The Demonic Clan of Yiling (MDZS Fanfic)

The Scream of a Monster (Pt.1)

It's been 2 months since Wei Wuxian crashed the conference at Carp Tower and nothing had changed. The word that they could now go and visit Yiling, without having to worry about getting on the Yiling Patriarch's bad side, had spread quite quickly through the clans, but no one seemed to want to go there even if it was safe. Things carried on rather normally after that. Almost as if Wei Wuxian hadn't come back at all. That was until one particularly eventful night hunt.

About a week ago, Ouyang Zizhen had received an invitation from Jin Ling, asking if Zizhen wanted to join him and Lan Jingyi on a night hunt, supervised by sect leader Jiang himself. Zizhen would never pass up an opportunity like this. He would never miss the chance to spent time with his friends and be taught by Sandu Shengshou. So he hastily accepted and made the appropriate plans, in preparation for the next week.

When that week arrived however, none of them could have expected what would happen. The creature they had been hunting was for more vicious than the rumours made out and even Jiang Cheng had trouble keeping it away from the three juniors long enough for them to desperately release a signal. They needed help and they needed it soon because this thing was smart and was already figuring out their weaknesses.

Thankfully, after about 10 minutes of adrenaline filled fighting, Hanguang-jun swooped in to assist. For a moment it felt like everything would be okay. Zizhen even heard Jingyi let out a delighted cheer. That was until the creature let out a terrible roar that almost sounded like a human male's scream. The impact of the sound shook the ground and knocked the three juniors to the floor in seconds and even Hanguang-jun and Jiang Cheng seemed to be having a hard time staying upright. There was then the sound of a guqin and the creature stopped, stumbled for a moment and took off. Running into the forest around them.

Zizhen's head pounded and his chest tightened. He felt like he was going to throw up. Jin Ling did. The sound of his heaving coming from somewhere behind where Zizhen sat. Jiang Cheng rushed over to the boy, legs looking uncharacteristically wobbly. Zizhen tried to stand up, only to feel his legs crumpled beneath him and he almost fell face first to the floor. That was until something strong grabbed the back of his collar.

"Stay seated." Hanguang-jun said as he carefully lowered Zizhen back onto his knees. The monster's scream seemed to have had an affect on him as well because his face was strained and a light sweat coated his ribboned forehead. Zizhen only hummed softly in response to Hanguang-jun because he could feel his stomach curling unpleasantly again.

Hanguang-jun then made his way over to where Jin Ling was still retching horribly.

"What the hell was that thing?" Came Jingyi's voice from next the Zizhen. Evidently he had crawled his way over to the older boy, not wanting to be left on the outskirts of the group in case the creature came back.

"I..." Zizhen had to suck in a deep breath. "I don't know." The breath seemed to steady his stomach a little and he felt like he could let himself relax a little. He looked over at Jingyi who eyed him with concern.

"Don't push yourself to talk if you can't. I'm honestly surprised I'm not in the same state as the young mistress right now, my mind feels like its rolling over in my skull." Jingyi admitted as he pressed a hand to his temple.

"Who... you calling... young mistress?" Jin Ling hissed through deep breaths.

"Ya. Don't mess around in your condition." Jiang Cheng scolded in a horse voice. "That goes for you two as well. Lan-er-gongzi, do you have any water on you?"

"Mn." Hanguang-jun hummed and walked over to where the two boys sat. His pace was slower than normal, which was another indication that he too felt the affects of the creature.

He passed a water pouch to Jingyi, who took a few big gulps and then passed it to Zizhen, who also took a gulp. The water felt cool as it rolled down Zizhen's throat and it instantly began to settle his stomach. It was so refreshing that Zizhen chugged a good amount of water, before passing it back to Hanguang-jun with a bow and a polite thank you.

"That feels so much better." Zizhen sighed and looked down at his hands to see if the world was still spinning.

"I know." Jingyi agreed.

There was a shuffle behind and they looked over to see Jin Ling walking over, being supported by Jiang Cheng. He still had sweat dripping down his brow and a pale face, but he gave them a small thumbs up to show he was okay. Jiang Cheng set him down on Zizhen's other side before turning to Hanguang-jun.

"What should we do? They need rest and we need to figure out what the hell that thing is, but none of us are in good enough condition to make it back to Lotus Pier. We could send a message and wait for some disciples, but that creature might come back. I suppose we could hold it off for awhile, but if it screams like that again then we're screwed."

"No." Hanguang-jun said once Jiang Cheng had taken a brief pause. "It's too dangerous. Yiling is closer, we will go there."

Jiang Cheng stared for a moment before countering. "What about back up? The disciples won't know where to meet if we go there."

"There are disciples at Yiling." Hanguang-jun answered.

Jiang Cheng stood there for a minute, before huffing and walking over to Jin Ling. His mood was a lot worse than before as he lifted the boy onto his back and began to carry him in the direction of Yiling. Hanguang-jun seemed unfazed by this as he followed. He was used to sect leader Jiang's behaviour. The two of them had worked together more than once in the past and also had to put up with each other when Zewu-jun invited Jiang Cheng to Gusu. The two men weren't exactly fond of each other, but they knew how to put up with each other which was better than nothing. Jingyi stood up a little clumsily and then offered a hand to Zizhen. Zizhen took it and felt his head rush once he was on his feet. Jingyi, quickly grabbed him before he fell back down and the two boys followed behind the other three, Zizhen using Jingyi for support.