42. A Fleeting Little Thing
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Central Xu Residence...
Within Yiguang's courtyard, the crowd were chattering, as excitement rippled through them, but Weiyan's eyes were solely locked on Luoyin, and she couldn't help noting he seemed broader and more built than he did two months ago.
'Was he always this tall...?' She wondered.
His hair was all packed into a messy bun, the white streaks from his fight with the eye-eater creating an interesting contrast.
Weiyan swallowed, as the air turned warmer than it should be in winter...
Meanwhile, Luoyin examined Yiguang with Yinying, who was being incredibly fussy, to the point where Luoyin sent him away!
~"Control yourself! This is why fathers are not allowed in the delivery chamber!"~ He said through telepathy, firmly pointing toward the courtyard's edges.
Xu Min hurried over as a sour Yinying joined, and he beamed at Luoyin.
"Zhang Yin! Long time no see! How've you been?!"
"Xu Min!" Luoyin spared time for a fist bump. "Not bad! How're you?"
The two hadn't seen each other since the eye-eater incident, as Luoyin had locked himself away for a while, and Xu Min, Xu Haoyuan, and the other Xu disciples had gone for secluded cultivation shortly after.
Unfortunately, there was barely time to catch up, as Luoyin directed the servants to place eight yellow flags around the courtyard and the four major cardinal points and their in betweens.
With a few hand seals, Luoyin created a formation connected to four cardinal flags. It was a large blue seal with the symbol of a tiger, which covered the entire floor of the courtyard, slowly revolving clock-wise.
Then the seal split into two layers, the second formed from the in-between flags. It revolved counter clock-wise and rose some distance above the courtyard.
"This will feed her constant strength, keep bad qi out, and protect her from outside attacks." Luoyin explained, as he held up two fingers and directed them towards Yiguang.
Another smaller seal appeared beneath her.
"Attacks?" Xu Min was sceptical. "But why would anyone attac-?" His words were cut off as something suddenly crashed into an invisible barrier from above!
"What is that?!" One of the servants pointed.
At the top of the barrier, a tiger-like beast growled, attempting to claw its way in.
The ground rumbled, and several more appeared, all with powerful auras... Level sevens at least.
The Servants were panicking, and Xu Min was on the verge, but Luoyin wore a calm smile.
"Don't worry, I already alerted Sect Leader Xu..." He gestured towards the crowd where a calm Sect Leader Xu stood with the others, all safe within another barrier.
"That's one of the reasons most of Yueyan's entire military are within the household today. There are some in the crowd as well, to protect the people."
As they watched, several Sect warriors and elders were already appearing above the barrier and facing off the beasts.
Luoyin pointed at Yiguang. "That seal beneath her initiated the birth, but all her natural defenses will be weakened during delivery, and she doesn't belong in the Mortal realm.
"In Sky Realm, most demons or divine beasts wouldn't dare approach the Central Sky Palace, but here? Every beast for miles around will be drawn by her divine scent, because eating her core or the child's core will instantly evolve them from mortal beasts."
"Ah! That's why High Immortal Sun Liang sounded so smug when he was leaving!" Xu Min realized. "We would have been completely massacred if we didn't know this, and they would have simply swooped in to seize mother and cub before they were harmed!
"The Sect would have been destroyed and become a joke!"
"Exactly. I bet they are monitoring us now." Luoyin approached Yiguang as the seal beneath her widened. "Too bad for them... Nothing can get past my formation, and it will keep the beasts' bad qi out."
Xu Min stared at Luoyin in awe, wondering how much they had underestimated him so far!
Luoyin softly stroked Yiguang's head, and as they all watched, she let out a pained roar, and a bright light engulfed her.
A smaller orb of light split apart from the light, coming to rest near Luoyin, and both lights faded to reveal the Light tiger and the tiny white Cub sleeping.
The courtyard instantly erupted in cheers, and congratulatory greetings flew into the air!
"Xiao Feng! Congratulations!" Lord Huo patted Lord Xu's back, both men with suspiciously wet eyes.
~"Laoying, come back in, come back in!"~ Luoyin's voice reached Yinying outside the formation, and Yinying hurried back in, shocking Xu Min.
"I thought nothing could get past the formation?!"
"Ah, I let him in!" The lie slid right off his tongue! As Luoyin's soul beast, Yinying technically 'lived' in Luoyin's Sea of consciousness, a mental space in his spirit.
Naturally, he could get past any of Luoyin's barriers!
And then Luoyin layered-on more lies...
