Xie Lian and I were hiding in some brush while watching one of the many servants walk through a courtyard space. He's sneaking around like there's something he doesn't want to be found out about. He must be hiding something nearby. Out of nowhere, someone came up behind us! I half turned with my fan folded in hand.
"how are-"
"SSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH." I hissed, yanking the windmaster into the bush. He had his hair up like the maids around him, and his attire varied similarly to theirs. His ears look similar to sheep or lamb ears. I looked back at the person who was sneaking around. "Grah! He's gone!"
I stood up from the bush and ran through the court yard with my fan in my hand while my claws were scraping against the jade sides.
"Yoko Kohana!" His highness called after me. I met up with these two in Xie Lian's room for the night. Xie Mei Mei is really sure of this "Hua Cheng," to the point where she's letting him attempt to win over her brother's heart. It's obvious to everyone but him. In the corner of my eye, I saw a statue of a woman. She was holding a metal platter in her hands. This must be how that person disappeared.
"Hey, Flower Prince." I called back to Xie Lian. might as well refer to Mei's brother as the flower prince, while I have been calling her the snow queen. "Does Hua Cheng set this up?"
I looked at him, and he looked guilty.
"Hey, if this is too much, we can find out while you stay here." I rested my arms at my sides. Xie Lian is a good person. He's just been through eight hundred years of hell. He must not have many, aside from his sister, that he can call friends. He will probably feel extraordinarily guilty after this.
"No, I can do it," he said as he took something from his sleeve.
"I personally wouldn't have taken on this mission, no matter how much Jun Wu begged me. At least I'm a bad friend." The wind master piped up.
"Heh, I would love to see that piece of sh*t beg." I said it low enough to keep these words out of anyone else's ears. A moment later, Xie Lian stepped past me and rolled. I have heard of this ability of Hua Cheng's from Xie Mei Mei. He has the ability to lend luck to someone. and by the looks of things, he's lent this luck to Xie Lian. The two red objects he took from his sleeve were two crimson dice. two sixes. I looked around, and I saw that the wind master was leaning against wooden doors. I raised my fan and was about to say something when a thump sounded behind him.
The doors opened with a crack, revealing a long, dark hallway. Xie Lian took the dice and was still hanging his head. I can't help but feel sorry for him.
"let's go," he said as he swiftly rushed in. He must want to get this done and find something proving his friend isn't the culprit of this missing official.
"Are you sure you'll be okay with this flower prince?" I asked him as we made our way down the dark stairs. It was getting harder to see, so I raised my left hand and blew on it. coating it in dark flames. providing a perfect amount of light, showing the long stretch of steps in the dark stone walls.
"Yes" was all he responded with.
"That San Lang of yours is quite sincere with you," I commented. I heard him stumble for a moment. He coughed and sped up.
"It looks like there's a dead end," he said, dragging us away from the topic. I left that be. I walked around the empty space while the boys were talking. I waved my hand over the wall to the left, or the stairs. There was nothing but seven or so meters of solid brick. I tried the same thing with the left side, but there was still nothing. I looked at the floor and began to do the same thing until a tile caught my eye. I crouched down on the floor and wiped away some dirt that seemed to have blown over from walking along the wall. The tile was made of a different stone and had a person carved on it. It looked like the person posed with dice in their hands.
"Wind boy! Flower prince!" I called to them without taking my eyes off the tile. "I think I found our way through!"
Xie Lian and Shi Qing Xuan came up on both sides of me. I felt something off in the area after I called them. This Chengzu character is not someone I feel would hurt the twin heir's of Xianle, but I don't believe he has anything to do with the missing official. Friend or not, he has so many secrets that it's hard to say that his words are trustworthy. Qing Xuan rolled the dice. a five, and a six. The image changed. It morphed into long figures that almost looked like outlined squiggles.
"I looked at it for a while, then I realized what it was. earth worms. Mei and I would go to the lakes to grab some if we couldn't buy food. No one was ever around when this happened, so there's not a soul who would know but us collecting them. The door opened beneath us, swallowing us. There wasn't time to react. The three of us were sent plummeting down through the door. The area was dark again. My flames went out. I spun about in the air for a few minutes, and sickened noises spewed from my throat. I finally landed, coughing as I landed first in cold, wet mud.
"Oh!" I groaned as I sat up. I looked around, still unable to see. I raised my right hand and blew on my fan. It began to glow a faint purple. I looked around again, and there the boys were beside me while we were sitting in a muddy tunnel. earthworm spirit lair, great.