For some reason, although he was smiling, his eyes were wet, as though he had been crying. Perhaps it was the rain, perhaps he had gone mad.
If he could not cry, could she cry in his stead? Would he allow it?
Wasting their time for the past hundred years; him being stubborn in his own belief, her not realizing her obsession towards him was more than just veneration from a disciple to her teacher.
The Shepherd told her what she had to do, that it must be done by her. A legacy from the old Lord to the next generation, had to be passed through flesh and blood, soul to soul.
But how could she do it?
The tiniest part of her thought, it was better for him to obliterate the world, to obliterate her, as long as he did not forget her.
He was surrounded by fire, his white robe was now fully drenched in red, billowing as though it was part of the flickering flame.
Even when he was about to become the god of destruction, he was still the most important existence to her. When the very one that mattered the most was gone, what was the meaning of the world's existence itself?
Billions of people, could not compare to one figure in that robe of white, sleeves swaying gently as the wind teased, blurring the fresh red blood staining his immaculate garment. The rain and the blood splattered on his dark boots, as though he had melded with the vermilion ground.
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Xu Yejing abruptly opened her eyes, blinking away the residual wetness from the dream-like memory. The locket lied broken on the floor, the fragment of bone had also turned cold, no longer emitting the bizarre bluish qi. But the warmth in her heart still lingered, brushing over every single cell in her body, like the soft caress of the bloodied robe of that person.
Then she gradually realized, the warmth was not just from her body, but from all surroundings. Smoke began to seep through the door's cavities, filling the room with putrid air. Clamor and noises penetrated inside, indicating the previously set up barrier was no more.
She coughed a few times and shouted, "Pan-xiong! He-xiong!"
There were a few banging sounds against the door, as though something was repeatedly slammed at it. But no one answered her call.
She thought of the person occupying her mind ever since she woke up and mustered her strength to overcome the blistering air, "Master!!"
The door was blasted open, a silhouette hidden behind the smoke reached out one hand to pull her out. Her eyes stung from the thick smoke, but her nose could smell blood.
"Yejing! Are you hurt?"
She could recognize Fu Chun's voice, feeling relieved of Fu Chun's safety more than her own. After all, it had been a while since Xu Yejing had seen the latter. Her bleary eyesight could make out the cerulean-blue sparks dancing in some distance. She was comforted, Fu Yan must be here too.
True enough, another voice chimed in, "Yejing, we're so glad we're not late! Those two bastards, I'll teach them a lesson later!" He was referring to Pan Lang and He Zhanyi, who had taken upon themselves to seal Xu Yejing inside the vault.
Whip in hand, Fu Yan's gaze washed over her, from the tip of her hair to the sole of her shoes, wanting to check for the slightest injury. His concern could not have been more genuine, the qi left on his whip emitted lighter blue color than what Xu Yejing remembered.
"Yan...xiong...," Xu Yejing blinked. Was her eyesight too damaged from the smoke? Just a moment ago, wasn't Fu Yan fighting a few feet away?
Fu Yan was startled, "Yejing, your... your voice... . You can speak!"
Fu Chun sheathed her sword and immediately lifted Xu Yejing, holding the latter's smaller body close to her bosom. "Talk later. We have to go. We don't know how many experts are in hiding."
With a flawless execution of qinggong, Fu Chun glided over the burning flame, the fire short of touching the tip of her boots. Fu Yan followed close behind, the tail of his whip surrounding the three like an impenetrable cage of protection.
"You are not leaving anywhere!" A middle-aged man in a eunuch uniform appeared, followed by a few other men in imperial guards' garb. From their movement, these were not just ordinary servants of the Imperial Palace, as they quickly blocked the three's way of escape, jumping and flying back and fro.
Sparks of blue met clashes of swords and blades. There were a million of questions in Xu Yejing mind, but she could at least notice a few things in the current fight. Apart from the eunuch - who might not even be one - the other attackers were not cultivators. The eunuch's double-sided prong had a reddish hue. Although Fu Yan and his adversaries' movements were but a blur to her eyes, blue and red clashed everytime the eunuch's blade met the tail of Fu Yan's whip.
Only cultivators who had solidified their inner core and regulated the ocean of True Essence surrounding said core, were able to channel their true essence into a tangible qi in their weapons. The manifestation of qi - their color - was like a thumb print, unique to each cultivator.
Who would have thought, a short figment of memories, could teach her that simple knowledge.
Fu Yan managed to dispose of a couple of assassins, but with the eunuch sticking close like a shadow, he could not avoid getting hurt in a few places.
There was a sudden breeze washing over her, then the air surrounding them seemed to have lost that heat from the flame. It was as though the space around her had become an empty and desolate one, everything vacuumed into nothingness. The sensation lasted for barely a breath, then Xu Yejing heard the choking wail of several men.
When Fu Chun and Fu Yan lightly stepped on their toes, Xu Yejing still in Fu Chun's bosom, she could finally see a number of headless corpses in all directions. One of them was the middle-aged eunuch.
A man in light green robe stood before them, his hair neatly gathered on top of his crown, secured with a white jade coronet. His brows were thick yet gentle, his thin lips always carried a slight arc that gave him a friendly impression. His eyes were bright and good-looking, his features smooth and placid. With the fan he tapped lightly against his palm, he looked like a young scholar. But she knew, this was the very man who had single-handedly killed seven attackers in a matter of seconds.
