FRIVOLOUS SNOW

27|Choose

Early in the morning, Yong Jie refused to wake up that the Yong Sect disciples went ahead of them back to Dashan leaving Yong Jie and Yao Xue.

Xei Li couldn't bear to look into Yao Xue's eyes when he said that they would go back ahead of them. He was also worried that maybe they overdid it last night that Third brother Jie needed a little more rest to recuperate.

Yong Jie was glad to know that the other disciples were gone. Traveling alone with Yao Xue is better.

Yong Jie opened his eyes when he heard Yao Xue went inside the room with a tray of food that smelt so delicious his stomach immediately grumbled.

"Yao Xue! Is that breakfast?" Yong Jie excitedly kicked the blanket and went to sit on the cushion before the table.

Yao Xue carefully placed the plates of foods while Yong Jie's mouth watered as he scanned the menu. There was meat!

"Eat so we can go." Yao Xue said and Yong Jie happily dug with enthusiasm.

"Tell me what did you do in the last two years?" Yong Jie asked while eating.

Yao Xue never talks while eating but he couldn't stop Yong Jie from talking. He tried it before but he kept on failing.

"I went to seclusion and cultivate." Yao Xue said.

"What? No wonder you're so anti-social. Sounds really you."

Yao Xue just proceeds with his meal and said no more when they suddenly heard a wail coming from the next house.

"My husband was killed by a demon!" A woman's voice cried.

Yao Xue and Yong Jie stood up upon hearing the word demon and went outside the inn to check the commotion.

Villagers were gathered outside the next house and murmuring about how horrible the victim looked like as if the flesh was sucked out living only skin and bones.

The villagers, upon seeing the two men dressed in flamboyant robes which obviously screams that they were cultivators, gave way to Yao Xue and Yong Jie and let them enter the house while murmuring.

The victim turned into skin and bones indeed under the loose robes, laying down on the floor as if crawling for help in his last breath. A lot of demons do this thing, sucking away the soul and flesh of the victims as their food. Yao Xue and Yong Jie couldn't determine what kind of demon who did it unless if it leaves a trace as a clue of their identity like the Gua did to its victims.

Yao Xue and Yong Jie couldn't do anything about the dead body. They went outside the house and Yong Jie scanned the people curiously as they passed by when he bumped into a woman dressed in rags. She looked so weak and looked like she would immediately fall to the ground if ever anyone pushes her with a little amount of force. Her eyes were lifeless as if she was in deep sorrow. She said sorry hastily then ran in fear.

Yong Jie couldn't say anything as he looked at the woman hastily walking away.

He turned to Yao Xue then saw the very same woman walking back to her tracks but it was unusual how her emotions changed from sorrow to calm. She walked casually into the crowd, passing Yao Xue and Yong Jie. Something was weird about it.

Yong Jie felt strange, stopping at his tracks and turned around then he saw the woman changed into another woman that she passed in her way without the busy people noticing.

"Shapeshifter." Yao Xue said and they both chased the demon.

A shapeshifter could change faces anytime they want to make them difficult to catch and identify but demons are always demons. They couldn't replicate perfectly and would be identified if someone thoroughly looks and determine the flaws well. Someone with sharp senses and eyes.

Passing through the crowd, Yong Jie saw the shapeshifter turned towards the forests, away from the crowd and disappeared.

Yao Xue lost the shapeshifter and turned to Yong Jie who walked towards him and shook his head.

"I lost it in the crowd." Yong Jie said.

"I can still feel its presence." Yao Xue said, looking around as they walked towards the forest where the shapeshifter leads them.

"Yao Xue!"

Yao Xue turned, surprised to hear Yong Jie's voice from behind even though the man was beside him.

"Ahh!" Both of the same faces shouted and pointed at each other.

"Who the hell are you!?" They both exclaimed and Yao Xue was surprised watching the two Yong Jie screaming at each other.

There were two Yong Jie.

One of them must be the shapeshifter! To think that it would use that kind of method to fool Yao Xue and Yong Jie. Both were speaking like the original Yong Jie as Yao Xue observed while they bickered at each other before they both turned to Yao Xue who was cautious as he held the hilt of Jinghua, his sword.

The two looked so alike from their physical form, their posture, their voices, even the way they speak were the same. Yao Xue couldn't even identify the real Yong Jie.

"Young master Yao Xue. It's me." Yong Jie said who appeared recently.

"Yao Xue, don't believe that shapeshifter." The other Yong Jie said who was beside him a minute ago.

"What shapeshifter? Isn't that you?" The recent one argued.

"You're that shapeshifter!"

"You!" The second to appear Yong Jie gestured a punch to the other him then turned to Yao Xue. "Yao Xue! Choose the one who you think is the right one."

The first Yong Jie stood in front of him. "The one that your heart knows and speaks."

It would be useless to ask questions to determine their identity. A shapeshifter could dig into the memories of people. Only their weakness was there should be one detail amiss with the original one.

Yao Xue scanned the two of them, both of the identical pair waiting for Yao Xue.

Yao Xue relaxed a little and felt glad after knowing that one of them was speaking honestly and was the original Yong Jie, that the two weren't all shapeshifters.

Yao Xue drew Jinghua soundlessly and swiftly charged in a blink of an eye, attacking Yong Jie.

×××××××