WangXian Forever 6

Chapter 96 Sounds

The throne vibrated as soon as Hui Gai finished calling out his name. The silence that followed was broken by only a tiny sound, but both Wei Ying and Hui Gai heard it with their sharp hearing.

"Klem!" They both said.

"She must be close by!" Wei Ying said, straining his ears to see if he could hear her again.

They looked about them, but they saw nothing that could help them. Hui Gai was clenching his fists, frustrated.

"Wait! What's that?" Wei Ying pointed to the red ruby on the throne.

It was pulsating.

Hui Gai placed his thumb on it and pressed down. And then he held onto the armrests as the throne began to rotate. Wei Ying was already standing on the pedestal, and he grabbed Lan Zhan just as it began its descent.

*******

Jian Ci could not escape the torture going on in her mind. Ever since her mark had been touched, she was plagued with images of a nasty, smiling demon. From the moment he had carved that character onto her wrist, she had hated him with a vengeance.

Such a vile demon...it wasn’t fair that he was allowed to inflict such pain on people.

When she saw the room empty, she knew her time had come. JingYi was watching the door where Zhitiao had just left from, and it was now or never. And she wasn't an assassin for nothing.

She snuck up behind him and whacked his pressure point, knocking him out instantly. Then she ran out of the room and scooted up the crumbling stone steps, narrowly avoiding a tumble as she jumped into the corridor with the red carpet.

There was no time to waste. As she looked around, her gaze landed on the mark on her wrist. Her forefinger hovered over it, already feeling the pain that it could cause her. Could she suffer it one more time? Would it work both ways, bring her to her worst enemy? Only one way to find out.

********

It was hard but they managed to get the demons into some sort of formation.

"Does anyone have any idea how many we have to fight?" Yezi called out.

She looked out across the wide expanse of bodies, trying to stick to their positions...and sighed internally. The situation wasn't ideal, but they had to make the best of what they had.

There was murmuring and shrugs, but the answer was a cloudy no.

"Alright. First troops with Haitch. Centre front and down the middle. Second troops on the left, third formation to the right. Fourth formation second level and fifth formation to the basement. Wherever that wily demon is hiding, we're going to find him." Hongse De yelled out.

The crowd of demons shouted and whistled, banging their weapons against anything they could find.

"One, two, three, let's go!" Yezi shouted.

"It's not a race." Chihong muttered, loud enough that she could hear, but she was smiling.

Zhitiao was with Yezi, who wanted to stay with Haitch, so they were the first ones inside the Palace. While the others went straight ahead, Zhitiao paused at the door that led to the staircase leading to the cavernous room where JingYi was.

"What's up, Zee?" Yezi stood next to her, but clearly wanting to join the others.

"I dunno...I...something is telling me to check on JingYi again." She looked at Yezi. "Do you mind? I swear, I'll catch up to you."

Yezi nodded, smiling. She hugged her once more with a single free arm, and then ran off to join the others.

Zhitiao navigated down the stairs as carefully as she could, her feeling that something was wrong, getting stronger with every step.

But when she saw JingYi on the floor, just beginning to wake up, and no Jian Ci, she knew she was right. With a small cry, she ran to him.

Helping JingYi up, she checked him for other injuries, and was relieved to find none. At least, Jian Ci was not violent without cause.

"What happened?" She asked him.

"My girlfriend left me." He tried to smile, but clutched his head instead.

"I'm right here." She smacked his arm lightly. "Where's Jian Ci?"

"I don't know...she snuck up behind me. Knocked me right out. And...you were right. And Senior Wei is going to tell me off." He shuddered suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Zhitiao asked him, worried.

"Nothing...just that...Hanguang-Jun is going to find out about this. We'll both be in trouble. How good are you at handstands?"

She gave him a puzzled look and filled him in on what was happening outside now, and the fact that they'd actually stormed the Palace.

"Any resistance?" He asked as she helped him to stand.

With one arm around his waist, they walked awkwardly to the treacherous stone steps.

"None so far, but they're expecting the main battalions to be in the forecourts, waiting." They began the slow ascent to the top floor.

"Makes sense." He stopped when, after reaching the top, she began to lead him outside. "Wait, where are you taking me?"

"My sister said there's two people here on our side, one is just a little boy. But he's precious to Shidi, so you're going to help look after him." She pulled him forward.

"I'm just a hindrance, aren't I?" He whispered.

"Don't be silly. You have to understand, if we're both going to be punished, at least you can earn points by looking after the child."

JingYi knew that was just a cover story, and she was trying to make him feel better. It was the kindest thing that anyone had ever done for him. So he smiled at her.

"Genius!"

"Not just a pretty face." She grinned back, and they left the Palace.