Ashes Of Heaven Book 1 : Solar Calamity

Pine town was a small locality, barely qualified to be labeled as a town. Everybody knew everybody and their ancestors. So the few frequent disappearances had raised quite the storm.

Some people even wanted to leave the town and come back after the problem has been solved. The town chief was definitely not in his best mood, which was apparent from the conversation Han Xuhan had with him. Mu Ran apparently didn't think he needed the help of mortals to catch the demonic cultivators. So he had sent Xuhan on behalf of the sect to meet with the authority figures of the town while he went to visit the places where the recent disappearances had taken place.

From the town chief's account, Han Xuhan learned that most of the disappearances had happened on a route near the town that went through a medium-sized, dense stretch of woods. At this point, going near that place by themselves was synonymous to a suicidal move for mortals. At the end of their discussion, the town chief called for someone from inside his house upon hearing that Xuhan planned to visit the route immediately.

"This is my nephew, Shen Kai. He's very familiar with the town's layout and has cultivated a bit too. So he'll be a great help to your investigation. "

The young man who came out from the town chief's house looked rather unassuming, with reverence bursting out from his gaze which was glued to the badge of the Crimson Snow sect on Xuhan's robe.

"Fellow cultivator, I'm an admirer of the crimson snow sect!" He opened the conversation in an enthusiastic tone.

"I wanted to be a cultivator so much that even when I was thrown out of the recruitment process due to having no talent when I was your age, I still sold half my assets and bought one of the cultivation techniques sold in an auction run by the sect. Despite the lack of my talent, I've done my best to cultivate and reached the fourth layer of the physique transformation realm last month. If I may ask, what is the level of your cultivation?"

"Ah, that certainly is an encouraging story. Not bad, not bad at all!"

Nodding like a senior evaluating a child's academic performance, Han Xuhan fixed the flattest glare he could muster at the enthusiastic young man who looked barely older than himself.

It instantly squashed the enthusiasm of the young man. Perhaps he realized that he had made a wrong move, because he immediately pretended that the past ten seconds hadn't happened and started speaking again, very respectfully.

"Fellow cultivator, It's such an honor to meet the representative of the crimson snow sect! With you here, I don't believe those criminals can get away! Let's set off and catch those bastards, shall we?"

Han Xuhan couldn't help but praise this fellow cultivator's quick thoughts. Such a smart lad!

The two of them first met up with Mu Ran outside the town, who looked a bit impatient for some reason. After the introduction was over, Shen kai led them toward the stretch of woods. While trailing behind him, Xuhan found a suitable chance to interrogate Mu Ran without being overheard by Shen Kai.

"Did you discover anything? Any clues? "

"Not exactly. There were no hints of abhorrent rituals around the places I visited. But there is this odd feeling I've been experiencing for a while now. It's like someone has been watching us since we've entered the town. I think, we're being followed..."

Han Xuhan couldn't think of anyone other than the malicious forces plaguing the pine town who might have any motive to follow them.

So Mu Ran's vague answer boosted his vigilance to the maximum.

He was mentally prepared for some sort of conflict taking place, but his inexperience was something he couldn't deny. Never having been in real mortal danger where the enemy was unknown made Xuhan's heart beat incredibly fast. He had to stop his fingers from twitching due to nervousness. He hadn't been this nervous even when he had faced off elder Shen.

Taking a few deep breaths, he started planning for unforeseeable circumstances in the near future.

After walking for nearly an hour at a moderate pace through the desolate woods, Han Xuhan realized that they had made a rookie mistake. It was already close to dusk. The night would be a dangerous time to go sniffing around for clues of their enemies. Neither Xuhan nor Mu Ran was familiar with the terrain here. And Shen Kai had no strong obligation to help them fight off demonic cultivators if they were ambushed due to their lack of experience.

"Xuhan, if things take a turn for worse in the jungle, you should run."

Mu Ran awkwardly patted him on his back and seemed to have made a resolve in his mind.

"But boss, we can just walk back right now and come back tomorrow..."

"We could. But think about it, underling. When is the best time to catch these evildoers? After the whole town has been informed of our arrival? Under bright daylight? You don't really think they'd reveal themselves in front of everybody, right? This is a sacrifice we have to make in order to bait them and catch them off guard. We must seize the initiative! Right now, we may appear to be the prey, but we can very well be the predator!"

"You're smarter than I thought, boss."

