Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

It was only when the sun set that Ming Yue began moving once more. She ran by foot for no one dared to fly lest they wanted to attract more attention to themselves.

Making her way to Commander Nie Xia, she spotted footprints, cut branches, the faint smell of oil and blood. They were very recent, only a day hours old. 

"I shouldn't be far from them now", she thought. 

Her speed quickened as she ran through the thick forest, following these tracks until she had caught up after two days of travel.

Soon enough, she heard the sound of armor rattling and clinking. When they came into view, she saw a small force of a hundred soldiers. What was said about Commander Nie Xia's forces was true, they were all close combat experts. They had all sorts of weapons: swords, hammers, gauntlets, and more. Each one of them were elite soldiers, early Earth Realm cultivators armed with their own unique weapons.

They all walked on foot and led by none other than Nie Xia, whose size towered over the others. Compared to the Camp Commander, he was a head taller. 

He wore incredibly thick and heavy black armor that covered him from head to toe. Each step he took left a deep imprint in the dirt and his weapon of choice, a pair of shields that he carried on his back. How they wre used she wasn't sure but he was a powerful man, someone at the Sky Realm and the aura this commander gave off was terrifying. Despite being so far away, he felt enormous, like a colossus standing over everyone. 

Ming Yue did not make herself known just yet. She watched from the trees, getting a sense of this force and looking for any interesting details. 

"Hmm, they aren't here..." she muttered to herself, "Then they are moving separately."

Within this force, she did not see any of the Tao Feng Disciples. 

"But this direction... They're heading straight into the tortoise's territory. Are they planning to set up another outpost?" 

With the way they were going, Commander Nie Xia's group would reach the tortoise's territory in less than an hour. What was he planning?

She lurked around them as they made their way through the forest, only to stop at the cusp of the tortoise's domain. 

"Stop, we set up here." Nie Xia raised his hand up and turned to his men. 

"Reports say that a detachment of the enemy has been lurking around this area. They seem to be trying to converse with the tortoise. We make an outpost here and see if we can make contact with the tortoise. If not, we will destroy that detachment. Let's finish quickly and go back to the Citadel, eh."

Everyone nodded and moved quietly, building up a camp to rest in. 

Nie Xia worked with his men, having a few chuckles with them. Despite the atmosphere, he was able to lift it just a bit. Tents were built and food was made, patrols began and everyone else went to sleep for the day.

There was only a single tent still lit, the commander's tent.

"Wait here, you two."

She looked at Hei Yue and Xiao Yin, pointing down at her position. The two beasts nodded their heads and stood where they were. Albeit, they had a tinge of longing as they wanted to check out the camp as well. 

Ming Yue left her hiding spot, slipping through the patrols and evading any lit areas until she reached the tent. Opening the flap, she entered and found Commander Nie Xia sitting behind a makeshift desk. His eyes were droopy as he nearly dozed off before noticing someone's arrival. 

"Hm, huh, what? Who are you?"

Sobering up, he became much more alert albeit somewhat confused and surprised. Ming Yue flashed her badge, verifying her identifty before introducing herself. 

"Ah, so you're that girl Du Xiu told us about. Hahaha, so, what brings you here, sneaking around like this? "

He had a look of realization before breaking into a friendly grin. 

Upon closer look, Ming Yue found this commander to be very different from his appearance. His hair was on the grayer side, pulled back into a small ponytail. His skin was of a fair tone, his eyebrows were thick and fierce and there was an eyepatch covering his left eye. Apart from that was a scar running down his face from the forehead to his lips, cutting through the eye his eyepatch covered. 

Furthermore, his size was enormous, the makeshift desk of his seemed just a tad too small to fit him. 

"He could probably smash the Draconic Ji into a pulp with one strike", she thought. 

Compared to the average man, Commander Nie Xia was one and half times bigger in size. After making notes of his appearance, she went straight to the point. 

"I am here to look for certain information regarding the Tao Feng Disciples. There should be six of them here. I did not want to make myself known if they were a part of your group", she explained. 

He leaned back on his chair gently, rubbing his chin. 

"It is as you say, they aren't here. Those six had been doing their own thing ever since they came here. They aren't the most amiable of people. Hell, one of them even started a fight in the Iron Citadel. I had to come personally to break it off. Furthermore, I've read reports of a few missing soldiers."

"I don't suppose you're looking for them to..."

He looked at her, finding no need to gesture it. 

Ming Yue nodded, reaching a mutual understanding. 

"I've already met a few of them", she replied. 

"I see, I see... Well then, what sort of information are you looking for?" he asked. 

"Those six spit into two groups of three. One is looking for a Gold Tusk Elephander and the other is looking for a Five Element Parasol. I wanted to know if there was more information on their locations."

"This... Wait a moment, I have a few documents on those things. Let me just find them here."

He searched through his desk, flipping through pages and generally making a bit of a mess. 

"Let's see here..."

He took out a few document, skimming them over and affirming that these were the right ones. 

"Here you are, the Gold Tusk Elephander and a Five Element Parasol. It's a good thing my lieutenant told me to get this information, you know. He's been watching them like a hawk and I'll be honest, I don't quite like them either."

"Well, these are the latest sighting as of a week ago and is the same information they have. The second paper is about the disciples. Out of the six, you should watch out for two of them."

"Their positions as disciples signify their strength. Of the fifteen, the top five are the strongest and the ones within the group are the fifth and second senior disciples" he explained. 

"Fifth and second..."

Ming Yue thought back to the first group. 

"That was the fourth, eighth, and thirteenth that I killed", she thought, "The fifth position might be easier to kill but the second... that is a bit worrying."

She could only kill the Fourth Senior Disciple after he was weakened and in battle. Killing the Second Senior Disciple would be more than just difficult. 

He handed her the documents to read. Skimming through it, she went to the location of the Elephander and Parasol*, comparing it to the locations given to her by the captain. 

"Same areas although, they're both deeper within the tortoise's territory and close to each other than I thought. Hm, and the Five Element Parasol is guarded by a Luan Xiang Toad?"

While she expected a beast to protect it, she did not expect it to be something like this toad, a creature unique to the Demon Continent. The description of it was nothing less than scary. And as she learned more and more of the situation, the more daunting of a task it became. In the end, she returned the files, accepting this information. 

"Finished? So quick. Is there anything else you need?" asked the commander. 

She nodded, asking about Hua Xiong and repeating what she had learned from the captain. 

"Ah that story, it is certainly true but as far as the reports go. They are all the same, a oung woman grabbing fruit from the trees. Anyone who would dare approach her would feel a dense killing aura and the girl would flee. No one has been able to even catch a glimpse of her face. It could be your friend but I doubt it."

"Then, if there is any other report of her..."

"Do not worry, If I find something, you will be the first to know!"

"Thank you for the help"

"Ahhh, don't mind it. It's not everyday that you meet someone so young adn accomplished. I hope you succeed in you mission!"

Commander Nie Xia beat his chest with approval as she bowed and left. After leaving, he went back to his work, looking over the papers he had given her. 

"Hmm, there should be a third document but it's not here.... What was it about? The Hel-Fire Dragon?.... Ah, I'm sure it wouldn't matter to her."