The Untamed 2: Deranged Minds

Chapter 1

Sizhui could not think what was taking Senior Wen (Wen qianbae) so long. He hated that he had to stay behind when Senior Wen went out to the nearest town to look for food. They could have spent the night in a tavern, but to be honest they were running out of money. The little money Sizhui had was spent a long time ago, and the money he borrowed from Hanguang Jun was almost spent as well.

Thanks to the Lan clan's wealth and Hanguang Jun making sure he had everything he needed, he had never been in a situation where he had to worry about running out of money before. But Senior Wen assured him if they spent sparingly, what's left will be sufficient enough for them to reach Gusu without any problem.

So, they decided to spend the night in this abandoned village. They found a house that was good enough to spend the night in. The harshness of the cold winter was just leaving. The decaying house was not good enough to hold back the cold air. But the coldness was bearable, so Sizhui did not mind. But the coldness brought an eeriness with it and the rising fog reminded him of the Coffin Town (Yi City), even though he knew this fog was caused by nature and no evil.

As time passed by, a concern started nagging at his heart. He really wished Senior Wen had let him accompany him. Sizhui wasn't scared of the town, and he knew nothing could have happened to Senior Wen. The Ghost General was totally all right. Well, he had to be all right. He is one of the best warriors ever to exist on this earth. So, nothing could have happened. But he was the only blood relative that Sizhui had. He didn't want to lose him too.

They were heading back to Gusu after they built a resting place for their deceased family. It took longer than they expected because they could not decide on a proper place. They wanted it to be somewhere beautiful, but Sizhui didn't feel like Qishan is the right place. Even though it was the original home of the sub-Wen clan they belonged to, the only other place that felt like home for him apart from Cloud Recesses was the burial mounds. But he knew it was a place that they lived in fear and the least their family was reminded of that place the better.

Wen Ning didn't want to go anywhere near the Dafan Mountains either, where their village was and he told Sizhui it was also a place that held bad memories. Sizhui didn't feel like asking him what happened. At last, they agreed on this beautiful, isolated spot near a calm lake and spent days in building a memorial. Senior Wen could barely remember all the names of the people from the burial mounds and Sizhui could only really remember one other. The grandma. He didn't tell senior Wen that he could barely remember his sister.

After the memorial was complete, Sizhui played a beautiful Gusu melody to calm the spirits down.

Sitting against a wooden wall of the abandoned house, he knew Senior Wen left him behind because he was tired and sick. Ever since they started their journey back, Sizhui was getting tired more easily. Senior Wen said even though his sister had treated so many patients when she was alive, he had never seen anything like this. Never seen a sickness where a person grows tired without showing any symptoms.

Sizhui didn't tell Senior Wen the first time he started feeling tired was when he played his guqin near the memorial. The song should have been soothing and energizing. But instead, he felt like something was sucking up his energy. He knew it wasn't his fault. There was nothing wrong with the song. He played it exactly the way Hanguang Jun had taught him to. So, it couldn't be the song. The fact that he started feeling sick the same time he was playing his guqin had to be a coincidence.

When Sizhui came back to the present he realized a strong wind was blowing outside. He could hear it howling. A high-pitched noise. No, it wasn't the wind. Even though he could hear the wind too, if he strained his ears, he could hear another sound. It was almost like a wailing. He got up and went to the door. Now he could hear it more clearly. It was the sound of a child crying.

He couldn't believe it. How could there be a child in this abandoned place. He immediately started to follow the noise. But he couldn't tell which direction the sound was coming from. First it seemed to be coming from north, then it was south-west. It seemed to be changing directions every few seconds. It felt like someone was trying to trick him, or scare him off. He was about to give up and go back to the house when he heard a scream, definitely human and came from down the road he was standing. He started running towards the sound.

He saw a black figure standing in the middle of the road. 'Wait, is that Senior Wen?' Sizhui couldn't even imagine the Ghost General being scared of anything. Why in the world did he scream?

"Senior Wen...?"

"Ah! A-Yuan, what are you doing outside? It's getting cold. Is it cold inside of the house too? If so, I will go and collect some firewood."

Senior Wen should really stop treating him like he is still four years old. "No Senior Wen, it's fine. I came out because I heard a noise. I heard a scream too. By any chance, was that you who screamed."

"Ah! No.... I mean.... Yes... I mean.... I wasn't scared. I was just shocked."

"Shocked?"

"I thought I saw a child. A little girl. It was just for a second. I couldn't see properly. There was a lot of fog. I didn't see properly. I think she was wearing ragged white clothes. I mean... I didn't see properly. For a second the fog cleared and I could see the child. Then the fog came and she was gone."

"Senior Wen, did you hear the crying too. Was it that child?"

"Crying? No, not really. I can't tell whether the child was crying. I couldn't see her face properly."

A nearby door suddenly banged close. Sizhui was sure he saw something enter that house from the corner of his eyes. He started running towards the house. Wen Ning followed. When they pulled the door open, it opened easily with much less noise than they expected. Inside the house it was dusty and dark exactly like the rest of the houses. But Sizhui could see the freshly made foot prints on the dust layer from the last light of the day sweeping in through the cracks on the walls. Two sets. One small, one big.

They both started to slowly follow the foot prints which led to a room, and there she was, huddled in a corner. Just like Sizhui was a few minutes ago at their house. Sizhui was certain this was the same girl Senior Wen saw before. She was covered in layers of parched white fabric which seems to be keeping her warm.

Sizhui could hear the crying again. He wasn't sure when it started again. But it wasn't the little girl. The sound was coming from the outside. And even in the low light Sizhui was sure there was no tears nor any traces of tears on her little cheeks. Her face was completely dry. She hadn't been crying. It took him a few minutes to realise even though she and the cloths that wrapped around her seems like someone had unceremoniously dumped her there, the child was actually sitting very straight. She seemed to be in the lotus position with her hands resting on her knees, but it was hard to tell with all that cloth.

Her eyes weren't shut like he thought they were at the beginning, but she was looking at the floor. Sizhui thought it was very strange that she didn't move or react to their approach at all. Even the floor boards creaked when they walked. How could she not even look to see who approached? Was it because she was terrified? Couldn't be. She didn't look like she was terrified at all.

Sizhui started to speak while slowly approaching her. "Hi, don't be scared of us. We are not bad people. I'm Lan Sizhui from the Lan sect of Gusu. Are you alone? Who's looking after you?"

The girl suddenly looked straight at them. They got startled and took a few steps back for both of the child's eyes had no black part. They were completely white.

Wen Ning suddenly bumped into something. No, it wasn't something. It was someone.

*A/N: I really hope you are enjoying the story so far. Let me know what you think in the comments.*