A Dangerous Path Forward

The morning air was sharp and vibrant as Hei An and Wei Ren climbed aboard the hired carriage. A little creak of the wheels sounded before the driver prepared to depart from Fallen Oak Town. Behind them, the bustle of traders and townsfolk about their business filled the town with energy.

That will take us about two days,," Wei Ren said, settling in beside Hei An. "The Blackfeather Sect isn't too far, but it's up in the mountains. Hiring a carriage saves us a lot of walking."

Hei An nodded. His eyes roamed the lively town around them, looking at everything. It had been ages since he'd seen that many people in one place. There was fresh bread mixed with that of the horses; then, his ears caught the chatter of merchants. Of course, he kept thinking about his village, the peacefulness of which had left nothing but the memory before everything had been taken from him. "I have to keep moving forward," he decided, clenched his fists. "The past won't help me gain strength."

Hei An just came in time for regaining his senses as Wei Ren softly groaned.

"Wonderful. Just my luck."

Hei An turned and followed his gaze, where a young man stood on the road ahead. That young man was dressed in the same dark robes as Wei Ren but the cuffs were embroidered more elaborately with patterns. A long scar crossed his left cheek, and he seemed to embody intimidation. Beside him stood a massive muscular beast with scales shimmering lightly in the light—a Crimson Fang Hound, whose eyes glowed faintly red.

"Li Cheng," Wei Ren muttered darkly, his face shadowing.

"Ah, you remember me!" Li Cheng said laughing, stopping a few paces away.

"How could you not? After all, it's me who keeps keeping you at the bottom of the rankings. Still trying to claw your way up?"

Wei Ren gave him a glare but said nothing right away. Hei An watched the tension between them.

"Who is this?" he asked in a hushed whisper.

Wei Ren groaned and rubbed his temple. It was clear how frustrated he was. "Li Cheng is an outer-court disciple like me," he continued to explain in hushed tones.

"He ranks higher than me and never fails to remind me of it. Our clans do not get along, and he loves to find a reason to humiliate me whenever he can."

Li Cheng overheard and snickered. "That's right. Poor Wei Ren hasn't won a single duel against me. It's almost sad how hard you try. Maybe you should stick to guiding strays to the sect instead of embarrassing yourself.".

He turned to Hei An and smirked; the smirk became more pronounced. "Speaking of strays, who is this? Looks like you picked him out of the forest. Those clothes. pathetic. Are you so desperate for recruits that you're scraping the bottom of the barrel now?"

Hei An didn't respond immediately, keeping his face neutral. Inside, however, a flicker of irritation grew. "So this is the kind of person I'll have to deal with at the sect," he thought.

Wei Ren clenched his fists, but still remained silent over the Li Cheng's jabs. "We are just passing through," he said gruffly. "Move aside.".

But Li Cheng hadn't finished. "Hm? Is this how you talk to a senior brother of your sect? Come one show some respect and maybe I will let you through."

Wei Ren glared at him, but before he could answer, Li Cheng's smirk faded. His body stiffened and a flicker of fear crossed his face. He fixed his eyes on Hei An's shoulder where Xue Ying had materialized, with dark feathers resolving into the cloak Hei An wore. The raven's eyes, glowing faintly, bored into Li Cheng.

A low growl had been rising into a near snarl as if the Crimson Fang Hound felt its master's discomfort but still took a step forward with claws digging in the dirt, and that was when Xue Ying cast his gaze over to it, freezing. A low whimper trembled from its throat, it shrank away, and what had seemed like such intimidating posturing was now tame.

Even Hei An was surprised 'What is this power?' he wondered, watching the fear in Li Cheng's eyes and the Hound's abrupt change of demeanour. 'It seems like Xue Ying can dominate their will even without attacking. This will comes in handy.'

Li Cheng's face paled, and sweat erupted on his forehead. "W-what. what is this?" he stuttered, retreating involuntarily.

Hei An reached out and touched the feathers of Xue Ying softly. "That's enough," he said quietly. Xue Ying gave a soft caw, and the oppressive atmosphere had vanished nearly as soon as it had appeared.

The very moment when pressure was let off, Crimson Fang Hound growled once again and sprang towards Hei An. But just about the time he reached closer, Hei An's eyes darkened. Xue Ying spread her wings, and again the same wave of fear came back. The Hound froze mid-leap, whimpered, and fell back to his master in a cower, hiding behind Li Cheng.

Li Cheng came out of his trance, embarrassment burning across his face. "You. you will regret this!"

He spat at Hei An's feet. "Wait until we get to the sect." And with that, he turned on his heel and stomped off, the Crimson Fang Hound slinking behind, its tail between its legs.

Wei Ren breathed slowly, shaking his head. "What just happened?" he asked Xue Ying, looking at him with a mixed look of amazement and puzzlement .

Hei An just shrugged, face calm but mind racing around in circles. "Its. nothing," he said.

As the carriage finally began to move, Wei Ren sat back in his seat and his shoulders eased up a little. "You know," he said, closing his eyes, "I almost feel bad for Li Cheng. Almost."

Wei Ren looked at him for another moment before shaking his head. "You're full of surprises.".

Just as the carriage began to roll, Wei Ren looked back toward the town gate where Li Cheng had disappeared. "He won't let this drop, you know," Wei Ren said. "Li Cheng doesn't take an insult lightly.".

Hei An didn't say a word, his eyes still fixed on the horizon. His brain had already prepared itself for the future days. "If the Blackfeather Sect is full of people like him, then I'll have to tread carefully. But if Xue Ying's power keeps growing like this... I might not need to be afraid of anyone."