Liang Shufen wrapped his little until only his head was poking out. He looked around intending to gather whatever items he could for the child, but after one look his lip curled up in disgust. Besides the necklace and the cloth the baby was in, everything else was too disgusting for his child.
Without gazing back at the massacre, he threw a talisman behind him. It landed gracefully onto the demon's back before bursting into flames. The flames devoured the demons until not even their ashes remained.
Liang Shufen wasted no time in returning to the Sect. A talisman was sent to his head disciple letting her know that everything had been dealt with, before he shut himself in his house once more.
Liang Shufen made his way to his room, closing the door and placing a silencing talisman on it. He turned his focus towards his little one. His fingers soaked with anticipation and happiness as he unwrapped the child from the confining cloth. The gods had been merciful. They had granted him a child once more. One to call his own and this time he was going to protect him with his life.
His little one was a boy. He never had a boy before, but it was probably the same as raising a girl. It couldn't be that different.
He raised his son up, smiling as the little one giggled.
A son. His son.
He had loved his little girl with all his heart and wouldn't change anything about her, but secretly he had always wanted a little boy. He had hoped that his second child would be a boy, but they never got that far.
Her corpse could have had-
He turned in a circle. A smile gracing his lips as his son's giggles chased the unwanted thoughts away. He reeled at all the things he would be teaching his son. Cultivation, hunting, how to use a sword. The possibilities were endless. He pulled his son into his chest, planting a soft kiss to his forehead.
He pulled away, frowning slightly at the dried up blood and dirt that decorated his son's skin. He couldn't have that. He unlocked his room and headed toward the healing pond. He couldn't tell if the blood on his son was human blood or demonic blood, but just to be careful he would heal his son using the healing pond.
Demon blood was known to cause scrutinizing pain if it touched a human's skin. Only cultivators were able to deflect the harmful toxins of the demon blood. His heart ached at the thought of his son suffering unbearable pain from demonic blood.
He lowered himself and his son into the healing pond and began to gently wipe away the blood. The blood dyed the pond red for only a moment before shining a bright blue and dissolving into the water. His eyes wavered at the sight. He bit his lip and let a stray tear fall from his eyes. How much pain his son must have been in.
His son grew sleepy. His eyes closed every now and then before he would startle and give an oohing sound while reaching for Liang Shufen's long hair. Liang Shufen gladly let the child tug and chew at his hair while he diligently washed him. It was a nice distraction from all the pain his son had to be feeling.
By the time he was finished washing his son, his son had fallen asleep. Liang Shufen gently wrapped him up in a soft blue blanket. Being careful not to wake him, he made his way towards his room and gently placed him on his bed. He moved the pillows around his son to create a barrier so he wouldn't fall off.
Liang Shufen stayed awake, staring lovingly at his son. The soft snores coming from his son while he twisted ever so slightly in his sleep brought a smile to his face. So much had happened in one day, but his mind no longer lingered on the faces of his loved ones. Instead all he could see was his son sleeping peacefully by his side.
He couldn't help but think back to the demons. From the looks of what they were wearing, they seemed to have only attacked one family. It was strange for demons, after all demons were notorious for attacking everything they came across and a well off family would not be in a location separated from others. Unless they were traveling, but even then the demons would have come across more travelers.
So, was it for revenge?
It was reasonable, after all noble families were often cruel and unforgiving to those beneath them. Liang Shufen had personally come across many that wanted nothing more than to get revenge on a noble family for what they had done. Liang Shufen sighed. Even if they acted on revenge, they would still need a way to access the human realm from the demon realm.
Could they have gone to a demonic cultivator?
Laing Shufen frowned at the thought. This incident was too close to his Sect for his liking, worse it seemed these demons were after his son.
He would have to get up in the morning to set up a new ward. He will need to discuss possible scouting missions with his head disciple as well. He sighed. There was so much to be done in so little time.
For a moment his mind wandered to the other Sects, but as quickly as he thought about them he vanished the thoughts. It wasn't good to talk about them. They didn't care about what had happened then, they didn't care about him, so why should he care about them?
He still hadn't forgiven them for what they had done and he wouldn't. Not now, not until they truly feel sorry for what they had done to him. They could send all the gifts in the world, but nothing would change.
He reached out and grabbed onto his son's chubby little hands. It would be best to keep his son a secret for now. He wouldn't want the same mistake to happen twice.
There was a knock at his door. "Shizun! This lowly one has come to deliver breakfast!" HIs head disciple called out.
