"Ugg it just had to be you to lose shizun." Xue Meng huffs as they trudge through the snow at night. The snow pile high around here with hints of being disturbed.
"You lost them too!" Mo Ran shouts irritated that he's getting the attitude when his cousin should have also been keeping an eye out to the man who took his - their shizun.
"We should have been going faster!" Xue Meng shouts in frustration.
"How fast did you want to go because you were almost caught in a trap?" Mo Ran points out.
Xue Mengs lets out a frustrating peacock noise, Mo Ran rolls his eyes. His cousin still thinks he's the only one who care deeply for Wanning but he is not. He cares too. The thing is he respects Wannings want and goal to find and dispel whatever is hunting these woman. Mo Ran wanted just as much to get the guy carrying Wanning away but the thought of Wanning being upset with him did not sit well. Mo Ran wants Wanning to be proud of him, look at him in pride (hopefully) not disappointment.
"We shouldn't have let Shizun do this." Xue Meng huffs as he moves through the high pile of snow. Mo Ran right by his side.
"Oh really? What were you going to do? Convince him to not to go? Would you have gone in his stead?" Mo Ran says sarcastically. Again his cousin lets out more frustrating noises. All this snow is slowing them down.
"It doesn't help you're slowing us down!" Xue Meng glares.
"Slowing us down?! I'm not doing anything! It's the snow and if you'd rather fall on your ass then go ahead but that will only slow you down more!" Mo Ran huffs.
"Fine! I feel like I'm the only one who cares about shizun well being anyway." Xue Meng huffs ignoring the way Mo Ran stares at him with rage in his eyes. Nostrils flare in anger.
"I care! Just as much as you! No! I care more but I'd rather not fuck anything up and have shizun mad at me later! I'm just as full with worry but at least I'm clear headed- house!" Mo Ran shouts. The last part has Xue Meng stare at his cousin confused.
With an eyebrow raised Xue Meng speaks up, "house?" He asks. Putting away the rest of what Mo Ran had yelled to be unpacked later. Mo Ran looks at his cousin then back at what he was looking at just to the left behind Mengmeng.
"There's a house. We almost walked past it." Mo Ran points to it. Xue Meng twist immediately looking at where his cousin is looking at. And indeed there is a house. A house with light coming from the window. Someone lives there.
Maybe the person who took shizun?
Xue Meng quickly makes his way to the house. Pushing the snow out of his way. Almost slipping multiple times. Mo Ran hot on his heels to catch up. Getting to the house takes a bit longer than they were expecting, at least Xue Meng was expecting.
Xue Meng rushes up the clear path to the door of the house. He raises his hand to knock on the door only Mo Ran grabbing his wrist stops him. He looks at Mo Ran surprise,why is he stopping me?The he glares at his cousin. He knew it, the man still wants Chu Wanning to suffer.
"Why are you stopping me!" Xue Meng shouts. As an answer Mo Ran shushes him with a finger to his lips. Mo Ran makes a show of looking around. "What?" Xue Meng asks in hush annoyance as he shakes his wrist free of Mo Rans strong grip.
"This isn't odd to you? Qing Su never mentioned a villager that lives far from the city, or that there is a house this far from the back road. What's it doing here and who lives here?" Mo Ran asks.
Xue Mengs takes a look around. The area is covered with dense trees and snow. But this area, around the house is clear, with the way the tree trunks closer to the forest are peaking out with a thin layer of snow means those were the most recent cut tree. There's also small mounds of snow, where the other earlier trees trunk are left. The person hasn't been living here long.
As Xue Meng thinks Mo Ran makes a butterfly whispering a 'are you in danger?' to it before sending it off to Wanning. Xue Meng snaps his attention to the butterfly as it flies off his cousins finger. Watching it as it flies forward and into the door falling to the ground. A puff and what Mo Ran whisper just moments ago coming out the butterfly before disappearing.
Mo Ran and Xue Meng stare at the place the butterfly landed.
So Wanning is in there. Which must mean whoever is in there can not be pleasant. Mo Ran kicks the door open roughly not wasting a second to save shizun. His Wanning.
Mo Ran kicks hard causing a loud boom to echo in the quiet early winter night. Xue Meng stares eyes wide, mouth agape as Mo Ran lowers his leg stepping in without care looking around for where their teacher could be. "Mo Weiyu!" Xue Meng screams at the top of his lungs. The dog! Why would he kick in this random persons door?
To be fair he is correct with how weird it is that they haven't heard about any person living here, most towns always gossip about the person who lives away from the rest.
Mo Ran walks in taking a look around. It's lived in but they knew that. Considering the flower went down there must be a basement here but where is the door? And is shizun okay?
"Master!" They hear a voice. Not feminine so it's not shizun. Either way the two follow it to a large double door, open and a funny smell coming out of it. Mo Ran pauses at the sight of Wanning legs wrapped around a random man as he chokes the man with a chain.
"Shizun!" Xue Meng shouts rushing down. Wanning looks up to them.
"Stop him!" He shouts. Both Mo Ran and Xue Meng turn only to get flashed by white powder, it tasted a bit like flour.
"Hey!" Xue Meng shouted.
"What the-!" Mo Ran shouts spitting out the flour.
"Xue Meng take care of him." Wanning orders as he shoves the mostly passed out man towards Xue Meng who holds him in a choke hold, shaking his head as Wanning runs past him up the stairs.