::Chapter 1 (1/2)::

((Ep. 2)){?}

As I continued to walk through the woods, the feeling of uneasiness upset my stomach. I stopped walking and sat down by a tree. After taking a few long breaths, I stood back up and made my way to the village.

I could see some houses from the distance and I was stuck between feeling sick and excited.

"Oh!" A person gasped as I accidentally walked into them.

'I didn't notice there was a person in front of me since I was too busy looking at the village.'

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bump into you." I apologized to the woman.

"It's okay! Are you alright?" She asked with a concerned expression.

"I'm alright." I nodded in response.

"Are you on the way to the village as well?" She questioned as we both started walking in the same direction.

"Yes... you?"

"I'm meeting some people there." She answered.

Our walk was silent and a bit awkward. I could tell she wanted to say something but would turn away with a nervous chuckle whenever I'd look in her direction.

As we neared the village we both heard people screaming. I looked at her to see if she also heard what I did and she nodded. The both of us ran to the location and saw a giant statue fighting some cultivators.

I felt my eyes widen when I noticed the Dancing Fairy Statue standing there. The sound of a flute began to play a piece...

...Which seemed to summon a man with chains around him? In an instant, he took down the statue, but it happened to be an illusion.

Once he landed I was able to get a better look at his face, causing my heart to stop.

"Wen Ning?" I shakily asked out loud, catching his attention along with everyone else.

'I didn't mean to say that out loud...'

I walked towards him, despite the cultivators yelling at me not to get near him while he quietly stood there. As I neared him, I placed my hand over his cheek and felt myself starting to tear up.

"It's you." I cried as I wrapped my arms around him. I felt his arms slowly going around me in return when I suddenly was yanked away from him.

He seemed to snap out of his trance in anger and began to fight everyone that had surrounded us. The man wearing the mask once again began to play the flute in a way to calm down Wen Ning.

"Wen Ning!" I exclaimed with worry as I saw everyone attacking him.

I couldn't move since the boy that pulled me away was still holding onto me.

"Let go." I told him as I tried to get out.

"Why are you so worried about him? You know he's the Ghost General, right? He's a monster." He replied with a bitter tone.

"He's not a monster." I felt myself getting frustrated at his attitude.

"What is he then?" He asked.

"He's my brother!" I slammed my foot on his forcing him to let go of me.

I was about to run towards Wen Ning when a familiar melody was played. Wen Ning slowly made his way toward the masked man.

'No way...'

I noticed Lan Zhan appear behind him and grabbed his arm before he was able to continue playing. The man stopped and looked at Lan Zhan. They stayed staring at each other for a while.

"So... are you.." I heard an unsure voice next to me.

It was the woman from earlier.

"Hm?" I questioned.

"Wen Mei?" She softly asked.

"Wen Mei?" Lan Zhan broke his eye contact with the man. I saw that they were both looking at me.

I stayed quiet. Kind of nervous that most of everyone's attention was on us.

"Um..."

The man played the flute one last time causing Wen Ning to jump into the woods to escape.

I never got to answer when another familiar face walked toward us.

'Jiang Cheng.'

"Ling." He called out.

"Uncle." The boy who had held me replied quickly letting go of his foot.

'Uncle? Is he... their kid?'

Two faces appeared in my head but faded away.

"You didn't carry the signal shells? Now, what happened? Don't pretend to be brave. Get over here now!" Jiang Cheng scowled at the boy.

'Has Jiang Cheng always been like this?'

"You told me to catch it no matter what." The boy replied with a bit of attitude.

"Don't talk back. What on earth was that? How could it have caused you such trouble?"

"Clan Leader, it was Wen Ning." One of the men in the group answered.

"What?"

"Wen Ning is back." He clarified.

"Wen Ning?" Jiang Cheng questioned in disbelief.

"It was Wen Ning. Truly."

"He was executed a long time ago. Impossible."

"It's true. I couldn't have seen it wrong. He called Wen Ning out!" Another man had pointed at the man wearing the mask.

"Great. You are back." Jiang Cheng angrily told the masked man.

He was about to use his whip when Lan Zhan countered his attack with his guqin.

"Lan Wangji, how dare you!"

The man was going to make a run for it causing Jiang Cheng to use his whip again. This time it was successful but it only hit the man, nothing else.

The man got up in pain.

"What? You think you can beat people as you will because you are rich and powerful?" The man argued as he rubbed his back.

"Take off your mask."

"No."

"You-!"

"You will be shocked to death if I take it off." The man replied.

"Clan Leader, please stop. That's the Zidian. The Zidian can recognize souls that possess others' bodies. Wei Wuxian's body and soul were both lost after he died. He can't resurrect unless he possesses another body." One of the Lan Clans cultivators spoke up.

"How did you know Wei died for sure?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"People say you killed him yourself."

Jiang Cheng stared at the masked man once again.

"Tell me. Who are you?"

After Jiang Cheng had asked that the man fainted making Lan Zhan worry.

"I don't think you should just worry about him." One of the men who had talked about Wen Ning stated.

"What do you mean?" Jiang Cheng replied.

"She said Wen Ning is her brother. Didn't all the Wen Clan die that day?"

I began to walk away with the woman who knew me.

"Wen Mei." He coldly called out.

I stopped walking and looked at him with a soft expression. It had been years since I'd seen him.

"You look a bit just like her..." I heard him mumble to himself.

He took out his sword and walked toward me. I pushed the woman away from me and took out my bow.

He swung his sword but I quickly blocked his attack with my bow. He got close to my face and leaned over next to my ear.

"This will be the only time I'll let you go. Don't let me catch you again or you won't just come out with a scrape. It's good to see you again." He whispered. He flashed a small smile, then slashed my arm with his sword. I winced as I felt blood beginning to trail down my arm. I noticed a look of concern on his face, but he quickly hid it.

I ripped a piece of my clothing and tried wrapping it around my arm. 

"Let me help you with that." The woman had grabbed the cloth and wrapped it around my wound.

"Come with us." She told me.

I looked at Lan Zhan to see if he was also alright with it and he nodded.

"Okay."

I followed Lan Zhan, the masked man, and the woman away from the area.

"Shouldn't we go after them?" A man had suggested.

"No, what else could they do other than run away." Jiang Cheng disagreed.