Liang Shufen glanced at the window. When did it become so bright? "Leave it on the table." He responded.
"Yes Shizun!' There was the sound of a sliding door followed by footsteps and then a low clattering noise as she set the table. "This disciple will take her leave now."
Liang Shufen listened as her footsteps disappeared before taking any effort to get up and get ready. He grabbed his favorite robe, one he hadn't worn in a long time, not sense…he shook his head.
His outer robe was the same peerless white as he usually wore, while his outer robe was a light blue that faded into a darker blue with silver butterflies adorning the bottom of the robes. His sash was white and a jade pendant with blue tassels was securely tied to his hip. He carefully tied up some of his hair into a half topknot with a silver butterfly crown holding it together. He let the rest of his hair flow freely down his back.
After dressing himself, he didn't look twice to make sure everything was in order. Instead he turned to dress his still sleeping son. He didn't have much clothes for babies, but he was able to find a small robe that was left behind by his daughter. It was a simple white robe that had some small butterflies adorning the bottom of it. It was designed to match his robes and to be worn on special occasions, but his daughter never listened to rules. She often ran around wearing the robe without a care in the world if it got dirty or ruined. She got a severe scolding when her mother found out that she had lost it. It was only after they were…gone, that he had found it, tucked away deep in his closet with his other robes.
He never thought he would have a purpose for the robe again.
His son gurgled and giggled as he dressed him. His eyes were opening and closing at a slow pace, not really awake yet. Liang Shufen gazed at the deep black eyes that gazed up at him. They weren't blue like his, but that was fine. It was better that way. Liang Shufen patted his son's black hair and picked him up.
His son reached out with his hands at the flowers they passed. Liang Shufen gently patted his son's head and brought him into the front room.
The front room was situated in the front of the courtyard with two adjoining rooms on each side of it. A single table with a single blue pillow sat in the middle of the room, where two bowls had been placed. He sat down on the single cushion with his son in his arms.
His son played relentlessly with his new robe. He kicked his legs and waved his arms in the air as Liang Shufen picked up some congee and fed it to him. His son babbled as he ate, letting the food dribble out of his mouth. Liang Shufen was diligent as he carefully wiped away the escaping food while feeding his son.
"Shizun! Shizun!" Chun Hua barged into the room without permission, sweat was dripping down her face as she leaned over grasping her knees as she took deep breaths.
Liang Shufen glared at her. As his head disciples she knew better than to enter his home without permission.
"Apologies to Shizun, but they are at it aga-" her eyes focused on his son sitting in his lap. Respectively his son stopped moving and was bluntly staring back at her.
"…Shizun? Why do you have a baby?" Chun Hua spoke carefully, her eyes gazing at the baby, more specifically the robes that he wore.
"He is my new son." Liang Shufen stated calmly while taking a sip of his tea.
"Your…son?"
Liang Shufen nodded.
Chun Hua froze. "Shizun?" She took a hesitant step forward. The sweat that had been dripping down her face instantly went away with the cold that was slowly taking her over. "Where did you get your new…son?"
Liang Shufen would normally hate all these questions, but they had to do with his son, so he couldn't help but indulge. He patted his son's head. It was very soft. "Last night. The demons killed his previous family. So I took him in and now he's my son." Liang Shufen smiled down at his son who was still glaring at Chun Hua.
Chun Hua staggered backwards as if she had been hit. She rubbed her eyes a couple of times then looked back at him. "I-I can't believe it." She mumbled to herself.
After a tense moment of silence she shook her head and dressed the real reason on why she had come. "Shizune, they are fighting again."
"Who?"
Chun Hua gritted her teeth, her head lowered as she spoke, "Qing Jie and Xing Fu."
"Mmmm, those two." Liang Shufen placed his cup back on the table. "What are they fighting about this time?" He grabbed his son's hands and began to play with him. His son giggled wildly.
"Xing Fu made fun of Qing Jie's name and Qing Jie challenged him to a duel."
Liang Shufen nodded along. This was normal for the two disciples. Sense they had entered his Sect they had been at each other's throats everyday, so he wasn't too concerned.
"A duel is fine as long as they don't severely injure one another. Make sure there are healing pills nearby." He waved his hand, dismissing her , and went back to playing with his son.
"No, Shizun." Chun Hua whined. "They didn't just challenge each other to a duel. Qing Jie and Xing Fu decided that a duel wasn't enough, so they made it a competition and are currently heading to an old demon's nest. They made a bet that whoever could find a demon and kill it first would win." Chun Hua was biting her lip, her hands curling into her robes as she spoke. "This one-this one really tried to stop them, but-but they wouldn't listen."
