49. Memories Of Caoyang 1
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'She IS a Snake!'
"Bailong da ge!" I was wondering why you risked going out! Why bother saving such a foolish thing?!" The lady asked with a flirty pout.
"Don't be so petty! We can afford to accommodate some mortal foolishness." Yin Xiaolong said. "Xiao Hei got riled up and attacked her, even though she had not reached the center. She was lucky to cross into our end."
"But if she riled up Lord Heifeng, doesn't that mean there's something suspicious about her?!"
"That remains to be seen." Yin Xiaolong replied dismissively.
'I'm right here.' Weiyan thought, a mild annoyance rising as they discussed as though she were no longer present.
The Snake woman waved a hand and a portal appeared, revealing the most beautiful place Weiyan had seen so far.
'The Heart of Caoyang!' She stared in awe.
Before her was a large palace which had been designed to look like the bottom of the sea.
The silver front gates of the palace were shaped like a large shell, which split in two and slid apart as they approached it.
As she followed Yin Xiaolong and the snake, Weiyan's eyes couldn't see fast enough.
All the gardens had ponds with various types of fishes, and a few plants and grasses had been transformed to resemble underwater plants, corals and seaweed, swaying slowly in the sunlight.
The garden pagodas had underwater vines crawling up and around their pillars, and amidst the grasses, shells and pearls could be seen peeking through.
Anyone who didn't know the origin of Caoyang may actually believe it had risen out of the sea.
Servants passed them as they walked, casting Weiyan surprised looks, accusatory looks, or downright hateful looks. A few resembled plainer versions of the Snake woman, a few looked regular, and a few were merpeople.
It was Weiyan's first time seeing so many Immortals, and she stared boldly at them.
The human books stated that Merpeople couldn't fully transform till they were High Immortals, so Weiyan could identify them easily because they had scales and frill-like ears. As for the snakes, she identified them because they had slanted snake eyes, and were similar to the Snake woman.
But she wondered what creatures the regular looking servants were.
"Welcome back, Master Bailong!" The servants chorused wherever they went, and there was one in particular which popped up from place to place, trying to entice Bailong with a tray of tea.
"Master Bailong, I made your favourite -!"
But Bailong always moved ahead too fast!
As they entered the Palace itself, Weiyan turned her attention to the walls...
The outer walls were a light aquamarine blue, and with the constant flow of magic, the inner walls were made to display underwater scenes, complete with illusory sea creatures, plants and bubbles, all swimming and moving about.
They stopped somewhere within the Palace, at a large courtyard, and at its center was a breathtaking gigantic jade statue of two intertwined dragons.
A few servants lined up before Yin Xiaolong.
"Welcome back, Master Bailong!" They chorused and bowed.
That same servant with the tea appeared yet again!
"Master Bailong!" *pant pant* "I- I made your favourite tea!"
"Aiya, Li Rui!" Bailong shook his head, and walked over to the tea tray. "If I don't drink it, will you follow me even in my dreams?!" He poured himself a cup and drank it, earning him a wide smile from the extremely pleased servant.
"Brother Bailong, what do we do with this human?" The Snake lady asked
"Why are you called *'Bailong'?" Weiyan asked without thinking. The name had bothered her all this while, but it was as if she just found her voice. "Don't you mean *'Hei Long'?"
(**Bailong = white dragon. Heilong = black dragon)
Loud shocked gasps filled the air, and the servant dropped his tea tray.
There were angry clicks and hisses around as all the servants now eyed her in anger, and Weiyan wondered if she had just called Yin Xiaolong a devil from the deepest hell.
She belatedly remembered Yin Xiaolong saying, "If you call me 'Black Dragon' again, I'll kill you myself."
'X- Xu Weiyan... How could you break his only taboo? Am I going to die now?' She wondered, as one of the snakes, a handsome man much taller than the rest, suddenly lunged for her.
"Ling'er!" Bailong's voice rang out, and the man stopped in his tracks.
He gave Weiyan one last hateful look, before stepping back into place.
Bailong turned with his arms behind his back.
"Xia mei." He began, addressing the snake lady. "I personally brought this human here, so I'll leave her in your care. I won't tolerate any bullying!"
There was a tense silence, then,
"Hmph. This way." The snake woman said to Weiyan. "My name is Xia. You will refer to me as Lady Xia."
"Wait." Yin Xiaolong said, and he tossed something at Weiyan.
Weiyan caught it reflexively. It was a small pill urn.
"You're injured. Those pills are fit for a human, and will let you absorb the energy here without harming yourself. Try not to absorb too much. Hmph." And with that, he vanished...
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Weiyan couldn't believe her good fortune.
Not only had she survived the Lava sea, but Yin Xiaolong had led her through the Forest of Snakes, and right into the heart of Caoyang.
However, as she lay to sleep that night, she began to wonder why so much hatred had overwhelmed her at the Lava Sea.
