"Ridiculous!" Bo Fan spat. He wielded his longsword in a powerful arc, then slammed it down. However, the force could not break apart Wen Ning's chains.

The demon jumped backwards, so the fierce corpse decided to engage in combat.

Wen Ning threw sharp claws at Bo Fan, who keenly dodged every attack.

The two demonic creatures attacked back and forth, neither suffering from injuries. From afar, Wei Wuxian watched with a proud expression. "Wen Ning should be able to hold up until we get backup."

Unlike him, Shen Qingqiu wore a grim face. "How long will your bud be able to continue?"

"His name is Wen Ning!" Wei Wuxian corrected.

Hiding the lower half of his face behind a fan, Shen Qingqiu continued. "How long will Wen Ning be able to keep this up? The opponent is powerful." His sword eyebrows slanted, slightly furrowed from anxiety. Beside him, Luo Binghe held him by the shoulder. "Don't be afraid, Shizun. Let them do the work."

Another wave of sparks had flooded the impact. Chains crashed against the strong steel longsword. Neither backed down, and light flashed in between.

"If it were me... I don't think I'd be able to go up against that demon." Shen Qingqiu gritted his teeth.

Luo Binghe was quiet for some time. He couldn't find the right words to comfort his beloved.

They continued watching the battle.

Wen Ning and Bo Fan were relentless in their attacks. They lit up the night with the sounds of metal chains clashing against blades. "Won't you give up?" Bo Fan spat. His opponent, Wen Ning remained unwavering. The fierce corpse's pupils were a dark colour of the abyss.

"Mute?" Bo Fan provoked.

Wen Ning stayed silent. Then, he threw a punch.

It hit! Bo Fan was thrown off his feet and collapsed on the ground from ten metres away. A loud thud ruptured, and dust riled up. Coughing out blood, Bo Fan wobbled back on his feet. Veins were prominently bulging out from his muscles, as if trying to utilize all the strength in his every bone and marrow.

Then, he threw his longsword.

The weapon was faster than anything Wen Ning had ever seen before! It struck and bypassed the limits for the speed of light!

Abruptly, the longsword pierced into Wen Ning's left shoulder.

A great howl cried in Cang Qiong Mountain. Even though he was a fierce corpse and can't bleed anymore, Wen Ning still experienced the pain. So his howl just then wasn't exaggerated. Hearing it shot a great chill down every cultivator's spines. Goosebumps formed on Shen Qingqiu's skin. He fanned himself hurriedly, then shot a look at Wei Wuxian.

The latter had an infuriated expression. He looked like he was ready to murder the shit out of Bo Fan at that moment. Stepping forwards, Wei Wuxian unsheathed Suibian and-

He was stopped by Lan Zhan.

The husband wore an indifferent expression, but under closer inspection, one could sense the worry hidden underneath his eyes. "We can't interfere."

Wei Wuxian was shocked. "How come?"

Lan Zhan pursed his lips.

Beside him, Luo Binghe spoke up. "As much as I'd like to not say this, but... I don't think we can beat that demon in a one-on-one fight just yet. We just finished eliminating the earlier demons. If we were to fight Bo Fan right now..."

Xie Lian nodded to agree.

Standing up, Hua Cheng furrowed his eyebrows. "I can go, Gege-"

Before he could intrude in the fight, Xie Lian pulled him back. In response, Hua Cheng's left eye showed a look of inquiry.

"Not yet." Xie Lian bit his own bottom lip. "Almost there... I hear it. They're coming."

Then, Hua Cheng understood. He no longer stepped forwards. Instead, he sank back in the shadows.

Focusing back on the fight, Wen Ning had pulled out the longsword's blade out from his left shoulder. Every pull was excruciating, like trying to separate a limb from the body. Finally, the blade came out. The longsword collapsed on the ground, resounding a sharp clang in the atmosphere.

Spiritual energy probed the longsword, levitating it back to its owner. Bo Fan caught his weapon by the hilt, planning to aim another attack at the fierce corpse-

Abruptly, purple lightning struck the soil.

Shocked at the sudden interference, Bo Fan stopped in his movements. He just noticed that the purple lightning was aimed directly before his feet! And before his feet was a patch of burnt-into-a-crisp grass.

Shudders crept across his skin. Who had such a strong ability to burn that grass with lightning?

"Shitty Wei Wuxian." Out from the shadows, a young man dressed in valiant violet robes had a ring wrapped around a finger. In his hands, he held a violet whip, enveloped in purple sparks of lightning. That young man had a wrinkled forehead, which showed just how much stress was developing in his anger-filled face. Then, he softened. "You called for me too late."

Grievances was showered across Wei Wuxian's face. "It wasn't exactly my fault-"

His explanation was ignored. Jiang Cheng pulled on his purple whip, Zidian, harshly. He resembled his mother's stern face and violent nature. Each and every one of his footsteps carried weight.

Jiang Cheng walked towards Bo Fan, who was still stuck on the spot from shock.

"Demon, leave." Jiang Cheng spat.

Those words had snapped Bo Fan out from his shock. "What!?!"

Triumphant, Jiang Cheng spat out even more unbelievable words. "It's either you do as I tell you to, or you do so after I beat the living shit out of you."

"Oh really?" Bo Fan smiled. He had a mischievous look written across his face. "I'd like to see what a petty cultivator like you has to offer to the battlefield."

"You're wrong."

Bo Fan was surprised at the sudden contradiction. "What?"

