Chapter 14: Fiery Flower Sect
-'Are you fine?!' Lauren asked, frightened.
-'Yes, yes.' Moss had hit his head, but he was unhurt otherwise.
The girl hurriedly helped him to get back up. The four remaining wolfs were already halfway to the rampart and they ascended quickly.
Lauren looked around for a way to get down. In front of them, some discarded fields surrounded a small group of constructions. One was high and exuberant. Next to it stood another, lower but larger with an atrium. The last was small and discreet. There was a pond as well. Bushes had invaded the whole area, so it was hard to distinguish anything more in the night. She had no time for that anyway. Her gaze stopped on what looked like stairs. Moss had seen it as well.
-'Let's try that.' He said.
They ran with everything they had. The commoner was on the verge of collapsing so she dared not let him stand on his own.
The stairs were simple, a row of steps that followed the wall, open to the exterior and protected from the rain by an awning.
They took them four by four without looking back. Finally, they reached firm ground and sprinted through the fields. The closest building was the largest, probably meant to welcome crowds. Lauren settled for the higher one. It was farther, but she estimated that it would offer more enclosed spaces.
That was a bet. The wolfs were silents, so the disciples had no way to locate them while running. Eventually, they reached the massive doors of the construction. Those were only slightly open, but that was enough to let them in. After they got inside, they immediately started to push on it. Moss had no strength left. The girl had to do almost all the work. The old and heavy pine bar used to seal the door wings rested against the wall. They eventually dropped it on the large metallic hooks.
Once that was done, the peasant leaned against the wall and let himself slide down out of exhaustion. But this place was not safe enough. She ruthlessly pulled him back on his feet and dragged him on the stairs of the entry hall. A few seconds later, a huge mass bumped against the doors... In vain. It would take a lot more than that get past these thick pine wood pieces. Even so, they hurried.
In the dark, the lack of maintenance gave a sinister appearance to the interior. The ceiling and the ornaments of the walls were falling apart. There were even plants growing here and there.
Some light came from upstairs. Eventually, they safely arrived on the first floor. The source of that light was the entrance of a terrace. They ignored it and found a small room not far from there. An office. Rotting paper scrolls were still stowed in the walls. In front of the door, a broken window let some light come in.
The old commoner had fainted. She laid him against the wall, closed the doors and used their spears to bar it. She also pushed a heavy desk against it. When it appeared that she had done everything she could to secure them, she allowed herself to kneel beside her companion.
-'Moss? Hey, old man.'
He did not respond.
-'Don't pull that joke on me.'
She put her fingers in front of his nose. Fortunately, he was still breathing.
-'Come on. Wake up.'
This was pointless. Now that she was sure to be alone, she let herself cry for a bit. No more sounds were coming from the outside. When she got tired of sobbing, she curled herself on the ground and succumbed to slumber.
Outside, Elehago could finally breathe properly. There was nothing to worry about anymore. He could tell that the peasant was in a stable condition and would come back to himself in the morning. He observed the wolfs circle a few times around the building and leave. They were not personally after the disciples after all. Those just happened to make easy targets, as most of the animals of the mountains that approached their weight were way tougher.
About that, he still could not believe that those two rookies had escaped a pack of six. The girl was gifted. But this old man... He was a monster. How else could he be called? He had been able to use the dual arts to enhance his physical and mental capacities to the point of not only facing those wolves without dying but without getting hurt as well. He had also awakened some kind of nocturnal vision.
The dual state moon cultivation arts were one of the oldest and hardest techniques of the one hundred sects mountain range, but it was also one of the best. And that old man was awakening it at a high rate. He needed to notify the elders about that as soon as possible.
For this purpose, he took out a thoughts storage jade and compiled the events of the evening inside it. He then sent an intense burst of power on the formation that wrapped the item to transfer the data.
That had not been included in his report but no matter how he looked at it, realising the wolfs so soon was too harsh. In his time, Elehago had barely managed to slip past them by combining his wood techniques and all of his hunting knowledge. They had been released after two weeks, however.
This time it had only been three days. The new patriarch was a madman. Elehago would be sure to complain about that decision. For now, however, he could just wait for those two to pass the night. The evening had been hard on them, but he supposed that they would be pleased by what they would find in the upcoming days.
Indeed, the fiery flower sect abandoned quarters offered a wide variety of opportunities. Participants that had been dropped in the zone generally ended up staying here for some time. Everything of value had been looted a long time ago but there were still objects that could be of use for rookies. The infrastructure had been specifically designed for cultivators, to begin with. The most common knowledge records had also been left. Moreover, the frequent stays of disciples had allowed the kitchen garden of the sect to survive through their erratic care and could offer a good source of food supply.
While looking at it from his vantage point, Elehago wondered how much time this structure would continue to host disciples before it crumbled. Thirty years? A century? The sect would maybe send resources to maintain it, but it was not likely.
Who cared. Elehago laid down in a hidden edge of a high roof and allowed himself to meditate for a bit.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone