Time seemed to stop as everybody in the room stared, petrified by the sheer power emanating from her.
Then she began to walk, taking languid, leisurely steps into the room. That was when they snapped out of it.
"What are you doing?!"the leader yelled"stop her!".
Five of them rushed forward immediately. No one saw her move, but all of a sudden their heads were rolling at her feet long before their headless bodies fell, and their blood was dripping from her energy-coated hands.
If the inhabitants of the room were afraid before, now they were absolutely horrified. Fortunately for Xinyue, Wang Hui was so busy being horrified that he slackened his hold, and she took advantage of that, slamming her elbow with all her might into his stomach.
"Oof!".
Wang Hui let go immediately, staggering backwards. Lanfen had not halted even for a second, and now her daughter's tormentors were having a rock hard time convincing themselves to attack her, especially since their own comrades were lying decapitated on the floor.
They did not need to make up their minds, anyway, because it was unfortunately of no use. Faster than they could take their next breath, Lanfen's golden ribbons lashed out, binding everyone except Xinyue. Needless to say, their very best efforts to break out of it was not a bit of use.
Very calmly, very expressionlessly, the woman walked up to her daughter and reached out. A tap on both of them was all it took, and the chains that had given the Saintess of the Silver Blade so much trouble crumbled to little more than dust. Lanfen easily picked Yingyue up before she could even start falling, and began her exit from that unsavory place.
"W-wait..."the leader spoke"what do you plan to do with us?".
Lanfen did not even pretend to hear him.
"Do you honestly think you can do whatever you want? Do you know who I am? Do you think XiuzhenWang-jun will let you get away with this?".
He rambled on and on to someone who was silently walking away while paying him no attention at all. The funniest part of the whole thing was that, while terror had tied the tongues of his subordinates, it had loosened his instead, so that he was just babbling away whatever popped into his head. Xinyue did not need any neon signs to spell out to her that she had to get out of the room immediately. Good for her that she did, because as soon as Lanfen stepped out, she turned and summoned a ball of white flame in the palm of her right hand.
The pleas began. The men begged and cried out all sorts of threats and promises, but she flung the ball of flame into the room regardless.
The effects were instant, and the beautiful flames consumed everything in their path. When the men's words turned to shrieks of anguish, Xinyue pressed both palms over her ears in a futile attempt to block out the eerie sounds that would later go on to haunt her nightmares for many days afterwards.
*
*
*
It was the very first time since Yingyue's rescue that Lanfen had left her side, and Xinyue could not help reflecting on this as she sat by Yingyue's bed. The poor girl had not stirred since then, and the Saintess was worried sick already. It really was unfair for something like this to happen so soon after she recovered from her previous traumatic experience.
Xinyue squeezed her sister's hand gently although absentmindedly as she looked out the window without really seeing anything.
She found herself wondering if there really would not be any consequences for Lanfen's actions. Yes, it had all been to save her daughter, but she really had murdered members of a prestigious clan in such unspeakable ways. It was not the sort of thing anyone could just brush under the rug, no matter who they were. Yet Lanfen had not appeared bothered in the least about what repercussions would result from the things she had done that day.
Speaking of which, where exactly had Lanfen gone?
*
*
*
"If it isn't Lanfen Tianshi herself. To what do I owe this visit?".
Lanfen did not bother with a response as she stood expressionlessly before Wang Cheng.
Unconscious people in tea colored robes littered the floor around her, the unfortunate fellows whom the XiuzhenWang-jun had sent to intercept her.
"What do you want?".
"An apology,"she replied calmly.
Wang Cheng had the unbelievable guts to pretend to be shocked.
"An apology, you say? Whatever for?".
"For everything you did to my daughter".
"And what, exactly, did I do?".
"Playing dumb, are we?".
"I really don't understand. In fact, it was you who entered the Aurum Pavilion without permission and burnt the apothecary to the ground alongside several of my disciples".
"Your apothecary's fault for standing right on top of those despicable dungeons"she replied nonchalantly.
Wang Cheng pounded a fist on the arm of his chair and pointed an accusing finger at her.
