "They could be cultivating a core of demonic energy?"
Zui Chunlai scoffed. "How could they develop a core if they are unable to meditate and become one with the Dao? That's a necessary step of core formation. By meditating they become closer to the Dao, but by doing so they lose the connection to their demonic powers."
"Xue Xiangsi could be right," said Bai Yunkai, now paler than the walls. "Many years ago, someone I knew posed that theory. Meditation is what we, cultivators of the Dao of light, use to connect with the source of our powers. Since the Dao isn't the source of demonic powers, it isn't unreasonable to think that Demonic cultivators might have found a different way to tap into the source of their powers, and in that way develop a demonic core. It's a scary thought, but not impossible."
Silence fell on the room like a curtain. The idea of a demonic core was something that no sect had ever considered a possibility. Xue Xiangsi wouldn't dare bringing up the mere thought of it in front of Liu Zhiruo for fear of being flogged. But someone else had considered it, someone Bai Yunkai knew, which begged the question.
"Who was the person who first mentioned demonic cores to Shizun?"
Bai Yunkai leaned back against the pillows, and let out a spiritless sigh. His beautiful features were twisted in grief so deep it was almost funeral. "He was the brightest man I've ever met. He had a wild temper, and could become furious easily, but he was always so kind with me, like I was a bird with a broken wing he had to carry everywhere in his cupped palms."
Bai Yunkai closed his eyes, his eyelids trembling under the strain of memory. When he opened them again tears clung to his eyelashes like dewdrops on flower petals. "He was my Shizun."