The door fell open. Sui Wenyen, Ah Hua Shin and Wang Fang entered the room and looked at Ying Yue who was lying flat on the bed and was glaring at them. Sui Wenyen went to the right side of bed as Ying Yue was not ready to leave the left side.
"Yue, are you okay now?" asked Hua Shin softly. Ying Yue looked at her and asked, "why? Do you want me to be punished more?" She then turned her face away.
"Ying Yue, you are taking us wrong. We are your roommates. Even we felt bad when you got harsh punishment of cleaning 500 quarters by Lady Qiu. Wenyen went to her to take your punishment back but she did not agree. Please forgive us that you have to undergo so much," said Wang Fang. Ying Yue sat on the bed. Her one leg was slightly bent on which her elbow was resting and she ran her eyes through three of them.
"I do not want your false sympathy. You do not worry either about my punishment. My punishment is already reduced. So, just keep your distance from me," muttered Ying Yue when Wenyen opened her mouth to speak.
"Ying Yue, you are getting us all wrong here. You see here-" Ying Yue showed her palm to her thus stopping her from speaking further. "Wenyen, do not tell me you acted in such a way to impress these two girls as well. I have encountered many girls like you who try to be upright in every situation but in reality they are something else. I saw earlier how you hit me and then smiled. Let's not argue anymore as I do not want to be punished again without any reason," asserted Ying Yue.
They three were looking at Ying Yue when a knock at the door disturbed them. "Dinner is ready. Let's go," said the disciple Zhou Linlin, whose room is besides there. Wenyen got up from the bed and told Yue to come with them to the Great Hall for the dinner. "You do not know the way so come with us," opined Sui Wenyen. Hua Shin and Wang Fang grabbed Ying Yue's hands thus making her stood up.
"Throw away your anger, Yue. Here we all live as a family. Forgive us and let's be friends," said Hua Shin with a bright smile. Ying Yue jerked off her hands from their grips "Ahh, whatever," and walked out of the room. Wenyen smiled seeing this and they left for the great hall where disciples eat together. They reached there. "Ying Yue, go take a seat over there," said Hua Shin, pointing her finger towards her left side.
"You people do not want to eat?" Yue asked in a low tone.
"Today is our duty to serve the food," said Hua Shin. Ying Yue nodded and then went to the pointed direction. She sat on the mattress and found the same disciple who was earlier telling her in the prayer ground to close her eyes. A smile carved on her lips and she moved slightly towards him.
Wenren Yu seeing her coming towards him lowered his eyes. "Hello, I am Ahn Ying Yue. Thank you for the help which you did in the prayer ground. You see I do not know anyone here except you so I think we both can be friends," asserted Ying Yue.
"Friends?" mumbled Wenren Yu and he immediately got up from that seat. Ying Yue was confused seeing his reaction but before she could speak further he left from there. She did not believe her eyes when some other disciple took the seat there. Ying Yue did not bother to go behind Wenren Yu and waited for her meal to arrive there.
After a while when all the disciples were served and eaten their meals, they left for their respective rooms. Ying Yue too went to her room and then lay down on the bed. The other three were also there but they were already asleep.
Ying Yue tossed and turned in bed trying to get comfortable while being in half asleep state when she heard screams coming from outside. It woke her up after she sat up trying to figure out the situation. While she was curious enough to figure out the situation she was scared as well from whatever was happening.
One by one all of her roommates woke up and they looked at each other trying to figure out the situation as well. They stared at each other before they felt their entire room shake like in the earthquake. While Ying Yue and the other two girls hesitated for their next step Sui Wenyen took her sword and exited the room boldly while leaving the door wide open.
They were lucky that their room was situated above a platform because from the scenario they witnessed from up there was horrendous. The whole area was starting to fill with water and the land was lost beneath the water level somewhere. It appeared to be filling at a rather rapid pace as the drowning people struggled to cross the area safely.
The situation, while similar to a flood, was not an actual flood situation. The area was drowned while the clear skies witnessed the whole incident without an ounce of rain. 'Just from where is all this water coming from' Ying Yue question silently.
