Untamed Hearts

Chapter 8

"For once it's not fierce corpses," Wei WuXian crouched down to examine something on the ground. It seemed to be traces left behind by a kind of yaoguai.

"We should follow this trail and see where it leads us. This might be the same forest where Hong Feng's and Hong Mei's parents were attacked."

"Could it be the same one the disciples tried to track last night?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"We won't know for sure. Let's follow it." He followed the track with Jiang Cheng close on his heels. Their trail ended at the entrance of a cave, one that was too dark to see down despite being broad daylight. Wei WuXian exchanged a look with Jiang Cheng and they both unsheathed their weapons and headed into the mouth of the cave.

"I can't see a thing. Are you sure you want to go further in?"

"We've done this plenty of times. What are you so afraid of?" Jiang Cheng snorted in response.

"I'm not!" Wei WuXian retorted. "I just don't want to-,ouch!" Something hard banged against his forward, sending pain shooting through his head.

"Give me a second." Wei WuXian rubbed at his forehead while Jiang Cheng fumbled through his robes and took out a flame stick. Just as the walls of the cave lit up, a loud growling sound can be heard in the cave. Zidian crackled to life at Jiang Cheng's hand, adding a purple glow to the cave.

"Lure it out! We can't fight it in this cramped space!" Wei WuXian grabbed the fire stick from Jiang Cheng's hand and threw it into the cave. There was a temporary flash of light and a loud boom.

"What the-," Jiang Cheng began but he broke off as Wei WuXian turned and ran back into the open clearing. Jiang Cheng followed close behind as the growling grew even louder, followed by rapid shuffling noises. The beast had finally shown itself. It threw himself toward Wei WuXian who was the closest and he quickly jumped out of its way reflexively just as Zidian wrapped around its legs and pulled it back.

"Wah, it's fast!" Wei WuXian switched his sword for his flute again and after playing several notes, corrupted vines erupted from the ground and tied itself around the beast's other legs. Jiang Cheng stepped forward, ready to slay it, but he suddenly leapt back as the beast's spiked tail stretched out and started smashing everything around it, moving in a blur., forcing Zidian to retreat backwards.

Wei WuXian heard Jiang Cheng yell his name just before something solid slammed him into a nearby tree. The wind got knocked out of him and he cursed silently to himself when he tasted blood in his mouth. He tried to get back on his feet, desperately trying to blink the dizziness away. Through his blurred vision, he saw a flash of purple in front of him, blocking his view from the beast.

Jiang Cheng...

While struggling to catch his breath, he managed to slip ChenQing out from his belt and blow out a commanding note. He heard the beast screech in pain and the sharp whipping sound of Zidian followed by swords.

"Surround it!" An unfamiliar female voice called out.

"Wei-gongzi!" Strong arms pulled him to his feet and his vision finally cleared out, though the back of his head still throbbed from the impact.

"Wei WuXian!" Jiang Cheng finally came back to his side, supporting him from the other side. There was a look of concern on his face.

"I'm fine...I just hit my head," Wei WuXian reassured him. Wei WuXian tried to tug his wrist away but Jiang Cheng tightened his grip and passed him a stream of spiritual energy and gradually, he felt the pain in his head ebbing away and the dizziness fading at last. He stared over at where the beast is surrounded by a bunch of female cultivators.