In a dark tunnel, Leiji rips off parts of her clothing to wrap around the shallow stab wound on her shoulder and lets themself spit out a wad of blood when the purple lightning goes insane yet again and injures their insides. They wait until their heartbeat calms down and whistles a tune, though slowly and blood stops flowing out of her wounds.
Touching the raw wound lightly, Leiji clicks their teeth at how wet it still is. They really should have brought at least some first aid but…
Footsteps break the silence.
How did it get to this? Well, this is how it started, partly.
"No."
"But,"
"I said no and meant it." Ling Hongyun, older and still way too pretty, glares at Leiji.
He had, much to most of the grown-up's chagrin, cut his hair with one of his swords and didn't even ask for anyone to help so it looked choppy and rough at the back while his bangs hang too long in front of his face. Eyes still a vivid dark red and skin rather tanned from all the time he spends in the sun, training.
But, the fact that their fiancé is really pretty does not mean he can control them. Leiji glares back at him and tells him, "I am leaving for a week, this is final."
Hongyun cringes at that, "Leiji, please. Bring someone, even Light would be fine."
"It's a week," they sigh in exasperation. "And I am not going to war with damn gods; I don't need Light to babysit me. I'm thirteen, don't you trust me?"
"You're going to war with heaven, that's damn close to gods don't you think?" Hongyun persists even though he can clearly see in Leiji's eyes that no, they will not change their mind on this. "I'll be fine and stay alive, don't worry."
Hongyun clicks his teeth, hands twitching towards his swords before settling them down and throwing a glare at the doorway, where Ling Fengbao stood. With a dramatic turn, he started grumbling about how everything was his uncle's fault and about how he should have forced the man out ages ago, before this happened.
Why is everyone so hung up about them going on a trip?
Mother soon appears from wherever she had been and way-too-cheerfully reminds her again to use the damn bonds once in a while, they are there for a reason and everyone will be miffed if she encounters danger and blocks them out again.
"I won't be that far from this place." Leiji shrugs and continues, "I think it should be close to that place you pointed out as the demonic arts sect?"
"Is that so?" Lu Yanhei's smile does not reach her eyes at all.
"I thought you wanted me to go to a sect," Leiji jokes, rolling their eyes at the memory of their mother reacting to Ling Fengbao's arrival. Mother falls silent for a while, before saying coldly, "Don't you dare stray anywhere near those…so-called righteous sects, especially that dog Xinyang."
Leiji winces because they won't be able to fulfill that order. Zapfino had told them, several times, to check the very sect that mother had just mentioned. If both of them have to mention it then the sect is probably horrible.
"The demonic arts sects are better?" Leiji asks this and Lu Yanhei purses her lips for a moment before deciding that, "They are better in that they do not lie about what they do, at least."
Of course her answer would be something like that. Leiji sighs and decides not to dwell on it anymore, sects and such are nowhere on their plan. It has been two years ever since they had faced heavenly tribulation while cultivating and failed.
And, in Lightning's words, Leiji can go fu—dge heaven back in the ass as much as they want and as long as they want. As long as they don't go up there in the future, that is, because the general populace is a mirror of the deities they have and they are incredibly petty. Which is rather understandable, but very bad when all the deities are petty and…
'You're rambling again.' Comes from absolutely nowhere, Leiji rolls their eyes at Hongyun.
'To be completely honest,' they spitefully continue, 'leaving town isn't even needed, lord knows I can't give a flying fu—dge about the people. I just want to see the outside world for once.'
A sigh, then a hand lands on their shoulder. Mother had left at some point and Ling Hongyun looked at her oddly. "You could have just said something."
Leiji does not look at him.
"I'll bring you to our clan home whenever you want." He eventually voices begrudgingly, still looking odd and…dejected. Leiji wants to roll their eyes at him, but their conscience reminds them of how Leiji hadn't, in fact, communicated very well with anyone that isn't technically part of them.
Hongyun understood, he did, but it was Leiji who never voiced such requests and therefore he had never had any need to address them…alright, there was something wrong in there, they could admit but.
But, that was also another reason Lu Leiji had told them.
'Distance puts things into perspective most of the time, especially when that distance is between the living and the dead.' He had said and Leiji just. Needed to get away for a while. There isn't anything particularly special about leaving for a while in this world is there? Surely nobody would be mean enough to not tell them?
Anyway, it isn't like some random person will try to kill them right?
As it turns out, a random person does indeed try to kill Leiji. Only it turns out that he isn't some random guy, but someone who looks oddly like their biological father. Damn, Leiji had thought that they completely forgot what that man looked like.
It had happened when the heavenly tribulations—which is, for one, completely presumptuous of them to call, two, arrogant for the deities to have passed such a thing and three, is actually just something that this World uses to release all of its frustration about the stupid beings that inhabit it—started.
