Emphyreal Divide

Chapter Five

She watched the flow of grasses diligently, eyes searching the vast expanse of landlocked sea with great care. A woman, dressed in teal robes, sat upon a horse, surrounded by others in similar position to her own, watching the unmoving glassland with expressions of focus. Any movement that countered the flow of green in the wind was caught by her, whether it be from birds taking flight, or rabbits carefully picking their way through their hidden paths- she saw it. Though, these things- they were not what she was hoping to see.

"If he does not return shortly, I believe we may have to leave him," She said, turning to the small group gathered behind her, a look of sprightly condescension pulled across her face. She shifted the reins to one hand, turning her gaze towards the wind, almost grinning as it whipped the hair out of her face. "It's going to storm soon, and I will not be caught by the rain."

Those behind her shifted, chattering amongst themselves. Finally one of them spoke up, words directed at her. "Are you certain it's to rain? The skies look clear as of now."

She threw back her head, a single bark of laughter escaping her mouth as she did so. She turned her gaze westward once more, searching for the shape of a man, for a glimpse of tattered robes. Feeling her bitter smile fall from her face, she spoke. "Would you doubt me? How bold of a disciple to do so, especially when it's your brother we'll be leaving."

She could feel the mood shift behind her, their spirits dampening under her words. They had been on the road for days, and she was in no mood for games, insignificant or otherwise. All she needed was a confirmation that this plot of land was unclaimed, so that they may finally put shovel to dirt and begin building. Leaning forward, she put her chin in her hand, feeling almost contrite as she kept her watch. Honestly, these disciples of hers- they were in sore need of training.

But there would be no training if they had no land to do so on, would they?

Finally, just as the skies began to grow overcast- just as she predicted- a figure emerged from the tall grass, running and hopping over unseen obstacles as quickly as they could. She rose from a hunched position, attention piqued as the boy stopped just before her horse, panting for air. She waited for a baited moment, before asking, "Well?"

"The land is free, ma'am," The boy said, rising from his exhausted lean. She grinned near viciously in response, taking her reins into hand as she did so- finally, things were going to plan.

"Excellent- and what is it called, this area?" She asked.

"Meishan."

Taking a small stack of books from Wei Wuxian's hands, they made their way to the section of desks, setting up for the next long few hours to be spent pouring over lengthy, overly wordy texts on talismans and their various uses. How delightfully miserable, he groused to himself, taking a seat carelessly, grabbing a book off the top of the stack. Hopefully, he would open it, and the first page he saw would have the answers he sought. Wouldn't that be convenient, he thought, opening the cover- and, no, that hope was dashed too. The page described- he paused, reading more carefully- a reanimation talisman of some sort. He quickly checked the cover, and yes, it was exactly as he suspected.

Wei Wuxian threw himself down at the desk opposite, only to immediately fall under Jiang Cheng's critical gaze once more. He held up the book, and Wei Wuxian merely stared at him blankly for a few moments, before whatever evaluating processes he had in his head finally finished. "Oh- I'm covering all our bases."

"You suspect they're malevolent in nature?" He asked, folding the book down to look at it once more. It wasn't as if he hadn't considered it himself, but that was far different from having another person confirm it. The idea that he had some sort of malicious talisman carved into his arms made his skin crawl even more. "You think they were a demonic cultivator."