Liang Shufen's hands froze. His son glanced up at him with wide eyes, some dribble flowing down his chin.
"They what!" He slammed his hand on the table causing it to crack down the middle. His son watched with twinkling eyes and giggled in excitement. His hands reached out to try and capture Liang Shufen's hands.
Liang Shufen wanted to comfort his son, but his mind was too caught up in the fact that his own disciples would willingly go behind his back and walk straight into danger. Straight to their possible-
"How dare they defy the Sect rules and go to the demon's nest."he hissed. "Gather your sword and Xue Ma, we leave immediately."
Chun Hua's eyes light up. "Yes, Shizun!"
Liang Shufen placed his son in one hand and grabbed his sword with the other, latching it onto his waist. With a determined look he walked towards the entrance of his home, pausing slightly as he gazed at the bright scenery outside.
The grass swayed gracefully in the wind and a few birds chirped in the trees. He could faintly hear the laughter of a few of his disciples and he subconsciously took a step back.
"Guggu?" Liang Shufen glanced down at his son. He was reaching out with his hands, his eyes sparkling as he gazed at the scenery outside.
Liang Shufen bit his lip. He didn't want his son to be seen so soon. He needed time, but it seemed his son was determined to make himself known now.
He maneuvered his son into his arms, making sure that he could see the view in front of him and with a deep breath made his way towards the base of the Sect.
It was a known fact in his Sect that one should not, for any reason, seek out a demon. They were too powerful for disciples to handle and Laing Shufen did not want another tragedy in his hands. Sadly that didn't mean that demons were not forbidden for searching them out.
Long ago, Liang Shufen happened upon a demon's nest at the base of his mountain. He took care of them before the demons could make their presence known, but the damage had already been done. The demon's presence had seeped into the small clearing, making everything inside wither and die. Liang Shufen took great care in cleansing the place, but that didn't stop the occasional stray demon from discovering the old demonic presence. So Liang Shufen banned his disciples from the area.
When the other Sect leaders discovered his precautions they laughed at him, mocking him for being too soft, but he ignored their vicious words. They hadn't been what he had been through. They hadn't seen what he had seen. He knew what demons were capable of and he never wanted his disciples to go through the same pain as him.
By the time Laing Shufen had reached the bottom of the mountain. Chun Hua and Xue Ma were already there. They stood diligently toward the side with their swords in hand.
Xua Ma ứa a senior disciples who excelled in sword fighting. She was one of the few he trusted to go on the awful and overall dangerous demon hunts the other Sects forced him to participate in. Her dark hair was pulled into two tight buns and instead of wearing the usual girl disciple robes, she adorned light fighting pants just like the boy disciples.
"Shizun." The two bowed as he walked up.
"Raise your heads." Liang Shufen waved his hand and passed them, missing the strange look in Xue Ma's eyes as he passed.
"We are heading to the demon's nest. There hasn't been a stray demon in a while, but with what happened last night, we can't afford to be careless."
"Yes, Shizun."
Liang Shufen pulled out his sword and threw it in front of him. The sword hummed with Qi and floated in front of him. Readjusting his grasp on his son he jumped on the sword with ease and took off with his two disciples following suit.
His son giggled. His small arms flapped up and down. Liang Shufen smiled and tightened his hold. He didn't want his son to accidentally fall.
The demon's nest was nestled in a small clearing in the center of the forest at the base of his mountain. It was not far from where a village used to be. When Laing Shufen had first stumbled upon this abandoned village he had thought of establishing it as a training area, but after the accident…he shook his head.
Demons were tricky. They hid themselves well when they knew their opponent was too strong. They focused instead on easy prey, like children and unexpected travelers. On top of demons being drawn to the location, if a disciple wasn't careful enough, they could walk into a demon's trap without even realizing it.
Liang Shufen scowled at the thought.
When they landed Liang Shufen tucked his son deeper into his robes. He could feel it. An enormous amount of demonic energy coming from the forest.
"Shizun. Is it a demon?" Chun Hua stepped closer, her body tensed at the awful overbearing energy that radiated in front of them.
Liang Shufen glanced at her trembling hands. Only now did he remember that his head disciple had never been on a demon hunt and that this was most likely her first time seeing a demon.
He could only nod his head and hope that she wouldn't falter in the eyes of danger.