𝗣𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗧 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗪. MO DAO ZU SHI

CHAPTER TWO ━ THE CLEANSING

the morning brings strings of white stratus to contrast against the blue sky. they drift lazily in the breeze without destination or purpose. if he were being honest, hai-feng would rather spend his day outside rather than in a house such as the one he was currently in. the man sat behind a table with his two juniors, lan sizhui and lan jingyi, on either side as a cup of tea was placed before each of them.

"i've heard remarkable things about youths from prominent cultivation clans. now that i've had the chance to meet you, you all are really dashing, impressive, vigorous, and valiant! truly distinguished among peers!"

"madam mo," lan sizhui began. "as you said earlier, hills behind mo village were not troubled by zombies until recently."

from what he could tell, madam mo was a middle aged lady with well maintained health, clad in extravagant clothing.

"indeed," the woman confirmed. "some even encroached on the village. several master cultivators have come these past few days. speaking of...night hunts?"

hai-feng raised the cup to his lips then took a sip before returning it to its original position on the wooden table.

"cultivators travel far and wide, banishing evil. these demonic beings often appear at night, hence the term night hunt," he explained.

"i see," madam mo replied. "good looking and extremely smart. you must be really popular with all the ladies."

from the corner of his eye, hai-feng saw lan sizhui and lan jingyi share a brief look. instead of answering her question, he took another sip of tea. madam mo continued, not at all thrown off by his silence.

"to be honest, my son has an aspiring wish of purging evil since he was a child. he has proper etiquette and extraordinary talent. he would be a very promising cultivator. if only he had the opportunity..."

hai-feng had long since set his tea cup aside, allowing the woman to ramble on. he knew what she was playing at, he could see right through her. the way people try to sweet talk there way onto someone's good side annoyed him. they throw on this fake smile and say the things you want to hear. even still, the man didn't drop his act of politeness.

"is that so?"

just then a boy comes bursting through the front doors and stumbles towards his mother, a look of anger upon his face.

"that annoying mo xuanyu! using those cultivation tricks he learned to bully me! you must thrash him to avenge me."

from the looks of him, hai-feng would say the kid's probably around the age of seventeen. he's slant browed with a sickly looking constitution and a dull voice.

"did he hit you?! are you injuried?" madam mo turned away from her son for a moment to offer them an apoplectic smile. "pardon us cultivators. a-yuan manners!" she hissed after raising the sleeve of her robe.

suddenly, a loud ruckus could be heard just outside the doors and if his ears didn't decieve him, the cultivator could have sworn he heard the sound of a donkey. then again, he couldn't be for certain over all the other voices that seemed to drown it out.

"hey you can't go in there! go away!"

"stop! stop him!"

"i wanna play! i'm not leaving! i just won't! come and catch me!"

a young man runs into the house, face covered in white powder. somehow he manages to trip over his feet but before his face could kiss the ground, lan jingyi reached out to grab a hold of his arm.

"watch out!" the junior warned. "are you alright?"

instead of answering his question, the stranger practically invaded the junior's space.

"is it you who hid my stuff away?"

"hands off!" lan jingyi snapped.

"servants! get this lunatic out of here!" madam mo commanded.

a small group of servants around two or three, rushed into the room as the man bolted around the room.

"i'm not leaving!" he claimed firmly.

"you damn lunatic! get out of here now or i'll make your sorry!"

"i'll leave as you wish if he returns my stolen stuff."

"nonsense!" madam mo's son exclaimed. "when did i ever steal from you?!"

"yeah yeah yeah. you didn't steal, you robbed! not only did you rob me, you did it in the middle of the night absolutely shameless!"

hai-feng remained silent, taking yet another sip of tea as the commotion around him only seemed to grow. he could feel the signs of a headache coming on. the sound of something breaking reached his ears before he sensed a figure crouching behind him.

"murder! murder!" the stranger yelled.

madam mo's son charged forward and reached out to grab him but before he had the chance, hai-feng took a hold of his wrist.

"why don't we all settle down and handle this like gentlemen, hm?" another forced smile that hide the man's annoyance.

"piss off!" the kid snapped.

hai-feng could feel his patience running thin. thankfully, madam mo swooped in, nudging her son off to the side.

"i beg your pardon, cultivator. my son was insulted out of nowhere. he wasn't mindful of his words in his rage. and that man behind you is mo xuanyu. he has a screw loose and is full of fudge. his words don't matter."

"who said my words don't matter?" mo xuanyu questioned, setting a hand on hai-feng's shoulder, words directed at the other two mo family members. "from now on, if anyone steals from me again i'll chop off one of his hands!"

"mom! you just let him insult me like that?!" the teenager complained.

for someone his age he was arrogant, childish, and ill mannered. he's hot tempered and even goes as far as to ignore his own mother's warnings while in front of them, fellow members of the gusu lan clan.

"zip it!" madam mo hissed at her only child.

hai-feng heard the faint sound of laughter coming from the powdered man behind him. he shot him a look, eyes narrowing in warning. that shut mo xuanyu up real quick. lan wangji's lover returned his attention to madam mo.

"we will not interfere with your family problems seeing as how that's impolite. however, sunset is nearing. luring and purging the zombies are more urgent. please inform everyone within your household to shut all doors and windows during nightfall. avoid the backyard and anything within the spirit lure array."

the man stands up, grabbing his sword as he did so before turning to face the juniors who had followed his lead.

"lan sizhui. lan jingyi. let's proceed with the next steps."