"The Duan family loves beasts! My granduncle has long dreamed of witnessing the birth of a divine beast, so he's too excited! Forgive him, forgive him!"
He added this because Yinying now wore a smile wider than the entire courtyard, and was examining Yiguang and their cub, checking them for the slightest issue.
"Xiaoyin! I think her back left paw is a little more swollen than the others!
"Was this stripe always here?!
"Should the little one be so tiny?!
"Come and check them! Come and check them!!"
Luoyin and Xu Min could only shake their heads.
There was simply no difference between Yinying and the fussiest of husbands!
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The glorious event had come and died away.
A few severely powerful beasts wreaked some havoc, but with Lord Huo and members of the Wulin present, dealing with them was not too difficult, and the damage was to only a few shops, fully compensated by Lord Xu.
Far from being massacred, as Immortal Sun Liang had surely hoped, Yueyan Sect and those present now boasted several hundreds of powerful beast cores to use as future resources!
After the delivery, Luoyin called Weiyan to the centre of the courtyard.
He had barely seen her since the Eye-eater incident, and an odd feeling wound around him as he watched her walk towards him.
It was a fleeting little thing really, yet it made the winter chill just a bit warmer, and the winter blossoms a bit more vibrant.
He could instantly tell she was stronger than before, and he couldn't help a surprising feeling of pride. And also...
'Surely disciple robes shouldn't fit one so well!' He thought, his eyes straying to her narrow waist...
Luoyin caught himself!
'Zhang Luoyin's emotions are working overtime here!'
"Er... I'll need a drop of your blood." He awkwardly asked, when she reached him.
Weiyan simply bit her finger and let her blood drop onto a white talisman Luoyin held out.
The white talisman had black writing, but once her blood touched it, the black writing turned bright red, and Luoyin attached it to the cub's head. It began to glow brightly.
"It's not a soul bond, but this will make him favor you on sight, and he will have a natural affinity with you and your future descendants." Luoyin explained, watching the light. "As he grows older, he will decide whether he wants a real soul bond with you or not."
The light and the talisman faded away, as the cub gave the hint of a smile and a cute stretch, and the entire courtyard was instantly filled with,
"Awwwwwwwww!"
"Oh My!"
"What th-?!"
"Wah!!"
Weiyan herself could not resist dropping to her knees and petting the tiny head, and Luoyin had to shoot Yinying a glare to stop his rising protest!
~"Laoying! Don't forget Xu Weiyan is the only reason mother and cub are even here!"~
Yinying scowled, and Luoyin added. ~"Heh! Aren't you thankful she's marrying me? You and your son will at least live in the same house!"~
Yinying's spirits lifted at the thought.
Luoyin's spirits drooped at the thought.
'Ma- Marriage...'
Spring was approaching.
He had promised to marry in the Spring!
That night, Lord Xu held a massive banquet, and food and wine was shared to every household in Yue City.
The next day, Luoyin created a seal for the cub to hide its divine aura till it was strong enough to fend for itself.
Yiguang herself was recovering nicely, and had begun grooming the cub.
The days went by quickly.
Yinying spent almost everyday with Yiguang and the cub, but they both knew their parting was inevitable...
~"The same place we met in the dream state?"~ Yiguang asked one day, as Yinying pet her head on his lap.
~"Yes. I'll find you."~ Yinying replied.
~"Take care of our child!"~ She said, to which he simply replied,
~"I promise!"~
Soon the day arrived, and a sour-faced Sun Liang arrived to take Yiguang away, and they placed her back in her harness.
A crowd had gathered to say their farewells, but Luoyin and Yinying had bid their own farewells the night before, so Sun Liang wouldn't see them.
At the City gates, Yiguang hesitated for a bit, turning to look towards the east. Yinying was hidden somewhere there in the distance, but she could feel him...
Then she turned to look at the crowd, especially at Xu Weiyan who cradled the cub and gave a small wave.
'I'm naming him *'Mingguang'! For you! You should know your child's name before leaving!' Weiyan desperately thought in Yiguang's direction, hoping she would hear her, and she sighed in relief when she heard,
~"Thank you!"~
(*Mingguang = Brilliant Light. Since his mother's name 'Yiguang' means 'First Light')
"Move!" Sun Liang attempted to pull Yiguang away, but she turned on him with an angry roar.
"I only take orders from one person! He instructed me to obey you till we brought Xu Weiyan home, but that is long done. I'm parting with my child, so don't aggravate me!"
She moved ahead on her own amidst cheers from Yueyan's citizens... It was the first time anyone had heard her voice!
Sun Liang could only follow after her, his face as sour as ever!
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