'Star cursed under his breath as he felt around himself and found no more arrows, immediately raising both hands and smiling in a rather furious manner. "Lightning! Please, when will you get out of the habit of destroying all my arrows?!"
She had smiled back then, replying with a hate-inducing tone. "Never."
"Come on! You never do this to my baby sib!" Of course, they both knew the reason for that. Moon would simply start to cry and the both of them would be driven to panic.
Creation jumped from the balcony in lieu of a dramatic entrance and draped himself over Star. Promptly, the two started being all cheesy and romantic, Lightning politely did not watch, simply taking out some cloth and cleaning her blade. "Don't worry, I'll make you as many arrows as you need! As long as I'm by your side, you never have to worry about the supply going out!"
…Lightning had in the end, managed to not destroy his arrows. She wonders, did Star notice it?'
What a joke, Huang Rushan faintly thought, he was such an idiot. Why, since when was he like this? No, it was, he was simply—
Purple eyes and a mysterious smile flashed in his mind but he could not pinpoint an individual with such features. Not once in his memory had he seen such an individual but the words "guinea pig" suddenly printed itself and the regret was abruptly turned to anger…towards himself.
Tian Leiji was a child. No matter what bloodline or things he has done, even if the Tian had proclaimed a demon child…
Clearly this was someone else's machinations to test the Tian so why did he…
Ah, sh*t.
The plan was already in motion and there was no backing out anymore. Tian Languang will hopefully not hate him after this. As long as she did not hate him…right now, as long as she didn't hate him, even if she forgot about him completely, that was fine.
"Sorry…" whispered and unheard in the shouts and commotion the people he had brought with him were making. Tian Leiji's eyes were unfocused and that Ling boy was crowding him back into the house erstwhile giving Rushan himself a vicious glare. There was a very certain promise of pain in that expression and that was when he met Tian Languang's gaze.
Languang looked at him with that one expression that made him feel utterly unworthy to meet her. It was otherworldly and fleeting, the expression disappearing the moment the feeling of unworthiness appeared as if it were an illusion. It wasn't, he was sure of that and yet…
"I really do like you." He admits bitterly.
This would be his undoing.
Light hooks her lips up in a pseudo-smile and turns away, no longer wanting to look at this foolish boy. Perhaps, if it were not Light but Tian Languang in this body, then she would be moved, but that was not the case. Since he had, if unintentionally, ripped the bandage off of the barely healed wound and hurt Lightning…there was no longer any need to look at him differently from other Otherworld-ers.
No matter what, no one that hurt their family could not be any different than the rest of the world, could they?
A sudden gust of wind and familiar presence had her swiveling around to see—
What?
Light turned away and walked towards the still dazed Ligh—no, it should be Tian Leiji. Slowly, she covered her—or his?—eyes and leaned in to whisper, "Let go."
Almost immediately, the child's body fell backwards and caught by Ling Hongyun. Lu Yanhei had disappeared and Light would like to know just what she was doing with such rage bounding in waves down their bond, that woman had some secrets. Since Lightning was not inclined to learning or forcing those secrets out, then Light will not interfere in the matter.
"What did you do?!" Ling Hongyun hisses, now cradling Tian Leiji as if she was a small child. Technically, she was, but when Light thought of th fact that the multiple-century-old Lightning was also in that body…it became awkward. "Why…the little boy…"
"That isn't important." She replies, "Right now, get her inside before anyone else sees."
Fortunately, the little boy seemed to have an understanding of—avoiding—these sorts of things and decided to listen to Light, for once in his life. The doorway from which a crack was previously heard seemed perfectly fine and Light got another understanding of Lu Yanhei. How nice, Lightning should start being wary of the people near her or Light could do it for her. It wouldn't be anything new.
'Justice pursed her lips as another dummy fell and spilled sand everywhere. The pistols in her hands were still emitting smoke and she simply couldn't wait to shoot a certain someone into the same state the hole-riddled dummy was currently in. Simply barbaric, treacherous, a traitor—
"What has gotten into you this time?" Light asks in exasperation while looking at the arena.
The Justice Empress takes off the hairclip holding her bangs back and makes it shape-shift into a hat, the mandatory gem of the crown on the ribbon of the fedora before saying quietly, "We have a traitor."
Light blinked. "A traitor?"
"Not telling you." Justice responds to the bitter expression Light has on. "I don't have enough evidence to present this case…be careful around the ruler's circle."
With clenched fists and a short goodbye, Light turns to looking for whoever this traitor Justice uncovered herself.'
Lightning…did she know yet? Probably, their number one was not an idiot and had the least biased judgment. It was sometimes annoying but when everything came down to it, this ability to objectively look at things of Lightning was supremely useful. If Music had done it then not even she would be spared from it.
This unbiased judgment was why everyone trusts Lightning so much.
Except…this world may be messing with that. How dare they, frankly. They were simply, all of them, idiots.
This world…has not gotten any endearment from Light despite her living in it for years now. Why should she, when she knew very well that there was definitely somewhere that can lead them back to their own beloved world?
