The Village of Xitang Pt. 2

After spending hours with the Shen family, the sun had finally begun to set. The two sat playing with A-Qi, talking with the old woman and her son.

"Shen Yu, would you happen to know who sent out the message about the disappearances in your village?" Hai Yin suddenly asked.

"Uh, that's a good question.", said Shen Yu placing his thumb and index finger on his chin. "I've been meaning to ask how you knew, none of my buddies have told anyone outside of Xitang that I know of."

"I see." said Hai Yin, sipping his tea.

Kang Lei tossed A-Qi into the air, catching her with his hands as she came back down, the small girl let out a roar of laughter, "again ge-ge!", she exclaimed. A big grin made its way onto Kang Lei's face, "Shen Yu?" he said as he tossed A-Qi into the air again.

"Yes?" Shen Yu answered.

"Might you and your friends sit this one out tonight? Let Hai Yin and I give you a break, stay home with your family okay?" said Kang Lei with another wide grin as he caught A-Qi.

"Uh, sure I suppose that's a good idea, thank you. I'll go let my friends know.", said Shen Yu getting up. "I'll be right back Mom.", he said leaving out.

Kang Lei, put down A-Qi and she whined, "ge-ge again!"

"A-Qi, ge-ge's arms will fall off if I keep tossing you like this, won't you spare me?"

"Again!" the child demanded with furrowed brows, her arms crossed and a cute pout, but Kang Lei did the same in a childish manor, as he leaned his face down to A-Qi's view. They stayed like that a moment, before Kang Lei blew his lips together, and A-Qi let out a cute giggle, "ge-ge, you fart!" the little girl giggled.

"I did not!" Kang Lei whined like a child, but the little girl continued to laugh.

"A-Qi! Where are your manners? Little girls do not talk like that, you have spent too much time with your Father!" said the old madam and the two young Masters giggled, holding in their laughter. You dare not laugh when an adult scolded a child, or else the child would not take them seriously, the lesson would not be learned, and you would be in trouble yourself!

"I've returned, thank you again for keeping watch for us tonight, please be safe young Master Hai and young Master Zhao." said Shen Yu. Hai Yin and Kang Lei nodded, standing in unison, saying their goodbyes they left the Shen families home.

In the dark of the night, the two walked side by side again, making their way to the Xitang graveyard.

"Hai Yin, did you see how confused Shen Yu was when you asked him who had sent out the message? The people of Xitang village are a proud people and they are use to doing everything without help from outsiders. I highly doubt that they sent out that message themselves.", he explained.

"I agree, except for the Shen family, they seem to treat strangers rather coldly.", said Hai Yin, remembering how the old man had scolded him earlier for no apparent reason at all.

"Exactly.", Kang Lei agreed.

Hai Yin glanced at Kang Lei from his peripheral view, there was a question that he had been dying to ask for hours and now that they were alone, he finally had the chance.

"There's something I've been wanting to ask you.", said Hai Yin and Kang Lei turned his head toward him as he walked, "ask away.", he responded.

Hai Yin stared at the ground as he walked, "Why did you give the Shen family a false name?"

"Ahh, yes. I wondered when you were going to bring that up.", said Kang Lei, letting out a sigh and directing his attention back to trail ahead. "Zhao Siqi is my Mother's name, although not mine, it is still apart of me. The three main clans weren't the only enemies of the Kang clan. I use it when I am uncertain how one will react when they hear the name Kang."

"I see, but what enemies could your clan have made here?" asked Hai Yin.

"Kang Yu-Huan had another sword made by a blacksmith in the town of Tian. It's rumored that, that he cheated the blacksmith without pay. The rest of the story tells of my Grandfather stealing the sword, taking the blacksmiths life. If I am not mistaken, the blacksmith's family name was Shen, he might even have been the late husband or brother of that old madam, or so the rumors say. I know when to pick and choose my battles and I'd rather not have to explain to such good people why my Grandfather took the life of one of their love ones, so do not forget to address me as Zhao Lei when we are amongst others okay?", said Kang Lei, allowing a quick smile on his face as he walked up ahead. Although he had shown young Master Hai a smile, Hai Yin could see that he was indeed fixated on the ground, this topic had struck a nerve. It was certain that whenever the Kang clan left The Unholy Sect, they faced ridicule. It had to be hard always having to pay for the transgressions someone else made.

Hai Yin thought a minute and quickly he hurried next to Kang Lei, "Young Master Zhao.", he spoke and Kang Lei turned his head with a smirk on his face.

"If the God's had given you a choice, how different would your life be?" asked Hai Yin.

Kang Lei smirked, directing his attention back to the road ahead, "hmmm, if I could've chosen my life, I would most certainly not be a high borne and I would not be a Kang. To be honest, I do not care for this life, if it were up to me, I would not be the next clan leader. I would be a regular lowly traveler, I'd like to see more of this world I know nothing of. Being that the Unholy sect is made up of people that have come from all over, I'd like to see where it is my Mother came from.", said Kang Lei as his smirk had grown into a full smile.

