"You were sooo awesome out there!"Yingyue squealed as she loosened Xinyue's braid, extracting the trinkets from it.
"You think so?"Xinyue squinted at the mirror, wiping furiously at her gold-dusted lips. "Absolutely! Here, let me do that for you". Yingyue collected the cloth from her sister and dabbed it carefully at her lips.
"Are you sure you want to take it all off, though? You look amazing".
"Thank you, but I would rather not be on this when I get swarmed by all those people". "Good point"Yingyue giggled.
She helped Xinyue strip off her outer robes, then handed her a simple, blue dress devoid of any frills.
"I saw A-Chen earlier. Can I go speak to him?". Xinyue looked askance at her.
"A-Chen?".
"The Jade Dragon, I mean".
Xinyue blinked,then sighed.
"A-Yue, what did I say about not bothering him?".
"Oh no, I'm not bothering him at all. A-Chen and I are in good enough terms".
"Really?".
"Really".
Xinyue considered it.
"You're a sweet girl, A-Yue, but sometimes certain people like to be left alone".
"I know that. But A-Chen is different. Don't you see he even lets me call him A-Chen?".
"He does?"Xinyue asked in astonishment. "Sure does".
"Okay... I guess it should be fine...". "Yay!"Yingyue dropped the hairtie in her hand and hurried out.
She felt it before she saw it- a prickling sensation on her skin as the hairs at her nape rose. For some reason she could not explain, she was already terrified even before she stepped foot into the place.
Chaos.
That was the word for the scene she met. Hundreds of the same kind of beast from the annual field trip had been let loose from gods-only-know-where, and the party had turned into a battlefield,a den of carnage. Yingyue stood transfixed, watching as beasts and cultivators alike got slain, unable to move a limb.
Suddenly, she held her head, gasping for breath. Something about her felt...off. It hurt, like a recurring nightmare,as if she had seen the same scenario get replayed over and over. Then came the voices, whispering words she could not hear because they were twisting into each other, like an intelligible din.
"Stop,"she pleaded, stumbling backwards. Anymore, and her skull just might crack.
"A-Yue,"Xinyue turned her around, gripping her shoulders firmly"are you alright? Breathe, A-Yue. Breathe".
Yingyue parted her lips as she forced desperate gulps of air down her patched throat.
"What in the world is going on here?"the Saintess muttered as her eyes took in the gory sight.
"I...".
"You should leave. It will be fine, I promise".
With that, she unsheathed Banlu and charged into battle. Yingyue stood still, her back to the bloodshed. She could have walked away at that moment,thus saving herself and many others a whole lot of trouble. But she was no match for the incessant tugging in her gut. And so, eventually, despite all the nerves in her body screaming how bad an idea it was, she turned around.
This time, her skull really might have cracked. The pain was unlike anything she had ever felt, not even when she had fallen from a jujube tree as a child and sustained a compound fracture on her arm. The voices were getting louder, threatening to turn her brain into a pulp, and her body's reaction to all that was happening in front of her felt painfully traumatic.
"Stop...stop!!!".
Everything stopped. The creatures froze,as though trapped in their own bodies, and the people too,in confusion. Then,as if someone had blown a whistle for them, the entire swarm of beasts came charging towards her at the very same time.
Without thinking about it,as though it was natural to her, Yingyue threw her hands out, and clenched her fists. Instantly, the beasts halted mid-charge,then began to shrivel up as their demonic energy was siphoned from them... into Yingyue. The creatures dropped like flies to the ground, and she put her hands down before turning to the astonished cultivators.
Her eyes were different. They were red and beautiful. Like rubies, like crystals of blood. Then those eyes rolled back into her head before she slumped... into the timely arms of her mother.
*
*
*
Nuying absolutely detested the very idea of sitting at the foot of the demon king's throne, and for that very reason, that was precisely where Zi Baoli made her sit.
Nuying, her mood more sour than an unripe lime, turned to look at him, imagining nailing a dagger at his heart for the eleventh time that day. Not that she could actually pull it off.
Whatever else his faults were, the current demon king was... strong.
"Why does the Lily of Death glare so?"the insufferable fellow had the guts to say.
"People died"she snapped.
"That they did. Well?".
"They died, Zi Baoli. You sent those beasts into the mortal realm to kill people for no reason at all".
"Always the fool for mortals, aren't you, Nuying?"his eyes curled into amused crescents"did you get that from her too?".
"Don't you dare speak of her!".
"Besides,"he went on as if she hadn't spoken "who says it was for no reason? I have succeeded in making Huang Yichen stir in his sleep, have I not?".
"It is not like he is awake yet".
"Of course not, it will take more than that to wake him. But I'm certainly making progress".
"Why are you so fixated on waking him? You detest him. And you know what he will do to you once he returns".
The amused look remained.
"What do you think, Lily of Death?".
Nuying blinked. Then her eyes widened as the meaning of his words dawned on her.
"You...plan to control him through his vessel".
"You are a very clever little girl".
"Damn you!"Nuying shot to her feet, but shadows grabbed her limbs, yanking her back down.
"A good pet stays down when her master speaks, darling".
"Don't you dare call me...".
A shadow gag covered her mouth, muffling the rest of her words. If looks could kill, Zi Baoli would have fallen lifeless to the floor at that moment.
Unfortunately, though, he was still very much alive. He stepped closer and crouched, stroking her scar.
"I just love it when you struggle".
