Embrace Of The Abyss— 5

It didn't take long for Xia Ling to get ready.

Once she was outside she saw Xia Feng staring at the sky with a somewhat weird gaze. The corner of his lips was twitching.

She tilted her head in confusion and Xia Feng looked at her.

"There's going to be a bit of change in the original plan."

"Plan?"

Xia Feng shook his head, "Let's go."

He booked a taxi and waited for a while. Standing idly and silently wasn't in Xia Ling's nature so she started chatting with her new 'aggressive' brother.

The original Xia Feng was introverted and gentle. He wasn't able to keep up with conversations and got overly excited when he found someone with a familiar hobby.

That was how he even got introduced to his current girlfriend. 

Xia Ling thought about the beautiful big sister who was one year older than her.

"Won't Sister Ning be sad?"

"Su Ning?" Xia Feng hummed in agreement, "Probably."

"Is that all you have to say? You suddenly quit school and all, does she know about it?" Xia Ling was a bit exasperated. Why did it seem like Xia Feng no longer cared about Su Ning?

If that was really how Xia Feng was, Xia Ling as a passionate young girl would feel extremely disappointed. 

"Don't worry. We've broken up, you have to remember that we can't involve other people in our lives from now on Ling'er."

"What? Why? I have many friends at school! Unlike you, I'm pretty popular." Feeling a bit smug she jabbed at his introverted nature.

But suddenly she frowned, "Won't her brother come find trouble with you?"

"Does it matter?" Xia Feng waved at the taxi and it stopped in front of them, "Remember, once you become a successful cultivator, stop paying attention to these mundane things."

"You've changed gege..." Xia Ling muttered and sat with him in the taxi.

"Can you take us to this place?" Xia Feng showed an area on the map and the driver thought about it for a bit and suddenly his eyes lit up.

"Isn't this place 'that' one, young friend?"

"Yes." Xia Feng nodded.

"???" Xia Ling was unsure what just happened but she didn't ask. When they get off she'll naturally know where they are.

...
It took about 10 minutes for them to reach the location.

Xia Feng paid the driver and got off.

Xia Ling followed suit.

"Isn't this!?" Xia Ling felt a lump stuck in her throat as she eyed the house barricaded by yellow tape. She was a sharp girl, she instantly connected the dots.

"Gege, you can't be serious..." She looked at Xia Feng fearfully.

This place... She knew it well.

It was all over the news a few days ago. In this house, a family of four lived happily but as if cursed by the heavens the house caught fire in the night.

No one knew how the fire erupted but what was known was that none of the family members survived. Their charred corpses couldn't even be shown on TV.

But if it was just this it wouldn't be global news. Fires erupted everywhere, it wasn't something new.

What was odd was that it didn't seem like the family even tried escaping. Their charred bodies lay peacefully on the beds as if enveloped in a serene dream.

"Let's go in."

Xia Ling couldn't believe her ears. This wasn't a forest at night with no people around. The streets were filled with either people leaving for work or setting up their stalls.

If they tried to barge in they would be instantly reported and taken away!

Xia Feng raised his hand and to Xia Ling's surprise, a bright white sphere emerged on top of his palm.

"Magic!?" Xia Ling exclaimed in surprise but hurriedly covered her mouth before looking around warily.

Yet to her astonishment, not a single person looked their way.

"What in the world...?" She noticed something extremely odd. Xia Ling did not doubt her beauty, while she wasn't arrogant it still pleased her that people usually took another look at her.

It was usually how it was but for some reason, everyone here was ignoring her. Even after the loud exclamation, no one looked over.

"Follow me. I can't keep the spell up for long." Xia Feng pulled one of the tapes and went in between them before entering the house.

Xia Ling hurriedly followed, still enthralled by the fact that Xia Feng was using magic.

This was magic!

Xia Ling started dreaming wide awake.

"Focus." Xia Feng's calm voice travelled over and Xia Ling nodded.

"No matter what happens... Do not scream. Do not move. Do not make any sounds. If you hear anything then just ignore it."

Xia Feng turned to her, "Remember this, besides me and you there is no one else here. Okay?"

Xia Ling was a bit taken aback by the sudden commands but she nodded her head timidly and looked around.

They were currently in the living room.

The living room was charred and smoky, with the walls blackened and the furniture reduced to ash. Soot covered the ceiling, and the air was heavy with the smell of burnt wood.

Her cute little nose scrunched up and she squatted in one corner. Facing the wall she closed her eyes and blocked her ears with both of her palms.

"???"

Xia Feng was speechless.

He wanted to temper her mind and that's why he was scaring her. He didn't expect her to just give up like that.

Shaking his head he went upstairs and took a deep breath. The fresh Yin energy in the house was making him feel at home.

"So much nourishment, a pity it's not useful to me." He noticed the deathly silence in the room he was in. There was a family frame consisting of siblings, one boy and one girl and their parents.

It seems like he was in the girl's room. If he was correct she was about 12 years old when she died.

He closed his eyes and used his divine sense to scan the surroundings. A few seconds later his eyes snapped open and he raised his head looking at the ceiling just above him.

For an ordinary human, they would see nothing special. 

But in Xia Feng's eyes, it was different.

A young girl was smiling at him. She was standing upside down on the ceiling looking at him with a gentle gaze.

"Will you play with me?" As she smiled the skin on her body started melting. Drops of peachy-colored liquid fell on Xia Feng's face.

The air in the room turned icy and the girl's smile widened upon seeing Xia Feng's calm expression.

"Take my hand, big brother." She extended her soft dainty hand towards Xia Feng.

If Xia Feng was slightly taller her fingers would just be touching his nose.

Xia Feng ignored the slightly wet feeling on his cheeks. He raised his hand and took the girl's hand on his own.

The girl's smile became terrifying, stretching to her ears but before she could say anything scorching pain coursed through her spirit.

A terrifying screech resounded in the silent house and Xia Ling who was still squatting on the ground floor felt a chill go down her spine.

Her body felt cold and she stopped her occasional peeking at the house, silently chanting Xia Feng's name.