Yin And Yang |WangXian| Avatar AU

16| Suspicious Indeed

The sun was now sinking to hide on the far horizons. Painting the sky in beautiful shades of pink and orange. The sunset sky in Cloud Recesses was fascinating. With the place being on the high mountains, the gazers below felt closer to the vast open sky.

At the back of the mountains, with endless evergreen trees being shaded into darkness. The three close friends sat atop a giant rock, surrounded by water below. It overlooked the view of the clouds receding. They could see the sunset, the mist that covered the rocks, and the dozens of waterfalls that filled the rivers and streams.

Nie Huisang's laughter echoed into the afternoon air.

"Bro Wei, I can't believe you just cut off old man Lan's beard just like that. After you left, he still looked so furious that he had to dismiss classes early. Bro. Wei, you are unbelievable. It's the first time I've ever seen him without a beard." He shared.

"It was an accident. I was only trying to make an ice bunny for Lan Zhan, but I got so startled by him that I acted out of instinct, and you already know what happened." Wei Ying sighed, feeling dejected. "Although it was indeed funny and I had been planning to cut his beard, who knew he'd make me copy more of their rules? I'm not going to stay here long, yet I will leave with all their rules stuck in my head. It feels like Old Man Lan is trying to turn me into a Lan disciple." He pouted.

"Our family is disgraced by you. How can you be only upset about copying more of their rules? Didn't you give me your word that you wouldn't be causing anymore trouble? You're lucky it's just more copying, or would you prefer being hit again on the back with the discipline ruler?" Jiang Cheng was inserted.

"Hey! I said I didn't mean it." Wei Ying put out

"Doesn't matter. The damage has been done anyway, whether you meant it or not. Now, thanks to you, Lan Qiren has lost his beard. You are dead. Nobody will remedy it." Jiang Cheng said

Wei Ying sighed and smiled. He ran to kneel beside him.

"Jiang Cheng, why do you think so much? Play tricks first. Besides, you've helped me many times; just do it for me one more time." He said he was nudging the younger waterbender.

"If it happens again, don't tell me and don't let me see it. Piss off!" Jiang Cheng moved to shake off Wei Ying, who clutched his shoulders.

Wei Ying pouted and let go. Nie Huisang silently laughs, hiding his smile behind his fan. Wei Ying now smiled too, but it disappeared as he caught sight of something in the distance. It was barely noticeable due to the dimming light of their environment. But on a tree just in front of their line of sight, within the thick green foliage, something black lurked and unnervingly observed them. Jiang Cheng saw it too, and then Nie Huisang as well. Wei Ying prohibited them both from making any movement or sound. While still seated, he gathered some water from the stream beneath and swiftly used it to hit the bird, the water shooting fast in its direction. It made contact, and the hawk revealed itself, flying away.

"Isn't that an owl from the Wen Fire Clan of Qishan? Why is it here?" Nie Huisang questioned

"That's not an owl; it's clearly a hawk. Its eyes aren't even that big. How do you know it's their bird?" Wei Ying replied.

"Bro Wei, you can obviously see it is decorated with Wen Fire Clan jewelry. Also, our Qinghe is at the foot of Qishan. We see this bird very often. Now that you've reminded me, it's actually called a messenger hawk. They would often use it for delivering messages." Nie Huisang explained.

"Then why is this hawk hiding in a tree here in Cloud Recesses?" Jiang Cheng wandered out loud.

"I don't know." Nie Huisang answered.