And then Yin Xiaolong had saved her...
She wasn't one to repay good with evil, but Yin Xiaolong had killed far too many people.
Thanks to Lord Xu's love as a father, Weiyan couldn't hate Yin Xiaolong as much as she should, but if he hadn't been evil, she would still have her original family and parents who loved her.
She might have lived a normal life without being targeted as an outsider... A mere guest, allowed to shelter under the Xu family roof.
Besides, what about Yin Xiaolong's other victims?
Weiyan had been lucky. But what about that little orphan girl? What about the numerous other children like her?
'I must end his life!'
And as the days passed on Caoyang, Weiyan tried to find a chance to approach Yin Xiaolong.
But Lady Xia watched her carefully, and assigned her duties daily.
"Don't think you can harm Brother Bai." Lady Xia warned with a pretty smile. "No one will lay a finger on you, but you will certainly be busy!"
Weiyan's duties included anything from doing laundry, cleaning the corridors, sweeping the courtyards, cleaning, cutting vegetables, and any other stressful menial chores Lady Xia could find.
Weiyan worked so hard in her first two weeks that she was exhausted by the end of each day, and could only glare at Yin Xiaolong from afar.
All she could do as a form of cheer was polish the dagger Immortal Pei had given her, while imagining what angle to approach and stab Yin Xiaolong from!
She also noticed Yin Xiaolong seemed to be paying attention to her, and she caught him watching her work more than a few times.
But whenever Weiyan turned to him, he simply turned his golden gaze away and left.
It was during her third week that an annoyed Lady Xia came to find Weiyan.
"Leave what you're doing. Brother Bailong is calling for you!"
Weiyan followed after Lady Xia till they came to a thick set of crystal white doors which had multiple intricate carvings on it.
"Brother Bailong. I've brought the human." Lady Xia said quietly, and Weiyan wondered how anyone could possibly hear her through those doors.
But surprisingly, the doors swung open on their own.
Weiyan found herself in a garden which opened up to the skies, and scented more potently than the whole of Yueyan's Central Herb Garden.
She held a hand up to her nose, using her sleeve to shield herself from the harsh herbal scent.
"If you had used the pills I gave you, it wouldn't affect you so badly." A voice said, drawing Weiyan's eyes to the far right.
In the garden were rows upon rows of strange and colourful looking herbs and flowers, a few surrounded by odd formations, and a few hidden in the shadows.
At the far right was a small shed, complete with a table and shelves with urns or baskets of potions and dried herbs. To one corner were three large furnaces, and colourful smoke was rising from their lids.
Weiyan could see Bailong working on something, but he held up a hand as Lady Xia moved towards him.
"Xia Mei, you can just leave her here.
"Bailong da ge!" Lady Xia protested, but Bailong shook his head.
Lady Xia's slanty eyes narrowed to slits, but she left after a short silence.
"Come here." Yin Xiaolong's order was soft, yet Weiyan felt a subtle push which instantly made her obey.
When she reached him, she realized he had been pounding some herbs in a small mortar.
"Sit." He said, and Weiyan sat at once, wondering why she was so obedient!
"It's a simple Charm Spell." He explained, as he rinsed and sieved the herbs into a small cup. "Normally I won't use such a spell, but you're stubborn. You only took one of the pills I gave you, and have been surviving here out of sheer spite.
"But if I ignore you, you'll fall into a coma at sunrise tomorrow, and die three days after."
Weiyan's eyes widened in surprise, but he simply sprinkled a pinch of greenish powder into the cup, mixed it, and then put it to her lips.
"Drink!" This time his order was a bit more forceful, and Weiyan was forced to drink every last drop.
"Good girl!" He said, sounding every bit like a proud father. "With this, you can survive here for months!"
The Charm spell lifted, and Weiyan drew in a breath.
She glared at him. "Why do you keep saving me? I won't owe you any favors."
"Are you uncomfortable with my help because you plan to kill me?" He casually asked and she looked away.
He scoffed at her expression. "Since I'm not doing it for you, let's just say you don't owe me any favours. As long as I'm the Master of Caoyang and it's within my power, no one would die here."
"And what about the numerous humans who come here and die every year?!" Weiyan challenged. Some humans died at the frosted chains, or at the Dark Abyss. And some died because they stubbornly refused to turn back near the Lava Sea's halfway point.
But Yin Xiaolong just smiled, his dimples mildly flashing.
"I can't do anything unless they cross into the inner half of the Lava Sea. They should blame themselves for coming here in the first place." He shrugged.
"You're the first person I've saved, and it's only because Xiao Hei forgot himself and somehow pushed you into my end."
He returned to the table, but looked down at her bruised and blistered hands. "Your hands get hurt daily because of the harsh weather, so you'll work here in my garden for a month. Your new duty is to water all the herbs, and I'll hand you back to Xia Mei when you're used to the cold."