火与血 [Fire and Blood] || Zaffrei & Nemopedia

★Zaffrei★

Lawful Chaotic
Original poster
LURKER MEMBER
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
  1. Looking for partners
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per day
  2. 1-3 posts per week
Online Availability
From 10 pm - 1 Am, Philippine Timezone
Writing Levels
  1. Give-No-Fucks
  2. Adept
  3. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Female
Genres
Medieval Fantasy, Modern Fantasy, Supernatural, Romance, Horror, Slice of Life
The night covered the mountain like a blanket, cold seeping through its threads. Despite the lanterns around the pavilions and houses, darkness found its way in the corners, the crevices, and the cracks. And in one of those spots, a pair of yellow eyes shone, the owner waiting for the right moment as the moon rose higher in the sky, illuminating the paths with slashes of light. It was quiet, and rightfully so, for most of the people here were either asleep or busy with their own personal business in their rooms. Others roamed around the grounds, making no sound, save for some small talk, on the pebbled paths as they patrolled the area from intruders. They were skilled warriors, cultivators in training. But unfortunately, despite their keen senses, some intruders would not be so easily detected.

Minutes passed, and the eyes shifted, and out of the shadows, a tall, slender figure clad in white stepped out. Small clouds passed from his lips, but he appeared unbothered by the cold. He glanced around, taking a few steps, and absolutely and deathly quiet the entire time. His steps were quick and certain, and never faltered even at the sound of voices around the corner.

The voices grew closer, but just as two cultivation juniors got to the area where the stranger was, there was no one and nothing there, except for the wind and the cold.

“That’s odd,” one of them murmured, sleeves billowing in the biting wind. “I could have sworn…”

“阿成,一定是你的想象," [It must have been your imagination, A-Cheng.] his partner replied pleasantly with a small chuckle, glancing around as well. “看到了吗?那里没有人。" [See? There is no one there.]

If they only glanced up, they would have seen the figure stepping from roof tile to roof tile, as graceful and light as a ghost. The moonlight struck his figure and gave him an eerie glow, even if there was no one to witness such a sight.

Half a minute later, he found his target’s room. Wuji Sect leader Ma Yifan. An honorable man, with a talent for performing even the most complicated techniques. He had the virtues of a god, and the kindness of a good master. People adored him, and his disciples wanted to be just like him.

Being an honorable man could not save him from the creature outside his door.

Silently, the white-clad stranger slid his door open, and just as he was told, Ma Yifan was sleeping on the floor. He looked so peaceful, with a visage that was smooth and unmarred as undisturbed lotus pond.

What a shame it has to be stained with his own blood, the stranger thought almost jokingly, shutting the door behind him as he carefully approached the sect leader. Standing above Yifan’s sleeping figure now, the stranger cocked his head, his yellow eyes filled with cold curiosity.

Behind him, a singular tentacle rose, as dark as the sclera of his eyes. So far, the sect leader was making no movements, as if he sensed nothing. How odd, the stranger thought. A man of such caliber should have at least woken up by now. It would be boring if he didn’t.

As if to grant his wish, just as he aimed the tentacle at Yifan, the sect leader’s eyes snapped open, and in his hand, a jade-handled knife appeared. In a flash, he stabbed it down the intruder’s foot, who gave a animalistic hiss and leapt away, straight to the window, just as Yifan rolled up from his bed and yelled, “Now!”

The doors slid open once more, but so did the walls of the sect leader’s room. Junior cultivators appeared, armed not with swords, but with odd balls of cloth. Within a few seconds, the stranger was surrounded, and he could only stand silently with a bleeding foot as he carefully observed his new enemies.

So he had been discovered. That was alright. He could handle them. He pulled the knife from his foot with another tentacle, and the sound of men swallowing from the anxiety and uncertainty filling the room.

The stranger’s gaze swept over them. Strangely, they decided not to use their swords or charms. In fact, there was a strange shimmer on their cloth balls, like they were covered in something.
“Just as we were told,” Yifan seethed from where he stood. “你的流血就此结束,杀人鬼。"
[This is the end of your bloodshed, man-killing ghost.]

The ‘ghost’ narrowed his eyes in confusion, but even at the sight of numerous arrows aimed at him, he appeared unruffled, his lips splitting into a bone-chilling grin.

