Forgiveness___The Untamed storyline

Chapter 3: A Wen and A Jin

"JIN LING! JIN LING!" Sizhui flew on his sword in multiple directions, finally settling on one. He was using up most of his spiritual power, flying at an enormous speed, yet he didn't care. He landed on the ground, shouting Jin Ling's name in distress over and over, again and again, as if hoping for a response.

"A- Yuan! Don't run so fast! You might get hurt!" Wei Ying called from behind, riding atop Bichen with Lan Zhan as his sword was with Wen Ning. Besides, he didn't really bother to use it.

"A-Ling, where did you go?" A choked sob could be heard from the Lan, his eyes already leaking tears. "A-Ling! A-Ling!" In his hand, something shaped like a clarity bell similar to Jiang Cheng's was in his hand, the talisman a cloudy blue instead of the usual yellow or violet. It was flickering hastily, as if a signal or a compass to where Jin Ling is.

"A-Yuan," Jin Ling started, his face unusually hot.

"What is it, A-Ling?" Sizhui asked, a smile forming on his face.

"I want to give you s-something." Jin Ling handed Sizhui a clarity bell; tinted blue iron and a sweet ringing sound. "If I'm ever in danger, just find me with this. It's connected to my spiritual power, so I can send a signal to you. It'll start flickering if I'm stuck in a sticky situation, but I don't think you'll need it!"

"Why is that, A-Ling?"

"Because I'm never in danger!" The Jin's chest puffed with pride, and Sizhui was laughing, his voice as sweet as the bell given to him.

"A-LING!" This time, Sizhui recieved a response; small, but still. "A-Ling, Where are you?!"

"MMPH!!" Jin Ling tried to scream through the rag, but couldn't. "MMPH MPH!"

"Shut up, Brat!" An unknown voice shouted, followed by a qin sound. Sizhui recognised the notes.

The same notes played at the second Burial Mounds Seige.

The late Clan Leader Su's notes.

Panic welled up in Sizhui's stomach. He forgot about his three or four seniors and the group of juniors with him. He forgot about his soul-brother, Jingyi. So many emotions...

Worry.

Fear.

Rage.

Many corpses came into his sight, to which he halted. The evil corpses don't notice him, yet surround a very specific tree, even biting through other corpses to get fresh blood. His eyes looked up, noticing Jin Ling tied up near the heads of the corpses, a rag in his mouth, his chestnut brown hair not tied up anymore. Fresh bruises and blood appeared on his face, some blood even seeping through his once-was-golden robes.

Snap.

Sizhui unsheathed his sword, going on a rampage. Wei Ying had just caught up to his junior, shocked at the scene unfolding before of him. Sizhui was not the sweet and gentle kid Wei Ying had remembered. All signs of Sizhui's consciousness was gone. His swordskills was also somewhat different. Not of the gracefulness of the Lans, but the brutalness of the Wens. After all, he lived with an ex-cultivator that was a Wen.

"Wei Wuxian!" A storng and angry voice yelled at Wei Ying. A very pretty woman, about the same age as him, appeared by the Demon-Subdue Cave of the Burial Mounds. Her robes, once pale amber, now all tattered, yet seemingly made her look more ferocious. Her sword was in her hand, unsheathed. Wei Ying jumped in surprise, not to see her blade so sharp and threatening, but to see his friend cultivting the sword again. Wen Qing, courtesy name Wen ZhongRuo, pursed her lips in annoyance.

"Wei Wuxian, stop playing that irritating noise with your flute. I'm trying to teach some of the not-so elderly how to fight." Wen Ning turned to leave, only to stop and see her leg. It was captured by a very small child.

"Qing-jiejie, can I join?" Little A-Yuan asked.

"Sorry, A-Yuan, but no. You can watch though," Wen Qing suggested as swordsmanship was not for children.

One, two three, four, a graceful yet terrifying Wen swung her sword with speed and accuracy. Five, six, seven, eight, a strong swing from the cultivator's blade. A-Yuan watched with awe, the images burning in his mind.

A yell so, loud and ferocious, shocked the life out of Jin Ling. Seeing his A-Yuan going on a rampage, watching his swordsmanship, recognising it to be of the Wen Clan, he might as well die. An emotion soup boiled within his stomach, yet two remain the main ingredients. Pride, as his A-Yuan was well versed in swordsmanship that even he himself doesn't know. Worry, as his A-Yuan may make a mistake and get pierced in the heart, like how his father had died.

Meanwhile, a shrill tune from a flute could be heard, black smoke running out of it. Like it wants to play with death itself. Wei Ying was using ChenQing to make the job lighter for the junior, also signalling someone else to free the Jin.

"A-Yuan!" The yell did not come from Wei Ying, nor Lan Zhan, who seems to not be able to find him, but from Jin Ling, who managed to get rid of the rag after a long time. "A-Yuan! Don't, you'll kill yourself!" It was true, as more than a hundred corspes surrounded a single cultivator. Even with the help of Wei Ying, there's no possible way that he can kill all of them by himself.

"Sect Leader Jin!" A scratchy voice came from behind the tree Jin Ling was stuck on, who recognises it to be Wen Ning's. "Use SuiHua, there's a talisman which repels only me."

"SuiHua!" Jin Ling called. A blade of gold came from the direction of Wen Ning, immediately cutting the wheat-coloured ropes. Jin Ling rode atop SuiHua, flying to Sizhui and jumping down to help slay all the corpses.

"A-Ling!" Sizhui greeted, his consciousness returning, but remains fierce. He took off his headband and tied it around Jin Ling and his own's wrists in one smooth motion. Jin Ling, although shocked as he remembered the meaning of the Lan headband, grinned.

"Damn, these corpses are not ending. A-Yuan, we need to find the manipulator. Let's leave the rest to Wei shishu and Wen shushu.

With a nod to Wen Ning and Wei Ying, the two left to find the cause of the corpses.

"A-Ling, did you mark him with a spell?" Sizhui asked.

"Hell yes, I did," Jin Ling said, grinning. "Come on, this way, A-Yuan!"