Blood Cultivation

up to some good

Lin Meili repressed the urge to flee the situation, knowing that would only mark her as someone up to no good. Not that the Lan Sect were particularly mistrustful, but she knew that her appearance didn't help lend credence to the fact that she was, actually, up to some good.

Lang Wangji eyed her with subtle suspicion in his eyes, his face as smooth as ever. Behind him, the Lan juniors were whispering to each other while maintaining the placid calm of their teacher. The forest around them seemed to whisper as well, the wind moving through the trees like a dark entity. The beast they appeared to be tracking had disappeared into the night, leaving only the faintest trail of resentful energy behind.

"Hanguang-Jun," Lin Meili bowed respectfully. She couldn't fault the man for his silent misgivings. Ever since the news that Mo Xuanyu was actually Wei Wuxian, the Yiling Patriarch, the whole cultivation world had been on edge. People saw demonic cultivators everywhere they turned, paranoia soaking the land still drenched in blood and resentment from several years ago.

Lin Meili was well aware of the resentful energy still coiled around one arm as the Lan disciples watched her warily. Lan Wangji greeted her in response, polite but not deferential. After all, these were his lands and he was a well-respected, powerful cultivator. Lin Meili knew he was ready to dispatch her if she proved to be an enemy of his sect. Still, she only tightened her grasp on the resentful energy, unwilling to lose the trail despite how suspicious it looked.

Lang Wangji had yet to speak, so Lin Meili offered a partial explanation. "I believe I'm tracking the same beast you are. If either of us is to catch it, we should move quickly. Already its energy path is fading."

The juniors were gripping their weapons tightly, like they believed her to be the beast herself. Lin Meili was not offended. Instead, she met Lan Wangji's eyes with a steady gaze. "I have no doubt you can eliminate me at any point if you believe me to be a worse danger than this creature." She gestured toward the direction the beast has gone, the resentful energy around her person moving lazily in the still air. "Shall we go?"

With the slightest nod, Lan Wangji set off at a brisk but calm pace and the juniors followed. Lin Meili matched his stride and concentrated on the energy trail. It had dwindled even more while they were speaking, causing her to extend her reach. The strain of distance immediately reminded her how much resentful energy weakened her if it was not dealt with correctly. She glanced to the side, aware that she could not possibly reveal her unorthodox cultivation techniques to someone who already suspected them of being of demonic origin, so the burdened blood in her body would simply have wait until she could take the time to purify it. As she followed the trail like a string across a river, the negative energies bit into her strength, angry at not being released once collected.

All at once, a stench filtered through the forest and the trail became heated with power. Lin Meili stopped even though the Lans did not. They were approaching the beast's den, she was certain. With so many cultivators, it would not be hard to slay the beast. And yet, as she turned in a slow circle, the blood on the ground alerted her to an unfortunate truth. She knew she'd potentially wounded it earlier, but now sure of that fact, the consequences made themselves known. Once killed, instead of the resentful energy being silenced, it would instead simply leak into the area, poisoning life and air alike.

With quick strides, Lin Meili caught up to the Lans and immediately stopped one of the disciples from touching a blood-splattered tree. "Do not touch the blood," she warned, even as the junior shook her off with his hand on his sword. "Hanguang-jun," she called out, catching the man's attention.

He still did not speak, but Lin Meili was not deterred. "Before you lure it out, please, allow me to ready myself."

"Ready yourself for what, harnessing its demonic energies?" The disciple who spoke looked slightly embarrassed at his outburst, but the rest of the juniors looked at her with the same question in their eyes.