“你真的应该让我杀了你。" [You really should have just let me kill you] he sighed, the regret in his voice clashing with the amusement on his face. Then from his back, more tentacles sprouted, each making a disgusting, squishy sound as they protruded from his body.

Sect leader Ma Yifan appeared unnerved, but he stood his ground. “Fire as soon as they are lit,” he commanded. With a toss of a charm from his fingers, one by one orange fire engulfed the tips of the cloth balls, and the ghost finally understood.

Someone had told them how to ward them off. But who? He thought to himself, lashing out with his tentacles, aiming to take as many men as he could with him. He could not fail his mission. It was all he had. It was all he stood for. One tentacle went through one junior right through the chest, and others just sliced through the limbs. Baring his teeth, red mouths appeared all over the intruder’s body, and he leapt at Ma Yifan just as fireballs rained over where the stranger had initially stood. Yifan impassively glared at him, and made a cutting motion with his hand.

A red line appeared across the stranger’s body, and with it, a splash of blood. The blow slowed his descent and ruined the course of his leap, leaving him tumbling at Yifan’s feet. Leaving him vulnerable enough for the first fireball to descend on his back.

Flames engulfed his white clothes, and bleeding out, the stranger clawed at himself, letting out the most terrible shriek, like an animal in a trap. He flailed around and so did his tentacles, causing the cultivators to stumble back out of his reach, as his tentacles too were burning bright. Wailing in tremendous pain, the intruder staggered backward, reaching for everything, anything, just so his agony would end, his tentacles trying to put out the fire only to have them burn too. But even in his madness, he aimed his eyes at the sect leader, and snapped out two more tentacles before those could burn too, each grabbing Yifan by each end.

“I… will not fail… here,” the intruder gurgled out, and before anyone could react, pulled. He pulled, and the sect leader stretched like a piece of dough, but a screaming piece that is. He stretched, and he snapped, and like blood splattered and spilled everywhere like a wild waterfall.

The juniors were left stunned, and the stranger, breathing heavily, felt the fire crawl over the rest of him, restarting the pain that he was in. Staggering madly, he was deaf to the cries of the juniors, and drunkenly made way for the window. It was done. His mission was done, and he needed to flee, to find some water before he was going to be ashes.

He burst through the window, and in the dark of the night, with the moon and lanterns as the only source of night, Xuě Xū looked like a burning paper lantern as he fell.

“谁能告诉他们?" [Who could have told them?] Was his only thought, before he fell into the river below. His flames were indeed drenched and put out but the burns remained, leaving him wounded and bleeding in the water as he was carried by the river somewhere.

Then he was out, death cradling him and decided whether to keep the sorry creature or not.

Dialogue colour: #FF0000
 
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At the beginning of the day, just when the sun took a peek from the east, a mighty voice sounded through the halls of the Wan sect, “万尖锐!” [Wan Jianrui!] a middle-aged man grasped for his chest, eyes ablaze as a flame licked past the corners of his lips, scorching the thin beard that only grew in a patch from the very end of his chin.

“师爷,息怒保住身材!” [Master, please calm down, think of your health!] one of the disciples called, arms tightly spun around the waist of the mighty master Wan who was near to burning his son to crisp. That if the son was in front of him now, which he wasn’t, as the letter indicated which was crumpled finely in the fists of the man.

“这不孝的孩子,到底在想什么?” [This unfilial child, what is he thinking?] the mistress of the Wan household and sect lamented, her hands clenched around the sword tightly that her husband was trying to draw.

“我不认他这个大逆不道的儿子!” [I do not recognise this outrageous son!] the lord spat, as the letter in hands, the only thing Jianrui left, turned into ashes.

Along the water the clear surface coloured itself in the soft hues of the morning call, the sound of the stream going in a march with the step and a tune escaping the young man that was out for an adventure. Sword in one hand, bag slung over his shoulder, and some copies of the cultivating books he had to scribe packed along Jianrui was determined to become the hero he was sure to become.

“天不怕地不怕怕只怕,” [Unafraid of the heavens, neither fearing the earth, all I fear is,] singing that brave line the male was quick to disprove anything he had just claimed when a scream escaped him;

“我的老天爷啊!” [Oh my god!]

