Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Ming Yue left the camp in the same way she came, returning to where Xiao Yin and Hei Yue were. 

"Come on, you two. Let's go."

She called out to them, silently leaving the area and heading straight into the Tortoise's domain. While not quite at the heart of the forest, she was only a week or so away. 

"Hmm, the outer regions had Rank 3 or 2 monsters, sometimes Rank 4. Now that we're getting to the inner regions, there might be creatures at the level of Rank 6. The core region would have much higher ranked beasts."

Ming Yue looked at the map, marking it with the specific locations of the Gold Tusk Elephander and the Five Element Parasol, sighing as she did so.

"At least, I don't have to go into the core regions. That would spell certain death for me", she thought. 

Within the deeper parts of the Boundless Beast Forest were six figures all camping together. None other than the disciples of Dai Mian, they were not separated into two groups of three but stayed together as a group of six. 

Donning some armor on their violet uniforms, they all elegant white stripes on their sleeves except for one, a old man whose sleeve had a silver colored stripe. Beside him were two other men and three women, all of whom looked at him for instruction. 

The elderly man had light gray hair tied into a bun and a shaggy beard running down to his chest. He seemed experience and almost harmless but there was a sinister air around him.

Held between his hands was a map of the Boundless Beast Forest with the exact same markings as Ming Yue's map. 

He looked to his juniors before showing them the map. 

"This is where the Gold Tusk Elephander is. We've all confirmed that it resides by a pond in the Northwest. In the Southeast is the Five Element Parasol guarded by the Luan Xiang Toad. As of now, we are in between these two."

"Then what do you suppose we do? Second Senior Brother."

"We could still split into two groups but that is a rather dangeorus move. What do you say, Fifth Sister Fu?"

The one he addressed was a woman much younger than him, Fu Zi. In fact, she looked as if she was only in her twenties but appearances could be decieving. Rather than wear her uniform normally, it seemed to have been tailored to fit her body. There was no dress of sorts but a shirts and trousers. She even had on a black mantle that could not hide what could only be her weapon, wrapped in cloth. Whatever it was, the weapon was large compared to her body. 

Unlike the sinister aura of her senior brother, she had the feeling of a young and naive person. Her voice echoed those same feelings as well. 

"I don't think it will be too difficult. Perhaps, we split into two groups and do it. You can deal with the toad and I can have a little fun with the Elephander", she answered, giving a cute smile at the end.

He sighed, shaking his head. 

"If you're so sure then so be it. But, try to keep the tusks intact. The rest of the body you can do whatever."

Most likely, he knew what she wanted to do and just let her do whatever she pleased. 

Fu Zi only giggled at her little victory. 

"Thanks, I'll bring Ninth and Tenth Brother then!"

She looked at the two and pointed at them, gestuirng to come to her side. 

The so called Ninth and Tenth Brothers were actual brothers, Chen Liu and Chen Qiu, twins no less. One carried a sword and the other a saber, both had different hairstyles, one had a bun the other had a pony tail. 

The pair followed her command and stood by her side. 

The Second Brother raised his eyebrow but ignored it and said nothing. 

"Then it will be Seventh Sister Wu and Twelfth Sister Fei with me."

The ones he called up stood by him. They were vastly different in appearance. The Seventh Sister, Wu Hong was quiet and seemed to never speak. Her hair was pitch black and long, reaching down to her waist. Not to mention her bangs which covered much of her face as well as her size as she was the tallest one out of them and somewhat bulky as well. The Twelfth Sister, Fei Man, had more confidence to her. She had faded green hair tied into two buns and an expression of fearlessness. Hanging by her waist was a blowgun and a small pouch that could only be carrying darts. She was smaller and thin, able to dart around and move quickly. 

"Yay, we're going now right?" Fifth Sister Fu asked. 

"No, we'll act tomorrow during the night. The Gold Tusk Elephander will be asleep then but the Luan Xiang Toad is awake at all times."

The Second Brother shook his head and explained. 

"What? Why not now?"

"Ack, I need to rest my old bones that's why!" he barked at her. 

"Hee hee, Da Xian, you old man..."

"What? Old Man?"

As these two had their spat, the other juniors looked at each other in sort of a helpless state. 

"That makes it the fifth time, brother."

Chen Liu sighed at looked to his twin, who shared the same feelings. 

"But we'll be with Fifth Senior Sister! I've actually never seen her fight!" he replied.

"That is true. I wonder what weapon she has wrapped on her back."

"What about you two? Have you seen Fifth Senior Sister's weapon before?"

Chen Qiu looked to the two sister disciples, asking them with a light tone. 

"Nope, I'm just want to fight the Toad already. I wonder if my poison will work on it..."

Fei Man responded excitedly as she placed her hand onto her blowgun. As for Wu Hong, she shook her head, confirming that she had never seen the weapon before but she looked at the two brothers with a look of pity. Though her hair blocked it all and these juniors of hers could not see it. 

The day passed as the Second Brother and Fifth Sister continued to shoot insults at each other. 

"Do you need a cane now? For your old bones?"

"Old? Don't talk to me about being old! You might look twenty but you're a bag of bones like me!"

"What did you say?! You dare call your cute junior a bag of bones?!"

Fu Zi reached for her weapon and Da Xian took out talismans and a wood sword. Their auras began to rise as they stepped up to each other, barely able to keep their rage in check. Before they could go even further, they were stopped. 

Stepping in between them was the Seventh Sister, Wu Hong, who placed her hand on their shoulders, preventing them from moving any further. The other juniors followed her lead, locking the two seniors down with their weapons drawn. 

"Seventh Sister, you better stop me now before I put this old bastard into his grave."

Fifth Sister huffed and puffed, gripping the cloth that hid her weapon. 

"Step away, Seventh Sister! She's a hag, damn it! I'm going to rip that fake face away!"

Waving his wood sword threateningly, the Second Brother scowled and barked out. 

They were like two dogs in a scuffle with each other. But the Seventh Sister did not budge, she titled her head allowing her hair to reveal a sliver of her eyes. She looked at them, grabbing their attention in an instant.

The two disciples stopped immediately and backed off, a slight shiver ran down their spines. They tried to look away but could not stop themselves from staring into her eyes. 

It was offputting to say the least. Wu Hong's eyes were normal on the surface, brown pupils, no real strange features. Even then, should one look into them, they would find a bottomless pit of crimson, pure and utterly full of blood and gore. All they heard were screams and cries of horror, they began to see themselves ripped apart and with their entrail splattered on the ground. 

It was a chilling thing to see. The rage they felt was suddenly abated and the Seventh Sister backed away, her eyes covered again. 

They looked at her before looking at each other. 

"Let's... split up and head to our destinations. If either side find trouble, activate the talisman and it will notify the other."

Da Xian handed his junior sister a paper talisman and looked at Wu Hong who merely walked to his side. 

"Yes, we...uh... we should... Let's go, you two!"

The group split and went off while Ming Yue came closer to their locations.