Jiang Cheng smirked. His hold on Zidian tightened. "Unfortunately, it won't just be me accompanying you on the battlefield." Behind him, a giant army of Yunmeng Jiang cultivators stepped out from the shadows. Their faces unveiled a wary and yet deadpanned expression, as if they were all ready to risk their lives for this event.

The Yunmeng Jiang disciples amounted up to over five hundred!

Bo Fan began to sweat. Even for someone up to his own level, it'd take some seriously hard work to kill them all off. He gritted his teeth.

Rage bloomed across his face. A dainty crimson red colour seethed at his forehead, with beads of frustration outlining his masculine figure. "You won't get away with this!" After snaring out those six words, Bo Fan turned around and fled. Just within mere footsteps, Bo Fan's silhouette couldn't even be traced anymore.

"...he's a fast runner." Baffled, Wei Wuxian had blurted out.

Lan Zhan nodded, "Mn."

Huddled in the corner, Wen Ning didn't know whether or not to join the two lovebirds. Therefore, he just hid himself in the shadows.

Up in the abyss-like sky, only the stars could be visible from amongst the darkness.

"...it's over." Shen Qingqiu laid across the plain land that was burnt to ashes. Exhaustion plagued his every action, as if narrowing down his movements through force. It was nighttime, and a cool yet pleasant breeze suffused in the atmosphere.

Sitting upright, Luo Binghe wore a gentle expression. He took off his black outer robe, placing it over Shen Qingqiu's torso with the softest force he could use.

His lover quickly fell asleep in no time. Soft breathing played in the night.

Luo Binghe watched his lover, and admired how his chest heaved up and down from every consecutive breath taken. Gently taking away the fan, he folded it before setting it aside.

In the background, a fight was spotted.

Jiang Cheng poked a finger at Wei Wuxian's chest, a demanding expression etched over his face. "Why did you not visit for so long? So you were staying at this so called rusty place!"

"It wasn't rusty before it got burned down." Wei Wuxian offhandedly remarked.

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes. "Do I look like I care?"

Wei Wuxian bit his lips. "Based on the assumption that your face looks like you've eaten something bad, no, you don't look like you care."

"I don't look like I've eaten something bad." Jiang Cheng's eyebrows furrowed.

"Oh no!" Wei Wuxian flailed his arms wildly. He shamelessly acted, "Jiang Cheng has the look of a pyromaniac! He wants to kill me! Save me, Lan Zhan!"

In less than a second, Wei Wuxian was swooped up in his hubby's arms.

Lan Zhan carried Wei Wuxian in bridal style without restraint. His face showed indifference. Except, his two pearly ears were flushed a bright red colour. Those blushing ears exposed him.

"Go get a room." Jiang Cheng scowled. He turned around, then returned back to facing them. "Who are those people? How did you get involved with them?"

Wei Wuxian huffed. "We're investigation buddies."

"Of the earthquake?" Jiang Cheng arched an eyebrow. "Idiot! You could have just asked me!"

Wei Wuxian shook his head. "Nuh-uh. They are much more compatible with me than you, as long as you exclude Luo-xiong from the group."

Focused on watching his Shizun's sleeping face, a said Luo Binghe sneezed uncontrollably.

"Huh." Jiang Cheng's face had black lines running across. He appeared especially frightening and not to be messed with. "Since you've made new buddies, why don't I invite them to stay at Lotus Pier?"

"WHAT!?!" Never in Wei Wuxian's life would he expect his Senior Brother, Jiang Cheng to actually personally invite some random strangers into his territory! There must be some sort of trickery behind this! Distrusting, Wei Wuxian frowned, "What are you scheming?"

"Nothing." Jiang Cheng responded half-heartedly.

Yeah, that was a lie. Wei Wuxian could see through him like transparent glass.

"Fine." Wei Wuxian turned to face his exhausted companions. "I'll negotiate with them, and invite them over. We'll figure out the rooms later. Just tell me what it is you want from them."

A strange light flashed through Jiang Cheng's eyes. "Are you sure you want to hear?"

"Yes!" Wei Wuxian blurted out sarcastically. "What don't I want to hear from that pretty mouth of yours!?!"

He gained another roll of the eyes from Jiang Cheng. "Shut up, already."

Sect Leader Jiang straightened his back and spoke with all seriousness. "I want them to act under as guest cultivators of Yunmeng Jiang. Their orders will be given by me. It will be me who controls them. And it will also be me to see if they're capable of... being close with you. Got a problem with that?"

Wei Wuxian was struck dumb. He closed his agape mouth, then blurted. "Jiang Cheng, sometimes, I wish that you haven't come to save us. If only I wasn't such a damsel in distress."

Welcome to the competition of "Who is the Best Damsel in Distress"! Vote on your best option (only one please. Spare my eyes and counting skills, I suck at math), and give a reason! I'd like to know what everyone think of about these characters. Please remember, inhales, this will be never-ending 🙂

First contestant: Shen Qingqiu, the Shizun that died from choking on a mantou (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

Second contestant: Luo Binghe, the Demon Lord that gets insomnia if he doesn't hug his Shizun's corpse to sleep (゜-゜)

Third contestant: Wei Wuxian, the Yiling Patriarch that likes to use Bichen for... unholy reasons ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Fourth contestant: Lan Wangji, the Fairy Godmother-like husband ヾ(⌐■_■)ノ♪

Fifth contestant: Xie Lian, the God who doesn't know whether to laugh or cry (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)

Sixth contestant: Hua Cheng, the "I'm scared, Gege" Ghost King (≧▽≦)