Where the water should have reflected the morning reds it was instead a blurred mixed red coming from a figure lying face down in the water. A figure that very much looked wounded and battered and barely hanging onto life. A startling sight so early in the morning where Jianrui had just set off on his path of heroism.

“诶,” [Ey,] the male called from the side, “诶兄弟,你没事吗?” [Hey, brother, are you alright?] It was a rather silly question in hindsight, for how alright could one man be covered in his own blood and floating down a perfectly clear and clean river facedown?

Hoping that the poor drowner hadn’t heard this mishap from his lips Jianrui was thus quick to leave his bag and sword under a bush. Not as quick was him trying out the water, shivering at the cool temperature as he took his time to pull off his shoes and socks. He took even longer rolling up his pants as well as he could before trying a foot in the water seeking the floor of the stream that he was about to set foot into.

“好深!” [How deep!] he exclaimed to himself, more out of self-pity, “好冷啊!” [How cold!] he lamented even louder before finally setting himself down, shivering and pulling faces at every move before he finally was in the water and could wade over to the figure still lying face-down. All the while Jianrui didn’t realise that post-haste was needed, for one man wasn’t meant to go without breath for so long, and who knew how much longer he had been before Jianrui had found him?

In any case, eventually, after a good tug and with the help of the water carrying most of the weight, Jianrui finally managed to get this strange white victim of chaos and nature to the side, pushing the figure into the earth that mixed with the water streaming down the body that turned the soil into mud.

“兄弟你好吗?” [Brother, are you alright?] Jianrui repeated his earlier question when he finally heaved himself out of the water as well, gasps and pants escaping him while he first wrung out his clothes before nudging the other to the shoulder.

Dialogue colour: #fce195
 
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Death had come and visited him, but ultimately decided that there was nothing they could take; what soul was there to take from a monster after all?

Still, coldness settled in, taking root within his wounds. They were smaller, slightly more healed, thanks to his abilities, but fire was a weakness, and fire made it harder for his body to restore itself to its previous state. So when the stranger struggled to get his ice-cold body out of the water, burn marks could be found everywhere. Not as serious and fresh as they were last night, but horrifying enough to make one gasp. It covered his arms, neck, and face, burning half his scalp. His white clothes were ruined and both burned and stained in blood, with burn marks on the skin beneath. Bandages might do the trick to cover it up, but even so... even so he looked like a corpse come back to life.

Xue Xu's pulse was oddly strong for someone half-drowned, but each breath was frail, delicate, and sounded close to ending. It was like his life's thread was close to snapping, but his body was holding on for some reason. He coughed delicately, and white eyelashes fluttered as he managed to open his eyes. Golden eyes, like the leaves of a gingko tree, stare up blearily at the stranger above him.

"怜悯……请帮帮我……" [Mercy...please help me.......] he rasped, voice sounding like a death rattle, falsehood still somehow in it. His eyes had a dead look in them, but somehow... somehow he looked like he was ready to grab life by the throat and take what blessings he could still get.

Dialogue colour: #FF0000

 
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Jianrui was, by no means, a skilled man of survival. He knew how to dress himself, and he knew how to eat, but he didn’t know where the food came from and much less did he know about healing someone. That lack of knowledge became very clear to him when he saw the stranger, covered in beginning blisters and burnt skin that were raw and angry and most likely to infect without proper attention.

“什么鬼啊” [What in the world is this?!] Jianrui had exclaimed loudly when he saw the black sclera and yellow iris in the pale features of the poor victim. “兄弟,你被毒了!” [Brother, were you poisoned?] was his first instinct, though it rather more felt like a curse, to alter one’s appearance so grotesquely. But then the man spoke, raspy and breathy, but very much alive and that relieved Jianrui, knowing that he hadn’t been too late.

“兄弟,我能帮你我帮” [Brother, I will help, if I could!] Jianrui admitted his own lack of knowledge and skill there, wondering what he had wasted all these years in the sect for if he didn’t even know how to dress a wound. What use was there to him becoming a hero if he didn’t even know how to properly dress?

But he knew one basic, and that was that Jianrui knew himself to be cold and he knew that this stranger must be so as well, all drowned and wet as he was.