Leiji had gotten comfortable! They had sat down, found a nice clearing with a water source so if a fire starts they can put it out without considerable damage and just, cultivated until Aurora Emperor for the second time and boom!
Purple lightning strikes.
A sword also strikes where Leiji had sat.
Which is very rude to do, how dare they initiate a fight the moment the tribulation starts?? Leiji distinctly remembers it being a violation against general etiquette for fellow cultivators and such, Ling Fengbao had gone on and on about how rude it was and how much of the attacker's weakness it revealed…
"Truly, as expected of my descendant." Some old-looking guy sneers and summons his sword back. He's floating, which says a lot of things. For one, that means that the old guy is, at the very least, an Aurora Myth.
…did he just say 'descendant'?
Then he should be one of the Tian. Leiji always knew those bastards didn't have a sense of morality, but to attack someone far younger while they are in the middle of a heavenly tribulation? No wonder no one actually grieved when they had destroyed the Tian, Light had even told them that she caught some of her contacts in the streets were celebrating.
(Lu Leiji gnashed his teeth and very openly glared at the old man as if such a thing could cause him to suddenly disappear. Lightning rolled her eyes at him and evaluated, "What this world calls an Aurora Myth, Rank 9, is not specialized in fighting but something else."
"That's where you got it right," Lu Leiji smiles nastily, "The f*cktard specializes in one of the demonic arts and likes to pass it off as a real high-level 'righteous' technique."
Zapfino glances over him carefully, "That wouldn't be something like body possessing would it?"
The man's smile widens into something a little manic and he points at his general self, "Why do you think I did some very morally questionable things to make myself bigger and taller? Have you seen little Leiji?"
"I see," she responds neutrally, placing a hand on his forearm and pulling him slightly.
Lu stiffens, but soon forces himself to relax, leaning slightly into the touch.)
"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," Leiji tries as they take the twelve bolts the World throws at them in anger, trying their best to absorb them before the lightning manages to severely injure their insides. A harrumph and Leiji's heart sinks as they immediately know the old man was about to attack but can't move quick enough—
They spit out a mouthful of blood after flying back from a palm to the chest.
One, the old man isn't trying to kill them. Two, they have to try and trick the lightning into injuring the old man instead. Three, hurry to finish this 'heavenly tribulation' after the fight ends
Leiji crashes through a tree and onto another, hissing as a few of the broken pieces lodge into their back.
They scramble out of the way of the sword that just as easily changes trajectory and stab into a tree, only for lightning to strike once again and disorient them enough that the opponent appears and manages to take his sword out before they can react. Lu Leiji is clamoring for control, spouting things like 'knowing the opponent' and 'being better at fighting dirty than Leiji'.
No way, Leiji isn't a kid they have to coddle anymore!
..when the old man managed to score a deep gash into their arm, Leiji started rethinking the idea.
The sword easily changes course and stabs into her, though shallowly. Of course, he didn't want to kill them, Leiji listens to the discussion raging on in their head and comes to several conclusions.
That was when a realization hit him and it would be troublesome, but useful.
As if on time, the World threw yet another bundle of lightning at them and Leiji ducked down, sliding under the old man and watching him get hit by lightning with glee. Though, she also wonders why he is such an idiot.
It is common knowledge that 'heavenly tribulation' for an Aurora Emperor is only three bolts three times. A Myth gets six times six, Legend nine times nine and so on so forth…in other words, what Leiji is being given by the World is far more than they are supposed to be able to handle, but apparently the World is rather angry with them.
Angry enough that it throws an Aurora Transcendent tribulation at a mere Emperor.
If Lightning is correct at guessing that the old man is only a Myth then he should not be able to move anytime soon, only having gone through the six time six one. Leiji grins, but it falls when they feel the purple lightning they had absorbed rebel slightly in their systems.
The old man twitches, looking burnt, and there is a dark look in his eyes as he stares at Leiji while slumped over. They very pointedly sit down and wait for the rest of the tribulation to pass, not losing eye contact once because they are spiteful like that. A niggling in the back of their head and faint yelling can be heard in only their head because Ling Hongyun is probably feeling everything they didn't filter and probably planning to come over as fast as he can.
Really, since when did he become like this?
It isn't as though Leiji didn't like it, they simply never imagined that Hongyun of all people would become like that. If, three years ago, Leiji had been told this, she…they…would have laughed at it. Honestly, what are they supposed to do with him?
Soon enough, the bolts of lightning end and Leiji stands up, leaving the absorbing part to the rest and walks away as if they weren't dripping blood everywhere.
They manage to a relatively hidden, abandoned tunnel and collapses inside it.