Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

3Ming Yue's eyes widened as she looked at the Sword Elder in surprise. This was something she was not expecting to hear from him.      0

"But what about your disciples? Are you not going to return to Heaven's Gate?" she asked him.      

However, Elder Xiang just laughed at her questions.      

"Eh, they can handle themselves for a few months. Besides, I'm an elder, I'm allowed to be outside! Might as well take this chance to stretch my limbs, you know. I'm sure you'd like to spar with me too."     

"I..."     

Ming Yue couldn't really refute his words.      

"Alright then! That's decided. I can stay here while Elder Shen and Elder Hua can go back with Hongyu!"     

As he said this, the air seemed to grow colder as the other two elders looked at him with a pleasant but ominous smile.      

"Don't think you can escape your responsibilities like this, Didn't you recently take in a few disciples?" said Elder Shen.      

He stroked his white beard, looking at the Sword Elder calmly.      

"Urgh..."     

Elder Xiang had a look of guilt on his face, as if he had been caught in the act.      

"They can cover for themselves for a month or two. I mean, I haven't taught them that much, you know."      

But then Elder Hua pointed at him, showing a fierce look as she chastised him.      

"You did this to yourself and didn't you say that they all seemed interesting?! Besides, just like Elder Shen said, we're stretched thin as it is. Or do you want the Grand Elder to come find you himself?" she said.      

Looking at the both of them, Elder Xiang had an unwilling expression, glancing at Ming Yue before facing the two elders.      

"How about a week? We can stay at least a week, right?" he asked.      

The pair just narrowed their eyes at him, releasing even a bit of their power and pressuring him. But the moment they did, he did the same, pushing back on them. Rather than the meek look from before, he seemed angry now, standing up even.      

"Come on now! At least give me this! It's already been a few years and you're still worried about me! Just a week out and about is good enough!"     

Fighting back in defiance, he eyed them both in a stand-off that lasted just a few seconds. Both Elder Shen and Elder Hua withdrew their power and looked away to which Elder Xiang gleamed with a happy smile.      

"Alright, a week it is!" he said.      

Ming Yue, who had watched all of this unfold, took another looked at the Sword Elder. There was a strange light in her eyes as she looked closely, realizing something. However, she said nothing. If the Sword Elder wanted to stay here for a bit then she would not refuse him.      

"Alright, alright! Let's go back to the courtyard, come on! Let's spar!"      

He grinned before happily leaving the room first, taking another drink from his wine jar.      

The other three looked to each other before following after him. All three of them had somewhat exasperated faces,      

In the meantime, the other branches did indeed begin to stir once the news came.      

Within one branch, there was a man whose robes had ripped sleeves, revealing muscular arms that had been tattooed with ogres on each one. There was a fierce look on his brows and a wild grin on his face. His hair was spiked upwards and his eyes seemed to glow red with a certain bloodthirstiness. He stood in the middle of what seemed to be an arena but it was strangely quiet.      

But should one look around, they'd realize why. There were bodies all around him, not quite dead but just barely alive. All of them were left in the same state, beaten to a pulp and left bloodied on the floor. There were at least a hundred of them.      

Punching his fists together, an eagle cried out before dropping a rolled paper down in front of him. Looking at it, he took it and unfurled the little message.      

"Two of the weak ones died? Good, they both used tricks to fight anyways. A battle should be fair! There should be a clear winner and a clear loser! Don't you think?"     

He looked down at one of the bodies, barely moving but still quivering a bit in fear.      

Bending over, he grabbed them by the neck, holding them up to face him. There was fear in their eyes, not wanting to experience what would come next,      

"The fight isn't over until then."     

The man just grinned, winding his other fist back to pummel his opponent.     

Elsewhere, deep underground, inside a large room, there were several hooded figures gathered around a table. One could hear muffled screams coming from that table as one of them took out a heart. Another grabbed the entrails and another even went for the bones.      

But then there was someone else overwatching them, circling around the group to make sure no mistakes were being made. Unlike the others, they were not hooded and their face was uncovered.      

It was an elderly woman who was extremely thin. Her eyes were sunken and her cheeks had caved in to the point where one could see the outline of her cheekbones. Her skin was pale past that of porcelain and almost resembling that of a corpse. There was a bluish tinge to it, almost ghastly even.     

"Do make sure to exercise care. I can't have you damaging the ingredients, you know", she said to them.     

The hooded figures all nodded to her, following her words willfully. Moments later, another hooded figure entered, kneeling before her while presenting a rolled piece of paper. Taking it from their hands, she opened it and began to read, showing no change in emotions.     

"Oh, to think that this would happen. how peculiar. If it is some Heavenly Retribution, there might be a way to harness its power. Red Lotus Country, something must be going on there, I should go see for myself."     

Folding it neatly, she placed it back onto their hands and looked back at the table where there was a man tied to it. His entire body was cut open, and every part of his insides was visible from the bones to the flesh. Worst of all, he was awake for all of this and the only thing that one could see on his face was fear.      

"Oh stop struggling, it'll be easier for all of us. Just endure the pain, it won't be long until you become useless to us", she muttered.      

And within a fortress built in the middle of a barren desert, there was a fully armored figure seated on a throne. Resting the side of their cheek on their fist, they looked forward in boredom. It was impossible to see their face as it was hidden behind a helmet as well as a mask.      

They were alone in an empty hall. There was practically nothing there, not even decor. It was just them and their throne. But that was eye-catching enough. The armor was pitch black and their helmet resembled that of a wolf's head, only it was completely made out of metal.      

On top of that, their weapon was leaning against the throne, a shield coupled with a greatsword it would seem. The greatsword itself was not elegant in the slightest, it was rough and damaged. The blade was cracked and dented in many places. Even then, it seemed that they did not care at all.      

While sitting there, a wolf had entered with a rolled paper to which he took to read, scratching the beast's head while doing so.     

"The original branch was destroyed? And there's no sign of Bai Meng or Yao Lu as well, guess they're dead. So it's the Twelve Evils now, is it? Or are people going to try to take those two spots? In any case, I should probably take a look."      

Crumpling up the paper, they stood up and grabbed the sword and shield, leaving the hall.