The Demonic Clan of Yiling (MDZS Fanfic)

Xiao-Gege (Pt.7)

He walked away... He avoided looking at anyone and waited at the door as Zixuan told Qin Su to hide in her room. If he hadn't been so focused on getting to the door, maybe he would've seen the way Huaisang's face fell or the worried glance Qin Su shot him. But he didn't, because he wasn't going to stop him. It was Huaisang's life after all. Jiang Cheng only had a minor part in it.

They left Carp Tower, running along the fog infested streets of Lanling until they came to the great willow tree the boys were always at. And like in Jin Ling's room, they weren't there.

"Fuck." Jiang Cheng swore, his gaze fixed on the foot of the tree where a few empty jars of alcohol lay.
"Where do we look now?"

He directed his attention to the others taking note of the now apprehensive look on Wei Ying's once calm face. Well that wasn't good.

"Some of these are still half full." Zixuan muttered as he kicked one of the jars.
"They probably left them in a haste."

"So they know about the situation." Huaisang flicked open his fan and cover the lower half of his face.

"Most likely." Zixuan nodded. "I don't think a Demon Disciple would leave a half drank jar of alcohol for no reason. Right Wei-gong-"

His lips were suddenly sealed shut. As we're Jiang Cheng's and Huaisang's. They all turned to stare at Lan Wangji who simply had a gentle hand pressed to Wei Ying's mouth and a finger to his lips.

A raspy breath drew in air, mere feet away from them, hidden within the fog.

Huaisang took a step back.

Chains slithered across the floor. Heavy. Loud.

Uneven footsteps. stomp, drag. stomp, drag.

The staggering, rattling breath sucked in air and a deep throaty hum, in the same tune as the song in the distance, rang out.

The chains rattled a little closer to where Huaisang was standing. He took a step back, then another, causing his shoulder to connect with Zixuan's chest. The golden clad man stumbled back, his foot nudging one of the abandoned jars at the base of the tree and sending it rolling into another, which knocked over a different one. The series of resounding clinks, chimes and thuds as jars fell and rolled made Jiang Cheng hold his breath so tight he briefly thought he would pass out. 

He knew even before his eyes darted back in the direction of the humming, that their cover had been blown. 

Yet it still made all the air in his lungs leave when he saw the pale glow of green eyes staring at him from only a few feet away. A gaunt face shone in the glow. It hadn't been there before. Before it was nothing but blackness thanks to the fog. All they could hear was the humming that didn't sound all that close. Yet now, they all realised there was little less than a meter of distance between them and the figure that could only be Xiao-gege.   

"Shit..." Jiang Cheng swore, tightening his grip on his sword and barely registering that the silencing spell from earlier was gone. He shuffled backwards. Those pale green eyes still fixed on him from within the darkness. Eyelids so wide it felt animalistic. Unblinking. Not faltering even once.

Being watched in such a crazed way unnerved him. It made him feel like prey about to be attacked. Yet Jiang Cheng didn't dare break the eye contact he's been un willingly trapped in. Not one of the others said or did a thing, because they could all feel the rising tension in the air with every step back Jiang Cheng took.

Then, Xiao-gege smiled. His sunken, hollow cheeks twisting up to reveal a mangled set of yellow teeth, that glowed a horrible sickly colour from the light of his eyes.

"Ten..." His cracked voice chimed in a spine-shivering tone. "That's your ten second head start gone..."

Without warning he lunged, not in Jiang Cheng's direction like it had seemed he would, but straight off the left and right at Wei Ying. And holy fuck was he fast...

Not even Lan Wangji, who had been standing almost right behind Wei Ying, had time to react as Xiao-gege's thin and bony fist slammed into the black and red dressed man's gut. Making his heave out a cough that sounded painful, before getting thrown into the distance, into the darkness. Only a distant thud letting the others know he'd landed at all.

"Wei-Xiong!" Huaisang shrieked eyes wide with terror at having just watched the man be sent flying.

"Bastard." Jiang Cheng snarled, feeling Zidian crackled around his finger as he raised his sword and dropped into a true fighting stance.

The look Lan Wangji had on his face could kill.

Xiao-gege cackled madly.

"You lot are gonna be so much fun to play with! I think I'll keep one of you after this, to keep me entertained." He grinned that insane grin at them. His eyes stretched so wide it looked like the eyeballs could fall out.

"Go back to fucking hell!" Zixuan yelled, taking up stance next to Jiang Cheng. Huaisang stood behind them, out of the way and trembling slightly from both adrenaline and fear. He wasn't a fighter...

Xiao-gege's eyes settled on Zixuan. Taking in the harsh angles of his face, cut jawline and defined brow. The way he scowled in anger. It sent a rush through him. One the demon felt in the very essence of his brittle, cursed bones. 

Gods... He loved making people hate him. He loved watching their anger slowly ebb away to be replaced with pure terror as he drained them for everything they were worth... As he broke and ripped and snapped apart their minds until their eyes were nothing but wide gaping holes of nothingness; relinquishing their mind and body to him. Letting him use them to kill...  

Or... As he used their friends to kill them...

He bolted at the two. Mad grin seeming to get so wide it split the seams of his lips. Jiang Cheng barely had time to raise his sword to block as Xiao-gege's hand reached for his throat. The brittle grey hand got trapped on his blade. The skin between the thumb and index finger not severing against the sharp edge. Jiang Cheng watched in confusion and shock while the thing fingers wrapped around the sliver blade, pushing away his guard while Xiao-gege's other hand lunged for his neck again.

Jiang Cheng leaned back to get away from the clawed nails. Feeling the weight of the demon push against him enough to make him stumble and lose his footing. With Xiao-gege pressing against his chest, Jiang Cheng began to fall back. Melting hot breath mere inches from his ear.

"Tell me your name."

Numbness shot through the Jiang Sect leader and a sudden overwhelming urge to say the words 'Jiang Wanyin' took over his mind. In that same moment, as he continued to fall backwards, he felt the pressure on his chest get tugged away. The hot breath by his ear disappeared and along with it; the numbness and urge to say his name.

He slammed his sword point into the soft grass. Stopping his fall before it was too late and allowing himself to regain his footing. Taking those few seconds to examine the new situation.

Holy shit Lan Wangji was raging.

Bichen sored through the air, hit after hit sent in the direction of Xiao-gege, who retaliated with his own immense attacks with his chains. Lan Zhan avoided everyone of them gracefully despite the clear fury on his face. Sending his sword flying every time he saw Xiao-gege's guard down for even a second.

Behind Xiao-gege, Zixuan came in with his own attacks. Taking advantage of Lan Zhan keeping the focus on him. One second Bichen would fly in, then Suihua followed by a well aimed arrow Zixuan shot milliseconds later.

But like it was said earlier; Xiao-gege was fucking fast.

Despite all of the attacks sent his way in the seconds that Jiang Cheng observed, only three of them hit and they hardly had an effect. Bichen scuffed his arm once. Then clipped a little of his right thigh. An arrow bounced off of his shoulder. If it were any normal demon or human or anything that wasn't this thing in front of them, those hits would have caused damage. But like with Jiang Cheng's sword earlier; they didn't do anything...