Empire (Xichen X OC)

Chapter 7

We walked through the dark and ominous stone forest for a while, but we saw no evil spirits to shoot down. That was until Xichen lifted his hand on the air to signal us to stop.

"I believe splitting up will be wisest in this case. It will allow us to search better" he suggested and looked at Wangji who gave a nod in agreement. Then, Xichen smiled. "Excellent. Master Tian, you come with me. Wangji, choose your team"

I blinked a few times and stood frozen there as Wangji was pointing the members that would follow him. Being called out like that, even for good reason, was not excepted; fully. Plus, it was awkward by how the other Lan members looked at me.

After all, it wasn't every day you were favoured by one of the Jade Siblings and to the degree I was. I snapped out of it once Wangji and his team started to walk away. My eyes went from him to Xichen who kept smiling at me and making my cheeks heat up.

I managed to regain control of myself and follow as we continued down the path we had chosen. My slight worry slowly disappeared as my instincts kicked in. My heart beast slowed slightly, and my ears picked every single sound that could reach them.

I held my bow tightly in front of me, an arrow already placed and my fingers gently holding the string. My eyes moved left and right, landing on every narrow path and moving shadow. That was until a memory flashed into my mind.

I was deep into the forest with Baoshan. We were the two of us and were walking deeper and deeper into the dark underparts of the area. The sun had almost set, and the shadows of the trees were ready to swallow us whole.

I was just 14, a day after I got my gifts and my teacher had said she had something more to teach me.

"Master, where are we going?" I asked as I looked around in alert.

The woman kept walking, a faint smile on her lips from my jumpiness. "I told you Tengchao. I have something to teach you" she said as we came into a halt in the middle of a small clearing.

Before I could ask her what exactly she wanted to teach me, she pulled her sword and tossed it towards me. I froze but to my surprise, the blade passed inches away from my cheek and pinned something behind me.

Turning fast, I noticed a dark spirit trapped between the blade and the tree trunk before it disappeared.

"Master-"

"This place is inhabited by many dark spirits. My talisman keeps them contained and I find it a great opportunity for you to train"

"But how did you know it was there?" I asked still surprised and slightly shaken.

"My spiritual energy told me. From today, you will learn to listen to yours"

I smiled faintly at the thought and felt tears gather at the edge of my eyes. I truly missed her and my family in times like that, but I held them back and quickly blinked them away. I had to keep my head clean and my attention focused on the task at hand.

Suddenly, I felt something. A pulling sensation towards my right and before I could comprehend what it was. I aimed, pulled the string, and fired in the matter of a single second. A yelp of surprise made me snap and I blinked, noticing the aftermath of my decision.

One of the Lan disciples was standing shocked close to a rock, my arrow had pierced a dark spirit that came from the shadows behind the disciple. It dissolved into dust and a firework with the Lan symbol was shot at the sky.

"Excellent Master Tian," Xichen said and I blushed slightly, rubbing the back of my head before we continue walking our way.

================================================