"Is your Mother no longer in this world?" Hai Yin asked.

"She died when I was only an infant. My Father doesn't talk about her much, but my Mother's hand maidens tell me she came from a small village a long way from here, from a place where there were only people who have eyes like mine."

"….", saying nothing, Hai Yin listened attentively to young Master Kang as he spoke. Openly admitting one would rather live separately from their own clan and without cultivation was something he didn't hear too often, but he understood this way of thinking at the same time.

"So, what about you? How different would your life be?" said Kang Lei.

A smile made its way onto Hai Yin's face as well, "If I could have it my way, my Father would be clan leader forever. Although I enjoy cultivation, how can one expected to be clan leader enjoy it to the fullest extent?"

"The pressure to be the best and constant reminder that you'll be clan leader someday.", said Kang Lei.

"The amount of responsibilities and people who will depend on you." Hai Yin added.

"You just feel…you feel so…", said Kang Lei at a lost for the word and in unison, the two blurted out, "trapped!" Letting out a chuckle Kang Lei smiled, and Hai Yin smirked, if it were up to them neither one of them had plans to become the next clan leader, they would probably run away and disappear.

Walking a few minutes more, the two had finally made their way to Xitang graveyard, it being exactly as they had left it earlier, cold and almost bodyless.

"We should hide.", said Hai Yin and Kang Lei nodded, the young masters hopping up into two different trees, both with the perfect view of the entire graveyard.

It seemed like hours had gone by and the night remained still and uneventful. The only thing that could be heard were owls occasionally speaking in the night and the rustling of leaves when small animals passed through. Hai Yin watched attentively, careful not to miss a thing while Kang Lei sat with his back against the trunk of the tree, his eyes closed.

Glancing over to make sure Kang Lei was okay, Hai Yin did a double take as he noticed the young master's head nodding quite heavily. Hai Yin sighed softly, holding up his index and middle finger, he sent out the messenger of the Hai clan, a hummingbird. Small, quick, and translucent, leaving behind a barely noticeable trail of glow, the hummingbird messenger got to Kang Lei in a heartbeat, landing on the crown of his head.

"Kang Lei! Kang Lei!" Hai Yin spoke without having to move his lips, the messenger transmitting his thought process. Slowly Kang Lei's eyes opened, fluttering a few times.

"Kang Lei, how can you sleep at a time like this!?" Hai Yin scolded. Kang Lei let out a yawn as he squinted his eyes to see Hai Yin in the other tree with furrowed brows.

"I was not asleep, I was resting my eyes.", Kang Lei responded without speaking.

"Take this ser…." said Hai Yin, but he was suddenly shushed!

"Listen.", said Kang Lei as he whispered softly through the hummingbird. Growing quiet, the two listened, as they heard the heavier sound of leaves ruffling one after the other and not like the animals that had occasionally passed by. The two watched anxiously to see what would appear and to their surprise, two men showed up, dragging their shovels behind their backs.

"They are just two men.", said Hai Yin as he was ready to jump down, but Kang Lei stopped him.

"Wait! Why don't we see what they do.", said Kang Lei, the two looking at each other and nodding, quickly turning their attention back to the two men.

Aimlessly, the two men wandered around in the graveyard, holding their shovels, seeming as if though they were confused on where to dig.

Kang Lei furrowed his brows, "Hai Yin, do they seem like they are perplexed?" said Kang Lei.

"So it seems, though I believe they are being controlled to complete a specific task, but it has taken them too long to find the graves that still have bodies left in them.", Hai Yin responded.

"That would be called mind capture; however, I have never seen anything quite like this.", Kang Lei chuckled as he watched the two idiots circle around, stumbling here and there with their shovels.

"The caster is not close by, that is the reason for this bizarre behavior. The further the caster is, the less effective the spell becomes depending on their level of cultivation.", said Hai Yin.

"Right.", said Kang Lei.

The two young master's watched for a moment more before they heard what sounded like horses approaching. When it finally came into view, a horse and carriage emerged, quite the distance away from the graveyard. A third man got down from the carriage, walked over and stood still, almost as if he was waiting for something. Frozen he stood, doing absolutely nothing for almost five minutes.

"I think we have seen enough.", said Kang Lei and the two made eye contact before they jumped down from the trees. Hai Yin dropped his fingers dissipating his hummingbird as the two walked toward the empty graves and the three mindless men. Even though the two had made an appearance, the mindless men didn't seem to notice, they still aimlessly wandered around and the third man stood by the carriage as well. Hai Yin walked over to the carriage and opened the shade, only to see that it was empty, nothing but the residue of dirt left in it. Hai Yin turned to Kang Lei, nodding and Kang Lei did the same before pulling out three talismans and flinging them in all three directions of the mindless men. As the talismans speedily touched their foreheads, the three men instantly fell to the ground.

Kang Lei and Hai Yin pulled the men out of the graveyard, laying them beside each other.

"This carriage is how the bodies were disappearing without anyone seeing them.", said Hai Yin.

