Lin Xiaoyan's eyes narrowed as he knelt beside Mingyu's lifeless form, his gaze scrutinizing every detail of Mingyu's body in suspicion, as he couldn't easily bring himself to believe that the infamous and feared assassin was really dead.
When he confirmed that Mingyu was indeed dead, he drew a concentrated thread of Spiritual power to the tips of his index and middle fingers, and he muttered a spell, before letting his power flow from his fingers to Mingyu's forehead.
Before everyone's eyes, the blue symbol of a dragon appeared on Mingyu's forehead, and this time, it didn't disappear right after.
The sight of the symbol elicited a reaction of shock from the Jinxing Mages as they recognized the symbol to be associated with a forbidden spell which could only be carried out with the use of a scale from the ancient water-dragons.
"Dragon-Scale Ritual?" Lin Xiaoyan's aide, Wen Ting questioned in a bewildered tone. "How is that possible?"
Clank! The sound of a tray crashing to the ground, stole the attention of the Jinxing Mages. Their heads all turned to the direction of the sound, and they saw a shivering woman hiding behind a shelf.
Seeing as she had been found out, her eyes blew wide open in terror as she quickly came out of hiding, attempting to flee.
A Mage swiftly intercepted her before she could step out of the kitchen, slightly pressing his sword against her neck.
"Wait," Lin Xiaoyan said, his eyes narrowing before facing his aide. "Wen Ting, check if his soul has been transferred into her body."
The Mage backed away, giving chance to Wen Ting to examine the woman. He mimicked Lin Xiaoyan's earlier spell, channeling his power into the woman's forehead. But no symbol materialized on the woman's forehead, confirming she wasn't a Transmigrator.
Seeing this, Lin Xiaoyan's expression turned thoughtful as his gaze fell back on Mingyu's lifeless body. "Perhaps, he truly has met his end?"
With that, they left the tavern and head back for their sect, taking Mingyu's body along with them.
….
At the entrance of the Jinxing sect, stood a man in dignified green robes of Feng clan. News about the death of Mingyu, the Shadow Assassin, had gone round, and the young man had rushed down to Jinxing, to see for himself.
A barrier was set up at the entrance of Jinxing to prevent outsiders from coming in. Only the Jinxing Mages and a few others could go in and out as they pleased with a spirit plaque pass.
The man brought out a plaque from the confines of his robes, and extended it towards the entrance. As the plaque glowed softly, the barrier shimmered and dissipated, granting him passage.
With swift steps, he crossed the threshold, and the barrier reformed behind him, restoring its protective seal.
Taking long and hurried strides, he made his way inside. He came across some Mages undergoing training at the assembling grounds, but he didn't spare them even a glance, not stopping for a moment until he got to his destination.
He only paused when he arrived at the front of a secluded building, known as the Lingsi chamber. He heaved a sigh before opening the double leaf doors, and entered inside.
Lin Xiaoyan was already inside, together with an older man, and they both looked at him as he walked in and bowed his head in respect to them. "Greetings Master Zhang, and Sect leader."
"Zhenyu, come over here." The old man, Master Zhang said, gesturing with his hand at the same time.
Feng Zhenyu nodded, and walked over to join them. His eyes landed on the lifeless body of Mingyu which had been placed on a frozen tomb. "Is this… Mingyu?" He asked, suddenly feeling a bit of unease, as he felt some sort of familiarity while staring at the body.
"Yes," Master Zhang answered as he pointed to the symbol of the dragon which was still on Mingyu's forehead. "Do you remember what this symbol on his forehead signifies?"
"That's the symbol associated with the Dragon-scale ritual ." Feng Zhenyu answered before facing Lin Xiaoyan. "Does this mean that he is still alive, and his soul has been transferred into another body?"
"That was what we thought, but there was no sign that his soul had been transferred to another body, and seeing as there is no soul in his body, then it might mean that he had tried to transfer his soul, but had failed, thereby leading to his demise." Lin Xiaoyan explained.
Feng Zhenyu took in all the information as his gaze strayed back to Mingyu's body.
