WangXian Forever 3

Chapter 15 The Note

Not my parents.
Try to escape.
Qinghe.

Just five characters, yet they were burned into his brain. Wei Ying clutched the note tightly, as if letting it go would mean not being able to find Li Xiwang. He kept seeing her wave to him and then leave with those horrible people.

And why, why did the anklet not work?

"Nie Huaisang." Wei Ying stood up. "Let's ask him for help."

They left Yiling straight away. Wei Ying learned his grandmother's whip was extremely versatile.

Qinghe was a large city. They could be anywhere, Wei Ying thought, dejectedly. But if anyone knew anything, then Nie Huaisang would be him.

The Unclean Realm always looked....intimidating. The huge gate at the front of the massive doors, plus the whole squareness of the place reminded him of a trough. Almost impenetrable.

Nie Huaisang was painting another fan when they were ushered into his room. He dropped his paintbrush immediately, and came towards them, hardly disguising his curiosity about their company.

They bowed in greeting but when Wei Ying introduced his grandmother, Nie Huaisang nearly fell over.

"Baoshen!? Sanren?" He sat down. "The immortal one?"

"Is there another one?" The Grandmaster looked around his room, disinterestedly.

Nie Huaisang pulled Wei Ying to the side where he hoped she wouldn't hear them. "Why have you brought her here? What do you want?"

"We need your help." Wei Ying showed him everything.

"But they could be anywhere by now! What if they're not even here?" He stammered, fanning himself.

"Can we take some of your men with us? We want to ask people if they've seen or heard anything about these people." Wei Ying grabbed his shoulders. "This is really important to me. To us. We could really use your help."

"Of course, of course, I can spare bodies, that's no problem." He switched hands. "Can you try locating her again? It might work now that you're closer."

Wei Ying drew the array and waited. He sensed something but it fizzled out before he could see where it was pointing. Four more attempts yielded the same result.

"It's no use. Maybe we need to get much closer." Wei Ying said. He couldn't help feeling something was terribly wrong, for the anklet to stop working like this.

"I'll give you fifty men." Huaisang said. "And I'll send out my spies."

"Let's go." The Grandmaster left the room.

******

They fanned out asking everyone they met about a little girl and her parents. People seeing them as strangers were reluctant to talk, but the men provided by Nie Huaisang proved their usefulness and the search was faster as a result.

They were on the outskirts of Qinghe  when they caught a break. A farmer returning home met them walking past his fields and asked them what they wanted.

"If you go down that dirt road for about half a mile, you'll come to a shack. That's where they're living, though it's not much to look at." He bowed and continued walking away.

Wei Ying drew his array again and was relieved to see a pale blue string leading in front of them, where the farmer had pointed. It fizzled out quickly, but at least he knew she was alive.

"When we get there," he told the ten or so men still with them, "surround the building so no one escapes. We will go inside and deal with whoever is there."

They walked into the night, faster because the faint hope was turning into something solid. Wei Ying kept running in front, only to be pulled back by a worried Lan Zhan.

Sure enough, a dilapidated building rose in front of them. No lights were on.

It was in a terrible condition. The roof looked as if it was barely hanging on, the walls bent, slanting inwards. Silently, Nie Huaisang's men surrounded the building as Wei Ying had told them to.

Baoshen Sanren opened the door and walked in.

Lan Zhan followed her, holding Wei Ying at a distance behind him, shielding him with his body.

The Grandmaster flicked her wand and the place lit up. There was shouting from the two adults sitting in the corner, standing at the sudden intrusion.

Wei Ying had eyes only for the little body lying on some straw, unmoving. He ignored everything else and ran towards her, kneeling in the dirt to check her pulse. It was weak, but there.

"What have you done to her?" Thundered the Grandmaster, eyes blazing with rage. "You lied!"

"What do you care?" Li Mai Bui shouted back. "You have children to spare!"

"Why you-" Baoshen Sanren swung her whip as she spoke, but to everyone's horror, the woman bit her ring and swallowed the contents. Within seconds, her eyes rolled back into her skull and froth came out of her mouth.

"Stop him!" Baoshen Sanren shouted, realising too late that the man would copy her actions.

Now they had two dead bodies on the floor in front of them and a still unconscious child.

Wei Ying picked her up gently.

"Let's go back to the Unclean Realm. Nie Huaisang must have healers who can help."

"Mn."

They rode on Bichen, Lan Zhan holding tightly to both people, one shaking so badly, he had difficulty maintaining their balance.

Wei Ying tried not to cry, but looking at the tiny body in his arms made his vision waver. His tears fell on her face, making him feel worse. What was wrong with her? Her golden core was strong, so how was her condition to be explained?