*
*
*
Lanfen tilted the cup to get the last drops of the tea past her daughter's parted lips. Not that it would do much good, now that those powers had been unleashed.
Gently,as if scared to break something fragile, she brushed her fingers through Yingyue's hair,then clasped the unconscious girl's left hand in both of hers.
"I'm sorry, A-Yue. I've failed you again".
A knock on the door butted into the moment, and Lanfen ignored it until she heard it the seventh time.
"Who is it?"she asked.
"It's me, Madame..."a servant replied timidly "the emissaries of XiuzhenWang-jun are here".
XiuzhenWang-jun, the current chief of the cultivation world.
"What do they want?".
The servant's voice was replaced by an unfamiliar one.
"XiuzhenWang-jun summons you to the Aurum Pavilion, Madame Meng".
The Aurum Pavilion was the headquarters of the Wang sect.
The selection of the chief of the cultivation world was purely a democratic process, and so the position did not dwell permanently in any particular family. Since the current one also happened to be the Sect leader of the Wang sect, the Aurum Pavilion became the temporary office of the chief.
Lanfen knew fully well why she was being summoned.
"Tell XiuzhenWang-jun that if he has anything to say to me, then he has to come here"she replied.
There was a stunned silence.
"But... Madame Meng...".
"Get lost".
The emissary obeyed promptly. It did not matter whom he served, the rules of hierarchy did not permit him to argue with her.
When both emissary and servant were gone, Lanfen turned back to her daughter.
"I will protect you, A-Yue. I will not let anyone take you from me. I will not fail you,ever again".
*
*
*
Surprisingly, XiuzhenWang-jun actually heeded Lanfen's summons. She instructed a servant to serve tea and went into the Hall of Reception to meet him, but not without shielding Yingyue's room with a protective barrier.
As soon as she stepped into the hall, XiuzhenWang-jun dismissed all the servants, his escorts placing talismans on the doors before making their exit.
"What are you doing?"Lanfen asked.
"Making sure no one eavesdrops. Come, Madame Meng,we have a lot to discuss".
Lanfen regarded the bearded man. He might be thirty years her elder, and the leader of the Wang sect, and the chief of the cultivation world, but none of that changed who she knew Wang Cheng was deep down.
Selfish, scheming, despicable.
Unfortunately for him, she was a worse devil that he could ever hope to be.
"In case you've forgotten,"she strode forward "this is my home. You don't get to usher me to a seat".
His cold gaze lingered on her as she sat down and filled their cups.
"I know better than to drink that"he said.
"Good for you"she retorted calmly, sipping from her own cup.
"I will get straight to the point. Hand Meng Yingyue over to me".
Lanfen busied herself with adding honey to her tea.
"Is that an order from the chief of cultivators, or the wish of a power hungry Sect leader?".
"Do not play dumb, Madame Meng".
Lanfen looked up, her eyes deceptively innocent.
"Oh, but I am not, XiuzhenWang-jun".
"You know what that child is".
"Of course, I know who she is. She is my daughter".
"She is also the vessel to the most dangerous entity to ever exist".
Lanfen raised her eyebrows,then set her cup aside and leaned forward, like a little girl awaiting a story from her grandfather.
"Do go on"she said.
"Huang Yichen is somewhere inside of her. You know it too"he replied.
"Do I?".
Wang Cheng looked like he wanted to hit her, but thought better of it.
"Perhaps you are a mother in denial. And perhaps you are merely a fool, but everyone at the party saw your daughter's eyes turn the color of blood".
"I can explain that away in a million different ways,"she replied with a careless shrug"you don't have proof that it had anything to do with Huang Yichen".
"I have proof, though".
"Oh? Do tell".
"I'm sure you know the tale of Huang Yichen's soul".
"I'm sure you would not mind enlightening this ignorant little woman".
She was clearly trying to provoke him, but Wang Cheng was determined not to give her the satisfaction of knowing that she was succeeding.
"After he was defeated and killed, the Jade Emperor knew that it was not beyond him to simply come back to life, so he sealed the soul of the demon king into a heavenly artifact and scattered it into four shards, each one containing a fraction of his soul. The chuntian shard was kept at Mount Tianshi, the xiatian shard at the Peony Halls, the qiutian shard at the Aurum Pavilion, and the dongtian shard at the Mist Oasis. Only the Sect leaders of the Pan, Wang and Meng sects, along with the Celestial Monk, knew about the existence of these shards".
"An interesting story. Do you tell it to your son at bedtime?".
Wang Cheng's right eye twitched. He was not sure if she had pricked the sore spot on purpose, but his toxic relationship with his son was a popular topic on the lips of his haters.
"However, the qiutian shard has been stolen".
"That must be distressing".
"It was stolen,"he continued as if no one had spoken"and shortly after, your daughter was seen with red eyes".
"An unfortunate coincidence".
"Is it, really? I don't think so, especially since her mother turns out to be you, Lanfen Tianshi".
Lanfen closed her eyes.
"I haven't been called that in a while"she said softly.
Wang Cheng rose.
"It is indeed a pity. I had hoped we could settle this diplomatically, before your husband returns from his trip. You may try to protect her, but I always get what I want, Madame Meng".
Lanfen opened her eyes... and smiled.
It was the smile of a cat when the canary cage was open. The glint of a new cleaver just before it struck.
"What a coincidence, XiuzhenWang-jun,"she said sweetly"so do I".