We made sure to go around the body so the two kids wouldn't be able to see our findings. While we were moving past I saw, with curious expressions on their faces, as they tilted their heads. Their inquisitive gazes stared at the direction where we found they body to no avail.
We soon moved far enough away that children lost interest, outwardly anyway. But it might have just slightly lengthened the time before they would see one. Soon I noticed blood in splotches, splashes, and splatters that covered the upcoming floor.
When the blood came into view for the kids I expected some kind of reaction, mostly one created by sound. Yet they somehow they kept it together, except for a little bit of shaking like before.
Tilting my head down a bit I just barely saw their eyes. There were hints of resolute determination that I could see through the little shimmers that passed over their eyes.
After a few more steps I figured out why they simply didn't walk around the blood. The entire floor ahead though not drenched in it had little splatters here and there.
There were signs of battle evident around. Silhouettes of a few bodies were barely visible outside of my field of view. One even had a sword shaped object sticking out of his chest. A broken weapon lay to the side; It was some kind of sword as well, halfway up the sword the blade was broken laying a meter away from the hilt with the bottom half of the blade.
As we pasted the battle site I thought of the other group that had split off away from us.
'When we first encountered them they had killed like three people before we split off from each other. We had seven from the group here, so they probably had ten left. Unlike us though it seems they still ran into them after the fact that they escaped the main room. The man and the small battle scene would depict it so anyway.
The man that died alone was probably caught off guard by himself, maybe he got left behind. He was a isolated case before his killers eventually caught up to the main group and had that little battle. One of those bodies might have been another from our sect as well, but I didn't get a good look at them.
I wonder how long it's been since that battle though. They could be just ahead of us or long gone from these areas. Maybe some of them are still alive, after all we still are, but we haven't been fighting them too much.
Hopefully we won't ever run into an even or greater number of them than us. Good think I'm just thinking about thinking about this instead of saying it or else it might be a jinx. It only works when you say it right? Right?'
As we kept walking in the darkness barely able to see our general surroundings a changed happened around us. More specifically, ahead there was a light that appeared around a corner and within it's lit perimeters a group cautiously moved around. Their members turned and spun their heads and bodies around looking at their surroundings.
One by one they came around the corner until no more came around. In the end the group only had four members. Their body postures and general feel shows fear some slightly hunched over, some kept their arms close to their chest, and others openly held their weapons though close to their bodies like an extremely precious item.
We stood in the dark blending in while they were in the light, a spotlight, basically a beacon to our enemies. We continued walking over since that was also direction where we needed to go. Soon though they disappeared around another corner. The glow of their light slowly went with them and soon we could no longer see what lay ahead of us once more.
Darkness once again surrounded us as we took steps forward. I was thinking about that group the entire time, until someone finally said something.
"Why didn't we get their attention?" Tang He I think, asked from my right side a question that lingered in my mind ever since we saw their lights.
"If we used any kind of signal, it might alert our enemies. That's why we'll just follow their trail instead to catch up to them before taking them in." Zhen Wuying responded like it was some obvious answer everyone knew.
'...Yes that.'
When we turned the corner, down the hallway the emanating light from before still brightened up their area. They were only half way down the hall and as everyone noticed that I felt our pace pick up. It seemed everyone was eager to regroup with them, at least the ones from our sect were.
They made it to the very end of the hall and we were only a quarter of the hall away.
'If they were this eager to meet up why didn't they do this as soon as we saw them? I think we might have made it to them by now if we had.'
They looked left and right, down the two options of paths as they spoke in low voices amongst themselves. Seeing that they didn't continue anywhere our speed slowed down back to what it had been before.
*tat* *tat* *tat* *tat*
"Hhhrrrraaagggghhhh!!!!"
As I looked ahead that yell reverbed throughout the walls and a man suddenly appeared in the light. He had charged into their group with a cleaver held high into the air with both hands. He ran towards one of the group members and swung his weapon down.
When that man was seen everyone around began running toward them. I of course ran too, but I picked the kids up as well. It might not have been the smartest idea to bring these kids over to the fighting, but I couldn't leave them alone nor stay with them as our group was being murdered.
"Waaahh!! I-I don't want to die yet!!"
But just before his weapon cleaved the man in two a sword appeared in front of his path from the right. But the man only held his sword with one hand so his stability wasn't good. The cleaver fell upon the sword, but instead of a block it became a deflect as it slid down the blade past the tip. The cleaver continued down toward the poor man, who could barely react.
Though after clang of the two weapons he tried moving away. The blade missed his head by some centimeters, but it didn't stop continuing down before cleanly cutting off his entire forearm from just above his elbow.
He just kept looking at his stump where his arm used to be his shocked expression was clearly seen from the lighting.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!" He closed his eyes and covered them with his hands and then opened them once again. "Aahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! IT'S REAL, NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"
This shock seems really bad for him though and might even kill him. Luckily he wasn't alone and while still in a trance someone came in front of him and started bandaging him up. He was frozen while being bandaged constantly staring at the stump of his arm.
The cleaver man managed to be pushed back somehow by the swordsman who was then joined by the light holder who pulled out a saber. The other two couldn't really help at the time as one had just lost an arm while the other tried to make sure that he didn't bleed out and die from blood lost.
"Heh, is that your only back up?" When the cleaver man finished speaking two more of them appeared out of the shadows where he came from. One held a large two handed bladed weapon which only had a single edge and the other held a singled handed weapon with a fairly large rectangular blade that was rounded off at the end.
*tat* *tat* *tat* *tat*
"Oh you hear that? Those sound like foot steps from more of OUR group. Hahaha... huh?"
Our footsteps soon became quite audible as Yao Ya was first from our group to emerge into the light. She had already drawn her weapon as a glint from her weapon was seen through the air sailing at the man. But the man was already guarding against the swordsman, so he only had to move it over to his side to block her attack.
It's a shame for him though as the attack didn't go for his center mass and instead his legs. He noticed at the last moment, but it was already too late when he tried to move away. Yao Ya's blade cleanly cut through the man's calf, but it didn't take his entire leg off. The laceration was enough for him to drop onto the floor though.
"Aarrrgggghhhhh!!!"
He made an attempt to get back up, but from the looks of it he's probably an immobile target now. His leg was fucked up and any attempt he made only gave him immense pain as shown on his face.
"Who are you? Wait that robe, are you one of us?"