Little Black Angel

Chapter 1 : A Mysterious Visitor

Chapter 1 : A Mysterious Visitor

Jin Ling had been a little nervous when he'd been told by his Uncle Cheng that an old classmate of his was coming to visit Lotus Pier and was bringing two boys who were about his age with him. Other kids always bullied him about being an orphan, so he was worried these other boys would too.

"Come on, Jin Ling, they're here," Cheng told him, standing up once he'd seen white and pale blue fly past a nearby window, and he led the little yellow-clad boy out of the building to greet the trio that had just landed. Lan Wangji stood there with two young Lan boys that seemed maybe a year or less older than Jin Ling was, and both of them were smiling brightly at the yellow-clad child. "Hanguang-Jun," Cheng said with a short bow in greeting, and Wangji responded in kind.

"Clan Leader Jiang," the taller man greeted evenly, then introduced the boys with him by saying, "This is my adopted son, Lan Sizhui courtesy name Yuan, and his friend, Lan Jingyi."

"And this is Jin Ling, my nephew," Cheng told the boys, who were both smiling at Jin Ling happily. "You kids go play while the adults talk."

"Okay, Mr. Jiang!" Sizhui said, grabbing Jin Ling's hand and tugging him along while saying, "C'mon, A-Ling! Let's go play!"

Jin Ling was surprised that these two boys were being so friendly with him, but once they were away from the two adults, he asked, "What did that tall guy mean by 'adopted son?"

"My mom and dad aren't around anymore, and I don't really remember them," Sizhui said, shaking his head, "But Hanguang-Jun became my new Dad, and we're a family now!"

"You're an orphan too?!" Jin Ling cried out before he could stop himself, and Sizhui just smiled.

"Yup! So, what do you wanna play?" Both boys couldn't have looked any happier as they romped around in the woodland with their guardians watching over them. While their circumstances were a little bit different, there was a strange kinship they shared that would undoubtedly make them fast and life-long friends in the near future.

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After the boys had played games for a while, Jin Ling started to show his two new best friends around the Lotus Pier, showing them his favorite places to go, but when they arrived at the pavilion out in the water, they were shocked to see that someone was there. It was a young woman, likely still a teenager since she wasn't a grown up, dressed in what looked like black and red versions of Lan robes, and her hair was held up in a series of loops with a thin ponytail brushed forward over her left shoulder. She wore a thin white and red veil over the lower half of her face, but her eyes were a soft olive green that looked over the flower-covered waters with a distant gaze. She was sitting near the water's edge, obviously deep in thought about something, but that didn't stop Jin Ling from going up to her and tugging on her sleeve. "Hey! Who are you?! Why are you here?!"

Her head turned to look at him with a gentle olive gaze, and she then turned her head back to look at the water again as she softly said, "... I'm just passing through... I wanted to see the place where my Uncle grew up." After sighing softly, she smoothly got to her feet, and with a wave of her hand caused a sword to fly from a sheath hidden in her robes, then stepped onto it as she said, "But I must be going. I have people that I am protecting, and someone I am searching for..."

The girl didn't say anything more after this, drifting off again in thought. Jin Ling and the other two boys wanted to have her stay, but they could only watch in slight awe as she flew away... without even telling them her name.

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In a small village past the border of the Yunmeng Jiang sect, an older man looked up when he spotted a flash of silver, and smiled when he saw the dark-robed figure that was delicately perched upon a spirit blade, and bowed to her when she came down for a landing. "Heiress, I am glad you returned safely... I take it your trip went well?"

"As well as it could," she replied, smiling softly behind her veil as she bowed shallowly in return. Straightening again, she asked, "Has anything happened in my absence?"

"Ah, yes... a snake killed one of the local animals, and nearly bit the head off of one of the village boys," he said, and the young woman frowned.

"I'll take care of it... where was it last seen?" she asked, and he pointed in the direction south of the village.

"It was last seen at Ping's place, and then slithered off into the forest out there," the old man told her, and she nodded and started to walk off in that direction. Looking around, she saw the signs of the serpent's presence in the area, and then she spotted a young man standing next to the corpse of a large cow. The young man looked up, a little startled, when he suddenly noticed the teenager standing next to him, then smiled in relief.

"Heiress! I'm glad you're back; the snake got my heifer and now..." he started to say, but then noticed that the teen was carefully looking over the 'crime scene'.

"It seems to be a young snake, judging by the size of the bite wound..." she observed, prodding at the two large holes that went through the cow's neck. "It likely won't be a problem for me to handle. Hopefully, the profits from the snake will be enough to replace your heifer..."

"I hope so," Ping said, sighing as he rubbed the back of his head. "She was the last calf my old cow had, and she's too old now to have any more calves..."

"I'll handle it, Ping," Xian said, smiling softly. "Don't worry."