𝗣𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗧 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 ━ MO DAO ZU SHI

CHAPTER SEVEN ━ A SOLITARY DANCE

hai-feng could tell he was looking for some sort of reaction from him. although the injured man showed no emotion on the outside, the inside was another story. his words, half mocked and filled with jealousy managed to pierce his heart. jiang cheng knew how to hurt others with words, that fact has always remained true.

"clan leader jiang, aren't you here too?" lan jingyi questioned successfully capturing jiang cheng's attention.

"when elders are speaking, you're in no place to talk. the lan clan pride themselves as the model of fine etiquette. but this is how their disciples are taught," he replied coldly.

lan sizhui stepped forward and turned towards jin ling.

"master jin, night hunts require fair competition. if you scatter the nets all over mt. dafan - severely restricting other cultivators, isn't that against the rules of night hunt?"

jin ling only gave him the same cold expression that crafted his uncle's face.

"it's their own folly, stepping into the traps. what can i do?"

such a cheeky brat, hai-feng thought.

jin ling pushed forward to say more but began to panic when he realized he could not open his lips. upon noticing his nephew's state, jiang cheng snapped his cold gaze towards the two men who remained poker faced.

"what's the meaning of this? release the spell now!"

"the silence spell should be a proper punishment to punish such a smart mouthed disciple like jin ling here," hai-feng began meeting jiang cheng's stare head on. "if he attempts to speak by brute force, either his lips will be torn to shreds by his effort or he'd lose his voice for days. if your nephew was smart, he'd take this time to keep his mouth shut, self reflect in silence, and let the adults talk."

the tightening within jiang cheng's sharp jaw line didn't go unnoticed as he took a step forward as if to advance towards hai-feng.

"you-"

just then, a man clad in jiang clan's purple came rushing into the clearing.

"clan leader! clan leader!"

"what's the hurry?" jiang cheng asked.

"well! well..."

as the man noticed hai-feng and lan wangji's presence, he trailed off as if he were hesitant to utter his next words.

jiang cheng's patience was already running thin so he snapped, "speak up. why the hesitation?"

"well," the man continued in a small voice. "moments ago a flying blue sword destroyed the nets you arranged for the young master."

"how many?"

"all of them."

a veil of dark clouds passed overhead as jiang cheng seethed with barely contained rage. he narrowed his eyes - zeroing in on lan wangji as his left hand unconsciously stroked the ring upon his index finger. hai-feng tensed - his eyes followed the movement before traveling back towards his past lover's face. everyone knew that ring was a formidable and deadly spiritual weapon. hai-feng knew from past experiences with the male, that that was jiang cheng's intent to kill.

however, jiang cheng made no attempts to attack. the very thought was a foolish one. although he was clearly unhappy, as the leader of a sect, there was much to take into consideration. he couldn't afforrd to act impulsively like he did in the past, knowing very well how his childish behavior caused hai-feng to slip through his fingers.

after another minute, the rising tension began to settle when jiang cheng slowly withdrew his left hand from his ring. after weighing his options, jiang cheng glanced at jin ling who had covered his mouth in a fit of anger.

"since hai-feng has decided to punish you, take the lesson this one time. i'm sure it's not easy for him to keep all his junior disciples in check."

his tone was sarcastic, words sharpened to the hilt, aiming to hurt him in anyway they could. it was obvious what jiang cheng was trying to do. had it not been for the back of lan wangji's hand barely brushing against his, hai-feng may have very well fallen into the man's trap.

"clan leader," lan sizhui spoke up once more. "the ruined nets will be compensated by the lan clan."

"no need," jiang cheng brushed aside the disciple's words before facing jin ling. "don't just stand there. your prey won't pierce itself on your sword. if you can't bring me a prey of value, then don't come to me again."

"wait," hai-feng blurted. "mt. dafan currently harbours a formidable demon. please be cautious. the mo village ten li away was disturbed by a demon tonight. killing three people in moments, it's truly vicious. due to our inadequacy it escaped mt. dafan."

"oh?" jiang cheng sneered, glancing over his shoulder to hold his gaze. "what kind of devilish fiend can't be subdued by even master lan? is he not your cultivator partner? the one you rely on? yet he's not strong enough to handle such a fiend?"

hai-feng didn't dare bring his thoughts into the light, but jiang cheng was decent when it came to reading people. words were unnecessary as the two gazed at one another. he must have noticed the hurt hai-feng failed to tuck away for he had suddenly averted his attention elsewhere as if he couldn't handle witnessing the pain his own words had caused.

"it's not hanguang-jun's fault," lan jingyi defended.

"refrain from arguing," lan wangji advised him. "the evil being is a demonic left hand preying on humans. if you detect any trace, please alert the others."

jiang cheng only huffed in response to lan wangji's words as he turned his back, making his way through the woods. however, hai-feng refused to let him go knowing first hand how stubborn the man could be once angered. one slip up could cost him his life and hai-feng didn't want to lose anyone else he cared for. the gods had already taken so much from him, and yet, they still wanted more.

"jiang cheng!"

the man abruptly halted in his footsteps to inform the other that he was listening.

"this is serious. the ghost is extremely vicious. so please...be careful," hai-feng requested.

jiang cheng stood there for a moment. without turning to fully face him, he provided hai-feng a few words of his own.

"your complexion is looking pale. go rest and take proper care of yourself."

then he was gone.