"Mn, mind capture takes a part of your memory every use, so it explains why no one remembers or has seen anything however, it doesn't explain why Shen Yu and his friends don't remember anything. If they were spelled, they would be here as well.", said Kang Lei.

"Unless there is a mirage spell casted simultaneously the time as the mind capture, Shen Yu and his friends would only see what the caster wanted them to see until the bodies were dug up and the carriage was long gone. Therefore, they would think nothing happened even though they watched all day and all night.", said Hai Yin.

"Right, a spell that would only effect people with little to no spirit energy." Kang Lei said with furrowed brows. Poking his chin with his index finger over and over, Kang Lei thought a minute. The mirage spell casted on the grave watchers made absolute sense, but the disappearance of the horse and carriage tracks is what was throwing him off, what happened to the tracks after everyone had left? As long as they looked around the graveyard earlier today, surely they would've noticed the tracks leading away from the graveyard.

"Should we wake them?" Hai Yin asked.

"Ah, yes!" said Kang Lei as he was lost in thought for a moment. Ripping the talismans off of the three sleeping men's heads, they slowly began to groan opening their eyes.

"What…what happened? Where am I?", said the men as they began to stand up confused as to how they got there.

"Please, tell us what is the last thing you three remember?" said Hai Yin. One of the men looked up to the sky for a moment as he thought hard, "I laid down to go to sleep."

"I was having a late dinner after working all day.", said another.

"I was on my way home from making deliveries. A shame those bodies are missing.", said the last man as he looked around the graveyard and the other two agreed. Kang Lei and Hai Yin eyed each other momentarily and then directed their attention back to the three men.

With a smile Kang Lei got everyone' s attention, "my good sir's, won't you go home? I am sure that your wives would be worried sick if they were to wake up and find their husbands gone in the middle of the night." The three men looked at each other with wide eyes and nodded, quickly, the three men hopped in the carriage and left the cemetery, biding the two young masters a goodnight.

When the carriage was far away, Kang Lei drew a protection circle, it disappearing as soon as it was completed, while Hai Yin focused his energy into the circle. With this protection circle that only appeared to the caster left behind, its range reached a ten-thousand-foot radius. Any spells casted from others with this protection circle drawn would become futile.

"Xitang village will be safe for now.", said Kang Lei as the two left the cemetery.

"There must be some way to figure out where the bodies went.", said Hai Yin. Although he spoke, Kang Lei didn't seem as if he heard, there was something on the young master's mind. Hai Yin thought he should address it but was suddenly distracted by the flutter of a hummingbird hovering in front of him. Sticking out his hand, the hummingbird landed. Coming to a stop and closing his eyes, Hai Yin began to receive the message. Also stopping, Kang Lei turned his head to the side, curious as to what the message was. Hai Yin stood, quietly with his eyes closed for a moment and in an instant his eyes suddenly snapped open.

"What is it?" Kang Lei asked anxiously.

"The town of Gu, bodies have been exhumed, that is where we must go next.", said Hai Yin. Kang Lei nodded and the two of them made their way to the river to leave the village of Xitang. When the two reached the river, Kang Lei frowned, sighing heavily, "I will meet you in Tian, there must be some other way around this God forsaken river." Kang Lei complained.

A smirk made its way onto Hai Yin's face, "there is no other way.", he said locking his arm around Kang Lei's, and pulling him until he entered the boat. Finally giving in, Kang Lei plopped himself down in the boat with a pout, luckily his stomach was already empty.

The two young masters had been in the boat for a while, making it halfway across the river between Xitang and Tian. Kang Lei sat absolutely still with his head down, eyes closed, his face pale and his hand over his mouth.

"We are almost there.", said Hai Yin as he continued to row the boat. Holding up his thumb, Kang Lei gave Hai Yin a response, worried if he spoke, he would puke. Shaking his head Hai Yin smirked as the already swaying boat began to sway even more. Thinking that the current had picked up, Hai Yin began to paddle harder, but suddenly a loud thud sounded on the bottom of the boat, blasting a hole in the boat nearly tipping it over, there was something in the water!

Hai Yin jumped up on his feet with his sword in hand, and anxiously glared at the deep water underneath him and without warning a dark figure jumped out of the water, knocking him overboard. With his eyes closed and his mind focused on not puking, Kang Lei was unaware what was happening around him until he heard a loud crash and the splash of water.

Kang Lei's eyes opened slowly to see an empty boat, "Hai Yin? Why do you pick now to go for a swim?", said Kang Lei, his tone sarcastic until he noticed the hole filling the boat with water.

When Hai Yin hadn't resurfaced, Kang Lei grew nervous, "Hai Yin! Hai Yin!?", he called out rather alarmed. A series of bubbles came up to the surface of the river and Kang Lei quickly leaned over the side of the boat to get a closer look. "Hai Yin!" he called out again, ignoring the urge to throw up. Gritting his teeth together, Kang Lei let out a groan, "damned if I do, damned if I don't!" he complained before he closed his eyes and jumped into the river, if Hai Yin hadn't come up by now, something had to be wrong!