Little Black Angel

Chapter 2 : Strange Reports

Chapter 2 : Strange Reports

In Yunmeng, a courier came to Jiang Cheng from the Lanling Jin sect. "Clan Leader Jiang, there have been reports of strange happenings in a village near your sect, and there have been several requests for you to investigate." The young clan leader looked at the messenger for a moment, his brow furrowing in a tell-tale sign his temper would flare if provoked. He had heard several reports from his own men of things going on in a specific part of the country nearest to them, but it was still far enough away that the Jiang clan needn't worry about being in harm's way. Still....

"Very well. I will send four men to investigate whatever is going on there. You go tell your clan leader that this will be a favor I do for him, and I expect him to fulfill it whenever I might call him on it. Now go."

"Of course, Sect Leader Jiang," the messenger said, bowing deeply before leaving. After a few more minutes, a quartet of Jiang disciples were on their way to the place called Henan Village, and Cheng had a strange feeling that there was something else going on here...

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A few days after they left Yunmeng, the four purple-clad Cultivators arrived in the small village, and at first, things seemed... oddly normal. The villagers weren't distressed at all, as one would expect from a village experiencing such strange things... 'The reports described unusual behavior from higher numbers of Fierce Corpses in the area... as well as monsters suddenly vanishing and then creepy red lights in the sky at night...' one of them recalled, looking around, and then they spotted an old man.

"Excuse me, sir," another one called out, running up to him, "Could we ask you a few questions?" The old man looked over, surprised, but smiled warmly at them.

"Of course, of course... Come, join me for my meal," he said, waving them towards his house. As they walked, they spotted a pair of strong-looking men who were actually skinning what looked like a young snake monster, which surprised them quite a bit.

"I don't recall there being a Cultivational Sect here..." one of them said, and the old man chuckled.

"No, we don't have one of those," he said, then opened the door to his house and had them all join him at the table. After cooking up some congee and passing it around to them, he sat down and asked, "So, what brings four young Cultivators out to Henan Village?"

"Well... Our Sect Leader was asked to investigate some strange things happening around here," the leader of the team said, a bit confused as to the behavior of the villagers. "Do you know anything about strangely-behaving zombies or red lights at night, or anything like that?"

"Ahhh... I know exactly what you're talking about, young one," the old man said, smiling widely at them. "It all started about seven years ago, after the fall of the Yiling Patriarch... A young Sorceress fled here and she now lives somewhere in the valley just outside of the village. She was actually once not just a student of the Patriarch, but his adopted niece as well." At their shocked expressions, he laughed and said, "She's a nice girl, really... She protects us, keeping the corpses from causing trouble and killing the monsters that harass us. In return, we give her food, clothing, and a place to stay. A pity, though... She likely won't get a husband 'cause of this scar on her face, though she hides it now after a local woman gave her a veil. But if you'd see how well she interacts with the local kids... she'd make a great mother." Looking at the group leader straight in the eye, he said, "The Heiress, as we call her, is quite strong despite her age... but oh, does she hurt inside... The loss of those she called family definitely took its toll on her, so if you go looking for her... be respectful, and just avoid speaking of Yiling whatsoever."

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The four Jiang clansmen left soon after that talk with the old man, a little freaked out by the idea of a young Sorceress called the Yiling Heiress living near there... but then they realized they had to report this... to Mr. Purple Lightning Anger Issues himself. After they drew lots, the team leader drew the short stick and ended up being the one to have to tell him.

Now standing before him, the young man was mentally repeating 'don't whip the investigators, don't whip the investigators' in his head, even as he reported everything that happened in Henan Village... including the tale from the old man. Throughout most of it, Jiang Cheng's face was neutral and unbending to whatever he was feeling, but when they got to the part about what the old man had said, his expression turned for the worse, and Zidian came to life on its own on his hand. The flashes of purple lightning were brief, but it was still enough to tell what kind of mood the man was in; someone or something would feel his wrath later, no doubt about that.

"And you neglected to find this 'Yiling Heiress'?" he asked in a disturbingly calm tone, his eyes narrowed as purple lightning danced around them. "Were you scared to face someone who, by this old man's story, is little more than a child?" Before they could answer, he swiftly rose to his feet and stormed out of the room, intending to investigate for himself as he ordered over his shoulder, "Watch Jin Ling... if you aren't too incompetent to watch a child."

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Jiang Cheng arrived in Henan Village when it was dark, and so he found himself walking around in the darkness to try and see if he could find anything that could point him towards where the local sorceress was hiding. He literally searched all night, even going out into the forest around the village, and even the valley where she supposedly lived... but much to his ire, he couldn't find any trace of her. Except, of course, for a single snake carcass that obviously had signs of dark magic around its destroyed eyes, but he couldn't find any footprints or any other sort of trail.

As the sun rose, he was starting to think that the reports from his men were just the ramblings of a crazed old man. As the people of the village started to come out of their homes and walk around, he was about to leave... when he spotted a teenager in black and red robes and wearing a white and red veil walking out of a nearby shop with a basket of groceries on one arm and the shop owner waving goodbye while saying, "Thank you again, Heiress!"

Cheng froze. Then stared. And then, purple lightning started to crackle around his eyes and left hand as he glared at the teenager. She didn't look like much at first... but then he noticed the confident grace that she walked with and the aura of power that seemed to emanate subtly from her. He didn't doubt that she was the one he was looking for. Storming over, as the shop owner went back into their shop, and then he grabbed the girl's shoulder and forcibly turned her around to face him, saying, "Are you the sorceress?"

"I am," she said smoothly, her tone soft and unbothered. "And you must be Uncle Wei's adoptive brother, Jiang Cheng. A pleasure to meet you."

Jiang Cheng blinked. That wasn't a normal reaction to him. Usually, people were too afraid of his temper and Zidian to talk to him so calmly... "Aren't you scared of me?"

"Because of Purple Lightning?" she asked, raising one eyebrow. "Of course I'm not. Besides, Uncle Wei once talked about why he wasn't able to use his sword... but I guess that's not something you're interested in." Calmly brushing his hand off of her shoulder, she started to walk away, though paused when he moved to stand in front of her.

"And what do you mean by that?" he asked venomously, and she calmly met his gaze as her eyes started to turn crimson.

"I don't think your fragile mind and even more fragile ego could take it," she stated, before she held up her hand... and her form shimmered out of existence.

Jiang stood there in stunned silence for a good few minutes, his mind racing to try and process what had just happened. 'What the... how did she... And what the heck was she talking about!? Wei Ying... she said he wasn't ABLE to use his sword... not that he didn't WANT to use it...'

He wouldn't stop thinking about this during his entire trip back to Lotus Pier, nor would he stop thinking about it for a long time to come.