Han Xuhan distinctly felt that Mu Ran's logic was a bit off. But he decided not to complicate things by starting an argument right now. Moreover, just because Mu Ran had asserted that they'd have to fight these criminals, it didn't mean Han Xuhan was obliged to participate if a fight really broke out. He was prepared fully to sprint at the first sign of trouble

"Haha, I know- no...wait a minute, does that mean you thought I was -"

"Fellow cultivator Shen Kai, let's discuss some strategies and talk about the clues we've managed to find so far, shall we?"

Leaving an indignant Mu Ran behind with huge strides, Xuhan rushed toward Shen Kai, their guide. Shen Kai looked slightly confused at his sudden approach but nodded immediately, seeming eager.

"According to the town chief, there is no particular pattern to the disappearances, except that quite a few of the victims were not very well-liked in the town, right? I have heard that some of them were even despised due to their characters and misconduct."

Of course, this wasn't exactly a major clue that could help them find the trails of the evildoers. This was the town chief's personal opinion, which he seemed to have kept a secret from his own nephew as well, judging by the surprised look on the young man's face.

"Representative Han, that...that's not something I can comment on. The victims might have been disliked by many townsfolk. But that doesn't mean anyone would hate them so much as to kidnap or kill them in secret. Almost everyone here has a family. The small disagreements between folks shouldn't ever reach the point of such cruelty."

Shen Kai's answer was quite measured. He didn't seem to have an iota of suspicion toward the townsfolk regarding these incidents. And Xuhan couldn't think of any particular motive that could fuel the townsfolk's hate toward the victims either.

Feeling vexed, Han Xuhan continued to converse with Shen Kai, discussing smaller clues found around the disappearance sites.

There was another important clue that had been discovered by a rogue cultivator who had stayed in the town temporarily a few days ago.

One of the victims was a rich merchant who had hired three cultivators as his bodyguard. His carriage had been found empty just outside the town where he was planning to build a villa. When the news spread, the rogue cultivator had visited the place where the empty carriage had been discovered. She had found signs of a battle between cultivators and a small trace of a spell that didn't match any of the orthodox styles of the sects close by. This clue gave birth to the popular opinion that behind this incident was the hand of the ever-elusive demonic cultivators.

"I think this clue has the greatest merit. Rogue cultivators are usually never united enough to run such a huge operation without leaving a clue behind. The cultivators that merchant hired were not easy opponents by any means. Kidnapping them all without leaving any particular trace is quite the feat. And this further solidifies the theory of demonic cultivator criminals," Shen Kai said with a troubled expression.

"But even if it is true, there is no way to track them. We can only hope that the representatives from the sect can solve this issue now."

Xuhan, meanwhile, was contemplating a rather complicated question.

Should he tell Shen Kai about Mu Ran's hunch so that he could run before things go south? Or should they stick together and deal with the enemy? After all, without Shen Kai, Xuhan and Mu Ran would be lost out in the woods for the night. But as a cultivator himself, Shen Kai should want to protect his own town and solve this problem too, right?

"Representative Han Xuhan and representative Mu Ran, we are very close to our destination now. So far, seven disappearances have happened in the place ahead of us. If there is anything you need to prepare, please do so."

Xuhan's chain of thoughts was broken by Shen Kai's sudden announcement.

Looking ahead at the densely packed woods, Xuhan realized that night was about to fall. The forest looked especially creepy in the dying light of the sun. All sorts of insects were starting to buzz and flying creatures were shifting from one tree to another as silently as possible.

Han Xuhan suddenly wanted to run back to the sect, but he remembered the rewards for solving this problem and moved forward while gritting his teeth.

There was a thin line between cautiousness and cowardice, and he felt like he was about to cross that line now...

The three of them stuck close to each other and felt the last warmth of sunlight disappearing swiftly. Xuhan gripped the handle of the glaive he was carrying on his back, feeling slightly more reassured.

Right now, Xuhan was practically a walking armory. He had hidden more than a dozen small knives imbued with explosion spells within the numerous folds of his robe.

There were two small axes hanging on his waist, both of which he was using as a distraction in order to hide the auxiliary blade of his glaive tucked just under the back of his right thigh. If an enemy saw him using the knives, they'd be under the assumption that the axes were his secondary weapons in case of an emergency.

The shoes he was using were a wild card that would explode every few seconds once he stimulated them with his qi.