Tian Lanbing was confused when she woke up. Light patted her head and wonders just how this child was going to fare in the future when she realizes what she did and how she helped kill off her own family. One that had loved her…Lightning may not realize this, thinking that getting Tian Lanbing away from such corruption was good, but what she had done was exceptionally cruel.
Tian Lanbing had been loved.
She was still loved.
Light hoped that that would be enough for her, or else Lightning would be heartbroken. That would be bad, considering what a heartbroken Lightning had done last time.
"Big sister, I'm hungry…" Lanbing pulls at Light's sleeve and whines. Light sighs and walks into the kitchen, whipping up a simple congee and pouring it into a bowl for Tian Lanbing. She notices but says nothing about how Lu Yanhei had appeared back and was entering the kitchen from where the bedrooms were. "Light."
Lu Yanhei's voice had a hardened edge to it, almost surprising. She had been tense ever since they found that the family she had was not, in fact taken hostage of but had been killed at some point. The stones with names carved onto them and sitting behind the residence were evidence. Light looks at the woman and asks, "Do you need anything?"
"How feasible do you think taking over the world is?"
"Very feasible if you are strong enough." Light replies smoothly, as if she had expected the question.
She didn't, that is, expect the question.
Lu Yanhei hummed, "Then…I need your help."
"Why aren't you asking Leiji?" Light asks back. Lightning was…Lightning, if her mother asked for this world then she wouldn't blink while giving it to her on a silver platter. "She is strong enough to take this world."
"I want this world to be a gift from me to him." Lu Yanhei replies. There is a considering light in her eyes, hiding the rage and helplessness and Light felt as if she were looking at her younger brother again, what he said at that time…ah, that's right. "I want to be the strongest, I want to give the world to mother and father when they reincarnate."
Light thought about it and nodded. Lanbing suddenly asks, "Can I join? Taking over the world sounds fun!"
Of course Tian Lanbing would say that.
"Of course, the first step is to get strong enough." No one knew what Lu Yanhei was thinking but she sat down with a bitter smile. Were there circumstances that made her unable to cultivate or something? That was fine, Light and Lightning could always teach her how to use elements.
But…Lightning may not know or even care about this, but one who is unable to cultivate is seen as completely useless.
Lightning…no, it should be Tian Leiji. At the thought of her—or is it him, Light as "Tian Languang" wanted to apologize. She had been projecting her animosity on the wrong one, after all.
"You," it was unknown who the Ling Hongyun who swang into the kitchen through the window was addressing when he said that, but his eyes were trained on Lu Yanhei. "Stop stealing my victims."
…let us never remember the fact that Light and Lightning ever compared this boy to Negativity, their brother and brother-in-law respectively. Agreed? Agreed, now let us take the Vows of Silence—ah, wait, the things needed for the Vows of Silence aren't here, damnit. They needed to remake them here.
Lu Yanhei covers her smile full of schadenfreude with a hand and asks, "Whatever do you mean?"
Ling Hongyun narrows his eyes. "What does the phrase "Made of gold and silver" mean to you?"
"Me?" She seemed to be asking for specifics but Light didn't understand the implications of their conversation and so turned away, giving Tian Lanbing her breakfast and start talking to her about how to take over the world. They could do it with brute force or they could do it with politics and trickery. Lightning and Tian Leiji would prefer the former way and it was also the hardest but the foundation will either be very stable or very unstable.
When one thought of it; that was just the type of person Lightning is.
There is only black and white, right and wrong for her. The motive of a person might be right but their actions aren't, therefore they is a bad person.
"Your seniors dote on you a lot don't they?" Lu Yanhei asks, smiling insincerely.
It would be rather frightening if one was not used to Music's open-eyed smiles. That was a very high standard and Lu Yanhei has managed to achieve it. Light did not want to ask about it, each person is entitled to their own secrets.
Ling Hongyun harrumphs. "It's annoying but useful sometimes."
"Is that so?" Light no longer pays attention to them. It was enough, hadn't she told herself that everyone was entitled to their own secrets?
Being a hypocrite was not on her bucket list, so she decided to talk to Lanbing about how unfair it is that in this world, men are allowed to have more than one spouse but women weren't allowed to have more than two spouses…
…it may or may not be because her sister was married to two other women and the three were in a very happy threesome.
Not to mention, Darkness, Death and Fauna had been trying to get Mimicry to join them.
This world, concerning their residents, her average impression of them was "piece of sh-oot"…ah, wait a minute! Ling Hongyun was here, Bai Shaoxue and Bai Qiafei have been staying at home because of some sort of thing their father had decided, Lu Yanhei, Tian Lanbing and Light herself was right here…
Who was with Lightning?
"Do you want to accompany Leiji?" she asks Lanbing. The little girl nods brightly and finishes shoving her breakfast in her mouth, jumping to take Light's hand. So cute, honestly, Light wanted children too.
Lightning…Tian Leiji is asleep. Curled up, meaning that it is not Lightning and with wet cheeks. Ah.
Beyond Lightning and Tian Leiji, is there another person?