His Demoness

56 ⚔️ The Calling

When the first light of dawn appeared, trouble arrived.

Xiaoyu woke to the hushed voices outside her room. Throwing the covers off her body, she dragged herself off the bed and immediately felt a mild headache hitting her, probably from her lack of sleep. Pressing a hand to the back of her head, she walked towards the door, pulled it wide open and stepped into the main hall, where she found Zhijian and Jiang Yuhan fully dressed with their swords strapped to their sides. They were carrying bows and a quiver of arrows slung behind their backs.

From the corner, her sister was watching them quietly, her eyes clouded with worry.

Jiang Yuhan was the first one to spot Xiaoyu. He placed a hand on Zhijian's shoulder to get his attention.

"I'll wait for you outside," he said.

When he left, Lanying followed him. Once they were both gone, Xiaoyu hurried to Zhijian's side and clutched his arm. She looked up at him with an obvious question written across her face.

"What's going on? Where're you going?"

He flashed a strained smile. "It's not as bad as you think. The guards noticed a pack of demon wolves showing up earlier and they have been lurking around the perimeters ever since then. We're heading out now to deal with them before they become a bigger problem."

"Wolves?" Her brows furrowed in concern, recalling how he had once told her that his parents were murdered by the same kind of beasts. If he were to encounter them again, she feared that it might bring up one of his painful memories. "Will you be alright?"

The hard lines around his eyes softened. He placed a palm against her left cheek, his thumb brushing lightly against her cheekbone. "I'll be fine," he assured her. "I promise to come back soon."

Giving her one last smile, he pulled away from her and left the house, joining Jiang Yuhan who was waiting for him right by the gate. Together, the men set off on their mission and she watched their backs grow smaller until they disappeared from view.

Lanying laid her hand on her arm and tugged her back into the hut. "Come on, let's go back inside. It's chilly out here."

Xiaoyu gave a small nod and trailed after her sister. Above them, the morning sky was already turning into a brighter shade of blue as the sun peeked over the horizon. The birds were being unusually quiet at this hour; they must have sensed the dark presence of the demons too and had gotten into hiding.

The rest of the day passed excruciatingly slowly, with Xiaoyu glancing at the doorway every fifteen minutes and Lanying pacing around the house. Even Jiang Ming was aware of the tension in the air and, much to their surprise, he decided to remain at home for the day instead of hanging out with his friends.

As night crawled closer, the men never returned. The sisters' anxiety grew by a notch and they couldn't help but fear that something might have gone terribly wrong during the mission. Not even a piece of news arrived at their doorstep to update them on their situation.

With a frustrated sigh, Lanying stood up. "That's it," she decided. "I'm going to find the village leader. He should be able to give me an answer on where they are."

She stomped out of the house with Xiaoyu trailing closely behind her. They made their way towards the heart of the village where the campfire was. Every night, the fire would burn brightly under the blanket of stars – a perfect spot for friends and families to gather and mingle.

However, tonight was different. Words about the demon wolves must have reached everyone's ears and most of them chose to stay at home. Only a couple of brave villagers were hanging out by the fire, chatting and pouring themselves endless cups of rice wine to drink.