And all of this was still not his full defense. He still had Zhanxian, the simpleton skeleton whose hobby was to contemplate the meaning of life and getting some sunlight on his bones for the daily vitamin D supply. The scientific reasoning here eluded Xuhan, but he knew better than to challenge his sanity by trying to fit this world into scientific chains of logic.

Quietly slithering to the back of the group as if he wasn't paying attention to his pace, Han Xuhan chose a curve in the road where he would be temporarily hidden from anyone behind him and summoned Zhanxian. After ten seconds, the red skeleton materialized from his back like a ghost.

Its first reaction upon seeing their surroundings was to whimper immediately.

Not wanting to alert Mu Ran and Shen Kai, Xuhan gestured at him wildly to make him shut up and whispered, ''Someone might be following us. Hide here and move through the forest while keeping track of our movement. Follow us from a distance and keep an eye out for anyone behind us.''

''Master, where is this?! So scary! I want to go back! Summon me back!''

''You're an undead! What the hell are you scared of?''

''I'm scared of the dark.''

''What the f- just do it! You're a grown-up adult. Why are you scared of the dark? The moonlight is enough to light the way here. We don't even need a torch.''

''Nope, ain't doing it.''

''You want to die with us here, slaughtered by demonic cultivators, killed without receiving a burial?''

''I already got a burial once, probably...''

''I'm going to dismantle you and divide your bones among my next projects.''

After a long pause, Zhanxian finally agreed, with the added condition that Han Xuhan would give him some expensive resources needed for bone nourishment.

"Of course, of course! You can expect a great reward for your behavior when we get back to the sect!" Han Xuhan spoke in a demented tone. Then he handed the skeleton a black robe from his bag.

"Now wear this. It'll save both of our skin in an emergency."

"Xuhan, why are you walking so slowly? Do you want to be the first to die?"

Hearing Mu Ran's shout from ahead, Xuhan threw Zhanxian's light body toward a thick bush and hurried to catch up with the other two.

Soon, they entered the 'danger zone' and slowly scoured every inch of that area while maintaining the highest vigilance all the time. Sadly, neither of them found any clue. They had taken some preparations before leaving the sect, having learned the signature signs of deadly spells and rituals. But none of that sort could be found here. The signs of battle also provided nothing to their unskilled eyes.

"Did we scare them off? Perhaps I should have converged my aura..."

Hearing Mu Ran's mutterings, Shen Kai frowned for a second, but quickly hid his displeasure. Thanks to the minuscule glow of the moonlight, Mu Ran didn't notice his expression.

"There is nothing here. Maybe we should explore further and check deeper into the woods around this area as well. Best to do it tomorrow..." Xuhan suggested nervously. But Mu Ran suddenly stopped walking and looked back at Xuhan with a surprised expression.

"Did you discover something, representative Mu Ran?" Shen Kai asked eagerly.

Mu Ran nodded.

"I have an idea. If somebody is observing us, then they're definitely waiting for a suitable opportunity to attack. Why don't we create one?"

"Observing us? What do you mean?"

Shen Kai looked stunned and suddenly looked around in panic.

"Don't worry, little Kai. Whoever it is, I'll be able to at least hold them off and even capture them if we are lucky. I'm not as weak as my martial brother here. You two wait here while I separate from the group and pretend to be busy answering the call of nature. "

Mu Ran instructed them to stay put and vanished in the dark. Xuhan didn't even manage to protest. Within seconds, Mu Ran's footsteps had vanished from their perception.

Suddenly feeling that he was very defenseless at this moment, Xuhan turned to look at Shen Kai, only to see him staring back at Xuhan with an equally nervous expression.

In the silent Woods, Han Xuhan and Shen Kai raised their vigilance to the extreme and stopped making any unnecessary movement.

A few minutes passed.

Xuhan felt that Mu Ran was taking a bit too long with his "pretentious pissing" around the woods. If anyone were to observe him, they would realize that something was off. How long does one need to pee? Does he have urinary incontinence?

"Representative Xuhan, representative Mu Ran is overdoing it a bit, isn't he? It's been more than ten minutes..."

"Let's wait a bit more before we make any rash moves, brother Shen Kai."

The two of them could wait no longer after two more excruciating minutes had passed. They decided to move toward the direction where Mu Ran had disappeared.

Suddenly, a familiar voice shouted from within the dark woods ahead.

"Underling Xuhan, little Kai, come quickly! I found an underground entrance here while peeing!"