Moth and Moon

Mulberry

Xie Lian hung back, his mind a confused jumble after what he'd learned. (Assuming that what Nan Feng and Fu Yao had said was even true.)

"Gege?" Hua Cheng cocked his head to the side. Gently held in his teeth were his bundled-up clothes. Xie Lian gathered his thoughts together again and rushed over to Hua Cheng. He took Hua Cheng's clothes and put them in his pack.

"San Lang, you must be careful," he said quietly into his ear, as he stood on tiptoe to knot Hua Cheng's eyepatch back in place. To avoid seeming like he had spoken to him, he wrapped his arms around Hua Cheng's huge body in a hug.

"Don't worry about me, Gege." Hua Cheng subtly lifted his snout towards a nearby tree. When Xie Lian climbed up onto his back, he discreetly glanced in that direction and saw a glint of silver perched in the branches. E-Ming would be close by, watching over them. Xie Lian patted Hua Cheng's fluffy neck.

"Can we leave now?" Nan Feng demanded.

"Sorry, sorry," Xie Lian said, waving his hand. Their little band set out, Hua Cheng in the lead and the two hunters begrudgingly following after. It gave Xie Lian some amusement that Nan Feng and Fu Yao had no choice but to follow Hua Cheng because they didn't know where they were going. Hua Cheng was leading them to the place where they had found the arm before. Maybe from there, they would be able to detect a trail of magic to find the many-bodied demon's location. Nan Feng and Fu Yao had brought magic equipment with them so that they could hopefully capture the monster and put an end to its reign of terror.

Every once in a while, Xie Lian saw a flash of silver in the corner of his vision as E-Ming travelled with them in the shadows.

"What if we go all the way out there and then we find nothing?" Fu Yao asked.

"Ah, well..." Xie Lian didn't know what to say. He would have wasted everybody's time, something he seemed to be good at, and they would be no closer to stopping the monster.

"It's better than not having tried at all," Nan Feng interjected.

"Not if it wastes valuable time that could be spent investigating other leads," Fu Yao retorted.

"What other-?? You have other leads??"

Fu Yao fell silent. There were no other options, Xie Lian inferred. Everyone was desperate to end the kidnappings, and would take any shred of evidence they could get. Aside from Hua Cheng, anyway, who seemed to just be coming with them to accompany Xie Lian. In his head, Xie Lian went over the plan. Find the monster causing the disappearances and destroy it. If only it was as simple as it sounded on paper.

With Hua Cheng leading the way, the four of them went farther into the forest. There was no guarantee that the many-bodied demon would be out that way, but it was their best bet. The arm that they had found deep in the woods was pretty much their only clue as to where the creature was. With Nan Feng on the right and Fu Yao on the left, there thankfully wasn't too much bickering.

The deeper into the trees they got, the quieter it became. There were fewer birds chirping overhead, fewer creatures scampering through the undergrowth. Because the snow was melting, water dripped down from the branches above. A sense of unease settled over the party.

When Xie Lian looked back to check on the two hunters, he saw a fat drop of icy water land on Nan Feng's head. He seemed confused, and squinted at Fu Yao suspiciously as if somehow he was responsible. He seemed to realize what had happened, however, and faced forward again. Xie Lian couldn't help but smile to himself.

The slushy, wet snow squished beneath Hua Cheng's paws, and Xie Lian felt bad that he had to trudge through it. Honestly though, if Xie Lian were walking on foot, he would no doubt slip and fall flat on his face. Riding on Hua Cheng's back was more convenient for everybody, despite his guilt about it.