"You murdered people, Meng Lanfen. Do you truly not understand the implications of your actions?".
"They hurt my daughter. Surely even the cultivation world encourages us to protect our own. Isn't that right, XiuzhenWang-jun?".
It actually was, and despite all his shamelessness, Wang Cheng could not deny it.
"Well,in that case, the matter is resolved,is it not? You have had your revenge, and that ends it".
Lanfen raised an eyebrow.
"That is a joke, right? How can my revenge be complete when you're sitting in front of me,hale and hearty?".
"What, are you going to punish me for the actions of my disciples?"Wang Cheng said indignantly.
"Of course not, but you ordered the torture. Even you can see that changes things".
"And can you prove that I ordered it, Madame Meng?".
"I don't need to. You made it very clear how badly you want that shard of yours back, and that my daughter was your target".
"That is not proof, Madame Meng. Admit it,"he actually had the audacity to grin"there is no proof".
He prepared himself to savour her dismay at his grand announcement, but she merely nodded,as if he had said something very wise.
"That is indeed correct, XiuzhenWang-jun. No proof at all. In that case, I will take my leave now".
"Not so fast. You owe me an apology for trying to kill my son".
"Oh? You mean he didn't die?".
"He was lucky to have a talisman for protection from flames on him at the time," then under his breath"not that it did him much good anyway".
"So he's alive,"Lanfen mused"what a crying shame".
"You...!".
"I will excuse myself now, XiuzhenWang-jun" she bowed,then began to leave.
At the door, she paused and turned slightly,a predatory smile on her face.
"But I must admit, XiuzhenWang-jun, you are so very right. There must be no proof".
With that, she saw herself out. For nearly an hour afterwards, Wang Cheng still could not stop trembling.
*
*
*
Wang Hui stood before the mirror, trembling in shock. It was simply horrible.
As he was growing up, he had of course heard tales of Lanfen Tianshi, Child of the Immortal One, and her formidable power, but he still could not believe all that had happened that day.
The clan's best healers had done their utmost, but Lanfen Tianshi's flames had still managed to leave the ugliest scars in many parts of his body. And as if it had been done on purpose, his handsome face was irredeemably ruined.
He had been standing in front of this mirror for nearly an hour, and he was still yet to find a still unscarred patch of skin on what used to be one of the most attractive faces in the cultivation world.
A knock on the door cut into his precious moment of self-pity, and he turned sharply.
"Who is that?".
It was a servant that responded.
"The XiuzhenWang-jun is coming in, Young Master Wang".
No one waited for his answer before the door opened and his father walked in alongside two servants.
"Father".
"Hui. You seem to have recovered".
Of course he had recovered, at least as much as a victim of Lanfen Tianshi could, and his father knew that. He was just being annoying again.
"Yes, father".
"Aren't you a lucky one? It seems like the gods were looking out for you".
Hui merely kept his head down, waiting for the blow that was sure to come.
"It is almost time to visit your mother, is it not? I wonder if she will be able to recognize her own son, even with the mess he has become. Well, they do say that a mother's love is supreme or something so and so, isn't that right?"he turned to the maidservant at his left, seeking to give her a chance to join him in laughing at his son.
But whether she intended to laugh with him or not, nobody got to find out. Because it was at that very moment that Wang Cheng began to hack up blood, clutching at his chest with enough force to rip his clothes. His face twisted in anguish as he dropped to his knees, blood running down his chins and jaw.
He did not need the gods to tell him what was going on.
"Damn you..."he croaked"Lanfen Tianshi...".
*
*
*
The tiny orb hovered above Lanfen's palm, which was coated in a dark purple aura. A tiny orb of Wang Cheng's energy, which she had milked from the chains used to bind Yingyue.
The fool.
He had to be a real amateur when it comes to diabolic cultivation, since he could not even properly convert his own energy to something suitably diabolic while enhancing those chains.
A crying shame.
Now, thanks to his inexperience, she had cursed him from the comfort of her workshop simply by using this orb of energy as a medium.
"Yes,"she smiled"there shall indeed be no proof. No proof at all".