Lian Mo was a runty orphaned girl, for as long as she knew, Lian Mo was accompanied by Xu Tian and Hei Yan. Ash and dirt were always on their faces, the streets were places they roamed and begged.
All that ended when they met Xue Lian, who took the three under her wing and back to the Crimson Jackals hideout. They had food, water, shelter, clothing and just about everything they dreamed of, all thanks to Xue Lian.
Lian Mo always wanted to be like Xue Lian, she was her role model. Xue Lian was a leader, took charge and got whatever she wanted. Lian Mo has always seen herself as the older sister to the two idiots, Xu Tian and Hei Yan.
When the three awakened, they all got low scores, which disappointed Xue Lian greatly. Xue Lian no longer visited the children, making them desperate for strength, as a demon should be.
Hei Yan researched Demonic Alchemy tonics and found a way for them to boost their cultivation by months if not years. The side effects did not matter, all that mattered was impressing Xue Lian.
Finally they were picked for their first mission, under strict orders to listen to the seniors. Apparently the Sect Founder wanted a man dead, Lian Mo has met the Sect Founder once in her life, it was when she first arrived at the sect.
The man, Ruan Xie, had an aura of fear around him. His eyes pierced you like knives, making you nauseous. The experience scared Lian Mo for weeks, she had nightmares of Ruan Xie every night.
At that moment that same aura of fear emanated from Zhang Jian, his face was like a grotesque drawing of a monster, both his eyes formed upturned crescent shapes and his mouth deformed and folded the skin of his face as it widened.
He had no markings on his skin, which indicated that he hasn't yet crossed the boundaries of a Righteous Spirit Master and into the Demonic Path. But the sheer terror that he implanted into Lian Mo made her unable to move, her instincts screaming for her to run away from that True Demon.
"So, what will it be?? I'm just ITCHING for some violence right now!" Zhang Jian turned his gaze towards the two, Hei Yan screamed out in rage "ZHANG JIAN! YOU BASTARD!" he charged at him, Lian Mo wanted to stop him but the words just couldn't leave her trembling lips.
Hei Yan ignited the impure Spirit Energy, Zhang Jian did not. Just as he was about to smash into Zhang Jian's face, his fist was caught, but not by Zhang Jian.
Hei Yan's fist was caught by a woman clad in full black, the same subordinate that informed Qing She of the dangers that Zhang Jian. Before Hei Yan could react, he was forced forward by the hand.
The subordinate grabbed Hei Yan's neck with the other and and snapped it effortlessly and emotionless. Letting go of the poor boy's- now dead- body, she turned to the last survivor. "Thanks, couldn't have done it without you. One of Master's people I presume?" Zhang Jian had said, which sounded strangely condescending.
The subordinate ignored him and spoke to Lian Mo "Young lady, this fight is over. Your allies are dead, give up and surrender." Lian Mo couldn't speak, trembling, she considered her options.
A loud scream could be heard, followed by a lot of commotion on the street below. This fight was over, whether they could help it or not.
With the last bit of courage in her body, Lian Mo made a run for it while Zhang Jian and the lady in black were distracted. Both of them immediately following after in pursuit.
"What do I do? what do I do? oh no, Xu Tian and Hei Yan are dead... Xu Tian and Hei Yan are dead.." These words reverberated in her head as she jumped rooftop to rooftop, Zhang Jian and the lady were closing in on her quickly.
For a mere second, Lian Mo turned around. It was only Zhang Jian chasing after her, the lady in black was nowhere in her sight. In that second, Zhang Jian stared at her like something was going to happen or change or something. It was confusing.
Lian Mo, in that miniscule fraction of a second, felt the side of a hand burrow into the back of her neck. Zhang Jian's smile in the moonlight was the last thing she saw before she passed out.
…
That night, Lian Mo awoke to cold water being splashed on her face. She was in a dark room, the same lady that knocked her out stood in front of her.
"You are awake. Welcome, this place is where you will tell me everything." Lian Mo was tied to a chair with rope, a cloth stuffed in her mouth which was removed shortly after. Barely anything in the room was visible.
"I will not be saying anything at all, go fuck yourself-" Lian Mo was slapped, the lady moved to one side of the room and seemed to pick an object up, everything was silent except for the hard footsteps.
The woman lit a torch, a bright orange light filled the room. The woman wore all black robes, black gloves and a mask around her face, she had shoulder length hair kept up in a ponytail. The orange light spilled out onto the rest of the room, illuminating the plethora of unconscious tied up bodies of Lian Mo's seniors.
"You will tell me everything, or I will torture them before you and kill all of them slowly. Do we have an understanding?" Lian Mo couldn't believe it, how were the seniors here?
The Lady grabbed Lian Mo by the neck and forced Lian Mo to face her "Answer me, do we have an understanding?" Lian Mo nodded, struggling to do so while her neck was restrained.
"Little Snake, why were you out so late at night?" Lady Quanxi stood at the veranda, the moon was more visible now as time had passed. Inside the room, which was illuminated by the moonlight, Zhang Jian kneeled over, sweating while thinking of his answer.
"I was trying to clear up my thoughts, Master Quanxi." Lady Quanxi was dressed as she normally was as opposed to how she looked a few hours ago. She sighed deeply and facepalmed "I guess that works. Little Snake, we may have to relocate sooner than planned, and I may not be able to teach you everything slowly. Do you understand?"
"Sort of, why exactly are we leaving?" Zhang Jian had jumped up with joy in his heart, not because they were leaving. No, because Master had forgotten all about his little night escapade.
"You killed one of the Crimson Jackals. Not only is the entirety of Qingyun going to be on lookout for other demons, we also have initiated a faction war with the Crimson Jackals." That was true, in the few hours that passed since the incident, multiple people high up in the authorities have found out and begun investigating the scene of the murder.
"Faction war? what factions?" Lady Quanxi turned around to face her dumbass that she calls an 'Apprentice' the sheer stupidity on this guy.
"Do I not look like an imposing leader in hiding to you or what, boy?" Black vine markings flashed across her angered face again. "Uhh, you look very nice tonight Master Quanxi." This looks like Zhang Jian being stupid but NO! This is his ultra-mega-super-big brain move, blatant stupid flattery!
"That's- you know what, forget it. All you need to know is that I am the Great Venerable Serpentine Demon Queen." Lady Quanxi said, half blushing. Zhang Jian had already figured out his mistake, he just doesn't want to get scolded.
So far, Zhang Jian has never lost a fight. But that will change very soon.