The disciples, still shaken from the blooded caravan,moved in cautious silence until they spotted another group on the horizon. A small cluster of merchants, dressed in earth-toned robes, their carts swaying behind camels and oxen, heading eastward towards a nearby village.
" There!" Bai Lu called out, raising her hand to signal them.
" They're heading straight into danger," Feng Wu muttered,his hand already near his sword.
They rushed to intercept them. As they approached, Liu Yang took the lead, raising both palms In a peaceful gesture.
" Turn back," he said firmly. " You're heading into a cursed ground. People have died here today."
The oldest merchant at the front blinked at them, then burst into laughter ." Eh? Who are these ones now?"
Another, shorter one squinted at the disciples robes and weapons. " What are you, warriors from some bedtime story ? You think we haven't heard this kind of nonsense before?"
" You don't understand " Mei Ling insisted, stepping forward. " A shadow is haunting these dunes. It possessed people. It kills without mercy _"
" Oh please! " A third merchant cut in . " That's what they said ten years ago when bandits struck. Shadows and spirits, bah ! Next thing you'll say we're in a legend."
" This is real life !" The oldest merchant barked. " Heroes only exist in scrolls and songs!"
Then came the silence. It dropped like a curtain - unnatural and thick. Even the camels stopped shifting.
Liu Yang's eyes widened." Run," he whispered.
Something fast and black tore through the sands like a phantom. A blur ,like smoke given shape. The disciples leapt back instinctively, scattering into formation.
" No..no..no !" Jain Wei's voice cracked. " It's him again!"
The black shadow slammed into one of the merchant. The man stiffened, twitched...and then straightened. His eyes turned pitch - black. He looked at his companions - who had once laughed - and whispered with a broken smile.
" You should've listened." Then he began to kill.
It wasn't chaotic - it was precise. One after the other, the possessed merchant struck like viper. And all the while,he laughed - a deep,guttural laugh that no man should be capable of making.
" You can't stop me," he said in a voice soaked in malice. " You can only run."
" Scatter !" Wu chan shouted, "Get to cover ! Find a cave. Now!"
The disciples sprinted towards a rocky formation nearby , diving into a shadowed safety of a narrow cave. Hearts pounding, they crouched inside, eyes wide, weapons ready, watching as the possessed man looked around...and then did something terrifying.
He held the blooded blade to his own throat and whispered, " let me go,"
And then - slit.
His body dropped,lifeless. But the shadow didn't disappear.
It hovered . Looking. Watching. Searching.
Lin Qing whispered" He's looking for the next shadow. He needs a body."
" And if we cast one.." Meng Xia added trembling." he'll find us."
In the eerie half- dark of the cave, they huddled close, afraid to move , speak,even breathe too loudly. Because in the desert.... Even your shadow isn't yours.