Something which was sticking out of Mingyu's robes caught his attention, and without hesitation, he reached for it. It turned out to be a flute – a very familiar one at that. A bird summoning flute?… It looks exactly the same as the one I had. He inwardly pondered, his eyes twitching while eying the flute in his hand.
Feng Zhenyu's reaction didn't go unnoticed by the other two men in the room, and they exchanged confused glances before Lin Xiaoyan broke the silence.
"Is something wrong?" Lin Xiaoyan asked in concern, mixed with a bit of curiosity.
Lin Xiaoyan's question made Wei Zhenyu snap out of his thoughts, and he shook his head while forcing a smile. "It's nothing. The flute just reminded me of a similar one I had years ago."
Master Zhang being the sentimental person that he was, looked at Mingyu's limp body with a sad smile. "It must be a special item, since he kept it so close to him, even if it isn't of great use. He may have been a ruthless assassin, but at the end, he was still a human who must have had a story of his own."
For reasons unknown to Feng Zhenyu, Master Zhang's words touched a spot in his heart that saddened him deeply. He just couldn't take his eyes off Mingyu's face, neither could he shake off the weird feeling of guilt and sadness that he felt for no explainable reason.
A while later, the three men came out of the chamber, and Feng Zhenyu excused himself, leaving Master Zhang and Lin Xiaoyan.
"News about Mingyu's death must have reached a lot of people. Soon, word will spread about the return of the Dragon-scale ritual." Lin Xiaoyan expressed his worry to Master Zhang as they strolled together.
Master Zhang coughed to clear to his throat. His hands clasped behind his back as he spoke, "If my memory serves me right, it has been twenty years since the last transmigrator was found, am I right?"
"Yes, that's right." Lin Xiaoyan answered, "Just like the others, the last Transmigrator wasn't able to withstand the power of the ritual and had gone mad, killing so many innocent people."
Master Zhang nodded. "The water-dragons haven't shown themselves for many years, I wonder how Mingyu managed to get his hands on a dragon scale. There must be some play behind the scenes that we aren't aware of, and I'm worried that the events of the past will haunt us again."
"Uncle!" A voice echoed in the silent night, and the owner of the voice skidded his way to the two men with a wide grin on his face. "Uncle, I heard Mingyu has been caught, and he did the Dragon-scale ritual. Master Zhang, is that true?"
Lin Xiaoyan's face turned serious, and the tone of his voice became stern as he spoke, "Is that something to be excited about? You…"
Master Zhang interrupted Lin Xiaoyan's scolding session, chuckling fondly at the youngster. "Aiyah, Xiaowei! It's amusing how fast the news has spread in just a matter of a few hours. Pray tell, where did you hear of it?"
"At the Golden Lotus brothel." The youngster answered enthusiastically, smiling brightly at Master Zhang.
"You are a Mage, and soon to be leader of the Jinxing, but instead of practicing to better your skills, you go to brothels to listen to rumors?" Lin Xiaoyan resumed scolding his nephew.
"Ah-Yan, give the boy a break. Xiaowei here will surely follow in your footsteps and will make a great leader." Master Zhang spoke in Lin Xiaowei's defense, "He is supposed to be well informed, and should also be familiar with his liquor. Isn't that right Ah-Wei?" He faced the pouting youngster as he said the last part, causing Lin Xiaowei to smile before nodding in response.
"Now, tell me, which liquor tastes best at the Golden Lotus?"
Lin Xiaowei scratched the back of his neck, chuckling softly as he quickly came up with an excuse. "Well, I haven't really been frequenting the Golden Lotus, especially now that Yichen isn't here to accompany me."
Lin Xiaoyan and Master Zhang exchanged looks at the mention of the name 'Yichen'. "Yichen, the son of Jiang Renxing? Is he still learning martial arts at the Ling sect?"
"He got kicked out before his training could even last a week." Lin Xiaowei answered, trying to suppress his laughter. "Right now, he is at the Shao sect."
"I sent him to there to receive training from the Shao sect leader." Lin Xiaoyan spoke as he gazed into the night skies, "I just hope he doesn't do something stupid this time."