“知道了,兄弟。我帮你脱你的衣服,让后我开火热一热,好吗?" [I will undress you first, brother, then I make a fire and we can warm up!] he exclaimed, happy that there was something he knew that was sure to help.

Dialogue colour: #fce195
 
Ah. He had forgotten to change his appearance back to his civilian form. Xuě Xū cursed himself for his carelessness. Now he wasn't able to change. If he did, this newcomer would how quickly Xuě Xū's 'poisoning' went away.

Still, it should have been no surprise, given how hurt he was. But that did not matter; what mattered was that he had succeeded in his mission, and now he had to disappear.

But first, he had to deal with this stranger.

The inhuman's stained eyes blearily found the figure hovering around him, sensing the worry emanating from the stranger. For someone who had just found him, this stranger sure was concerned. If Xuě Xū was only a in a better condition, he would have already dealt with this man, one way or another. Unfortunately, he was left ultimately at his mercy.

At the mention of fire, Xuě Xū's eyes widened, and his artificial heart beat a little faster. He grew nervous, but the reaction he gave was more akin to fear. "不要!没有火!" He cried out. [Please no! No fire!] After all, his very image looked like a beaten man who had been cruelly burned to death—wouldn't it be logical for him to act like that? He recalled a previous target, one he had disposed of, one that pleaded and begged for his life before the assassin ended his miserable life.

"离我远点..." Xuě Xū begged, copying the dead man's words [Leave me alone...]. He forced himself to move, made his body tremble, just to look like the helpless young man he wanted the other to see. Covering his head, he subtly peeked through his arms, looking out for the other man's reaction. It hurt, the way he had to speak and to move, but he was much too weak to do anything else.

我应该处理掉他。[I should dispose of him.] He thought at first, before realizing something. 不, 等待。也许他会有用。[No, wait. He could be useful.] Xuě Xū realized that he still had to catch that rat who leaked information about him. How else did his enemies know about his weakness to fire?

So he had to investigate. Of course, he could do that as an assassin, killing for the truth, but he was weak right now, and most likely, about to get hunted with fire. So the next best thing was to blend in, and discover the truth as a human. Xuě Xū always did like observing humans while walking amongst them. This time, he was just doing it for another reason. And this strange man was going to be his camoflauge.

So now he waited, with a falsely shaking body, trying to gauge the other's reaction. If he was right, if this truly is the heroic fool he believed the man to be, it was going to be easier than expected.

Dialogue colour: #FF0000

 

No to fire, that was both a relief as much as it was agony. Jianrui was cold, the water had chilled him to the bone and now he wasn’t allowed to warm himself! However, on the other hand Jianrui knew he wouldn’t be able to make a fire, he didn’t know how, other than the tidbit that he was actually rather scared of flames of any sort.

“好,听你的哥!” [Alright, I will listen to you comrade!] the male had responded, before backing off a little, for there was still a little fear within him that whatever this poor man had was infectious as well as poisonous.

“你总是要脱你的衣服,来我帮.” [But you still have to get out of your clothes, here let me help.] If fire wasn’t going to warm them they at least had to strip out their source of cold, Jianrui figured. Besides, the day was warming, so maybe they didn’t need a fire after all to avoid falling sick!

But the man writhed around so much in agony and in pain that Jianrui didn’t have the heart to come closer, his determination to help wavering as he wondered what and how to help at all.

Rummaging through his own bag the male ended up pulling out two fresh sets of clothes, redressing himself as he hung his own wet clothes to dry nearby on a tree and carefully unfolding a coat to drape over the stranger, hoping that this would help.

“哥我脱不到你的衣服,你就拖着我的衣服吧,” [Brother, I can’t strip you off your clothes, but you can cover yourself with mine for now.] Jianrui spoke, as if trying to make it up to the lack of his usefulness, so much for being a hero it seemed. “我就在这树底下需要我就叫我,好吗?” [If you need me I’m under the tree.] The male continued before moving to the tree, feeling himself warm up already by the blessing of the sun before realising that the stranger didn’t know his name.

“需要我叫我尖锐!” [If you need me call me Jianrui!]

Dialogue colour: #fce195
 
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