"We must leave right now"! One of her roommates spoke to the other disciple in the room.
"You are right, if we don't leave now we will be too late"! The other replied to her as they both exited from the room. The water level reached till their waists as they climbed down the stairs. Ying Yue, afraid to be left behind, didn't waste any further time and followed them.
By the time she reached at the end of the valley the water level was till her breast. It needed to fill a little more and she would struggle to breathe. Even as a world class swimmer she didn't have any experience in a situation like this.
She pondered what to do next as she witnessed most of the disciples pointing their swords above and flew above to the building. 'Was this a part of Cultivation? Can I do that too' Ying Yue wondered.
She started to look for her sword around her waist or somewhere when she realized that she left it back in the room because she was in a hurry. Regretting her choice she started to panic as she looked around for anyone to help her. Alas everyone was busy dealing with the situation as best as they can and thus no one noticed Ying Yue.
The water level had crossed her neck and had started to slightly wash her chin from wave to wave. Embracing her situation she breathed before she mumbled to herself, "While the water level is rising, the flow of water isn't so bad. If I remain calm enough I can swim and save myself". Feeling content with her plan she took a deep breath but before she could exhale she heard a loud roar.
The roar seemed familiar to her because she heard it in their room, as it was the one which woke her up accompanied by the screams. She looked ahead as she saw a Giant serpent-like demon approach her at an increasing speed. At first the demon did not notice Ying Yue and was busy in his destruction, but once it was close enough he noticed the tiny woman who was stuck in the rising water level.
The demon stared at her for a moment as if it was fascinated with her before he screamed at her. Like the fire a dragon breathes out a giant splash of water came out of his mouth hitting Ying Yue directly. Before Ying Yue could realize what has happened she found herself thrown at the sky like a tennis ball.
Ying Yue closed her eyes tightly, awaiting the inevitable crash with some or the other object that would take her life. However what she felt wasn't something sharp or life threatening instead it was a warm embrace that held her in a safe position.
Slowly as she opened her eyes, she saw a glistening pale face that was laced with water. The face belonged to none other than Fu Shui Jin, who gazed at Ying Yue earnestly to make sure she was alright, while he held her tightly in his arms. "Forgive me for being late; I should have been here sooner".
Fu Shui Jin landed on a hard surface which made Ying Yue realise that both of them were flying all along. Getting out of Fu Shui Jin's arms she placed herself properly on the land. Taking one last careful glance at Ying Yue he turned his head towards the demon the wrecked havoc. Fu Shui Jin was ready to attack the beast and resolve the situation until he realised who that beast was.
The beast was none other than a Demon named Suimu who was responsible for almost everything that was taken away from him. As he looked at him the memories of the past that he repressed deep inside started to flash in front of his eyes. All the people he cared about, all of them who died in his arms as he gazed at them hopelessly, as he failed to save their lives despite being the Water God himself.
Fu Shui Jin hadn't moved ever since he saw the demon. He was frozen at his spot and didn't even realize that Suimu was approaching him. However, Ying Yue who was standing right next to him kept shouting at her Fufu to do something, "Fufu, answer me! SAVE US"! When she failed to grab his attention and saw Suimu attack Fu Shui Jin this time she screamed.
Her scream was louder than any other screams anyone has ever heard. Even the demon found himself quiver due to the sheer noise itself. As if the noise wasn't bothersome enough, there was a giant Phoenix that manifested right in front them which was entirely made up of nothing but fire.
It shone brightly amidst the darkness of the night of the new moon. Each and every disciple stared at the magnificent Phoenix in awe. Even the ones who were hiding peeked out to see the Phoenix Ying Yue managed to conjure. Even Fu Shui Jin who was so distracted was brought back in the moment.
The Phoenix was one of the capabilities she should possess as the fire spirit. While she could only conjure the Phoenix due to her intense emotions, mastering the Cultivation arts would allow her to do it on her will, something which even she wasn't aware of. "Thank you Miss Yue" Fu Shui Jin said softly before turning his head back to Suimu as he prepared himself for the fight.