Fu Yan and Fu Chun bowed towards the man. "Master."
This man did not look any older than the Fu siblings, but who would know his real age? Fu Yan and Fu Chun had spoken about their Master a few times in the past. One of the elusive Saints roaming the world; a mere jab of his finger could create a hole in someone's skull.
"Mhm." The Saint walked towards the trio, and took Fu Yan's wrist. While he transferred his qi to Fu Yan through a touch of his finger on the latter's skin, the scholarly-looking Saint scolded, "You're lucky I am the one who came. If your Master Uncle were here, do you believe he would hang you upside down to expel this poison instead? So careless! How could you let some nobodies poison you? If words got out, my Flaming Cauldron Sect won't have any face left."
Fu Yan smiled bitterly, his face turned pale when the Saint mentioned about his Master Uncle.
"Where... is Master Uncle?" Fu Chun asked.
"That guy... ," the Saint glanced at Xu Yejing, then let out a scoff, "He's more tender-hearted than a young maiden. He's feeling shy and decided to chase after the person who may be the perpetrator of this whole thing."
Fu Chun and Fu Yan exchanged a glance, definitely not believing a single bit about their Master Uncle being shy.
Xu Yejing, who had kept her silence since the beginning, dropped into a kneel and gathered her palms together, "Disciple Xu Yejing greets Master!"
The Saint was visibly shaken, even taking a step backwards, letting his grip on Fu Yan's wrist loosen altogether. He opened his fan and stood sideways, covering his lips with the fan, "Don't call me Master! Aiya~! If that guy heard of it, I won't have any good days!"
Xu Yejing was thoroughly confused and looked at Fu Yan and Fu Chun instead. Did they not refer to her as their 'junior sister'? Even Pan Lang and He Zhanyi also directly called her as such. If this Saint was their Master, then wouldn't he be hers too?
When she looked at the Saint once again, her gaze fell on the fan still covering his lips.
[Even if we met, you wouldn't know me,]
[Dust on my face, Hair like frost.]
Then the fan snapped shut. The Saint walked towards her, his movement was easy and looked gentle, but with a light pull, she was brought to the sole of her feet once again.
"I was there when you were born," he took her wrist and put his finger on her pale skin, "We searched high and low for your core fragments. Who'd have known, one of it has been this blasted imperial family all along." He frowned, 'But this is just a tiny fragment. It might have cured your ailment of not being able to speak, but it's not even enough to awaken your core, as you don't have a complete one yet."
As he let go, he sighed, "Let us go to the First Prince's estate." With a flutter of his sleeves, he disappeared beyond the palace walls.
Fu Chun nodded wordlessly and lifted Xu Yejing once again. Before they left, Xu Yejing took one last look at the grounds of the Imperial Palace. It was undoubtedly one of the many courtyards; no doubt it would look beautiful if the roofs were intact and the plants were undisturbed. The many corpses of imperial guards and servants alike loitered the cobbled grounds, smell of blood and residual smoke assaulting one's nose.
To cultivators, perhaps none of these people's lives was considered important. For some of them, they might not even know the reason behind their death. Their whole lives, they worked for a master, following every single order, and finally died just like that.
*** *** ***
When the three of them reached the First Prince Min Yunfan's estate, the first ray of sun had not even touched the horizon. The estate was heavily guarded by normal guards and cultivators alike, Xu Yejing could not help but think Min Yunfan was definitely much deeper than what he showed himself to be in public.
As the steward guided them towards the inner residence, Xu Yejing saw a tree. Its trunk was wide and the leaves scarce, although its branches were sturdy and plentiful. If one looked closely, there were a lot of sword marks and small holes on its trunk, clearly it was a target for archery or swordsmanship.
The simplicity and somewhat ugly appearance of the tree certainly looked out of place, compared to the handsomely arranged landscape of the courtyard. However, that was not what made Xu Yejing stare.
On one of the branches, were two familiar people, hanging upside down by the crook of their knees. Although their faces looked miserable, there were no ropes tying them to the tree. Surely the two men could choose to not act like a pair of bats at this hour?
Xu Yejing, ".... ."
Fu Chun looked at them and sneered, "I guess Master Uncle is inside?"
Pan Lang and He Zhanyi nodded in silence, lamenting over their unfortunate fate.
Fu Yan was visibly shaken as he looked at his two sect brothers. Whatever words of admonishment he had planned to the both of them were now gone. If Master Uncle was back, to be forced to hang upside down was the least of their punishment, and Fu Yan did not wish to find out more.
"Senior brothers... ," Xu Yejing whispered in disbelief. The two of them might have taken liberty to shove her inside the palace vault, but in the end, she benefited from it.
Pan Lang and He Zhanyi's eyes widened. "Junior sister, please beg Master Uncle for leniency. We only did what we did because there had been no news for a while, and the First Prince and the Second Prince were getting nervous... ."
Fu Chun snarled, "Are you both the servants of the Second Prince and the First Prince, or are you still disciples of the Sect?! How dare you decide on such matter without consulting either of us first! If Master Uncle and Master had not returned in time, do you think you can still keep your cultivation now?"
Both men zipped their lips shut.
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